The Hickman Family earns millions of dollars ever year from caged chickens.

No so long ago I had the unique privileged of meeting Glenn and Clint Hickman. They are brothers that run Hickman Family Farms, a massive egg producing company in Arizona. A group of us had gathered with our fearless leader, Kerri from the Humane Society of the United States, to come up with a plan that encourages restaurants to not use eggs from chickens kept in battery cages. I guess the Hickman brothers were a bit nervous (or just curious, who knows) about what it is we might do to jeopardize their business. While you might think that we were throwing eggs at each other (ha, ha!) we actually had a rather civil debate. And it was fascinating!

I was riveted because Glenn Hickman confirmed all my greatest fears about the egg industry. I have read many things about chickens being kept in tiny cages where they can’t spread their wings, being forced to produce eggs in unnatural quantities, and then killed at a young age when they are no longer able to produce the product valued so highly by their owner. Glenn substantiated all this and more. And he continually claims that he “loves his chickens.” Hmmmm … I use the term love a bit differently.

Here’s what else Glenn Hickman taught me …

• Hickman Family Farms has about 4,000,000 (four million!) caged egg laying hens. They have 400,000 (four hundred thousand) cage free hens.
• Chickens are raised in a hatchery … usually a separate operation from the egg producing facility. The chicks are incubated and hatched at the hatchery. Then the females are sold to egg producers like Hickman Family Farms.
• 

  These are male chicks that were spared from the macerator only to be thrown into a dumpster alive. This photo is not from Hickman Family Farms.

  As in the dairy industry, males are not valued in the egg laying industry. What happens to them is equally as horrible as what happens to baby male cows used for veal. Baby male chickens are fed to a macerator (something like a wood chipper) just hours after they are hatched. They are GROUND UP ALIVE just because they were born male and not female.

• The females get to act like somewhat normal chickens for a few days albeit being kept in tightly packed quarters. Then when they reach 7 days old, the tips of their beaks are cut off without anesthesia. Why? So when they move to the small confined battery cages, they don’t peck each other to death!
• When they do move to their permanent home, the female chickens are provided approximately 67 square inches of space to live in for the two years of their egg producing life. If you hold out a regular 8 1/2 x 11 piece of paper, the allotted space would be smaller than that very piece of paper.
• The chickens live on “floors” that are stacked from ground to ceiling! In some cases the birds have conveyor belts under the cages so that their poo is carried away from their living area. In other cases, the poo literally falls from the top floor to the bottom, landing on tens of thousands of chickens on the way down.
• 

  This are hens living in typical battery cages. This photo was not taken at Hickman Family Farms.

  The Hickman “barns” in Arizona have about 200,000 chickens in them. Can you imagine? 200,000? To give you some perspective, about 70,000 students attend Arizona State University and it is one of the largest in the country!

• 1,100,000 (1.1 million!) eggs are shipped from Hickman’s Family Farms EVERY 24 HOURS!
• After laying eggs for two years, the Hickman employees come around with a gas cart. I imagine something like an ice cream cart but one that ends in finality for the chicken. They are dumped into the cart 20 at a time and gassed to death.
• And you might think their flesh is used for chicken breast but in fact it is not. Their bodies are ground up as “green waste” and used as compost that Hickman’s sells for more profit. Their breasts are not as “tasty” as the fryer chickens used for food.

Wow, I say to Glenn and Clint. Wow! Is this what you call love? You see I love my dogs and I would never ever put baby boy puppies in a wood chipper. I would never keep my dogs in a cage so small they can’t turn around. If I did put all four in a tiny area for their entire lives and let them shit all over each other, they would indeed kill each other. To prevent that though I would never, ever cut off their teeth without anesthesia. And I would never, ever put them in a “gas truck” when they are two years old just because they couldn’t produce something I could sell to something else.

You see my dogs don’t produce anything of value to society but they give me uncompromising devotion and constant companionship, they keep my house safe, and they are always good for a hug. That’s it. In return, I let them live a fulfilling happy life as they are meant to. That is what I call “love”.

When I asked Glenn why the chickens can’t be housed in a way that is more comfortable for them, he replied, “It’s economics.”

Glenn filled me in on one other detail that did in fact horrify me. USDA inspection of egg laying facilities is optional. What, I say? Optional? It is optional for farmers to have the USDA inspect their facilities. My friends I ask you … what has your government done for you lately? If they can not ensure food safety, then what the hell are they doing over there in Washington D.C.

If you find any of this information doubtful, take a look for yourself at www.hickmanseggs.com. Clint is featured with Mike Rowe on Dirty Jobs. They actually show the inside of a chicken barn, caged chicken and the way in which they have to discard of thousands of pounds of poo every day.

My friends, an egg is not just an egg. We’ve been taught to eat them because they are a cheap source of protein. But think of the suffering another living being has endured just so someone could eat the byproduct of their reproduction cycle for breakfast? Those eggs aren’t looking so delicious after all.

Don’t miss Part 1: Why Go Vegetarian, Part 2: How to Become Vegetarian, Part 3: Vegetarian Nutrition, and Part 4: Speaking Vegetarian.

This is the final post in my five part series on becoming vegetarian. Now that you are informed about where your food comes from and all the great reasons to choose plant foods over animal foods, it’s time to take things a step further. Time to start thinking about the animals we wear, sit on, and use as accessories. Yes, I’m talking about leather, wool, fur, and other animal parts used in human creature comforts.

Wool

Wool can also be called mohair, pashmina or cashmere. It is found in many products from sweaters to carpets. Approximately 6 million sheep are used for meat and wool production in the United States and 2.5 million goats are used for meat, milk and mohair production¹. When you think about wool, it seems like it would be pretty harmless, right? I mean sheep and goats grow fleece/hair and it needs to be trimmed. It’s not that simple. The goats and sheep don’t willingly give up their fur.  And like most animals used for human consumption, they are “altered” for the convenience of those profiting from their bodies. Within weeks of birth, lambs’ ears are punched with holes, their tails are chopped off, and the males loose their man parts without anesthesia. Then when they no longer produce enough wool to meet their farmer’s demand, they are killed for meat and/or their skin. Furthermore, it is not true that the animals must be shaved. If sheep were not altered by humans, they would grow just enough wool to protect themselves from the weather.

Sheep used for wool, mulesing.

