Raven's Restaurant - Vegan Cuisine

Hey there all...i've got 5 month-old twins, so the blogging is a bit on the slow-side. My apologies....However, I just read a statistic that was so crazy, I had to give my two cents on it.

I just read "Breaking the Food Seduction" by Neal Barnard M.D. (the president of Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine). Decent book, but didn't blow me away. Since this is not a review of a book blog, I'm moving on. In his book he states that EVERY HOUR, 1 MILLION ANIMALS ARE CONSUMED IN THIS COUNTRY.

Every friggin' hour. We (or rather, people who eat the flesh of slaughtered animals) should be ashamed of ourselves. Which leads me to the following thought I had the other day...Here it is. Pay attention, because thoughts don't come to me very often:

Let's say someone came up to you and said that something you were doing multiple times every single day was 1) causing innocent beings to be literally tortured and forced to 'live' in constant fear and pain, 2) causing damage to your health, substantially increasing your chances of getting a serious disease, of constantly being on prescription drugs, pain relievers, antacids etc. and of being kept alive by Western medicine but at the expense of an enriched, meaningful quality of life, and 3) causing profound harm to the planet--by being the largest contributor to global warming, and stripping the soil of needed minerals.

What would you say? Would you decide to behave differently? Would it truly be that difficult of a decision? What if they said you could stop doing that behavior super easily, with zero negative ramifications. In fact, you would feel better physically, emotionally, and psychologically...

Doesn't seem like that tough of a decision, does it....

Stop. eating. animal products.

Hey there all, it's been a while. Sid Hillman here....My wife gave birth to two healthy babies! Needless to say, time is a bit more restricted. Anyhow, I'm still in my nutritional consultant course. I have finished all the course-work and am currently working on my case studies and then have to complete the final exam. The whole process has been great for me and has opened me up to excellent new information on the nutritional front. And yet....

So much of what I've read (going on 20-30 books by now at least) on nutrition leads me back to the same message: that the farther away we go from nature, the more problems we see in our bodies and minds. Nutritionally speaking that means that the farther away our food is from it's natural state (i.e. on a tree or in the ground) the less nutritious and sometimes more dangerous it is. This even means that the longer a piece of fruit is out of the ground the less nutrients are in it. Think about how long our produce travels to get to the market, think about how many changes a hot dog goes through before a person consumes it (and how much is added to it). I saw a video on youtube recently by Dr. Lodi (oasis of healing) and he makes the point that even wolves won't eat meat that is over a day old or so. Humans kill the meat (that is pumped with antibiotics and hormones) and then cure it, store it, package it or whatever....by the time it is consumed it is so far from being 'fresh' that it is so much more unhealthy than at the point of slaughter. Same thing with concentrated juices etc. The advice I'm giving to those I'm working with currently, is that if in doubt, err on the side of what's more natural...

In this way, I've stumbled upon the concept of grounding our bodies to the earth. There are now studies going on to measure it's effects. What it means specifically is that there is a positive charge in the atmosphere and a negative charge on the earth. Because we wear rubber soled shoes (i.e. farther away from our natural skin....) we are shielded from the negative electrons on the surface on the earth, and an imbalance is created. Free radical damage, about which so many of you have heard, is basically a positively charged ion that steals an electron from a molecule so that it can balance itself.The problem is that it leaves the new molecule unbalanced itself and will cause that new molecule to steal yet another negative electron and so on. Oxygen is the tool in our body that is capable of stealing the electron, causing 'oxidation' (think about rust for instance....). This is where 'anti-oxidants' come into play via our diets (plants are full of anti-oxidants, animals flesh and dairy is not...simple as that). They neutralize the free-radicals and prevent them from stealing negative electrons....

