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Plant-based diets are often seen as healthier alternatives to eating meat and dairy - with around one in five adopting the diet for health reasons. The way of eating, which has risen in popularity by at least a third since 2017, can involve anything from ditching meat, to going fully vegan, without eggs, milk or cheese. However, these foods could be loaded with sodium, which could raise blood pressure, packed with obesity-causing saturated fat, and stripped of bone-building calcium, a major analysis suggests. Researchers evaluated more than 700 plant-based foods sold in supermarkets, including burgers, sausages, milk, cheese, and yogurt,...

SNIP For example, vegetarians used to be referred to as Pythagoreans after the ancient Greek mathematician, Pythagoras, who remains well known for his Pythagorean theorem, among other things. But before he was the bane of every high school kid's existence, Pythagoras was considered the "father of vegetarianism," according to the online exhibit "America's Hidden Meals: The History of Vegetarianism in the US." Citing ethical concerns, Pythagoras and his followers didn't eat animals, according to the virtual exhibit. As a result, before his kind was referred to as vegetarians, they were called Pythagoreans. After Pythagoras died in 495 BC, the movement...

Researchers identified genes in vegetarians that may explain why they choose plant-based diets after screening 330,00 genomes. Vegetarianism has been practiced for millennia in different societies and cultures, but today only a small minority of people forgo eating meat. People turn to a meatless diet for ethical reasons, such as animal well-being or reducing carbon prints. But could it be hereditary? A team of researchers believes they have discovered evidence that opting for a plant-based diet could actually be influenced by our genetics. Being vegetarian as a woman might be bad for your health later in life, a new study...

Faint interest in film glorifying activists bent on violence, destructionJames Cameron caught little heat for a shocking admission. He hearts eco-terrorism. It’s one thing for the “Avatar” director to be so green he makes his cast and crew eat vegan. That seems quaint compared to a quote that got ignored by most press outlets. Now, we have an entire film dedicated to eco-activists willing to employ violence to suit their needs. And it’s clear where the story’s empathy lies. “How to Blow Up a Pipeline” deserves some sort of Truth in Advertising award. The story follows a gang of eco-thugs...

A study by the University of Leeds revealed that vegetarians have a 50% greater risk of hip fractures compared to meat eaters. Analyzing data from over 400,000 individuals, the research also indicated this risk is present among both men and women. ***************************************************************** A recent large-scale study found that vegetarians, regardless of gender, have a 50% higher risk of hip fractures than regular meat eaters. Potential causes may include low BMI and insufficient protein intake, yet the health benefits of a vegetarian diet could still outweigh the risks. Both men and women who follow a vegetarian diet face a 50% greater...

Abstract The present study examined intergroup judgments made between four groups of non-meat eaters: health vegetarians; ethical vegetarians; health vegans, and ethical vegans. Consistent with hypotheses based on horizontal hostility and the need to maintain ingroup distinctiveness, ethical vegetarians gave unfavorable evaluations to health vegetarians relative to vegans, especially when the mainstream omnivore group was made salient. Contrary to expectations, vegans gave relatively more favorable evaluations to ethical vegetarians than health vegetarians when mainstream salience was low. This was especially true for vegans who were motivated primarily by ethical concerns. When mainstream salience was high, vegans did not distinguish between...

Washington, D.C. (Vocus/PRWEB ) January 15, 2009 -- The nonprofit Center for Consumer Freedom said today that Cass Sunstein, the Harvard University Law School professor tapped by President-elect Obama to head the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, has a secret aim to push a radical animal-rights agenda in the White House. Sunstein supports outlawing sport hunting, giving animals the legal right to file lawsuits, and using government regulations to phase out meat consumption. In a 2007 speech at Harvard University, Sunstein argued in favor of entirely "eliminating current practices such as … meat eating." He also proposed: "We ought...

The family of a couple murdered more than four decades ago finally has some answers about what happened to their baby daughter, who was not found among the remains of her parents. Authorities were previously unable to determine the identities of two people found dead in a wooded area in Houston in 1981, according to a statement from the office of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. They were likely murdered between December 1980 and January 1981, Brent Webster, Texas first assistant attorney general, said during a press conference Thursday afternoon. That changed last year, when investigators used genetic genealogy to...

Americans have renounced beef! Everyone’s eating plants! The vegan trend is supposedly so huge these days, we are in the midst of an identity crisis, The New York Times claimed recently. “When it comes to America’s legacy of Manifest Destiny, there’s perhaps no meal more symbolic than a bleeding steak. So who are we now that we’re consuming less red meat?” the paper of record blathered. The only problem is that such claims are 100% baloney. Although US consumption of beef fell from about 80 pounds annually per capita in the 1970s and early ’80s to a low of 54...

There has been a lot of activity in the world of cultured meat since we reported on a US$330,000 lab-grown burger back in 2013, as scientists and startups work to bring the price down to something resembling the real deal. Making inroads in this space is Israeli startup Future Meats, which has just received the largest investment ever in the cultured meat industry and is rapidly reducing the production costs of its lab-grown chicken. Future Meats is one of a number of cultured meat companies working to reach cost parity with traditional meat products, with Impossible Foods, Eat Just and...

