CDC Contaminated beef may be linked to 2 deaths

By BEN DOBBIN
Associated Press Writer

Posted: Monday, Nov. 02, 2009

ROCHESTER, N.Y. Two deaths and 26 other illnesses may be linked to fresh ground beef that has been recalled because it might be contaminated with E. coli bacteria, a federal health official said Monday.

One of the deaths involved a New York adult with several underlying health conditions, said Lola Scott Russell, a spokeswoman for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The other is a death previously reported by New Hampshire, where state health officials said a patient died due to complications.

Russell said all but three of the suspected infections are in the northeastern U.S. and 18 are in New England.

Ashville, N.Y.-based Fairbank Farms recalled almost 546,000 pounds of fresh ground beef that had been distributed in September to stores from North Carolina to Maine. The U.S. Department of Agriculture's recall notice, dated Saturday, said that the possibly tainted meat had been sold in numerous ways, from meatloaf and meatball mix to hamburger patties.

Some of the ground beef was sold at Trader Joe's, Price Chopper, Lancaster, Wild Harvest, Shaw's, BJ's, Ford Brothers and Giant stores in packages that carried the number "EST. 492" on the label. Those products were packaged Sept. 15-16 and may have been labeled with a sell-by date from Sept. 19 through Sept. 28, meaning they're no longer being sold as fresh product in supermarkets, Fairbank Farms said.

The rest of the ground beef, packaged in wholesale-sized containers under the Fairbank Farms name, was distributed to stores in Maryland, Massachusetts, North Carolina, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Virginia. That meat was likely repackaged for sale and would likely have differing package and sell-by dates.

The USDA was urging customers with concerns to contact the stores where they bought the meat.

Fairbank's CEO, Ron Allen, urged consumers to check their freezers for the recalled ground beef.

Located in the southwestern corner of New York a few miles from the Pennsylvania line, Fairbank Farms has had two other voluntary recalls over the last two years, according to the USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service.

In September 2007, the company recalled 884 pounds of ground beef products because they may have been contaminated with E. coli, the agency said. And in May 2008, it recalled 22,481 pounds of ground beef products that may have contained pieces of plastic.

Symptoms of E. coli infections include stomach cramps that may be severe and diarrhea that may turn bloody within one to three days. E. coli infections can sometimes lead to complications including kidney failure.

Symptoms usually show up three to four days after a person eats contaminated food, although in some cases it can be as long as eight days. Officials said anyone having symptoms should immediately contact a doctor.

Russell, the CDC spokeswoman, said the E. coli strain involved in the recall, 0157:H7, infects about 70,000 Americans a year and kills 52.

http://www.charlotteobserver.com/business/story/1033254.html

Great Vegan Thanks Giving Recipes

Great Vegan Thanks Giving Recipes

Vegetarian Chicken Gravy

Vegetarian Beef-Flavored Gravy

Basic Pie Crust

Praline Sweet Potato Casserole


Making Tofu Turkey





http://www.veganessentials.com/

Did you get your dose of Arsenic Today?

Arsenic In Chicken Feed May Pose Health Risks To Humans

ScienceDaily (Apr. 10, 2007) — Pets may not be the only organisms endangered by some food additives. An arsenic-based additive used in chicken feed may pose health risks to humans who eat meat from chickens that are raised on the feed, according to an article in the April 9 issue of Chemical & Engineering News, the weekly news magazine of the American Chemical Society.


Millions of pounds of roxarsone are mixed in chicken feed every year. The poultry industry, which makes more money for fatter chickens, has kept insisting that none of the arsenic stays in the chicken and therefore cannot be dangerous to humans. But recent studies have shown that a percentage of this arsenic stays in the chicken tissue and the rest is excreted in urine and chicken litter. Consumers cannot taste the arsenic as it is odourless and flavorless.

According to the Environmental Protection Agency , just 10 ppb ( parts per billion ) in tap water raises the percentage of cancer in people to one in 2000. But the arsenic allowed in chicken is between 500 and 2000 ppb per billion and this standard , set in 1945 has still not been revised!
Average chicken eaters may ingest 21 to 31 µg of arsenic everyday, which is much higher than the tolerable daily intake recommended by the World Health Organization.

