YOU MEAN DAIRY COWS ARE SLAUGHTERED?

Here's one of those interesting cognitive-dissonance things I failed to get when I was a vegetarian, but not vegan: Consuming dairy products is personally paying for the killing of cows. Dairy cows are not only milked dry, but then slaughtered and turned into meat, whether you happen to personally eat that meat or not. And here's a perfect example of how well-appreciated those hard-working cows are: Dairy farmers to slaughter more cows to get prices up. "The National Milk Producers Federation will pay farmers to send nearly 52,000 cows to slaughter over the next couple of months. That will remove 931 million pounds of milk, or 0.55 percent, from the nation's supply, according to the group. This is the second year that the milk group is paying farmers to reduce the amount of milk on the market." Well, at least they're doing it to benefit you, the consumer, so... what's that? Huh? "The dairy reduction effort was one of several factors that helped push milk prices to record highs this year, following 25-year lows the previous year." Oh. OK.

The obligatory contrasting quote comes from Tamiko Thomas, an HSUS animal scientist who says it's a disturbing example of "the callousness of industrialized agriculture," noting the truism that the industry "considers farm animals as expendable." Then there's a priceless rebuttal: "The milk group's Galen disagreed. 'The animals aren't expandable; they're going into the food supply,' he said. 'And they will be used to contribute to the meat supply.'" See? It's not like they're cutting the cows' lives short just to pump up their own profit margin and then throwing them on a landfill or something. Sheesh.

SOUTH BEACH: LOW-CARB? NEVER HEARD OF IT!

Further evidence of "low-carb" circling the drain: The creator of the South Beach Diet is going to great lengths to distance it from Atkins, saying it's not "low-carb" at all. (And more importantly, emphasizing that it's not "high-fat" like Atkins.) "The South Beach diet is no fad, its creator says, rejecting the notion that his eating plan would fizzle out with the rest of the low-carb craze. 'We are not low carb. We are good carb,' Dr. Arthur Agatston." And failing to "endorse the South Beach diet in its entirety," Marion Nestle adds, "It's pretty mainstream, but not totally. To tell people that they can't eat pasta or potatoes is just silly."

NO NEWS IS BAD NEWS

"A year after the first U.S. case of mad cow disease was reported, Sen. Maria Cantwell says the Food and Drug Administration still has not fulfilled its promise to tighten animal feed rules to help prevent future cases." This is almost non-news, a dog-bites-man story - FDA refusing to take the steps that could conceivably end the threat of further BSE cases - but it's worth pointing out now and again in case anyone lapses into the viewpoint that our government is really serious about food safety.

VEGANS ARE VISIONARIES

At least, they're likely to have better vision as they get older - as long as they're eating (and I think most of us are) a lot of dark, leafy greens like kale. This is according to the December issue of the Journal of Nutrition. "New research provides further evidence that substances in kale, spinach and other green vegetables help protect aging eyes from cataracts. In an experiment, investigators found that human eye cells treated with antioxidants called lutein and zeaxanthin showed less damage after being exposed to ultraviolet rays, the sunlight ingredient considered a major contributor to cataracts."

BE AFRAID. BE VERY AFRAID.

The NYT repurposed Hardee's slogan as the headline for its editorial bashing the 1,420-calorie artery-clogging Monster Thickburger, and I'm repurposing it again for this post about how meat can hurt you even if you don't eat it!

Now, we're not talking here about assults with meat by-products (or over meat-eating etiquette) but with meat itself. Tony Carr of Maine managed to seriously burn a store clerk's face with a freshly-microwaved hamburger after getting annoyed by store procedures, and Devlin B. Nelson got so upset about the temperature of a steak-and-cheese sandwich that he threw the sandwich at the manager, then threatened to kill her and blow up the restaurant. (All three new stories via Vegan Porn.)

Is it just me, or does all this overreacting and meat-shoving sound reminiscent of McBeth in the climactic rooftop scene from Scotland, PA? At any rate, it seems like some of these people should try dropping meat for a while and see if that doesn't improve their outlook.

