Tidbits

CHICO THE LAMB
I read this story today in the Farm Sanctuary "Thank You" email and just about cried when I saw how cute this damn lamb is.
His name is CHICO and he was rescued by two girls who got to know him and couldn't deal with seeing him off to slaughter.
"Before leaving, the two friends wrote letters to the camp, urging the director to spare his life and release him to their care. They had not heard back from the camp by the time the girl and her family came to the shelter for a visit. Thankfully, though, our education department staff learned of Chico's plight from the girl, and Farm Sanctuary eagerly agreed to help save him.
Not long after, the farm camp agreed to relinquish guardianship. Chico was brought to the shelter from the camp in the family mini-van, riding in the back with the two girls, who comforted him the whole way. Their caring words assured him that he would be going somewhere very special, and that no harm would ever come to him. Excited for the first few hours of the drive, he bleated curiously and looked out the windows. By the end, he was sleeping peacefully in the back. The life Chico was meant to live had finally begun, and the girls learned a very important lesson. Speaking up for farm animals in need can make a true impact that can forever change their lives for the better. Now, Chico's long life can be full of salt licks and head scratches, and romps through the rolling fields at Farm Sanctuary with his other rescued sheep friends."
Read the full story here: http://www.farmsanctuary.org/adopt/rescue_chico.htm



NUTRITION FOR YER EARZ
I know this is a food politics blog but.....I was hiking today with my dogs listening to my ipod. I thought about all of the confused folk out there who will get 20 ipod gift cards and have no idea what to buy with them. I have a mix of suggestions, a.k.a my favorite records of 2006.
In no particular order, here are some winners for you to consider: (band, album name, description)
1. White Rose Movement, KICK, for those who like to boogie to brit rock electro with a 'tude.
2. The French Kicks, TWO THOUSAND, mellow indie rock with feeling.
3. Mew, AND THE GLASS HANDED KITES, a more theatrical version of Pinback - and yes, he does pull of the vocals live....its AMAZING!
4. Sound Team, MOVIE MONSTER, for those that love Spoon or the Strokes
5. The Rapture, PIECES OF THE PEOPLE WE LOVE, just plain good. Emotion and fun rolled into one. Again, the vocals are impressive and lyrics will make you cry if you really listen!
6. TV on the Radio, RETURN TO COOKIE MOUNTAIN, this is wacky in the best way. Captain Beefheart of today.
7. Grizzly Bear, YELLOW HOUSE, mellow and impressive tunes for the coolest of kids only.
8. Beck, THE INFORMATION, every song on here (except for one that sounds like Eddie Vedder took over the microphone) is good.
9. Swan Lake, BEAST MOANS, okay, the first song on here is just insanely great. The mix of sounds makes my brain overload on happy juice.
10. Human Television, LOOK AT WHO YOU ARE TALKING TO, kinda Red House Painters-ish, just plain pleasant as heck.



Last item of the day: SALMON FARMING IN CHILE
I know salmon is downright delicious. It used to be my favorite when I ate fishies. I suppose I did not know the extent of what it takes to feed these carnivores?! What is odd is that the farmed salmon eat WILD caught fish. (huh? The salmon are good enough to eat wild caught goodies but humans should eat the farmed junk?) It takes 3 pounds of wild fish to produce 1 pound of salmon! If you add the fish caught to make oil added to the meal, the figure is much higher. Chile is home to the largest unchecked salmon farming industry. Many Chilean farmed salmon are raised in high densities, often with 100,000 to 200,000 packed into pens where they swim around in a poopy antibiotic soup. This leads to major disease breakout which means more antibiotics are necessary, resulting in antibiotic-resistant strains of disease. The vicious cycle continues as more powerful antibiotics are needed to fight these diseases. Other marine life also ingest uneaten pellets meant for the salmon in addition to some fecal matter from the salmon. Chile's salmon production of 600,000 tons of fish sewage is equivalent to that of greater Santiago - Chile's largest city housing 6 million people. EEEWW!
Salmon feces and uneaten pellets on the ocean floor release arge quantities of nitrogen into the water, in turn exacerbating red tides (marine algal blooms whose toxins harm marine life and make shellfish poisonous to eat.)
I wish I could recommend safe salmon but I don't know if I can!? If you want more info about the ocean and what we need to do to save it from turning into a pool of poop check out the following: www.oceana.org

Should I ALWAYS buy organic?