There are two types of arsenic : organic and inorganic. Organic arsenic is less harmful directly. However, it turns inorganic in the presence of bacteria and becomes a killer. The chicken industry insists that roxarsone contains organic arsenic. However studies done by the Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering in 2006 and by Partha Basu of the University of Duquesne University show that roxarsone arsenic becomes inorganic in less than 10 days. This is extremely dangerous , not just to the chicken eater who eats the inorganic arsenic in the bird meat but to everyone around. The magnitude of the health hazard can easily be gauged from the fact that , roxarsone, that is put in feed can degrade by mold and moisture into inorganic arsenic called trimethylarsine which is 2000 times more toxic than carbon monoxide. A study in Environmental Health Perspectives in 2006 say that a typical chicken eating adult may ingest 3.62 to 5.24 micrograms of inorganic arsenic daily .

SOURCE

Not only is Roxarsone Arsenic dangerous to humans ta ht consume chickens. Much of the chicken manure contains Arsenic and is then often used as fertilizer for other agricultural products. What is making me so mad is that the government knows about the use of this and other toxic chemicals in the raising of animals, but yet they do nothing to stop it. Eating meat for decades has in my opinion be the major contributor of many diseases. We are being poisoned and we don't seem to want to know. Anyone who knows half of the truth would in no way continue feeding their children animals products. It's just like giving them a poison pill every day and who would do that? Just because it's a chicken, or a steak or a hot dog does not mean it is actually food. In my opinion the lies and the secrets that have been kept about what is in processes food, and what is in meat is criminal and those responsible should be held accountable.

My only explanation why it is all kept from the masses is that if it all came out including studies that show the connection to many diseases, it would lead to loss of billions of dollars in business and jobs. The billion dollar lobbyist probably pay plenty to Washington to keep it all under wraps.

Read more about it here

POULTRY INDUSTRY: Prairie Grove Suit Focuses on Roxarsone Link

January 4, 2004

It was a gut-wrenching sight, watching a group of Prairie Grove residents take the stage and reveal the most painful experiences of their lives. They spoke of dead children, rare cancers and devastated families.

Lawyers Hunter Lundy and Clayton Davis helped orchestrate the Dec. 16 news conference in Fayetteville, hoping to drive home the point that the poultry industry is to blame for much of the illness in Prairie Grove. The same day, they filed a lawsuit on behalf of 12 Prairie Grove residents against poultry companies in Northwest Arkansas.

The lawsuit will pivot on an obscure chemical called Roxarsone, a feed-additive for chickens. Lawyers and their experts say Roxarsone is causing cancer cases in Prairie Grove, including those of defendants in the case.

If the allegations are affirmed, they could have a farranging impact on the poultry industry, which commonly uses Roxarsone. John Baker, a Fayetteville lawyer working on the lawsuit, said other communities are experiencing the same problems as Prairie Grove, but haven’t filed lawsuits.

Rod O’Connor, a former chemistry professor at Texas A&M University who was hired by Lundy and Davis, said Roxarsone is the crucial link between cancer cases in Prairie Grove and chicken litter spread around the town of 2,540 people. "Now we’ve actually got the scientific proof," O’Connor said. He tested dozens of homes in Prairie Grove and found traces of Roxarsone in more than 95 percent of them, he said. That Roxarsone degrades into arsenic, he alleges, and causes cancer. His testing found elevated levels of arsenic in the homes as well, he said.

Continue...

Mad Cow Alert !!!

Spain reports fifth human death from mad cow disease

The Spanish government late Friday confirmed the country's fifth fatality from the human variant of mad cow disease, a woman who died in the northern city of Santander in January.

The health ministry said laboratory tests confirmed that the woman had Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (CJD) as the human variant of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), or mad cow disease, is known.

"The appearance of sporadic cases of the disease does not indicate new risks for the health of the public," it said in a statement.

