• Special VM Events

• Municipal Water Supply Problem

• Antioxidants

• From Michael Greger M.D.

• Thinnest People Eat a Lot of This Food

• Seal of Approval

• Fish Problems

• Mega-farms Offer Stench But Little Else to Communities

• US Meat Plants Violating Mad Cow Rules

• Education

• The VegDining Card...Your International Dining Card

• Vegan Athletes

• Valentine's Day Vegan Dinner

• Vegan Boots

• For Sale

• Take Action

• Recipes  

• Suzy Says

• VM's Calendar

Special VM Events

Novi Expo

VegMichigan will be tabling the Health, Fitness & Travel Show all three days and VM's own Kerrie Saunders, Ph.D., will be speaking. Come out and visit us and get a signed copy of Dr. Saunders' book!

January 7th, 8th & 9th
Novi Expo Center (I-96 Exit 162)
$7 admission (see below)

www.health-fitness-show.com
Hours: Friday 4pm - 8pm (FRIDAY ONLY: SENIORS (55 & Over) FREE!!!), Saturday 10am - 7pm, Sunday 10am - 5pm

Visitor information and a coupon for $1 off admission
http://www.health-fitness-show.com/visitor_information.html 

For show information, contact H.F. Productions: 248-348-6942

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The Great American MeatOut

Sunday, March 20th from Noon to 4 PM
Gerry Kulick Community Center in Ferndale

* Lectures by Leading Authorities and Authors (scheduled thus far are Joel Kahn M.D., Medical Director of Cardiac Rehabilitation RO Beaumont Hospital, Kerrie Saunders, MS, LLP, CPC, CAC1, PhD, author of the book "The Vegan Diet as Chronic Disease Prevention" and Erik Marcus, author of Meat Market: Animals, Ethics, and Money)
* Food Samples
* Recipe Preparation Demos
* Inspirational Videos
* Free Literature
* Valuable Prizes

Enjoy all of this and more for the incredible value of only $5/person!

Mark your calendar today; additional information will be coming soon.

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Cancer fighting nutrients become deadly when combined with chlorinated tap water:

Some of nature's most valuable and essential anti-cancer and anti-disease phytochemical nutrients, which are commonly found in food, have been discovered to form deadly cancer causing substances when consumed or combined with chlorinated tap water. This discovery includes familiar foods including soy, fruits, vegetables, tea, many health products, and even some vitamins. Research has proven that these essential nutrients are the exact same families of compounds, which even in infinitesimal amounts have been tormenting the water treatment and chlorine industries for years.

http://www.fulvic.com/healthalert/chlorine2.htm 
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Clear choices for clean drinking water:

Whether you'd like to improve the taste of your water, are concerned about possible contamination, or you simply want to learn more about the water in your home, our report can help. Based on interviews with government officials, manufacturers, and consumer groups, and drawing upon our own tests of 19 water-filtering systems, it provides a comprehensive guide to clean drinking water.

http://www.consumerreports.org/main/content/display_report.jsp?FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=
341419&ASSORTMENT%3C%3East_id=333143&bmUID=1101850371579 

A free copy of this report is available in most libraries. Ask for the January 2003 Consumer Reports magazine.

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Over the last several decades, scientists have discovered that the body's formation of unstable oxygen molecules called free radicals is unavoidable - every cell produces tens of thousands of them each day. We're also exposed to free radicals in the environment on a daily basis. Cigarette smoke, for instance, is one of the most concentrated sources of free radicals. Left unchecked, free radicals can cause extensive cell damage and contribute to a whole list of chronic diseases. Luckily, the body does have a defense system against these rogue "oxidant" compounds: antioxidants. Found in numerous fruits and vegetables, and even produced naturally by the human body, antioxidants literally "mop up" free radicals.

According to the USDA, here are TOP sources of antioxidants (discovered thus far!) in order by category:

Veggies & Legumes - Beans (red, kidney & pinto), Artichoke, Potatoes (Russet, red & white), Avocado (Haas), Broccoli (raab variety), Cabbage (red), Asparagus, Peas (black-eyed), Beets, Peppers (yellow & orange)

Fruits - Blueberries, Cranberries, Blackberries, Strawberries, Raspberries, Apples, Cherries, Plums, Pears, Oranges

Spices - Cloves (ground), Cinnamon (ground), Oregano leaf (dried), Turmeric, Parsley (dried), Basil leaf (dried), Curry powder, Mustard seed (yellow, ground), Ginger (ground), Pepper (black, ground)