But here's the interesting info on grounding....That by walking barefoot directly on the earth (or by touching a tree or metal pole that is in the earth) we receive the negative electrons that we need. These negative electrons can go to balancing out the free-radicals so that they don't steal the electrons from our healthy tissues/molecules. But here's the thing: it is friggin' common sense when you think about it. WE ARE ANIMALS. We spend our days in cars, in offices, in houses, and in shoes, and rarely if ever actually come in contact with the earth. So again, the farther we get from nature, the more problems occur in us (psychologically, physically etc.)...

Try, especially if you're feeling bogged down, stressed, depressed, etc. just popping off your shoes and taking a short walk outside. See how you feel...Likewise, if you're feeling physically bogged down etc., eat more raw plants (ideally grown in your own garden or locally). Trust me, it makes a difference...

Sid Hillman here. I have to write that because it says Stanford as the author, but I've been on this blog for almost a year, so take note, yo. Especially since I've gotten some responses that are directed toward Jeff....

Okee dokee...what's up with the title of this blog? I'll tell you. In fact I'll blog on it. In a way, I'm metablogging. But I digress.

I have been reading up on fear. I see it as so prevalent in the lives of most human beings: fear of the future, fear of dying, fear of success, fear of failure. I most recently read Krishnamurti's 'On Fear.' Why all this reading on fear? Well, as I engage in conversations with people regarding diet, nutrition, the environment, compassion (all things vegan), I notice that even in the face of overwhelming facts, research, and experience, people are still stone-cold afraid of giving up animal protein. There I'll be, healthier than the person I'm having the discussion with, and they'll be absolutely astonished that I'm even able to stand without eating animals. My wife just gave birth to twins two weeks ago--she was vegan the whole way through. Now two weeks afterward, she looks amazing and is only 9 lbs. over what her weight was when we conceived. Her skin, hair, nails etc. are super healthy (i.e. no indications of malnutrition whatsoever). Yet, during the pregnancy, when some people found out she was going to continue to be vegan throughout the pregnancy, they acted like we were taking the hugest risk by doing so.

Here's the dealio on that. EATING ANIMALS IS THE RISKIEST DIET ON EARTH FOR HUMAN BEINGS. Being vegan is natural, easy and super healthy...Now, can you be an unhealthy vegan? Yep, just like you can be an unhealthy animal eater. All things being equal, though, it is much much healthier to not consume animal protein. In my nutritional course I just read recently that mothers who consume dairy while they are breastfeeding are increasing the risk of their children becoming diabetic. Again, not feeding the baby cow's milk, but just breastfeeding the baby while consuming cow's milk. How many mothers have you known who have consumed milk products during pregnancy and breastfeeding? My guess is pretty dang close to 100%. It was estimated in the last issue of VegNews, that the upper level number of vegans in this country is around 744,000. That substantially less than 1% of our population. Meanwhile, cancer, heart disease, diabetes etc. are all on the rise (as is arthritis, osteoporosis etc.). Birth defects are on the rise. Autism is on the rise. Half of all twin pregnancies are born before 34 weeks.

All these things are not because of the .2% of the population. Is it really risky to give up animal protein? Hmmm.

Goodness, gracious, I've been slacking on the blog. But, fear not, I'm back, baby! Quickie today. Here's the deal though. I'm still amazed at how people can eat like crap, and make no connection between that and their health, while at the same time, totally unable to believe that I am able to survive being vegan even though I'm healthier than every single one of them.

A couple of people in my life were diagnosed with cancer over the last few months. One was diagnosed with stage IV colon and liver. I immediately put him on a whole plant foods diet. He did amazingly well throughout chemo. Kept his energy up and was able to keep on working. Now, three months later he is 100% cancer free. Did the chemo do it? Well, his chances of survival were very low, and the fact that he--and these are his words--feels better than he ever has (and even said this during chemo) is a testament to the fact that he was finally treating his body right. Animal protein had been implicated in basically every major disease. People have got to wise up to this fact. So-called nutritionists gave him advice twice to eat animal protein. This is simply criminal, and has no basis in objective science. None.

The other person has changed her diet a bit (I was not involved), and is doing better, and hopefully will keep on keeping on....