The last death in Spain which was confirmed to have been due to the brain-wasting disease took place in August 2008 in the northwestern region of Castilla and Leon.

Spain recorded its first human death from mad cow disease in June 2005 when a 26-year-old woman succumbed to it in Madrid.

More than 200 people around the world are suspected to have died, most of them in Britain, from the human variant of the disease, which was first described in 1996.

Scientists believe the disease was caused by using infected parts of cattle to make feed for other cattle.

Authorities believe eating meat from infected animals can trigger the human variant of the fatal brain-wasting disease.

The 27-member EU, of which Spain is part, has banned high-risk materials such as spinal cord from use in feed and stricter labeling was also introduced.

Source

Cow Urine as Softdrink ???

I love the Indian People and the Hindu... but I don't know about that one.
Yikes!

Alwasy wash your Produce THOROUGHLY !

I always soak grapes and wash them 2 or three times. I even wash tomatoes if they come from the store and I wash them with a bit of hand soap. When my own tomatoes are ready to harvest I am elated because I grow them organically. I even wash cantaloupe with handsoap on the outside, before I cut them.

Bottom line. Wash Wash Wash

How much pesticides is in your produce

Affordable Dental Insurace

A Healthy Bodies Requires A Healthy Mouth!

Health Through Nutrition

Orthomolecular Health and Naturopathy

Help Yourself Community

Can't Wait For Spring to start planting again!

I know it's only February but I am ready for spring. I am ready to start planting my new garden for this year. In July of last year I decided to forgo all animals products. To be precise, I have to say I am still eating a slice or two of cheese once a week and maybe an egg but I am weaning myself off that as well. Part of it is learning how to substituted eggs in baking which I love to bake. I've bought two very good vegan cookbooks and the recipes are exiting. I am so thrilled to finally have come to be a vegetarian and hopefully soon a full fledged Vegan. One book is the Veganomicon which is great. I covers nutritional information and well described recipes. I would say that book is a must have.

In general I have always loved rather plain foods and vegetables and fruits have always been on my menu a lot. As a child I had an aversion to milk, meat and butter. I hated it and eventually got used to them considering that I Had TO EAT WHAT'S ON THE TABLE I had little choice. I wonder sometimes if we should ever force children to eat things they don't wan to eat. Milk has shown to be an allergen for many. Meat is often contaminated and contains organism and drug residue that causes illness. What I have changed is that in lieu of meat I eat more vegetables, corn and all kind of rice as well as Quinoa a super grain/seeds that even if you are not a vegan or vegetarian should be on your menu. It is a total protein has all necessary amino acids and tastes fantastic. (Quinoa was of great nutritional importance in pre-Columbian Andean civilizations, being secondary only to the potato, and was followed in importance by maize. In contemporary times, this crop has become highly appreciated for its nutritional value, as its protein content is very high (12%–18%), making it a healthful choice for vegetarians and vegans. Unlike wheat or rice (which are low in lysine), quinoa contains a balanced set of essential amino acids for humans, making it an unusually complete protein source.^[3] It is a good source of dietary fiber and phosphorus and is high in magnesium and iron. Quinoa is gluten-free and considered easy to digest. Because of all these characteristics, quinoa is being considered a possible crop in NASA's Controlled Ecological Life Support System for long-duration manned spaceflights.^[3])

A couple of weeks ago I saw my cardiologist for the first time since I went vegenarian. I see him once a year to check on my high blood pressure and cholesterol. he was elated to learn I am off meat and meat products and that I am eating Quinoa. After all the tests I got a clean bill of health. I have lost about 15 pounds so far without changing anything but my eating behavior. I can tell that I am slowly losing fat tissue. By next year around this time I hope to have lost at least another 10 pounds.

So now it's time to think about what vegetables and fruits I am going to plant this year. As usual of course tomatoes, cucumbers as well as squash and cantaloupe. They all done well last year. Oh eggplant too. They also make great models for paintings.

