This past week saw a huge egg recall in the US. News reports estimate the number of salmonella-contaminated eggs somewhere around 228 million. The tainted eggs originated in Iowa, but cases of related illnesses have appeared in Minnesota, Colorado, and California. There are 13 brands involved, including store-brands from leading national supermarkets. The FDA is conducting an investigation into the Iowa firm, but it’s unlikely that this will deal with the root of the problem.

What is Salmonella?

Salmonella is a disease spread largely by contact with feces. Symptoms include fever, cramps, diarrhea, and more serious consequences in people with compromised immune systems. Wikipedia says:

About 142,000 Americans are infected each year with Salmonella enteritidis from chicken eggs, and about 30 die.^[18] The shell of the egg may be contaminated by feces or environment, or its interior (yolk) may be contaminated from the shell or from a hen whose infected ovaries contaiminate the egg. ^[19][20], but the rate of egg yolk contamination is theoretically unlikely ^{[21] [22] [23] [24]} and in natural conditions was found to be very small (0.6% in a study of naturally externally infected eggs^[25] and 3.0% in artificially and heavily infected hens^[26]).

The Root of the Problem: Factory-farming

Every year, millions of hens are crammed into tiny metal cages. These factory-farms are filthy and overcrowded. It should come as no surprise that the eggs that these birds are laying are contaminated with diseases. In addition to being cruel to animals, animal agri-business poses a serious risk to human health.

Worcester Animal Rescue League is threatening to stop accepting dogs from Worcester if they pass new restrictive ordinances targeting Pit bulls. Being a Pit bull fan myself I consider this a very bold but necessary move by the Animal Rescue League. While  I recognize it will hurt stray dogs within the city, a boycott is the only tool the Animal Rescue League can use.

“The dedicated staff and supporters have worked too hard and advanced the organization too far in the quality of care given to its animals to suddenly reverse our no-kill, limited-intake policies,” Ms. Simone said in the release. “This ordinance would be asking us to take a giant step backwards, becoming once again a kill shelter. We wish to be very clear: The Worcester Animal Rescue League will have no part in euthanizing dogs or any other animal due to breed discrimination.”

There will be a public hearing for the ordinance at 6 p.m. Aug. 10 in the Esther Howland Chamber at City Hall.

Do you think this is a helpful or harmful move by the city and Animal Rescue League? Share your comments below.

Link

Also, don’t forget about our friends at To Hell and back Pit Bull Rescue

Here’s what you’ll find in this month’s e-newsletter:

• Upcoming Events
• Why did VegWorcester give away free vegan donuts in downtown Worcester?
• New Book by Melanie Joy: Why We Love Dogs, Eat Pigs, and Wear Cows
• The Prizing-Winning Vegan Mac & Cheese Recipe from the Mac Daddy Competition
• What’s Wrong With Dairy?
• 5 Vegan Meals for Under $5 from Worcester restaurants
• Save the date: Worcester VegFest April 17, 2010
• Connect with VegWorcester

Why not sign up?

The VegWorcester e-news list gets 1 or 2 emails per month and they’re usually pretty good. There are photos and reportbacks from the last month and a list of upcoming events. Sign up now.

This is 2010, even a book has a trailer:

This book is a good follow-up to Eating Animals by Foer.

From Mike’s bio, as it appeared in Pulse Mag:

“Benedetti’s list of community service is extensive. He spent half of 2009 working to close the Guantanamo prison as part of Witness Against Torture. He continues helping the homeless and opposing war and violence with his involvement with Worcester’s S.S. Francis and Therese Catholic Worker community. He is also an active supporter of VegWorcester, a local vegetarian community.”

Check out Mike’s wildly popular podcast, 508. In fact, this week’s episode of 508 has a few bits of veg news: an announcement of yesterday’s Buddha Hut buffet, the Spring 2010 VegFest, and the upcoming Mac Daddy Competition.

Give Mike a high five if you see him around town. Also, he likes beer. You could buy him a a beer.

Worcester’s InCity Times has a history of publishing lots of pro-animal and pro-vegetarian articles, but Rosalie Tirella has outdone herself with her most recent article. In the Jan 4, 2010 issue, Tirella ran an article by Ingrid Newkirk called Saving the Planet One Meal At A Time. In it Newkirk reflects on a talk she recently gave at a “green” conference on economic stability in Mumbai, India. Newkirk makes a solid argument for veganism from an ecological perspective. Check it out:

From Ingrid Newkirk in The InCity Times:

“It shouldn’t be news anymore that the most important thing that we can do for the planet is not to use less holiday gift wrap — it is to go vegan. That’s because it is impossible to be a meat-eating, milk-drinking environmentalist. Meat and milk are not “green,” which makes it all the more shocking that our government has decided to help large dairy farms use newfangled machines to deal with methane gas burped up by all those cows rather than helping to wean America off its ugly, fatty, Earth-destroying dairy habit. Actually, meat and milk are anti-green! Of course, such remarks give those who have grown up with or acquired a taste for meat and cheese cause for consternation to add to their constipation. No one likes change. Witness the handwritten sign on a little jar at an airport coffee stand that read, “Afraid of change? If so, leave yours here.”

