* Trust for America's Health, a research group that focuses on disease prevention, released results of a study measuring obesity rates. They compared data, from 2003-2005 with 2004-2006, "from a survey of height and weight taken over the telephone. Because the information comes from a personal estimate, some believe it is conservative."
* "Obesity rates continued their climb in 31 states last year. No state showed a decline. Mississippi became the first state to crack the 30% barrier for adults considered to be obese. West Virginia and Alabama were just behind, according to the Trust for America's Health, a research group that focuses on disease prevention."
* "Colorado continued its reign as the leanest state in the nation with an obesity rate projected at 17.6%."
* "This year's report, for the first time, looked at rates of overweight children ages 10 to 17. The District of Columbia had the highest percentage — 22.8%. Utah had the lowest — 8.5%."
* "'Unfortunately, we're treating it like a mere inconvenience instead of the emergency that it is,' said Dr. James Marks, senior vice president at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, a philanthropy devoted to improving health care. Officials at the Trust for America's Health want the government to play a larger role in preventing obesity."
* Jeffrey Levi, executive director of Trust for America's Health, said, 'If we want kids to eat healthier food, we have to invest the money for school nutrition programs so that school lunches are healthier. If we want people to be more physically active, then there have to be safe places to be active. That's not just a class issue. We've designed suburban communities where there are no sidewalks for anybody to go out and take a walk.'"
* "Poverty can lead to less safe neighborhoods, which deter children from playing. It can lead to fewer grocery stores offering fruits and vegetables, and it can lead to greater reliance on fast food, (CDC) officials said."
* "It seems the cheapest foods are the worst ones for you," Dr. Marks said.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2007-08-27-obesity-rates_N.htm
Monday, August 27, 2007
USAToday: Dunkin' Donuts dumping most trans fats, 8/27/07
* Dunkin' Donuts "has developed an alternative cooking oil (a new blend of palm, soybean and cottonseed oils) and reformulated more than 50 menu items — doughnuts included. The Canton, Mass.-based chain says its menu will be "zero grams trans fat" by Oct. 15 across its 5,400 U.S. restaurants in 34 states." ... "Dunkin's announcement follows about four years of research of more than 28 alternative cooking oils and proprietary blends."
*"The ice cream chain Baskin-Robbins, another unit of Dunkin' Brands, plans to be zero grams trans fat by Jan. 1."
* "Dunkin' isn't claiming it will become "trans fat free," but does say any trans fat in foods including doughnuts, croissants, muffins and cookies will fall below half a gram per serving. Federal regulations allow food labels to say they have zero grams of trans fat, provided levels fall below the half-gram threshold." ... "Mainstream doughnut makers' products can have around 5 grams of trans fat apiece."
*Jeff Cronin, spokesman for the Center for Science in the Public Interest, a Washington-based non-profit, "cautioned that when it comes to Dunkin's doughnuts, 'We're still talking about a food that's mostly white flour, sugar, and fat.'"
*"'The goal was not to make a healthy doughnut, it was really to create a doughnut that was better,' said Joe Scafido, Dunkin's chief creative and innovation officer. 'Certainly, we did not create a healthy doughnut.'"
http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2007-08-27-dunkin-donuts_N.htm
*"The ice cream chain Baskin-Robbins, another unit of Dunkin' Brands, plans to be zero grams trans fat by Jan. 1."
* "Dunkin' isn't claiming it will become "trans fat free," but does say any trans fat in foods including doughnuts, croissants, muffins and cookies will fall below half a gram per serving. Federal regulations allow food labels to say they have zero grams of trans fat, provided levels fall below the half-gram threshold." ... "Mainstream doughnut makers' products can have around 5 grams of trans fat apiece."
*Jeff Cronin, spokesman for the Center for Science in the Public Interest, a Washington-based non-profit, "cautioned that when it comes to Dunkin's doughnuts, 'We're still talking about a food that's mostly white flour, sugar, and fat.'"
*"'The goal was not to make a healthy doughnut, it was really to create a doughnut that was better,' said Joe Scafido, Dunkin's chief creative and innovation officer. 'Certainly, we did not create a healthy doughnut.'"
http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2007-08-27-dunkin-donuts_N.htm
Friday, August 24, 2007
utne reader: Beyond Organic, Jan/Feb 2006
Start Small, Start Today
* If you want to change 200 years of farm policy, devastating environmental damage, and ingrained food habits, start with today's lunch. Spend your food money on farmers, and you'll be making a big difference.
* The average annual food budget per U.S. household is $5,340, according to a recent report by the U.S. Dept of labor. Divide that by three squares a day, and a single meal costs a measly $4.88.
* If 225,000 people made a commitment to purchase one meal a week directly from local farmers, more than $57 million would shift out of corporate coffers into the pockets of real people.
* Not convinced? The U.S. Dept of Agriculture reports an average farm business income of $20,663 in 2004. At that price tag, the one-meal-a-week plan would support almost 3,000 farming households.