In Australia, the country that creates more than 50% of the world’s merino wool, lambs endure a horrible process called mulesing. Mulesing means that huge hunks of skin are removed from the animal’s behind to prevent the infestation of flies in their folds of skin. This is done without anesthesia or painkillers. Can you imagine what it would feel like to have a huge chunk of skin cut out of your behind – much less with or without anesthesia? Seriously, that’s more than ouch! After the sheep endure this horrible “procedure” several are shipped overseas to countries in the Middle East and North Africa to unregulated slaughterhouses where they are killed in ways much harsher than we can imagine. This journey takes weeks or months. The sheep are given little food or water. They become stuck in their feces, at times unable to move. Some are trampled to death. And they endure all that just to be killed in a foreign country in cruel ways.  Even Pink – the singer – just called for a boycott of Australian lamb mutilations for wool.

What can you do about it? Don’t buy wool. Don’t eat lamb. Also avoid other animal-derived materials like angora which comes from rabbits, cashmere which comes from goats, and wool from alpacas and lamas. There are many alternatives to wool … some of my favorite sweaters and home furnishings are made of cotton, tencel, bamboo, and polyester (it’s much better now than it was in the 70s). For more on wool, visit www.savethesheep.com.

Leather

Now it’s no mystery that leather is indeed the skin of another animal. How it became such a desired product is beyond me. But the reality is that most of us have been conditioned to think that leather couches, leather shoes, leather handbags etc. are superior to non-leather goods. Why? It’s kind of strange when you think about it. Leather is cheap to buy … it’s the “desirability” that you’re paying for. It’s time to bust open that misconception. As PETA says, “whose skin are you in?” I prefer to hang out in my skin not another animal’s skin thank you very much. Just as I enjoy the skin on my body – protecting my organs and whatnot – I’m sure that animal appreciated its skin on his or her body. Next time you go to the store and think about buying that pair of of-so-lovely leather shoes, just think that another animal died for them … they suffered an uncomfortable life of confinement, they bled all over their skin before it was cleaned up and made into your pretty shoes. That’s enough really. We don’t need to buy those shoes! Really, I mean it.

Indian cows used for leather.

The multibillion-dollar meat industry profits from more than just animals’ flesh. According to a U.S. Department of Agriculture report, animals’ skins represent “the most economically important byproduct” of the meatpacking industry². And that’s not even the beginning of it. Most leather used for clothing, furniture, etc. comes from India and China. Yes, India … a very vegetarian country. While cows have little protection here in the U.S. in these countries, cows have even less protection. Slaughter processes are unregulated. Just watch the documentary Earthlings. They actually show companies buying families beloved cows, convincing the people that their cows will be taken to a sanctuary, and actually trekking them across state lines (miles and miles and miles) to have their throats hacked open with a hand saw. You’ll never be able to look at those leather shoes quite the same again.

It’s important to note that cows are not the only animals used for leather. Pigs, goats, zebras, bison, water buffaloes, boars, deer, kangaroos, elephants, eels, sharks, dolphins, seals, walruses, frogs, crocodiles, alligators, lizards, and snakes are also used in clothing and household goods. And believe it or not, even dog and cat skins are used in goods from China and Europe. When’s the last time you bought a product that wasn’t made in China? Those new leather shoes might very well be made of dog or cat skin.

Leather is disgusting, horrific and unnecessary. When you start to see what cool non-leather products are out there, you won’t feel like you need leather anyway. My favorites are Matt and Nat for purses, www.mattandnat.com, and Olsen Haus for shoes, www.olsenhaus.com. For more on leather, visit www.cowsarecool.com.

Fur

Now I’m hoping that most of you have never owned fur. But maybe you have. I remember when I was a little girl my grandma thought it was really special to have me try on little fur coats. I didn’t know any better. At that time, she probably didn’t either. Fur was grand. It was exotic. It was expensive. It literally like wearing wealth on your sleeve. Thankfully we are becoming more knowledgeable each and every day. Like every other animal product, fur does not come easily. Millions of fur-bearing animals including foxes, raccoons, minks, coyotes, bobcats, lynxes, opossums, nutria, beavers, muskrats, otters and others are killed each year on fur farms by anal and vaginal electrocution and in the wild by drowning, trapping, or beating³.

Dog caught in a fur trap.

Most fur animals are not used for their meat. So the only reason people “value” them is for their fur. Foxes are often raised on ranches where four are kept in cages only 2.5 feet square. That’s much worse than a college dorm room. More like a chicken’s battery cage. Other fur animals are trapped out in the wild. The problem with this is that the hunters don’t check their traps every day so the animals are stuck with one of their legs horribly injured. They are unable to escape so they often time chew their own legs off. Can you imagine? Being so desperate for escape that you would chew your own leg off? Unfortunately non-fur-animals get caught in these traps too. Bambi, Fido and Heathcliff may find their fate suffering as a result of this cruel industry.

When it comes time for these animals to die … it’s not done nicely. They have no protection under the Humane Slaughter Act so they are often strangled, beat, or stomped to death. Others are electrocuted through their vagina or anus. The electric rod fries the animals insides. I mean seriously, who thought of that? Well the whole point it to make sure their fur stays in tact. Problem is … sometimes the stomping or electrocuting is not effective and the animal is skinned alive. Another scene from Earthings that haunts me is the image of a fur fox moving its head around painfully after all of its skin had been removed. Haunting. Don’t wear fur!! For more on fur, visit www.furisdead.com.

What You Can Do

Obviously, you can not buy wool, leather or fur. We honestly don’t need them to live a complete, whole, fulfilling life. In fact eliminating these products from your closet and household will only help you live more compassionately. You’ll get to see how GREAT it feels when your friends ogle over your new vegan bag and you can proudly say that no animals were harmed for your fashion choices. It will make them think about their fashion choices. If you’re wondering whether or not to purge your closet of wool, leather and fur, learn how I decided to eliminate these products from my closet piece by piece in my post, Shearing My Winter Coat. For me it was a process.

Living compassionately often begins with the food on your plate but becomes so much more. Once you awaken to the suffering other animals endure for human convenience, it is difficult to look at the food and products we once adored but now know are a result of so much suffering. The good news is that tomorrow is another day. You can choose differently the next time you buy a pair of shoes, a couch, a rug, or shoes. That’s what is so wonderful about this journey. We don’t need to feel guilty about what we did not know but we can feel empowered with what we do now know.

This concludes my five part series about becoming vegetarian. If you missed the previous posts, check out Part 1: Why Go Vegetarian, Part 2: How to Become Vegetarian, Part 3: Vegetarian Nutrition, and Part 4: Speaking Vegetarian.

