Written by Michelle Kretzer
Have you been wanting to go vegan but just aren't sure how to start? You're not alone. More and more people are discovering that they can feel better, live longer, and stop contributing to environmental devastation and cruelty to animals with a plant-based diet—but that they need a little guidance in making the switch.
Enter the Physicians' Committee for Responsible Medicine's Kickstart Intensive. This two-and-a-half-day program features classes, discussions with nutrition experts, cooking demonstrations, and complimentary meals to get aspiring vegans well on their way. Billed as a "life-changing experience," Kickstart Intensive covers topics such as breaking food addictions, permanent weight control, and power foods for the brain. Attendees will receive a personal year-long support system to help keep them on track, including conference calls and online resources.
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Kickstart Intensive will take place from October 4 to 6 in Washington, D.C. For more information or to register, visit the Kickstart Intensive website. Can't make the event? Request a free copy of PETA's vegetarian/vegan starter kit for helpful information, recipes, and tips to make going vegan as easy as eating asparagus, bananas, and cauliflower.
Why must every American president shoot the obligatory "and here I am chowing down on a burger" photograph? Best bet? To please the meat lobby and because of the old-fashioned idea of what "being American" is all about: no falafel; it's red meat and guns for me. Mr. Obama is no exception, often deliberately choosing hot dogs and burgers for his photo ops with visiting heads of state.
Well, the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM) has taken the POTUS to task for promoting foods that are known to contribute to the obesity epidemic in the U.S. and that have been linked to cancer. PCRM has started a petition asking the White House to ban staged photos that show the president, the first family, the vice president, or the president's Cabinet eating unhealthy foods such as processed meats.
"The White House would never set up a photo op showing the president buying cigarettes, so why is it okay to show him eating a hot dog?" asked Susan Levin, PCRM's nutrition education director.
You can sign the petition and ask the pres to set a good example for Americans by eating healthy food. Some Obama Oatmeal With Presidential Peaches sounds nice.
PETA promotes and educates the public on the benefits of a vegetarian diet. PETA does not directly or indirectly participate in any political campaign on behalf of or in opposition to any candidate for public office.
Written by Jeff Mackey
It's tempting to eat poorly during the holidays (so much junk food, so little much time), but now there's one place in which the old excuses no longer apply: the airport. In its annual report on the state of restaurant food at airports, the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine found that 83 percent of menus contain at least one vegetarian item, up from 57 percent in its first survey in 2001.
I can see the day when flight attendants will offer the choice of "Seitan or tofu?" 'Til then, all that low-fat veggie fare should make it easier to get those holiday flights off the ground—and once you arrive, you'll be ready to persuade your family members to go vegan in the new year!
Written by PETA
Steve-O gave the organizers of an event benefitting the American Diabetes Association a piece of his vegan mind last weekend when he found out that the menu included dead animals. The former Jackass star was slated to compete in a celebrity go-kart tournament, but instead staged his own race out the front door in protest.
I came here because I thought this was about promoting a plant-based diet as diabetes prevention and they're serving meat there … so I'm outta here ... It's like serving alcohol at an AA meeting.
According to the American Dietetic Association, Steve-O is right—there is strong evidence that a vegetarian diet can help prevent and treat diabetes. A study co-authored by Dr. Neal Barnard of the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine found that many type 2 diabetics were able to drastically reduce and even eliminate their medications after they switched to a low-fat vegan diet.
If you or someone you know suffers from diabetes, we'd be happy to send you a vegetarian/vegan starter kit to get you or your friend well on the way to wellness.
Written by Michelle Sherrow
Have you ever had a breathing tube inserted during a hospital stay only to have a painful sore throat for days afterward? Imagine having that same breathing tube shoved down your throat 10 times in a row—by untrained hands—every few months for up to three years! That was the fate of dozens of cats used in archaic intubation training exercises at the Naval Medical Center San Diego (NMCSD) and Nationwide Children's Hospital in Columbus, Ohio.
After NMCSD heard from PETA and Nationwide heard from PETA and the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, both hospitals have agreed to scrap the cruel exercises on cats and instead use only advanced human-patient simulators that replicate human anatomy and better prepare trainees to accurately perform the procedure on human patients.
Unfortunately, cats are still suffering bleeding, swelling, pain, and scarring from intubation training exercises at St. Louis Children's Hospital. Please e-mail hospital officials and urge them follow the lead of NMCSD, Nationwide Children's Hospital, Texas Tech, Heartland Regional Medical Center, Primary Children’s Medical Center, and hundreds of other facilities and replace animals with superior and humane non-animal training methods.
