The Ethics of Eating Laboratory-Grown Meat and Its Potential Impact on Humans, Animals, and The Planet...

On Monday the world’s very first laboratory-grown beef hamburger was tested in London. Popped out of a petri dish and plopped into a frying pan the burger was cooked up and served to two volunteers, US based food author Josh Schonwald and Austrian food researcher Hanni Ruetzler. The burger in question was developed by Professor Mark Post of Maastricht University in the Netherlands with the hope of discovering a more sustainable way to raise meat. The burger was made by taking stem cells harvested from a living cell and placing them in a bioreactor holding a nutrient mixture that would help them proliferate. It took roughly three months to grow the 20,000  0.02 inch strands of muscle fiber used in making the burger. Which is a considerably shorter time-frame then it takes to raise an entire cow from birth to slaughter. The muscle fibers were then mixed with salt, egg powder, and breadcrumbs to improve flavor, and beetroot juice and saffron for color.  It had been reported that this little experiment was five years in the making and cost a total of $332,00, but what did the taste-testers have to say?

Well, the reviews were mixed. The bottom line is that the texture of this patty was spot on, though the flavor was somewhat lacking. Since the burger patty was made from muscle fiber, there wasn’t a lot of fat which means it wasn’t as juicy or greasy as is generally expected from a hamburger. The general consensus seemed to be that the test-tube burger tasted something like a cross between a Boca Burger Patty and a Fast Food Hamburger, and even Mark Post conceded that the flavor would need to be improved before this could become a viable meat replacement for the majority.

How about public opinion? Well, it’s a pretty mixed bag. This story has generated a lot of discussion, a lot of debate, and a lot of controversy amongst both meat-eaters, and vegans, and frankly I’m surprised by the widely negative response coming out of the vegan community. It seems to me that most of the animal-rights organizations, and vegan organizations and non-profits are for this new development in food technology. PETA has endorsed it, as have non-profits like Farm Sanctuary, but when it comes to individual vegans; vegans like you and I, the backlash is overwhelming. You have vegans calling out these organizations for their support of this new technology and threatening to quit supporting them if they continue to endorse it. You have vegans calling out other vegans and declaring them ‘not vegan’ if they support this new development. You have all manner of people in general saying all manner of crazy things and it seems that very few of these outraged individuals actually know what they’re talking about. To me the negative response seems to be a ‘heat of the moment’ thing, an immediate emotional response, rather then a logical or intellectual one. Which is why I felt the need to write this post. I’m not claiming to be particularly intellectual but I feel it’s very important for some vegan somewhere to speak up, and make a thought-provoking case here. As vegans I think we’re doing more harm then good with an outright show of disapproval or refusal of this new development, and we’re severely overlooking the potential good it has.

Before I get into it I want to make clear that as a Vegan I have no interest in eating In Vitro meat. I have no interest in consuming test tube burgers, or laboratory grown meat, or ‘ethical meat.’ If this product becomes available in my local grocery store I will not consume it. Why? Because reduced animal suffering or not, this is still meat, and eating meat regardless of how it’s grown or where it comes from is not vegan. This is still an animal product, derived from an animal. I also went vegan initially for health reasons and so laboratory meat, or regular meat it doesn’t make a difference, they’re both still unhealthy in my opinion. So I personally wouldn’t eat this, and I wouldn’t condone another vegan eating it, but the important thing to remember here is that this is not a product being made and marketed towards vegans and vegetarians. This is a product being made for omnivores, for meat-eaters, and as such I support it. It’s far better for meat-eaters to eat laboratory meat, then it is for them to eat conventional meat for so many reasons.

Firstly we live in an overpopulated world, with an ever increasing population. Those population increases mean a higher demand for animal-based foods. World hunger is not something that we’ve been able to cease, and as our population continues to explode this problem will only get worse. Our planet is under severe stress, we do not have infinite resources, and we are using them without caution. We can not continue to sustain our rate of growth, or development and our overburdened planet can not continue to sustain the massive animal agriculture industry. Deforestation, land erosion, biodiversity decline, energy use, water depletion, pollution of eco-systems, land, water-ways, and oceans, poor air-quality, and a rise in greenhouse gasses and carbon emissions. These are the serious problems that we face, and they only grow worse as our population increases. According to the United Nations Animal Agriculture - that’s factory farming of cows, pigs, chickens, lambs, goats, etc... factory egg laying facilities, and factory dairy farms - are responsible for 40+% of global warming. That’s more then the entire transpiration sector - think cars, trucks, trains, planes, boats etc... - combined. Animal agriculture is literally killing the planet, and it isn’t doing us any favors either. Laboratory grown meat has the potential to change all of that, and even if it doesn’t solve all of these problems completely it will at least help to decrease their severity.

Hannah Tuomisto of Oxford University stated “At the global level if all meat was lab-grown, the greenhouse gas emissions could be reduced by 80% and the water use by 90%.” An 80% reduction in emissions and a 90% reduction in water usage is huge! Monumentally huge on that scale alone we should be looking into considering lab-grown meat as a viable option and replacement to the conventional. Another independent study found that lab-grown meat uses 45% less energy then the average global representative figure for farming cattle. The study also found that lab-grown meat also produced 96% fewer greenhouse gas emissions and requires 99% less land. Less energy wasted, and less land used, which means more land that can be used to house or ever-growing population. More land for us to grow food crops on, more land for us to turn into refuges, protected areas, or simply give back to nature.

This isn’t even taking into account other environmental and health factors like the spread of salmonella, E. Coli and other food bourne illness. Food bourne illness comes from animal feces coming into contact with food products. If you don’t raise animals for food, growing your food in a lab instead then there isn’t any feces. Theoretically this would decrease the number of cases of food borne illness per year. The 1 billion plus animals raised for human consumption in this country annually produce more then 3 trillion tons of waste. Since that waste is not disposed of properly it is often left to contaminate land, water ways, rivers, lakes, and other crops causing us to become ill. No more factory farmed animals means no more trillion tons of improperly disposed of waste. Antibiotic-resistant strains of bacteria are another factor. Since farmed animals are kept in such deplorable conditions they are routinely given antibiotics to prevent them from becoming sick. This has led to the emergence of antibiotic resistant bacteria entering our environment, and this has many scientists and doctors concerned over our future. We only have so many antibiotics available to us, if they cease to work on the bacteria and diseases that they’re meant to heal us from what then? Many scientists, and zoologists believe that the next big pandemic will come from an animal source, likely from a farmed animal who has close contact with humans. Take away animal farming in favor of lab-grown meat and you reduce the risk of antibiotic resistant bacteria and the potential for new pandemic or epidemic pathogens.

Environmentally speaking there is no good or valid reason why lab-grown meat shouldn’t be researched or supported.

As for world hunger it's ridiculous to think that we'll ever be able to produce enough meat to feed all the hungry in the world. It simply isn't feasible when you take into account how many animals would have to be raised - in an already burdened system - to accomplish this daunting task. The animal agriculture system that we have in place just isn't effective or efficient. If you take a look at the numbers you see that they just don't add up in any way that makes sense. 30% of Earths land mass is taken up by animal agriculture. More then 260 million acres of U.S. forest alone have been cleared in order to grow crops to feed to animals. 70% of the grain and cereals that are grown in the United States are fed to farmed animals. Dose this make sense to anyone? In a world where children in less fortunate countries die of starvation every day is it ethical to continue to feed important food staples to animals just so that we can eat them ourselves? What do we get in return? It takes 13 pounds of grain to get 1 pound of meat back, and even farmed fish need to be fed 5 pounds of wild caught fish in order to return 1 pound of farmed fish. This is not only wildly inefficient, but to some degree it's down right disgusting. It's been said that there isn't a global food shortage, that the problem is in the distribution, and you could make an argument there for government corruption in third world nations but it should also be pointed out that if we 'redistributed' that grain that we feed to farmed animals to humans, the 'food crisis' would end. We can effectively grow enough food to feed every person on this planet, the problem is that we greedily choose to feed that food to animals that we intend to eat to satisfy our own palates.

Food, and land however are not the only wasted resources. Water is another hugely wasted resource in the animal agriculture industry. Many countries are already facing massive water shortages, droughts, and are in water crisis. Here in the U.S. because we're not faced with it everyday it's out of sight and out of mind, but the prediction is that in as little as another decade the U.S. too will be feeling the effects of a global water crisis. Water is now being labeled "Blue Gold" and yet we continue to waste it as though it were infinite Did you know that 2,400 Gallons of water are needed to produce 1 pound of meat? Where as only 25 Gallons are used to produce 1 pound of wheat. That's a staggering difference.

