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Nearly everything Oprah Winfrey does is newsworthy - and what she eats is no exception. When she announced on her show that she was going to forgo all animal products - as well as wheat, alcohol, caffeine and sugar - for three weeks to become a more "conscious eater", I heaved a huge sigh of relief.

I've been trying to persuade people to go vegan for more than 16 years, but my voice is merely a whisper compared to that of the queen of daytime TV. When Oprah speaks, people listen.

Even if only a fraction of Oprah's fans are motivated to try a vegan diet - for three weeks, three months or forever - it will make a world of difference for animals, for people and for the planet.

I just got back from a trip to Santa Monica, California, a place so foreign to my experience and sensibilities that I felt like Marco Polo encountering the Mongolians. The ways of the Santa Monicans are strange indeed, and wonderful; I came away with a few observations about the natives that I think are worth sharing.

When you make eye contact with a Santa Monican, any stranger passing on the street, she smiles at you. The teeth she displays in that smile are inevitably flecked with green, making her no less beautiful. The Santa Monican owes her glowing complexion, her trim physique, and her happy nature to the raw food and the green leafy vegetables she eats five times a day. People in Santa Monica carry around whole Thai coconuts, sipping out the milk with a straw, in the same way the Uruguayans are never without a gourd full of maté. They carry whole avocados in their backpacks as "snacks." They congregate in raw food cafés like Euphoria Loves Rawvolution on Main Street, where they consume shakes made from maca, goji berries, and agave; eat lunches of hemp seed tabbouleh and coconut jerky sandwiches; and finish off with spirulina cashew pie.

When I tell people that I'm a vegan, the most popular question, by far, inevitably follows: "But, how do you get enough protein?"

There it is again, I think, the meat industry's most potent weapon against vegetarianism--the protein myth. And it is just that--a myth.

In fact, humans need only 10 percent of the calories we consume to be from protein. Athletes and pregnant women need a little more, but if you're eating enough calories from a varied plant based diet, it's close to impossible to not to get enough.

The way Americans obsess about protein, you'd think protein deficiency was the number one health problem in America. Of course it's not--it's not even on the list of the ailments that doctors are worried about in America or any other countries where basic caloric needs are being met.

What is on the list? Heart disease, cancer, diabetes, obesity--diseases of affluence. Diseases linked to eating animal products. According to the American Dietetic Association, which looked at all of the science on vegetarian diets and found not just that they're healthy, but that they "provide health benefits in the prevention and treatment of certain diseases."

The beetroot ravioli is looking good; tasting good, too, considering that it's not made with pasta. The beetroot acts as the parcel, cut into two paper-thin discs. The stuffing is a cashew herb “ricotta”, and it's served with an asparagus salad and balsamic figs, finished off with a slick of pumpkin seed oil. Sounds good, doesn't it? And it is. So is the rest of the meal at Saf, London's first gourmet raw food restaurant, which opened in the East End in April.

Raw, you say? Nothing is cooked over 48C. And we're not talking beef carpaccio or tuna sashimi - we're talking raw, organic vegetables that never reach boiling point, plus a few fruits and nuts. It even has a label: “living foods”, an offshoot of veganism. And before you say, oh surely that's just a hangover from hippy days, even the top Chicago chef Charlie Trotter is into it.

According to raw foodists, as they call themselves, cooking denatures the proteins in our food, rendering them harder to digest and use. It destroys 50 per cent of the protein and between 50 and 80 per cent of all vitamins and minerals; while pesticides break down into more toxic compounds when cooked, not to mention the lost oxygen and production of free radicals. But most importantly, they will tell you, longevity-promoting enzymes are destroyed when food is heated above 48C.

One of the best things to ever happen to public health happened this month when Oprah Winfrey announced she was starting a 21-day vegan makeover. If anyone can inspire positive change in America, it's someone as influential as Oprah.

The healthy vegan diet, which is free of meat, chicken, eggs, dairy and other animal products - but rich in fruits, vegetables, whole grains and beans - is finally coming into its own.

Two irreverent vegan advice books, Skinny Bitch and Skinny Bitch in the Kitch, have both scored big on the best-seller lists. And they're hardly the only meat-free books flying off the shelves. Quantum Health, which promotes the three-week diet makeover that Oprah is following, recently hit No. 2 on Amazon.

Virtues of veganism
Celebrities are turning vegan like never before. But what about Banglaoreans who are vegan by birth?

Veganism is a philosophy and lifestyle that strives to exclude the use of any animal product for nourishment or for any other purpose. Vegans are different from vegetarians in the sense that they do not consume eggs, dairy products, honey and gelatin. They do not use silk, wool, leather, beeswax and the like. They believe that humans exploit animals in the name of domestication and that animal farming is hazardous to the environment.

What makes vegans practice this rigorous lifestyle? 23-year-old Arun, who works in the IT sector asks, “Why not veganism? If you care about issues like animal exploitation, environment and your health then veganism is the way to go. A well-planned vegan diet is known to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease, certain forms of cancer and diabetes. Besides, your actions help shape the world. It is a conscious choice I made in order to be compassionate to animals and the environment. It is a matter of ideals and conviction.”

(NaturalNews) Given the fact that just about everything you put on your skin gets
absorbed into your bloodstream, it is interesting that there is a complete lack of regulation of cancer-causing ingredients in skin care products. There are over 150 toxic cancer-causing ingredients currently used in cosmetic products alone. According to federal law, products containing cancer-causing substances should carry a written warning. But the FDA does not enforce this law with cosmetics or personal care products. Consumers are left to purchase these products at their own risk, and as a result they are being harmed by them.

… So, the next time you are shopping for any personal care products, keep in mind a good rule I learned from Amazon John, the founder of the Amazon Herb Company: Don't put anything on your skin that you wouldn't eat.

Yesterday Ecorazzi went apples and bananas over the fact that Oprah had decided to try her luck with veganism! Well now it looks like Ellen just might be walking the vegan line too.

Tomorrow on the Ellen show, friend of Ecorazzi and Skinny Bitch author, Rory Freedman, will be on to discuss her two bestselling vegan books. And then to continue Veganmania, on May 28th Ellen will welcome Kathy Freston, author of Quantum Wellness — also known as the book that encouraged Oprah to take the vegan plunge.

This is HUGE!!! This is huger than huge. This is huger than huger than huger than huger than HUGE!!! Oprah frigin’ Winfrey is joining team vegan!!!

The media queen broke the exciting news this week on her official blog. She writes: “How can you say you’re trying to spiritually evolve, without even a thought about what happens to the animals whose lives are sacrificed in the name of gluttony?”Yes Oprah. YES! YES! YES!

It makes sense that Oprah recognizes veganism as a form of enlightenment after so many of the world greatest thinkers, artists and spiritual leaders like Pythagoras, Alice Walker, Louisa May Alcott, Leonardo Da Vinci, Buddha, George Bernard Shaw and so many more have lived dedicated lives committed to vegetarianism.

To go raw, you can kiss the microwave goodbye and unplug the stove. Adios, cow's milk. Helloooo, nut milk.

While it's still a tiny niche group that eats largely or exclusively raw, curiosity about raw food is on the rise.
…
Once viewed as fringe lunatics going back to the days before fire, raw foodists are ever more mainstream.

The movement is most active in New York, San Francisco and Los Angeles, but Seattle has a thriving scene, with a community of around 500 people and an increasing number of restaurants, markets and raw products.

MARQUETTE — Howard Lyman said if he gets cancer, he’ll eat a truck load of raw and organic carrots instead of undergoing chemotherapy.

Lyman, a former commercial farmer who turned vegan and environmentalist, spoke about the benefits of a meatless diet and his experiences with America’s cattle industry at Northern Michigan University Thursday. Cancer and its causes were among his topics.

“Everybody has cancerous cells in their body,” Lyman said to about 100 students and community members at NMU’s Great Lakes Rooms. “It’s when we start putting animal-based food into our body that the immune system gets overwhelmed.”

“Too much protein, too much fat, too much cholesterol,” he said, adding that he does not eat anything that has “a face, liver or a mother.”

