ANOTHER DARK CHOCOLATE BENEFIT

"A few squares of dark chocolate every day may cut the risk of serious heart disease, a new study by a team from University Hospital in Zurich has shown. But chocolate lovers should be aware that only small daily quantities of high cocoa dark chocolate score health points. Milk and white chocolate don't offer much more than calories." Of course, mainstream journalists will again miss this distinction and proffer milk chocolate as part of the 'healthy' solution. Clearly, it ain't.

I'LL JUST SWITCH TO FISH XVIII

The Chicago Tribune has blown the mercury-contamination story wide open with a multipart series based on an in-depth investigation of several types of fish. Here's the lede to "Toxic risk on your plate":

In one of the nation's most comprehensive studies of mercury in commercial fish, testing by the newspaper showed that a variety of popular seafood was so tainted that federal regulators could confiscate the fish for violating food safety rules.

The testing also showed that mercury is more pervasive in fish than what the government has told the public, making it difficult for consumers to avoid the problem, no matter where they shop.

And the main story continues: "The Tribune's investigation reveals a decades-long pattern of the U.S. government knowingly allowing millions of Americans to eat seafood with unsafe levels of mercury."

In another story, "U.S. safety net in tatters," the Tribune lays the problem directly at the feet of industry cronyism (that sound familiar?): "Seafood shoppers are at risk for mercury exposure as regulators ignore their own experts, issue flawed warnings and set policies aiding industry."

You can read the whole thing here. Or you can simply take all the warnings those of us who have already been advising against the "nutritional bargain" of fish, and triple them.

JAPAN LIFTS BEEF BAN

After much wrangling and more than a year during which US officials insisted the lifting of the ban was just around the corner, Japan has lifted its 2-year-old ban on US beef.

Story on new US Mad Cow case that officials "forgot" to mention during negotiations in 5... 4... 3...

THE GREATEST NO-SHOW ON EARTH

Say what you will (and I have) about PETA and some of their hamhanded, and frankly misguided, campaigns - but there's one organization that makes them look not only angelic but completely on the ball. That's Ringling Bros and Barnum & Bailey Circus, which not only infiltrated the organization with professional spies, but has shown such contempt for the courts in the lawsuit PETA subsequently filed that Ringling head Kenneth Feld has now been publicly chewed out by the judge for withholding crucial information in the case.

"A judge issued sanctions against the owner of Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus for filing late and incomplete documents in a lawsuit that claims that the owner had established a spy operation against animal-rights groups.

Based on the portions of the 30-page document revealed during Thursday's hearing, it appears to spell out the company's plan for dealing with circus protests by animal-rights groups. The plan calls for efforts to discredit PETA and other animal-rights groups and to seek ways to undermine PETA's status as a nonprofit organization.

Circuit Judge David Stitt said Feld should have turned over the documents long ago. He ordered Feld to turn over an unredacted copy of the documents by Monday and to turn over any other documents related to the company's Animal Issues Department."

LIKE A CRACK HOUSE, BUT WITH MORE FECES

Of course factory farms are a nightmare for animals, but remember how many human lives are also adversely affected by the animal exploitation (not to mention ecosystems, of course).

A lawyer for the neighbors group Centerville Cares, called Maple Leaf Dairy "the environmental equivalent of a neighborhood crack house." These aren't tree-hugging granola-cruncers who are complaining, they're the people who have to live with the crap (literally) from this runaway industry.

PODJACKING

Allison Geiger of ClubVeg forwarded this to me, and it was the first I'd heard of the phenomenon. But it seems seminal vegan podcaster Erik Marcus is a high-profile victim of a new practice of hijacking RSS feeds by seeding them in different directories with a go-between URL. The users don't notice the difference but the hijacker can, once the listener base is built up, extort the podcaster on the threat of closing down all the bogus subscriptions. Check it out, and if you have an RSS feed, make sure it's correctly represented in all the major directories.

DAD TAKES SON HUNTING, SHOOTS HIM

I don't have the stomach or the heart to do the round-up of hunting accidents that inevitably heralds the opening of the season, but let this one stand in for the barbarity of this entire enterprise:

The father of a 10-year-old killed in a hunting accident said the boy was shot as the two descended a hill and the elder man slipped. The shotgun he was carrying went off, striking the boy in the back.

The father, Raymond F. Libby Jr., asked his son, Raymond F. Libby III, if he was hit, and his answer "yes" would be the last word the father would hear him say.