Resources

1. USDA National Agricultural Library, Animals and Livestock: Sheep and Goats, http://riley.nal.usda.gov/nal_display/index.php?info_center=8&tax_level=2&tax_subject=10&topic_id=1735&placement_default=0

2. PETA, Cows Are Cool, http://www.cowsarecool.com

3. PETA, Fur is Dead, http://www.furisdead.com

Don’t miss Part 1: Why Go Vegetarian, Part 2: How to Become Vegetarian, and Part 3: Vegetarian Nutrition.

Gene Baur from Farm Sanctuary speaking at an event.

This five part series has been dedicated to helping people make the transition from an animal-based diet to a plant-based diet. I’ve covered why go vegetarian, how to become vegetarian, and vegetarian nutrition. Now I’m going to tackle one of the social components in part 4:  speaking vegetarian. It might sound funny to think you need to talk a certain way to be vegetarian but truthfully, as you begin to make this shift, you will notice that people treat you differently. They ask you strange questions. And it’s helpful to have some standard responses. In this post I will give you ideas about how to respond to people who have genuine questions and people who are just being idiots.

As Carol J Adams, author of the book Living Among Meat Eaters, said to VegNews magazine in the October 2009 issue, “Until a vegan or vegetarian enters the room, people don’t see themselves as meat-eaters. They are merely ‘eaters,’ and it is we vegans who have made them aware of what they are doing. Often this is discomforting.”

Following are some of the questions I am asked quite often. Responses are offered for your amusement and preparation for times when you too are confronted about your vegetarian choices. Remember, these are just my ideas here. I’m not telling you what to say. You have a brain to think for yourself. If you have better, funnier, more appropriate answers, please share them in the comments section below … we can all learn from each other.

Q1: Why are you vegetarian/vegan?

• A1-a: Plants don’t scream.
• A1-b: To lessen the suffering of people and animals on our planet.
• A1-c: So I can live to see the future. Don’t you know that factory farming creates more harmful green house gas emissions than the entire transportation industry? And, more than half of all the water consumed in the U.S. is used to raise animals for food. If we don’t stop eating meat, we won’t have a planet to live on.
• A1-d: For my health. Animal products have been shown to cause cancer, heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, and many other health problems. By eating a plant-based diet, I lessen my chances of dying prematurely from preventable diseases.

Q2: What’s wrong with eating a big juicy steak … nom, nom, nom?

• A2-a: Um, it bleeds. Where do you think that blood comes from?
• A2-b: Farmed animals today are sick. These sick cows produce diseased and bacteria-laden flesh that even industry standards call ‘unhealthful’. (Thank you Michael Greger, MD!)
• A2-c: Taking a life is a very serious thing, you better have a damn good reason. (Thank you Isa Chandra Moskowitz!)
• A2-d: If slaughterhouses had glass walls, everyone would be a vegetarian. (Thank you Paul McCartney!)

Q3: What do you eat? Pasta and salad?

• A3-a: Becoming vegetarian opened up a whole new world of food to me. I eat a greater variety of food now than I did when I ate meat.
• A3-b: There are a zillion more varieties of plants and grains than there are food animals. The diversity of food is in the plants, not the meats.
• A3-b: There are many alternatives to eating meat that are better for your health including tempeh, tofu, and seitan.
• A3-c: For more on this topic, see the post How to Become Vegetarian.

Q4: Weren’t humans meant to eat meat?

• A4-a: Just because we can, it doesn’t mean we should. (Thank you Colleen Patrick-Goudreau!)
• A4-b: Perhaps, yes, humans can digest meat but that doesn’t mean we have to. We have evolved to a place where we can make conscious decisions about what we eat. I choose consciously not to eat dead animal flesh.
• A4-c: In caveman times, people sustained primarily on plants. Meat was caught and eaten sparingly. In this day and age, we have flipped that idea on it’s head. To produce the amount of meat people are eating today, animals, humans and the environment are subject to extreme suffering.

Q5: What’s wrong with drinking milk or eating cheese? The cows aren’t killed.

• A5-a: Only female cows produce milk. What do you think happens to the male calves? They are sold for veal. This means they are kept in tiny crates, chained by the neck, and unable to move for several weeks before they are slaughtered for their baby flesh.
• A5-b: By supporting the dairy industry, you are supporting the veal industry. I would rather not inflict pain and suffering on baby calves when they have done nothing to harm me.
• A5-c: Dairy cows are constantly impregnated so they can produce milk which was meant for their babies. But they are not allowed to give their milk to those babies. Humans drink it instead. Doesn’t that seem a bit odd?
• A5-d: For humans, drinking cow’s milk has been linked to heart disease, some types of cancer, diabetes, and even osteoporosis, the very disease that the dairy industry claims its products are supposed to prevent!

Q6: The bible says humans are supposed to eat animals because they have no souls.

• A6-a: There are several passages in the bible that state animals can seek redemption just as humans can. These are a few: (Revelation 5:8-13), (Romans 8:19), (Romans 8:21).
• A6-b: I don’t think humans have ’souls’ as you define it either, but I’m still against cannibalism. (Thank you Kipp Lanning!)
• A6-c: Regardless of whether or not you think animals have souls, why do you want to intentionally cause pain and suffering to animals that have done absolutely nothing to harm you when you don’t have to?
• A6-d: Adam and Eve were vegetarian in the Garden of Eden before they sinned.
• A6-e: For more on this topic, see the post Do Animals Have Souls?

Q7: Aren’t there laws that protect farmed animals?

• A7-a: Sadly there are not many laws to protect farm animals or even the people who eat them.
• A7-b: The atrocities committed against farm animals would be illegal if dogs or cats were the victims and yet much of the time, these farm animals are just as smart and sentient as the dogs and cats we treat as family members.

Q8: What if scientists breed pigs so that they don’t feel pain? Then would you think it’s ok to eat them.

• A8-a: No. Just because an animal can’t feel physical pain it doesn’t mean they don’t suffer psychologically from inhumane living conditions and separation from their natural social groups.
• A8-b: If scientists can spend so much time and money figuring out how to breed pigs that don’t feel pain, they could better spend that time coming up with an artificial meat that has the benefits of pork without the harmful effects. That would be even better for humans and there would be no animal suffering.
• A8-c: If scientists can genetically modify pigs so that they don’t feel pain, what else are they modifying? It sounds like weird science to me and I would rather put non-genetically-modified foods into my body. Who knows what effects the genetic modification will have on the humans that eat the pigs.