The raw food diet isn’t yet very wide spread in Toronto. There are only a handful of restaurants and chefs here catering to this diet/philosophy. But the appeal of this seemingly restrictive way of eating may increase with the infusion of gourmet raw cuisine into the city’s dining scene, particularly at the sweet end of the spectrum.

Raw food culinary artist Jessica Acs is hoping that the appeal of flavour and excitement will lead folks to try a healthy alternative to traditional cooking.

Jessica, born in Toronto, trained at a culinary school in Northern California specializing in raw vegan cuisine. She started off vegetarian and gave veganism a chance while she was there. “It was the right environment. It’s easier when you are surrounded by other people doing it. And it’s pretty mainstream in California.”

The raw food movement immediately appealed to her. “I fell in love with it. I thought it was beautiful. It’s exciting to be a part of something that makes you feel really good and be dedicated to it.

“But I came back to Toronto, because I love this city and I wanted to bring something back that wasn’t so mainstream here.”

Saturday, April 26
BENNINGTON — Tim VanOrden will do whatever it takes today to get his body to the top of a 62-story skyscraper in downtown Los Angeles before hundreds of others.

But unlike his competitors, he is only fueled by fruits and vegetables, some nuts and some seeds, and he eats them only in their natural state: uncooked, unprocessed and unrefined. He is a raw vegan athlete and has been for the past three years.

Long Beach, CA – Prescription drugs have long been the main weapon for children – and increasingly adults – when battling Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD). Side effects for various medications can range from anxiety or nervousness to insomnia. “Before settling for the quick fix of pills, there are natural approaches that should be considered,” contends nutritional expert David Sandoval, author of “The Green Foods Bible.”

The causes of ADD, which is a recurrent pattern of behavior characterized by short attention spans, impulsivity and may include hyperactivity, are hot topics for debate and speculation as to whether it is environmental or genetic.

Years of research and studying, consulting with the world’s premiere authorities in holistic medicines and promoting raw food nutrition led Sandoval to create the “Plant-Based Nutrition Program,” which he believes can potentially help ADD sufferers (and/or their parents). He says there is most definitely a relationship between diet and disease, “Everything the human body needs to live a long, disease-free life has been provided by the Earth.”

How'd They Do That?
A raw-food chef turns nuts into cheese (and performs other delicious miracles).

The restaurant Grezzo, which, in Italian, means "rough or raw," opened two months ago in the North End. Its owner, Alissa Cohen, a petite brunette who is married and who divides her time among three states, is the author of the cookbook Living on Live Food, which prescribes eating only fruits, vegetables, sprouted grains, and nuts, with nothing cooked to temperatures above 112 degrees - a little warmer than a baby's bath water. Her restaurant does the same.

PALM BEACH — Juliano, a star in the raw food world, came to "cook" dinner recently in Palm Beach. He is a chef of a cuisine that requires no stove or oven - and definitely no microwave.

All five of the courses he prepared were made from "living" or raw foods, using a cutting board, blender, and a dehydrator.

Juliano (last name, Brotman, though he doesn't give it out) and his partner Ariel Michaels, were brought in from their Santa Monica, Calif., restaurant by Kipper Lance to make dinner for 75 friends and fellow raw foodists.

Raw food has long been seen as the preserve of Woody Harrelson and health nuts, but now it seems to be moving into the mainstream due to environmental concerns. Greenies, get ready for the Raw Food Revolution.

Orthodox raw foodists do what they say on the tin -- they only eat raw food. They believe that when food is heated above 40 degrees Celcius the molecular structure changes, which can create unnatural and potentially dangerous chemical compounds. By treating food by means of fermenting, pickling or dehydrating, they preserve the nutrients and enzymes that raw food contains. While most raw foodists joined the 'crusade' for health reasons, new raw revolutionaries have joined the fun for environmental and animal welfare reasons.

For the last four years, Everson has been keeping his food from the flame and eating a raw food diet.

Everson is the director of Raw Denver, a group of similar taste-budded metro residents that have been gathering for a while to trade recipes and keep each other from the cooktops.

Pasteurization Nation
How fresh foods are freaking out the feds, and why you should care

If you’re not nuts about nuts (sorry, we just couldn’t resist), the USDA’s recent ruling requiring all store-sold raw almonds to be pasteurized probably passed under your radar. And it’s true, for the average occasional nut-eater, the raw almond ban was unlikely to raise an eyebrow. After all, a nut’s a nut right? How much difference could there be between pasteurized and unpasteurized?

Quite a lot, as it turns out. In the case of almonds, the difference is essentially one of life and death: a raw (living) almond can be sprouted and planted whereas a pasteurized almond cannot. And when you consider that almonds are just the latest target in the USDA’s campaign to pasteurize-whenever-possible, you might find it worth paying closer attention.

“Outlawing food products in their natural state is a slippery slope,” says Janabai Amsden, co-owner of Euphoria Loves Rawvolution Café in Santa Monica, California. “We are cheapening our food from both a price and nutritional standpoint.”

When we try to eat local meat, fruit and vegetables produced within a 100-mile radius of our homes, we clear the air by taking a few dozen transport trucks off the road. Some of us buy organic food because it doesn't pollute the Earth or our bodies. Eating more vegetables and less meat reduces your carbon footprint.

Now, the focus is shifting to cooking, where environmental bogeymen lurk: Torontonians are advised not to use propane barbecues on smog days; gas stoves burn through a non-renewable energy resource; and freezers, refrigerators and microwaves are energy vampires, sucking up electricity produced partly by coal-fired generating stations.

But there is one way of eating that can minimize your carbon footprint and that is a raw-food diet. And even though raw foodists often rely on electrical appliances to grind, mix or chop their food, it is possible to peel and whisk by hand.

The raw food diet is becoming increasingly popular, not just with celebrities but also "regular people". They are beginning to see how a raw food diet can dramatically improve the way you look and feel as well as extending your life expectancy.

By reading on you'll discover some of the benefits of a raw food eating plan but you'll also get some useful meal plan ideas and recipes which might just encourage you to give this diet a go for the good of your health. At least this way you'll know what to expect if you decide to give the raw food diet a go. That way, you can decide if it is something you'd like to look into a little further.

30 Days of Raw
Three Hartford Courant staffers blog their 30-day challenge to get healthy by eating only raw foods.

Going on a vegan raw-food diet for 30 days strikes me alternately as a great opportunity to revise my eating habits into something healthier, and a living hell.

First the hell part: I like cooked foods. A lot. Giving them up is going to be a challenge, for sure. No steak? No eggs? No cheese? Ouch.

On the other hand, raw foodists rave about how energetic they feel all the time, and tout the various benefits of a chillier diet. Sure, I’m a little skeptical, and I wonder if I’ll spend the next 30 days with hunger pangs. But I’m also willing to give it a shot: Getting in the habit of gravitating toward healthy food can only be a good thing, especially given an irregular work schedule that makes it all too tempting to eat junk on the run.

In a couple of weeks London's East End will be the home of the first official vegan gourmet restaurant in the country, Saf. The man behind the venture, Chad Sarno, has been hailed as "the Gordon Ramsay of raw food" -- he helped start the organic revolution in Turkey and has opened other vegan restaurants in Istanbul and Munich.

With the flagship Saf restaurant in London, Sarno hopes it will help position vegan and raw food firmly in the mainstream. We've had a look at the opening menu and it's impressive and exciting, featuring grub like macadamia cheese, greens, flowers, lavender panna cotta and hemp praline. We can't wait to check out the cocktails in the 100 per cent organic restaurant bar, too.

Grezzo, which means “raw” in Italian, is an upscale vegan restaurant specializing in “raw and living food.” No heat above 112 degrees is permitted, so the only cooking appliance is a dehydrator. Cold is allowed, so there’s gelato. But since there’s no dairy, the ice cream and cold sauces are made from nut milk. The menu is also pretty much devoid of gluten. The compensation for all of these limitations is the ingenuity of chef Alissa Cohen, who’s been eating this way for more than 20 years, plus an enormous variety of top-of-the-line vegetable ingredients.