Nuts - Pecans, Walnuts, Hazelnuts, Pistachios, Almonds

Dried Fruit - Prunes, Dates (deglet noor), Figs, Raisins, Dates (medjool)

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Vegans Need to Eat More Greens, Beans and Nuts

The Physician's Committee for Responsible Medicine (a great organization--visit http://www.pcrm.org) recently published a dietary analysis of a few dozen women transitioned to a self-selected low fat vegan diet. Although the intakes of most vitamins and minerals improved or stayed the same, the consumption of some nutrients dropped. They conclude: "To increase intakes of these nutrients, people following a low-fat vegan diet should emphasize legumes [beans, lentils] and whole grains for protein; supplemental sources of vitamin D and B12, such as fortified cereals and soymilk to increase vitamin D and B12 intakes; leafy greens, beans, and fortified soymilks and juices to increase calcium intake; and whole, unrefined grains, nuts and seeds to increase phosphorus, selenium and zinc intakes."
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Raw versus Cooked Vegetables for Cancer Prevention

We know that vegetables, in general, prevent cancer, but a researcher at the Columbia University School of Public Health recently attempted to determine whether they are more protective raw or cooked. Unfortunately, we have no studies directly comparing raw versus cooked veggies, so researchers had to review the totality of available research (published over the last decade) in an attempt to tease out the difference.
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Cancer-Fighting Cranberries

Cranberries, one of only three commonly eaten fruits native to North America, have been shown to exert a wide variety of health benefits including the prevention of urinary tract infections. In 2002, researchers dripped a number of fruit extracts on human liver cancer cells in a Petri dish to see if any of them would slow down tumor growth. Out of the near dozen common fruits they tried, the most potent inhibitor of cancer growth was cranberries.
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Eggs and Ovarian Cancer

Ovarian cancer has earned a reputation as a silent killer, because it eludes early detection and has an alarming fatality rate that hasn't really changed in over 50 years. Currently in the U.S., it's the fifth leading cancer cause of death for women. Researchers conclude, "Our population-based case-control study found that women with higher consumption of dietary cholesterol and eggs were at an increased risk of ovarian cancer." On the other hand, the foods that were the most powerful protector against ovarian cancer in this study were the cruciferous vegetables, like broccoli, kale, collards, etc.

http://www.drgreger.org/novemberdecember2004.html 

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A four-nation study of more than 4,000 men and women ages 40 to 59 has produced a stunning conclusion in our Atkins diet-fueled society: The thinnest people on Earth eat the most carbohydrates. Even more alarming, the people who eat the most protein are actually the heaviest.

http://channels.netscape.com/ns/homerealestate/package.jsp?name=fte/thinnestpeople
/thinnestpeople&floc=wn-np 

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Vegetarianism has received a ringing endorsement from two of North America's most prestigious medical associations: the American Dietetic Association and Dietitians of Canada. In a joint statement released in June 2003, they say "appropriately planned vegetarian diets are healthful, nutritionally adequate, and provide health benefits in the prevention and treatment of certain diseases," including heart disease, diabetes and prostate and colon cancer. Vegetarian and vegan diets "are appropriate for all stages of life cycle, including during pregnancy, lactation, infancy, childhood, and adolescence."

Natural Awakenings Magazine, December 2004

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Meals of fish include risk of toxins, scientists warn

Each day at 4 p.m., the trawlers come back, alive with giant bass, mackerel and squirming eels, at the end of a food chain that links family dinner tables to poisons in the sea. Besides mercury, which can damage the brains of fetuses and young children and can affect healthy adults, there are PCBs, dioxins and flame-retardants with unknown long-term effects.

http://www.detnews.com/2004/health/0411/21/A04-11780.htm 
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Sport-Caught Fish Linked to Breast Cancer

People who catch and consume lake fish may significantly increase their risk of developing breast cancer, according to a new study from the University of Wisconsin Comprehensive Cancer Center.

http://www.pcrm.org/magazine/gm04autumn/gm04autumn11.html 
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Something's Fishy on Federal Dietary Committee

From the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to the European Union's Food Safety Authority, government agencies around the world are issuing increasingly urgent warnings that mercury-contaminated fish pose a serious threat to public health.

