one answer to the doo-doo dilema is quite simple, although its
implementation may take a little time and patience. (see attatchment for
further data on the full extent of the problem) Our species was
certainly designed to have omniverous abilities (ie, we can survive on
just about anything (even Big Messes from MacDonald's!!)), but the
healthiest of diets is one which minimizes the Carniverous side of our
"carnal" nature- ie, one with little or no meat or animal products.
Now, i fully realize that some vegetarians look like walking
advertisements for the Ethiopian Relief Fund, or rejects from the
Cadaver Club - these are usually misguided souls who have gone overboard
and cut out a lot more than dead animals from their daily fare. In
fact, a reasonably well-balanced non-flesh-foods diet, combined with a
bit of exercise, produces some of the healthiest people on the planet-
and that is an incontrovertable fact.
From an ecological standpoint, carnivorie (ie, the practice of killing
animals and using their flesh as food) is a luxury our planet can no
longer afford, without increasingly harsh consequences. It is an
inneficient use of resources, and modern meat-production methods produce
a huge amount of byproducts which are seldom used efficiently, as well
as breeding antibiotic-resitant bacteria, and introducing a surprising
range of toxins into the sytems of humans unfortunate enough to consume
the resulting products. Our society has increased its meat consumption
for several reasons- a few of which i will try your patience with here:
1) flesh tastes good (so do lots of things not good for us!!) 2) flesh
is fast and easy to prepare- just slap a chunk of some old animal
carcase on the grill , in an oven or frying pan - and scorch it for a
while. Add a potatoe, a few peas, some white "bread", butter or other
grease, ketsup and ding-ding "dinner is served", and 3) many people
still believe the "protien myths" which resulted from bad science in the
1900s -ie, that we need a lot of protien to funtion well, that protien
is a source of "energy", and that animal protien is the best source for
this nutrient. this unholy trio of taste (ie, indulgence), expedience,
and false beliefs has kept many from even trying a healthful vegetarian
diet, to see how they like and benefit from it (maximum benefits are not
fully realized for a couple of years, but a noticable improvement in
health will usually be felt within a couple of months). The truth is
that a flesh-free diet can be VERY tasty, easy to prepare, convenient,
and easily provides all the nutrients we need ( Vitamin B-12 is the most
worried about, but edible yeasts, yogurt (ok- i pesonally make a few
exeptions!) and suppliments are good sources. Iron and calcium are also
readily available in many common non-animal-derived foods, and with any
sensible variety of foods there is plenty of protien for even growing
children.).
There are OODLES of vegetarian websites around, and it is not all that
difficult to separate the trash from the treasure- anything which sounds
harsh, overly restrictive, immoderate or extreme, probably is NOT
something you should pursue- a healthy non-flesh diet is none of these
things!
Anyone who wishes a bit more info, or who has a question you think i
might be able to answer at least in part, fell free to drop me a line!
Meanwhile, i will exit from this diet-tribe, and give the floor back to
shell-centred posts for a while.
Connected again in Canada,
Ross.
RETURN TO HEALTH & SCIENCE: NORMAL || LOW-GRAPHICS
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Environmentalists rap factory farms for manure production
Copyright ) 1998 Nando.net
Copyright ) 1998 Scripps Howard
WASHINGTON (June 9, 1998 09:20 a.m. EDT http://www.nando.net) -- Imagine a
train so long that it circles the Earth 12 and a half times -- 6.7 million
boxcars full of manure.
This, says the Sierra Club, is the amount of livestock waste dumped in the
United States every year. But instead of being hauled away or sanitized,
much of it is pumped raw into open cesspools from which it is seeping into
the nation's ground water and spilling into rivers.
The Sierra Club called Monday for a moratorium on new "hog factories" and
"chicken factories" until the federal government starts enforcing laws to
control pollution from concentrated animal feeding operations that have
sprung up across rural America.
The numbers of farm animals and their volume of waste today is overwhelming,
say environmental groups.
There are more chickens processed annually in the United States than there
are people in the world -- 7.6 billion chickens vs. 6 billion humans. There
are more turkeys in the United States than Americans -- 300 million of the
big birds, 269,864,312 people. Plus there are 103 million hogs and 58
million beef cattle.
They all produce some 2.7 trillion pounds of manure in a single year.
The growing problem today, according to environmentalists, is that
agribusiness is squeezing tens of thousands of animals together in
factory-like settings that produce so much waste that the land cannot absorb
it.
Kathryn Hohmann, director of the Sierra Club's environmental quality
program, told a news conference, "In one Indiana town public health
officials confirmed that water contaminated by livestock units resulted in
six women experiencing miscarriages."
Ken Midkiff of Sierra's Missouri chapter complained that of the 22 largest
animal factories in his state, only two have valid operating permits,
although all are required to have them.
Albert Midoux, a former U.S. Department of Agriculture food safety
inspector, said, "Streams today in Missouri are little more than open
sewers. People are getting sick with respiratory problems. Even the flies
are sick."
Bill Berry of Oklahoma said a single chicken factory upstream from his farm
is turning out 1.6 million gallons of poultry waste a day and continuing
malfunctions there have made Honey Creek, which runs through his land, a
dead stream. His well water "is unsafe for human consumption according to
EPA."
The Sierra Club insists the problems could be solved if Washington would
strictly apply the provisions of the Clean Water Act. But says Hohmann, "The
law has not been enforced for 25 years."
The Sierra Club and family farmers that it brought to Washington have been
visiting members of Congress for the past week, lobbying for better
enforcement and a moratorium on new animal factories.
And the response they are getting?
"What I'm giving you right now," said Midkiff. "A blank stare."
By JOHN LANG, Scripps Howard News Service
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