Most are aware of the benefits of including vegetables in their diets, but the advantages of choosing them raw is not as widely acknowledged, says Diana Stoevelaar, co-founder with her partner Manu Davé of the Calgary Raw Vegan Network.

"You don't need to be vegetarian -- you need to be curious and willing to learn new ways to incorporate more raw fruits and vegetables into your diet," says Stoevelaar, a raw food educator and coach who has lived on a high raw food diet for 17 years.

The unprecedented recall of 143 million pounds of beef has many people rethinking their food choices—and rightfully so. A recall of this magnitude shows that the government cannot guarantee the safety of the food supply or ensure that animals in slaughterhouses aren't abused.

Some people have taken to eating uncooked foods in an effort to lose weight, but Alissa Cohen says a raw food diet does much more for her than that.

"People do it to lose weight and then realize how amazing they feel," Cohen said.

Many are interested in the lifestyle and diet because of weight loss claims and other health benefits.

MARIN, Calif. -- Riding another trend in healthy eating, Whole Food Markets in Northern California are offering "raw food" grab-n-go items.

The grocer, in collaboration with Chef Roxanne Klein, is stocking items such as Tibetan Trail Mix and pinwheel sandwiches made from nuts and soy, according to a report in Contra Costa Times.

"What I find is that when people try raw foods, they are first bowled over by how they taste, then they realize how much better raw foods make them feel," the celebrated chef told the newspaper. Klein invested two years designing a line of grab-and-go raw foods that just rolled out at the Whole Foods Markets.

You might not think your diet is depressed, but raw foodies like Miko Fossum call what many of us eat — things like meat, milk and cheese — SAD, or the “Standard American Diet.”

Fossum, who owns Magdalena’s Tea House, offers diners an alternative: vegan and raw cuisine.

Fossum started experimenting with raw food preparation at home and for the Thursday night five-course raw dinners Magdalena’s started in May. Realizing the teahouse’s small kitchen was unused during the day, Fossum decided to start offering the menu on a daily basis. “Raw food is so tasty and so good for you,” she says.

Turn off the stove, unplug the microwave and don't even think about using that toaster oven. Your tummy will thank you. "What I find is that when people try raw foods, they are first bowled over by how they taste, then they realize how much better raw foods make them feel," says celebrated Marin chef Roxanne Klein, the woman who put raw food on the restaurant map. Months after Klein's wildly popular restaurant Roxanne's closed in 2004, she started brainstorming about how she could continue to spread the word about the benefits of raw food. "The restaurant was an incredible forum, and it was great because you could make food and serve it immediately, but the restaurant setting is somewhat limiting," she says. "I wanted to reach more people."

With that goal in mind, Klein invested two years designing a line of grab-and-go raw foods that just rolled out at Northern California Whole Foods markets. Klein's new line, called Roxanne's Fine Cuisine, basically kicks healthy food up a notch.

PORTLAND, Ore. -- You won’t find any meat at a new spot in Portland, but you will find a whole lot of flesh.

Casa Diablo claims to be the world’s first vegan strip club -- there's no meat, eggs or dairy on the menu.

Author and nutrition expert David Wolfe comes to town Saturday and Sunday to extol the raw-food lifestyle.

Wolfe, author of "Naked Chocolate" and "Eating for Beauty," will be the keynote speaker at the Raw Network of Washington's annual fundraising gala and dinner at the Columbia Tower Saturday.

Tickets cost $100. He'll also speak Sunday at a three-hour session at Bastyr University in Kenmore.

Tickets for the general public are $35. For more information or to buy tickets, go to rawwashington.org or brownpapertickets.com.

BOSTON -- Diets can be vegetarian, organic or even vegan. Now, a restaurant opening this week in Boston's North End is offering all raw foods, but there's certainly more on the menu than just carrots and celery sticks.

Gnocci with fresh peas, mushroom lasagna and even decadent chocolate cake: these are just some of the items being offered at Grezzo, a new restaurant opening in Boston's famous North End. But this restaurant does not cook a thing.

"The concept of Grezzo is fresh whole live foods," said Alissa Cohen, the restaurant's owner and author of the cookbook, "Living On Live Food." "Everything is made from fruits, vegetables, nuts and sprouted grains," she said.

CHECKING IN WITH ... Jenny Ross: Getting raw
Jenny Ross, the executive chef of the 118 Degrees raw food restaurant at the Camp, has catered to a small but choice crowd in her years as a restaurateur.

Jenny Ross, the executive chef of the 118 Degrees raw food restaurant at the Camp, has catered to a small but choice crowd in her years as a restaurateur. The Orange County native founded the Taste of the Goddess Cafe in Los Angeles before launching her new enterprise in Costa Mesa last year — and she’s served a few famous people along the way. Ross spoke to the Daily Pilot before another arduous day of not cooking for her customers.

This South Florida woman says she has found the fountain of youth. Annette Larkins attributes it to all of the raw food she eats. She says diabetes, high blood pressure and cancer were prevalent in her family.

Is there not a fresher way to start your morning of then with raw food? Eating uncooked (nothing above 110 degrees F) and unprocessed organic vegan food might be just the wake-me-up energizer some need and with two locations in the Los Angeles area, Leaf Cuisine might fit that bill.

Briefly hospitalized early last week, Gwyneth Paltrow really got the gossips going over her diet: Reports had her shunning hospital fare in favor of the L.O.V.E. fast - a week of raw, vegan, organic food from the lower East Side food and fashion shop called Organic Avenue. Reports were that Paltrow had the meals delivered to her hospital room.

We know what you're thinking: No wonder the starlet's in the hospital if all she's eating is sunflower seed paste.

Royersford, Pa.: January 14, 2008 -- It seems everyday there's a new diet or suggested way to eat that promises you will lose weight, have more energy and improve your health overall. We've come across one program that sounds pretty extreme and its followers are making some pretty remarkable claims, although dietitians are skeptical.

Recently we went to a gathering in Royersford, Montgomery County that started out like any other big social dinner.

That's it! It's called "Raw Food" eating, there's no meat, no fish, no dairy, no processed food and nothing is cooked.

Vegan shop has plenty of life
Jon Novick left the corporate world to open an in-home store catering to vegans looking for the latest available goods in clothing, accessories and food. After 21⁄2 years, he's making the leap to a storefront.

Jon Novick laughs when he recalls passing time in his younger years playing "office" with his brother and sister.

Fast-forward a few decades. Novick still operates a business, but now it's real. As owner of Fast and Furless, a vegan boutique on Snelling Avenue in St. Paul, he's pretty much a one-man operation. And though his brother is no longer his landlord, he still pays rent to a family member: his dad, Harvey.

With help from his friends and family, Novick converted the 300-square-foot living and dining room of the house he rents from his dad into a boutique. He sells goods produced without using parts of animals. Probably not the sort of business he envisioned as an 8-year-old.

Doctors diagnosed my aunt with terminal pancreatic cancer in 2003, a disease that kills most within three to six months. She lived for nearly three years, in part because of her excellent doctors and supportive family, but also because of her regimented lifestyle change when it came to food.

A good portion of her new diet consisted of raw and live foods: fresh-juiced fruits and vegetables; dehydrated foods; uncooked, unprocessed, local products; nuts, grains, etc. Nutritionists emphasize a predominately raw diet for myriad reasons—enzymes in uncooked foods aid digestion, freeing up enzymes in your body for other metabolic uses (disease fighting, etc.); live foods have bacteria that aid the colon; raw foods have greater bioavailability and nutritional value (heat kills!). Raw-food enthusiasts claim that diets can lead to improved strength, clearer skin, stable weight, and elimination of the common cold and other nagging illnesses.

That said, is it reasonable to eat only raw, live, fresh, local, organic vegetarian food? Could you do it for a week?

Recipe book that claims meat is murder turns into an unlikely hit on both sides of the Atlantic

By Julia Moskin and Jeremy Watson
THEIR opening salvo was called a "funny, foul-mouthed ode to adopting a vegan diet" on its way to becoming a runaway best-seller.

Skinny Bitch, by American authors Rory Freedman and Kim Barnouin, flew off the shelves on both sides of the Atlantic after being endorsed by stick-thin fashion icon Victoria Beckham.

