Marin Vegetarian Education Group
September, 2017
With a heavy heart for all the people and non-human animals
affected by the catastrophic flooding in Texas, I am glad that
Colleen Patrick Goudreau will be addressing diet and climate
change this month in San Anselmo. And I was delighted to discover
a book that tells the truth about the many, deeply ingrained myths
about animal agriculture and how they remain so prevalent. Find
the details on these and much more below.
Tuesday, September 19 - 6:30 - 8:30 PM
Colleen Patrick Goudreau Speaking in San Anselmo
Beloved, brilliant author and podcast star Colleen Patrick
Goudreau will be speaking at an event sponsored by the
climate/diet team of 350Marin on Tuesday, September 19 from 6:30
until 8:30 at the First Presbyterian Church at 72 Kensington Road
in San Anselmo. Refreshments will be offered at 6:30, and
Colleen's presentation begins at 7:00. She will be discussing the
myths and facts about a climate friendly vegan diet. A donation
of $5 is requested. The climate/diet team of 350Marin is doing
wonderful work here in our county to raise awareness of the role
that animal agriculture plays in climate change. Let's support
them on September 19 and celebrate Colleen Patrick Goudreau, too.
Here is the invitation from the climate/diet team:
Our Climate-Diet
Team of 350Marin is addressing the connection between what we
eat and the climate crisis. So you’ve changed your light bulbs,
shortened your showers, been riding your bike, and/ or installed
solar panels. What’s next? Building on our commitment to
reversing climate change, many are turning to the vegan solution
to reduce greenhouse gases. We invite your curiosity and open
mind as we look at the myths and facts about living vegan.
Come hear Colleen Patrick-Goudreau (and bring a
friend along) to our upcoming event called “Explore the
Compassionate Diet”.
This event is our attempt to promote a culture of
support and guidance for all who are transitioning to, or
considering, a vegan life to heal the planet, the people, and
the animals.
Hold the Date
Sunday, October 1, 10:00 - 6:00
San Francisco World Veg Fest
The 18th annual World Veg
Fest will be held at the San Francisco County Fair Building
in Golden Gate Park on Sunday, October 1 from 10 AM until 6
PM. See the schedule and speakers and buy advanced tickets at
http://www.worldvegfestival.com/
Come enjoy vegan food demos, speakers, exhibitors and food
vendors who all share a vegan world view.
Unintended Consequences and New Ballot Initiative
When Proposition 2 passed in 2008, proponents talked about
farmed animals having enough room to stand up, turn around, and
stretch. It was presumed that this would mean cage-free birds,
but instead, in many places farmers just put fewer birds in each
cage. Now a new ballot initiative is collecting signatures. It
would require cage free birds in all egg laying facilities in the
state, and larger confinement parameters for other animals as
well. I have mixed feelings about most animal welfare efforts, as
I would rather see an end to animal agriculture, not just
incremental improvements in an altogether unnecessary and cruel
system of exploitation. (See below about my new, favorite book
that explains why piecemeal improvements miss the big picture and
make us feel good, but do not value non-human animals' lives.)
Here's a story from the LA Times about the new ballot initiative:
http://www.latimes.com/politics/la-pol-ca-cage-free-eggs-ballot-initiative-20170829-story.html
And here is the story from the San Francisco Chronicle:
http://www.sfchronicle.com/food/article/New-ballot-initiative-could-increase-California-12159349.php
My New Favorite Book
Farm to Fable: The Fictions of Our Animal Consuming
Culture by Robert Grillo is my new favorite book.
With a foreword by Carol J. Adams, the book calls for
truth-centered advocacy to counter the lies that keep
animals oppressed. This is the best writing I've come across
to expose the hypocrisy of Temple Grandin, the cloudy
thinking of Joel Salatin, and the inherent cruelty in the
belief that there is a right/better/acceptable way to breed,
mutilate, confine, kill and eat animals. Farm to Fable
explains how deeply ingrained the message is in our society
that animals exist for our dining pleasure. I loved every
page of this important book. You can buy the book wherever books are
sold. I like abebooks.com:
https://www.abebooks.com/servlet/SearchResults?sts=t&an=robert+grillo&tn=farm+to+fable&kn=&isbn=
Robert Grillo is the director of Free from Harm, and I will
be paying more attention to that organization now. Here is an inspiring,
recent story about a "humane" farmer who went vegan that was
shared by Free From Harm: http://freefromharm.org/animal-farmer-turned-vegan/soderfeldt/
Veganic Farming
Most vegans look for organic food when shopping. Yet most
organic food is grown with the byproducts of animal agriculture:
bone meal, feathers, blood and more. This recent article in the
San Francisco Chronicle begins with vegan philosophy and then
talks about veganic farming as the logical next step in
cruelty-free eating. Here is an excerpt: "Based on a vegan diet
that includes a range of vegetables, fruit, legumes and grains
and using veganic farming methods, he found that it would
require 100 million to 200 million acres a year. U.S. farms
currently take up 1.1 billion acres, with 700 million devoted to
animal grazing. That doesn’t include all the land used to grow
grain to feed animals." I found the whole article interesting.
http://www.sfgate.com/food/article/Veganism-s-next-goal-animal-free-farming-11304254.php?t=62fea66083&utm_content=sfgate_hp_food_recco_v1&ipid=sfgatehpfood
18th Century Advocate Was a Trailblazer
I liked this story from the New York Times about an 18th century
vegetarian, anti-slavery activist. Not completely
non-violent, he stopped at nothing to speak out against injustice.