It simply doesn't make sense to continue farming animals the way that we've been doing. If ending world hunger is something that we're serious about as a nation and as a society then we have to at least consider the benefits of lab-grown meat; as lab-grown meat has the potential to end animal agriculture while still providing meat for those who wish to continue to consume it, and it can provide a realistic solution to ending world hunger. Lab-grown meat also has the potential to help us avert the coming global water crisis. Taking these two things into consideration there is no valid reason for why lab-grown meat shouldn't be researched or supported.

Then there’s the case for animal rights. As animal rights activists and vegans we strive to end animal suffering. Our whole purpose, our whole mission is the end of needless and cruel suffering, torture, brutalization, and murder of billions of animals. We do this through education, through speaking our truth, by engaging in conversations on this topic and by encouraging others to go vegan or at least vegetarian. It’s a noble cause for sure, but the sad truth is that no matter how much we try, no matter how much we fight, we are not enough. We can never, and will never cause the entire world to go vegan. That isn’t even the slightest bit realistic. There will always be people who eat meat, and rather then fight those people on an issue that will never change for them why wouldn’t we as vegans want to endorse lab meat? Lab meat can and will put an end to animal suffering in a way that we as vegans will never be able to do. When lab meat is a viable option, inexpensive, and easily available and accepted it will cause a massive decrease in factory farming. Eventually it could cause all animal farming to stop completely. It’s not so crazy to imagine lab meat will become the future and conventionally raised meat will be a thing of the past.

For all those vegans who will not endorse lab meat because it is not vegan I ask you to reconsider and rethink your position. You will never be able to make the world vegan, and therefore there will always be animal suffering. Lab meat can change that. Yes it would still be meat and yes it would still be from an animal, and yes maybe a couple of animals would have to suffer for us to harvest the stem cells, but you don’t have to eat it. It is not for you, it is for meat-eaters. In my opinion it’s preferable to have only 1 or 2 or even 10 animals suffering then it is to have a billion plus animals suffering every year. I think it’s foolish to carry around this indignant, superior, all or nothing attitude, and it’s what gives vegans a bad name. I’m reminded of a famous quote by Colleen Patrick-Goudreau that goes “Don’t do nothing because you can’t do everything.” Our goal as animal rights activists and as vegans should be to eliminate as much animal suffering as possible, even if this is not the way we envisioned doing that, this is something that we should be happy about.

Now we come to health. Is lab-grown meat nutritious? Presumably it would have a similar nutritional content as conventionally raised meat, however there is the potential to make this meat healthier then the conventional. As only muscle fibers are being used the resulting meat would be leaner, and that can only be a benefit to meat-eaters. With the rates of obesity, heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and other chronic diseases skyrocketing a healthier meat option can only help to lift some of the burden from our strained medical system. Surely meat,  regardless of how it’s raised or grown will cause disease, and an increased risk of developing disease, but if the risk doesn’t have to be as great as it is currently then that’s a win in my book.

As for other health aspects, some people have raised concerns that lab-grown meat is somehow fake. That it’s a ‘frankenfood’ that it has potential health consequences that we are not yet aware of. On that point I say it’s true that we do not know if lab-grown meat will effect the human body in a negative way. If the meat is clean - meaning it’s from an organic source animal - and it contains no additives then I can’t see it as being any more harmful then a conventionally raised animal. If the processing industry begins to manipulate the product then there is potential for unintended consequences there, but we can’t know that until we test it.

I do however think it’s silly, misinformed, and hypocritical to say that lab-grown meat is ‘fake’ meat. It’s not fake at all. It’s grown from cow stem cells. It comes from a real cow, and therefor it is real cow meat. There isn’t anything fake about that, the difference is in the process but since when did an unconventional process become the basis for labeling something as fake? Take In Vitro fertilization for example. This is an amazing technology that helps couples who are unable to conceive naturally have a baby. Are ‘test-tube’ babies ‘fake babies?’ because they were initially grown in a lab? Are In Vitro babies considered less then human in our culture? No. Are they considered other? No. Do they look, act, or smell any different then conventionally conceived children? No, of course not. It would be insane to even imply such a thing. So why then is it being suggested that lab meat is somehow not real? Do you consider Aspirin a real medicine? What about cough syrup, is that real? These are products developed and manufactured in a laboratory for our health, we consider them medicine not ‘fake’ medicine. So why is lab-grown meat any different? The ‘fake’ argument is one that doesn’t make any sense, and it only shows ignorance on the part of people who obviously have no understanding of science, medicine, technology, and food manufacturing.

For those who say lab-meat is ‘unnatural’ I think you need to reconsider what is and isn’t natural. Is lab meat less natural then raising a billion animals in cramped and confined spaces? Is it less natural then pumping animals full of antibiotics because they’re standing belly deep in their own shit, in addition to hormones that make them grow faster? Because that’s what conventional meat is, is that more natural? Take into account for a second the slaughterhouse, in which hundred of animals are slaughtered in minutes on a fast moving conveyer belt to which they are strung up alive and gutted so that their blood and feces drip onto the floor. A place in which animals are scalded in boiling water while still alive to remove their hair and feathers and where sick animals foaming at the mouth with disease are routinely slaughtered for human consumption. How about the cleaning process in which animal carcases are washed in a solution of bleach, and other chemicals to make them fit for human consumption, is that natural? Is it natural to have numerous chickens crammed into one cage stacked on top of other cages so that their shit falls through the wire onto the birds below? Is it natural to remove animals toes, beaks, snouts, hooves, horns and tails so that we can manhandle them more easily? Is it natural to artificially inseminate cows so that their pregnancy will cause them to lactate so that we can sell, buy and drink her milk? Is it natural to feed animals GMO corn and soy, animal by-products and the feces and waste of other animals? If your answer to these questions is no, then you need to wake up and realize that these are common occurrences in the animal agriculture industry. These are everyday things, this is how the system operates. Not a single one of these things would apply to lab grown meat, so how is it less natural? Is murder natural? Is it natural to murder living breathing beings? Lab grown meat doesn’t murder.

What about other food products commonly bought and sold in stores. I’m talking about frozen foods, prepackaged foods, t.v. dinners, pop, soda, minute rice, box macaroni and cheese, canned soup, bottled drinks and beverages, granola bars, power bars, processed meats, sausages, hot dogs, chicken nuggets, refined sugar, refined flour, baked goods, vegan cheese, vegan meat, and all other shelf-stable foods. Are any of these natural? The technical answer would be no. Of course some products are more natural then others but virtually all shelf-stable foods are the work of food scientists working in a laboratory. These foods are all manufactured, and don’t you even begin to tell me that you never or have never eaten a food that falls into this category. If everyone on the planet ate as ‘natural’ as they claimed to then the entire food industry would collapse and go out of business. Even health nuts eat some form of processed food. In my opinion if you’re sitting down to a can of cola, and a hot dog you have no right to call lab meat unnatural. If you’re sitting down to a glass of non-organic soy milk, and a vegan steak sandwich you have no right to call lab meat ‘unnatural.’ If you enjoy an oreo, or a vitamin water, or a vegan marshmallow, or a can of soup now and then you have no right to call lab meat ‘unnatural.’ If you eat at fast food restaurant - even if you’re eating vegan fast food, - or even if you’re dining out at a conventional ‘sit-down’ restaurant you have no right to call lab meat ‘unnatural.’

To me, in terms of the processing aspect, eating lab meat would be no different then eating a box of chicken nuggets or a Tofurkey roast at Thanksgiving. In fact, lab meat may actually be less processed then many conventional meat products such as nuggets and hot dogs, as well as many vegan products such as veggie burgers, veggie chicken, and veggie sausages. So you can’t site ‘unnatural’ as a reason against. As for the ‘ick’ factor eating a lab meat burger is no more disgusting then eating a hot dog, or a burger at a fast food restaurant. I mean really, do you know what goes into those things? Yet people do both of those things day in and day out without so much as a second thought.