Raw vegetable 'hamburgers', uncooked curry and green algae chocolate bars. Forget all those other New Year diets...Lowri Turner goes cold turkey with the toughest detox of them all...

The first day of my seven day raw lifestyle challenge begins with a home visit from raw lifestyle coach, Jess Michael. She doesn't have the consumptive pallor you expect from a vegan, and is actually quite perky. Still, we'll see how perky I am in a week.

Ryan Mason inks a tattoo featuring vegetables on client Jeffrey Wilson’s arm. No animal products are used at the business, Scapegoat Tattoo.

The Bay area is far from a hotbed of vegetarian or vegan activity, with few restaurants dedicated to serving meatless diners. It's even worse down in Sarasota, except they have one thing going for them: the Gulf Coast's first raw restaurant — Veggie Magic (4428 Bee Ridge Road, Sarasota, 941-377-6209 or veggiemagic.com) — newly opened last month.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Just three servings a month of raw broccoli or cabbage can reduce the risk of bladder cancer by as much as 40 percent, researchers reported this week.

Other studies show that dark-colored berries can reduce the risk of cancer too -- adding more evidence to a growing body of research that shows fruits and vegetables, especially richly colored varieties, can reduce the risk of cancer.

Au naturel
Cast aside preconceptions about 'raw' and 'vegan' at House of Nature's Own

As sustainable eating practices gain momentum, the raw/vegan diet is finding mainstream popularity. Celebrities have given the movement exposure, and cookbooks touting raw food seem to be sprouting up left and right.

Here in Chico, House of Nature's Own focuses on using fresh, locally grown and/or organic ingredients to make healthful, delicious meals that are raw and vegan.

It takes a lot of salt to make shit edible. Chicken shit, that is. Turns out that while chickens and cows aren't the fussiest of diners, neither of them will eat feces without a solid dose of sodium — plus a mess of molasses. It still can't be pleasurable, but at some point (on average three to five days), with no better options on the horizon, both animals will succumb to hunger, swallow their pride, and lap up the poop.

Animal rights activists have been crowing for years about the stupefying abuses that livestock must endure, so this one indignity may mount only a modicum of concern; it almost sounds funny in an absurdist way. But as you learn more about the consequences of dining on chicken and burgers culled from these crap-fed creatures, the news just might wipe that shit-eating grin right off your face.

HOOD RIVER, Ore., Nov. 18 (UPI) -- While most U.S. families opt for the traditional turkey at Thanksgiving, sales of the vegetarian alternative are at record levels this year.

Seth Tibbott, founder of Turtle Island Foods of Hood, Ore., told The Washington Post the company expects this year's holiday sales to hit 270,000. So far this year, Tofurky sales are up 37 percent over last year.

The outspoken vegan campaigner blames carnivores for global warming and is set to appear in two adverts for Vegetarians International Voice for Animals (Viva!) to make people embrace a plant-based diet to save the world.

The adverts feature Heather - who is currently embroiled in a bitter divorce battle with Sir Paul McCartney, who as a committed vegetarian has also worked with Viva! - demanding: "End your involvement in this vandalism overnight! Change your diet and change the world!"

The sexy star - who recently stripped off to front a racy PETA campaign - says she owes her shapely figure to munching raw fruit, vegetables, nuts and seeds.

BEVERLY - Imagine life without potato chips and candy bars. Imagine eating all your vegetables. Imagine never using your stove again.

That's the basis of a raw food diet, which seems to be gaining popularity around the world and on Cabot Street, home to one of New England's only restaurant that serves predominately raw food.

Organic Garden is a destination for raw foodies, as they're called, who drive hours to eat out in the only place where they can order something they can't make themselves, and go home inspired. It's appealing to locals, as well.

Swampscott resident Deb Fox has been on the diet for about six years. It's more of a lifestyle, she said, one that grows on you by the meal. In the last year, she made the jump from eating about 50 percent raw to 90 percent.

Vegetarianism has lost its ability to provoke. Try veganism instead - you have nothing to lose but your elevated blood cholesterol.

Twenty years ago, if you told a colleague that you were a vegetarian, he might have prodded and tugged at you to make sure you were real. Then would come the generous advice about getting sufficient protein and vitamins because it was a well-known fact that vegetarians are self-harming, pasty-faced weaklings.

These days if the subject comes up, people will tend to say something like "I eat much less meat than I used to, and mostly free range or organic."

We are now a nation of "meat reducers", with only National Farmers' Union regional reps prepared to argue in public that you need meat to stay alive; that the livestock industry does not place a heavy burden on the environment; and that chickens, cows, sheep and pigs - nearly 1,000 million of them every year - are content in their stinking sheds and in the killing factories.

Since vegetarianism has lost much of its capacity to provoke, is veganism the new vegetarianism? Animal Aid believes so. That is why - on November 1 - we launched what we believe to be the world's first ever Vegan Month. It will be an annual event and will promote, through a variety of attention-seeking stunts, as well as printed and online resources, the merits of a totally animal free diet. That means no dairy, no eggs, no honey and, of course, no meat or fish. Let's not call it abstinence. We vegans love our Thai stir-frys and our hearty casseroles. We relish proud vegetables, "cheating" meat substitutes, ice cream, chocolate and yoghurt ... all without recourse to any animal parts, or secretions.

In the ancient Indian Vedic Literature, there is a simple but powerful saying: “avert the danger which has not yet come.” Recently my wife and I went through our own averting process at the Optimum Health Institute (OHI) in San Diego. The OHI program consists of three week-long sessions teaching ancient spiritual disciplines that promote healing. Participants learn to purify and detoxify the body with diet, fasting, cleansing and exercise, how to quiet the mind with journaling and meditation, and how to strengthen the spirit with study, prayer and celebration. In a safe and sacred environment promoting faith, love and hope, people experience God’s presence in the healing of themselves and others.

Raw food provided nutrition for plants and animals millenia before humankind discovered fire. Many believe that early man was vegetarian while others contend that our primitive ancestors were hunters who ate raw meat. Most historians, however, will agree on the fact that the raw food diet is hardly a new trend. Some people even believe that it holds the answer to disease and addiction.

The raw food diet is primarily based on unprocessed, uncooked plants (preferably organic whole foods) like fruits and vegetables, sprouts, seeds, nuts, grains, beans and seaweed. The occasional unpasteurized goat cheese, uncooked egg or raw fish are generally deemed acceptable although most raw-foodists abstain from eating meat and dairy products. Eating raw doesn’t necessarily mean the food must be cold. In fact, anything you eat can be warmed up so long as it doesn’t exceed 104 degrees. Microwaves are off-limits, but you can heat food by using a dehydrator or even the warming plate of a coffee maker. There are many ways of making food palatable without heating. Soaking nuts can soften or extract the shells without steam. Sprouting seeds, beans and grains substitutes the need for cooking.

A "switch went off" for Philip McCluskey when he started eating a raw vegan diet a year and a half ago. Ultimately he lost 130 pounds, down from his "max weight" of 400, and now feels "happier and lighter" inside and out.

At 5-foot-10 he wants to slim down to 200, but conquering obesity is only part of the story, says McCluskey.

The Danbury native changed his diet overnight, leaving behind a regimen of "highly processed food" that often consisted of "dollar meals" from a fast-food restaurant. A typical order was "a couple of chicken sandwiches, large fries and a milk shake," items he now considers "fake foods." These days he prefers to savor only raw fruits, vegetables, seeds, nuts and seaweed for every meal.

THE biggest study into organic food has found that it is more nutritious than ordinary produce and may help to lengthen people's lives.

The evidence from the £12m four-year project will end years of debate and is likely to overturn government advice that eating organic food is no more than a lifestyle choice.

The study found that organic fruit and vegetables contained as much as 40% more antioxidants, which scientists believe can cut the risk of cancer and heart disease, Britain’s biggest killers. They also had higher levels of beneficial minerals such as iron and zinc.

This book made me a vegan. The cover of the book "Skinny Bitch" says it all: It's a "no-nonsense tough-love guide for savvy girls' who want to stop eating crap and start looking fabulous." It is a must-have book for every woman who wants to know how her eating habits are affecting her body and what she can do about it.

