Agribusiness Bullies

Freestone cow

Jacqueline McMahon of 'Animal Blawg' gives us an overview of the thinly disguised bill named the 'Animal Facility Interference' bill on her blog post today. Here is an excerpt:

"On March 17, 2011, the Republican-dominated Iowa House of Representative voted 65-27 to approve a bill criminalizing secretly recording factory farm practices.  Under the bill, House File 589 § 9, drolly named “Animal Facility Interference,” any person who produces, possesses or distributes an audio or visual recording of an animal facility without the consent of the owner is guilty of either a class D felony or aggravated misdemeanor.  The bill still has to pass through the Democrat-controlled Senate before officially becoming Iowa law, but with similar proposals popping up in other states including Florida, the idea of prohibiting these exposé recordings is picking up steam."

I encourage you to post a comment on Animal Blawg in response to this issue.  

Don't be fooled into thinking this law only affects animal rights activists, this bill will affect us all. Many say (and I believe rightly so) that the 'Animal Facility Interference' bill violates Federal Whistle-blower protection laws and shields animal abusers from prosecution. This bill is a leap backward in animal protection and as a result, a leap backward for humankind.

PETA's video, 'Meet Your Meat' is a very graphic, extremely unsettling video documenting the unthinkable horror of slaughtering animals for food. If the Animal Facility Interference bill passes, this footage would be illegal in Iowa and soon to be illegal in other U.S. States as well if we sit back and let it happen. Speak out, write your representatives, let them know that you do not agree with  the backward thinking of Iowan House of Representatives. That you do not want your freedoms diminished, your right to know blinded. Speak up now because if you don't, this will not be the last of your rights stripped away.

A Life Connected . . .

 

'Cleansing' the body through juicing, I believe is the most healthful way to clear the body of toxins and regain lost health.

My husband and I are ramping up to do a juice cleanse in the next few weeks. I'm scheduled for intensive dental surgery and want to give my body the best opportunity to fight infection and heal without the use of antibiotics. My husband, the sweetheart that he is, will join me in juicing to be supportive and also to reap the benefits of cleansing. 

I feel juicing mostly alkaline foods will be the most optimum. I haven't decided how long I plan to juice, I'm thinking a week. The longest I've juiced prior to this is five days. 

In 2005 I was diagnosed with melanoma. The diagnosis spurred me on to do more research about my vegetarian diet. After reading T. Colin Campbell's book, 'The China Study', I understood that a dairy free, vegan diet was the path to peak health. I've never looked back.

I'm half Italian and was raised eating Parmesan, mozzarella, and local brie and Camembert cheeses. I have always loved cheese, I was a 'cheese head'. Lunch would included three apples and a slice of sharp cheddar. Or veggie lasagna dripping with mozzarella and Parmesan. Meat was not a part of my diet for nearly twenty years but I never considered ousting dairy.

Since becoming dairy-free, I no longer suffer from chronic sinusitis or post nasal drip. I've not had a sore throat nor have I been down with a cold. My skin cleared up and my lifelong battle with acne is finally over.

There are times that I've eaten dairy and not known it until I became 'symptomatic' and then later found out that what I ate included some dairy. The downside of becoming vegan is that my body is heightened to animal products. I can feel the negative effects usually within minutes.

This juice recipe from Elaina Love sounds refreshing to me. Although kale is a 'super food' it's not high on my list of foods I covet. This juice seems like a great way to get kale in my diet. Cucumbers, celery and lemon are all alkaline foods that are superior blood cleansers. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Green Cleansing Juice     

Elaina Love

Makes 1 quart (4 cups) of juice

1 head of organic celery


2 organic cucumbers


5 leaves of organic dinosaur kale

juice of 1/2  organic lemon

1. Cut both ends off the celery and wash all the stalks.

2. Wash and cut the cucumbers in 1/2 then cut each 1/2 into 4 wedges (8 wedges per cucumber)

3. Wash the kale leaves

4. Using a Green Star or Omega Juicer (or any juicer) send the vegetables through the juicer.

5. I like to start with the kale as it goes through quickly.

6. Strain your juice through an Amazing nut Milk Bag to get out any extra fiber.

Enjoy for breakfast lunch or dinner!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

In the book, 'The PH Miracle' by O. Robert Young, PhD, he states that the percentage of calories from protein in kale is 60% and that kale contains 249 mg of calcium in 4 ounces of the leaves.