UPDATE 12/17: Another from Vegan Porn: A punk named Ryan Cushing caused a crash that left Victoria Ruvolo in critical condition by heaving a 20-pound turkey through her windshield as the two cars passed each other on a 2-lane highway. Folks, please, we get the point. Meat's dangerous and stupid enough as is, you don't need to gin it up with supplemental violence.

GONE: FISHING

Well, it ain't gone yet, of course, but there a couple of interesting stories by the BBC that I just came across, and let's just say that the bobber is wiggling for now: For one thing, environmental experts in the UK have argued for major, even "radical," fishing bans in many area waters to protect threatened species. For instance: "A scientific report by the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) said no cod should be caught next year in the North Sea, Irish Sea or off the west coast of Scotland because of depleted stocks." So there's commercial fishing - meanwhile, sport fishermen "could find themselves prosecuted under plans to crack down on animal cruelty, a committee of MPs has warned. Sloppy wording of the draft animal welfare bill could leave anglers facing court even though it was not intended, the environment select committee said." Intended or not, making fishermen think twice about the cruelty inherenet in their "sport" seems like a good idea to me.

HAPPY ENDING FOR ELEPHANTS

Despite threats from the American Zoo Association, Winky and Wanda, the aging, arthritic elephants, "will spend their retirement in the foothills of California's Sierra Nevada mountains, away from the cramped, cold Detroit Zoo." Detroit Zoo director Ron Kagan finally reached an agreement with the AZA to send Winky and Wanda to California's Performing Animal Welfare Society sanctuary. But get this - "A break in the impasse came when a test indicated that Wanda either had the endotheliotropic herpes virus or had the antibodies to it. The disease would not be detrimental to her health but could be fatal to young elephants exposed to it." In other words, the AZA only caved because Wanda, the commmodity, was worthless to them. Or that may be their face-saving excuse - either way, it's an unfortunate mentality.

Meanwhile, in San Francisco, new rules could wind up eliminating elephant attractions at that city's zoo. "Elephants must receive hundreds of times more space to live at San Francisco's zoo or not be kept at the facility, city legislators said on Tuesday in legislation that could effectively bar pachyderms for good." Why? Because to get that much space, according to Zoo director Manuel Mollinedo,the zoo would need to raise $17 to $20 million for the new elephant area. And (though this is unspoken) during a period, and in a cultural environment, when the question "why do we need elephants in cages?" is becoming louder and stronger. Then again, there are plenty of reactionary bozos with too much money, so this will be interesting to watch develop.

THE FOLLIES OF BEEF

There's a great show going on at the Supreme Court, as that old "checkoff" program that riled up the pork producers a while back comes up again, now in terms of beef. The question is "whether the government can compel cattle ranchers to pay for an industry marketing program, famous for its 'Beef, It's What's for Dinner' advertisements. The Livestock Marketing Association said meatpackers and processors, who are not required to pay for the checkoff, were benefiting more from the marketing program than ranchers." At heart, this is just an industry-management issue, but it's turned into vaudeville here by the fact that the US government is in bed with the beef industry and wants to play that two ways at once.

For instance: "During oral arguments at the court, several justices expressed reservations whether the beef program was actually government speech protected by the First Amendment, since the commercials don't identify the USDA. Instead, the Cattlemen's Beef Board is listed as the sponsor." Whoops. USDA, Beef Board... who can keep track of which rubber stamp we're supposed to use on which day?

Further, "Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and several other court members appeared skeptical of claims the beef program was government speech, thus giving the cattle farmers no right to challenge it. She said government public health experts would not encourage people to eat lots of red meat." Heh. Well, that depends on which hat they're wearing at any given moment, now doesn't it?

But the most chuckles come from the wacky logic employed by the Bush administration's ( = beef campaign's) lawyer Edwin Kneedler. "The beef checkoff was no different than the government requiring cigarette companies to pay for advertisements that warn consumers about the health risks of smoking, Kneedler said. In both cases, there are some who disagreed with the government's message." Well, perfect analogy - except in this case we'd be putting out ads telling people about the health risks of eating red meat, now wouldn't we? And finally, after much discussion of who should pay for this based on who benefits... "The ultimate beneficiary of the advertising is the consumer," says Kneedler. GREAT! So pass the cost onto the consumer by jacking up the price of beef to a realistic level! I'm all for it, Edwin. Where do I sign?