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/12/opinion/sunday/youll-never-be-as-radical-as-this-18th-century-quaker-dwarf.html
Animal Rights Center in Berkeley
T-Shirt and Matching Grant for New Members
During the
month of September every new member who joins the Animal Rights
Center in Berkeley will earn an additional $100 grant to the
center from a matching donor. And every new member will also
receive a t-shirt promoting the ARC. The center exists to build
a strong and effective movement for animals. Membership starts at
$15 a month. Learn more about ARC and sign up to become a member
at http://www.berkeleyarc.com/membership
"Clean Meat" On the Rise
There is something disturbing to me about this new movement to
create animal flesh without hurting animals. While it would be
better for the environment and for the animals, it perpetuates
the myth that we need animal flesh to thrive. Here is a video
from Hampton Creek Foods about "clean meat." To me, the most
frustrating statement in the short video is this; "In all
honesty, people are going to eat meat." If all the energy,
creativity and money being used to develop "clean meat" went
instead to promoting a vegan way of life, I think the world
would be much better for it. https://vimeo.com/226196373
Never Too Late to Go Vegan on Sale in
September
The e-book edition of Never Too Late to Go Vegan will be
discounted to $1.99 on all digital platforms (ibooks, Kindle,
Nook) during the month of September. If you haven't read this
practical book by Carol J. Adams, Patti Breitman (me), and
Virginia Messina, this is an affordable way to do it. The book
is for anyone over 50 who wants to thrive as a vegan.
Daiya Sold to Pharmaceutical Company
Daiya, one of the earliest producers of a meltable, vegan
cheese has been sold to Otsuka, a Japan-based pharmaceutical
company. Many vegans are heartsick to know that the cheese is now
owned by a company that routinely tests on animals. Here is the
story from VegNews: http://vegnews.com/articles/page.do?pageId=9841&catId=1
And here from Plant Based News, is a call to sign a petition to
stop the sale (too late, I believe, as the sale has been
finalized):
https://www.plantbasednews.org/post/petition-launched-after-plant-based-producer-daiya-acquired-by-animal-testing-company?
T. Colin Campbell,
PhD, and Thomas Campbell, MD
Expose Misleading Theme and Sham Science in Popular Book
A successful new book
called The Plant Paradox claims that lectins are highly toxic
and the cause of much ill health. In this scathing review, the
doctors Campbell explain how an author can sound credible while
having a tenuous grasp of science and a lack of understanding of
what it means to be published in a peer reviewed journal. I
found this fascinating, as so many authors claim to have found
"the secret to good health," and persuade the reader to believe
them. Read it here:
http://nutritionstudies.org/the-plant-paradox-by-steven-grundy-md-commentary/
John McDougall, MD
Exposes Misleading Study Released This Week
Another doctor who sees red when misleading studies confuse the
public is Dr. John McDougall. Here he explains that a study
looking at carbohydrates does not distinguish between whole food
starches (potatoes, squashes, grains) and cakes, candy, white
bread and other processed foods. http://mailchi.mp/drmcdougall.com/breaking-news?e=1355df7431
Hold the Dates, But Register Soon
April 6 - 15, 2018
Vegan Trip to Vietnam with Colleen Patrick
Goudreau
If enough people sign
up, Colleen Patrick Goudreau will be leading a vegan tour of
Northern Vietnam in April of next year. See the itinerary,
learn more about this exciting adventure, and sign up for it
at
http://www.cpgtrips.com/vietnam-payment.html?inf_contact_key=48c9626b548d25ff2efd97abea800da17116686d26ab1c371c3baf38b093842a
The trip is limited to 22 people, and the sooner you
register, the better your accommodations may be on parts of
the journey.
Correction:
In last
month's newsletter I praised Canada's new dietary guidelines and
berated the U.S. policies. Thanks to Michele Simon, Executive
Director of the Plant Based Food Association for setting the
record straight. Here, in her words, is a more accurate account: "In fact, the proposed US dietary
guidelines also emphasized plant-based over animal foods, for
both health and the planet. So we are really at the same stage
now, with a proposal in Canada. The question is whether they can
resist the political pressures of Big Meat, which of course our
government could not. Stay tuned!"
More in September
Look for a restaurant outing, a book club meeting, and more in September. As always, be sure to look at www.bayareaveg.org/events.htm and www.meetup.com/marin-vegan/ to find out what's happening in the coming weeks. Also, check out Compassionate Living in Sonoma County. Their web site is www.socoveg.org/. And The San Francisco Veg Society at www. SFVS.org also has events that might lure you over the bridge.
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