I Deserve Better

How Far We've Come, But We Have A Long Way To Go

noreply@blogger.com (.) — Wed, 24 Mar 2010 18:09:00 +0000

Don't Inject Me (the Swine Flu Vaccine Song) by the Mike Adams, Health Ranger

noreply@blogger.com (.) — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 18:10:00 +0000

Taco Bell's New Green Menu Takes No Ingredients From Nature - Satire From The Onion

noreply@blogger.com (.) — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 16:50:00 +0000

Taco Bell's New Green Menu Takes No Ingredients From Nature

Consuming Kids: The Commercialization of Childhood

noreply@blogger.com (.) — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 05:28:00 +0000

Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood (CCFC) members all over the country are organizing local screenings of Consuming Kids. A screening is the perfect way to raise awareness about the commercialization of childhood and to connect with other local parents and activists. To find out how you can host or attend a screening, please visit http://www.commercialfreechildhood.org/events/consumingkids.html

Health Revolution Petition. Sign the Petition Today!

noreply@blogger.com (.) — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 03:41:00 +0000

The Health Revolution Petition

Help NaturalNews reach their goal of 100,000 signatures of the Health Revolution Petition!

Sign this petition by filling out the form below. We'll include your online signature in a petition report delivered to every member of the House and Senate as well as the office of President Barack Obama. As this is a U.S. petition, it is open only to U.S. citizens and residents.

For more information, and to sign the petition, just click on the petition below -

1 in 200 Kids Are Vegetarian

noreply@blogger.com (.) — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 03:26:00 +0000

By Mike Stobber, Associated Press
Sam Silverman is co-captain of his high school football team — a safety accustomed to bruising collisions. But that's nothing compared with the abuse he gets for being a vegetarian.

"I get a lot of flak for it in the locker room," said the 16-year-old junior at Westborough High School in Massachusetts.

"All the time, my friends try to get me to eat meat and tell me how good it tastes and how much bigger I would be," said Silverman, who is 5-foot-10 and 170 pounds. "But for me, there's no real temptation."

Silverman may feel like a vegetable vendor at a butchers' convention, but about 367,000 other kids are in the same boat, according to a recent study that provides the government's first estimate of how many children avoid meat. That's about 1 in 200.

Other surveys suggest the rate could be four to six times that among older teens who have more control over what they eat than young children do.

egetarians say it's animal welfare, not health, that most often causes kids to stop eating meat.

"Compassion for animals is the major, major reason," said Richard Schwartz, president of Jewish Vegetarians of North America, an organization with a newsletter mailing list of about 800. "When kids find out the things they are eating are living animals — and if they have a pet...."

Case in point is Nicole Nightingale, 14, of Safety Harbor, Fla. In 2007, Nightingale was on the Internet to read about chicken when she came across a video on YouTube that showed the birds being slaughtered. At the end, viewers were invited to go to the website peta.org — People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.

Nicole told her parents she was going vegan, prompting her mother to send an angry letter to PETA. But the vegan diet is working out, and now her mother is taking steps to become a vegetarian, too, said Nightingale, an eighth-grader.

She believes her experience was typical for a pre-adolescent vegetarian. "A lot more kids are using the Internet. They're curious about stuff and trying to become independent and they're trying to find out who they are," she said.

Bill Moyers Interviews Michael Pollan

noreply@blogger.com (.) — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 19:02:00 +0000

Bill Moyers sits down with Michael Pollan, Knight Professor of Journalism at UC Berkeley, to discuss what direction the U.S. should pursue in the often-overlooked question of food policy. Pollan is author of IN DEFENSE OF FOOD: AN EATER'S MANIFESTO

Part Two of Bill Moyers' Interview with Michael Pollan

noreply@blogger.com (.) — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 18:06:00 +0000

'All Jacked Up' Filmmakers Interviewed by Sweet Remedy Radio

noreply@blogger.com (.) — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 14:08:00 +0000

Download (MP3)
Filmmakers Jennifer Mattox and Doug Clemons interviewed by Cori Brackett of Sweet Remedy Radio to discuss their film, All Jacked Up, looking at how teenage eating habits can be altered for a positive future. You can listen to other Sweet Remedy Radio programs online at www.sweetremedyradio.com.

