http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/7524816.stm
"Statins 'may cut dementia risk'"
'Statins' are a class of drugs which reduces 'bad cholesterol' levels. Statins are taken by millions of meat eaters to prevent their hearts from solidifying from all the cholesterol they eat. Reducing the plaque on the arteries prevents heart attacks.
Except for rare genetic disorders, vegans don't have cholesterol issues, because the body manufactures all the cholesterol it needs, and a vegan diet has 0 cholesterol. Animals manufacture cholesterol for themselves and for their young, just like we do, so it's found in animal flesh, eggs, and dairy. Bad cholesterol results from an imbalance of HDL and LDL levels, which is due to consumption of cholesterol.
Now a study has shown that taking Statins prevents dementia, because apparently that bad cholesterol can also build up in the arteries in the neck, reducing blood flow to the brain, which can lead to dementia, Alzheimers, and stroke.
It would be more accurate for this article to be titled: Statins may cut dementia risk in those with high cholesterol. Or: Dementia risk associated with high cholesterol. Or: Eating meat may lead to dementia, Alzheimers, and stroke.
I wonder if cholesterol buildup is reducing blood flow to the brain and impairing cognitive abilities in small amounts in all pre-dementia meat eaters. This, might explain why they have such a hard time making little dietary changes that could really improve their lives.
Custom vegan literature generator
A webpage which will create and print a custom 1 page vegan literature sheet. Something a little more personalized and interesting to give to your family.
Interest checkboxes:
[] Health
[] Environment
[] Ethics
[] Christian
[] Senior
[] Children
etc
Recipes:
[] American
[] Mexican
[] Italian
etc
Enter a city name/zip for local restaurants/markets:
[] Black and white or [] Color
[Preview] [Print!]
Interest checkboxes:
[] Health
[] Environment
[] Ethics
[] Christian
[] Senior
[] Children
etc
Recipes:
[] American
[] Mexican
[] Italian
etc
Enter a city name/zip for local restaurants/markets:
[] Black and white or [] Color
[Preview] [Print!]
Charting Suffering and Economics
I'll be taking economnomics next semester and so my focus on environmental impacts of animal use for the environment class will shift to economic considerations. I just realized that I've written about economics in previous posts and I should find plenty of animal use issues to raise in the econ class.
Today I imagined presenting a chart comparing the prices of some similar animal and vegetable products (burgers, etc) to the very animal dependent middle class, who often uses the extra cost of buying a box of veggie burgers to justify never even trying one.
Maybe in terms of how many animals and acres of rainforests would be saved by spending a few bucks extra on veggie burgers. Maybe even include the offset for long term medical costs and you'd end up saving some money. If you could include lost productivity from an early death I'm sure the figures would come up ahead for vegetables.
And of course if we could get the whole agricultural subsidy situation fixed, that would go a long way to straightening out why a beef patty which took the resources to make like 20 veggie patties somehow costs less.
Annual Costs: (TOTALLY ESTIMATING HERE)
Rows to add: medical cost, greenhouse gasses, disease/epidemic potential
Columns to add: milk/soymilk
Today I imagined presenting a chart comparing the prices of some similar animal and vegetable products (burgers, etc) to the very animal dependent middle class, who often uses the extra cost of buying a box of veggie burgers to justify never even trying one.
Maybe in terms of how many animals and acres of rainforests would be saved by spending a few bucks extra on veggie burgers. Maybe even include the offset for long term medical costs and you'd end up saving some money. If you could include lost productivity from an early death I'm sure the figures would come up ahead for vegetables.
And of course if we could get the whole agricultural subsidy situation fixed, that would go a long way to straightening out why a beef patty which took the resources to make like 20 veggie patties somehow costs less.
Annual Costs: (TOTALLY ESTIMATING HERE)
| Product: | Vegan Burger (1/day) | Beef Burger (1/day) | Chicken Patty (1/day) |
| Retail Price: | $900 | $700 | $700 |
| Animals Killed: | 0 | 2 | 30 |
| Water Used: | 1400 gal | 100000 gal | 10000 gal |
| Land used: | 1 acre (local) | 100 acre (80% rainforest) | 4 acre (80% rainforest) |
Rows to add: medical cost, greenhouse gasses, disease/epidemic potential
Columns to add: milk/soymilk
Run you pigeons! It's Robert Frost!
The Road Not Taken - Robert Frost
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth.
Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same.
And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.
I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I--
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth.
Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same.
And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.
I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I--
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
The Myth of Unprocessed Animal Meat
So I've heard meat eaters say that they don't want processed meats, as a way of excluding vegan meat products that resemble processed meats, such as Tofurkey deli slices, veggie dogs, soy crumbles, etc. They would prefer a more pure meat, such as fried chicken, or a turkey carcass on their table. Well, let's consider what meat means to be processed.
