"Top 10 (Recent) Developments On Factory Farming And Vegetarianism" by Kathy Freston

[StarfarerBill]

"On Thanksgiving, I spent some time taking stock of my life and the world around me and, as we're supposed to do over the holiday, giving thanks for all the joys -- little and big -- in my life. One of the larger joys for which I am giving thanks is all of the recent attention that has been lavished on a topic that is near and dear to my heart -- the cruelty and environmental harm involved in raising animals for food."

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/kathy-freston/top-10-recent-development_b_372351.html

[fasttense]

1. Hmm, something is amiss with this fake cheese idea.

"The largest privately held company in the United States (six times the size of McDonald's) has just launched "a 100 percent non-dairy cheese analogue for pizza and other prepared food applications" that "replicates the functionality of dairy protein and replaces it fully at an outstanding cost advantage for the manufacturer." According to Cargill, "its appearance, taste and texture perfectly match those of processed cheese" and it "also offers health advantages as it contains reduced calories (less fat and no saturated fats) and... a unique opportunity for vegans to enjoy a product that has the characteristics and taste of cheese but without any animal-derived ingredients." It's also Halal and Kosher."

Eating animal products is not dangerous to animals if they are raised by real farmers. Farmers who care and protect their animals like humans have been doing for millenniums. Taking milk from a cow or goat will not hurt the animal, if it is raised and cared for naturally and lovingly. Nor does taking eggs from a chicken hurt the chicken, if raised in humane and natural surroundings.

It's the big agribusinesses that abuse and torture animals in order to reduce the amount of human labor required and unnaturally increase production from animals.

But this solution of creating fake cheese is so unnatural and unappealing, it amazes me a vegetarian would promote it. Fake food is not a solution.

[StarfarerBill]

3. Soy- or rice-based cheese analogue may not be a palatable alternative...

...to lacto- or non-vegetarians, but to vegans who like cheese it is the only choice.

As for eggs, getting them from free-range, humane farms is the way to go, I agree.

[Coyote_Bandit]

4. I've posted

here at DU several times about someone I know who is a commercial free-range organic egg producer. That makes him among the most responsible commercial egg producers in the entire world. Still, there are many here at DU who condemn his efforts as being inadequate.

[liberalmuse]

6. I'd buy from your friend in a heartbeat.

I love to buy local, and from those who have a more kinder, gentler approach to farming both plants and animals. Every little bit helps, and I don't hesitate to commend people like this. They help make the world a better place. Some people want all or nothing, and I think that kind of approach is not only realistic, but ultimately very destructive.

[spiritual_gunfighter]

7. It is to vegans, sorry n/t

[Coyote_Bandit]

11. Delete

Not worth the frickin effort... Welcome to my ignore list.

[spiritual_gunfighter]

12. In the future

Dont ask a question to vegans and vegetarians and expect to get the answer you feel comfortable with. The inherit problem with your and your friends view is that the killing of animals is justified because we do it in such a prim and proper manner. Then you expect to get approval from vegetarians. You must not be bright.

[liberalmuse]

5. Cheese is usually the hardest food to give up...

when becoming vegan. I know from experience, and from the experience of others. I'm back to being vegetarian now, but my daughter, who is vegan and won't even eat anything resembling meat just emailed me from New Zealand asking for some of my 'fake' cheese recipes. The 'fake' cheese recipes I have include all-natural real food like nuts, pimentos, dijon and beans with agar agar (seaweed) used to harden it, so it's not really a bad thing.

I read somewhere some months ago that they are doing something similar in raising meat. It's wonderful. I'm not one to try to convert people to vegetarianism, but factory farming makes me absolutely sick. It's morally wrong. I have no problem with animals being treated well on small, family-owned farms where they get sunshine, fresh air and where cows milked by hand rather than having their nipples pulled off by harsh, noisy machinery. Needless to say, I do eat eggs (free roaming/cage free), but avoid cheese and milk.

[StarfarerBill]

8. Never liked cheese, so that wasn't a problem for me.

Eggs, on the other hand...if I'd never had scrambled tofu dishes made from recipes, I'd be missing eggs to this day. :)

[unpossibles]

2. interesting

I had not known Matha Stewart had discussed this for Thanksgiving.

[silverweb]

9. I wish I could read HuffPo.

If I have all day and don't mind rebooting a few times, I can, but most days I can't go through all that -- and so many interesting threads here at DU start with something at HuffPo, which I'd like to be able to read.

I wish they'd get some of the junk off the site that stalls both of my computers. x(

[mother earth]

10. This was a topic for us at TG also. I read the Natalie Portman

article, and there was an organization that she spoke of that is educating farmers and those who raise animal livestock on how to return to the old ways of doing things, humanely, and coincidentally resulting in healthier products.

More and more people are becoming aware of this issue. As much as I like to cook, my attention is being directed more and more to a vegan way of life, thanks to my son. He shops at TJ's and is a vegan. Makes me smile that I raised a conscious consumer, I love it. He's teaching me. I am trying out new vegan recipes all the time, and little by little I will probably join him.

It's a wonderful thing what your "children" teach you...the best kind of things IMHO. :grouphug:

I have total respect for vegans.