'Honest Food Guide' Available from the Health Ranger

noreply@blogger.com (.) — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 20:46:00 +0000

The Honest Food Guide was created by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, a man with a mission of teaching people how to be healthy. Adams is a holistic nutritionist who overcame obesity, crippling pain and chronic disease using natural health strategies he freely shares with others.

To learn more about the Health Ranger and his articles, reports and books (many are freely available), click here.

Livestock Animals Deserve Better Too! - Vote YES! on Prop 2

noreply@blogger.com (.) — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 18:12:00 +0000

This November 4, Californians should vote YES! on Prop 2 a modest measure that stops cruel and inhumane treatment of animals, ending the practice of cramming farm animals into cages so small the animals can't even turn around, lie down or extend their limbs.

http://www.YesOnProp2.com/

10 Steps to Personal Power in Trying Times

noreply@blogger.com (.) — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 01:46:00 +0000

Wednesday, September 10, 2008 by: Barbara L. Minton

(NaturalNews) This is a really rough time for Americans. We are living through an unparalleled time of social division, watching a few become really rich while many sink into poverty. We work everyday to support a government we believe has betrayed us. Our health care system doesn't keep us healthy. We are facing financial collapse, and life as we know it seems to be imploding. We feel frustrated, stressed and powerless. We can choose to stick our heads in the sand until the misery blows over, or we can choose to take some steps to empower ourselves. If we choose the latter, here are some suggestions for boosting personal power.

End your part in the competition game

For a long time Americans have been players in a very strange game. We have borrowed, stolen and sold our souls to put on the biggest display of material possessions possible, as though whoever spends the most money is the winner. The problem is that no matter how much money we manage to get our hands on, there is always somebody else who seems to have more stuff than we do. There is no way to stand out as an individual in this game. If you manage to buy yourself a huge new house and a luxury car, you just end up like everybody else who has them. Nobody will notice or care about your big house and car, because they are too busy trying to figure out how to pay for their big house and car. There is nothing to be won at this game. All of the players are losers.

Substitute gratitude for envy

There was a time in our not too distant past when most Americans had a standard of living that was similar. In the mid 1900's almost nobody's house was more than twice as big as anybody else's. Everybody drove a GM, Ford or Chrysler car. Envy was kept locked in a box. Now think about what is going on. Everywhere you look you see a new palace being built and you want to know why you can't get a palace too. Envy is out of the box and running wild, and the only antidote to envy is appreciation. By using your psychic energy to appreciate what you already have, you can get envy back in its box. Once you do that, you are on the road to lower stress and higher feelings of well being. A person who has one possession he treasures and cares for has a chance at happiness. A person who has 10 possessions he doesn't care about because he is too busy trying to get possession number 11, has no chance at happiness.

Live beneath your means

When you have to reach for something, you may be able to grab that thing you want, but most likely you will grab yourself a handful of stress at the same time. It is only when you take what is easily in your reach that you can maintain your psychological well being. The first time you borrow money to buy something, what you are really doing is packing some snow into a hard ball in your fist. As your life goes by and you take on more debt, that snowball gets bigger and bigger. You begin to realize that much of your work day is spent earning money to pay the interest on the debt you have accumulated. At this point you have willingly surrendered your freedom and become a slave to your creditors. When you buy fewer possessions and only those you can easily afford, you feel free and light as air. You have money put aside to deal with any stress producing contingency, and you are in a position to live your life as you choose.

Take control of your health

Most of us have been indoctrinated to believe that germs make us sick, doctors make us well, and we have no part in it. When we think this, the disease establishment has us right where they want us. Have you ever sat outside of a medical building and looked at the people going in and out? They are not people who look healthy, happy or empowered. They look like victims. Once you decide that this isn't how you want to end up, you will realize that your only alternative is to take charge of your own health. After all, you are the one with the vested interest. When you have assessed your current physical state, educated yourself about what it takes to get from that state to a level of vibrant health, you will have grabbed yourself a large chunk of empowerment.

Exercise

No, not the grueling tread mill kind of exercise. In the Western world, we have been taught that the mind and body are two separate entities. But this isn't true at all, and the kind of exercise that empowers is the kind that lets mind and body sing together as one. Move your body. Find the movements that induce a positive mental state and that are enjoyable to you. Maybe walking is empowering to you because you are expanding the scope of your surroundings, or maybe just because it makes you feel good to be a person walking upon the earth. Yoga may bring tone to your body and mind. Or maybe you will seek the pounding and competition of a tennis game. You might listen to music and pretend you are the conductor. The thing here is that when you get your mind and body moving as one, it brings a feeling of well being into every area of your life.