Busting the Food Bank
Americans pay less for groceries than nearly any other nation, but more for our food. That's because factory farming degrades our environment, burns up fossil fuels, devastates our rural economies, and harms our health. Who picks up the tab?
* Agricultural pollution accounts for 70 percent of all problems in U.S. rivers and streams, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.
* Environmental damage casued by industrial farming costs the U.S. $34.7 billion a year (more than $300 per U.S. household)
* 17% of U.S. fossil fuel consumption is used in food production.
* Farm subsidies in 2004 totaled $12.5 billion, and 62% of the money went to 10% of the recipients.
* If you want to change 200 years of farm policy, devastating environmental damage, and ingrained food habits, start with today's lunch. Spend your food money on farmers, and you'll be making a big difference.
* The average annual food budget per U.S. household is $5,340, according to a recent report by the U.S. Dept of labor. Divide that by three squares a day, and a single meal costs a measly $4.88.
* If 225,000 people made a commitment to purchase one meal a week directly from local farmers, more than $57 million would shift out of corporate coffers into the pockets of real people.
* Not convinced? The U.S. Dept of Agriculture reports an average farm business income of $20,663 in 2004. At that price tag, the one-meal-a-week plan would support almost 3,000 farming households.
Busting the Food Bank
Americans pay less for groceries than nearly any other nation, but more for our food. That's because factory farming degrades our environment, burns up fossil fuels, devastates our rural economies, and harms our health. Who picks up the tab?
* Agricultural pollution accounts for 70 percent of all problems in U.S. rivers and streams, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.
* Environmental damage casued by industrial farming costs the U.S. $34.7 billion a year (more than $300 per U.S. household)
* 17% of U.S. fossil fuel consumption is used in food production.
* Farm subsidies in 2004 totaled $12.5 billion, and 62% of the money went to 10% of the recipients.
Monday, August 13, 2007
utne reader: How Much (Soy) Is Too Much?, July/Aug 2007
http://www.utne.com/issues/2007_142/features/12608-1.html
Clinical nutritionist Kaayla Daniel on the Dos and Don'ts of soy consumption
—By Mary Vance, Terrain
This is a very good Q&A re soy. Go to the link to read more. Here is a snippet:
Q. How much soy does the average person consume in a day?
A. Someone on a junk-food diet is getting soy flour in the fast-food hamburger bun, soy protein in the burger itself, and soy oil in the fries; soy is in every one of these products because it's cheap and abundant. You'll find soy hidden in so many foods, and small quantities add up. People often start by drinking a lot of soy milk. If they are taking supplements, they can be getting really high doses. Even scientists working for the soy industry will say they support soy food but do not support use of soy supplements. It is so dangerous at such a high level, and it's harming many people.
Q. Which soy product is the worst?
A. The biggest problem is soy milk. Those with lactose intolerance think that soy milk is a great alternative, and they're drinking a lot and getting a huge dose of isoflavones. If you're drinking soy milk, you're going to have a problem, or most people will sooner or later. We're all different--some people will start having problems in a day, and some people will think they're fine and a year later things will start to go downhill. Drinking just one glass a day of soy milk will give someone the level of plant estrogens that has hurt the thyroids of healthy Japanese men and women. Most people are drinking several glasses, plus the soy protein energy bars and the bags of edamame.
Clinical nutritionist Kaayla Daniel on the Dos and Don'ts of soy consumption
—By Mary Vance, Terrain
This is a very good Q&A re soy. Go to the link to read more. Here is a snippet:
Q. How much soy does the average person consume in a day?
A. Someone on a junk-food diet is getting soy flour in the fast-food hamburger bun, soy protein in the burger itself, and soy oil in the fries; soy is in every one of these products because it's cheap and abundant. You'll find soy hidden in so many foods, and small quantities add up. People often start by drinking a lot of soy milk. If they are taking supplements, they can be getting really high doses. Even scientists working for the soy industry will say they support soy food but do not support use of soy supplements. It is so dangerous at such a high level, and it's harming many people.
Q. Which soy product is the worst?
A. The biggest problem is soy milk. Those with lactose intolerance think that soy milk is a great alternative, and they're drinking a lot and getting a huge dose of isoflavones. If you're drinking soy milk, you're going to have a problem, or most people will sooner or later. We're all different--some people will start having problems in a day, and some people will think they're fine and a year later things will start to go downhill. Drinking just one glass a day of soy milk will give someone the level of plant estrogens that has hurt the thyroids of healthy Japanese men and women. Most people are drinking several glasses, plus the soy protein energy bars and the bags of edamame.
utne reader: The Dark Side of Soy, July/Aug 2007
http://www.utne.com/issues/2007_142/features/12607-1.html
—By Mary Vance, Terrain
* Risks associated with eating soy: endocrine disruption; digestive problems; deleterious effects on thyroid, fertility, hormones, sex drive, digestion, and a potential to contribute to certain cancers. "For every study that proved a connection between soy and reduced disease risk another cropped up to challenge the claims. What was going on?"
