By Guest Writer Marlene Watson-Tara

For those of you who missed my note last week, (Cancer, Cash and Confusion), I mentioned the issue of horse and pig meat being found in hamburger patties in the UK.  I want to follow up on that little story and not leave everyone on the edge of the seat, first a little ancient wisdom.

When my sister was very young she liked to pick up things and put them in her mouth. She once had a little gulp of shoe polish and anything left on the floor was up for grabs. She did not suffer any long-term damage that I know of. My mothers mantra was “Don’t put that in your mouth, you don’t know where it’s been.” Just imagine what would happen if we applied that little bit of advice to the food we eat. What follows does not address the issue of animal slaughter but is focused on how the food industry denatures its products and how consumers would simply not really think about what they eat as long as it titillates the taste buds.

A quick review of the burger issue here in the UK:

Well not really. There’s more to the story.

The horse meat is part of what is called (in the burger business) as “filler”.  Filler can be lots of things often it is various forms of a sludge made from everything in the animal that’s not really meat. Tendons, sinew, and scraps attached to bone can all be removed by chemical treatment and scalding then mixed and whipped into a paste that raises the protein content of the burger. This particular “filler” didn’t come from Ireland – it came from Poland.  

It turns out that the filler for these beef/horse/pig patties could have been sold for over the past year as well. It also turns out that Burger King was one of their customers. So…the burgers in the UK were processed in Ireland with added animal parts from Poland (that included horse and pig parts). This was an international project, globalization in action. The big supermarkets, (including Asda the mask that Wal-Mart wears in the UK) were of course horrified, “how could this happen?” It happened because it is standard procedure to sell food that is not what the consumer believes it to be or simply doesn’t want to know. Meat products are where the dark arts of food production have set up a permanent home.

Since meat has become the dietary foundation of both America and most of Europe, keeping meat prices down has been a major focus of the meat industry. After World War Two, the American government moved quickly to subsidize the meat industry by providing cheap grain and water.

With the growing population of baby-boomers and troops returning home the demand for meat and meat products soared. It was not simply that there were more mouths to feed; it was that people were eating more meat than ever. The short-term solution of cheap meat quickly became business as usual.  Aside from cheap meat “on the hoof” there was increased demand for even lower cost cuts of meat, ground meats and lunch meats. These cheap meat products for the working class were an easy target for the mystery meats that fill the fast food and delicatessen markets of the world.

In order to make ground meat products cheap and tasty the full arsenal of food chemistry is brought to play. The goal of the game is to bulk up the product, maintain the protein requirements of government, provide the “mouth feel” and taste that makes the consumer smack their lips with pleasure and make the product look like ground “meat” (ie: muscle tissue). What a challenge. Can our brave food scientists succeed? You bet.

There are several answers, the first are fillers. These can cut the cost of a hamburger by 10 to 20%. They can be flour, oatmeal, breadcrumbs or soya products. These are great cost cutters for cheap burgers, hot dogs and luncheon meats. The problem is they can blunt the taste. Spice, MSG and other flavor enhancers can turn the trick but the best bets are the extenders. It is the extenders that most often get the industry into trouble. The trouble doesn’t usually last very long but it is inconvenient and sometimes costly. The extender that has gotten the most press and created the most problems for the industry is Pink Slime.

A microbiologist for the FDA named Dr. Gerald Zirnstein coined the term Pink Slime in 2002. The good Doctor passed on an email and stated, "I do not consider the stuff to be ground beef, and I consider allowing it in ground beef to be a form of fraudulent labeling." He and his associates felt that the product was more accurately labeled “salvage”. He was overruled and the slime crept on.

In 2007 the FDA claimed that the product was so safe that it didn’t need to be tested independently as an additive to burgers. It was only in 2012 when ABC television broadcast a report on it that the Slime hit the Fan. The fat cats in the meat industry called foul and several fast food chains were forced to discontinue its use. So what was the problem?

The pink slime is known in the meat industry as LFTB, Lean Finely Textured Beef. The product was originally developed as an extender for pet food. It is produced by processing low-grade beef trimmings and cartilage, connective tissue and sinew and fat tissue from under the skins of the slaughtered cattle with a centrifuge heated to approximately 100°F. The fat is skived off and then the pulverized product is exposed to ammonium hydroxide to sanitize it. When extruded it can be injected into ground meats and increase the protein content, weight, and create a smooth texture. Up to 70% of the ground beef sold in supermarkets is estimated to contain the slime. The fact that ammonia hydroxide is used in the process means that it cannot be sold in Canada, the UK or the EU countries. They think its toxic. Imagine that?