…

It’s bizarre, really: In order to eat meat and drink packaged milk, we take a crop like soybeans, oats, corn, or wheat, which are all rich in protein, fiber, and complex carbohydrates―the things we need―and totally devoid of cholesterol and artery-clogging saturated fat―the things we don’t need and shouldn’t have. We feed it to a chicken or pig to create a product with no fiber or complex carbohydrates at all but with megadoses of cholesterol and saturated fat! All bad for us and bad for the Earth and bad for animals. It makes about as much sense as taking a glass of sparkling Evian, running it through a sewer, and then drinking it.”

(Read the whole article.)

You may be surprised to hear this, but Ingrid Newkirk, the founder and president of PETA is  a frequent contributor to our local alternative newspaper. Newkirk has been contributing to the InCity Times since at least as far back at 2006.

Rosalie Tirella, the editor for InCity, has been publishing animal rights articles in her paper since the beginning. She has run stories about the greyhound racing ban, animal cruelty at Ringling Brother’s circus (see photos from this year’s protests in Worcester), companion animal issues, and many more.

Kudos to InCity for publishing this really rad piece!

When Quan Yin closed, Veggie Corner quickly set up shop in its old location. Well, TJ’s house of vegan pizza just recently closed, but now Peace ‘O Pie is opening in its place.

Their website says they have new owners, a new look, new recipes, and a new attitude. Personally, I liked the old attitude. Peace O’ Pie is calling themselves a gourmet pizza place, but I hope the new attitude isn’t snooty.

There aren’t many details out yet, but they have a website up: http://PeaceOPie.com and you can find them on twitter too: @VeganPizza.

It should be opening sometime in September, but I haven’t heard a particular opening date yet. Hopefully there’ll be more details soon.

What do you think? Did you like the old TJ’s? Are you pysched about this new vegan place place?

The food is much like Quan Yin, but it is more Vietnamese cuisine than Chinese. They make fantastic Pho–traditional Vietnamese soup. With prices close to $5 ot $6, Veggie Corner is very inexpensive. It’s a good place to stop in for lunch.

Traditional Vietnamese Pho

Check them out. They are definitely worth supporting. Veggie Corner is located at 56 Hamliton Street, Worcester–exactly where Quan Yin used to be.

(Photos coming soon.)

photo by TheTruthAbout

Another fast food chain has agreed to only use eggs from facilities that do not use battery-cages. Cage-free factory farms are not exactly heaven for animals, but removing battery-cages from the equation is a major improvement. As the recent undercover investigation into New England’s largest egg farm demonstrated, forcing hens to live in barren wire cages is an extreme form of animal cruelty.

There is one Red Robin near Worcester, in Millbury. Red Robin does offer a veggie burger, but that’s about it for veg options. Unfortunately the veggie burger contains dairy.

You can send Red Robin a quick email about the new cage-free policy using their online contact form. While you’re at it, ask if they’ll make their veggie burger vegan. That way we’re all happy.

Read more about the new cage-free policy: Victory: Red Robin Goes Cage-Free.

photo by Ioan Sameli

There’s a good article in Sunday’s Telegram & Gazette about the rise of vegetarianism in the United States. It’s called Vegetarian Cooking for the Masses and it is an AP story, which means that it was likely syndicated in newspapers around the country. Sweet! The article recommends a handful of cookbooks, including Short-Cut Vegan, Vegan Soul Kitchen: Fresh, Healthy, and Creative African-American Cuisine, and Babycakes.

From Vegetarian Cooking for the Masses:

Vegetarian cooking outgrew its Birkenstocks long ago, but as Americans combat obesity and even financial strain, meatless meals are becoming mainstream. Several excellent new cookbooks explore the complexities of vegetarian cuisine in ways that will tempt even the most devout carnivores.

Chef Maria Elia’s “The Modern Vegetarian” (Kyle Books, 2009) is the book for home cooks who remain unmoved by cauliflower soup and lentil loaf. Lush photography in saturated hues — jewel-like tomatoes in gold, green and red; a nearly emerald watermelon set against aquamarine — offers a vision of vegetarian cooking that is rich, silky and deeply textured. And the recipes deliver.

Indian, Asian and Middle Eastern flavors inspire many of the guide’s more than 120 recipes, but each…

Read the full article on Telegram.com

It’s funny. They list only vegan cookbooks, but the recipe at the end of the article calls for heavy cream and Parmesan cheese. Well, it’s not difficult to veganize: just switch the cream out for silk soy creamer and use a vegan version of Parmesan cheese.