Q9: Don’t you care about people? There are so many people suffering, how can we care about the animals?

• A9-a: I do care about people. Factory farming is not only inhumane to the animals but the industry is inherently awful to the human workers as well.
• A9-b: I do care about people which is why I promote vegetarianism for health reasons. Studies show that vegetarians have less incidence of preventable diseases like heart disease, obesity, and some cancers.
• A9-b: Who gives a rip about people. The animals have done nothing to cause us pain and suffering. It’s not right that we should impose our harsh treatment on them by making them pay for our gluttony with their lives.

Q10: Plants are able to chemically respond to their environment and stimuli. Your vegetables have feelings too.

• A10-a: At this time there have been no studies to prove that plants are sentient beings … meaning that they are not capable of feeling pain, sorrow, joy, love, loss, and happiness. If there comes a time when that is proven to be true, I will make different choices then.
• A10-b: I will watch my vegetables harvested and brought to table if you watch your chicken, cow or pig ‘harvested’ and brought to table. Then you can decide which one you feel better about eating. (Thank you Lacy!)
• A10-c: Wouldn’t you agree that there is a fundamental difference between tearing up a head of lettuce and slitting a live chicken’s throat or removing the skin of a cow while it’s still alive?
• A10-d: The ability to feel pain requires a brain, a central nervous system, and pain receptors. All mammals, birds, and fish have these things; plants do not. Animals feel pain, just as we do. As far as we know, plants don’t.

One thing you must remember is that some people will never, ever change. Instead of wasting your energy being frustrated with those people, move on. If a person is relentless in “attacking” you about your choices, stay calm. Don’t fight back. Simply say, something along these lines. “I choose this life because it is what feels right to me. If you feel ok about the choices you make, then we agree to disagree.” There is really no point in getting into it with them. They likely don’t even care what you have to say, they’re just trying to rile you up. Be the bigger person and know that you are living a life that makes you feel good and in a way that shows respect for others.

There are many people out there with open minds that are looking for inspiration to change. You can be that inspiration simply by being a positive role model. Go forth and inspire …

Don’t miss Part 1: Why Go Vegetarian

Last week I talked about the many reasons why it’s good to become vegetarian. This week I’ll explain exactly how to make that transition. So many people have said, “I really want to go vegetarian. I just don’t know how.” Hopefully this post will answer many of those questions. All of this is based on my experience so use it as a guide but do what makes you feel most comfortable.

First Step: Decide Why You’re Becoming Vegetarian

It may seem obvious to decide why you want to become vegetarian but it’s important. At times it can be tempting to eat a piece of chicken or Cold Stone Creamery ice cream. When you find yourself in that situation, it’s important to instantly remind yourself why you’ve made this commitment. Is it for your health so you can live to see the future? Is it for the planet so we all can live to see the future? Or is it because you want to limit the amount of suffering and torture imposed upon animals raised for food? It may be a combination of all three but most likely one reasons stands out from the rest. Take some time to write it down so you can remind yourself later.

Second Step: Learn What Vegetarians Eat

Many people think that by becoming vegetarian you are depriving yourself of “good” food. People tend to think this lifestyle is “limiting” or “difficult”. This can not be farther from the truth. Anybody that has been vegan for more than a few weeks will tell you that eliminating animal products from their diet has opened the door for so many new and interesting foods.

Before we get into foods you most likely have never heard of, let’s talk about some simple alternatives you can eat instead of the animal products you are used to. Sometimes these alternatives are called “mock meat” or “mock cheese”. I prefer to call them what they are. All of the following recommendations are tested and approved by me. However not all of them are vegan so I no longer eat some of them but I can guarantee that they are vegetarian and we must all start somewhere. We’ll talk about how to spot non-vegan ingredients a bit later.

Chicken & Turkey Alternatives: Boca Chik’n Patties, Field Roast, Gardenburger Breaded Chik’n, Morningstar Farms Chik’n Strips, Tofurkey

Hamburger Alternatives: Amy’s Kitchen burgers (many varieties), Boca Burgers (vegan option), Gardenburger (vegan option), Morningstar Farms (vegan option), Yves Meatless Beef Burgers (vegan)

Sandwich Meat Alternatives: Tofurkey Deli Slices (vegan), Yves Meatless Deli Slices (bologna, ham, turkey, salami, pepperoni, roast beef, smoked chicken all vegan)

Ground Beef Alternatives: Boca Meatless Ground Crumbles, Morningstar Farms Meal Starters Grillers Recipe Crumbles

Eggs: Ener-G Egg Replacer (for baking), Tofu (for scrambling)

Milk: soy milk (high in protein), hemp milk (high in protein), rice milk, almond milk

Butter: Earth Balance Original Buttery Spread (vegan, seriously it’s better than butter!)

Cheese: Vegan Gourmet (good for melting), Lisanatti Almond Cheese (good for sandwiches), Veggie Slices (good for sandwiches)

Mayonnaise: Follow Your Heart Vegenaise

Sour Cream: Tofutti Sour Supreme

Cream Cheese: Tofutti Better than Cream Cheese

Ice Cream: Turtle Mountain Purely Decadent (yum, yum, yum), So Delicious

Yogurt: Silk Live! Soy Yogurt, Turtle Mountain SO Delicious Dairy-Free Yogurt

Now let’s hope that answers the question people like to ask; “What DO you eat?”. Shazzam. We vegans eat a lot! And we get to eat more than meat eaters because most vegan food is lower in fat. Many of these same companies also offer meatless hot dogs, bacon, and sausage.

Here is an important tip. Now this is key so listen up. Don’t expect these foods to taste like the meat or animal products you are trying to replace. Instead open your mind to the idea that you are trying a totally new food. Be curious about the flavors and textures and treat it as a new food experience. Most of them do not taste like their animal-derived predecessors and that is ok. You are on a new adventure so appreciate the new experiences ahead of you! As Isa Chandra-Moskowitz says, “Your taste buds will catch up with your ethics.” Trust me it’s true.

You might be wondering, “what do I do with the non-vegan/vegetarian food in my house?” Some people are so disgusted with animal products once they make the decision to become vegetarian, they throw everything away and start fresh with non-animal foods. Others, myself included, decided to eat the remaining animal products and never buy them again. I remember being forlorn over my last Cheeze-It. It seems lame now but at the time I was sad about it. Now I can tell you about a zillion other foods I love more than Cheeze-Its. Either way, the most important thing is to become educated about what you’re eating and you get some brownie points for reading this because you’re already there.