Written by Rory Freedman, a former Ford Models agent, and Kim Barnouin, a former model with a master's in holistic nutrition, the book aims to teach women to lose their fascinations with fad diets and adopt a vegan lifestyle. The opening chapter, "Give it Up," tells young women to give up all their unhealthy habits such as smoking, sugar, caffeine and drinking. While this may be too forward for some readers, this chapter gives great background on why these products are bad and how they harm your body.

I'm bringing you this report live from the Raw Spirit Festival taking place this weekend in Sedona, Arizona (www.RawSpirit.com). The festival brings together thousands of participants, over a hundred raw foods vendors and dozens of top-notch speakers, authors and artists who have so far delivered an unforgettable experience in raw living foods and high-vibration living. Organized by the delightful visionary Happy Oasis (yes, that's her real name), the festival has grown ten times in size over last year's festival, bringing the attendee count to well over 2,500 (and probably closer to 3,000). For a festival focused on raw living foods nutrition -- which was barely a blip on the radar of mainstream America just two years ago -- this is phenomenal growth. Raw foods is going mainstream!

Here's yet another reason to eat veggie burgers instead of hamburgers: The Topps Meat Company recently recalled 331,582 pounds of potentially E. coli-contaminated beef that was distributed nationwide. Twenty-one people in eight states, including Connecticut, Maine, and New Jersey, have reported illnesses that may be connected to the tainted meat.

Studies have shown that when contaminated meat is recalled, only about half of it is actually recovered- the rest remains in grocery stores. You can protect yourself and your loved ones from E. coli, campylobacter, listeria, and other bacteria that live in the intestinal tracts and feces of animals by always leaving meat and other animal products at the grocery store. Most farmed animals are crammed into filthy sheds and slaughtered on killing floors that are contaminated with feces, vomit, and other bodily fluids. These unsanitary conditions have led to a rise in food borne bacteria.

The brain of an adult human uses 25% of the total energy expended by the entire organism, much higher than our closest primate relatives, whose brains use about 8% of their energy. The high energy cost of building, using, and maintaining our brains has long presented a riddle to evolutionary theorists. Where did this extra energy come from?

One idea is that as our ancestors switched to a meat-heavy diet, our large guts—which were capable of digesting large amounts of vegetative material—shrunk. Since meat generally contains a greater density of protein and calories than vegetables, this digestive shift allowed our ancestors to target a more efficient form of energy, while helping them develop the brainpower to hunt it. Evidence from many corners of the animal kingdom suggests that the meat eaters are smarter.

But many scientists believe that the speed with which the human brain evolved suggests that a gradual shift to a meat based diet was too gradual to fully explain this development.

“Cooking produces soft, energy-rich foods,” says Richard Wrangham, a primatologist at Harvard. This, he explains, increases the efficiency with which the food’s energy is extracted. Fewer calories are spent in digestive efforts, which leaves a higher margin of caloric recovery.
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Even if it’s true that cooked meat may have helped us evolve to where we are, I think it’s worth considering that the next dietary breakthrough might come from the opposite culinary corner: raw vegetables!

At Busy Bee Hardware, the venerable shop that has been keeping Santa Monicans in nuts and bolts for as long as anyone can remember, next to a display case filled with pocket knives, just above cans of WD-40, he discovers a comprehensive library on raw food veganism.

Raw food veganism is the hardcore version of vegetarianism. Nothing cooked. Zero animal products. All fruits and vegetables are eaten for the most part the way they are found in nature. And forget about caffeine, alcohol, sugar, salt and a few other things the Lens considers the foundation of a civilized life.

Finding books titled "Raw Food Life Force Energy" and "Eating Without Heating" at a place that sells spackle and nails, is as incongruous as finding lingerie for sale at Pep Boys.

Yes, that's right, the gourd with flesh so thick and dense that it's difficult to cut can be eaten raw. I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't tried it myself.

A few days ago, a group of my friends and I went on a culinary adventure to the local raw foods restaurant. The restaurant serves a variety of dishes made from organic fruits, nuts, seeds and vegetables that aren't cooked at all during preparation. As the only vegetarian in the group and the only person to have sampled raw food before, I was a little nervous about how my foodie friends would digest the menu.

A few months after Ken Moorefield went on a strict raw food diet, he could barely believe the differences in his health.

"I had lost probably 25 pounds and was already off of cholesterol and blood pressure medicine and already on my way to being pretty healthy again," said Moorefield of Rocky Mount.

Now, seven months after he started eating only fruits and vegetables, Moorefield has lost more than 50 pounds, cut his diabetes medicine dosage in half and had about 90 percent of his arthritis pain disappear.

Sixty three year old Linda Ramirez offers a new, ground breaking cooking technique before an Earth Fare demo on Raw Foods Wednesday, September 12 – “Stick your finger in it,” she says. “If its too hot to put your finger in, its probably been cooked too much.”

Like Ramirez, Foodies across the nation are seizing their thermometers as a relatively new eating and lifestyle trend, the raw food diet, gains popularity. The emerging trend seeks to fill the diet with enzyme-rich, organic foods, with the new magical number at 116 degrees.

Followers of the raw food movement believe that heating food above the coveted 116 degree mark kills enzymes that assist in the absorption and digestion of food. Without these enzymes the body relies on its own metabolic enzymes for digestion, consuming energy and often leaving diners to feel sluggish. Seventy five percent or more of the diet must be made of raw or living food in order to experience the health benefits that leave diners feeling lighter and more energized.

Raw food diet is one of the easiest way to remove fat from diet. Easiest way to lose weight. Probably the best way to approach eating disorders, says Gary Novak.

A raw food diet creates major improvements in health. The reasons are not known, but the experience is unmistakable. Weight normalizes, which generally means a reduction in fat. At the same time, a person feels extremely energized. It's as if energy would rather be burned up than converted to fat.

There seems to be a major shift in physiology which makes one feel highly energized from raw food. I can only theorize why this occurs. It is quite likely that a large part of cooked food can only go into fat production, because heat and acid alter it making it unmetabolizable in other complex processes. By contrast, raw food should break down into components which can be directly metabolized in a variety of cells.

Health gets so refined and perfected with a raw food diet that a person notices effects of all types. The result is an important source of information about nutrition and quality of food.

Many dietitians advocate for raw food diet, which arguably provides good weight loss results and is health, but many people say they don't [wash] vegetables and fruits before eating them.

Raw Food Diet plans are so popular that a simple search brings numerous results. In fact some books on raw food diet even come up with second editions. For example the book by Jordan Maerin titled "Raw Foods for Busy People," published by Lulu press.

A vegetarian diet is considered to be the best among all types of diets. Many studies can prove this claim. A Columbia University study has shown that the human body's structure is actually not suited for animal meat consumption. It was found that the small and large intestines of carnivores are both short. Humans, however, have small and large intestines that are long.

When humans consume meat, especially in huge proportions, it stays in the intestines for longer periods, which can decay and lead to the formation of toxins. These toxins have been found to be trigger diseases such as colon and rectal cancer, liver and kidney problems and many others. Excessive consumption of meat can also increase saturated fat and cholesterol counts that can slow down the body's metabolic functions, thus leading to cardiovascular problems.

(09-16) 04:00 PDT Fort Bragg -- Perennially in the shadow of its glamorous neighbor to the north, Fort Bragg has built its own following among visitors who forgo Mendocino's postcard perfection and precious inns for lower prices and uncrowded streets. Fort Bragg shares the rugged shoreline that is, after all, the Mendocino coast's primary lure. And its expanding retinue of galleries and gourmet restaurants among the hardware stores and bike shops creates an appealing blend of cosmopolitan attractions and working-class attitude.

Most guests discover the inn through the Living Light Culinary Institute, which draws students from all over the world to its courses on raw food. The cooking school was new to me, but the inn is in the same dignified Craftsman home, in a residential neighborhood settled by wealthy lumber families in the 1920s. Rooms are spacious and homey, and the parlor and sun room with their warm redwood paneling have enough antiques to make the place look like a period piece.