Sleep
If you have a lot of stress in your life, you may not have much time to sleep. By the time you work all day, take the kids around and do your chores at home, the day is pretty well shot. The only chance you have for a little relaxation is to stay up later and make do with less sleep. And maybe you've been reading those studies that say you really only need a few hours of sleep to be healthy. The truth is that those studies are designed to help you work yourself to death. You really need a minimum of 8 hours of sleep in a pitch dark room every night in order to go from feeling exhausted all day to feeling empowered. Once you have taken steps to make that snowball melt down, you will probably be able to get to sleep without a struggle or a sleeping pill, just like your ancestors did.

Say 'no' to your children

It is amazing how easily your relationship with your child can siphon off your personal power. A little needling and whining, a tantrum or two at a time when you are tired, involved in something or already stressed and before you know it, your child gets the idea that you are a pushover. And maybe you are. Maybe you have given in and let him think he can make decisions that you don't really want him to make. But in reality, he really doesn't want to make them either. He knows that he doesn't know how to run things. That's what he needs you for. When you take the time and energy to say 'no' to anything you don't think is just right, he may challenge you or throw a few fits. But if you do not waiver, he will come around eventually. Once you have re-established your power as a parent, you will feel a lot better and so will your child.

Look behind the curtain

Many Americans have chosen to remain in denial in the face of the obvious, and to seek guidance in conformity and conventionality. They have chosen to believe what their politicians, doctors, media, churches, and schools tell them is true, while all around they see evidence that what they are being told is a lie. Yet they make the choice to keep on believing and stick their heads deeper into the sand. This is the response that the people who are lying to you are counting on. Although at first it may feel good to choose to be oblivious, it is a trick your subconscious mind isn't buying because it has figured out what's really up. More and more of your energy will be required to maintain your oblivion as the nagging voice of your subconscious gets louder and louder. When so much of your energy is required for self-deception, you have really reduced your empowerment. Who was it that said, "Knowledge is power"?

Challenge yourself with a new experience

There is probably something lurking in your mind that you would like to do, but much effort would be required and you have always been able to come up with a reason for not doing it. Now is a good time to think about what it would feel like to really become part of this experience and to see it through. If thinking about this experience produces feelings of tension within you, be aware that psychological tension along with physical tension is necessary for health. It is through experience that life becomes meaningful.

Find that little kernel that is you

Victor Frankel was a personality theorist who spent years in the Nazi concentration camps. He realized that after he was stripped of family, friends, material possessions, work, personal freedom and the small pleasures of life, one thing remained that could never be taken from him. He saw this as the last remaining human freedom –- to choose his attitude and make meaning for himself from any given set of circumstances. Imagining ourselves stripped of all that defines us is an anxiety provoking experience for Americans. To a large degree we have defined ourselves by these external measures. Yet that kernel that defines who we really are is a part of each of us. It is up to us to seek it out as though it were a tiny seedling, to water it, give it light and encouragement to grow. When we have accomplished that,

About the author
Barbara is a school psychologist, a published author in the area of personal finance, a breast cancer survivor using "alternative" treatments, a born existentialist, and a student of nature and all things natural.

Faerie Films Interviewed by Harmony Health Radio - WCHB Detroit

noreply@blogger.com (.) — Sun, 25 May 2008 01:00:00 +0000

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Lateefah Wooten, host of Harmony Health Radio on WCHB AM1200 in Detroit interviews Jennifer and Doug from Faerie Films. This conversation covers the impact of fast and junk food on economically depressed areas and emerging consumer empowerment.

Health Ranger Show #31: All Jacked Up, the documentary, with Faerie Films

noreply@blogger.com (.) — Tue, 13 May 2008 21:20:00 +0000

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Listen to Mike Adams, the Health Ranger's interview with "All Jacked Up" documentary creators Doug Clemons and Jennifer Mattox. It's a fascinating look at this reality-show junk food documentary that's shaking up teen health across the country.