In future posts I will get more into detail about how to make fantastic vegan food from scratch but I don’t want to overwhelm those of you that are just starting out. Begin with these alternatives and over time you’ll be ready to graduate to more cooking in the kitchen. Who knows you might even find it fun! I know that sounds ridiculous but I can say that because I was the most anti-cooking woman ever but after being vegan nearly 2 years, I am finding that I love the creativity of cooking.

Third Step: Finding Vegetarian Items in the Grocery Store

Are you looking at these animal-product alternatives with a big question mark over your head? Perhaps you’ve never heard of them and you wouldn’t have a clue about where to find them in your grocery store. Don’t worry. Grocery stores are incorporating more and more vegetarian-friendly products all the time. I have been known to find Veggie Slices and Tofurkey in even the small towns of Nebraska.

In most grocery stores, milk alternatives can be found next to the regular milk. Frozen meat alternatives like veggie burgers and veggie crumbles are usually in a separate area of the frozen foods section. Pretty much everything else is usually in the “healthy” foods section.

My local Basha’s is amazing. They carry about 90% of the products I like to use on a regular basis. Sprouts Farmer’s Market is another local store that carries many “alternatives”. Sadly Trader Joe’s doesn’t carry most of these foods but they do have great nut mixes and vegan chocolate chips. My all time favorite grocery store is Whole Foods Market. What person doesn’t love that store? I mean you can get pretty much any strange thing you can imagine there including matcha green tea powder, rosewater, vegan Omega-3 – all of which I buy there.

At any grocery store, you can ask the people working there to help you find what you want. And you know how they always ask at the end of your transaction, “did you find everything you were looking for?” Take that as an opportunity to request the products you’re looking for. If enough people do, they will start carrying them.

Fourth Step: Spotting Non-Vegan Ingredients

For those of you looking to transition from vegetarianism to veganism or those of you that just want to take the leap from eating animal products to getting rid of any trace of them in your diet, here are some important sneaky, sneaks to look out for.

Whey: Whey, or milk plasma, is the liquid remaining after milk has been curdled and strained. It’s usually found in cheese alternatives that don’t specifically say they are vegan but it can be found in pretty much any product.

Casein: Casein is a protein that is found in milk and used independently in many foods as a binding agent. It’s usually found in cheese alternatives that don’t specifically say they are vegan.

Gelatin: Gelatin is a solid substance, derived from the collagen inside animals’ skin and bones, that is used as a binding agent. It is most often found in Jell-O, candy or like products.

Glycerides (mono/di/tri): Glycerides come from animal fats. They can be found in many products.

These are the most common but there are others that you may notice from time to time. If you want more details, go to this complete list of foods which contain hidden animal products. If this all seems too much for you at the moment, don’t stress! Just work on cutting out the big things like hamburgers and chicken breasts. You can consider what you want to do about whey, casein, and gelatin later.

I hope this post has helped those of you that are considering this fulfilling and compassionate lifestyle. Stay tuned for Part 3: Vegetarian Nutrition to continue your transformation! If you have any questions or ideas, please leave me a comment. I’m here to help you in any way I can.

Dear readers,

I’m so very sorry that I had a little mess up on my very well intentioned blog post from yesterday, Why Go Vegetarian Part 1 of 5. I worked really hard crafting the argument and researching sources and then …. oops I accidentally published the wrong version.

For those of you that already viewed it in your reader or received it via e-mail please see the updated version at:

http://www.hungryherbivores.com/2009/09/06/why-go-vegetarian/

There is substantially more information under “For Your Health”.

As always … thanks for your readership!

-Josie

When I announced this new and improved blog, several people responded asking for an introduction to vegetarianism. I’m happy to oblige. Today starts the first in a five part series that will guide you through the journey of living a vegetarian life for your health, the animals, and the planet. The five parts will provide overviews on:

• part 1: why go vegetarian;
• part 2: how to go vegetarian;
• part 3: vegetarian nutrition;
• part 4: talking the vegetarian talk; and
• part 5: living a compassionate vegetarian life.

Just to preface, when I say vegetarian, I mean vegan as well. To me, you can not truly be supporting animal welfare -which is the main reason I’m vegan – unless you remove all animal products from your diet and lifestyle. However doing something is better than doing noting. If all you can do is cut out chicken in your diet, that’s better than continuing to eat chicken in addition to drinking milk, etc. It also appears that the word “vegetarian” is less difficult for people to accept. For some “veganism” seems too difficult to achieve. Regardless, it’s not about the labels or whatever you decide to call yourself, it’s about the intention you use to make your food choices every day.

Why Become Vegetarian?

There are so many reasons to become vegetarian! The main three are: for your health, for the animals, and for our planet.

For Your Health

Healthy vegetarian and musician, John Darnielle, with Zoop at Farm Sanctuary.

America is experiencing an obesity epidemic. More than one-third of U.S. adults were obese in 2005–2006.  This includes 33.3% of men and 35.3% of women¹. For the first time in history this generation of children is predicted to have a shorter life span than their parents due to obesity and obesity-related diseases. Vegetarianism, if managed well, is one way to combat obesity. You see the plants and grains do not contain the saturated fats and cholesterol found in animal products. So by choosing vegetarianism, you are virtually eliminating the unnecessary saturated fat and cholesterol from your diet. Dr. Michael Greger, an expert in nutrition, has done extensive research and found that several medical studies link meat consumption with breast cancer, bladder cancer and pancreatic cancer². He has also shown that eating just one egg a day can lead to cardiovascular disease³. On average vegetarians have lower body weight, cholesterol, and blood pressure, and lower rates of type 2 diabetes, heart disease, prostate cancer, and colon cancer⁴.  Furthermore, the animals raised for food are pumped full of antibiotics, hormones and toxins that eventually reach their human consumers. Dairy is notorious for containing an excess of sex steroids which some claim to cause early onset puberty and breast cancer in women. The National Institute of Health has reported alarming levels of arsenic in chicken breast, six times the amount allowed in drinking water⁵. Once we understand that eating animal products is a packaged deal, meaning that while they may offer benefits to human health the bad effects far outweigh the good, it seems clear that we should rely on plants, beans, and grains to meet our nutritional needs. These food sources do not have such drastic consequences to human health or animal welfare. After all, the animals get their nutrients from the plants they eat. Then we expect them to pass those nutrients on to us. But we can do something better. We can start from the beginning and shorten the food chain by deriving nutrition from plant-based sources. It’s better for our health.

For The Animals

Male "dairy" cows are used for veal because they can not produce milk.