Kirsten Johnson Painting via Cloud King

I frequently shuffle through the produce section looking for primarily local but also organic goodies to bring home. Most often then not, organic items are more expensive than conventional. Surprisingly, organic selections are sometimes NOT necessary when it comes to certain fruits and veggies. Back in February, Consumer Reports put out a helpful piece on what items should always be organic purchases while others are not worth the extra money.

BUY THESE ORGANIC WHEN AVAILABLE:
What Apples, bell peppers, celery, cherries, imported grapes, nectarines, peaches, pears, potatoes, red raspberries, spinach, and strawberries.

Why The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s own lab testing reveals that even after washing, some fruits and vegetables consistently carry much higher levels of pesticide residue than others. Based on an analysis of more than 100,000 U.S. government pesticide test results, researchers at the Environmental Working Group (EWG), a research and advocacy organization based in Washington, D.C., have developed the “dirty dozen” fruits and vegetables, above, that they say you should always buy organic if possible because their conventionally grown counterparts tend to be laden with pesticides. Among fruits, nectarines had the highest percentage testing positive for pesticide residue. Peaches and red raspberries had the most pesticides (nine) on a single sample. Among vegetables, celery and spinach most often carried pesticides, with spinach having the highest number (10) on a single sample. (For more information on pesticide levels for other types of produce, go to www.foodnews.org .)

What you’ll pay About 50 percent more on average for organic produce, but prices vary based on the item and the time of year. A Consumer Reports price survey conducted in the New York City area in October 2005 found a premium of 24 percent on organic strawberries and 33 percent on grapes and spinach. Organic Idaho potatoes cost 101 percent more than conventional. When you buy organic produce in season at a farmer’s market or directly from local providers, however, you might avoid paying a premium at all.

What Meat, poultry, eggs, and dairy.

Why You greatly reduce the risk of exposure to the agent believed to cause mad cow disease and minimize exposure to other potential toxins in non-organic feed. You also avoid the results of production methods that use daily supplemental hormones and antibiotics, which have been linked to increased antibacterial resistance in humans.

What you’ll pay Often double the price of nonorganic, though you might save money by buying direct from local farms. For instance, in December 2005 the Organic Trade Assocation reported that in Iowa, organic ground beef was available for $4.25 a pound and beef tenderloin for $16 a pound.

What Baby food.

Why Children’s developing bodies are especially vulnerable to toxins and they may be at risk of higher exposure. Baby food is often made up of condensed fruits or vegetables, potentially concentrating pesticide residues. Michelle Faist, a spokeswoman for Del Monte, says that even though its baby foods are not organic, pesticides and heavy metals are kept below government-recommended levels.

What you’ll pay Varies widely by store.
IF PRICE IS NO OBJECT, buy THESE ORGANIC:
What Asparagus, avocados, bananas, broccoli, cauliflower, sweet corn, kiwi, mangos, onions, papaya, pineapples, and sweet peas.

Why Multiple pesticide residues are, in general, rarely found on conventionally grown versions of these fruits and vegetables, according to research by the EWG. So if you’re buying organic only for health reasons, you may not want to pay 22 percent extra for organic bananas, let alone more than 150 percent for organic asparagus--the premiums we found in our price survey of several New York City area supermarkets.

What Breads, oils, potato chips, pasta, cereals, and other packaged foods, such as canned or dried fruit and vegetables.

Why Although these processed products may have lower levels of contaminants in them, they offer limited health value because processing tends to wash away important nutrients. The process of milling organic whole grains into flour, for example, eliminates fiber and vitamins, though they are sometimes added back in. The more a food is processed, the less health value its organic version offers, especially in products such as cereals and pastas with labels that say “made with organic ingredients.” Read the list of ingredients and you might find that while the flour is organic, the eggs aren’t. The processed foods with the most added value are labeled “100% Organic” and “USDA organic.” Price premiums vary. In our survey, organic Heinz ketchup cost 25 percent more than the conventional product; organic minestrone soup was only 8 percent more.