Of course there is also the opinion that since there are so many great meat alternatives available already that meat-eaters don’t take advantage of this will not catch on. There is also the fear that this will become a billion dollar industry and we all know what happens then. People say that because certain individuals are ignorant and will never give up conventional meat that this research is a waste of money. Well all I have to say to that is I honestly don’t think there will be a choice in the matter in the future. Our planet Is so devastated, we can barely sustain the life we have let alone the boom that’s coming that I don’t think we’ll be given the option to choose. As science-fictiony as it sounds I think if this becomes viable there will be a global decision to end factory farming in favor of it. I think that this will be the new way of things, it will be mandated and we won’t have the option of going back to conventionally raised meat. The only option we’ll have is to be vegan or eat lab-meat, and that’s probably how it should be anyway. I think there will come a time when eating any meat at all will be frowned upon, and so if you want to eat meat this will be the only acceptable way to do it, or risk becoming a social outcast. Perhaps that’s how things should be, though I know some would disagree with me there, anyway that’s a long way off. Lab meat won’t even be viable for commercial sale for another ten to twenty years, so everyone should just relax a little bit.

Really, I think the majority of the backlash and the negative reactions are coming from the ‘ick’ factor. People truly don’t like knowing where their food comes from or how it’s made. Most manufactured foods don’t advertise the fact that they are indeed manufactured and you never get to know exactly how it’s done due to ‘trade secrets, ‘ but this is different. It’s such a hot topic, and it’s generated so much intense interest that everyone will be keeping an eye on the story, and inevitably this means everyone will probably know more then they care to about the process. That alone will gross people out, then when you add to the mix any preconceived notions they may have about health, and food, well forget it. Reactions explode and people say crazy, ignorant and irrational things.

Bearing that in mind I strongly urge you - vegan or not - to seriously consider the potential for good here. Please consider the positive implications that this new technology could have on human health, animal welfare, the environment, and world hunger. Look past your initial reactionary feelings and look deep into how this could bring a positive change in the world. Realize that this isn’t about you, it isn’t an attack on you, it isn’t a criticism of you. Scientists are trying to come up with a realistic and viable solution to many of the critical problems we now face, and those solutions brought to fruition do more to help the world then the ideals you hold but don’t activate. Talk is just that, talk. It doesn’t solve anything, we need to take action which is what is happening here. It may not be the action you wanted, or dreamed of or hoped for, but a step forward is better then a step to the side, and as long as people keep moving in the right direction real change will finally come.

So stay positive, think critically, and reserve judgement.
For us, for the animals, and for the planet.

"Organic Health Food” Giant Whole Foods Caught In Deceptive GMO Marketing Scandal...

Now to take a moment out of Vegan Mofo to bring to your attention a serious and pressing issue.

I’ve been meaning to write a post on GMO’s - Genetically Modified Organisms - for ages, it’s something that I feel very strongly about. It’s something I think all people should be fully informed on, yet it’s something I keep having to put off because honestly I don’t even know where to begin. However the latest news story concerning Whole Foods, GMO’s and Monsanto got my attention last week, and sort of blew my mind. It comes at a particularly timely moment as on November 6th an initiative will be on the ballet in California - PROP 37 - that if passed will legally require all Foods containing GMO’s in the state to be labeled as such. This is huge, it is a huge step. Labeling of GMO foods is already required across the entire European Union, China, Mexico and some other countries as well, the United States is one of the only industrialized countries that does not require the labeling of GMO foods. Probably because the vast majority of the U.S. food supply is genetically modified, and probably because biotech corporations like Monsanto who are responsible for GMOs have plants in the FDA, the USDA, and various other agencies and organizations nationwide. Monsanto who I’ve mentioned before and who you should be well familiar with anyway has spent billions of dollars fighting against Prop 37. Dupont has also spent an exorbitant sum of money to fight against Prop 37 in California. Monsanto claims that GMO foods are safe, and healthy, but if they’re so safe then why is Monsanto fighting so hard against labeling. If they are so safe then labeling the GMO’s shouldn’t make a difference to them. But are we really suppose to take the word of the Corporation who invented DDT and Agent Orange, who after virtually zero testing declared those chemicals ‘safe’? Perhaps this is why they’re fighting so hard.

The truth about GMO’s is that we truly do not know if they are safe or not. They’ve only been in our food system since the 1990's, and no extensive testing or trials have been conducted. No human trials nor human testing. We have no idea what the long term effect of consuming high quantities of GMO’s may be, we have no idea what the consequence will be to our environment. Studies conducted on animals fed GMO diets have shown that GMO’s can cause anything from allergies, infections, discomfort to cancer. A recent study on mice fed a diet of Monsanto’s GMO corn showed that they developed large stomach tumors. GMO’s were approved for use in the human food supply by the USDA and the FDA not because of throughly vetted testing but simply because Monsanto gave them their word. Can we trust that?

Whether you believe GMO’s are safe, or detrimental to human health and the environment. I think the one thing we can agree on is that all of us have a right to know what we are eating, and what we are choosing to put into our bodies. Monsanto doesn’t want us to have that right.

This is where Whole Foods comes in. For thirty years this corporate health food giant has positioned itself as the pioneer in industry organics. It prides itself on its standards and its dedication to selling only the highest quality natural foods. Natural is a big word at Whole Foods and is used as often as Organic, they often make the claim that their products and stores are free of artificial ingredients - meaning colors, flavors, etc. They have publically spoken out against GMO foods, and while I can’t pinpoint an instance in which they actually came out and said they never sell GMO foods in their stores, all of their marketing campaigns imply it. They are all about organic, natural and nothing artificial ever. Yet in a quiet press release issued recently the company disclosed that it does in fact knowingly sell GMO products in it’s stores. While this press release may have gone unnoticed by many it did not go unnoticed by all. An independent news organization picked up the story and actually had the balls to confront Whole Foods Employees and Customers with it. InfoWars and a group known as Organic Spies have made several captivating videos on the topic. One of the Organic Spies videos was even banned from YouTube, but is still viewable on their site, and several articles by similarly independent news organizations have been published over the following weeks. The backlash against Whole Foods has begun. They have been accused of indoctrinating their employees and encouraging them to lie on the subject of Organic’s and GMO’s. They have been called everything from corporate thugs, to “The Green Monsanto.” and now after various protests that occurred Tuesday, October 16th at Whole Foods stores nations wide - the day was labeled “Bring your GMO’s back to Whole Foods Day” Whole Foods has now released a 5 Point GMO Fact Sheet for it’s customers and employees.

In the fact sheet it claims that the only way for a Whole Foods customer to avoid buying GMO products is to by Strictly Organic products or products certified Non-GMO by the Non-GMO Project. It even admits that it’s own 365 brand - something it previously claimed was natural, free of artificial ingredients and GMO free - could not be considered 100% GMO free unless organic. They say “Our 365 Products come from plant sources that are sourced to avoid GMO’s” Note the word Avoid, and register that no where on the ‘fact sheet’ does it say that their non-organic 365 products do not contain any GMO’s.

When confronted by InfoWars reporters Whole Foods executive Libby Letton - who handles investor relations and food safety - if that’s not a conflict of interest I don’t know what is - said “Unless a store is all organic, every store in the country sells unlabeled Genetically Modified Foods.” While this may be true it’s hardly an excuse or a defense. The “Well Everyone Does it” excuse doesn’t fly, particularly when a company has built it’s reputation on being better then ‘the other guy’ People shop at Whole Foods because they think the company has integrity, because they trust them, and because they think Whole Foods is better then everyone else. Well their recent admission about GMO’s and Letton’s ‘defense’ prove otherwise. On the subject of conventional food items Whole Foods is no better then your friendly neighborhood Safeway, Dominick’s, Kroger, or even Wal-Mart etc.  Letton then said on camera “I don’t think Whole Foods does anything to try and make people believe that we don’t have food with GMO’s in them.” Which is a statement she likely now regrets because the reporters at InfoWars were able to find several instances of where this was not the case. From signs posted outside of Whole Foods Stores to statements posted on their website, blog, and even their own Mission Statement, InfoWars with a bit of research and a few hard-hitting questions  has been able to uncover the great Whole Foods Marketing Deception.

For some it comes as no surprise that Whole Foods sells GMO foods. With 90% of the nations Canola, 86% of the nations corn, and 93% of the nations soybean crops being GMO some people seem to think that buying GMO is unavoidable. To others however it came as a big shock, it’s an even bigger shock for people to find out that Whole Foods is selling the very GMO Monsanto Corn they’re supposedly against. The unavoidable defense is certainly the party-line the company is now taking up to excuse itself. They say that “GMO’s in the food supply are unavoidable, particularly when considering high risk crops such as corn, canola, and soy.” However that isn’t exactly true is it? If it were unavoidable or impossible then how could there be so many organic companies? How could their be such a thing as non-organic non-GMO certification? The truth is that it’s simply easier, and cheaper for Whole Foods to sell cheap GMO products at a ridiculous markup to unsuspecting consumers. Letton almost confirms this herself. When asked by an InfoWars reporter if Whole Foods had any plans to take the initiative and test all the non-organic products in their stores for GMO’s themselves she replied “Wouldn’t it just be simpler to pass a law that requires labeling of GMO’s on products?” Um, no. I think that Monsanto pumping billions of dollars into fighting that very law - Prop 37 - in California is proof enough that, that route isn’t easier. My question to Letton and to Whole Foods is “Wouldn’t it be a show of trust to test the products yourself to ensure your customers are provided with the best quality products?” “If you’re genuinely against GMO’s wouldn’t you make a greater effort to ensure they’re not in your stores.” “Could you not contact the non-organic companies whose products you sell and ask them if they would be willing to voluntarily label their products as GMO free even though there is no legal law requiring it?”