While I grieve for the father, the boy's death is not just an outrageous travesty but an allegory for the practice of modern-day hunting: The son's life is outweighed by the importance of loyalty to archaic macho tradition - a tradition of killing, which, not surprisingly, often backfires on the killer in more ways than one. It is absolutely pathetic that this still goes on in a supposedly civilized America.

VEGAN DIET LEADS TO DEATH

...at age 95, in the case of Donald Watson, the founder of the Vegan Society and coiner of the word "vegan." We owe him a lot for blazing the trail, and I don't want to be too irreverent, but in today's mainstream media climate such a spin isn't that far-fetched.

ELEPHANTS AND ZOOS: THE TIPPING POINT

The current controversy at the Philadelphia Zoo over possibly ending their elephant exhibit may be a tipping point for the national debate on elephants and zoos. What I mean is that when one zoo courageously closes its elephant house out of concern for the animals, that's an anomaly. When a couple zoos do so, it's just mildly interesting. We're now at "mild trend" level with a handful of zoos wrestling with the elephant question, and if one of the nation's most venerable and high-profile zoos throws in with the rest, it could soon get to the point where the story now becomes the diminishing number of zoos that are still stubbornly hanging onto this anachronism of cruelty.

I really can't see this going any direction other than forward, with the only question being whether it will continue to gather momentum or whether there will be fits and starts over the next couple years. But let's face it, the case is incontrovertible. There's no true advantage to elephants in becoming slaves to human entertainment, and talk of "conservation" is an obvious smokescreen: As soon as the issue of "conserving" the elephants out of public view arises, it's clear that profit is the real concern. Note in this story on the Philly situation ("Philadelphia Zoo May End Elephant Exhibit Because of Shortfall"):

Some zoo officials are resolved to keep their elephants. The Birmingham Zoo in Alabama, which has had Mona for more than 50 years, plans a $15 million expansion that will add waterfalls and tree canopies on 20 acres for more elephants. "Hiding them in a sanctuary doesn't do it,'' said William Foster, the zoo's chief executive. "They need to be seen.''

"Need"? In what way do the elephants "need" to be seen? How does being seen benefit them? Do you perhaps mean, "they need to be monetized"?

Similarly, in yet another example of the National Zoo cluelessness as to its animals' health issues, there's an elephant there now, Toni, who is receiving treatment for arthritis in her legs. "The zoo said in September that if the condition worsens, she might have to be euthanized -- a possibility that has prompted two animal rights groups to push to have Toni moved to an elephant sanctuary, where she would have more room to exercise and be on softer ground." Well, OK, sounds good, except a zoo official "said a sanctuary is not the answer for Toni, who needs constant medical care. He does not want to separate her from the only elephants she has known." Well, yeah, except "euthanizing" her is just about by definition separating her from them, as well as from other things. Besides, it's a false dilemma - why separate them? Send all the freakin' elephants to the same sanctuary. Problem solved!

MAD COW IN MILK?

"Cause of mad cow disease may be found in milk," blares this Globe and Mail article from Canada, and although that's a little stripped-down as a summary of a complex study, it gets to the point, especially for vegetarians who aren't vegan. Whether or not there's 'as much suffering in a glass of milk as in a pound of steak,' there just may be a soupcon of Mad Cow in there as well. Worth it?

SOME 'CARBS' REALLY ARE BAD

If by "carbs," of course, you mean carbon monoxide, a known hazard to human health. I was aware this gas was being used to artifially color some types of fish, but now it emerges that this is common practice for meat in general. And one food producer wants it stopped: "A food and spice company wants the FDA to prohibit the use of carbon monoxide in meat packaging, saying the practice, done to keep the meat fresh-looking, can hide spoilage." Note also that the FDA "accepted the practice as safe last year in response to requests from two other food companies. It is outlawed in Europe."

But gosh, why would anyone want to put such a noxious substance - even temporarily - on food we're about to eat? "The use of carbon monoxide in fresh-meat packaging produces an artificially intense, persistent red color in meat that can simulate the look of fresh meat and mask the natural signs of aging and spoilage that consumers depend on in making safe food choices, including browning and telltale odors." Ohhhhhh.