From NBC's Andrew Merten
Despite the overall serious nature of today’s LIVESTRONG forum, Kucinich had several comedic moments during his turn with moderators Lance Armstrong and Chris Matthews. After being asked if the Food and Drug Administration is always working in the best interest of the American people, the Ohio congressman lamented the amount of genetically modified food on the market -- using it is an opportunity to tout his own lifestyle choices. “This is why I happen to be a vegan, okay? I know a little bit about this.” Without missing a beat, he added, smiling, “People want a president who is healthy, because if you’re healthy, you can think right.”

The laughs didn’t stop there. Kucinich went on to explain the benefits of his diet, citing increased energy, clarity, and a better quality of life. Matthews went on to insinuate that Kucinich’s new lifestyle may have helped him match up with a younger wife, to which the presidential hopeful added, “I’m 60 years old, I have a -- my wife’s 29, you draw your own conclusions. Diet helps.”

A new food regulation that mandates the pasteurization of California almonds leaves a bad taste in the mouth of Jesse Schwartz, a purveyor of raw organic almond butter and other natural foods in Berkeley.

For 25 years, as president of Living Tree Community Foods, he has done business with small Central Valley farmers, and now, effective Sept. 1, he'll have to buy raw nuts for processing from Italy, Spain and Turkey - almonds of lesser quality, he will tell you.

"Almonds are a part of the heritage of the American people, and it makes me very sad that they're about to dump a fumigant on our American heritage," Schwartz said, referring to a method of pasteurization that involves chemicals.

Brenda Davis, registered dietitian and nutritionist from British Columbia, supports the Eat Local concept.

She spoke to the the Northern Vegetarian Society Monday night at the Marguerite Lougheed Community Centre Monday night.

“It can be tough in Canada due to the shorter growing season, but it is all about balance. I buy local fruits where I live and freeze them.

"I try as much as I can to eat locally, but if you want to have a lot of plant-based food in your diet, you have to import a fair amount in the winter or else you are forced to eat more meat,” said Davis.

The largest organization of almond growers is asking the government for a six-month delay before enforcing a new rule requiring all California almonds to be pasteurized, saying farmers can't adjust in time to meet the original deadline.

FRESNO – The largest organization of almond growers is asking the government for a six-month delay before enforcing a new rule requiring all California almonds to be pasteurized, saying farmers can't adjust in time to meet the original deadline.

In January, the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced it would require virtually all almonds to be pasteurized by Sept. 1, following Salmonella outbreaks in 2001 and 2004 that were traced to raw almonds.

Now the California Almond Board wants to push back the implementation date to March 1, 2008, to give pasteurization facilities time to validate their processes and machinery and avoid interrupting the flow of nuts to the market.

Mandate Would Require Use of Chemical Fumigant or Heat Treatment on "Raw" Almonds

CORNUCOPIA, WI., August 6, 2007 /Natural Newswire/ -- Small-scale farmers, retailers, and consumers are renewing their call to the USDA to reassess the plan to “pasteurize” all California almonds with a toxic fumigant or high-temperature sterilization process. All domestic almonds will be mandated to have the treatments by early next year. The plan was quietly developed by the USDA in response to outbreaks of Salmonella in 2001 and 2004 that were traced to raw almonds.

“The almond ‘pasteurization’ plan will have many harmful impacts on consumers and the agricultural community,” said Will Fantle, research director for The Cornucopia Institute, a Wisconsin-based farm policy research group. “Only 18 public comments from the entire U.S.—and all from almond industry insiders—were received on the proposal. The logic behind both the necessity and safety of the treatments processes has not been fully or adequately analyzed—as well as the economic costs to small-scale growers and the loss of consumer choices.”

Last Wednesday, the California Almond Board suddenly requested that USDA delay the treatment mandate until March, 2008—it had been scheduled to take effect on September 1. “We support this request for a delay,” said Fantle, “but a delay, due to the industry being unprepared, isn’t enough. The USDA must also re-open the rule for public review and comment so that those who have been shut out of the decision-making process can have input into any almond treatment plan.”

People from Hyderabad are embracing the new lifestyle trend and are open to turning vegetarian.

Vegetarians have long been the butt of jokes, often stereotyped as lifeless people, grass-eaters, who have no zest for life. But, all that’s changing. Now, it’s hip to be a vegetarian. The trend, which caught on with Hollywood’s top stars like Pamela Anderson and Alicia Silverstone turning vegetarian, inspired many to give up meat-eating in the West.

Bollywood stars like Amitabh Bachchan, Kareena Kapoor, Aditi Govitrikar, R Madhavan and Mallika Sherawat too, jumped onto the vegan bandwagon and set an example for many. And the effect can be felt in the hardcore non-vegetarian city of Hyderabad as well. People from the city are embracing the new lifestyle trend and are open to turning vegetarian.

Walking does more than driving to cause global warming, a leading environmentalist has calculated.

Food production is now so energy-intensive that more carbon is emitted providing a person with enough calories to walk to the shops than a car would emit over the same distance. The climate could benefit if people avoided exercise, ate less and became couch potatoes. Provided, of course, they remembered to switch off the TV rather than leaving it on standby.

… The ideal diet would consist of cereals and pulses. “This is a route which virtually nobody, apart from a vegan, is going to follow,” Mr Goodall said. But there are other ways to reduce the carbon footprint. “Don’t buy anything from the supermarket,” Mr Goodall said, “or anything that’s travelled too far.”

Mandatory almond pasteurization restricts consumer rights and religious freedom.

Seattle, WA (PRWEB) August 2, 2007 -- As of September 1, 2007, all almonds produced in California, which are destined for the U.S., Canada, and Mexico will be required to undergo pasteurization, or at least that is the ruling passed by the Almond Board of California with the backing of the USDA. Raw foodists around the world depend on a reversal of this ruling and followers of the Essene teachings may face giving up one of their staples.

The basic reason for this exercise in control over citizen's food is two separate incidents of salmonella poisoning found in raw almonds over the last six years. These incidents involved conventional almonds, not organic almonds. Even though no incidents of salmonella poisoning have been reported from organic raw almonds, the Almond Board has decided that they, too, should be pasteurized. So, while there has been no evidence that raw organic almonds are susceptible to salmonella poisoning, the Almond Board is taking away the major source of one of raw foodists' staples.

A new phenomenon in New Zealand is taking the idea of "you are what you eat" to the extreme.

"Vegansexuals" is the name given to people who not only don't eat any meat or animal products, but also choose not to be sexually intimate with non-vegan partners.

Their reasoning is that the bodies of non-vegans are made up of the dead animals they have consumed.

Raw foodists show B12 deficiencies in studies. Supposed benefits are still unproven.

Sylvester Graham, the health food advocate whose name we associate with the snack cracker, suggested in 1839 that humans might never become ill if we consumed only raw foods. Many people today would agree with him.

The growing interest in vegetarianism -- driven by health and environmental concerns -- has spawned an offshoot known as the raw foods movement.

No exact definition exists, but raw food diets are often described as "uncooked vegan diets" -- which exclude all animal products and byproducts -- or more loosely as "uncooked vegetable diets" or "living foods" diets. Adherents consume from half to virtually all of their foods raw. Aside from fruits and vegetables, the diets include raw nuts and seeds and are rounded out with sprouted grains and beans.

Nature's call
New downtown eatery serves up nutrient-rich raw foods, bought locally

At first glance, the House of Nature's Own is reminiscent of a small, vibrant coffee shop, where black-framed oil paintings of fruit and vegetables hang from elegant walls of burnt orange and pale yellow while soft jazz music plays in the background.

The restaurant's eclectic atmosphere may beckon patrons, but it's what comes out of an ovenless kitchen that makes this eatery distinctive from others in Chico.

Each dish is a compilation of raw fruits, vegetables, herbs, nuts, seeds and spices—all prepared under 118 degrees to preserve nutritious enzymes often lost during cooking and baking. This unusual method sometimes employs the use of a dehydrator to whip up dishes ranging from entrees of "live" nachos and lasagna to rich desserts, such as dark-chocolate ganache, which is prepared without using white flour, white sugar or processed salt.