I'm as mad as Hell, and I'm not going to take this anymore...

noreply@blogger.com (.) — Sat, 10 May 2008 00:53:00 +0000

This clip, from the 1976 film Network is a timely today as it was 32 years ago.

Jennifer Mattox with Dr. Jim Keany at www.Jim.MD

noreply@blogger.com (.) — Wed, 07 May 2008 18:12:00 +0000

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What if teens really lived out the movie “Supersize Me”? Well it turns out that many do, to the detriment of their physical and emotional health. For many teens, this pattern of eating is even destroying interpersonal relationships. A recent study shows a 500% increase in pre-pregnancy diabetes among teens. If you’re a teen or the parent of one looking to open a conversation, this movie will get you talking…

For more information on Dr. Jim Keany, visit http://www.jim.md/

Jennifer interviewed by Dr. Steve, the host of Real Health

noreply@blogger.com (.) — Wed, 07 May 2008 17:17:00 +0000

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Jennifer is interviewed by Dr. Steve, a Naturopathic Doctor who became one learning how to defeat his own Ulcerative Colitis! Dr. Steve believes our current Health Care System is really a Disease Maintenance System. Learn how to fix yourself and the ‘system’ at the same time - with every show! For more information and to listen to Dr. Steve's podcasts, visit http://web.mac.com/drsteve720/Site/Podcast/Podcast.html

Faerie Films launches "I Deserve Better Radio"

noreply@blogger.com (.) — Sat, 03 May 2008 19:00:00 +0000

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Faerie Films launches IDB radio. This is the first segment of many where we'll discuss the issues facing us - and why you deserve better. Director Jennifer Mattox discusses a few of the conditions that are causing us to be 'all jacked up'.

Rawkin Radio Interviews Faerie Films about the film "All Jacked Up"

noreply@blogger.com (.) — Thu, 01 May 2008 01:49:00 +0000

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Revvell from Rawkin Radio interviews Jennifer and Doug about the inspiration for the film, how it was produced, and the impact it's having on teenagers and families.

Faerie Films Calls for a 'Manhattan Project' to Improve School Food

noreply@blogger.com (.) — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 15:00:00 +0000

Activist Film Company Seeks a Complete Overhaul of How Kids Are Fed at School

LAGUNA BEACH, CA--Apr 29, 2008 -- Faerie Films, the company behind the teen documentary "All Jacked Up," claims that the existing public school food system is so badly broken that the only solution may be to start all over again -- this time with a healthy, nutritious and tasty lunch ending up on the plate.

Each day, the USDA-administered National School Lunch Program (NSLP) feeds over 29 million children, whether it's full-price, low cost, or free. With over 50 million students enrolled in public schools, that means over half of America's children count on the NSLP to provide up to three meals a day (breakfast, lunch, snack). The USDA reports that the NSLP costs $7.6 billion annually.

And the net result? According to Jennifer Mattox, founder of Faerie Films, and director of "All Jacked Up," "Our kids are on a life-threatening path, and because of the system that's in place to feed our kids at school, the kids ultimately suffer." The independent film company is calling on federal and state governments, the food industry, charitable foundations, and the public school systems to come together and make drastic changes.

"Last week PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) put out a challenge to food scientists and researchers to develop artificial chicken that 'tastes just like chicken' by putting $1 million on the table. This empty offer does nothing to solve the big picture problems we have with food. It's going to take a 'Manhattan-style' project, with a financial incentive for everyone involved, to begin to tackle the mess that is our national school lunch program," said Douglas Clemons, the producer of "All Jacked Up."

According to a recent USDA report, these issues "can only be answered by an integrated study of school meal program operations, costs and outcomes. The USDA has previously fielded studies of both outcomes and costs, but has never collected these data as part of a unified design and sampling plan, allowing the information to be combined to fully answer these questions of compelling policy interest. An integrated study would allow an unprecedented level of analysis of the relationship of key operating characteristics, costs, and outcomes -- with outcomes including both quality of meals offered and students' participation and consumption."

In a statement, the USDA's Under Secretary for Food, Nutrition and Consumer Services Nancy Johner commented, "the USDA is committed to continuing to support schools with guidance, training and technical assistance to ensure their operations are effective and efficient in providing good nutrition to our children."

"The food system is so screwed up... would I want to eat it, would I want my kid to eat it? No way!" exclaimed Stacey J. Bell, D.Sc., nutrition doctor and former Harvard nutritionist.

