The Veggie Blog

It is not necessary for someone to agree with another in order for that person to respect the later. Respect is simply the polite way that people chose to act towards others during social interactions. 

Disrespect, however is a clear lack of regard for another.  In fact, this non courteous behavior usually says more about the person engaging in it rather than the person being subjected to it. 

Heather Mills is undeniably disrespected in the following video. So I have decided to honor her with this post.  

Here is to Heather Mills: a person of dignity and respect, who further remains that way despite being treated so poorly.

Here is to Heather Mills and her forthright dedication to animals and the environment.  

Here is to Heather Mills for her ability to look adversity and disrespect in the face with a type of courageous conviction that can be admired by all. 

Thank you, Ms. Mills. I respect you!

URL: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=esBO5wfxWWY

In September of 2008, Ms. Mills went on to donate one million dollars of soy, food products to an underprivileged neighborhood in the Bronx. What better way to show others you care about their health, our environment and animals all in one remarkable act of selflessness! 

The following article was taken from the, International Herald Tribune (the global edition of the New york Times) 

McCartney’s ex donating $1M in vegan food to Bronx

The Associated Press

Saturday, September 20, 2008

NEW YORK: Paul McCartney’s ex-wife is donating $1 million worth of soy hamburgers, soy hot dogs and soy chicken cutlets to one of the poorest neighborhoods in the Bronx.

Heather Mills is set to announce the donation just before the Hunts Point Back to SchoolFair kicks off Saturday afternoon. The vegan animal rights campaigner is an honorary chairwoman of the nonprofit that organizes the event.

She tells the New York Post that she wants to make sure children in the neighborhood “have as many nutritional advantages as anyone else.”

Children in Hunts Point have some of the highest obesity and asthma rates in the city.

Mills and McCartney were granted a divorce earlier this year.

(*side note- I personally don’t know what her divorce has to do with her act to donate food. I also think it will be nice when Ms. Mills begins being recognized as her own person and no longer, so and so’s ex wife) 

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On The Net:

Heather Mills: http://www.heathermills.org

Hunts Point Alliance for Children: http://huntspointallianceforchildren.wordpress.com/

Osteoporosis is a disease in which bones become fragile and more likely to break. This particular ailment is often undetected and more likely is thought to affect the elderly. In fact, more women and men are affected by osteoporosis than you can imagine.

There is another alternative and one that you can begin to use immediately.

Some basic facts about osteoporosis:

– Any bone can be affected by osteoporosis, but fractures of the hip and spine are of the greatest concern

– a hip fracture almost always requires hospitalization and major surgery and can result in walking with a cane or walker aid afterward

– women are four times more likely than men to develop the disease (but both men and women are affected by the disease)

In my practice I’ve had a number of women and men that requested that we address their low and decreasing bone density. Each client that I’ve worked with specific to this challenge has come away with increased bone density and increased strength.

One of the ways that we work together is by working with the breath. It seems that over 90% of my clients need lessons on how to breath. Most tell me that they even find they forget to breath. Holding your breath is as if you are creating a fire inside your body and when the body has too much fire then the PH level is more acidic. Breath helps the body become more alkaline.

Proper breath, often called prana, and regulated breathing will increase oxygenation to the cells. Oxygenated cells help prevent bone loss. Here’s how to breath properly – connect your tongue to the roof of your mouth, exhale out, hold for a moment, inhale in to the count of 6 beats, hold 3 beats, exhale 6 beats, repeat. Do this 3-4 times a day and you will feel much calmer and more clear. The more prana you have in your body the less reactive you are to stress. The less reactive to stress you are the more your body can be in a more constant state of homeostasis.

Here are some amazingly simple tips to prevent osteoporosis.

* Get supergreens into your diet. The easiest way to do this is to visit the healthfood store and ask for a blend of supergreens. I’ve done a lot of research on this topic and many of these can be expensive. I’ve located one that is economical, tastes good, and in very effective. It has over 25 vegetables and is perfect for people who don’t like vegetables.

* Engage in regular weight-bearing exercise, even small isometric exercise works. If you don’t like exercise then simple stretching for 10 minutes will do wonders.

* Avoid smoking, alcohol, and eating meat products every day.

* Learn to reduce stress and get enough rest.

* Do regular meditation or have a minimum of 15 minutes of quiet reflection or grown-up time out.

* Take a combination of calcium, magnesium, and silica as they promote the most absorbable environment for faster bone density restoration.

