Friday, June 27

HIGH-CARB DIET PROLONGS LIFE

"People who closely follow a Mediterranean diet - rich in vegetables, grains and olive oil - live longer than those who don't," says new research involving 22,000 people. "Working with a 10-point scale that gauged adherence to the diet, researchers found that an increase of two points on the scale led to a 25 percent reduction in overall death rates. It also led to a 33 percent reduction in deaths from coronary heart disease, and a 24 percent reduction in deaths from cancer." Those are huge percentages, folks. I know, there's fish in it, but you can replace those Omega-3s with flax and not get the radiation (see below) or mercury.



Thursday, June 26

I'LL JUST SWITCH TO SHRIMP

The prawn industry ... has become a case study in how to destroy the environment and undermine social harmony," sez the Japan Times. But if you're thinking of switching back to the bigger fish, note that Greenpeace research found traces of radioactive waste in salmon on sale in major supermarkets in the UK (via Vegan Porn), and canned tuna turns out to have from twice to four times as much mercury as anyone should be eating, depending on the variety.



BULLFIGHT FIGHT

"A clash between the operator of the Plaza Mexico bullring and lawmakers over the rules governing public events in Mexico City has halted amateur bullfighting this season, which is a training ground for future stars," reports the Houston Chronicle. "Unless the issue is resolved soon, it threatens the regular bullfighting season, scheduled to begin in early November." Oh, nooooooo!!!!
UPDATE 6/30: In another blow to this venerable bloodsport, children under 14 are now banned from attending bullfights in Catalonia, making the "Supporters said they hoped the ban would diminish children's exposure to violence." Ya think?



NOT MILK - AND NOT COHEN

Hey, Robert Cohen's no saint, but it's interesting that this article entitled Not Milk: The Unwholesome Collusion of the USDA, Monsanto, and the U.S. Dairy Industry contains absolutely no mention of the "notmilkman" himself, who has pretty much "owned" this particular story for at least five years. Meanwhile across the pond, Millions of British adults are suffering from serious illness because their bodies are unable to safely digest milk, a husband and wife team of biochemists have claimed. And even if these two scientists are, as charged, somehow confusing lactose intolerance with milk allergies - which is pretty hard to believe - it's interesting that two people who drink milk are suggesting the problem is at least twice as big as previously reported.



Tuesday, June 24

A TALE OF TWO PETAS

I've said it before, but I'll set it down here again: PETA should spend more of its valuable time, energy and reputation on this sort of thing - procuring footage of abuse and publicizing it - and less - wayyyyyyy less - on this sort.