Most of our food in America comes from factory farms. Americans eat a lot of food which means 10 BILLION⁶ (yes billion, that’s not a typo) animals are killed for food each year. That equals 1,140,901 animals per hour. This number includes cows, pigs, chickens, turkey, and other animals raised for food. It does not include fish or game. These animals are treated horribly on factory farms. Female pigs used for breeding (called ‘breeding sows‘ by industry) are confined most of their lives in ‘gestation crates’ which are so small that they can not turn around. The same goes for veal calves (little boys that are a byproduct of the dairy industry) who are not only confined but also chained by their neck so they can not move. Female dairy cows are constantly impregnated so they can continue to produce milk and veal. They often suffer painful inflammation of their utters from producing extreme quantities of milk. Most beef cattle spend several months in congested feedlots where they are fed unnatural diets and exposed to freezing and extremely hot temperatures without shelter. Chicken – the majority of animals killed – are kept in cages so small they can not move, spread their wings or socialize like they would naturally. Male chicks, like male dairy cows, have no place in the egg industry. Over 30 million male chicks are ground up alive each year⁷. ALL of these animals (aside from the male chicks) are sent to slaughter which is not pretty. Death is never a beautiful thing when the animal you are killing desperately wants to live. Because so many animals die each year for food production, they are sent quickly through the slaughter lines meaning that sometimes they are alive and conscious when they reach the hide puller or tail ripper. There are many other atrocities committed against the animals humans eat. This is but an overview. So I ask you … if you would not treat animals this way, why would you pay someone else to so that meat can end up on your table?

For Our Planet

Manure waste from a confined animal feeding operation.

The production of animals is a major contributor to the destruction of our environment. Factory farming produce toxins, chemicals, gases, and uncontainable amounts of manure that pollute the soil, water, and air. This causes masses environmental degradation and can be dangerous to public health. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, “The livestock sector is a major player responsible for 18 percent of green-house gas emissions measured in CO₂ equivalent. This is a higher share than transport.”⁸ Eating a meal with meat requires 16 times the amount of fossil fuels to produce than a vegetarian meal⁹.In addition, it takes an enormous amount of resources to raise animals for food and eat them. It is more efficient to raise grains and plants for humans to eat rather than to raise grains and plants for animals to consume and then for people to consume the animals. It takes 14 times more energy and 40 percent more cropland to produce the protein found in chicken meat as is does to produce the same amount of protein per unit of soybeans¹⁰. The Worldwatch Institute says, “As environmental science has advanced, it has become apparent that the human appetite for animal flesh is a driving force behind virtually every major category of environmental damage now threatening the human future – deforestation, erosion, fresh water scarcity, air and water pollution, climate change, biodiversity loss, social injustice, the destabilization of communities, and the spread of disease”¹¹. Even Al Gore and Glenn Beck say the single most important thing you can do to stop global warming is to stop eating meat.

Types of Vegetarians

There are different types of vegetarians. These are the most common.

Vegetarian: A vegetarian is a person who does not eat meat but eats animal byproducts such as milk, cheese and eggs.

Lacto-vegetarian: A lacto-vegetarian is a person that does not eat eggs but does eat dairy products.

Ovo-Vegetarian: An ovo-vegetarian is a person that do not eat meat or dairy products but does eat eggs.

Lacto-Ovo Vegetarian: Lacto-ovo vegetarian is a person that does not eat meat but they do eat milk, cheese and eggs. They are the most common type of vegetarians in the Western world.

Vegan: A vegan is a person who does not eat meat or animal byproducts, A vegan also rejects the use of animal products such as leather, silk, wool in clothing and household goods.

Raw Vegan: A raw vegan is a person who eats only raw, vegan foods. “Raw” means that the food has not been heated above 115 degrees Fahrenheit. Raw vegans believe that foods cooked above this temperature loses a significant amount of their nutritional value.

Think about what kind of vegetarian you would like to be. Our next step in part 2 will be discussing how to make the transition from a typical meat-eating diet to one of compassion and fulfillment that minimizes the suffering of both animals, the planet and people.

Resources

1. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Obesity Among Adults in the United States, http://www.cdc.gov/obesity/index.html

2. Dr. Michael Greger, Latest in Clinical Nutrition DVD, volume 2, http://www.drgreger.org/DVDs/

3. Dr. Michael Greger, Latest in Clinical Nutrition DVD, volume 2, http://www.drgreger.org/DVDs/

4. American Dietetic Association, Vegetarian Diets, Volume 109, Issue 7, Pages 1266-1282 (July 2009), http://www.eatright.org/cps/rde/xchg/ada/hs.xsl/advocacy_933_ENU_HTML.htm

5. Lasky T, Sun W, Kadry A, and Hoffman MK, “Mean Total Arsenic Concentrations in Chicken 1989-2000 and estimated Exposures for Consumers of Chicken,” Environmental Health Perspectives 112(1), Jan. 2004.

6. The Humane Society of the United States: Guide to Vegetarian Eating based on USDA, National Agricultural Statistics Service.

7. Mercy for Animals, Hatchery Horrors: The Egg Industry’s Tiniest Victims, http://www.mercyforanimals.org/hatchery/

8. Livestock’s Long Shadow, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, http://www.fao.org/docrep/010/a0701e/a0701e00.HTM

9. Gene Baur, Farm Sanctuary, during a talk at Changing Hands Bookstore in Tempe, Arizona on March 30, 2009.

10. The Humane Society of the United States: Guide to Vegetarian Eating based on USDA, National Agricultural Statistics Service, “Poultry Slaughter: 2006 Annual Summary”.

11. Is Meat Sustainable?, Worldwatch Institute, http://www.worldwatch.org/node/549

The 18 children were given small amounts of milk on a regular basis to see if their bodies would begin to tolerate the beverage – which of course is not meant for them to drink in the first place. Hmmm … now I’m not a researcher but I do consider myself a somewhat intelligent person. And when I went to graduate school they motivated us to ask the tough questions like “Why do we exist?” I beg these researchers and this reporter to start over at the beginning, “Why do humans drink milk?” That might be a much more difficult question to answer than how can we make kids who are naturally intolerant to another species byproduct overcome their allergies by giving them more of the same byproducts?