* Take a mineral supplement. Most mineral supplements taste disgusting and one that I have sworn by with clients if VitalEarth Minerals. They taste good and are easily digestible.

* Proper hydration is necessary for the body to absorb nutrients and also to eliminate the toxins. Toxins contribute to the bone loss.

* The fewer medications you are on the better your health, but that’s up to you and your physician.

Myth: Drinking more milk equates to the bones absorbing more calcium - it’s a myth.

Most physicians will tell you that there is no cure for low bone density. The combination of use of Energy Healing and the above have proven to my clients an increase in bone density. You can avoid further bone loss just by using the few simple techniques we’ve shared with you. The body is an amazing healing machine and given the proper input, tools and techniques, the body will do the rest.

Note: These statements are not meant as cure nor have they been recommended by physicians. Your health is your responsibility and getting proper help and support will facilitate amazingly positive results.

Sheevaun O’Connor Moran
www.EnergeticSolutions.net

In the northern hemisphere, it is full swing into autumn.  One of the traditional American autumnal pasttimes includes picking your own produce!  What’s better than seeing where your food comes from and thanking the farmers who are helping keep our pantries filled with goodies?

In many areas along the Atlantic Seaboard, apple and pumpkin picking are at their prime!  Pick some apples and bring them to lunch, or turn some into apple sauce, jar it for the winter!  OH and who could resist making some apple pie?  Fresh apples from your local orchard have flavors that can’t be beat from store-purchased apples shipped from all over the world, including New Zealand and Argentina.  Even if those foreign apples are organic, is that worth the petroleum and chemical outputs from the life cycle that is required to get them to you?  When you visit a local orchard, feel free to ask questions about sustainability and marketing, that way you know what you are getting!  Who do they sell to?  How were they grown?

Additionally, pick-your-own apple orchards provide a fun, safe, healthy family and friends activity!  Much better than sitting on the couch and watching TV or surfing the web.  Help to encourage participation in your community and activities with your loved ones, then share a tasty snack or base a meal around your harvest.

Pumpkin patches are lovely too.  Many of them will be perfect for carving.  Save the seeds, wash them off and roast for a tasty, nutritious treat!  Sugar pie pumpkins are often smaller, but as their name exudes, perfect for old-fashioned style pies!  Pumpkins can also be used for tasty and healthy savory dishes, like stews, sauces, curries, mashes and casseroles.  The possibilities are endless with this beta-carotene rich food grown in your nearby pumpkin patch.  Create an afternoon event around the pumpkin patch, and get outdoors.

Here’s to the glorious local harvests abounding near you!  Hope you can all enjoy them!  It will certainly be a lovely weekend activity that everyone you love can enjoy.  Don’t forget your digital camera for the memories.

Watch this 2 minute video to see one way that we could exist peacefully IF heartless gangsters didn’t rule the world:

Algae as Fuel
http://www.valcent.net/i/misc/Vertigro/index.html

I have heard various comments along the way about how vegans are merely a new wave group of non-intellectual outcasts who place their human emotions on unfeeling animals. To prove this couldn’t be further from the truth, I thought I would share just a few quotes from highly respected, well known, greatly intelligent people of our past who, like vegans today, value life in all forms and not just their own or others like them.

Abraham Lincoln, (February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) 16th U.S. President who lead his country through the American Civil War.  “I am in favor of animal rights as well as human rights. That is the way of a whole human being.”

Mahatma Gandhi (October 2, 1869- January 30, 1948) A major political and spiritual leader in India who lead his people to peace and independence. He further inspired civil rights and freedom movements all across the world. He is honored as the “Father of the Nation” as his birthday is used as an International day of Non-Violence celebration.“The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated.”

John Muir, Naturalist and explorer (1838-1914) ”Until he extends the circle of his compassion to all living things, man will not himself find peace.”

Sri Aurobindo (August 15, 1872-December 5, 1950), Indian nationalist, scholar, poet, mystic, evolutionary, philosopher, yogi and guru. “Humanity’s true moral test, its fundamental test, consists of its attitude toward those who are at tis mercy: animals. And in this respect, human kind has suffered a fundamental debacle, a debacle so fundamental that all others stem from it.”

John Harvey Kellogg (February 26, 1852 - December 14, 1943) was an American Medical Doctor in Battle Creek Michigan who advocated a vegetarian lifestyle. He may be best known for his invention of Corn Flakes Breakfast Cereal with his brother Will Keith Kellogg. ”It ill becomes us to invoke in our daily prayers the blessings of God, the Compassionate, if we in turn will not practice elementary compassion towards our fellow creatures.”