That's the first line of acclaimed movie critic Roger Ebert's review of Forks Over Knives, a new documentary that examines the effect that animal-based, highly processed diets have on our health and shows how diseases can be controlled or reversed with healthy, plant-based foods. Among the experts in the film is Dr. Neal Barnard, the founder and president of the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, whose program for reversing diabetes involves eating a healthy vegan diet.
The film hit close to home for Ebert, a cancer survivor whose diet now is based on fresh fruits and vegetables. He gave the film two thumbs up and noted:
What every human being should do is eat a vegetarian diet based on whole foods. Period. That's it. Animal protein is bad for you. Dairy is bad for you. Forget the ads: Milk and eggs are bad for you.
We couldn't have said it better. Forks Over Knives is playing in select cities across the U.S. and Canada, and for the rest of us, the eye-opening film definitely sounds worthy of putting in the queue.
Step into any store and you can't deny it—swimsuit season is almost here. Fear not, dessert devotees! You can be ready to make waves while catching waves in no time. In his new book (21-Day Weight Loss Kickstart: Boost Metabolism, Lower Cholesterol, and Dramatically Improve Your Health), Dr. Neal Barnard illustrates how a plant-based diet will let you shed pounds and improve your overall health in just three weeks.
Dr. Barnard is the president of the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine and the author of several best-selling books on health and nutrition. His 21-Day Weight Loss Kickstart also discusses foods that tame the appetite, burn calories, and fight cancer. Dr. Barnard also offers a "21-Day Vegan Kickstart" program online, and his nutrition guidelines are the subject of an upcoming PBS television series. There are so many great ways to get healthy and trim, you'll be buying a new swimsuit before the stores have even finished putting them on the shelves.
As you know, the situation in Haiti is dire, and aid is still desperately needed for all victims of the earthquake. Last week, PETA joined the Animal Relief Coalition for Haiti (ARCH) to assist animals in the area—this week, PETA staff members are baking their buns off for this weekend's national vegan fundraiser, and all proceeds will go toward helping the victims of this disaster. Our vegan desserts and treats are sure to be delicious and—since we'll be following baking tips from the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine—healthy.
Want to get involved? Check the long list of bake-sale participants at Post Punk Kitchen—if there isn't an event organized in your area, sign up to organize one. Then tell us which one (or three!) of PCRM's recipes you'll be making.
Written by Karin Bennett
For two years, we've been protesting the U.S. government's declaration of war on animals. The military abuses thousands of healthy animals in trauma training exercises, even though superior non-animal methods are available. In these exercises, pigs are shot, stabbed, and burned; goats have their legs broken with bolt cutters and cut off with shears; and monkeys are poisoned with toxic chemicals.
Now, U.S. Representative Bob Filner (D-Calif.) has joined the effort to replace the cruel and crude use of animals in military medical training by introducing the BEST Practices Act (H.R. 4269). This act, if passed, would replace the current deadly use of live animals with sophisticated, human-focused training methods, such as high-tech human patient simulators, that better prepare soldiers to treat their fallen comrades on the battlefield.
This week, the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine is leading Citizen Lobbyist Week, encouraging people across the country to back the BEST Practices Act and speak out in behalf of the pigs, goats, and monkeys who are tormented on military bases. You can take action by asking your congressional representative to support the bill. Get out your pleather boots, soldiers—here's to no more animal casualties!
Written by Logan Scherer
There's a lot of buzz right now about proposed legislation designed to revise decades-old regulations of toxic chemicals, which could be wonderful news. Unfortunately, language in the proposed bill—known as the "Kid Safe Chemicals Act"—would protect neither children nor the environment, and it would spell death via poisoning for a staggering number of animals
There is a major P.R. push for this legislation, in the form of a new campaign that you may have heard of—the Million Baby Crawl. This campaign comes from none other than the longtime cruelty-free company Seventh Generation.
We have alerted Seventh Generation to the problems associated with its campaign and hope to work with the company to get better science and animal protection language inserted into the Kid Safe Chemicals Act.
Great strides have been made in biology and toxicology during the past few decades that provide a better understanding of chemicals' hazards without relying on cruel and misleading animal tests. Non-animal test methods are faster and cheaper, so more information about more chemicals can be obtained quicker than through animal testing. Modernization of the underlying science is a crucial piece of any new chemical-management legislation, and it's critical that any new legislation promote the use and further development of modern, humane test methods.
Make no mistake: We are all in favor of protecting kids' health and the environment, but the current method of testing chemicals—poisoning and killing thousands of animals per chemical—provides data that just isn't useful. And considering that there are more than 80,000 chemicals that would undergo testing if this proposed legislation passes, that's an astronomical number of animals!
Who cares about the millions of animals who will suffer and die in these tests? We know you do!
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