FYI: Wheat seems to be no different in nutritional value when conventional OR organic.

Don't Bother buying the following ORGANIC:
What Seafood.

Why Whether caught in the wild or farmed, fish can be labeled organic, despite the presence of contaminants such as mercury and PCBs. Some wild fish such as bluefish are very high in PCBs, and tuna and swordfish are laced with mercury. The USDA has not yet developed organic certification standards for seafood. In the meantime, producers are allowed to make their own organic claims as long as they don’t use “USDA” or “certified organic” logos. California, however, recently passed a law that prohibits the use of any organic labeling on fish and other seafood until either state or federal certification standards are established.

What Cosmetics.

Why Unless a personal-care product consists primarily of organic agricultural ingredients, such as aloe vera gel, it’s pointless to buy organic in this category. Most cosmetics contain a mix of ingredients, and USDA regulations allow shampoos and body lotions to carry an organic label even when water is the primary ingredient, Hydrosol may also be listed as a primary ingredient in organic products even though it may be primarily water infused with only a small fraction of organic plant material. While the USDA claims that organic labeled-cosmetics follow the same standards as food, we have found indiscriminate use of synthetic ingredients and violations of food-labeling standards. “Many of the ingredients in personal-care products didn’t grow out of the ground but in test tubes--they’re chemicals,” says Lauren Sucher, director of public affairs at the EWG. Just because a product has the word “organic” or “natural” in its name doesn’t necessarily mean it’s safer. Only 11 percent of ingredients found in personal-care products, organic or not, have ever been screened for safety. In fact, when the EWG conducted its own safety rating of these products (available at www.ewg.org ), scoring them on a scale of 0, for those posing lowest level of concern, to 5, for the highest concern due to potentially unsafe ingredients, those with scores of 4 or more included benign-sounding Naturessence All Day Moisture Cream.

Weird Fish Restaurant in SF RULES!

Last night we oiled up our insides at Weird Fish where VEGANS, VEGETARIANS and FISHY folk can mingle and enjoy exciting dishes. As a vegan, I must admit when there is something fried on a menu AND it happens to be animal free I get super excited. For example, we ordered fried YO YO's as an appetizer, which are fried pickles! Oh so tasty and unique. I had a hard time choosing between the sweet potato taco with the option of ALMOND CHEESE as a topping with rice and beans OR the fried, marinated tofu OR the Po' Boy (portabello slices fried with slaw and some cocktail sauce.) I decided on the po' boy without slaw (it had some mayo in it) and the roll and sauce was so tasty that I didn't miss the slaw much. I am sure it tasted even better with it though. I also ordered a side of fries (half russets, half sweet potato) which were perfectly salted and crispy. As a pregnant lady, I have to pass on the tempting wine/beer list but the ginger lemonade tasted very lemony and not so ginger-y which I like. Not too sweet, not too sour, it was a perfect complement to the salty, deliciously fried food.
I cannot express how nice it is to have more than one choice of items on a menu to be thrilled about. I totally bypassed the salad section and didn't even have to consider those to get something that fit my dietary needs. I love salad, don't get me wrong, but sometimes on a cold ass night in San Francisco, all you want is warm comfort food served by super nice people that are not too pushy or sassy. The host, under lots of pressure, brought the waiting folk drinks and didn't seem at all stressed about the number of people waiting to get in outnumbering the total number of tables inside!! The hostess I called earlier that night was down to earth, really great....I felt like I was talking to a friend whose house I was coming to later on for dinner!
The tables are beautiful, the decor is simple and nautical but elegant at the same time. The bathroom is cute and the sign out front with the horse/fishmaid is oh so mystical. The menu's are well done, easy to read and informative as they alert customers of the sustainable methods practiced by Weird Fish. Organic and local foods are used to provide customers with the best tasting food of the season. YAY! Go check it out:
WEIRD FISH, 2193 Mission St., San Francisco,CA,94110
Oh, and you can call ahead to put your name on a list either 20 minutes ahead of time (for 2) or about 35 minutes for a table of four....no reservations though.