If you don’t think Whole Foods has pockets deep enough to pay for the testing of all the non-organic products sold within their stores you’re sorely mistaken. They have more then 300 stores in three countries, and some of those stores make a million dollars or more a week. The co-presidents of Whole Foods John Mackey, and Walter Robb are worth more money then you and I will ever see in our lifetime. If they were serious, if they were genuine, and if they truly cared about their integrity they would label their products voluntarily, or ask their supplies to do this. It is my personal opinion that any company not willing to label their products as GMO free has something to hide.

For me one of the most upsetting and disturbing things about this news is not the fact that Whole Foods is knowingly selling GMO products, it’s their deception about it. They may be admitting to the GMO’s now because they have to but their ‘quality standards’ as seen on their own website remains the same.

1) We carefully evaluate each and every product we sell
2) We feature foods that are free of artificial preservatives, colors, flavors, sweeteners, and hydrogenated fats.
3) We are passionate about great tasting food and sharing it with others
4) We are committed to foods that are fresh, wholesome and safe to eat
5) We seek out and promote organically grown foods
6) We provide food and nutritional products that support health and well-being

If all of those statements are true then Whole foods carefully evaluates products containing GMO’s and then decides to sell them anyway. Thinks that GMO’s are natural. Thinks that GMO foods are wholesome and safe, and thinks that GMO products support health and well-being. They either truly believe that, or their quality standards are a lie. I don’t know how you can list these as your quality standards while you’re simultaneously selling GMO foods. According to information offered by some of Whole Foods own employees - information spoken on camera during one of the undercover videos - Even Whole Foods Vitamin line may contain GMO’s.

This deception leads me to one more point I have to make on the topic of the hypocrisy of Whole Foods. Whole Foods dose not carry Pepsi, Coke, General Mills, Kellogg, Hershey’s, Cadbury, Kraft or Con Agra products because they are not healthy and do not meet their ‘quality standards.’ They demonize these companies and corporations and yet, if you look closely you will see that the shelves of Whole Foods Market are stocked full of products from these very companies. How could this be you ask? Simple.

Pepsi owns Naked Juice, and Izze. Both sold in Whole Foods.
Coke owns Odwalla sold in Whole Foods.
General Mills owns Larabar, Cascadian Farms, and Muir Glen all sold in Whole Foods
Kellogg owns Bare Naked, Kashi, Gardenburger, and Morningstar Farms all sold in Whole Foods
Hershey’s - Which has been accused of sourcing it’s chocolate through slave labor - owns Dagoba which is sold in Whole Foods.
Cadbury owns Black and Green Chocolate sold in Whole Foods
Kraft owns Boca and Back to Nature both sold at Whole Foods
Con Agra owns Lightlife sold in Whole Foods.

It should also be noted that while Whole Foods Market claims to be against factory farming it supports it indirectly as Hain Celestial - who have many products in Whole Foods stores from Imagine - almond, soy and rice dream - to Westsoy, to Garden of Eaten, to Arrowhead Mills and Spectrum Organics -  in particular is affiliated with Cargill, and directly as Whole Foods own grain-fed beef comes courtesy of IBP who is owned by Tyson Foods the biggest beef producer in the Country. IBP is located in South Dakota.

How can a company that demonizes these big corporations turn around and sell products from that very company? Perhaps this is why Whole Foods won’t stand behind Prop 37 and take a definitive and inarguable stand on the topic of GMO’s. Pepsi Corp, Cocoa Cola Corp, General Mills, and Kellogg are all actively fighting against prop 37 and donating to that fight right along with Monsanto.

Through their research InfoWars and Organic Spies have also uncovered some startling information. They say that Co-President Walter Robb has personally donated money to the campaign of Christie Vilsack who is running for congress this year. She is the wife of Tom Vilsack, who some of you may know is the United States Secretary of Agriculture at the USDA, who has been in bed with Monsanto for years, and who publicly advocates large industrialized farms and genetically modified crops. When confronted with this Letton stated that “What a person wants to do with their personal money from their personal bank account is their business.” which is true but you have to ask yourself why a man who is the co-president of the largest Organic and Natural Grocery Chain in the Country would donate money to the campaigns of the very people working against what he and his company - supposedly - are trying to achieve. InfoWars also stated that Robb donated a significant amount of money to the Obama campaign, and Obama appointed Mike Taylor - A Monsanto Cronie going back to the 80's - as the FDA Senior Advisor to the FDA Commission, and the FDA Deputy Commissioner for Foods. It could very well be a coincidence, and it could not be, that at least is the conclusion that's being drawn. I can’t speak to that, but it is interesting. It has also been reported that Whole Foods Executives have had meetings with Tom Vilsack, Monsanto, Stonyfeild Farms and Organic Valley. About what? Who can say, but why would Whole Foods Executives be meeting with a company they rally against?

And why does a corporation as adamantly opposed to GMO’s as Whole Foods claims to be, refuse to donate money to the Prop 37 initiative in California? They’ve publicly stated that they support prop 37, and the consumers ‘right to know’ but refuse to throw any money behind it. Is that because their top executives are donating money from personal bank accounts that is inevitably ending up in the pockets of Monsanto? To date no corporation has donated money to Prop 37, all donations are coming from small independent and Organic companies or personal donations from concerned doctors and the public. Leading by example is something that Whole Foods could easily do here, and yet they sit back silently watching to see what happens while their higher-ups donate to the opposition.

I think it’s safe to say that Whole Foods Market is no longer your friendly neighborhood hippy-dippy health food store. They’ve failed their customers and sold out to corporate America for the all-mighty dollar.

If this bothers you, if this upsets you, if this infuriates you my advice would be to get into contact with John Mackey, Walter Robb and other Whole Foods Executives via email and tell them in a polite but firm manner what you think of all of this. I would urge you to go to your local Whole Foods Market and talk to the store managers there, tell them how you feel, tell them how disappointed you are in them as a company. I would also urge you to contact your congressman or woman, or your state senator and tell them how you feel about GMO’s and ask them to stand behind a similar prop 37 for whatever your home state might be. If you live in California I urge you to vote yes on Prop 37 this November 6th and show the world that we are not willing to let ourselves become Monsanto’s Science Experiment.

And on the matter of where to buy your groceries. There’s not much sense in boycotting Whole Foods I think, so I would suggest that you only buy their organic products. Purchase from them only what is organic or what you need to suit any special diet you may have whether it’s vegan, gluten-free, sugar-free etc... then do the rest of your shopping at farmers markets or local markets and health food stores that you trust. Independent ones will be sure to have more integrity then chains. When it comes to buying conventional products I’d recommend you get them wherever you can get them cheapest. No sense in buying conventional apples at Whole Foods when you can buy the same apples at Safeway for $2 less right?

Dollars speak louder then words, if you stop buying GMO products from Whole Foods maybe they’ll get the message.

As November 6 grows nearer and these stories continue to circulate I will try to keep you updated. For more information check out the articles and videos linked below. Or simply Google it for yourself.

http://www.naturalnews.com/037467_Whole_Foods_marketing_fraud_GMO.html
http://tv.naturalnews.com/v.asp?v=A6D9F56EC3D67EB38801CCAACE10D645
http://tv.naturalnews.com/v.asp?v=484FC93C887B206A895A116C0A3469E3
http://www.organicconsumers.org/articles/article_23905.cfm
http://tv.naturalnews.com/v.asp?v=E95DBAD3F3CE57D8190A9D39202FBD6B
http://digitaljournal.com/article/334129
http://www.infowars.com/whole-foods-market-and-gmos-the-whole-truth/
http://www.care2.com/news/member/101960828/3383705
http://www.organicconsumers.org/articles/article_22449.cfm
http://fundrace.huffingtonpost.com/neighbors.php?type=name&oldest=1&lname=Robb&fname=Walter&search=Search+Names
http://truthquake.com/2012/10/02/whole-foods-censors-expose-genetically-modified-food-poisoning-video/
http://www.gcnlive.com/wp/tag/food/
http://www.cornucopia.org/who-owns-organic/

The Life Of The Modern Domestic Turkey: From Birth, To Death, To Plate...