Ben Franklin (January 17, 1706-April 17, 1790) was one of the Founding Fathers of the United States of America. He was also a leading author, talented painter, highly respected political theorist, politician, scientist, inventor, well known civic activist statesman and successful diplomat. ”When a human being kills an animal for food, he is neglecting his own hunger for justice. Man prays for mercy, but is unwilling to extend it to others. Why then should man expect mercy from God? It is unfair to expect something that you are not willing to give.”

Albert Einstein ( 1879-1955) Theoretical physicist, best known for his Theory of Relativity and mass-energy equivalence. He won a Nobel prize in Physics due to his many contributions in that filed. He was named, “Person of the Century” by Time magazine in 1999 and is considered to be a true genius. “Flesh eating is unprovoked murder and Nothing will benefit human health and increase chances of survival for life on earth as much as the evolution to a vegetarian diet.”

Leonardo Da Vinci ( April 15, 1452-May 2, 1519) Was a man of many talents, trades and intellectual expertise. He was a scientist, mathematician, engineer, inventor, anatomist, painter, sculptor, architect, botanist, musician and writer. ”I have from an early age abjured the use of meat, and the time will come when men will look upon the murder of animals as they now look upon the murder of men.”

Milan Kundera (Born on April 1, 1929) A French writer who received the Jerusalem Prize writing award, the Austrian State Prize for European Literature, the Herder Prize and Czech State Literature Prize Award. ”What is it that should trace the insuperable line? …The question is not, Can they reason? nor Can they talk? but, Can they suffer?”

Charles Darwin, (1809-1882) Naturalist and author whose scientific discoveries and theory of evolution have remain the foundation of biology today. ”Even in the worm that crawls in the earth there glows a divine spark. When you slaughter a creature, you slaughter God.”

An image above Herbivore’s table at the recent AR 2008 conference in Alexandria, Virginia, was a pin which read “There is no such thing as humane meat.”  It’s something I wish the organizers of last year’s Taking Action for Animals conference had realized when they had a panel of ranchers who produced what I insist on calling less cruelly produced meat.  And it brought to the forefront of my mind how language—and how people word things—can color one’s viewpoint.

I’m not unfamiliar with the concept.  I’ve been a feminist all my life and have taken part in many pro-choice actions, so I know that how we refer to ourselves and to the other side frames the debate.  And as a proud liberal, I know that conservatives are pretty good at controlling the language.  Anyone who has spent the past seven years in George Orwell’s—I mean, Bush’s—America knows all too well that he and/or his speechwriters are very good at using language to obfuscate and confuse.  They tricked the media into selling an immoral war and tricked (many of) the citizens into supporting it and convinced us to cheerfully let them eviscerate the Constitution in the name of security, much against Benjamin Franklin’s advice of over 200 years ago.

And animal abusers do it too and do it well.  While those of us who are against consuming eggs call what is done to hens “debeaking,” the industry calls it “beak trimming,” something they compare to having one’s fingernails clipped, although it’s closer to having one’s schnozz lopped off.  Hunters call what they do “culling,” implying that the deer (or wolf) population is just too large, and, they’re just here to help.  Ranchers who don’t cram their animals into tiny spaces or feed hormones and antibiotics to their animals—those who treat their animals “well”—get to call their meat “humane,” although there’s nothing humane about killing an animal and tearing his or her body apart for someone’s meal.  One thing we can do is try to get “less cruelly produced” into the lexicon so people realize that as long as they eat meat, they’re buying into cruelty, and there’s no escaping that.  Repeat after me:  It’s less cruelly produced meat.

It’s why I try not to refer to the places where these animals are kept as “farms,” but industrial facilities.  If I have to use the word “farm,” I make sure the word “factory” gets well involved in the image.  And why I am trying to shift away from “animal agriculture” to “animal industry,” although that can cover a lot of ground besides the exploitation of animals for food.  After all, puppy mills are an industry, as are circuses and fur farms.

However, stripping away any pleasant imagery from the mass exploitation of animals that occurs on a staggering level—well over 90 percent of which is for food—is a necessity and a matter of language.  You may have to explain to people the terminology for people unused to language stripped of euphemism, but people will hopefully catch on.

And while were at it, if someone describes himself with that idiotic term from a certain fast food commercial or calls herself a carnivore, it’s time for a smackdown of epic proportions.