WHY OLIVE OIL IS GOOD FOR YOU

Relatively speaking, of course. I know there's a "no oil for blood" contingent out there, but if you're going to consume oils, it seems like olive oil is the way to go. And now there's science to explain why. A recent study suggests that "virgin olive oil may be better for the heart than seed oils because it is a natural juice that does not go through the processing needed to extract oil from seeds, such as sunflowers and soybeans. Therefore, the oil retains more of its original nutrients."

To put it another way: "'It could be that the beneficial effect of the Mediterranean diet on cardiovascular disease and arteriosclerosis depends on the synergistic effects of the different nutrients that constitute complete foods and, as an example, virgin olive oil is more than fat because it is a real juice with other healthy micronutrients,' says researcher Francisco Pérez Jiménez, MD, PhD, from the Reina Sofia University Hospital in Córdoba, Spain." Well, that makes sense, I guess. Click through to read more about the nitty-gritty of phenolic compounds and how they do that voodoo that they do so well.

PLAYING CATCH-UP ON THE E.COLI RECALLS

Here's a recall I missed when I was busy with other things. If you're just hearing about this and you bought the beef in question, well, sorry I didn't get word to you sooner. But just for the record... Quaker Maid Meats Inc. on Nov. 1st said it would voluntarily recall 47 tons of frozen ground beef patties for possible E. coli contamination. The bad meat went to Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Virginia and Wisconsin.

WELCOME VEGETARIAN VOICE READERS

Funny thing - I wrote two pieces for Vegetarian Voice many months ago and got them to add a tagline referring people here. But the issue was delayed and delayed and just came out last week. So if you came here from there, be patient, as Meat Facts will return to hot topics about vegetarianism and animals later this very week. But in the meantime, be sure to check out something that wasn't even conceived back when that issue was planned - VEGCAST, the veggie podcast!

Thank you for your prompt cooperation in this matter.

VEGCAST #6

It's up and ready for downloading (27 MB file). First of two Thanksgiving shows. Gotta run and catch a plane. More later.

UPDATE 11/14: Here's the summary from the feed: "This is the first of two Thanksgiving editions of Vegcast. We start with a soothing song from Maggie Pierce and E.J. then move into our feature interview with Karen Davis, head of United Poultry Concerns and author of More Than a Meal - The Turkey in History, Myth, Ritual and Reality. Along with a Science Fact and a promo for Bloodthirsty Vegetarians, there is certainly a full menu on Vegcast, the veggie podcast, bringing you the sound of vegetarianism since July of this year."

IS HEATHER MILLS MCCARTNEY VEGAN?

I only phrase it as a question because this source that has the scoop also casually calls Linda McCartney a vegan, which she wasn't. Um, Mr. Reporter, you do know what "vegan" means, right?

OBLIGATORY MEAT RECALL POST

Here's a recall of nearly six tons of chicken products for listeria, one that I didn't even hear about till today, even though the listeria was discovered on Friday and announced on Saturday, when everyone is riveted to their respective news sources.

VEGCAST #5 IS HERE

A spooky Hallowe'en edition of Vegcast, the Veggie Podcast, includes some truly scary news about avian flu, a whimsical song about a bag of candy, and a feature interview with Neal Barnard, the head of PCRM. While known for his groundbreaking work in vegetarian research and advocacy, Barnard also has a band, Verdun, that has to be heard to be believed. Plus, watch out for those Bloodthirsty Vegetarians. You can listen right away or head over to the VegCast site for more podcast goodness.

I know, I know, it seems like this is only a blog about a podcast. It's crunch time right now, and will be for the next couple weeks. But I'll be sure to get a couple things in here.

MONEY! YEAH, THAT'S THE TICKET

Here's what Newsday says: Rx for avian flu: money - Its spread can be contained by paying farmers whose sick birds are killed. Yeah, that's a good long-term strategy. Keep on raising birds not just to be needlessly killed for food, but to be needlessly killed for nothing. I'm sure that'll stop the flu, as well as whatever the next zoonotic disease is on the horizon...

MOCKING MEAT

The Washington Post has a cute piece about mock meats, which contains this tasty morsel: "There is wizardry afoot in a large number of Washington area restaurants, where the skill for counterfeiting meat has become rather sophisticated. ... Mutton isn't dressing up as lamb, soy is."

Except that other than seafood, almost all mock meats are derived from seitan, not soy. It's not a big deal, it just brought home to me that "soy" is becoming a false generic like "kleenex," in this case meaning "that non-meat, healthy-type food."

But who am I to complain? The book from which this blog takes its address has almost nothing whatsoever to do with soy. No, really.