ITS NOT SIMPLY THE PRODUCT, IT’S THE CONSUMER

Given everything I have said above is pink slime really a problem?
Every so often a report comes out showing how food companies abuse the trust of the consumer and adulterate or denature a food. People are shocked and continue to buy it. Every so often a television camera gets into a factory farm or an abattoir and the public is sickened by the torture of animals or the deformed appearance of something they are going to eat. It affects the market place for a few weeks and is forgotten. We have become numbed to deceit and complacent in the production of food that makes us sick.

The argument in favor of pink slime is that it provides inexpensive protein rich food for the people.  Anyone who has done even the most rudimentary research knows that is a lie. Industry insiders and politicians point to the jobs lost in slime production but there is one compelling argument that I agree with. An industry spokesperson stated, "What should we label it? It's 100 percent beef, what do you want us to label it? I'm not prepared to say it's anything other than beef, because it's 100 percent beef." He is right, it’s 100 percent beef, the whole beef and nothing but the beef so help him god.

There is a serious disconnect between the thought of eating animals that were being kept in unsanitary warehouses, viciously killed, stripped of all flesh. When that reality is presented many people get squeamish. When they are told that the burgers they buy contain sinew, tendons, connective tissue and dried blood that has been sanitized with ammonia they are outraged, but why? Isn’t it better to use the whole animal? Why should muscle tissue be more honored than any other part? Society does not like reality; we live in a fantasy world where food appears magically on our plate created out of thin air, with no ethical, economic, social or health implications. If it is tasty we will eat it. It is essential that information about food manufacturing is made more available. The industry willfully misleads consumers to build up the bottom line regardless of the health implications of its products.

I remember once hearing someone comment that they were shocked that there were poor people that were eating canned dog food. When I said that there was little or no difference between that and a hot dog they were very upset with me. They said I was a fanatic. I guess they were right but I remember what my mother said, “Don’t put that in your mouth if you don’t know where it’s been”.

Links:

www.marlenewatsontara.com

By Guest Writer SABRINA HULL

I talk about mindful eating with my clients and make posts about it from time to time. It is something I think cures a number of our ailments, if we are strong enough to stand and grow, rather than run away from what we find; and we will find things.

We rush through eating and otherwise practice mindless eating for a number of reasons. One is that it looks like the norm. We observe people around us and they tend to do the same. It is cultural. Another reason is our indoctrination. We block out certain things which our intuition and common sense will tell us about if we would listen.

Certain types of ‘food’ such as animal foods, meat, dairy, eggs, honey, organs, bi-products, etc. are not designed for our bodies or our souls. Artificial flavors and chemicals aren't nourishment. Highly processed foods take us away from nature and are equivalent to eating ABC-food (food that's ‘Already Been Chewed’). Highly processed foods are like eating food someone else has already chewed, their saliva having started to break down the foods and extracting nutrients. Eating is unfortunately too often looked at as no big deal and something not requiring attention. After all we've been doing it all our lives.

Not only is it common practice to eat mindlessly, it is common practice to shop, cook, or buy from restaurants mindlessly. Being mindful about all of those things is really important. Vegans generally have gained some mindfulness about what they are eating.

Being vegan doesn't necessarily mean we are doing the best we can to eat mindfully. One can be vegan while eating a lot of oil, highly processed foods, artificial chemicals, and gmo's. One can be vegan and still not pay attention to chewing, what mood he or she is in when he or she prepares food and so forth. Food is the fuel for our bodies. Now if we put diesel into a Mercedes we are quickly going to ruin the car. If we put gas mixed with water into our vehicle we aren't going to be able to drive it. As organic life forms, we are more complex than vehicles, and we have more opportunities to screw up our fueling than we do at a gas station with our vehicles.

However, while we are complex it isn't hard to understand what type of fuel we need. Being mindful while making shopping lists, meal plans, shopping, preparing food and consuming it, provides a lot of help not only in learning what we need to eat and avoid eating to be well but, also in partaking of this alchemical process in a way best for our bodies. Eating is a process of blending the food with yourself. When you eat you and your food become one. This requires mindfulness to be done to the best of our abilities. Many Americans have issues with emotional eating - over eating, binge eating, and withdrawals from eating. The withdrawals I speak of are abstaining from, differing from fasting. When one fasts with intention; to cleanse, to improve spiritually, and so forth while practicing mindfulness, one can have a positive outcome. What I am referring to is when people stop eating as a sort of self-punishment.