There’s an old saying that goes "Thanksgiving’s not a good time to be a turkey." It’s pretty commonplace and people usually say it nonchalantly with a good natured chuckle. Unfortunately the vast majority of people haven’t any idea just how much truth lies behind those words.

Between 250-300 million turkeys are slaughtered annually for their flesh in the United States, 20-40 million of those slaughters occurring at Thanksgiving each year. What the average person doesn’t know is that turkeys are beautiful and intelligent creatures with a keen awareness of their surroundings. When afforded the opportunity they are highly social and playful, making fast friends with other animals and humans alike. They love having their feathers and underbellies stroked, and relish in building nests, rearing their young and singing! Personality wise turkeys are as varied as dogs and cats, and just as loyal and loving. Yet despite their admirable qualities, their agility, and their magnificence virtually all turkeys raised in the United States are subjected to living out their lives in unbearable pain and suffering in the most horrendous conditions.

Due to the industrialization of the animal agriculture business (Factory Farming) today’s commercial turkeys bare little resemblance to their wild ancestors. Today’s commercial turkeys have been systematically bred, and genetically manipulated by the industry to grow as large as possible as fast as possible. Turkey breeders are able to (and do) manipulate ever aspect of the animals life literally from the moment of conception to their slaughter. Turkeys are selectively bred for production-related traits like fast growth and fleshier bodies. Turkey farmers after all are paid by the pound not by the bird. The heavier the bird the higher it’s monetary value. Unfortunately this system of breeding has caused significant animal-welfare issues. Since breast meat (white meat) is the most desirable, therefore yields a higher price, turkeys have been anatomically manipulated to be so heavy and large breasted that they are now incapable of reproducing naturally. Meaning virtually all turkeys raised commercially in the United States are the result of artificial insemination, which in this case is really just a ‘nice’ term for rape.

Breeding male turkeys (Toms) are typically kept in dark crowded pens for one year. During which time they are handled twice a week for ‘milking’ sessions to collect their semen. This process has the male turkey’s legs secured in a clamp on a bench, while the bird is held over the lap of a worker who induces the turkey to ejaculate. The semen is then collected in a suction hose and mixed with the semen from other toms.

For each of these breeding Males there are more then 20 breeding female turkeys (hens) who are subjected to overcrowding and abusive treatment. Twice a week these breeding hens are herded into a room and then one after another they are held upside down, "Cracked open" (A term used by the Industry) and inseminated in an assembly line fashion. As with the male turkeys the females legs are clamped in metal forceps while the workers race to inseminate between 1200 to 1400 hens within a two hour period.

Toms and Hens used for breeding are typically slaughtered before their second birthday and then used for low grade processed turkey meat products. The turkeys raised on factory farms are hatched in large incubators and never see their mothers nor feel the warmth and safety of a familial nest. When they are only just a few weeks old the baby turkeys are moved into filthy, windowless sheds with thousands of other turkeys, where they will spend the rest of their lives, never setting foot outside.

The overcrowded and filthy conditions in these sheds is so unbearable, and stressful that often times turkeys will take out their frustrations on one another by pecking or attacking other birds. To prevent the turkeys from killing one another under these horrible conditions parts of the turkeys beaks and toes are cut off in a process called ‘de-beaking’ or ‘de-toeing.’ the males snoods (the flap of skin located under the chin) are also typically removed, and all this is done without numbing or pain relievers. Millions of turkeys don’t even make it past their first few weeks of life as the conditions are so stressful they’ve been known to induce a condition referred to as ‘starve out’ which causes the young birds to simply stop eating, and so they starve to death.

As already mentioned turkeys are systematically bred to grow as large as possible as fast as possible. In 1970 the average turkey weighed 17 pounds, today a male or female can be as much as 28-38 pounds when brought to slaughter. Inability to breed naturally isn’t the only problem related to the birds unnatural growth. Commercially raised turkeys are now so obese that they can not fly, and many can barely walk, while their wild ancestors are capable of flight of up to 55 mph for short distances. Their unnatural size also causes many birds to die of organ failure or heat attack, or worse a turkey’s organs can be crushed internally by it’s own grotesque weight. Often times this happens before the birds are even six months old. They also suffer regularly from collapsed lungs, swollen joints and crippled feet. According to one industry publication, modern turkeys grow so quickly that if a 7 pound human baby grew at the same rat it would weight 1,500 pounds at just 18 weeks of age.

At 14-18 weeks of age turkeys are ready for slaughter, but the transportation conditions are no better then those of the sheds they’ve been forced into for their entire lives. At the time of transport workers will often grab turkeys by their legs and throw them violently into crates. Several turkeys are crammed into each crate, making it almost impossible for them to move. The overcrowded crates are then stacked on the backs of trucks. The turkeys are given no food and no water before or during transport and because of this many turkeys are already dead upon arrival at the slaughterhouse. During winter conditions are so bad that many turkeys freeze to death before reaching the slaughterhouse, or even have their limbs freeze to the crates while in transit. When it’s time to remove the turkeys from the crates, if these partially frozen turkeys are even still alive they are often forcibly removed from the crates, leaving their frozen limbs severed in the crates behind them. During summer transports many turkeys die of heat stress, heat exhaustion or dehydration as it’s legal to transport farm animals for up to 36 hours without food, water or rest.

In fact Turkeys (as all poultry, chickens, ducks, geese etc..) have no legal protection or status. The USDA continually refuses to protect Turkeys and other birds in it’s enforcement of the Humane Slaughter Act. So if the life of a turkey wasn’t already bad enough, their death by slaughter isn’t any quicker, easier or painless.

At the slaughterhouse turkeys are routinely shackled upside down by their feet along a moving rail while still fully conscious. On their first stop along the moving rail the turkey’s heads are submerged in an electrified ‘stunning tank’ which immobilizes them, but doesn’t render most of them unconscious. Their throats are then slit by a mechanical blade and they are left to ‘bleed out’ as they continue along the rail. However due to the extreme speed at which the rail moves, the large amount of turkeys that are processed in just one hour let alone a full day, and the inaccuracy of the mechanical blade, many turkeys are missed and continue on from this step fully conscious and alive. The turkeys are then submerges in the scalding tank to remove their feathers. Many of the turkeys are still alive at this point, and so are essentially boiled alive.

If the process of slaughter itself weren’t cruel enough there are numerous undercover videos and investigations that have taken place over the past few years revealing even more unthinkable egregious acts of animal-cruelty that have now become commonplace within the industry. Turkeys with broken wings, legs, bloody open wounds, tumors, and other untreated injuries have been seen slaughtered for human consumption. Workers have been caught punching live shackled turkeys for fun as they move along the assembly line. Employees have been witness forcefully shoving their fists or feet into the vaginal and anal cavities of turkeys and chickens. Employees have been seen throwing live turkeys and chickens across rooms, up in the air, onto the floor, into machinery while still conscious. Workers have been caught ripping the heads off of live turkeys, stomping on turkeys heads, wings, legs, and bodies. Kicking them, stabbing them, and crushing them under the wheels of trucks.

The atrocities committed in Turkey slaughterhouses all across the country are innumerable and horrible. No being, wether human or animal - should ever have to endure such senseless cruelty, and suffering. These are living, breathing creatures with feelings and individual personalities, deserving of our respect, and our compassion. Treating any creature in this way makes us no better then the most awful participants of human genocide, and blindly continuing to support an industry that deems these atrocities as ‘okay’ makes us no better then the monsters committing the acts. Thanksgiving should be a wonderful time of joy and celebration. Celebration for all that you have, and a time to reflect on the good in your life and give thanks for it, yet for so many beings this day and all those leading up to it are nothing but a twisted nightmare. People stupidly offer thanks to the dead turkey carcase that becomes the center piece of their diningroom table on this day. Thanking the turkey for ‘giving it’s life’ so that we may revel in it’s ill-begotten flesh, but no turkey ever willingly gave it’s life so that it could sit on our dinner plate. The reality is that we continue to choose to murder these birds, and to support these acts of cruelty out of our own greed, fear and inability to change. We call it ‘tradition’ but as I discussed in my post  'Thanksgiving - Reexamining Traditions' is absolutely nothing traditional about eating turkey on Thanksgiving. In fact seeing as how we only due so because of the insistence of one woman, it’s really more traditional not to eat turkey. Yet we continue to do so, citing tradition because it’s easy, because it’s what we’ve always done, but if being part of such mindless cruelty is something you consider easy then count me out.