Taco Bell, the restaurant known for having ground beef that's utterly indescribable, reportedly told Beyond Meat that its version of carne asada wasn’t good enough to serve. According to Bloomberg, the chain canceled a test product that featured Beyond’s plant-based steak after samples failed to live up to its standards. Beyond Meat denies the report — Shira Zackai, head of communications at the company told The Verge in an email that “the test between Beyond Meat and Taco Bell was not canceled. Our partnership is strong, and we are actively working together to create a plant-based protein that’s completely new...

Maybe you make an incredible cheese sandwich. Maybe you make a sandwich so good, with melty, gooey cheese and ham, that no other sandwich can compare. Perhaps you add relish, or a little smear of mustard for a nose-tingling kick. Perhaps you hold strong opinions about whether ketchup belongs in a cheese sandwich (it doesn’t). Maybe you’re all cheese-sandwiched out: From the pimento sandwich and the steamed cheeseburger to the artisanal sandwich with chèvre, guanciale, and fig jam, you’ve had them all. Until you haven’t. By the grace of the sandwich gods and some venturous hot dog joints in Fall...

Consumer Affairs Minister Alberto Garzón has reignited the debate about Spain’s love of meat by asking Spaniards to consume less “carne” to protect their personal health as well as the future of the planet. “I am worried. I am worried about the planet,” Garzón said in a video posted on Twitter on July 7th, pleading with Spaniards to cut down their meat consumption to improve their personal well-being and that of the planet’s. “Without a planet we have no life, we have no salaries and we have no economy. And we are bringing this upon ourselves. One thing we can...

A vegetarian or vegan diet may be increasing the likelihood of depression, a US-based study has found. People with a plant-based diet were twice as likely to take prescription drugs for mental illness and nearly three times as likely to contemplate suicide. The report, which looked at more than 160,000 people, also found that a shocking one in three vegetarians suffer from depression or anxiety. Researchers reviewed 18 studies examining the relationship between mental health and eating meat, involving a total of 160,257 participants. They concluded that vegetarians and vegans had “significantly” higher rates or risk of depression, anxiety and...

In a landmark case, a United Kingdom judge ruled on January 3 that ethical veganism constitutes a philosophical belief and is now protected under anti-discrimination laws.

Scans of mummified Inuits from 16th-century Greenland revealed that the ancient hunters suffered from clogged-up arteries despite a diet rich in omega-3 fatty acids. Atherosclerosis — the build-up of plaques of fat, cholesterol and calcium in one's arteries — is a leading cause of death today in the world's wealthier countries. While often seen as a product of modern lifestyles, evidence of the condition has been found in human remains dating back as far as around 4,000 BC. However, none of these examples enjoyed a diet rich in omega-3 fatty acids, which has been suggested can help protect against plaque...

Vegan fanatics in Florida starved their toddler to death by feeding him a diet of just raw fruits and veggies. Cops say that Sheila O’Leary, 35, and Ryan O’Leary, 30, face charges of manslaughter and child neglect in the Sept. 27 death of their 18-month-old son. According to the Fort Myers News-Press, the baby weighed just 17 pounds when he died on Sept. 27. Sheila O’Leary called 911 reporting that her boy was cold and not breathing. Her hubby reportedly made efforts to resuscitate the boy but became desperate when those efforts failed. The malnourished boy was pronounced dead at...

The sale of foie gras looks set to become illegal in New York City with city council members expected to pass a bill on Wednesday that bans the sale of the fattened liver of a duck or goose at restaurants and grocery stores. Under the bill, vendors and restaurateurs caught selling the French delicacy could be slapped with a $1000 fine and a year behind bars. Animal welfare advocates have long supported banning the sale of foie gras, claiming the practice of force-feeding a bird by sticking a tube down its throat is inhumane. However, farmers who produce the specialty...

PCRM has called on the federal government to consider adding label to cheese products that would warn women about the risk of breast cancer. Doctors said hormones found in cow milk-based cheese could contribute to development of the disease. […]document highlights a study that found high-fat cheese products could increase breast cancer risk by 53 percent in women. PCRM aims to promote plant-based nutrition and lower consumption of animal products for better health. Up to 12,000 members agreed with the findings that cheese made from cow’s milk could be harmful. These potentially harmful hormones include IGF-1, which has been directly...

With all the problems in the world, Democratic presidential candidates are focusing on — meat. During a climate change forum hosted by MSNBC on Thursday, longshot candidate Andrew Yang was asked by an audience member about “what policy adjustments” he’d make to “curb expansion and reduce the environmental impact of the cattle industry” in order to “reduce demand.” “Cattle is very energy-consuming and energy-expensive. And if you project forward on what we would need to do to reduce emissions, you would want to modify Americans’ diets over time,” Yang said.