Like lead, mercury is a potent neurotoxin that accumulates in the body and can wreak havoc on the brain and nervous system. Women and children are especially vulnerable. Indeed, one in six women of childbearing age already has enough mercury in her blood to threaten the health of a developing fetus, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

http://www.pcrm.org/magazine/gm04autumn/gm04autumn04.html 

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The Plain Dealer examines the effects of eight giant hog farms built in Paulding County, Ohio since 1994, and five mega-dairies since 2000, and comes away with a grim cautionary tale. A number of local families have fled from their homes, some unable to live with the stench from open manure pits, others because the hydrogen sulfide emitted by the pits has caused brain damage, they and their doctors say. Three of the massive dairies have also violated the Clean Water Act, according to the U.S. EPA. And what do local communities get in return for hosting these stinking factory farms? Not much. The farms buy only 1 percent of their feed from local grain farmers. They also provide few jobs, and those they do offer pay about $7.50 an hour and are largely filled by Mexican migrants.

Straight to the source: The Plain Dealer, Fran Henry, 27 Nov 2004 
http://grist.org/cgi-bin/forward.pl?forward_id=3715 

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WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. meat plants are allowing brains and spinal cord from older cattle to enter the food supply, violating strict government regulations aimed at preventing the spread of mad cow disease, a federal meat inspectors union said on Monday.

http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=domesticNews&storyID=7143913 

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Raw Foods Culinary Class in Ann Arbor

VM Member Mary Light is offering a 6-week Raw Food Culinary class on Tuesday evenings. Visit www.gaiahealingarts.org for additional information or call Mary at 734-769-7794. She is offering a discount to paid VM members.
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Plant Roots: 101 Reasons Why the Human Diet is Rooted Exclusively in Plants By Rex Bowlby

"Plant Roots" covers every possible angle, from health to the environment, from animal rights to religion. The breadth of material covered is astonishing. The 101 "reasons" of the book's subtitle actually refers to its 101 chapters, each of which offers dozens of reasons why veganism is our natural diet. To prove that he's climbed the mountain, Bowlby lists loads of footnotes and rigorously traces them back to one or more of the 1,001 sources listed in the bibliography.

http://www.vegsource.com/articles2/balogh_plant_roots.htm 
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Compassionate Cooks DVD

Please enjoy the following recipes, all of which were featured on our DVD, Vegetarian Cooking with Compassionate Cooks. You can also get the recipes on the website.

Eggless Egg Salad, Creamy Potato Salad - PDF/HTML
Chocolate Chip Cookies - PDF/HTML
Tofu & Vegetable Stir-Fry with Peanut Sauce - PDF/HTML
Hearty Three-Bean Chili - PDF/HTML
Harvest Stuffed Acorn Squash - PDF/HTML
Magic Chocolate Cake - PDF/HTML

www.compassionatecooks.com
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Vegetarian Summer Camp

At Camp Exploration we believe not only in providing a fun and, of course, safe summer program for your child, but we also believe strongly in aiding and guiding the optimal development of the whole child. Our trip program offers much opportunity for exploring, experiencing and enjoying an array of activities and sites. Wherever we are, and whatever we are doing, constant caring attention is given to the individual child, their interactions with others, and their relationship with the world around them.

www.kidsmakeadifference.org
Contact Andy Mars at 818-344-7838 or Camp@kidsmakeadifference.org 
PO Box 24922, Los Angeles, CA 90024
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Teach Cancer Prevention Cooking in Your City

Want to help others learn how foods can help cancer prevention and survival? If you are an educator, health care professional, or just interested in good nutrition, The Cancer Project can help you get started. The unique method of combining nutrition education with cooking demonstrations motivates attendees to take full advantage of the healing power of a vegan diet. Lecture videos, recipes, and handbooks are included. Please contact Jennifer Reilly, R.D., managing director of The Cancer Project, at jreilly@pcrm.org or call 202-686-2210, ext. 318, for more information.
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A college course taught completely online is now available for anyone interested in health and nutrition issues.

Vegetarian Nutrition

*No prerequisites required.
*Learn how to use vegetarian diets to help prevent heart disease, cancer, and other serious illnesses.
*Find out how a vegetarian diet fits the lifestyle of an athlete, helps you achieve and maintain a healthy weight, and provides a base for optimal health.
*Develop your skills for menu planning, evaluating diets, counseling vegetarian clients, and locating reputable materials.
*Taught by Brie Turner-McGrievy, M.S., R.D., staff dietitian at the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine and adjunct professor at the University of Alabama.

