November–December 2009 Vol. 23, No. 6 Published bimonthly by For the animals. For your health. For our planet. Eating Animals is Making Us Sick JONATHAN SAFRAN FO E R Reprinted from CNN, October 28, 2009 Editor’s note: Jonathan Safran Foer is the author of the critically acclaimed novels learned about how the way we raise Everything is Illuminated and Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close. His latest book, the animals for food affects human nonfiction Eating Animals, (Little, Brown and Co.) will be published in November. health. What we eat and what we ike most people, I’d given extremely uncomfortable. Food is are. Why aren’t more people aware some thought to what meat not just what we put in our mouths of, and angry about, the rates actually is, but until I became to fill up; it is culture and identity. of avoidable food-borne illness? a father and faced the pros- Reason plays some role in our Perhaps it doesn’t seem obvious pect of having to make food decisions about food, but it’s rarely that something is amiss simply be- Lchoices on someone else’s behalf, driving the car. cause anything that happens all the there was no urgency to get to the time—like meat, especially poultry, bottom of things. becoming infected by pathogens— I’m a novelist and never had it Why aren’t more people tends to fade into the background. in mind to write nonfiction. Frank- aware of, and angry about, Whatever the case, if you know ly, I doubt I’ll ever do it again. But the rates of avoidable what to look for, the pathogen the subject of animal agriculture, at food-borne illness? problem comes into terrifying this moment, is something no one focus. For example, the next time should ignore. As a writer, putting a friend has a sudden “flu”—what words on the page is how I pay We need a better way to talk folks sometimes misdescribe as attention. about eating animals, a way that “the stomach flu”—ask a few If the way we raise animals doesn’t ignore or even just shrug- questions. Was your friend’s illness for food isn’t the most important gingly accept things like habits, one of those “24-hour flus” that problem in the world right now, cravings, family, and history but come and go quickly: retch or crap, it’s arguably the No. 1 cause of rather incorporates them into the then relief? The diagnosis isn’t global warming: The United Na- conversation. The more they are quite so simple, but if the answer tions reports the livestock business allowed in, the more able we will to this question is “yes,” your generates more greenhouse gas be to follow our best instincts. And friend probably didn’t have the flu emissions than all forms of trans- although there are many respect- at all. portation combined. able ways to think about meat, He or she was probably suf- It’s the No. 1 cause of animal there is not a person on Earth fering from one of the 76 million suffering, a decisive factor in the whose best instincts would lead cases of food-borne illness the creation of zoonotic diseases like him or her to factory farming. Centers for Disease Control and bird and swine flu, and the list goes My book, Eating Animals, ad- Prevention (CDC) has estimated on. It is the problem with the most dresses factory farming from happen in America each year. deafening silence surrounding it. numerous perspectives: animal Your friend didn’t “catch a bug” Even the most political people, welfare, the environment, the so much as eat a bug. And in all the most thoughtful and engaged, price paid by rural communities, likelihood, that bug was created by tend not to “go there.” And for the economic costs. In two essays, factory farming. good reason. Going there can be I will share some of what I’ve EATING ANIMALS , continued on p. 14 Dr. Don Forrester, retired Kaiser doctor who does continuing medical education for Kaiser doctors, will speak about wellness and plant-based nutrition. SVS Monthly Potluck Sunday, November 15 • 5:30 p.m. For the animals. For your health. For our planet. 1914 Alhambra Blvd., Sacramento in the Sacramento Natural Foods Co-op’s Community Services Room E-mail: [email protected] Mail: P.O. Box163583, Sacramento, CA 95816-9583 Phone: (916) 967-2472 Dr. Don Forrester Web: http://www.sacveggie.org/ Mission Statement: Wellness and Plant-Based Nutrition The Sacramento Vegetarian Society (SVS) is an association Potluck: Bring a vegan or vegetarian dish for six, your utensils, a list of which recognizes vegetarianism to mean abstinence from ingredients, and mark whether your offering is vegan or vegetarian.We flesh, including fish and fowl. prefer that you bring a vegan dish, so all attendees, most of whom are The Society encourages vegetarians and non-vegetarians to vegan, can partake of all offerings. Free entrance with potluck dish; $4 for participate. those who arrive empty handed. SVS will not discriminate on the basis of race, color, creed, sex, age, or sexual preference. Want to bring a vegan dish to the potluck but don’t know what to fix? Call the SVS Veggie Mentor, Linda Middlesworth, at SVS operates on a non-profit basis. (916) 798-5516. SVS Officers President, Linda Middlesworth Vice President, Marty Maskall Secretary, Angela Lucero Treasurer, Don Knutson Public Relations Coordinator, Mary Rodgers Newsletter Editor, Mary Rodgers Send calendar entries for the Jan.