Comments Mary has made

Hats off to you, Sarah

Grist List topped itself this week, and what a finale!!On From Spooky to Spendy posted 2 years, 1 month ago 1 Response

High time for a new tradition

Re biodiversivist's comment: "Different cultures, different traditions," the same could be said about genital mutilation, slavery, etc. Culture/tradition doesn't justify harming/killing an innocent individual, whatever species they may happen to be. Nothing makes that right.

Rather than Barbara Kingsolver's book, for a more empathic consideration of turkeys (i.e., written by someone not bent on killing and eating them), see:
http://www.upc-online.org/more_than_a_meal.html

For a quicker read, see:
http://www.upc-online.org/winter06/whoarethey.html

And regarding the mindless custom of eating turkey at Thanksgiving, see:
http://www.upc-online.org/turkeys/60105bowlinggreen.htm

These are all written by Dr. Karen Davis, who has lived with turkeys as companion animals and knows them as the interesting, inquisitive, sentient individuals they are.

It's high time for new tradition that celebrates life rather than causes misery, pain and death.

Respect Life - including your own: Go Vegan.
http://www.TryVeg.com

Mary

Yes, don't shoot the messenger

E Magazine covered this back in early 2002 with Jim Motavalli's cover article:

THE CASE AGAINST MEAT
Evidence Shows that Our Meat-Based Diet is Bad for the Environment, Aggravates Global Hunger, Brutalizes Animals and Compromises Our Health.
http://www.emagazine.com/view/?142

In addition to cutting out meat, we should also reject eggs and dairy products. With all the marvelous alternative products that are more environmentally responsible, genuinely humane,  healthier, readily available and reasonably priced, there plainly is no good reason or excuse to continue eating animal products.

If that makes you mad so be it, but don't shoot the messenger, or resort to infantile condescension. It's likely just misdirected anger at one's self for lack of self-discipline.

In addition to being environmentally harmful, consuming animal products causes animal suffering and death. That's the case with conventionally obtained products and "happy meat" (and eggs and dairy products). It also takes a lot more land to produce the latter. (Fans of Michael Pollan's "The Omnivore's Dilemma," read this:
HARD TO SWALLOW
The Atlantic Monthly, B. R. Myers, September 2007
http://www.powells.com/review/2007_08_28.html )

Respect Life - including your own. Go Vegan.
http://www.TryVeg.com

Mary

Please Zeth, get your facts straight

Per the ADA: http://tinyurl.com/djodu

"It is the position of the American Dietetic Association and Dietitians of Canada that appropriately planned vegetarian diets are healthful, nutritionally adequate and provide health benefits in the prevention and treatment of certain diseases...Well-planned vegan and other types of vegetarian diets are appropriate for all stages of the life cycle, including during pregnancy, lactation, infancy, childhood and adolescence. Vegetarian diets offer a number of nutritional benefits, including lower levels of saturated fat, cholesterol, and animal protein as well as higher levels of carbohydrates, fiber, magnesium, potassium, folate, and antioxidants such as vitamins C and E and phytochemicals. Vegetarians have been reported to have lower body mass indices than nonvegetarians, as well as lower rates of death from ischemic heart disease; vegetarians also show lower blood cholesterol levels; lower blood pressure; and lower rates of hypertension, type 2 diabetes, and prostate and colon cancer."

Thanks for asking, Christine. For more info, see:

Raising a Vegetarian Family
http://www.vrg.org/family/

Vegan Nutrition in Pregnancy and Childhood
by Reed Mangels, Ph.D., R.D. and
Katie Kavanagh-Prochaska, Dietetic Intern
http://www.vrg.org/nutrition/pregnancy.htm

Growing Vegans...Birth through Adolescence
Excerpted from: Becoming Vegan, Brenda Davis and Vesanto Melina, The Book Publishing Company, Summertown Tennessee, September 2000.
http://www.vegsource.com/parent/growing_vegans.htm

also includes very helpful links:
Feeding Vegan Kids
by Reed Mangels, Ph.D., R.D.
Reprinted from The Vegetarian Resource Group
http://www.vegsource.com/nutrition/kids.htm

Growing Vegans:
Birth through Adolescence
Excerpted from: Becoming Vegan by Brenda Davis and Vesanto Melina
http://www.earthsave.org/health/kidsnutrition.htm

Nutrient Needs for Six Month Old Babies?
http://vegrd.vegan.com/pages/article.php?id=426

Vegetarian Diets for Children: Right from the Start
http://www.thevegetariansite.com/vegchild.htm

Vegan Children
by Carol M. Coughlin, RD
http://www.andrews.edu/NUFS/Vegan%20Children.html

Feeding your vegan infant - with confidence
http://www.vegansociety.com/catalog/product_info.php?prod ...

and:
http://www.cafepress.com/shop/politics/browse/store/compa ...

Mary

Re: I'll probably regret saying this,

That's really very disappointing, David, especially considering that you are a Grist staff writer. Apathy is also the biggest problem the environmental movement faces. I'd hope someone such as yourself would be more concerned and willing to act on the urgent need for a vegan diet, both for environmental reasons and so as to not be responsible for the animal suffering that is inherent in all non-vegan diets (be they organic or inclusive of alternatively produced -so-called "humanely raised"- animal products). I hope you do regret having posted that comment, and that you and everyone else who isn't a vegan but likes to consider themself an environmentalist, and a compassionate person, will duly consider this.

Mary