If you have Internet access, you can enroll. The University of Alabama's Distance Education Program is currently offering this course on a semester basis.
www.VegetarianCourse.org 

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What better way to dine out than with a VegDining Card? It's easy to order, very affordable and useful for the entire year. Only $14.95 US ($10.95 for paid members of VegMichigan). The VegDining Card offers
discounts at vegetarian restaurants around the world, including restaurants in England, Ireland, Scotland, Australia, Canada and the U.S., with more joining every week. For more information about the VegDining
Card, e-mail info@VegDining.com or visit VegDining.com

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OrganicAthlete's PRO-Activist team is a committee of elite and professional athletes from many different sports who live and support a vegan diet and lifestyle. They're using their collective voice to champion the benefits of a healthy plant-based diet for athletes of all ages and abilities. See photos and read the stories of these remarkable athletes.

Katie Coryell, Professional Surfer
Christine Vardaros, Pro Cyclist
Tonya Kay, Dancer
Robert Cheeke, Bodybuilder
Adam Myerson, Pro cyclist
Brendan Brazier, Pro Triathlete
Jason Sager, Pro Mountain Biker

www.organicathlete.org

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Monday, February 14th, Vegan Amore! 7 PM, A romantic Italian dinner on Valentine's Day for 5 couples and 2 singles hosted by VM member Michelle, at 7 Mile and Woodward at a quaint cafe. The meal will start with appetizers, then salad, main dish, and dessert - all for $25 a person. Bring your own wine. Tickets sold in advance. Contact Michelle: 1-248-398-6491.

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I am writing now to let you know about some new hiking boots I bought at the Green Life Festival in DC. I needed a traveling pair to supplement my old Dejas, which now reside permanently at the LSC in Michigan. I am very pleased with the new ones from Jade Planet, which are made almost entirely from hemp, a natural, leather-like rubber from South America and other recycled materials. No animal products. They are lightweight, comfortable and look like they will be even more durable than the Dejas. Price: $75. Jade Planet also has vegan bags, hats and t-shirts. Their website address is www.jadeplanet.net. Could you please pass this information and my endorsement on to the VM membership? Thanks. Clark

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"Champion Juicer for sale. Good condition and seldom used. $100. Contact VM member Colleen at: cc_zer0@hotmail.com

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The Food Network's Compassionate Cooks

Compassionate Cooks' Vegan July 4th BBQ will air on January 8th at 4PM. This is a first for the Food Network; Never before have they filmed (and aired!) an all-vegan segment. Though this show ("BBQ with Bobby Flay") generally features every kind of BBQing technique with every kind of dead animal flesh, never before have they featured a compassionate BBQ - one that celebrates vegetarian fare only.

Though the media can sometimes mis-portray vegetarians/vegans, the producer of this show was very excited about our segment and has assured me we're portrayed in a very positive light. Let's watch and find out! I
encourage everyone to write to the BBQ with Bobby Flay show (after it airs)

http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/show_sf/text/0,1976,FOOD_17616_21388,00.html, sending them a huge THANK YOU for doing (what I assume will be a great) vegetarian segment. Encourage them to pass along your email to Food Network execs and to offer a plant-based show on the network.

For the animals,
Colleen Patrick-Goudreau
Founder & Director
Compassionate Cooks
colleen@compassionatecooks.com 
http://www.compassionatecooks.com 

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Stop the Sale of Geckos & Hermit Crabs at Lakeview Square Mall and at Crossroads Mall

Animals sold at malls across America have no futures. The pet trade exploits all species -the mass production of puppies and kittens bred at mills is exactly like that of the reptile trade. Animals are removed from their native habitats -often places outside of the U.S.- stripped of all they know and forced to endure a life of stress and deficiencies merely so they can be an "exotic" pet for someone.

*Taken action to help end the sale of geckos and hermit crabs from mall vendors, please! We need your voice to be heard! Contact Sophia DiPietro at liberatanimls@hotmail.com for more information.

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Vegan Deviled 'Eggs' by Michelle Brown

1 dozen red potatoes
1 package extra firm tofu
1/4 cup Vegenaise
2 Tbs yellow mustard
1 Tbs apple cider vinegar
1 tsp onion powder
2 tsp horseradish or dry mustard
1 tsp turmeric
salt to taste
paprika to garnish

Boil potatoes until slightly tender, not over-cooked. Cool down in ice water until chilled. Drain and pat dry. Split in half and scoop out a hole with a melon baller large enough for the 'yolk'. Mix tofu with remaining
ingredients, except paprika. Blend in food processor until smooth.  Carefully fill each hole with mixture. A cake decorating bag works well.  Garnish with little sprinkles of paprika.