This year I want to add raspberries. I love berries of all sorts and read that raspberries grow well in Georgia. I'll post pictures of my small garden and harvest as time goes on. Here are some last year photos.


Here are some last year photos.





























I had a cucumber plant and a tomato plant next to each other and they grew together. Next thing I knwo I get these what I call Cutatoes. A cross between cucumbers and tomatoes. Tasting like cucumbers with a tangy tartness. Pretty good.











I had such an abundance of tomatoes that I made lots of sauces. This will be so great this year again with me being vegetarian. I can't wait to have my own grown tomatoes again.
The yellow tomatoes are less acidic, milder. The cherry tomatoes are sweet and a great snack.









I had lots of different heirloom tomatoes.
As far as taste they are unbeatable.















My cantaloupe grew up a trellis so to speak and did very well this way. I was surprised that they did not fall off. But you do have to keep an eye on them. As they get ripe they will fall off. So check them when they get to look ripe every day and basically pull on the stem they come off easy when ripe. They tasted fantastic. Super sweet!







A view down my tomato plants and to the left my cucumbers and my cantaloupe growing up a trellis.











These are the same beds in May 2008

above in June 2008

Pomegranates The Super Fruit in More Then one way

I drink pomegranate juice every day one or two 8 ounce glasses.
I have notices the juice becoming more affordable compared to two years ago.
That's great news.

Pomegranates could kill off Afghanistan’s opium trade
EXCERPT

POMEGRANATES are the key to eliminating heroin, a pioneering charity founder has claimed.

James Brett is spearheading a campaign to persuade farmers in Afghanistan to switch from growing poppies to growing the super-fruit.

He was in Cardiff yesterday as a guest speaker at the annual conference at City Hall of Cymorth Cymru, the organisation that represents people in supported housing.

“I recognised that Afghanistan not only grew the best pomegranates in the world,” said James, who founded the charity Pom 354.

“They also produced more than 90% of the world’s heroin.

“From research I undertook I came to realise that sales of pomegranates on the global market could outstrip the value to Afghanistan of the opium industry.

“With Pom 354 we are putting in place something that is completely viable for the farmers, and that’s vital to the sustainability of the project in Afghanistan.”

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Afghanistan Promotes Crop More Profitable Than Poppy

Excerpt:

William Phillimore is a businessman whose company's "Pom Wonderful" branded juice has enjoyed a surge in sales from health-conscious consumers in the United States. He was invited to Kabul's International Pomegranate Fair to try the local fruit.

"The Kandahar pomegranate in particular is darker in color than most of the stuff you get in India, which tends to be lighter and sweeter with not as much acid. I think the quality is excellent," Phillimore said. "And I think that they've got a little work to do with the packing and sorting and grading and sizing for the international market because that's what the international market expects."

READ FULL STORY HERE

NUTRITIONAL VALUE OF POMEGRANATES

Health & Nutrition Benefits of Pomegranates/Pomegranate Juice

• Being rich in antioxidants, pomegranate can keep LDL (bad cholesterol) from oxidizing and thus, prevents atherosclerosis.
• Pomegranate has been found to help keep blood platelets from clumping together and forming unnecessary clots.
• Regular consumption of pomegranate juice is said to be beneficial for those suffering from heart diseases.
• Researches have indicated that pomegranate compounds might prevent prostate cancer and even slowdown its growth.
• Pomegranate juice has also been associated with reducing the risk of breast cancer.
• Pomegranate juice is pretty good for those suffering from diarrhea, but it over-consumption can lead to constipation.
• Pomegranate is said to be good for reducing plaque in the arteries and raising levels of HDL (good cholesterol).
• It has been seen that pomegranate juice helps prevent heart attacks and even stroke.
• Studies have shown that maternal consumption of pomegranate juice might protect the neonatal brain from damage after injury.
• Pomegranate is believed to help prevent cartilage deterioration and thus, keep osteoarthritis at bay.
• Consumption of pomegranate might prevent and even slow down Alzheimer's disease.
• Pomegranate juice is associated with lowering of blood pressure as well as better oral health. SOURCE
  

Web Site Recommendation of the Week!