Clean Schemes

Its been a long hard road to find environmentally friendly and generally healthy alternatives to the usual household cleaners. Since I became pregnant, I insisted that all cleaners I had were to be tossed out and replaced with "natural" or "safer" products. A friend of mine named Jody who is a big motivator from across the country asked me to write a bit about this chemically laden problem.
Most of us basically use what Mom did when we were kids. Obviously Mom knows best! Sorry Mom, but formulas for natural alternatives to heavy cleaners are easy to find and not expensive. Being a wee-bit phobic of germs, I sometimes worry that dirty stuff is still lurking on my hands or floor after using the gentle, non-toxic options, but I think I will opt for germs instead of cancer.
The following is an overview of junk found in popular household cleaners that should scare you a bit, found from the Bi-O-Kleen website.

DISINFECTANTS: (example, Lysol) The most common chemical used to kill bacteria are phenol (a particularly hazardous class of chemicals), quaternary ammonia, pine oil, and sodium hypochlorite, otherwise known as chlorine bleach. Using chlorine bleach is particularly hazardous because they react with ammonia or acids to release toxic gases. There are thousands of accidents each year caused from mixing bleach with other cleaning products. These are all corrosive and toxic chemicals.

TUB & TILE CLEANERS: (um, the scrubbing bubbles you see on TV) These products dissolve dirt without scrubbing. The reason they can do that is because they usually contain glycol ethers or chlorine bleach. This is yet another strong and hazardous chemical which is used in most of today’s bathroom cleaners for mold and mildew. The warning label may read something like this, "Not recommended for use by persons with heart conditions or chronic respiratory problems". "Do not mix with acids, ammonia or other household cleaners". "Use only in well ventilated areas". So what are glycol ethers? Well, they have been known to cause birth defects in laboratory animals (not tested by Bi-O-Kleen), and pregnant or nursing women should avoid using these kinds of products. They can damage red blood cells or bone morrow, causing anemia. And using these products in small confined spaces, such as bathrooms, makes some inhalation of glycol ether inevitable. Like chlorine bleach, it is readily taken in and absorbed through the skin, even when no damage to the skin itself occurs (that is why you can taste a lot of these products in your mouth).

TOILET BOWL CLEANERS: (should be sold with gloves, mask, and eye protection) There are a variety of toilet bowl cleaners out on the market. You have liquids, crystals, and tablets. The most hazardous cleaners are usually the liquids and crystals often marked DANGER. They contain strong acids and are toxic and corrosive. They can burn skin and eyes on contact.

DRAIN CLEANERS: (drain-oh oh) Accidental consumption, even the smallest amount, can cause severe damage or death. Inhalation and skin contact can cause damage to the skin, eyes and lungs. Drain cleaners are another temporary solution because they often end up damaging and corroding drain pipes, making for a bigger mess in the future.

LAUNDRY DETERGENTS: Commercial laundry products contain most of these ingredients including: metasilicates, borax, free silica, cationic fabric softeners, borine, petrochemical surfactants, toxic algaecides and sanitizers, artificial fragrance and coloring, and fillers. When you are washing your clothes with these kinds of products, you are wearing them against your skin all day, absorbing any left over residue your wash did not rinse away. These cleaner are also hard on your clothes, washing machine and dryer, leaving residues behind that build up each time you wash causing corrosion of washing machines and dryers, and fading and thinning of clothes.