* "Epidemiological studies have shown that Asians, particularly in Japan and China, have a lower incidence of breast and prostate cancer than people in the United States, and many of these studies credit a traditional diet that includes soy. But Asian diets include small amounts--about nine grams a day--of primarily fermented soy products, such as miso, natto, and tempeh, and some tofu. Fermenting soy creates health-promoting probiotics, the good bacteria our bodies need to maintain digestive and overall wellness. By contrast, in the United States, processed soy food snacks or shakes can contain over 20 grams of nonfermented soy protein in one serving."
* "These days the industry has discovered ways to use every part of the bean for profit. Soy oil has become the base for most vegetable oils; soy lecithin, the waste product left over after the soybean is processed, is used as an emulsifier; soy flour appears in baked and packaged goods; different forms of processed soy protein are added to everything from animal feed to muscle-building protein powders. 'Soy protein isolate was invented for use in cardboard,' says clinical nutritionist Kaayla Daniel, author of The Whole Soy Story (New Trends, 2005). 'It hasn't actually been approved as a food ingredient.'"
* "Soy is everywhere in our food supply, as the star in cereals and health-promoting foods and hidden in processed foods. Even if you read every label and avoid cardboard boxes, you are likely to find soy in your supplements and vitamins (look out for vitamin E derived from soy oil), in foods such as canned tuna, soups, sauces, breads, meats (injected under poultry skin), and chocolate, and in pet food and body-care products. It hides in tofu dogs under aliases such as textured vegetable protein, hydrolyzed vegetable protein, and lecithin--which is troubling, since the processing required to hydrolyze soy protein into vegetable protein produces excitotoxins such as glutamate (think MSG) and aspartate (a component of aspartame), which cause brain-cell death."
* Clinical nutritionist Ed Bauman, head of Bauman Clinic in Sebastopol, California, and director of Bauman College says, "Genetically modified (GM) soy is the most problematic, and that's probably what most people are eating if they're not paying attention. People can develop sensitivity to a food that has antigens or bacteria not originally in the food chain, as is the case with GM foods."
* "The highest risk is for infants who are fed soy formula. 'It's the only thing they're eating, they're very small, and they're at a key stage developmentally,' says Daniel. 'The estrogens in soy will affect the hormonal development of these children, and it will certainly affect their growing brains, reproductive systems, and thyroids.' Soy formula also contains large amounts of manganese, which has been linked to attention deficit disorder and neurotoxicity in infants. The Israeli health ministry recently issued an advisory stating that infants should avoid soy formula altogether."
* "Bauman believes processed soy foods are problematic but maintains that soy has beneficial hormone-mediating effects. ... Is soy the problem, or is it the handling and packaging and processing of the plant that's the problem?"
—By Mary Vance, Terrain
* Risks associated with eating soy: endocrine disruption; digestive problems; deleterious effects on thyroid, fertility, hormones, sex drive, digestion, and a potential to contribute to certain cancers. "For every study that proved a connection between soy and reduced disease risk another cropped up to challenge the claims. What was going on?"
* "Epidemiological studies have shown that Asians, particularly in Japan and China, have a lower incidence of breast and prostate cancer than people in the United States, and many of these studies credit a traditional diet that includes soy. But Asian diets include small amounts--about nine grams a day--of primarily fermented soy products, such as miso, natto, and tempeh, and some tofu. Fermenting soy creates health-promoting probiotics, the good bacteria our bodies need to maintain digestive and overall wellness. By contrast, in the United States, processed soy food snacks or shakes can contain over 20 grams of nonfermented soy protein in one serving."
* "These days the industry has discovered ways to use every part of the bean for profit. Soy oil has become the base for most vegetable oils; soy lecithin, the waste product left over after the soybean is processed, is used as an emulsifier; soy flour appears in baked and packaged goods; different forms of processed soy protein are added to everything from animal feed to muscle-building protein powders. 'Soy protein isolate was invented for use in cardboard,' says clinical nutritionist Kaayla Daniel, author of The Whole Soy Story (New Trends, 2005). 'It hasn't actually been approved as a food ingredient.'"
* "Soy is everywhere in our food supply, as the star in cereals and health-promoting foods and hidden in processed foods. Even if you read every label and avoid cardboard boxes, you are likely to find soy in your supplements and vitamins (look out for vitamin E derived from soy oil), in foods such as canned tuna, soups, sauces, breads, meats (injected under poultry skin), and chocolate, and in pet food and body-care products. It hides in tofu dogs under aliases such as textured vegetable protein, hydrolyzed vegetable protein, and lecithin--which is troubling, since the processing required to hydrolyze soy protein into vegetable protein produces excitotoxins such as glutamate (think MSG) and aspartate (a component of aspartame), which cause brain-cell death."
* Clinical nutritionist Ed Bauman, head of Bauman Clinic in Sebastopol, California, and director of Bauman College says, "Genetically modified (GM) soy is the most problematic, and that's probably what most people are eating if they're not paying attention. People can develop sensitivity to a food that has antigens or bacteria not originally in the food chain, as is the case with GM foods."