–Feb. ‘10 issue by Jan. 3, to [email protected]. Dine-Out Coordinator, Gurinder Arora Locations are in Sacramento unless otherwise noted. Events Coordinator, Open Librarian, Don McNerney Sat. November 14 Webmaster, Marty Maskall SVS Dineout. 6 p.m. Join us for Vietnamese cuisine at Andy Nguyen’s Vegetarian Restaurant, 2007 Broadway. RSVP at [email protected] or sacveggie.org. Sun., November 15 SVS Monthly Potluck. 5:30–7:30 p.m. Dr. Forrester: Wellness and Plant-Based is published bimonthly by SVS. Nutrition. See above. Submission Guidelines Thurs., November 26 SVS Vegan Thanksgiving Potluck. 5 p.m. 434 T Street (5th & T), Send submissions or inquiries to: Southside Park Cohousing Common House. If you’ve been hungering for a Editor: MRODGERS @MACNEXUS .ORG . cruelty-free Thanksgiving dinner, bring your favorite vegan holiday dish and join Submissions of articles relating to the various aspects of Sacramento Vegetarian Society members and friends for a delicious vegan feast. vegetarianism, including nutrition, animal rights, envi- ronmental impacts of food production, and political issues Free for SVS members and children under 10; $7 for nonmembers. Beverages and are welcome, as are vegan or vegetarian recipes, editorial place settings will be provided. To make reservations and indicate your potluck commentary, book reviews, and announcements of upcom- dish, go to [email protected]. ing events. Submissions are accepted electronically as e-mail attachments. Contact the editor or check the website for Sat., December 12 formatting specifications. SVS Dineout. 6 p.m. Join us for Asian cuisine at Au Lac Veggie, 3500 Stockton Blvd. Submission deadlines for articles: RSVP at [email protected] or sacveggie.org. January–February 2010: Dec. 20, 2009 March–April 2010: Feb. 14, 2010 Sun., December 20 May–June 2010: Apr. 14, 2010 SVS Monthly Potluck. 5:30–7:30 p.m. 1914 Alhambra Blvd. Bring a vegan (preferred) July–August 2009: June 12, 2010 or vegetarian dish for six, a list of ingredients, and your utensils. Free with potluck dish; $4 for those who arrive empty handed. 2 | G L E A N E R November–December 2009 From thePresident The famous, charming author and chef, Colleen Patrick-Goudreau had to cancel her presentation because she came down with a bad flu. The good news is she has rescheduled for February. ome people attending SVS potlucks are just learning the reasons for eat- ing a plant-based diet. We know that the foods we eat can either make Sus sick, or make us well. From the long-term, unbiased studies of Dr. T. Colin Campbell and Dr. John McDougall, we can absolutely identify the foods that increase our risk of cancer, heart disease, diabetes, obesity, diges- tive disorders, autoimmune diseases, etc. Animal protein, whether in the form of meat (including fish), dairy (including all cheeses, yogurts), or eggs is the culprit. By coming to pot- lucks, we can all learn how to replace harmful animal proteins with plant- based foods. LINDA MIDD L ESWORTH We welcome all types of eaters and hope that our informational speakers and DVD presentations will give everyone the tools to improve their own September potluck ur health, help stop animal suffering, and help prevent the devastation of our was another success with planet. great vegan food and an informational DVD from TECH ALER T ! ODr. Michael Greger on the latest Update Your Connection to SVS before January! clinical nutrition studies for 2009. e have a new way of contacting all of you now, so, even if you We learned which foods contain the already signed up on our e-mail list, and/or are a guest or a highest levels of antioxidants and member, please re-sign up at Sac Veg Society Meetup (go to health benefits and which foods are http://www.meetup.com/sacveggie-org/ or type “Sac Veg Soci- harmful or do nothing at all. We Wety Meetup” into your browser). That way, you will get automatic notices know, for instance, that the best about our events. At the end of December, we will no longer be contacting sweetener is either dates or date you through the e-mail list we had before.