I don’t say these things lightly nor do I say them to be mean, I say them because I know, because I used to be that person too. For years I happily and greedily ate my turkey, offering foolish words of thanks for it’s ‘sacrifice’ and never giving a moments thought about the process that brought that turkey to my plate. Once the reality of the situation made itself clear to me however I realized I had to change. I am at heart a compassionate person, and I believe in the equality of all beings. I don’t believe you can live a fully compassionate life if you continue to engage in practices that contribute to such cruelty. After all there is nothing compassionate about the systematic manipulation and murder of millions of turkeys a year. My inner values don’t align with these practices and so as a vegan I’m happy I no longer have to defend myself against them.

So for yourselves but more importantly for the turkeys make the compassionate choice this year and choose a turkey free Thanksgiving. It’s really not as hard as you think, and it’s oh so worth it, especially with so many great vegan food options out there!

For more information check out -

http://www.farmsanctuary.org/mediacenter/turkey_ai.html
http://www.onegreenplanet.org/lifestyle/thanksgiving-a-time-for-gratitude-celebration-peace-and-reflection/
http://www.mercyforanimals.org/hor/

PS: Images found through Google images.

The Dangers of Dairy - Why It’s Bad for Our Health from Heart Disease to Cancer, and Beyond...

 ***Note - Because I’m currently living in the United States facts, figures and statements about the dairy industry or various government agencies will be primarily limited to those operating in the United States, unless otherwise stated. However it’s my understanding that dairy industries in several other countries run similarly, and considering that the arms of the United States dairy industry have begun to reach farther then the boarders of the United States itself, some of these things might be good to keep in mind. It might also be incredibly beneficial for anyone reading outside of the U.S. to do your own research about how the dairy industries in your country influences and dictates both public opinion and government policy.***

The Dangers of Dairy - Why It’s Bad for Our Health from Heart Disease to Cancer, and Beyond...

Since my Post about protein I’ve wanted to do a sort of follow up about dairy, however where to begin in dispelling the myths so heavily perpetrated by the Dairy Industry is a difficult one. Though there are many different aspects to the Dairy industry, and many things that can be said for each, this post will primarily be dealing with the health risks and consequences of consuming dairy products. More and more through my contact and conversations with people, I’ve come to realize just how important addressing these issues is. Most of us don’t understand that consuming dairy is a problem, let alone why it’s a problem or just how big a problem it is. We can understand things like trans fat, saturated fat, and chemical additives even if we choose to ignore them, but few of us deem to dig deeper into the biochemistry of our food. Rather then discern the truth for ourselves we’ve blindly and willingly let our minds become flooded and confused by the cleverly worded ‘information’ of the billion dollar marketing and add campaigns funded by the very same people who have the most to gain off of our laziness and ignorance.

The number of people who unquestioningly believe and repeat the lies generated by the dairy industry astounds me. Especially considering these myths have been debunked time and time again, by various scientists, doctors, educators, authors and activists. What shocks me even more is those same people’s disbelief, and doubt when faced with the cold hard facts presented by these doctors, researchers and scientists on the subject. I’d like to point out here that The Dairy Industry is a business - like any business - it’s a rich and powerful industry, with large lobbies in Washington D.C. and huge influence on the government. The dairy industry has everything to gain when they encourage you to drink more milk, or eat more cheese. Every penny of that carton of milk you buy or that block of cheddar you purchase goes right into The Dairy Industry’s pocket. It is in their best interest to keep you buying, and to encourage you to buy more, even when you don’t need or want it, even at the risk of your own health. However when your doctor, a scientist or a researcher tells you that eating too much cheese, or drinking too much milk has negative and even fatal consequences on your health, they gain nothing. Subsequently I gain nothing from presenting this post for you. I’m not being paid for it, I’m not generating income for it, none of your hard earned pennies are going into my pocket. I’m writing this post simply because it saddens me to see people dying and becoming ill from preventable disease. It also saddens me to see people so mislead, so disastrously duped and lied to, and cheated. Particularly when those who are doing the lying are the very people who are meant to be keeping us safe. As a compassionate person I want to do everything I can to limit the suffering of others. So if these words help you in any minuscule way, then I am grateful.

We as a culture have been indoctrinated from birth to believe that milk is everything from "Natures most natural food" to "A Miracle Health Food" to "A Vital necessity of everyday life" Think back to the commercials of your childhood where happy families sat around a breakfast table drinking full perspiring glasses of glossy white liquid, as they pour more from a bulging jug onto their breakfast cereal. Think of the 1950's aproned mom with curlers in her hair and her "Leave it to Beaver" attitude, chortling to her children that milk will make them strong and healthy. Think of the Got Milk? Adds of the 90's, with beautiful half clothed celebrities wearing foamy frothy milk mustaches, over their enticing smiles. All of these different adds and marketing ploys have two things in common. The first is that they’re bought and paid for by the tremendously rich dairy industry, and second, each one of these adds is selling you a lie. So what, you may ask, exactly is the problem with dairy? Let me tell you.

First we should start at the beginning, with Milk. What is milk? Milk is simply the mammary secretion produced during and after the pregnancy of all lactating female human and non human animals. Most people don’t think of milk in such terms, but that’s the honest truth. Any female mammal capable of reproduction, can and does produce milk. Whether that female is a human female, a Bison female, a Rabbit Female, a Rat Female, a Panda Female or a Gorilla Female, all female mammals produce lactation fluid (milk). However, considering that this post is primarily about the dairy industry, and the dairy industry consists mainly of cows, (Though goats, and now sheep are certainly becoming a bit more common here in the west) I will be using the term ‘milk’ to specifically relate to cow’s milk.

So now that we know what milk is, what is the problem? There are many, but I think I’d be doing you a great disservice if I didn’t start with the most serious and most troubling.

Recombinant Bovine Growth Hormone. rBGH is a powerful genetically engineered drug produced by Monsanto. (A company entirely deserving of it’s own post, perhaps in the near future.) This drug when injected into dairy cows forces them to produce up to 25% more milk then they would naturally. Unfortunately not only does rBGH provoke this reaction in cows, but several studies have shown accelerated tumor and cancer growth in lab animals that were fed diets high in rBGH milk and other dairy products. In fact in 1998 Canadian Government Scientists revealed that Monsanto’s own research and data (Carefully concealed by both the company and the FDA) on feeding rBGH to rats indicated cancer danger to humans. Since 1994 every industrialized country in the World, except for the U.S. has banned the use of rBGH. In addition to this researchers from the Cancer Prevention Coalition have found that milk from rBGH cows contains substantially higher amounts of a powerful cancer tumor promoter IGI-1 (more about this hormone below) It was also discovered that rBGH milk contained higher levels of pus, bacteria, and antibiotics. If that weren’t enough it’s also been shown that neither rBGH or IGI-1 are destroyed during the pasteurization process. Yet despite the vast warnings and overwhelming disapproval expressed by the health community the FDA voted not only to approve the drug without any further testing but vetoed any bill that would force companies to include rBGH on their product labels. You may be asking yourselves how could, or why would the FDA approve a drug that was found to have such negative consequences? The simple answer is corruption and an extreme conflict of interest. As several key FDA decision makers had either previously worked for or currently worked for Monsanto at the time.

As if that weren’t enough, right? A survey conducted in 1998 by Family Farm Defenders found that rBGH injected cows living on factory dairy farms in Wisconsin had a life span of only two and a half years, when A cows natural life span can be as much as 25 years. Personally I feel that this in itself is enough proof of the negative consequences of the drug. I mean think about it, if rBGH can shorten a cows natural life span by 22 and a half years, what’s it doing to us?

Currently more then a quarter of U.S. Factory Farmed dairy cows are routinely injected with rBGH. Unfortunately rBGH contamination is more widespread then that because most of the nations 1500 dairy companies are allowing the co-mingling of rBGH milk with non-rBGH milk. Thereby contaminating up to 80-90% of the nations dairy supply with rBGH. (Including all major infant formula brands) Meanwhile cows treated with rBGH have a 25% increase in painful Udder infections (Mastitis) and a 50% increase in Lameness. To counter these health problems the cows are routinely injected with more and more antibiotics, at higher and higher doses. Which means 80-90% of the milk on the market is contaminated with a combination of rBGH, higher levels of IGI-1, higher levels of various antibiotics, bacteria, pus, blood, and feces. It sure sounds delicious, nutritious and natural to me!