What did the researchers, who were “encouraged” by the findings, discover? That “regular dairy use could help children become more tolerant and remain so”. Oh goodie! That means kids can drink more milk meant for calves not humans and the dairy industry can keep making lots of money. Yet all is not well with this scenario. Many of us are aware that cow’s milk does not come without cost. The raising of cows in this country is creating an environmental disaster. The cows are treated horribly, their babies are used for worse things like veal, and all of them eventually land in a slaughter house for a disrespectful end of life. Furthermore, the very smart researchers found that “for some children the allergies returned after they stop drinking milk”.

Now can I stand by and let this go without remarks? Not so much.

Dear miss reporter Kelly Brewington might I share with you my comments:

“Wow, I am shocked at this study. Did the very intelligent, well-educated, well-paid researchers ever consider that humans were not meant to drink the milk of cows? Cows milk is supposed to be for their calves not for us humans and our children. I won’t go into details about the  horrific conditions these cows tolerate to create milk that humans consume or how study after study shows that animal products lead to heart disease and cancer.

There are so many great alternatives to animal milk such as almond milk, soy milk, hemp milk, and rice milk. Why would the researchers put  children through this testing? Was this study funded by the dairy industry? Or could it be that even the smartest people in our society have forgotten to ask the simple questions like why is it that we drink milk in the first place?”

Please send your comments to Kelly kelly.brewington@baltsun.com and/or Dr. Robert A. Wood, lead investigator on the study http://www.hopkinschildrens.org/staffDetail.aspx?id=3152.

Sources:

The Baltimore Sun, August 2009, http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/health/2009/08/children_milk_allergies.html

Let’s start with the most common … people who swear they love their dogs and cats but happily throw cow’s flesh or chicken’s flesh on their grill for dinner. Now if you’re one of these people, what gives? I mean really. Do you look into the eyes of your dog or cat and tell them that you love them? Do you let them sleep in your bed? Do you think about them when you’re away? Do you think they are capable of loving you back? Then why wouldn’t a cow, pig or chicken be just as capable? The reality is that they ARE just as capable. And yet, we force them into torturous, confining conditions and kill them just so we can eat their flesh and steal their body’s byproducts. Would you do that to your dog or cat? Would you hang Fluffy by her hind legs, blow a hole in her head, strip off her skin and eat her belly? Um, I don’t think so. Come on … let’s start making the connections.

Now let’s talk about another group of people who are under my skin recently. These are the folks who call themselves “rescuers”. I must preface by saying that I have a lot of rescue friends. I am a self proclaimed “rescuer”. Many of these people are well intentioned. I do not pass judgment on them individually but on a general principal as a group of people, I do find some “rescue” behavior odd.

On the surface, rescue people seem very kind. They spend every weekend and many hours of every day springing dogs and cats from the pound or scooping them up off the dangerous streets where they may be running stray,  injured and homeless. They bring these dogs and cats into their houses. They treat them like children. They love them, buy them great food, give them toys, and worry about their well being. They spend enormous amounts of money caring for these animals. And then they sit down to dinner to gnaw on the hind legs of a cow or a chicken’s breast. Do these folks think that perhaps that cow liked it’s hind leg attached to it’s body? Or that that chicken needed its breast to keep it’s lungs and heart safe? Probably not. But why not?

And why is it that when I challenge these ideals, these groups of people get incredibly angry and defensive? I am at a loss here and finding myself a bit frustrated. I have been working hard here in the Phoenix area to bring ideals of veganism to the forefront of people’s minds. Over the past few weeks I have been working with a local rescue group to purchase booth space at a very large upcoming event. The rescue’s event coordinator was so excited to have vegan booth at this popular animal event. We had everything settled and I was prepared to have a booth with literature about factory farming with delicious vegan food samples. But just this past weekend, the event coordinator took my information to the board for approval and they denied me! Yes, the board denied me! Do you want to know why? Because there is a hamburger-slinging vendor that attends these animal rescue events and this hamburger-slinging vendor shares its profit with the animal rescue.

You see my booth was going to offer free samples of delectable vegan food and apparently this was too much of a threat to their bottom line. So I ask you, does the death of one animal justify the means of another? Does killing cows for money to save dogs really make a difference in the overall health and welfare of animals on this planet?

This rescue is not the only one. There are rescues that sell animal products like leather hand bags or shoes at auctions to raise money for their dogs and cats. Then several others have fancy banquet events where they serve up cows, chickens and pigs to celebrate their great achievements in rescue-land. They justify it by saying that people pay a lot of money to attend these black tie events and they need to feel that they are getting their money’s worth. Again, selling out the cows to save the dogs and cats.

To me, this is so upsetting. If you can’t tell by my unusual and unapologetic tone tonight. I’m at a loss of understanding as to where these folks come from. Is it too difficult to make the correlation between the animals your hug and kiss every day and the animals on your plate?

According to popular podcaster Colleen Patrick-Goudreau, the average 75-year-old meat eater that resides in the United States is responsible (in their life time) for the death of:

• 10 cows,
• 34 pigs, and
• 2,535 turkeys, ducks, and chickens.

Now I ask you … if the average rescuer saves 10 animals a year and continues to eat as most Americans do, they will have killed more lives than they would have saved. Yes, that is correct. They would have KILLED MORE LIVES THAN THEY SAVED.

All I’m saying to the rescue that denied me for the hamburger-slinging vendor … open your minds. Buck conventionalism. Ask the deep questions of yourself and the world around you. Is this how you want to live? Killing more than you’re saving? At the very least, can’t you accept the mere presence of a peaceful and compassionate vegan in the midst of a hamburger-eating crowd? I think the cows would appreciate it. Heck, I’ll even bring vegan treats for the dogs!

I have been a member of Toastmasters for a little less than a year. What a great organization! I joined because my brother asked me to officiate his wedding. Toastmasters helped me sail through that with flying colors and I liked the group so much I kept going to meetings. Over time I realized that perfecting my speaking skills could take me to new places and open doors. Not only will polished speaking skills help me in my Web development business … (light bulb!) I can actually have a platform with which to talk about animal advocacy. I don’t know why it took me so long to realize this. I think it’s because I was a bit afraid to put myself and my vegan values out there in such a “loud” way. I love talking to people 1 on 1 and I love writing about veganism but speaking to groups of people puts my animal advocacy on a whole different level.

The whole purpose of my speech was to inspire the audience to go vegetarian just one day a week. I know that doesn’t seem like a lot to many of you who read this blog but to people who have never considered a vegetarian diet, it’s a place to start. During the speech, I told two stories.

What Happens to Beef Cows in the United States?