* "The highest risk is for infants who are fed soy formula. 'It's the only thing they're eating, they're very small, and they're at a key stage developmentally,' says Daniel. 'The estrogens in soy will affect the hormonal development of these children, and it will certainly affect their growing brains, reproductive systems, and thyroids.' Soy formula also contains large amounts of manganese, which has been linked to attention deficit disorder and neurotoxicity in infants. The Israeli health ministry recently issued an advisory stating that infants should avoid soy formula altogether."
* "Bauman believes processed soy foods are problematic but maintains that soy has beneficial hormone-mediating effects. ... Is soy the problem, or is it the handling and packaging and processing of the plant that's the problem?"
Tuesday, August 7, 2007
nytimes: Its Poor Reputation Aside, Our Fat Is Doing Us a Favor, by Natalie Angier, 8/7/07
* Fat in the human body is "is dynamic and mercantile, exchanging chemical signals with the brain, bones, gonads and immune system, and with every energy manager on the body's long alimentary train."
* "'We used to think of an adipose cell (fat cell) as an inert storage depot,' Dr. Barbara Kahn, chief of the endocrinology, diabetes and metabolism division at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, at Harvard said. 'Now we appreciate that it is an endocrine organ,' in other words, an organ that like the thyroid or pancreas, secretes hormones to shape the behavior of other tissues far and wide. Squashed to the side a fat cell's cytoplasm may be, but it nevertheless spins out a steady supply of at least 20 different hormones. Key among them is leptin, an essential player in reproduction."
* "Fat also seems to know when it is getting out of hand, and it may resist new personal growth. Dr. Bruce M. Spiegelman (of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston) and others have shown that with the onset of obesity — defined as 25 or more pounds above one's ideal weight — the fat tissue starts releasing potent inflammatory hormones. That response is complex and harmful in the long run. But in the short term, said Dr. Spiegelman, 'inflammation clearly has an anti-obesity effect, and it may be the body's attempt to restrain further accumulation of adipose tissue.'"
* "'We used to think of an adipose cell (fat cell) as an inert storage depot,' Dr. Barbara Kahn, chief of the endocrinology, diabetes and metabolism division at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, at Harvard said. 'Now we appreciate that it is an endocrine organ,' in other words, an organ that like the thyroid or pancreas, secretes hormones to shape the behavior of other tissues far and wide. Squashed to the side a fat cell's cytoplasm may be, but it nevertheless spins out a steady supply of at least 20 different hormones. Key among them is leptin, an essential player in reproduction."
* "Fat also seems to know when it is getting out of hand, and it may resist new personal growth. Dr. Bruce M. Spiegelman (of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston) and others have shown that with the onset of obesity — defined as 25 or more pounds above one's ideal weight — the fat tissue starts releasing potent inflammatory hormones. That response is complex and harmful in the long run. But in the short term, said Dr. Spiegelman, 'inflammation clearly has an anti-obesity effect, and it may be the body's attempt to restrain further accumulation of adipose tissue.'"
Sunday, August 5, 2007
Reuters: 75 percent of Americans overweight by 2015, 7/19/07
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19845784/
* A team at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore examined 20 studies published in journals and looked at national surveys of weight and behavior for their analysis. Their research, published in the journal Epidemiologic Reviews, suggests that fat will be the norm by 2015 if people keep gaining weight at the current rate - with 75% of U.S. adults overweight and 41 percent obese.
* "Studies show that 66% of U.S. adults were overweight or obese in 2003 and 2004. An alarming 80%of black women aged 40 or over are overweight and 50% are obese."
* "Sixteen percent of U.S. children and adolescents are overweight and 34% are at risk of becoming overweight, according to federal government figures.
* May Beydoun, who worked on the study, said, "Obesity is likely to continue to increase, and if nothing is done, it will soon become the leading preventable cause of death in the United States."
* A team at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore examined 20 studies published in journals and looked at national surveys of weight and behavior for their analysis. Their research, published in the journal Epidemiologic Reviews, suggests that fat will be the norm by 2015 if people keep gaining weight at the current rate - with 75% of U.S. adults overweight and 41 percent obese.
* "Studies show that 66% of U.S. adults were overweight or obese in 2003 and 2004. An alarming 80%of black women aged 40 or over are overweight and 50% are obese."
* "Sixteen percent of U.S. children and adolescents are overweight and 34% are at risk of becoming overweight, according to federal government figures.
* May Beydoun, who worked on the study, said, "Obesity is likely to continue to increase, and if nothing is done, it will soon become the leading preventable cause of death in the United States."
NYTimes: 'Study Says Obesity Can Be Contagious', 7/25/07
by Gina Kolata
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/25/health/25cnd-fat.html?hp=&adxnnl=1&adxnnlx=1185393658-dKjEuH1JGMxvxifjLHZ09Q
* A detailed analysis of a large social network of 12,067 people who had been closely followed for 32 years, from 1971 until 2003 was recently published in the New England Journal of Medicine. It suggests "obesity can spread from person to person, much like a virus, researchers are reporting today. When one person gained weight, their close friends tended to gain weight, too."
