Another occassion where we learn that those in the meat industry are perhaps not always entirely trustworthy. Who would have thought that those involved in murder for a living can sometimes be moved to other slips of moral fibre.

WASHINGTON — The president of a slaughterhouse at the heart of the largest meat recall denied under oath on Wednesday, but then grudgingly admitted, that his company had apparently introduced sick cows into the hamburger supply.

He then tried to minimize the significance.

The executive, Steve Mendell of the Westland/Hallmark Meat Company of Chino, Calif., said, “I was shocked. I was horrified. I was sickened,” by video that showed employees kicking or using electric prods on “downer” cattle that were too sick to walk, jabbing one in the eye with a baton and using forklifts to push animals around.

The video was taken by an undercover investigator from the Humane Society of the United States. One tape showed a worker using a garden hose to try to squirt water up the nose of a downed cow, a technique that Representative Bart Stupak, a Michigan Democrat who conducted the hearing where Mr. Mendell testified, referred to as waterboarding.

Testifying before the Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, Mr. Mendell, who appeared only after being subpoenaed, assured lawmakers that despite his lack of knowledge about conditions at the plant, sick animals were not slaughtered for food, so no safety issue existed.

But Mr. Mendell retracted the statement when shown a second video in which a “downer” cow was shocked and abused by workers trying to move it to the “kill box,” then finally shot with a bolt gun and dragged by a chain to the processing area.

When Mr. Mendell told the committee he was unaware of the abuses, Mr. Stupak asked him, “What’s your curiosity, as president and C.E.O. of the company you’re responsible for?”

Mr. Mendell replied that after he had seen the first video, he concluded that “it was a regulatory violation, for sure, it was inhumane treatment, for sure,” but that he did not believe it was a food safety issue until he saw the second video on Wednesday.

Mr. Stupak asked if one could conclude from the video that the cow dragged into the killing area had gone into the food supply.

“That would be logical, sir,” Mr. Mendell replied.

Article continues at nytimes.com

The BBC reports how a vegan diet can help reduce LDL (bad cholesterol) and lowerBody Mass Index. The article as an aside also shows how vegans can readily get enough proteins and calcium. So in summary, we again see how a vegan diet is healthy for the human body and another reason to not put an animal through the horror of the slaughterhouse.

Rheumatoid arthritis patients may be able to reduce their high risk of heart attacks and strokes with a gluten-free, vegan diet, a study suggests. Heart attacks and strokes are among the leading causes of death for sufferers, as the inflammation caused by the disease impacts upon the arteries. But an Arthritis Research and Therapy study found those who pursued a vegan regime had less “bad” cholesterol. By clogging arteries, this is seen as a key risk factor for heart problems. Rheumatoid Arthritis affects around 350,000 people in the UK. Millet and sesame But researchers at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm say this risk could be reduced through a diet which excludes animal products and gluten - found in wheat, oats, rye and barley.

A vegan diet may be helpful in reducing cholesterol, but it is difficult to get enough of some important nutrients on a vegan diet Arthritis Research Campaign They placed 38 volunteers on the diet, in which protein accounted for 10% of daily energy intake, carbohydrate 60% and fat for 30%. It included nuts, sunflower seeds, fruit and vegetables, millet and corn. Sesame milk provided a daily source of calcium. A further 28 volunteers followed a healthy diet with approximately the same proportions of protein, carbohydrate and fat. Saturated fats were not to make up more than 10% of daily energy intake, and wholegrain products were to be chosen as often as possible. Those on the vegan diet showed a decrease in the total level of cholesterol and specifically a reduction in the amount of low-density lipoprotein (LDL), also known as “bad cholesterol”. In contrast, those on the non-vegan diet showed no significant variations in these levels. The researchers pointed to a “large body of evidence” suggesting that these changes were beneficial when it comes to preventing blockage of the arteries and cardiovascular disease. The vegan volunteers also had a lower Body Mass Index (BMI) at the end of the 12 month period, while the control group remained the same.

Remainder of article at the BBC

The UK government has started to look into the possibility of health warning labels on foods high in saturated fats - like dairy. These ar fat laden foods intended to help a calf quickly develop quickly into a cow, it is not a surprise that they are not healthy for humans, who typically are smaller than cows.

Dairy products like cheese and butter could carry government health warnings in a bid to combat rising obesity and heart disease.

The labels - similar to those on cigarette packs - would urge shoppers to eat products with high levels of saturated fats only in moderation, said the Government’s food watchdog, the Food Standards Agency. It hopes the “shock tactic” will persuade people to cut down on the fats which clog the arteries and can cause heart disease. A spokesman said the plans were at an early stage and would be the subject of further research.