 Ways you can start mindful eating

 1. Research it further

 2. Give adequate attention and thought to what you are buying

 3. Give adequate attention and care to what you are preparing

 4. Set the scene to eat and create an ambiance that is calming and makes you happy. This can mean just setting the table to look nice. It can mean bringing flowers to the table, eating by candle light, choosing dishware that you enjoy, and even for some picnicking from time to time.

 5. Pay attention when you eat and do it more gradually. Smell the food, feel the textures in your mouth before you chew, chew slowly and pay attention to the whole process including how you feel when you are finished.

For many people # 5 is the most difficult and seems tedious for a while. It's understandable. It's far from what we are used to and we live in a fast paced culture that encourages us to move ever faster, to produce and be efficient. It doesn't encourage us to move slowly when doing things we can do more rapidly. But, the thing is we cannot transform into our best without going slowly!


Links:

Sabrina Hull
www.sabrinaswellnessbydesign.blogspot.com


Image: Susan Placek/CocoonWorx

By Guest Writer Marlene Watson-Tara

One of the most controversial and curious subjects in modern nutrition is the place of animal protein in a healthy diet. The evidence has been building over the past twenty years that our reliance of meat and dairy foods are a mistake. Most epidemiological studies indicate that excessive consumption of meat and dairy is a primary factor in most degenerative disease. These studies, coupled with the fact that the economic and environmental damage of the modern meat and dairy industry far outweighs its social and nutritional value, do not seem to shake the public belief that animal fats and protein are essential for a healthy diet. That more and more people reject these foods on ethical grounds related to the animal abuse sets the stage for a food fight of epic proportions.

There is certainly adequate information regarding the horrific and unhealthy conditions that factory-farming methods impose on cows, pigs, chicken and fish as well as the many other animals that are slaughtered for food daily. Most people would not eat the meat they consume daily if they had to witness the events that brought it to market. The fact that we need around 150 billion animals killed every year to survive seems strange when we look at the physical, anthropological and nutritional facts. We can only come to one conclusion – the argument has nothing to do with nutrition, science, compassion or common sense. No - the subject of animal food consumption is ruled largely by emotion and cultural mythologies.

Is Meat Part Of Our Destiny?

One of the most interesting arguments supporting the eating of meat is that we are omnivorous; we can eat it all. I would never argue with that. Early humans ate a varied diet that probably included insects, small game, fruits and plants. I am not aware of any logical contradiction to this idea.

The issue here is that we were not “natural carnivores” in the accepted definition of the word. A carnivore is an animal that has a diet mainly or exclusively of animal meat. This meat can be obtained through either hunting and killing or scavenging the left overs from what other animals kill. The academic arguments continue regarding the dietary details of our evolution but certain compelling facts emerge that challenge many cultural mythologies.

The most accurate indications of early diet are to be found in the mouth and intestinal tract. This is where the history of any animal’s dietary past is reflected most dramatically. Indications of the earliest human remains show that man was never a true carnivore. In fact, meat (other than insects) was probably a rather small part of dietary consumption. The proofs of this lie in both human structure and function.

Starting from the most mentioned and most obvious, our so-called canine teeth don’t qualify us as carnivores, they are placed back toward the outer corners of the mouth and they are not long enough, large enough or strong enough to grip, hold and tear flesh. There is no evidence in the fossil record that we have ever had the sharp developed teeth to tear meat or the jaw joints to hold or grind bones with any effectiveness let alone the claws that are essential tools for the capture and kill.

The issue of cheeks is one that often brings a laugh when I bring it up in lectures. Carnivores don’t have cheeks; they don’t need them. You don’t keep meat in your mouth; you only have cheeks when you keep food in your mouth to aid digestion and to masticate. Humans have digestive enzymes to digest complex carbohydrates (not needed for carnivores); we do not develop these capacities unless they are essential for our existence.

The same indications are there in the human intestinal tract. Carnivores have very short intestines with fairly smooth walls. Meat fiber is not beneficial to intestinal health in any animal, when the surface nutrients are released from meat the intestines need to be flushed. Herbivores and humans have a longer (two to three times as long) more complex digestive tract that holds vegetable fiber longer to achieve maximum efficiency and support the growth of beneficial microorganisms. All of these features take us back over a hundred thousand years, far before the development of tools or practical use of fire. One of the problems that emerge in interpreting all these indications of our original diet is the fact that one of our most precious gifts is our adaptability.

The first humans left their African home 1.8 to 1.3 million years ago, depending on which of the current migratory theories you apply. As we traveled and as other waves of migration worked their way North we were forced to adapt to new environments. As tribes moved into the colder and less fertile lands it was important to follow herds of animals and to rely more on animal sources of food for survival. Those tribes who remained in the cooler climates retained their relationship to animals as a food source either in the wild or eventually domesticated and used for milk products.