Not only the chemicals present problems, what about the animal testing? Corrosive products dousing bunnies and mice? How does that feel in your eye lil guy? Check this website where you can type in product names and find out if they test or not.
http://www.navs.org/site/PageServer?pagename=ain_pt_whois
Here is a list of some products tested on animals:

BRILLO PRODUCTS - Clean Shine - Country Air - Crystal Shine - Fabulous - Fine Care - Laundry Soft - Nice N' Fluffy - Plumbers Aid - Power Scrub - Swiss Pine - Tile Action - Touch of Glass - Xtra detergent - Brita
Clorox products - Combat - EverClean - EverFresh - Formula 409 - Fresh Step - Glad products - GladWare - Lestoil - Liquid-Plumr - Pine-Sol - S.O.S. - Scoop Away - - Soft Scrub - Tilex- Tuffy

After trying many brands, I FINALLY found one that I feel completely devoted to and highly recommend. Bi-O-Kleen is my favorite overall.
They have amazing automatic dishwashing powder (lasts FOREVER) for your dishwasher that completely cleans my glasses, no spots left behind.
Also, their clothing detergent ROCKS! Its the best and also is concentrated and a great deal.
I recommend all of their products but specifically the above are my favorites.
Here is their website, I buy their stuff at WHOLE FOODS.

http://www.bi-o-kleen.com/products.htm

Take it from me, a germ phobic chic who actually enjoys cleaning.....go natural!

Global Green Party Observations & Frustrations

A picture speaks 1000 words.
This past Tuesday, I was lucky enough to attend the Global Green Ecofabulous party in San Francisco. Global Green's mission is clean transportation, building green cities and schools, promoting recycling and clean water. As a VEGAN, these parties are always an opportunity to meet like-minded people AND maybe Orlando Bloom (I did get to see his cute lil' face close up) and Leonardo DiCaprio who hosted the event. Shamefully, Leo never even emerged from the VIP room upstairs. I did notice someone across the street covering up the huge Victoria's Secret picture of Giselle (his ex-girlfriend) in her bra. I saw the picture at the beginning of the night....about an hour later I see some woman placing a huge piece of butcher paper or something over the picture. Hilarious!

Complaint number 1: On the "green carpet," I noticed quite a few patrons of the party donning fur lined hoods and collars on their coats and plenty of leather. Most people pulled up in taxi's but some in their large SUV's and Towncar limo's. Two of the girls were self proclaimed "party crashers" who attend celebrity strewn events in San Francisco and write about it on some website. They obviously had no clue what kind of party this was because they were all decked out in their furs. Gross. Here they are, sweet talking a man out front.


Complaint number 2: The party was catered by WHOLE FOODS (where I always shop for groceries and most of my personal supplies.) I suppose Global Green thought this was going far enough. The menu consisted of: chicken skewers, lil' roast beef sandwiches, tons of brie cheese and some other cheese not sliced, just chunked on the plate. There were bruschetta, one with tomato and cheese, the other with salmon and cheese. Another plate consisted of pineapple, strawberries, kiwi, melons and some sliced baguette that was chewy and not good by itself. But, this was all I could eat being vegan and pregnant. I ate a few bites of fruit and bread as to keep from passing out. They had Hint water which I liked. That was the only positive on the food and drink side. May I remind you that none of the fruits listed above are in season. Let's guess how far those fruits had to travel to get to the party. UM, clean transportation huh? Those Costa Rican pineapples had to be transported by plane and truck which is clearly a HUGE waste. Why not teach your patrons a lesson on LOCAL SEASONAL foods!?! There are plenty of choices when it comes to locally produced cheese. Why not inform these people who are learning about GREEN CONCEPTS why its important to consider not only YOUR mode of transportation but how far your food travels to get to your plate?? OR, teach them about "fabulous" vegan foods? Millennium Restaurant would have been so honored to feature some of their foods at this event. They are strictly vegan and unbelievably delicious!

Complaint number 3: The fashion show disappointed me. There was one dress i loved. It will run you $3200. That sucks. The rest of the clothing was uninspired and really just run of the mill. I admire anyone willing to put up with the fashion industry, especially those using eco-friendly fabrics, but I expected more I guess.

I did meet someone very sweet named Maria who runs a clothing company called Marfar Designs. She makes tee's made from hemp and organic cotton. We discussed how difficult it is to meet people in San Francisco and that everyone is so damn clique-y. You gotta prove yourself to these Franciscans before they will give you a chance. Well, good luck Maria and Go VEGAN! (She guiltily admitted her leather boots were uh, real.)