PROVO — Raw-food chefs will be put to the test Friday at a fund-raiser for "Summer Bear," a nonprofit organization dedicated to eliminating obesity and its related illnesses.

The event starts at 6:30 p.m. at the Food Garden, 698 E. 300 South. Cost is $5 at the door.

The chefs will be led to tables of fresh foods. There they will compete to see who can make the most savory dish in the allotted time. The prepared food will then be auctioned as part of the fund-raiser. Call 356-9711 or 360-0731 for information.

To reduce your carbon footprint in ways more substantial than buying an expensive hybrid car or jetting to an eco-spa, here are a few suggestions from among 77 offered by “The Live Earth Global Warming Survival Handbook” by David de Rothschild, the official companion book to the Live Earth concerts.

1. Whenever possible, replace meat with soy or other vegetable protein in your diet. It takes eight times as much energy to produce a pound of meat as it does a pound of tofu.

The search for foods free of meat and dairy leads two women to form a small, yet determined group.

NEW TAMPA - After moving to Richmond Place from New York with her husband two years ago, Joan Zacharias felt like she was the only one. Everywhere she looked: Meat, meat, meat.

"You look around and see all the chain restaurants and rib shacks, " she said. "What are we supposed to do?"

Vegetarian and vegan nutrition
More and more people today consume a vegetarian diet. They do it for religious, ethical, and/or health reasons. Some people just 'don't like meat.'

It is estimated about least 1 out of 10 American households contain at least one self-professed vegetarian. Debates rage over whether vegetarians are indeed healthier than their meat-eating counterparts, and one of the most common questions a vegetarian is asked is, "Where do you get your protein?"

Many bodybuilders scoff at the notion that you can build quality muscle while avoiding meat and whey protein shakes. Individuals like Roy Hilligenn (1951 Mr. America), Steve Holt (a top-ranking natural bodybuilder) and Mike Mahler (a vegan strength training coach) have proven that this is a myth. You can live a healthy, productive lifestyle and yes, even gain muscle, by following a completely vegan nutrition plan. The key is to know what foods to include.

I mainly became interested in organic and vegetarian food when I was 19 -- I'm 30 now. At that point I started to think about animal rights and about the benefits of vegetarian food. I started cooking vegetarian for myself.

My jobs in a record store and health food store in Regina connected me to Mike D, the drummer with Beastie Boys [a seminal hip-hop group]. His wife, a film director, was shooting there.

…I taught myself. When I was in Regina, a guy opened the first vegetarian restaurant and I worked there. He had travelled the world and studied all kinds of vegetarian cuisines. Then I met this raw food lady in L.A.; she was the first strictly raw foodist I'd met. She'd written a couple of cookbooks.

It's goodbye to sausage and bacon, steak and kidney pie, rogan josh and kebabs - and global warming. Switching from meat to vegetarian or better still, dairy-free vegan diet, could make the difference between doom and deliverance. Far from being ridiculous or far-fetched, the UK government's proposal to promote a meat-free diet to counter climate change is based on sound science.

The Bush administration said Tuesday it will fight to keep meatpackers from testing all their animals for mad cow disease

The Agriculture Department tests less than 1 percent of slaughtered cows for the disease, which can be fatal to humans who eat tainted beef. But Kansas-based Creekstone Farms Premium Beef wants to test all of its cows.

Larger meat companies feared that move because, if Creekstone tested its meat and advertised it as safe, they might have to perform the expensive test, too.

Kimberly Garrison
Thu, Mar. 08, 2007

I HAVE ALWAYS been an adventurous eater, freely experimenting with my diet, enjoying the culinary favorites of various cultures and eating styles.

So when raw-foods lifestyle coach Cherron Perry-Thomas introduced me to a collard-greens smoothie in January when we were both speakers at a spa retreat at the Hershey Hotel, I was gung-ho to try it.

I've been hooked on green shakes ever since. Cherron also introduced my palate to new culinary treats like goji berries, acai berries and more. Not surprising for a woman who calls her consulting business Dandelion Bunch.

PETA claims that according to U.N., animals raised as food stock create more greenhouse gas then all the vehicles combined. They have penned a letter to Al Gore asking him to step away from the meat.PETA issued a public letter to former vice president Al Gore explaining to him that the best way to combat the threat of global warming is to go vegan, and they offered to cook him faux “fried chicken” as an introduction to meat-free meals.

In its letter, PETA points out that Gore’s Oscar winning documentary, "An Inconvenient Truth" that outlines the potentially catastrophic effects of global warming has failed to address the fact that the meat industry is the largest contributor to greenhouse-gas emissions.

Get rid of the toxins and parasites that have taken over your body
Raw detox

Jenn Gearey, Sun Media
March 5, 2007

I didn't eat meat, but slurped sodas, downed Irish cream coffees, shovelled fries and bit into warm jelly donuts on a regular basis.

I was a 'junk vegetarian', saving my furry friends but acquiring high cholesterol and excessive sodium levels at the same time.

Then Natasha Kyssa, creator of the SimplyRaw Detox Program, wrote me and proposed I do a story about her regime.

By Emily Young, Eagle-Tribune
March 04, 2007 12:00 am

North of Boston image consultant Ginger Burr makes a silent statement every morning while getting dressed for work - her stylish wardrobe is 100 percent vegan.

What's vegan, you ask? Veganism is the practice of not eating meat, fish, eggs or dairy products - anything from an animal. And most people who follow the practice - who are known vegans - typically shun clothing made from animal byproducts, including leather, wool, cashmere, suede, shearling, down, silk and fur because they believe the animals are treated inhumanely.

February 28, 2007—Rotten fish with custard, a dead dog, private parts. These are just some of the words used to describe the unique aroma of one of the most popular foods in Southeast Asia.

Like fine cheese in France, the pungent durian is considered a prized delicacy in Malaysian Borneo, and a single fruit can sell for the equivalent of $50 (U.S.).

Get a nose-safe view of the smelly treat some consider worth killing for, and find out why Malaysian hotels are waging a war with their guests over the beloved seasonal food.

Ryan Gehring doesn’t eat anything canned or cooked. “Eating raw connects me with…life. I become more sensitized to the energies within and without me,” says Gehring, a raw food practitioner, chef, consultant and incidentally, my housemate. The term “raw food” is something of a misnomer. “Anything can be raw. All of nature is raw. It doesn’t mean that you should eat it.”

Dr. Diana Joy Ostroff, an O‘ahu-based naturopathic physician/acupuncturist, says her dictionary of raw foods includes fruits, vegetables, nuts, uncooked seeds, sprouts and sprouted legumes. Ostroff adds that some raw foods, such as quinoa, can actually be “cooked” as long as they’re heated at temperatures below about 118, the holy maximum temperature in the raw food world.

by Kathy Freston
02.27.2007

If you read my last two entries, "A Few More 'Inconvenient Truths'" and "Vegetarian Is the New Prius," you know that a plant-based diet is a good choice for the planet, your health, and animals. Of course, there are other things we should be doing--from cutting down on our consumption to working for governmental change to buying organic and on and on--but where diet is concerned, a vegetarian diet is the hands-down best choice for those of us who care about animals and the environment.

Raw Food: Rx for Health?
Playa del Rey chef says a vegetarian, raw food diet changed her life and she wants to share its benefits with the world.

By Muhammed El-Hasan, Staff Writer
February 27, 2007

Two years ago, Vicki Rosenthal felt rundown as she struggled with her weight.

The actress, producer and Playa del Rey resident also noticed little red bumps all over her body. Rosenthal, 50, said she solved her problem with a simple switch. She stopped eating cooked food.

After taking raw-food cooking classes, Rosenthal teaches the culinary practice from her apartment, where she recently prepared mock salmon pate, pesto mushrooms, carrot pecan burgers and chocolate cookies.

Rosenthal, who describes herself as a raw foodist, teaches recipes developed by raw-food chef Alissa Cohen.

By Anthony J. Brown, MD
Fri Feb 23, 2007

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Diets high in alpha-linolenic acid may promote strong bones, the results of a small study suggest, and contrary to what many people believe, you don't need to eat fish or take fish oil tablets to raise levels of this omega-3 fatty acid.