The flesh of animals will quickly rot and decay on store shelves, so to extend shelf life, the bodies are processed with preservatives and chemicals which make it look, smell, or taste fresh. Processed meats have been linked to increasing rate of cancers on top of the normal cancerous properties of cooking meat. I can see why anyone would want to avoid these.
On the other hand, when vegetables are processed into products that resemble processed meats, they have little need for the harsh chemicals to prevent the rotting that animal flesh goes through. A little salt is often enough.
When animals are not processed in a factory, they are not considered processed meats, such as a Thanksgiving turkey. But to call this 'unprocessed' would be ignoring a large part of what brought that animal to the table. That is, the birth, growth, and life of the turkey before it was killed. The turkey had all sorts of bodily processes going on, respiration, digestion, immune systems, learning, mating. These processes are a magnitude greater in complexity than the processes that a plant goes through to produce vegetables.
Most importantly, the plant is producing vegetables for the mutualistic purpose of feeding animals, so they can spread the seeds. Plants grow delicious and nutritious vegetables intentionally! When a human consumes an animal, the bodily processes must be stopped, by killing, and it must go through further processing by fire in order to make it "safe" to eat.
The flesh of animals will quickly rot and decay on store shelves, so to extend shelf life, the bodies are processed with preservatives and chemicals which make it look, smell, or taste fresh. Processed meats have been linked to increasing rate of cancers on top of the normal cancerous properties of cooking meat. I can see why anyone would want to avoid these.
On the other hand, when vegetables are processed into products that resemble processed meats, they have little need for the harsh chemicals to prevent the rotting that animal flesh goes through. A little salt is often enough.
When animals are not processed in a factory, they are not considered processed meats, such as a Thanksgiving turkey. But to call this 'unprocessed' would be ignoring a large part of what brought that animal to the table. That is, the birth, growth, and life of the turkey before it was killed. The turkey had all sorts of bodily processes going on, respiration, digestion, immune systems, learning, mating. These processes are a magnitude greater in complexity than the processes that a plant goes through to produce vegetables.
Most importantly, the plant is producing vegetables for the mutualistic purpose of feeding animals, so they can spread the seeds. Plants grow delicious and nutritious vegetables intentionally! When a human consumes an animal, the bodily processes must be stopped, by killing, and it must go through further processing by fire in order to make it "safe" to eat.
Take a class
Hello, I've been busy with college classes for the past couple weeks. One of the classes I'm taking is:
BIOL 120 The Environment of Man
This is an introductory course that examines the immediate and long-range causes and effects of air, water, and land pollution on the environment and human health. The course also explores basic concepts of ecology, overpopulation, natural resources, and the sustainability of the environment and its biodiversity. The study of positive solutions to the ecological dilemma is addressed.
It has been interesting, and it has been a great outlet for expressing my concerns about food sources and their effects on the environment. This is an online class and participating in forum discussions are a required part of the class. The forums are full of active and intelligent discourse, and scientific citations are more highly regarded than subjective opinions. The semester project is to create a (powerpoint) presentation detailing an environmental problem, it's solutions, and the pros and cons of the solutions. I am planning to focus on the environmental benefits of reducing the use of animals for food, with data from 'Livestock's Long Shadow'. The presentation is something I will further publicize here. The presentation is likely to be viewed and commented on by my classmates, giving it easy initial exposure and refinement. The first tip I can give is not to procrastinate posting if you want people to see and comment on what you've written. The earlier it's in the forum, the more people that will see it.
Even if you aren't a regular college student, taking an online course such as this can be a good way to increase your understanding of the issues, and a way to improve your ability to discuss these issues persuasively. You might even enjoy college and persue further studies and degrees that will give you a broad scientific basis for discourse on animal issues.
BIOL 120 The Environment of Man
This is an introductory course that examines the immediate and long-range causes and effects of air, water, and land pollution on the environment and human health. The course also explores basic concepts of ecology, overpopulation, natural resources, and the sustainability of the environment and its biodiversity. The study of positive solutions to the ecological dilemma is addressed.
It has been interesting, and it has been a great outlet for expressing my concerns about food sources and their effects on the environment. This is an online class and participating in forum discussions are a required part of the class. The forums are full of active and intelligent discourse, and scientific citations are more highly regarded than subjective opinions. The semester project is to create a (powerpoint) presentation detailing an environmental problem, it's solutions, and the pros and cons of the solutions. I am planning to focus on the environmental benefits of reducing the use of animals for food, with data from 'Livestock's Long Shadow'. The presentation is something I will further publicize here. The presentation is likely to be viewed and commented on by my classmates, giving it easy initial exposure and refinement. The first tip I can give is not to procrastinate posting if you want people to see and comment on what you've written. The earlier it's in the forum, the more people that will see it.
Even if you aren't a regular college student, taking an online course such as this can be a good way to increase your understanding of the issues, and a way to improve your ability to discuss these issues persuasively. You might even enjoy college and persue further studies and degrees that will give you a broad scientific basis for discourse on animal issues.
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