* "There was no effect when a neighbor gained or lost weight, however, and family members had less influence than friends."
* "Dr. Nicholas Christakis, a physician and professor of medical sociology at Harvard Medical School and a principal investigator in the new study, says one explanation is that friends affect each others' perception of fatness. When a close friend becomes obese, obesity may not look so bad."
* Of course, the investigators say, social networks are not the only factors that affect body weight. There is a strong genetic component at work as well."
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/25/health/25cnd-fat.html?hp=&adxnnl=1&adxnnlx=1185393658-dKjEuH1JGMxvxifjLHZ09Q
* A detailed analysis of a large social network of 12,067 people who had been closely followed for 32 years, from 1971 until 2003 was recently published in the New England Journal of Medicine. It suggests "obesity can spread from person to person, much like a virus, researchers are reporting today. When one person gained weight, their close friends tended to gain weight, too."
* "There was no effect when a neighbor gained or lost weight, however, and family members had less influence than friends."
* "Dr. Nicholas Christakis, a physician and professor of medical sociology at Harvard Medical School and a principal investigator in the new study, says one explanation is that friends affect each others' perception of fatness. When a close friend becomes obese, obesity may not look so bad."
* Of course, the investigators say, social networks are not the only factors that affect body weight. There is a strong genetic component at work as well."
nytimes: editorial 'In Praise of Tap Water', 8/1/07
* "This country has some of the best public water supplies in the world. Instead of consuming four billion gallons of water a year in individual-sized bottles, we need to start thinking about what all those bottles are doing to the planet's health."
* "If you choose to get your recommended eight glasses a day from bottled water, you could spend up to $1,400 annually. The same amount of tap water would cost about 49 cents."
* "Water bottles, like other containers, are made from natural gas and petroleum. The Earth Policy Institute in Washington has estimated that it takes about 1.5 million barrels of oil to make the water bottles Americans use each year. That could fuel 100,000 cars a year instead. And, only about 23 percent of those bottles are recycled"
* "If you choose to get your recommended eight glasses a day from bottled water, you could spend up to $1,400 annually. The same amount of tap water would cost about 49 cents."
* "Water bottles, like other containers, are made from natural gas and petroleum. The Earth Policy Institute in Washington has estimated that it takes about 1.5 million barrels of oil to make the water bottles Americans use each year. That could fuel 100,000 cars a year instead. And, only about 23 percent of those bottles are recycled"
nytimes: 'Want Some Trans Fats With Those Fries?', 8/2/07
blog posting by Sewell Chan
* "As of July 1, restaurants were required to make sure that all oils, shortening and margarine containing artificial trans fat used for frying or for spreads have less than 0.5 grams of trans fat per serving. (Oils and shortening used to deep fry yeast dough and cake batter are not included in the deadline.) By the second deadline — July 1, 2008 — all foods must have less than 0.5 grams of trans fat per serving if they have any artificial trans fat. (Packaged foods served in the manufacturer's original packaging are exempt.)"
* "The federal Dietary Guidelines for Americans, the American Heart Association, and other health authorities recommend that people consume no more than 2 grams of trans fat per day. 'That's about as much as occurs naturally in milk and meat, leaving virtually no room for artificial trans fat from partially hydrogenated vegetable oil,' the center said in a statement. Trans fats are said to raise levels of "bad" cholesterol, which promotes heart disease. Unlike saturated fats, trans fats also lower the 'good' cholesterol that helps guard against heart disease."
* "'French fries are fried twice, once in the factory and once in the restaurant,' said Michael F. Jacobson, executive director of the Center for Science in the Public Interest. 'If these chains want to claim they are switching to trans-fat-free frying oil, they need to switch it at the supplier as well as at the restaurant. Burger King and Wendy's are really deceiving consumers with the public statements they've made about trans fat, which don't tell the whole story. McDonald's, on the other hand, has proven that restaurants can truly eliminate artificial trans fat.'
* "As of July 1, restaurants were required to make sure that all oils, shortening and margarine containing artificial trans fat used for frying or for spreads have less than 0.5 grams of trans fat per serving. (Oils and shortening used to deep fry yeast dough and cake batter are not included in the deadline.) By the second deadline — July 1, 2008 — all foods must have less than 0.5 grams of trans fat per serving if they have any artificial trans fat. (Packaged foods served in the manufacturer's original packaging are exempt.)"
* "The federal Dietary Guidelines for Americans, the American Heart Association, and other health authorities recommend that people consume no more than 2 grams of trans fat per day. 'That's about as much as occurs naturally in milk and meat, leaving virtually no room for artificial trans fat from partially hydrogenated vegetable oil,' the center said in a statement. Trans fats are said to raise levels of "bad" cholesterol, which promotes heart disease. Unlike saturated fats, trans fats also lower the 'good' cholesterol that helps guard against heart disease."