Another way to get kale into my diet will be salads. I already add kale to my salads but I like this recipe I've adapted from 'The PH Miracle'.

Raw Kale Salad

Serves 4-6

2 bunches green organic kale

1 red onion, diced

1/3 cup olive oil

juice from 1 Meyer lemon

1 clove raw garlic, crushed

Real Salt or Himalayan salt to taste

Sun dried tomatoes, chopped (optional)

Pine nuts or nuts of choice (optional)

dried herbs to taste

Wash kale and spin dry. Cut leaves from stems. Combine all ingredients and make sure kale is well coated. Marinade overnight.

Let me know if you try either of these recipes, I'd love your feedback!

70 Year-Old Canadian Farmer "Steals" GMO Seed

Percy Schmeiser vs. Monsanto ~ Part 1 of 5

 

 

Percy Schmeiser vs. Monsanto ~ Part 2 of 5

 

Percy Schmeiser vs. Monsanto ~ Part 3 of 5

 

 

Percy Schmeiser vs. Monsanto ~ Part 4 of 5

 

 

Percy Schmeiser vs. Monsanto ~ Part 5 of 5

 

 

Click here to read Monsanto's rant against Percy Schmeiser

Percy Schmeiser refuses to be another victim of Monsanto's bully tactics.   

Percy Schmeiser is not a thief, he is a hero.

Strange Brew

Morning brew

I won't list all of my imperfections here but I will share some . . . I don't eat breakfast. Actually, I think I've already shared that about me but it bears repeating because people often see this as a very negative 'habit'. It's true I don't eat breakfast, I drink it. Typically my day begins with a green drink which includes aloe vera juice mixed with alkaline water. While I'm putting this together I am heating water for my Yerba Mate brew. 

greens for cats

Greens are important for cats as well as humans. Cats derive essential enzymes from munching on grasses that help them to digest their high protein diet. I purchase organic seeds at Whole Foods Market and grow the grass at home.

making raw almond milk

Raw almond milk is a mainstay in my diet. Almond milk is the base for my famous smoothies.  My husband would like to wean himself from my smoothies because they include fruit that is not alkaline but they are difficult to resist and although not high on the alkaline scale, they are full of healthful ingredients.

frozen bananas for smoothies

A key addition to my smoothies are partially ripe bananas. Ripe bananas add too much sugar. When bananas are ripe they are actually rotting.

mama's famous smoothie . . .

In the works is my recipe page that will include almond milk smoothies. In the meantime I highly recommend Chef Chloe's website . . .

Chef Chloe is not only adorable but the girl can cook too! Chloe's website is professional and fun to peruse. Chloe creates beautiful, tasty vegan food and keeps it simple. She is delightful to watch and one busy chef! Obviously I am a huge fan . . .    

Bon Appétit! xxoo

Day 14 ~ It's a New Day

his breakfast

My husband stayed home and fixed his own breakfast this morning. On our beach walk this afternoon he shared that he was feeling 'off'. Doesn't surprise me that he's feeling funky. . . after two weeks off meat, dairy and sugar, he decides to eat a plate of cheese and heavy meat protein yesterday. His body was in a stupor. 

my brunch ~ avocados with capers

Food for the rest of the day was simple. I added Salba grain  to our dinner salad along with shredded raw beets and carrots.

Salba is grown in Peru and are similar to chia seeds. They are high in Omega-3, 6, and 9 essential fatty acids, antioxidants, fiber, protein, calcium and iron. Salba is expensive, $16.00 for a 12.7 oz. bag at Whole Foods Market. Before I buy another bag I will research online for a better price.

I roasted two kinds of squash, both from Laguna Farm; Butternut, my favorite, and Delicata, another favorite. I scooped out the Delicata and stirred it into a sort-of puree that we ate alongside quinoa. My favorite way to prepare Butternut squash is slicing it into 3/4" thick rounds and brushing both sides with melted Earth Balance and a bit of pure maple syrup. Squash prepared this way has always been a big hit with my son.

