SoulVeggie

MC Newsletter: Msg. from Howard, Heart Healthy Pizza, Pink Slime

The Intro and TOC:

"Howdy!  Welcome to the 72nd issue of the Mad Cowboy Newsletter.

Today we've got a special end-of-the-year letter from Howard, and an announcement about the new "Heart Healthy Pizza" cookbook (with a Foreward by Howard).

In this edition of the newsletter, you'll learn about the prolific and knowledgeable Dr. Greger's new website, "NutritionFacts" with superb short videos on scores of topics.  There's also information in this issue about which food companies are spending the most on lobbying Congress, a new report on the state of America's Heart Health, and how a very large study indicates that vegetables and fruits significantly lower your risk of strokes.

Reading further, find out about the world's "toughest woman" (hint: she's vegan), see a video of former President Clinton discussing his vegan diet, find out what vegan Ellen Degeneres is up to, and  the stats in a recent survey by the Vegetarian Resource Group on the number of vegans in the United States.  Monsanto has some serious problems, cows contribute much more to Global Climate Change than previously thought, the movie "Farmageddon" is screened on Capitol Hill, crows have a "danger" tool, and the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act is being legally challenged.

As usual, there's an abundance of new items in the Mad Cow Info Round-Up ("Pink Slime?") and lots to see and hear in the Vegan Digital Media Theater.

... as always, a tip of the hat to our new subscribers:  y'all can browse/search through past issues at the Mad Cowboy Newsletter Archives at:http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Mad_Cowboy/
Wishing all readers a bountiful, exciting, and rewarding New Year!

Best regards, Mark    MC editor/webmaster
[Note: have posted draft Table of Contents and Recipe Index for "Heart Healthy Pizza" at:

http://www.hearthealthypizza.com

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

• 00: A Special Holiday Message from Howard
• 01: The Vegan Mind-Bender Contest Winner/Challenge!
• 02: Announcing the "Heart Healthy Pizza" Cookbook
• 03: Mad Cow Info Round-Up
• 04: NutritionFacts, Food Lobbying, US Heart Health, Lower Strokes
• 05: Toughest Woman, Vegan Clinton, Ellen's Site, No. of US Vegans
• 06: Vegan Digital Media Theater
• 07: Monsanto Bugged, New Cow Gas Stats, Food/2011, Farmageddon
• 08: Corp./Animal Rights, Swine Case, Crow Tools, AETA Challenged
• 09: Quick Bytes
• 10: Closing Thoughts

Direct Link to the New Issue:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Mad_Cowboy/message/95

Vegan Bloggers Reviewing Quorn

Fascinating to see many vegan bloggers doing blog posts reviewing Quorn's new "vegan" product.  They contacted me a few days ago and offered to send me a bunch of their product for my review.

I did a little research first, something most of the aforementioned bloggers didn't do.  The basis for Quorn is a mud fungus that they grow in huge vats and add nutrients/chemicals to, later "spinning" or "shaping" the final product into meat-like shapes.  More importantly, the Center for Science in the Public Interest (http://www.cspinet.org) has had a long battle with the manufacturers of Quorn concerning it's negative impact on many people who've ingested it.  Some have had digestive issues and are allergic to it.

The company making Quorn has also misleadingly promoted it as a "mushroom-related" product:

http://www.cspinet.org/quorn/

Did any of the vegan bloggers giving Quorn a "positive" review mention these things?  Unfortunately, no. Not even as an "FYI" or advisory.

John Robbins ("Food Revolution," "Diet for a New America") has weighed in on this issue:

http://www.foodrevolution.org/askjohn/35.htm

After having done my homework, I wrote back to the Quorn rep and told her, thanks, but that I'd rather eat mud, and please don't send me any of their product.

Vegan bloggers need to stop being so dazzled by the bright lights of some company offering to send them free products and instead, take a little time to do some research into the product first.  I saw the same thing with the intense POM campaign the other year.

http://soulveggie.blogs.com/my_weblog/2010/06/more-dubious-pom-wonderful-marketing-attempts.html

As veganism grows in popularity, more and more corporations will try to use us to promote their products, and we should be responsible for doing a little research in determining whether or not their products are actually worthy, minimally, health-wise in promoting BEFORE we post glittering reviews.

Or, at least, point out any controversies regarding the food product as part of their review.

"Use the Goggle Luke."