Cook's tips: Use red skin potatoes for waxy texture, and it’s pretty! If you want to take skins off, that’s fine. If 'yolk' filling is too soft, blend in the remaining potato pulp leftover from the holes.

Tofu Onion Dip

1 lb. extra firm tofu
1/3 cup oil
2 Tab. cider vinegar
1 Tab. turbinado sugar
1 tsp. salt (or less, according to your taste)
1 pouch Onion Mushroom Soup and Dip Recipe Mix from Fantastic Foods.

Blend all ingredients in a food processor until creamy. Chill.

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Suzy Says

Hey! I am 15 years old and I’ve been vegetarian for a little over 2 months because I think eating animals is wrong, but I still eat eggs so I can get my protein. And I drink milk and other milk products. How long have you been vegan?

Shauna
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Hi Shauna,

I’m thrilled to hear that you are already questioning the status quo! It took me a bit longer! In fact, I never really questioned what I ate, or how it ended up on my plate, until I was browsing books in a bookstore and came across Peter Singer’s “Animal Liberation.” The pictures horrified me. I bought the book that day and another called “101 Ways to Save Animals;” by the time we arrived home, I was a vegetarian.

Of course, I still ate eggs and consumed dairy products, believing that I needed my protein and that the animals producing these products weren’t killed for them. It was only later that I learned that our protein requirements are not nearly as high as we think (see the Physician’s Committee for Responsible Medicine’s web page for more information: www.pcrm.org/health/veginfo/protein.html and that the animals used to produce eggs and dairy products endure immense and unnecessary suffering. Not only that, but they too end up at the slaughterhouse, where they are rewarded for their service with death.

I learned that in order to produce milk at the rate farmers want, cows are kept pregnant and that their babies are taken from them within days, if not hours. They cry for each other, as any mother and baby would, and those babies that are born male end up in a small crate, in a dark warehouse, until they are killed for veal. (To learn more: www.peta.org/feat/atw2000/cowsmilk.html

Chickens used for their eggs are kept in cages so small they cannot spread their wings, and their cages are atop and beneath the cages of others. The mesh that cuts into their tender feet is designed to allow waste (read: feces and urine) to flow through so that it does not accumulate in their cages. I probably don’t have to illustrate what this means for all the chickens living below others, and this is but a glimpse into the horrid conditions to which they are subjected. (To learn more: www.upc-online.org

I have been vegan for six years. Every day I am glad to know that I am not contributing to the suffering that so many endure, and I enjoy so many foods that are not borne of such suffering. There are many alternatives to both, and more, here: www.veganoutreach.org/starterpack/foods.html

Good luck to you, Shauna! Thank you for being part of the solution!
Suzy

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VM's public outreach
For Regional Calendar of Events

* = @   This is to keep emails from being spammed.

VM will have a display for the month of January at the Northville District Library, 212 W. Cady Street.

01/02, Sunday, 4 PM, Beading party at Michele's. If you have not been to a "beading" party," we make bracelets with vegetarian sayings, which we sell when we table at events to help raise funds for VM. Come out and be creative, and increase our inventory for the Novi Expo Health & Fitness Show (Jan 7, 8, & 9) and the Metro Detroit Great American MeatOut (Mar 20).

01/06, Thursday, 7:30 PM, VM Raw Food Potluck and Food Demo: Walnut Cream Cake - Learn how to make this simple dessert. Bring your favorite raw vegan dish sized for 8 servings or a $7.50 donation.

01/07, Friday, 7 PM, VM, Mugs and Jugs, Plush Pocket, Warren (Dequindre btwn 11 and 12 Mile Rds, next to Krogers). Come out and have a vegan burger and shoot some pool or just shoot the breeze!

01/08, Saturday, 7 PM, VM Dinner at Alkebulan Foods Cafe, 18700 Woodward (South of 7 Mile), Detroit. Owner Nezrah will be preparing a special all-vegan dinner for us, at a fixed menu & price ($12-$15 range), delicious homemade dessert included. This restaurant is not usually open on Saturdays, but will be for our dinner event. Please come out to enjoy this special dinner, prepared just for us. Contact Karen at thorndike *at yahoo.com, or call her at (248) 544-4030 to sign up.

01/23, Sunday, 1:00 PM, VM, vegan potluck. Speaker: Alan Moglovkin. Alan is a raw food advocate from Ann Arbor. He has been vegetarian since 1973, vegan since 1984, and raw for the past 3 years. He will cover aspects of his upcoming book "Intellectual Eating," which is a work in progress. Bring a vegan dish sized for 8 servings or a $7.50 donation.

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