Recent student-initiated protests and boycotts over the quality of NSLP-administered lunches have re-awakened the dialogue about food served at the nation's public schools. Middle and high-school boycotts in Oklahoma, New Jersey and Wisconsin have all caught the attention of their school administrators, hoping to quell the situation. "As our film documents, it's up to the individual to take a stand and demand change, and that's what we're encouraging," Mattox concluded.

"There are progressive school systems that have taken the lead and made healthy school meals a priority, and have been financially responsible in doing so," Clemons continued. Faerie Films intends to rally support for initiatives and pilot programs that provide organic foods to public schools at the national level.

Bread Stored in Restaurant's Bathroom - We Deserve Better

noreply@blogger.com (.) — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 18:09:00 +0000

Dorit from Serenity Spaces interviews Jennifer Mattox

noreply@blogger.com (.) — Sat, 22 Mar 2008 19:00:00 +0000

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Dorit, the founder of Serenity Spaces and creator of the Raw Lifestyle Film Festival, interviews director Jennifer Mattox prior to the 2008 Film Festival in Los Angeles. Jennifer and Dorit discuss a variety of eating lifestyles: vegetarian, vegan and of course raw.

Irradiated vs. Pasteurized - from "All Jacked Up"

noreply@blogger.com (.) — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 22:11:00 +0000

Our government loves to play with words and their meanings. Check out this exclusive clip from "All Jacked Up" to find out what real people think about the lables used and how government agencies throw them around.

For more information, visit http://www.alljackedupmovie.com

Our Food Safety System Puts Us at Risk

noreply@blogger.com (.) — Fri, 07 Mar 2008 18:36:00 +0000

By SUZANNE HAVALA, Scripps News

How does bad beef land on your child's school lunch tray?
It's not hard to understand when you examine our broken federal food safety system. The latest case example: 143 million pounds of beef were recalled by the federal government in the largest beef recall in U.S. history.

What happened?
Activists at the Humane Society of the United States went undercover at California-based Westland/Hallmark Meat Co. to document extreme violations of federal regulations governing the humane treatment of animals killed for their meat. Despite the presence of a full-time, on-site inspector from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, downer cows -- those cows too sick or injured to stand up on their own -- were tortured and forced to stand up long enough to be killed.

What's wrong with that -- aside from the obvious ethical questions?
Downer cows are considered to have a higher probability of carrying the prions that cause brain-wasting bovine spongiform encephalopathy, or mad cow disease. A form of the incurable disease, variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, or vCJD, is thought to be passed to humans who eat infected meat. Prions can't be destroyed by heat from cooking.

Much of the recalled meat was distributed to 36 states for use in the National School Lunch Program. In fact, the estimated 37 million pounds of Westland/Hallmark beef recalled from the nation's school systems surpasses the previous nationwide record beef recall of 35 million pounds set in 1999. USDA officials said they believed most of the recalled beef sent to schools had already been eaten.

The USDA's assurances that its food protection "interlocking safeguards" are working fall flat, given abundant evidence to the contrary. So do government officials' observations that nobody got sick after eating the meat from the downer cows. Scientists believe it can take years, or even decades, after exposure to prions before vCJD develops.

What now?
First, we need an independent agency put in charge of protecting the food supply. The USDA has demonstrated it can no longer be trusted with the job.

That's because when USDA is supposed to be ensuring the safety of our food, it is also charged with promoting the interests of agriculture.

The final link in this broken chain: The USDA also runs the nation's nutrition programs, including the National School Lunch Program.

From the feedlot to the lunch tray, it's a system designed more to serve the interests of an industry than the interests of the public.

One lawmaker, Rep. Rosa L. DeLauro, D-Conn., who chairs the House Agriculture, Food and Drug Administration Appropriations Subcommittee, has called for an investigation into the USDA's ability to properly ensure the safety of food served in schools.

But don't expect change any time soon. The public isn't clamoring for a fix.
The risk is there, however. And until we set up an independent, federal food safety and inspection service, we can all look forward to the next record-breaking beef recall.

U.S. Food Safety Video

noreply@blogger.com (.) — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 16:39:00 +0000

Here is an interesting video about our fading confidence in the food supply and food safety.