* "'French fries are fried twice, once in the factory and once in the restaurant,' said Michael F. Jacobson, executive director of the Center for Science in the Public Interest. 'If these chains want to claim they are switching to trans-fat-free frying oil, they need to switch it at the supplier as well as at the restaurant. Burger King and Wendy's are really deceiving consumers with the public statements they've made about trans fat, which don't tell the whole story. McDonald's, on the other hand, has proven that restaurants can truly eliminate artificial trans fat.'
Thursday, January 4, 2007
NYTimes: 'Meat and the Planet', 12/27/06
Editorial
When you think about the growth of human population over the last century or so, it is all too easy to imagine it merely as an increase in the number of humans. But as we multiply, so do all the things associated with us, including our livestock. At present, there are about 1.5 billion cattle and domestic buffalo and about 1.7 billion sheep and goats. With pigs and poultry, they form a critical part of our enormous biological footprint upon this planet.
Just how enormous was not really apparent until the publication of a new report, called "Livestock's Long Shadow," by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
Consider these numbers. Global livestock grazing and feed production use "30 percent of the land surface of the planet." Livestock — which consume more food than they yield — also compete directly with humans for water. And the drive to expand grazing land destroys more biologically sensitive terrain, rain forests especially, than anything else.
But what is even more striking, and alarming, is that livestock are responsible for about 18 percent of the global warming effect, more than transportation's contribution. The culprits are methane — the natural result of bovine digestion — and the nitrogen emitted by manure. Deforestation of grazing land adds to the effect.
There are no easy trade-offs when it comes to global warming — such as cutting back on cattle to make room for cars. The human passion for meat is certainly not about to end anytime soon. As "Livestock's Long Shadow" makes clear, our health and the health of the planet depend on pushing livestock production in more sustainable directions.
When you think about the growth of human population over the last century or so, it is all too easy to imagine it merely as an increase in the number of humans. But as we multiply, so do all the things associated with us, including our livestock. At present, there are about 1.5 billion cattle and domestic buffalo and about 1.7 billion sheep and goats. With pigs and poultry, they form a critical part of our enormous biological footprint upon this planet.
Just how enormous was not really apparent until the publication of a new report, called "Livestock's Long Shadow," by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
Consider these numbers. Global livestock grazing and feed production use "30 percent of the land surface of the planet." Livestock — which consume more food than they yield — also compete directly with humans for water. And the drive to expand grazing land destroys more biologically sensitive terrain, rain forests especially, than anything else.
But what is even more striking, and alarming, is that livestock are responsible for about 18 percent of the global warming effect, more than transportation's contribution. The culprits are methane — the natural result of bovine digestion — and the nitrogen emitted by manure. Deforestation of grazing land adds to the effect.
There are no easy trade-offs when it comes to global warming — such as cutting back on cattle to make room for cars. The human passion for meat is certainly not about to end anytime soon. As "Livestock's Long Shadow" makes clear, our health and the health of the planet depend on pushing livestock production in more sustainable directions.
AssociatedPress (AP): More than 1 million New Yorkers ask: food or rent?, 12/26/06
* "Food or rent? That is the daily choice faced by about 1.2 million of New York's 8.2 million people. Faced with that choice, mostly they pay rent and rely on emergency or charity food to survive, poverty activists say."
* "New York has perhaps the most visible income gap. While the city's Wall Street bankers are due to collect nearly $24 billion in bonuses this year, more than one-fifth of New Yorkers are battling to make ends meet below the national poverty line of $10,000 a year for an individual. About 3,800 people were living on the streets in 2006, according to New York City statistics."
* "One quarter of New York's 1.9 million children are living in poverty, 40 percent of families with children had difficulty affording food in 2005 and one-fifth of the city's children rely on free food to survive, according to a report by the Food Bank For New York City."
* "OBESITY STRUGGLE: Ironically, many people struggling with hunger are also battling the bulge, and both the Food Bank For New York City and Part of the Solution aim to provide nutritious, balanced meals. 'I get my child a hamburger, French fries and soda and they're satisfied and it's only cost me 99 cents -- I go to the supermarket and I can't even get a can of beans for that,' Cabrera said."
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20061226/us_nm/usa_poverty_newyork_dc
* "New York has perhaps the most visible income gap. While the city's Wall Street bankers are due to collect nearly $24 billion in bonuses this year, more than one-fifth of New Yorkers are battling to make ends meet below the national poverty line of $10,000 a year for an individual. About 3,800 people were living on the streets in 2006, according to New York City statistics."
* "One quarter of New York's 1.9 million children are living in poverty, 40 percent of families with children had difficulty affording food in 2005 and one-fifth of the city's children rely on free food to survive, according to a report by the Food Bank For New York City."
* "OBESITY STRUGGLE: Ironically, many people struggling with hunger are also battling the bulge, and both the Food Bank For New York City and Part of the Solution aim to provide nutritious, balanced meals. 'I get my child a hamburger, French fries and soda and they're satisfied and it's only cost me 99 cents -- I go to the supermarket and I can't even get a can of beans for that,' Cabrera said."