Over thousands of years this adaptation included the sophistication of tool making, the control and use of fire for cooking and warmth and eventually agriculture. From 20,000 to 10,000 years ago agriculture slowly developed and with it cooking. Anthropologists tell us that during this period the primary development in human biology was an enlargement in brain size. This growth in the brain is attributed to the fact that cooking made digestion more efficient and allowed more caloric energy for development of the brain. If this is true it would indicate a movement away from our original diet to meet the challenges of migration and environment and then an adaptation to a more plant based diet to meet the social and physical needs of an increased population and a more settled cultural life. All of these changes were in service of staying alive.

Tradition and Evolution

When I ask clients to describe their diet the two most common answers are “I eat a really good diet” (everything is relative) and “I was raised on a traditional diet, I like my meat and potatoes’”. The former is usually the female answer and the latter comes mostly from men. Tradition gets used as a reason for a multitude of sins. If it was good enough for grandpa it is good enough for me. Two questions spring to mind – the first question is if our nostalgia for tradition is a reflection of fact and the second is the value of tradition on its own.

When I started to eat a macrobiotic diet in the mid 1960’s my grandfather told me that I was eating more like he did as a child. His family lived on porridge, bread, vegetables, beans and small game with very little red meat. He thought it was funny and he loved the food. The amount of meat in the diets of most people 100 years ago was very small; it was chemical free and free range or grazed. I have found this to be true in every country I have visited; if you ask the elders, their diet included less meat unless they were quite wealthy.

The gift of consciousness, our capacity to be aware of our actions and the implications of them, is a great gift if we us it. Tradition can be described as social habit. As with any habit, tradition should be assessed as either improving or diminishing the quality of individual and social life. With consciousness we may feel that some traditions fill an important need are worth retaining, others may have outlived their use or based on ignorance and need to be replaced. To retain any tradition out of misplaced nostalgia is ill advised. I loved my grandparents very much but am quite happy to leave some of their prejudices and beliefs in the past since they do not serve in the present.

The development of technologies and the speed of social change make many people anxious about the course of society. This anxiety often produces irrational fears as we move into uncharted territory. The course of history makes demands on us all to reassess what is of true value, not only in the moment but also for the future. When we approach the issue of nutrition the demand is that we move beyond the restraints of imagined tradition and ask ourselves how we create a healthy and environmentally sound diet that is flexible enough to adapt to personal needs, diverse enough to satisfy the senses and capable of feeding a hungry world with the least environmental impact. This is not only possible but urgently needed.

One of the habits we will have to leave behind is our dependence on animals as a primary food source. It is wasteful, unhealthy and produces environmental chaos. The way forward is to continue to advocate eating low on the food chain, to promote education of the young on the benefits of healthy eating, to support organic agriculture and demand politicians to have the courage to confront the massive agriculture and food monopolies and make them accountable for the quality of their food. There is no benefit in respecting tradition if it poisons the future.

Links:

http://www.marlenewatsontara.com/

http://www.flexyourfood.com/2011/09/deforestation-due-to-global-meat-demand/

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/06/28/meat-environment-deforestation_n_1633735.html

http://www.resilience.org/stories/2012-06-30/report-links-beef-production-deforestation-threats-climate-and-health

By Guest Writer Marlene Watson-Tara

Packed full of goodness, you can enjoy crisp seaweed snacks anywhere, anytime, be it at play, at work or while you are traveling. Crispy Seaweed is now readily available in thin crispy strips that can be consumed as a snack or as a supplement to your meals, with rice, in sandwiches, with soup, or on its own; it is simply irresistible and delicious.

I have been using seaweeds for decades and always have some delicious tasting snacks with some seaweeds added. See recipe below.

Seaweeds break down and digest slowly compared to processed foods. Seaweeds are also nutrient dense, and loaded with minerals; (when your diet is rich in trace minerals you have less cravings).

Seaweeds contribute greatly to hormonal balance too. Research shows that seaweed speeds up weight loss by blocking fat intake and promotes fat burning. Alginate the natural fiber found in sea kelp blocks the body from absorbing fat far more effectively than anti-weight treatments currently sold over the counter.

A 2010 study by Newcastle University demonstrated what has been known for centuries in the Far East – Sea Vegetables are a powerful tool for weight loss as well as being amazing for your health.

By Ulrike Maria, Owner of MODERN THOUGHT THEORIES

An amazing variety of natural products were exhibited this weekend March 6 - 9, 2014 at the Anaheim Convention Center. It was a strong indication that the Natural Products marketplace is growing in leaps and bounds. In 2013 the nationwide sales of all organic and natural products, including dietary products, reached an astounding $ 91 billion with an expectancy of even larger gains in 2014. Of course this growth has an impact on the Natural Products EXPO West and its attendance.

