"Lunchables" peddler Oscar Mayer tries to mislead consumers into thinking that its meat products are healthier than they are, alleges a lawsuit filed against the company this week. Oscar Mayer prominently displays the words "98% fat free" on the label next to the calories per serving, such as "98% fat free, 50 Calories per Serving." The suit alleges that this implies that each serving contains only two fat calories when it actually contains 10 times that amount.

Deceptive meat marketing is nothing new. For example, some consumers are now convinced that greasy turkey burgers are "health foods," even though some varieties are actually higher in fat than their unhealthy counterpart, extra-lean ground beef, according to the American Dietetic Association.
 

A. Sparrow/cc by 2.0

No, I’m not feeling very lunchable today.

 
Slick advertising aside, the fact remains that meat consumption is directly linked to heart disease, strokes, and obesity, not to mention cruelty to animals. By choosing delicious vegan options, you can enjoy your food and your health.
 

Written by Michelle Sherrow

aitkencollege / CC

Pennsylvania's Lincoln University recently caused quite an uproar with the news that it requires obese students to enroll in—and complete—a fitness course before they can graduate. PETA applauds the school's effort to promote healthier lifestyles, but—let's face it—mandating fitness classes will have little or no impact if students continue to chow down on cheeseburgers and milkshakes. So we're urging Lincoln University officials to go a step further by making the school what PETA believes is this nation's first all-vegan campus.

The evidence is clear: Vegans are likely to be thinner and in better overall health than meat-eaters. The American Dietetic Association, the nation's largest group of nutrition professionals, found that vegetarians have lower rates of obesity, heart disease, diabetes, and cancer than do meat-eaters. By swapping chicken nuggets for tempeh tacos, university officials will help students realize the health benefits of a plant-based diet. Plus, countless animals will be spared horrendous suffering on factory farms and cruel deaths in slaughterhouses.

Written by Karin Bennett

hyscience / CC

Guess what, people: Eating vegetarian food is good for you! If you don't believe me, just ask the American Dietetic Association (ADA), which had the following to say in its latest position paper on vegetarian diets:

Need more proof? Check out the following recent studies:

• According to a study published in the Journal of Nutrition, people with type 2 diabetes who consumed 40 grams of soy protein isolate per day for nearly two months saw significant reductions in both their LDL cholesterol and the ratio of LDL to HDL cholesterol. This is just the latest in a long list of studies showing that soy lowers cholesterol—the FDA even permits companies to boast about the cholesterol-lowering effects of soy on their product labels.
• In more soy news, an amino acid found in higher concentrations in soy and other vegetable proteins can lower your blood pressure.
• In addition to clogging your arteries, a low-carb diet makes you stupid—at least that's the conclusion of a recent study at Tufts University in Boston. Scientists there found that young women performed worse on mental acuity tests after just one week on the Atkins diet and other low-carb diets. D'oh—you could've aced that chemistry final if only you'd had a V8!
• Speaking of V8, a Mayo Clinic study has found that eating lots of antioxidant-rich fruits and vegetables may reduce your risk of non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Bad news for people who hate broccoli—taking antioxidant supplements doesn't have the same effect.
• A study at Oxford University backed up these findings and even went a bit further, concluding that vegetarians slashed their risk of non-Hodgkin lymphoma, leukemia, and other blood cancers by 45 percent.

So, how's about we mosey on over to VegCooking.com and get started fixing up a mess of cholesterol-lowering, artery-unclogging, cancer risk–slashing, brain-boosting veggies, shall we?

Written by Alisa Mullins