The campaign is expected to include the claim that two slices of buttered toast contain more saturated fat than four doughnuts, and that one cheese sandwich contains more than half an individual’s recommended daily amount.

From the Sunday Mirror

Blood sugar and so diabetes is better controlled by a vegan diet. Again we see the benefits of not eating fatty rotten corpses.

CHENNAI: The National Youth Week in memory of Swami Vivekananda that concluded on Saturday was probably an apt event to take a fresh look at diabetes considering the huge impact the disease has in India, not even sparing the youth.

Swami Vivekananda also had diabetes, though he did not die of complications that result from uncontrolled blood sugar. During the week the city played host to a programme where a nutrition researcher suggested that a vegan diet was the best option to control blood sugar levels. In another event, medical students provided tips to check cravings. The United States-based nutrition researcher Neal Bernard told students about his study, involving 99 people with Type 2 diabetes and conducted with the support of the United States National Institutes of Health.

It found that blood sugar was three times more effectively controlled in people who were on a low-fat vegan diet (excluding even milk products such as yogurt and cheese).

Such people had reduced body weight, cholesterol and blood pressure. Based on the results, he prescribed a diet that does not limit calorie or carbohydrate intake but suggests inclusion of a lot of pulses, vegetables, fruits, whole grain and a source of vitamin B12. Plant-based diets reduce blood sugar, cut cholesterol and lower body weight besides reducing the need for medication. According to Dr. Bernard, if Americans learned to eat dal (pulses), rice and palak (greens), they would be slimmer and healthier. Even while travelling it is not difficult to adhere to one’s prescribed diet, he pointed out. His suggestion included requesting non-dairy vegetarian meals on flight, and ordering foods such as oatmeal, pasta with tomato sauce, potatoes and vegetable dishes even if they are not listed in a hotel’s menu.

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Yet another study shows a link between meat consumption and cancer. Stop eating meat and get healthy. It is a simple message.

- Photo courtesy National Cancer Institute
Burger fiends beware: People who eat a lot of red and processed meat risk getting bowel and even lung cancer compared to those who eat small quantities. But it’s unclear exactly which meats cause the damage.

Digital Journal — Eating red meat or processed meat can raise the risk of developing various cancers, according to a new report from the U.S. National Cancer Institute, which will be published in the journal PLoS Medicine.

The study is the first big report to give evidence that links frequent meat-eating and lung cancer. It also says people who chomp down on a lot of meat have an increased risk of developing colorectal, liver, and esophageal cancer.

Lead author Amanda Cross wrote in the study:
“A decrease in the consumption of red and processed meat could reduce the incidence of cancer at multiple sites.”

The Daily Mail reports how meat and dairy farms are now harbouring ESBLE coli - a superbug. The usual speciesist rant could be shoehorned in here as reporters get the public worked up by human death and neglect to mention that the farmed animals in question are bred only to die at human hands, but the article works as a reminder of what the vegan movement has been saying for a long time now, that the intensive farming of animals is detrimental to human health as well as the suffering of the animals.

Health fears grow over deadly superbug infecting 32 farms

A superbug which kills hundreds of patients a year has been found on 32 farms, it emerged yesterday.

The discovery raises fears that the infection is spreading to the human population through meat and milk.

The bug - ESBL E coli - causes around 30,000 cases of blood poisoning and urinary tract infection each year.

It is known to have killed hundreds of people over the past five years, although some experts put the annual death toll as high as 4,000.

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Bovine transmittors: Cows can carry E.Coli to humans through milk

Experts from the Government’s Veterinary Laboratories Agency are due to reveal details today of the extent of the infection on farms.

The “super E coli” is thought to have developed a high degree of resistance to antibiotics through their use in intensive livestock operations.

Its spread from farm to farm has mirrored the rise in the number of infections and deaths in the human population.

Experts at the Health Protection Agency are investigating a possible link between the bugs found in livestock and the sale of meat and milk.

Dr Georgina Duckworth, who compiled a report for the agency on the emergence of the E coli, concluded: ‘The findings show evidence of people carrying these bacteria in their gut.

“If this is found to be commonplace in the general population this may point towards the food chain being a potential source.”

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Deadly bug: E Coli kills hundreds of humans every year

During slaughter, the bug, which lives in the gut, can be spread through meat, making it a risk to abattoir workers.

Similarly, bugs from cow dung can get into milk during milking. E coli should be killed during pasteurisation but tests show that some forms of TB bacteria can survive heat treatment.

Remainder of article