What a great resource for Vegan and Living in Tune With Nature!

http://greengirlsglobal.com/blog/

Sign Petition - Food Labeling

We, the Undersigned, endorse the following petition:

Marking Vegetarian Products

Target: CEO, Unilever & Other Major Food & Body Care Companies
Sponsor: John Howley, Vegetarian Research Organization

"Quinoa" Protein that does not bleed!

Quinoa a full protein grain/seed that does not require the murder of animals and makes such a great substitute for meat. WITHOUT the saturated fat!!!
A non violent product that is better for us. Who would argue with that?

I. History:

Quinoa or quinua (Chenopodium quinoa Willd.) is native to the Andes Mountains of Bolivia, Chile, and Peru. This crop (pronounced KEEN-WAH), has been called 41 vegetable caviar" or Inca rice, and has been eaten continuously for 5,000 years by people who live on the mountain plateaus and in the valleys of Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador, and Chile. Quinua means "mother grain" in the Inca language. This crop was a staple food of the Inca people and remains an important food crop for their descendants, the Quechua and Aymara peoples who live in rural regions.

This annual species is in the goosefoot family and is related to the weed, common lambsquarters (Chenopodium album L.), canahua (C. pallidicaule Aellen), and wormseed (C. ambrosiodes L. anthelminticum). Possible hybrids between quinoa and common lambsquarters have been observed in Colorado. Quinoa is also in the same botanical family as sugarbeet, table beet, and spinach, and it is susceptible to many of the same insect and disease problems as these crops. Quinoa is sometimes referred to as a "pseudocereal" because it is a broadleaf non-legume that is grown for grain unlike most cereal grains which are grassy plants. It is similar in this respect to the pseudocereals buckwheat and amaranth.

II. Uses:

Quinoa is a highly nutritious food. The nutritional quality of this crop has been compared to that of dried whole milk by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations. The protein quality and quantity in quinoa seed is often superior to those of more common cereal grains (Table 1). Quinoa is higher in lysine than wheat, and the amino acid content of quinoa seed is considered well-balanced for human and animal nutrition, similar to that of casein (Table 2).

Read the full report HERE

A Message Of Non Violence

Coretta Scott King, Dexter Scott King, and the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr.


A King among men: Martin Luther King Jr.'s son blazes his own trail - Dexter Scott King

It is impossible to meet Dexter Scott King and not be reminded of his illustrious father, die Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. But Dexter has his own identity and message. As president of the Atlanta-based Martin Luther King Jr. Center for Non-violent Social Change, he credits his vegan diet with giving him strength to further the goals of equality and justice.
King, 34, was introduced to vegetarianism eight years ago by comedian/activist Dick Gregory, who runs a vegan health spa in die Bahamas. After visiting Gregory's spa, King realized he felt healthier in body and soul when eating whole, natural foods.
READ THE FULL STORY



Dick Gregory Exposes KFC



MLK Day: Vegan Soul Food READ FULL STORY HERE

Soul Vegetarian Restaurant & Exodus Carry-Out. Across from Howard University, D.C.'s outpost of the African Hebrew Israelites of Jerusalem's Soul Vegetarian chain serves up a decent tofu burger made with black-eyed peas (one of MLK’s favorites) and sides such as dairy-free mac-and-cheese and rice and gravy. 2606 Georgia Avenue NW. (202) EAT-SOUL.

Ben’s Chili Bowl. Although justifiably known for its chili-laden half-smokes, Ben’s Chili Bowl offers some surprisingly good veggie fare — including vegan chili fries, vegan burgers, and heaping bowls of veggie chili. 1213 U Street NW. (202) 667-0909.

Secrets of Nature’s Health Food. Over in Anacostia, Secrets of Nature’s Health Food prepares mock meats such as vegetarian sausage and spare ribs. 3923 South Capitol Street SW. (202) 562-0041.

Russel Simmons The Vegan Revolution story on CNN - 6/11/08