I started with Whitaker, who was once considered a typical beef cow. He was found – just days old – on the side of a road in California. It’s likely that he fell off a transport truck as some farm animals do. Our friends at Farm Sanctuary saved him and now he lives a happy life on their farm. I had a beautiful picture of Whitaker blown up and mounted on an 11×14 foam board. I passed his picture around the audience. I mean seriously, who wouldn’t think this cow is cute?

Then I began to explain what happens every year in the United States to the other 35 million¹ beef cows that are not as lucky as Whitaker. I described their filthy feedlot conditions and details of the slaughter process. The cows are first shot in the head with a captive bolt gun. Then they are hung by their feet. Their necks are slit and they die piece by piece to make steaks and hamburgers. Because this process happens so fast often times the cows are still conscious. I showed a picture of a feed lot and passed it around.

At this point in the speech, I think people were shocked. I actually heard a gasp when I revealed the number of cows slaughtered each year.

What Happens to Pigs Raised for Food in the United States?

Next I told the story of a pig named Socks. Socks was found wandering the streets in Springfield, Massachusetts after he wiggled out of a transport truck passing through town. He too was saved by the nice people at Farm Sanctuary. At first Socks was scared stiff around people. He would cower and run as far away from humans as possible. After a while at Farm Sanctuary, Socks made friends with both humans and other pigs. I showed an adorable picture of Socks.

Then I described the conditions for the other, not-so-lucky, 105 million² pigs that are raised and slaughtered in the United States every year. Breeding sows are piglet-making machines. Once a sow is impregnated, she is put in a gestation crate – a small metal pen, just two feet wide. She cannot turn around or even lie down comfortably. She lives in this gestation crate for four months until she is ready to give birth. Then she is moved to a farrowing crate – which is not much bigger. After nursing her babies for 2-3 weeks, they are taken away and she goes through the whole process all over again. Once a pig reaches 250 pounds, their fate is to die in the same way cows are slaughtered.

The Crowd’s Reaction

It was interesting for me to see the crowd’s reaction. This is the first time I have ever given a speech like this. There have been many talks about Web development, camping, dog rescue, etc. but never a speech so honest and adamant about inspiring people to change. I think the audience really didn’t know what to make of all the information. My evaluator was complimentary on my delivery but asked me to back up my figures with citations which was a helpful tip. I have done that for you here in this post.

The most interesting thing to me is that the words of my speech seemed to have staying power with the audience. It has been well over a week and I continue to get Facebook messages from audience members asking me for recipes and telling me that they have been thinking about their food ever since my speech. At our last Toastmasters meeting two members said they used to be vegetarian but had moved away from it in the last few years. My speech inspired them to cook vegetarian one night a week. These are amazing things!

I can’t believe how effective it can be for just one person to take a stand and share knowledge with others. If I can speak to groups even just a few times a year and inspire people to make a change, so can you. If you’d like a copy of the speech with the images to display, just send me a comment and I’ll get them to you. One person at a time, we can make a difference for the animals.

Many thanks to Farm Sanctuary for providing the information and imagery needed to help each one of us advocate on behalf of the animals in a meaningful way.

Stay tuned … my new revelations have inspired me to make many changes to this blog and my advocacy work in general.

References

1. Farm Sanctuary, Factory Beef Production, http://www.farmsanctuary.org/issues/factoryfarming/beef/

2. Farm Sanctuary, Factory Pork Production, http://www.farmsanctuary.org/issues/factoryfarming/pork/

CNN says “Seemingly out of nowhere, the swine flu virus has spread from person to person in Mexico and the United States, triggering global concerns as governments scramble to find ways to prevent further outbreak.”¹ Yet in the same article they say how swine influenza has been known to spread from pigs to humans in the past.

Why are people always so amazed when diseases that affect the foods we eat “suddenly” become a problem for humans? What is so shocking? I think it’s because people believe they are living under some fluffy pink umbrella where the government protects them from harmful foods. Well why don’t we all just stick our heads in the sand a little longer and act like we’re so shocked that this swine flu has come “out of nowhere”.

Are we really in danger of a swine flu epidemic?

Now it’s not time for everybody to get their panties in a bunch … there have only been 12 reported cases of swine flu detected in the United States from 2005 to 2009.² If you are a fairly healthy person, you can probably fight it like the common flu. If you are elderly, immune suppressed, or a child, you may be in greater danger.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is worried that such an “outbreak” of a virus jumping from one species to another could cause havoc for humans. If humans don’t have have the immunity to fight this virus, then it could be devastating.

What is the swine flu virus?

Well obviously pigs (swine) are the primary carriers of the virus. It has been detected in pigs in China, Vietnam and now Mexico. Pigs can also carry the human flu virus which means these things all mesh together in their portly bellies and make for a strain of flu that can easily pass to humans. There are also links between the avian flu virus and this swine flu virus.

Pigs are kept in tight, contaminated areas and people handle them daily – all in an effort to maximize profits not in the best interest of human or pig heath. Clearly the pig handlers are most at risk. Once one person is contaminated, it is transmitted just like the regular flu by sneezing, ingesting germs from something carrying the virus, etc.

The CDC says swine flu symptoms are similar to the regular run-of-the-mill flu symptoms including “fever, cough, sore throat, body aches, headache, chills and fatigue. A few patients have reported that they also suffered from diarrhea and vomiting.”³ It can be treated with anti-viral drugs.

Where’s the logic in all of this?

Here’s what cracks me up the most, CNN tells us … be really scared of this “pandemic outbreak” of swine flu … but, hey … go ahead … keep on eating pork! Have they lost their minds? Now even if a person can’t get swine flu from a cooked piece of pork … couldn’t they make the correlation that the mass production of pigs kept in close quarters contributes to the spread of the disease? If people didn’t eat those pigs, then we wouldn’t produce them and this disease wouldn’t be a problem. Perhaps that’s too politically incorrect for them to mention if say Hormel wants to sponsor their Web site.

My prediction is that if this swine flu becomes a larger problem the powers that be will euthanize all pigs that test positive for swine flu virus. Then they will go about their normal business as if they have eradicated the problem and everyone will go back to living under their fluffy pink umbrella. That is until the next “shocking outbreak” of a food animal virus appears.

Sources:

1. – CNN, accessed 4/27/09, http://www.cnn.com/2009/HEALTH/04/27/swine.flu.qanda/?iref=mpstoryview

2. – CNN, accessed 4/27/09, http://www.cnn.com/2009/HEALTH/04/27/swine.flu.qanda/?iref=mpstoryview

3. – Wikipedia, accessed 4/27/09, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swine_flu