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20061226/us_nm/usa_poverty_newyork_dc
Monday, January 1, 2007
NYTimes: Fitness: Quick, Do You Know Your B.M.I?, Abby Ellin, 12/28/06
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/28/fashion/28Fitness.html?em&ex=1167541200&en=b0fae13d93f731be&ei=5087%0A
* "The B.M.I. is a mathematical calculation of a person's weight in kilograms divided by his or her height in meters squared. Since most Americans have no clue what their height is in meters (remember the failed attempt to go metric circa 1976?), it's easiest to determine an index rating by visiting a Web site like that of the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute (www.nhlbisupport.com/bmi), where one can determine their index rating by entering their height in feet and weight in pounds."
* "In 1998, two branches of the National Institutes of Health created new guidelines which divided people into categories: You were "normal" if your index rating was between 18.5 and 24.9; "overweight'' if it was 25 to 29.9; and "obese" if it was 30 or higher."
* "The index also didn't distinguish between body fat and muscle mass, so athletes and bodybuilders like Arnold Schwarzenegger, whose rating was 33 when he was Mr. Universe, were technically obese."
* "The B.M.I. is a mathematical calculation of a person's weight in kilograms divided by his or her height in meters squared. Since most Americans have no clue what their height is in meters (remember the failed attempt to go metric circa 1976?), it's easiest to determine an index rating by visiting a Web site like that of the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute (www.nhlbisupport.com/bmi), where one can determine their index rating by entering their height in feet and weight in pounds."
* "In 1998, two branches of the National Institutes of Health created new guidelines which divided people into categories: You were "normal" if your index rating was between 18.5 and 24.9; "overweight'' if it was 25 to 29.9; and "obese" if it was 30 or higher."
* "The index also didn't distinguish between body fat and muscle mass, so athletes and bodybuilders like Arnold Schwarzenegger, whose rating was 33 when he was Mr. Universe, were technically obese."
Rolling Stone: Boss Hog by Jeff Tietz, 12/14/06
update (3/29/07): From NYTimes article "Burger King Shifts Policy on Animals":
And in January, the world’s largest pork processor, Smithfield Foods, said it would phase out confinement of pigs in metal crates over the next decade.
"America's Top Pork Producer (Smithfield Foods) churns out a sea of waste that has destroyed rivers, killed millions of fish, and generated one of the largest fines in EPA history. Welcome to the dark side of the other white meat."
* "Smithfield Foods, the largest and most profitable pork processor in the world, killed 27 million hogs last year. That's a number worth considering. A slaughter-weight hog is 50% heavier than a person. The logistical challenge of processing that many pigs each year is roughly equivalent to butchering and boxing the entire human populations of NY, L.A., Chicago, Houston, Philladelphia, Phoenix, S.A., San Diego, Dallas, San Jose, Detroit, Indianapolis, Jacksonville, San Francisco, Columbus, Austin, Memphis, Baltimore, Fort Worth, Charlotte, El Paso, Milwaukee, Seattle, Boston, Denver, Lousiville, D.C., Nashville, Las Vegas, Portland, Oklahoma City, and Tucson.
* "Hogs produce three times more excrement than human beings do. The 500,000 pigs at a single Smithfield subsidiary in Utah generate more fecal matter each year than the 1.5 million inhabitants of Manhattan."
* "The excrement of Smithfield hogs is ... probably closer to radioactive waste than organic manure." ... "Smithfield's pigs live by the hundred or thousands in warehouselike barns, in rows of wall-to-wall pens." ... "Forty fully grown 250-lb male hogs often occupy a pen the size of a tiny apartment. They trample each other to death. There is no sunlight, straw, fresh air or earth. The floors are slatted to allow excrement to fall into the catchment pit under the pens, but many things besides excrement can wind up in the pits: afterbirths, piglets, accidentally crushed by their mothers, old batteries, broken bottles of insecticide, antibiotic syringes, stillborn pigs - any thing small engouh toe fit through the foot-wide pipes that drain the pits."
* "Factory pigs are infused with a huge range of antibiotics and vaccines, and are doused with insecticides. Without these compounds - oxytetracycline, draxxin, ceftiofur, tiamulin - disease would likely kill them. Thus factory-farm pigs remain in a state of dying until they're slaughtered. When a pig nearly ready to be slaughtered grows ill, workers sometimes shoot it up with as many drugs as necessary to get it to the slaughterhouse under its own power. As long as the pig remains ambulatory, it can be legally killed and sold as meat."
* "The drugs Smithfield administers to its pigs, of course, exit its hog houses in pig shit. ... Each gram of hog shit can contain as much as 100 million fecal coliform bacteria." This shit makes it into holding ponds or lagoons. "The area around a single slaughterhouse can contain hundreds of lagoons, some of which run thirty feet deep. The liquid in them is not brown. The interactions between the bacteria and blood and afterbirths and stillborn piglets and urine and excrement and chemicals and drugs turn the lagoons pink." This shit has the ability to seep through the liners and spread and ferment. This can seep into nearby waters and kill fish. ... "A river that receives a lot of waste from an industrial hog farm begins to die quickly. Toxins and microbes can kill plants and animals outright; the waste itself consumes available oxygen and suffocates fish and aquatic animals; and the nutrients in the pig shit produce algal blooms that also deoxygenate the water."