Last but not least, thanks to the guy in the background of the top photo. He proved why a percentage of the population of environmentalists immediately turn people off from learning about the cause. He tried convincing me of creating "positive realities" in order to really turn this world around. So vague, so hippy-dippy that I honestly was ready to puke. I promise we are not all like that. I would never even call myself an environmentalist. My favorite quote of his was in response to a story I told him about giving a class I taught a list of the factory farms to avoid when shopping at the grocery store. Here it is: "You see, I totally disagree with that because you are giving them something they CAN'T buy instead giving them a list of some really GREAT FACTORY FARMS!" Aw, hell. Walk away Keri, walk away.

Desensitization

As a professional dog trainer, I often use the term "desensitize" to describe the process of the dog recognizing something or someone to a point that no longer yields a reaction albeit barking, crying, jumping up, biting. As a new vegetarian or vegan, the usual reaction to others eating meat or questioning WHY they cut animals out of their diets is a visceral one. I would get really fired up, defensive or even cry when people would challenge me. I clearly needed desensitization. Its not something that happens overnight. After about 8 years of vegetarianism, 3 years of veganism, I know that the calm and knowledgeable approach usually makes much more of an impression than a "passionate " one. I think PASSION is a given when you are vegan. Cutting out all animal products including leather, dairy, all meats, certain sugars (ridiculous but most run of the mill sugars like C&H are processed through animal bones to remove the naturally occurring brown sugar cane color) and more speaks for itself when it comes to being dedicated to a cause.
A good example of this calming of the mind/body when it comes to what others choose to do happened yesterday at Whole Foods. My husband Darryl and I had to do some shopping, so I told him to get his lunch and sit and read the paper while I shop because I really don't mind at all. I ran into our neighbors who are vegan (awesome!) and told them to go chat with Darryl as he is eating his short ribs or something up front reading his paper. He has an exciting new job for TESLA MOTORCARS so I knew they would want to hear all about it. He told me later in a faux scolding tone that he was NOT eating short ribs, he had a veggie sandwich with cheese! I was so proud.

Yes, Darryl eats meat. With his new job though, the environment is downright environmentally aware and I notice some changes happening in ME and HIM even though I already think about this subject quite a bit. I try to use my cloth bags when shopping EVERY time, not just once in awhile. Now that I am back on the coffee wagon I bought a mug to bring with me so I don't waste a cup everyday by throwing the paper cup, plastic top AND lil' collar in the trash. I usually get one large shopping bag when I am buying clothes or gifts and put them all in that bag. I eat at home more often on plates instead of using TO GO boxes out at restaurants or grocery stores.
It is amazing how much waste we generate. All the products we use in one day? Write out a list one day, and be prepared to be blown away! Check that list against websites like the National Anti-Vivisection Society for animal testing. Check out what harmful chemicals exist in the cleaners you use at home. Is there trans fats/ hydrogenated oils or high fructose corn syrup in your food? This is just shameful!!! One day at a time, learn a bit about yourself. You'd be surprised at who you really are.

Cow or Pig, NOT Beef or Ham

OR


Adopt a Sanctuary Cow or a Pig Today and Receive the Candle Cafe Cookbook!
http://www.candlecafe.com/cookbook.html
This holiday season, help spread compassion by participating in Farm Sanctuary's Adopt a Farm Animal Project! Whether you are sponsoring an animal for yourself, or giving the gift of sponsorship to a friend or loved one, you will be helping to support a rescued farm animal in need. Plus, for a limited time only, if you sponsor a pig or a cow, you will receive the much-loved Candle Cafe Cookbook as part of your benefits package!
To order, click here or contact FARM SANCTUARY at 607-583-2225 ext. 225, or email sponsorship@farmsanctuary.org.

The CANDLE CAFE RULES! Its in NYC, I usually try to go whenever I am in the area. Their dishes are so satisfying and they have a huge variety of top notch stuff. Some of the best vegan food I have ever had. So sponsor an animal and get the cookbook for nuthin!