So that’s rBGH, and there are tons of studies you can look up for yourself, if you’re interested in more information. Numerous research has been conducted, and I highly recommend that you consult the data compiled specifically by those countries that have banned the use of rBGH. (Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, All countries belonging to the European Union etc..) As much of the research compiled in the United States was bought and paid for by Monsanto (the company that developed the drug, also known as the people with the most to gain off of your ignorance.)

Now you may read all that about rBGH and think, okay well it doesn’t apply to me because I live in one of the countries that has banned rBGH. Or if you are in the U.S. you’ll think to yourself, okay I’ll just buy Organic milk from now on. It’s true that Organic Milk (as of this moment) does not contain rBGH, and some companies have even gone to great lengths to label their products rBGH free. (Despite being handed heavy lawsuits from Monsanto) but even organic milk, as well as non-rBGH milk in other countries contains IGI-1. In fact all milk, everywhere, from every lactating female mammal contains IGI-1. Including the breast milk ofhuman females. So now a little bit about it.

IGI-1 stands for Insulin-Like Growth Factor, and as the name suggests it stimulates growth. It’s sole purpose is to stimulate the growth in an infants (human or non human) body. The amount of IGI-1 produced by any lactating female depends entirely on what stage of pregnancy or breast feeding she is in. How much is produced is also determined by the species that female belongs to. Human breast milk contains significantly less IGI-1 then cows milk. Some studies have shown that Cow’s milk (those not injected with rBGH) can produce more then 4 times the amount of IGI-1 then that of a human females milk. While rBGH cows can produce more then 10 times the amount of IGI-1 then non rBGH injected cows. (To put things into a little bit of perspective) So again, a rBGH cow can produce 10x as much IGI-1 then a human female, while a non rBGH cow can produce as much as 4x the amount of IGI-1 then a human female.

The problem with IGI-1 is that not only does it encourage the growth of normal cell tissue which is necessary in infants consuming their mothers breast milk, but with prolonged consumption, especially at those high quantities found in cows milk it also stimulates the growth of many cancers. Particularly breast cancer. Researchers have found that mixing IGI-1 with cancer cells in a test tube, caused the cancer cells to multiply. Studies have also shown that men with the highest levels of IGI-1 in their bodies had more then 4 times the risk of prostate cancer then men with the lowest levels of IGI-1. As stated above IGI-1 is not destroyed by pasteurization. It’s also not broken down by the digestion process as it was once thought. Research suggests that IGI-1 may be carried intact, passing from the digestive tract into the blood stream and even directly into the breast tissue of woman.

Human exposure to IGI-1 through human breast milk is at a smaller dosage and further limited by the fact that most humans are weaned from their mothers breast milk anywhere between the age of 1and 4. If after being weaned from your own mothers milk, you continue to supplement your diet with cow’s milk you are not only prolonging your consumption of IGI-1 but you’re also consuming more of it then you would from naturally drinking human milk. As stated above, non rBGH cows produce more then 4 times the amount of IGI-1 that human females produce, and rBGH injected cows can produce more then 10 times the amount of IGI-1 than non rBGH cows.

Humans, in fact all creatures are not designed by nature to continue consuming their species or any other species milk after weaning. Our own physiology supports this as fact. By the age of five our bodies stop producing the enzyme lactase, which is responsible for breaking down the lactose. (Milk sugar) found in milk. It’s because of this that the majority of the world is lactose intolerant. Lactose intolerance is more common then most people think, effecting 95% of Asians, 74% of Native Americans/First Nations (Canada), 70% of Africans, 53% of Hispanics, and 15% of Caucasians (Although many people don’t even realize they are lactose intolerant so this number may actually be higher) Such widespread lactose intolerance in my opinion is just another poignant example of nature telling us we shouldn’t continue to drink milk after weaning. Humans in fact are the only species on the planet that continue to consume milk into adulthood. Humans are also the only species on the planet who seek out the milk of other species. There isn’t another species of animal alive or dead that continues to seek out it’s mothers milk once being weaned, or for that matter the milk of any other creature. Think about it, have you ever seen an adult cow sucking on the teat of another cow? Have you ever seen an adult cat sucking on the teat of a dog? No! It doesn’t happen, because after an infant is weaned, lactation fluid (milk) becomes an un-necessary, un-important substance for every creature on earth.

Now that we’ve covered both rBGH and IGI-1 lets move onto Casein. Casein is a protein found in all milk and milk products regardless of weather or not they are conventional or Organic. It’s a naturally occurring substance in cow’s milk, the problem is that this animal protein has been extensively linked with cancer. Casein makes up 80-85% of the protein found in cows milk, (Whey makes up the other 15-20%) and has been shown to promote cancer growth in all stages of it’s development. The link between casein and cancer is well documented, particularly in the book "The China Study" by T. Colin Campbell. It’s so profound in fact that scientists can literally turn cancer growth on and off like a light switch in laboratory animals by altering the levels of casein in their diet. It was also found that feeding laboratory animals the same levels of gluten and soy did not promote any cancer growth at all.

Casein has been labeled a carcinogen, and is the number 1 carcinogen that people come into contact with on a daily or semi-daily basis. Every time you ingest milk, cheese, yogurt, ice cream, milk based chocolate, butter, or any other foods containing milk, or milk protein you are ingesting casein. Again it makes no difference if you are eating or drinking organic or non organic dairy products, casein is in both. Also just as an FYI here, cheese holds the highest concentration of casein then any other dairy product. This has a lot to do with how cheese is produced. To understand this better I’ll give a brief explanation. Cheese is made by curdling milk. Once the milk is curdled you have two separate substances solid and liquid. The solid is the curd, or rather the casein. The liquid is the whey. Cheese is made by using the curd. Therefore cheese no matter how you slice it, is made up of about 90% casein. That delicious cheddar you’re munching on right now is 90% carcinogenic. That combined with the fact that cheese is high in fat and is known to raise cholesterol, blood pressure, contribute to heart disease and clogged arteries, as well as be a contributing factor in obesity, you’d probably be better off sucking back on your car’s exhaust pipe.

Estrogen is yet another concern, especially for woman. Particularly those who have had breast cancer in the past, currently have it or who have a family history of it. As Cows have to be pregnant in order to produce milk. -Contrary to the popular belief that cows continually produce milk year round for no apparent reason. Cows like humans, and indeed any female mammal need to be pregnant in order to produce milk. A cow who is not pregnant, as a human who is not pregnant will not produce milk. Also contrary to popular belief cows never need to be milked, just as a human female does not need to be milked. - Pregnancy in any human or non-human animal produces more estrogen. High levels of estrogen are then found in the milk, and this is problematic for woman because it’s been well documented that excess estrogen causes breast cancer cells to multiply. This is why doctors avoid prescribing estrogen supplements to cancer patients while drugs that counter estrogen’s actions such as tamoxifen remain hugely important in breast cancer treatment. Another FYI here but fat in milk, just like the fat in any food rapidly causes excess estrogen to be produced in a woman’s body.

I consider these factors to be the most severe when considering dairy, but there are many other health risks associated with high consumption of dairy and other animal based fats and proteins. Type 1 Diabetes, obesity and Cardiovascular Disease being chief amongst them. Dairy products also contain significant amounts of saturated fat, and cholesterol, both of which are major factors in development of cardiovascular disease. Limiting or excluding intake of dairy products can not only prevent cardiovascular disease but may actually reverse it, as some studies have suggested. Milk is also surprisingly rather high in sugar, whether that is natural, or it’s added in afterwards I’m not 100% sure on. But if you read the labels on milk products vs. non-dairy milk products you’ll see a massive difference between them. For example there are 12g of sugar per one cup of my mother-in-law’s 2% milk compared to the 1g of sugar per one cup of my unsweetened almond milk, or 7g of sugar per one cup of my ‘original’ flavored soy milk.