The trend of a healthier America through natural, organic, and other healthy-living supplements, are changing the way consumers are judging products they are buying for themselves and their families.

What stood out this year was the ratio of vegetarian/vegan inspired products compared to the lesser presence of meat products. From Ziggy Marley’s cold-pressed coconut oil to Farmhouse Culture organic kraut, and Wildwood Tofu meatless crumbles to Sophie’s Kitchen vegan fish sticks, the creativity of the vegan culture was to be applauded. And what about gluten free black bean spaghetti or mung bean fettuccine?

By Maria Bott, Vegan Blissful Body Coach

Family Feud is about two families competing against each other. They have to guess the most popular answers that were given to a question posed to one hundred people. The question that shook me out of my waiting room doldrums was, ‘What is the National Food of America?’ Before you read any further, please take a minute and write down seven answers that you think the one hundred people surveyed gave to this question.

Even though I have personally been on a plant-based diet for most of my adult life, I am a fitness professional, and fully aware of the dietary crisis going on in this country today. I felt deeply saddened as the game show family providing the answers jumped up and down with joy for getting all seven right. Knowing that the one hundred people surveyed reflected the views of the nation also deeply concerned me.

Usually I write articles with a certain amount of clinical detachment, but I cannot do that this time. Fifteen years ago a surgeon told me that I needed to have my gall bladder removed. Even though I was vegetarian, I still ate free-range eggs a couple of times a week. I also absolutely loved super strong Cheddar cheese; not that yellow plastic, melts like a PVC coat on a candle flame type cheese, but ‘brings tears to your eyes’ sharp Cheddar.

I had to make a choice: have surgery despite the fact that the surgeon couldn’t guarantee that I wouldn’t still have problems afterwards, or give up eggs and cheese. I had already given up milk many years before because it made me sick, and eggs – well I could live without eggs – but cheese? How could I visit my family in England and not eat Cheddar cheese? In answer to that question the very thought of eating that greasy fat now makes me feel nauseous – and I still have my gall bladder!

There is another reason why writing this article is a particular passion for me. I regularly work with clients suffering with chronic pain, which is often aggravated by excess weight, type II diabetes, heart disease, stroke, cancer, etc. I am not going to list here all the research linking poor dietary choices to these diseases. If you want to see that information please visit www.pcrm.org, or www.pursueahealthyyou.blogspot.com . I am going to ask you a couple of questions instead. First, how did your list of the National Foods of America check out against the Family Feuds list?

1.      Hamburger

2.      Pizza

3.      Hot dog

4.      Fried chicken

5.      French fries

6.      Ice cream

7.      Turkey

Second question, if you were representing America at a World Health Summit would you feel proud to present this list to the leaders of other countries? What would you say to them when they state that only animal products contain dietary cholesterol, and have zero fiber? Would you be able to defend the fact that dairy products have been linked to cancer growth and calcium deficiency? How about the growth hormones and anti-biotic crisis that we are facing due to factory farming practices?

Over the twenty-five years that I have lived in the States I have observed pharmaceutical drugs become a food group. Debilitating conditions such as Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Fibromyalgia, and Irritable Bowel Syndrome are popping up like daisies with no apparent cure, only the offer of disease management. People over the age of fifty (and its getting younger all the time) are expected to be afflicted with things like arthritis, acid reflux, high blood pressure, and loss of strength, hearing, and memory. What was I saying again …

What you put into your body is so profoundly important on so many levels. Producing and eating meat and dairy products causes problems not only for the consumer, but also for the planet. Factory farming causes more pollution that the auto industry! Going green makes sense in every way, for every body.

In Yoga, meat is considered Tamasic – dead, dark, and devoid of energy. The Sivananda Companion to Yoga states about eating a Tamasic diet, “The body’s resistance to disease is destroyed and the mind filled with dark emotions, such as anger and greed.”

Eating meat is also contrary to the first principle of Yoga – Ahimsa, meaning non-violence to other beings. Anyone who considers him or herself to be compassionate, could not fail to be touched by the pain, suffering, and sheer despair of the beings in factory farms - and for what? To bring you a substandard food that is putting you at risk for disease.

I truly hope that you care enough about yourself to write your own list of seven favorite foods; and that those foods will be plant based and healthy. Together we can re-write the state of health for our great nation, and be proud to declare The National Food of America to the world!



Links:

Maria Bott, Your Blissful Body Coach

www.mariabott.com