I KNEW IT!!!

That pinnacle of off-the-beaten-track investigative journalism, The Onion, blows the lid off an issue many of us may have already suspected: World's Scientists Admit They Just Don't Like Mice. "Nearly 700 scientists representing 27 countries convened at the University of Zurich Monday to formally announce that their experimentation on mice has been motivated not by a desire to advance human knowledge, but out of sheer distaste for the furry little rodents."

It's a top-notch Onion piece, with gems like: "According to a 500-word statement, scientists hate mice for 'their beady little eyes,' 'their repulsive tails,' and 'the annoying little squeaking sounds they make.'" As Homer would say, "It's funny because it's true"... if by "true" we mean "truly hilarious."

WHAT'S BEHIND ILLEGAL ELEPHANT TRADE? ZOOS

"International wildlife experts called this week for bans on the trafficking of endangered Asian elephants, warning that demand from zoos and theme parks is driving the illegal trade from countries such as Thailand." There are some choice quotes here from Vivek Menon, executive director of the Wildlife Trust of India, who says that "elephant captive breeding programs in zoos do not work and do not have any conservation value. 'Western zoos claim their breeding programs will save the endangered Asian elephant, but nothing could be further from the truth,' Menon said. 'Captivity does not equal conservation. Research shows elephant captive breeding programs fail, and in the rare event a zoo elephant produces a calf, it cannot be released back into the wild.'" Finally, she says: "The best way for these zoos... to assist with the future conservation of this species is to support field conservation programs in Asia." Damn straight.

EPA SUES KOSHER MEATPACKER

"The Environmental Protection Agency has sued a kosher meatpacker, claiming it repeatedly exceeded pollutant limits at its plant in Postville. The lawsuit, filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court, alleges that Agriprocessors Inc. repeatedly violated the federal Clean Water Act." The EPA's lawsuit follows PETA allegations that Agriprocessors' slaughtering practices are needlessly cruel, violating the law. Boy what a shocker that they care neither about the animals nor about us, huh?

UPDATE 12/10: USDA probes beef plant accused of abuse and Meatpacker Makes Changes After PETA Charge. But wait...

UPDATE 12/14: Judge changes opinion on alleged abuse at kosher plant "The animals killed at a kosher slaughterhouse in eastern Iowa were treated humanely and died quickly, Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Patty Judge said after a weekend tour of the processing plant. 'What I saw today ... was humane. It was quick and there was absolutely no problem with the way they were handled,' Judge said Sunday. Oh, what you saw today. Hmmm. How to put this? Oh, fortunately, the AP spells it out for us in their headline: Tour of kosher plant reveals company's view of events

WANT STRONG BONES? TRY TOFU

...but not for eating - for putting directly into your bones! "A material made from the vegetarian food tofu could help repair broken bones and teeth, UK scientists believe." The BBC goes on to explain that "the de-fatted soybean curd would act like polyfiller to fill in defects. It has the added advantage of encouraging new bone to grow as it biodegrades and releases natural anti-inflammatory agents" while in contrast: "Many existing materials used to fill bone are derived from animal sources, which the patient's immune system can react to and reject as foreign material." Hmmmmmm. Score another one for plant-based healing.

WANT RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS? TRY RED MEAT

"If you eat lots of red meat you may be doubling your chances of developing rheumatoid arthritis, say researchers from the University of Manchester, UK. Researchers compared 88 rheumatoid arthritis patients, drawn from a research sample of over 25,000 men and women between the ages of 45 and 70, with 176 controls. Participants in the study completed a seven-day food diary and were asked about their smoking habits. Results showed those eating the most red meat had twice the risk of developing rheumatoid arthritis. Patients consuming red meat as well as other types of meat had similar higher risk factors."