 My husband brought this post on CNN to my attention: CNN's eatocracy ~ Vegan on the Silver Screen.  Of course I couldn't pass up the opportunity to 'comment' on the post . . . I was so excited about speaking on a subject I feel so passionate about I accidentally double posted. That will fuel the fire. There's nothing that gets people more fired up than talking about the food they eat and this post has generated quite a lively discussion. It's disheartening to see so much misunderstanding about the vegan diet. Agriculture lobbyists from the meat and dairy industries are powerful and persistent and they have a lot of purchasing clout to get their message out into the hungry public and we've eaten it up unquestioned . . . until the last few years. With growing awareness through the Internet and documentaries like the upcoming , Forks Over Knives, people are educating themselves and making healthier choices. 

Eat well 

xxoo

Day 13 ~ Recommit Every Day

Today was an early day  . . . we were up, showered, fed the cats and out the door. Not a great recipe for a healthy start on the day. After my morning dentist appointment I grabbed a salad at Whole Foods. That baby cost me $12.00! It was a big heavy thing and it filled me up for the entire day. 

My husband caved. Pepe's Mexican Restaurant combo plate; chicken taco and cheese enchilada with chips and a glass of water. He says he's not focused on vegan right now, more about staying away from sugar. He agrees that vegan will have him more successful in lessening the cravings he has for sugar. Snacks for my hubby throughout the day were cashews, pistachios, dates and several of oranges from my mom's tree.  

Recommitting every day to your vision, whatever that may be, will have you tend to be more successful. An old friend of mine was a big believer in written affirmations. She had pictures plastered all over her fridge and bathroom mirror . . . visions of herself attaining all sorts of things . . . svelte body, fancy car, dreamboat guy, nice house. She even had post-it notes stuck all over her truck interior with messages like, "You are beautiful", "You have everything you want in life", etc. 

We don't have stickers posted all over, well, that's not exactly accurate . . . my husband does save my little love notes and has them stuck to his bathroom mirror . . . but those aside, we use a white board. In our old house we had a big whiteboard hung on the laundry room wall so that we saw it every time we went out the door to the garage. We used the board for messages, reminders, chores for my son, and loving messages to one another. The white board in our beach house is in the office tucked off to the side so it's not all that visible. 

Tomorrow's a new day. Maybe I ought to rethink the placement of our white board or maybe write different love notes to my husband reaffirming how much I support him on his path.

Day 10

This morning my husband left without eating breakfast. Just a green drink and that was it. I get concerned when he leaves without eating breakfast (truth be told, when he leaves the house at all). I worry that he'll go out into the mean, cruel, snack-filled world and eat  junk. This fear strikes me as a bit unhealthy, I believe the term to be "co-dependent". I make no apologies for my co-dependent fears. If you knew me you'd know I'm really not a worrier. I have a big stake in my husband not eating toxic food, I want him here for a very long time, like at least fifty more years . . . more if I could eek it out of him.

My husband tells me that he ate OK and I believe him because we have this brutally honest relationship. Sometimes he tells me things I really don’t want to know or I want to know but I just have a difficult time processing. So he did good out there.

Since I like to shoot photos and he didn’t really give me any subject matter I shot my food. Wait! I do have one photograph from his breakfast yesterday (Day 9). He’d already dug in before I made him stop so I could take this photo. He’s very patient with me.
 

Day 9 breakfast

Breakfast isn’t my thing, never has been. I know, everyone always says, “breakfast is the most important meal of the day . . .” and actually I agree, just not for me. I have breakfast my way. First thing in the morning I usually have a hot mug of  Yerba Mate and if we have fresh citrus I’ll have a glass of fresh-squeezed juice. About mid-morning I think about something more. Something more is typically a raw almond milk smoothie. I don’t have time to post the recipe on this post but I will add a page with recipes soon. You are gonna LOVE my smoothies! My husband is abstaining from my smoothies right now because he doesn’t want the fruit sugar. I’m a little sad about this because I feel like my almond milk smoothies are really antioxidant powerhouses but I respect his wish to eat a more alkaline diet. I’ll have to get blueberries and flax seeds in him some other way . . .

Oranges from my mom's tree

Raw almond milk smoothie