While Washington ranchers are raising a fuss over Canadian cattle and the danger of mad-cow disease, the region's only mad-cow testing lab is quietly preparing to close March 1.

The lab at Washington State University in Pullman opened after the nation's first mad-cow case spurred a flurry of new safeguards against the fatal, brain-wasting disease.
But three years later, many of those measures are being dismantled. Others proposed after the infected dairy cow was discovered in Mabton, Yakima County, never materialized.

By Janet Forgrieve, Rocky Mountain News
February 20, 2007

Monica Manley doesn't feel bad about treating 15-month-old daughter Kira to a fast-food lunch most weekdays.

The fast food at V.G. Burgers in Boulder is almost all organic and, the store is focused on promoting a sustainable lifestyle. And while the menu features "burgers" and "chili dogs," no animals were bothered in the making of lunch.

V.G. Burgers, opened in November by business partners Tim Gargiulo and Lester Karplus, uses strictly plant-based ingredients. What it doesn't use anywhere on its menus or marketing materials is the "v" word.

Rita Zekas
Feb 17, 2007 04:30 AM

Where would you shop if you were a vegan and couldn’t afford Stella McCartney’s PVC at genuine crocodile prices?

Teresa Pavlinek, co-creator, executive producer and star of the comedy series Jane, has been known to shop for food and skin care products and/or cosmetics at the Big Carrot Natural Food Market at Carrot Common, where we meet for tea and shop talk.

She has been a total vegan for a year after being vegetarian for 15 years. It’s a health thing, she says without elaborating and we’re too squeamish to pry.

“Darren Boyd, who plays Walter (on the show) is a vegan and he ate better stuff in catering. Patricia Zentilli (who plays Jane’s pal Susan) is also vegan. It’s a cult,” she laughs.

02-15-2007

A London nutrion expert has challenged the BBC over vegetarian protein choices in a vegetarian diet experiment on elite athlete Colin Jackson.

BBC Challenged On Sources of Protein in Vegetarian and Vegan Diets
Nutrition expert Yvonne Bishop-Weston reveals the elite vegetarian protein rich foods and confirms that a vegetarian diet is suitable even for elite athletes.

…Research shows that better levels of fertility, heart health, endurance and strength can be achieved on vegetarian and vegan diets and you can avoid the saturated fat that comes free with meat and animal products.

February 08, 2007
By Jim Edwards

NEW YORK -- The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine has written to the Federal Trade Commission asking the agency to ban cheese advertising during children's TV shows. Such a move, if implemented, could remove tens of million of dollars in dairy product advertising—from pizza to Laughing Cow—from the airwaves.

Cheddar cheese gets 73% of its calories from fat, the PCRM claims, and thus is not an acceptable food to be promoted to kids during the obesity epidemic.

By Nimrod Halpern
2/8/07

Ever since Leonardo di Caprio, Julia Roberts and the other Hollywood superstars discovered the Prius, the hybrid car has become the symbol of the consumer battle against global warming. But few consider that a much more efficient, cheap way to prevent sea levels, floods and droughts from devastating the planet as we know it, is to turn vegetarian.

Joanna Lin
2/2/07

At least 96 percent of us - the meat eaters - would agree it's OK for an animal to die for our diets. As rulers of the food chain, we're not wasting an animal if we eat it, right?

But we need to re-examine what it means to be wasteful. The most wasteful killing we are guilty of is not Terngate, but rather our daily meat-filled diets…

The average American today eats on average 57 pounds more meat, poultry and fish each year than his 1950s counterparts, according to 1990s statistics from the United States Department of Agriculture.

The more than 40 percent added meat on our plates has resulted in about two-thirds of Americans being overweight, with three out of 10 obese

A Stark County grandfather was working on his farm with his grandchildren, when he was attacked by a cow and killed. Wilma Walker says this farm has been in their family for 70 years and her son Steven was raised around cattle, which is why his death is so hard to understand.

Steven's grandchildren say an overprotective cow charged him when he moved to separate the cow from her calf.

2/1/07

I have always been harbored by a fascination with vegetarian and vegan diets. I've read books upon articles upon journals by scholars arguing back and forth over the various forms of vegetarianism, but it wasn't until I was forced to attempt the vegan diet for five days for a class that I discovered -- beneath my unrelenting obsession -- my true passion for animal rights.

Eva Podaras, Staff Reporter
Wednesday, January 31, 2007

Ahimsa, a new vegetarian restaurant that specializes in raw food that will open next week, increases New Haven’s variety of establishments geared toward the health-conscious.

Raw food may not sound appealing, but for the owners of Ahimsa — a new restaurant on Chapel Street that is set to open next week — it is the cutting edge in the fast-growing market of vegetarian and vegan gourmet food.

By Emily Will, Special to the Arizona Daily STar
Tucson, Arizona
01/31/2007

From honey to ham, not one animal product has passed through Harlan Dubansky's lips for the past 12 years.
After a life full of eating and selling meat, the 74-year-old credits his vegan lifestyle with his happy, active retirement.

By JR Santo, The Dartmouth Staff
Tuesday, January 30, 2007

People should abandon their meat-eating habits and embrace veganism as a social movement with far-reaching consequences, advocated Bruce Friedrich to a 60-person audience Monday in Collis Common Ground.

The director of vegan campaigns for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, Friedrich explained that as a young boy from a traditional Midwestern background, he would not have been able to imagine life as a vegan.

NEW YORK— Hadass Kantorowicz is on the fence. “I eat less meat than I used to,” said Kantorowicz, a self-described tantric healer who stopped in last week at Organic Avenue, a vegan general store in downtown Manhattan. “I’m definitely a lot more conscious than I used to be.” While she appreciates the virtues of a meat-free diet, she stops short of embracing a vegan way of life, one that would ask her to forsake a croc-embossed bag or patent leather pumps. “And I’m not ready to wear hemp,” she confided.

But a proliferation of vegan-friendly fashions and stores that ban animal products outright from their shelves may tempt her to change her tune. If she has yet to adopt the zero-tolerance approach advocated by the most militant vegetarians, she typifies the customer that many vegan marketers are now courting.

By Sherri Day
January 22, 2007

PLANT CITY - Roger Swanson wants to walk again. Daina Roughgarden hopes to rid her body of nodules that could prove cancerous. Rocio Mazzetti desires to keep symptoms of multiple sclerosis at bay.

They each sought help this month inside a rust-colored house on Thonotosassa Road, home to the Central Florida outpost of the Hallelujah Acres Lifestyle Center. For about $1,200 a week, leaders at the center teach would-be adherents the basics of the Hallelujah Diet, a vegan eating plan that centers on the consumption of raw foods and Christianity.

1/18/07

A new study shows that many medical students now follow vegetarian diets, and that these students had better health and improved nutrition compared with their non-vegetarian classmates. Emory University researchers examined the prevalence of vegetarian diet patterns among nearly 900 medical students and found that 7.2 percent of students identified themselves as vegetarians. This number declined slightly throughout the years of medical school, paralleling an overall decline in positive health-related habits among doctors in training. Vegetarians were also more likely to eat more fruits and vegetables than non-vegetarians.

A raw food diet is no longer an underground trend. Devotees say it offers unparalleled health benefits.

By Becky Stoppa, Anchorage Daily News
January 17, 2007

WILLOW -- Linda Blanchard took up running 23 years ago, after she was diagnosed with breast cancer. She figured regular exercise and getting herself from her home in Willow to her daily radiation treatments in Anchorage was about all she could do to combat the disease.

Some seven or eight years later, she learned that food might play a role in cancer survival. She started eating more fruits and vegetables, and she cut back on fats. She began opting for chicken or fish instead of beef on a pretty regular basis.

Today the 59-year-old retired school nurse wants to know what else she can do. She's attending weekly cooking classes sponsored by the Cancer Project to find out. The Cancer Project is a national nonprofit health organization. Its Food for Life: Nutrition and Cooking Class is an eight-week series developed by physicians, nutrition experts and registered dietitians.