TRUE GREEN

Here's a good interview with Rex Bowlby, Author of "Plant Roots: 101 Reasons Why the Human Diet is Rooted Exclusively in Plants" with some witty (if canned) repartee: Bowlby says "Would Nature have left our very survival-food-to chance by placing our protein source in mobile animals ('Hey, come back here!'), another mammal's milk ('Let's see, we tried the hedgehog and the seal-only 4,498 species to go.'), and under a hen ('Hey Trog, what do you think of this chicken placenta?') ...OR in 260,000 varieties of immobile plants spread over the earth?" and another good catchphrase: "Vegetarians didn't choose their diet...it chose them!" Besides this, Mickey Z digs into some crucial issues of how the American left fails to grasp veganism as the ultimate leftist issue, and how blowhards like Michael Moore sell out the future of the planet in order to play to a supposed regular-Joe base.

MILK LOSES WEIGHT-LOSS

A PCRM press release points us to two stories "souring milk's image" - one pointing to an ovarian cancer link and the other debunking the "milk helps you lose weight" meme. The cancer link is no surprise (even though the study's authors judiciously declaim any links to other cancers... riiiiight), but the weight thing is significant if only because weight gain and loss seems to be the only thing the mainstream media cares about in relation to nutrition. In a study with five times as many people as the previous "milk helps you lose weight" study, "there was no significant difference between the high-dairy [4 servings a day] and low-dairy [1 serving a day] groups, says Jean Harvey-Berino, chairman of the department of nutrition and food sciences at the University of Vermont in Burlington."

GOOD NEWS BEARS

The New Jersey bear hunt that was set to begin on Monday has been canceled by the state's Supreme Court, which said no hunt could take place until the state adopts a comprehensive bear management policy. This means looking seriously at using contraceptives, a big no-no for both "red-staters" and hunters, who desperately need to maintain the illusion that killing is the only viable alternative. We'll see where this goes, though.

LOBSTER KILLING NO JESTING MATTER

Karen Dawn of DawnWatch.com sent this out as an e-mail back in August, which I just got today, so I'm putting it up here for anyone else who didn't know about it: "Infinite Jest" author/prodigy David Foster Wallace was asked to cover the Maine Lobster Festival for Gourmet Magazine, and turned in a piece that winds up slamming lobster-eating, and meat-eating in general, by examining and exposing the public's lame rationalizations about animal suffering. The issue of Gourmet isn't online, but Karen Dawn has scanned pages available here. Well worth a read.

DOES "SAFE HUNTING" EXIST?

I'm not gonna have time right now to round up all the accidental and "accidental" shootings and killings of people by hunters. Here's just one from a couple days back, a New York man shot apparently by members of his own party, to stand in as exemplar. But there is an interesting nugget buried in an article called "Shotguns do not ensure safe hunting:" After citing the study that supports the headline, it continues to say that incidents of hunters shooting people are on the rise: "The total number of deer-season shooting incidents in 2003 that injured people rose to 25; three were fatal. That's up from 15 in 2002 and 14 in 2001. The highest previous total was in 1998 when 32 deer hunters were shot, five fatally."

SO LONG AND THANKS FOR ALL THE LIFESAVING

Two of the "hero" dolphins in New Zealand that saved four people from a great white shark have been thanked for their efforts by being butchered by poachers. "Shocked lifeguards found them floating in a river with their tails hacked off. It is thought they drowned after becoming trapped in illegal fishing nets and were then cut loose." Come on, the poachers probably didn't know these particular dolphins were special, give 'em a break!

EATING TURKEY HAZARDOUS TO YOUR HEALTH

At least it is if you eat it alongside your troubled cousin. In the article "Dispute over turkey blamed for stabbings," we find that Frank Palacios of Massachusetts was picking at the turkey with his fingers instead of slicing off pieces with a knife, and was reprimanded for doing so by his cousin and uncle. After being asked to leave and refusing to do so, Palacios "allegedly responded by stabbing them with a carving knife." It's true that family tensions at Thanksgiving dinner don't usually get this heated, and yes, this is an extreme occurrence. But just as with the hunter killing the six other hunters last week, the notable thing is that the violence arose from a dispute over, and was done with, the very implement intended for doing (ritual) violence to an animal. It's hard to imagine a vegan potluck ending this way.