Milk is also touted as preventing osteoporosis, but recent research shows otherwise. The Harvard Nurses health Study which fallowed 75 000 woman for 12 years showed no protective effect of increased milk consumption on fracture risk. In fact higher consumption of calcium from dairy products was associated with higher fracture risk. A separate Australian study also came to the same conclusion. The reason for this is because all animal protein leaches calcium away from our bones. Milk, like all animal proteins acidifies the bodies PH level, and this rise in acidity triggers the body to correct the problem. Calcium interestingly is an excellent acid neutralizer, and the biggest storage of calcium of course can be found in the bones, so when we eat animal based products, including consuming cow’s milk, the calcium is pulled out of our bones to counter the acidity that, that consumption brings to our bodies. Once the acidity has been neutralized, the calcium that’s been sucked out of our bones to do the job is then excreted through our urine. Leaving us with a calcium deficit, rather then a calcium storage. That’s why you see statistics showing that the countries with the lowest amount of dairy milk consumption have the lowest risk of osteoporosis, and bone fracture, while countries with the highest consumption of dairy milk, have the highest levels of osteoporosis and bone fracture.

Now I know a lot of people who say they could never give up dairy, they could never give up cheese. I know how that feels, because I felt like that once myself, and I’d like to point out that there’s a very real and valid reason for that. Recent research shows that there is indeed such a thing as cheese or dairy addiction. The reason why people find cheese so addictive, or the reason why people have difficulty letting go of milk, is because of the casomorphins that are found in dairy products. Casomorphins are opiates found in cows milk (or rather the milk of any lactating human or non human female, in differing degrees) Speaking in evolutionary terms these opiates present in milk, are there to provide a positive association between the calf and it’s mother. (Or the human baby and it’s human mother) this positive association strengthens the mother/child bond, and also these opiates make the calf or the child in question docile while feeding. Another aspect of the opiates is that the calf or child becomes slightly addicted to it’s mothers milk. This is very important because one of the largest growth spurts any human or non human animal goes through is during the time of breast feeding. You may start with a 6 pound baby, who by the time they’re weaned can be up to 25-40 pounds. The same goes for the growth spurt of a calf during it’s breast feeding. You start with a 100 pound calf and by the time it’s weaned it can have grown to 8 times that size. This is important historically not only in animal evolution but human evolution as well. As a larger, stronger, more sturdy child or mammal has a better chance of survival, particularly before the advent of modern medicine. Unfortunately what this also means for humans who continue to consume milk, cheese and other dairy products after weaning is that we can very seriously become addict to these foods. The opiates present in cheese may not be as strong as those present in a shot of heroine, or a line of cocaine, and the side effects might not be as severe, but if you’ve ever been or known a cheese addict then you know what I’m talking about. Addiction to cheese, as funny as it sounds, is real, and scientifically founded. Subsequently as already noted here as well as many, many other places, high intake of dairy can be just as devastating to one’s health as any other addictive substance.

Those are the facts about dairy, and I strongly encourage you to do your own research. Dairy is not a health food, it’s a commodity that’s been marketed and sold by the dairy industry for decades. The dairy industry is rich and powerful, and it’s arms spread far and wide. Their influence on us (The consumer) starts at a very early age, we’re indoctrinated from birth to believe in the goodness of dairy. To the point where the dairy industry even provides ‘educational material’ on diary products to public schools. We are taught very early on that we’re ‘suppose’ to consume cow’s milk, and despite everything in nature that points to the contrary, this has become a very powerfully ingrained habit, but habits can be broken, and bad ones most certainly should be. This idea that dairy is good for us is so powerful that most of us don’t ever question it or give it a second thought, but I urge you to do so. Consider for a moment all that is gained by the industry when you buy that carton of milk or that block of cheese, and consider also all that you have to loose by purchasing that same item.

After reading all of this, you may be wondering, So what do I do? Where do I get my nutrients? Where do I get my calcium? How do I protect my bones? Etc.... Because the dairy industry has been so successful in it’s use of propaganda, that many people have little to no idea where their nutrients really come from, or how they can attain them without the aid of cows milk.

So to help you, let’s break it down simply. What is Calcium? It’s a mineral, and all minerals are found in the ground. Historically cows milk was found to have such high calcium content because cows eat grass, and grass has tons of calcium. Therefore because of the cow’s diet, the cow’s milk was rich in this mineral. However due to the introduction of factory farming, (both meat and dairy factory farming) 3 out of 4 cows don’t even graze on grass. The majority of cows kept as dairy cows are kept in barns or dirt lots and never see a blade of grass in their lives. These cows are fed grain, and because that grain is lacking in essential nutrients and minerals their feed has to be supplemented and fortified with calcium and other important nutrients. Personally I find the idea of supplementing a cow’s diet with calcium so that we can get that calcium through drinking milk is beyond ridiculous. What’s the point of this? I can easily supplement my own diet with calcium by eating calcium rich foods like leafy greens or drinking soy milk that’s high in calcium. We don’t need the middle man. Of course Grass-Fed Dairy will contain calcium that isn’t supplemented, but then I’ve already mentioned the dangers of dairy products above.

If you want to give up dairy but are worried about calcium, your absolute best source of it is sesame seeds and leafy greens. Think spinach, think kale, chard, collards, broccoli, Brussel’s Sprouts. You can also find calcium in white beans, and almonds. You can even buy calcium fortified tofu and soy, rice, almond, hemp, hazelnut, and oat milks that have been fortified with calcium if you’re really worried and these same non-dairy milks have the added bonus of usually coming fortified with vitamin D. Or you can simply take a daily multi-vitamin. However I strongly recommend you get your calcium from whole plant foods like leafy greens, as we were meant to do, but a daily multi-vitamin is certainly good insurance in addition to that.

Something else I find fascinating that I thought relevant to add here is that our culture considers things like Soy, Rice and Nut milks to be the ‘alternatives’ to cow’s milk, when in fact cow’s milk is actually the alternative to these non-dairy milks. Though cattle were domesticated sometime between 8000-10 000 years ago, milk production was not a common practice. (Due to cost, access, ability, and quick spoilage) Where as Soy milk was discovered in China in 164 B.C. and then transplanted to Japan. Almond milk was used extensively and almost exclusively throughout the Mediterranean, the Middle East, North Africa and West Asia for thousands of years. Mainly because almond trees grow in abundance in that region but also because almond milk keeps for much longer then cow’s milk, and it’s entirely plant composition made it suitable for consumption during lent and other fasting days. Almond milk was a staple in every kitchen in the middle ages. While Rice Milk, or more accurately Horchata (Rice milk blended with vanilla and cinnamon) was developed in Spain in the 13th century, and was then transplanted to Mexico through colonization. Cow’s milk really did not increase in popularity until the early 1900's, and it’s use did not become widespread until the age of household refrigeration in the 30's and 40's.

In addition to non-dairy milks being delicious it should be noted that they’re packed full of healthful benefits and have no saturated fat or cholesterol. (Except coconut milk which is high in both, but that’s another story) they also contain fiber which dairy milk does not, and as already stated they can be fortified with calcium, if that’s a concern for you.

So in closing I would like to remind you that Cow’s milk as well as other dairy products are not a necessary part of a healthy human diet. It’s historically, biologically, and scientifically proven. Dairy is a business, a big business that means a lot of money for corporations and conglomerates. They have everything to loose if you stop buying into their hype, and everything to gain if you continue to blindly digest their propaganda. For you on the other hand it’s the opposite, you have everything to loose if you continue to believe in them, and everything to gain if you decide to open your eyes to the truth. Keep in mind that companies care about profits not people, and the dairy industry is no different. So for your own health as well as the health of your children I urge you to do what you can to limit or eliminate dairy from your diets. Your lives will be the better for it I promise you, and there’s nothing like expanding the horizons of your palate, or the possibilities of your plate.

PS: There are many other reasons why not to support the dairy industry, mainly those related to the cruelty dairy cows face on a day to day basis. However that is a subject for another post, one I hope to write in the coming months so if that topic interests you stay tuned.

P.P.S: For more information on this topic I highly suggest checking out the books "The China Study" by T. Colin Campbell, "The Food Revolution" by John Robbins, "Vegan Freak"by Bob and Jenna Torres, "Skinny Bitch" by Rory Freedman and Kim Barnouin (Ignore the ridiculous title because this book is full of good information) "Whitewash: The Truth About Cow’s Milk and Your Health" Joseph Keon PH.D Also check out the websites connected with these authors for further information, as well as vegetarian podcasts such as "Vegan Freak Podcast" by Bob and Jenna Torres, and "The Vegetarian Food for Thought Podcast" by Colleen Patrick-Goudreau. Any Vegan cookbook generally contains a section on this topic as well such as Alicia Silverstone’s "The Kind Diet"
***Disclaimer - I realize that cancer may not be 100% preventable no matter what you do, but my philosophy is that we should do as much as possible to prevent it. Therefore if you know for a fact that something causes cancer, eliminate it from your life.***