* The 67yo Chairman of Smithfield Foods, Joseph Luter III, lives on Park Avenue in Manhattan.
* "The industry has long made generous campaign contributions to politicians responsible for regulating hog farms. ... North Carolina "has consistently failed to employ enough inspectors to ensure that hog farms are complying with environmental standards."
* "Studies have shown that lagoons emit hundreds of different volatile gases into the atmosphere, including ammonia, methane, carbon dioxide and hydrogen sulfide. A single lagoon releases many millions of bacteria into the air per day, some resistant to human antibiotics. Hog farms in North Carolina also emit some 300 tons of nitrogen into the air every day as ammonia gas, much of which falls back to earth and deprives lakes and streams of oxygen, stimulating algal blooms and killing fish."
And in January, the world’s largest pork processor, Smithfield Foods, said it would phase out confinement of pigs in metal crates over the next decade.
"America's Top Pork Producer (Smithfield Foods) churns out a sea of waste that has destroyed rivers, killed millions of fish, and generated one of the largest fines in EPA history. Welcome to the dark side of the other white meat."
* "Smithfield Foods, the largest and most profitable pork processor in the world, killed 27 million hogs last year. That's a number worth considering. A slaughter-weight hog is 50% heavier than a person. The logistical challenge of processing that many pigs each year is roughly equivalent to butchering and boxing the entire human populations of NY, L.A., Chicago, Houston, Philladelphia, Phoenix, S.A., San Diego, Dallas, San Jose, Detroit, Indianapolis, Jacksonville, San Francisco, Columbus, Austin, Memphis, Baltimore, Fort Worth, Charlotte, El Paso, Milwaukee, Seattle, Boston, Denver, Lousiville, D.C., Nashville, Las Vegas, Portland, Oklahoma City, and Tucson.
* "Hogs produce three times more excrement than human beings do. The 500,000 pigs at a single Smithfield subsidiary in Utah generate more fecal matter each year than the 1.5 million inhabitants of Manhattan."
* "The excrement of Smithfield hogs is ... probably closer to radioactive waste than organic manure." ... "Smithfield's pigs live by the hundred or thousands in warehouselike barns, in rows of wall-to-wall pens." ... "Forty fully grown 250-lb male hogs often occupy a pen the size of a tiny apartment. They trample each other to death. There is no sunlight, straw, fresh air or earth. The floors are slatted to allow excrement to fall into the catchment pit under the pens, but many things besides excrement can wind up in the pits: afterbirths, piglets, accidentally crushed by their mothers, old batteries, broken bottles of insecticide, antibiotic syringes, stillborn pigs - any thing small engouh toe fit through the foot-wide pipes that drain the pits."
* "Factory pigs are infused with a huge range of antibiotics and vaccines, and are doused with insecticides. Without these compounds - oxytetracycline, draxxin, ceftiofur, tiamulin - disease would likely kill them. Thus factory-farm pigs remain in a state of dying until they're slaughtered. When a pig nearly ready to be slaughtered grows ill, workers sometimes shoot it up with as many drugs as necessary to get it to the slaughterhouse under its own power. As long as the pig remains ambulatory, it can be legally killed and sold as meat."
* "The drugs Smithfield administers to its pigs, of course, exit its hog houses in pig shit. ... Each gram of hog shit can contain as much as 100 million fecal coliform bacteria." This shit makes it into holding ponds or lagoons. "The area around a single slaughterhouse can contain hundreds of lagoons, some of which run thirty feet deep. The liquid in them is not brown. The interactions between the bacteria and blood and afterbirths and stillborn piglets and urine and excrement and chemicals and drugs turn the lagoons pink." This shit has the ability to seep through the liners and spread and ferment. This can seep into nearby waters and kill fish. ... "A river that receives a lot of waste from an industrial hog farm begins to die quickly. Toxins and microbes can kill plants and animals outright; the waste itself consumes available oxygen and suffocates fish and aquatic animals; and the nutrients in the pig shit produce algal blooms that also deoxygenate the water."
* The 67yo Chairman of Smithfield Foods, Joseph Luter III, lives on Park Avenue in Manhattan.
* "The industry has long made generous campaign contributions to politicians responsible for regulating hog farms. ... North Carolina "has consistently failed to employ enough inspectors to ensure that hog farms are complying with environmental standards."
* "Studies have shown that lagoons emit hundreds of different volatile gases into the atmosphere, including ammonia, methane, carbon dioxide and hydrogen sulfide. A single lagoon releases many millions of bacteria into the air per day, some resistant to human antibiotics. Hog farms in North Carolina also emit some 300 tons of nitrogen into the air every day as ammonia gas, much of which falls back to earth and deprives lakes and streams of oxygen, stimulating algal blooms and killing fish."
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