Now as for the title of this little blog, I'm going to share with you a quick sampling of the 'diet and nutrition' page of msnbc.com today--there were articles on the following (I'm paraphrasing):

Vitamin C prevents Gout
Vitamin B's prevent vision loss
Calcium lowers cancer rate
Omega 3's prolong life

All on one page. Fundamentally flawed, and here's why....You simply cannot be healthy living on isolated nutrients. This is common sense. Plants (which have all of the above nutrients in abundance) are created by the earth to be consumed in their most original form. The nutrients are packaged with fiber, water, phytochemicals, minerals, vitamins etc. in just the way our bodies can most efficiently use them. Why are we conducting research on isolated nutrients? It's just crazy. Spend the money funding school programs that educate children on the healthiest diet known to man: veganism...

Animal products do have nutrients, but they are packaged with cholestrol, saturated fat, and zero fiber. See the difference? "But I can't give up my cheese." Great. Here's to your health and happiness...

Hello All. I read an article today on msnbc.com (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28438651/) that headlined: "antioxidants don't cut cancer risk, study finds." So, of course, I'm intrigued and read on. Before I go any further, I'd like to state for the record that I will never get that 5 minutes back. The article goes on to state that people were given supplements of vitamins A (in the form of beta carotene), C, and E, and lo and behold, no significant reductions in their cancer risk.

Where do I start? Actually it's quite easy. The study is crap. When did it happen that common sense was completely disregarded. Perhaps a rhetorical question, but most likely when corporate dollars got in the mix. Anyhow, it seems like common sense to me anyway, that nutrients that are removed from their natural state and isolated are not in the form in which they should be consumed. Beta Carotene, for instance, is just one of many carotenoids that result in vitamin A. Recent studies have shown significant toxicity resulting from beta carotene supplementation. So much so that M.D.'s such as Dr. Joel Fuhrman, who formulates his own multi-vitamin, leaves vitamin a/beta carotene completely out. Vitamins, minerals etc. (micronutrients) are meant to be consumed (as is the macronutrients like protein, carbohydrates, etc.) in their natural state--i.e. as part of a whole food. Some argument can be made for mild supplementation to act as kind of an insurance policy for nutrition, but to make the argument that supplementation will reduce the risk of cancer is ludicrous. Studies on completely isolated nutrients such as this one drive me nuts.

What is it about our culture that needs a pill to solve our problems? How easy it would be for humans, if they could continue to eat cancer promoting foods--animal protein being the biggest cancer promoting food--but avoid cancer by taking a few vitamin pills. As with miracle 'diets' there is simply no way to be healthy and fit without eating whole foods and exercising.

How about this: save the millions of dollars spent on studies like this one that fall into the 'no duh' category, and devote the same funding to subsidizing organic produce. As an addendum to this quick blog, there is not one crop that goes directly to human consumption that is subsidized. To say it another way: every subsidized crop in this country goes either to things like ethanol or to feed animals that are then tortured (in the case of dairy cows, egg chickens etc.) and slaughtered for our (not mine) consumption. Americans have taken the quick train to crazy town.

Happy New Year everyone! I realized it's been almost a month since my last blog, so I figured I'd check in.

I'm back in school to become a certified nutritional consultant. I figured I've been voraciously reading books on diet/nutrition for years now, so I might as well become certified. Just think about how much more annoying I can become. I can already picture my upcoming arguments which I'll be able to win by simply saying, "Oh yeah? Well, I'm certified." Case closed.

In all seriousness, I am looking forward to studying nutrition on an even deeper level. While I don't think it is the answer to all health problems, I do believe it is our first line of defense, and that proper nutrition could solve a host of health and behavioral problems. Specifically I believe that removing all animal protein/products from our daily diets is hugely significant and helpful.

I've been thinking a lot lately about helping people transition to veganism. I think there are some folks out there who would like to do it, but are either intimidated and/or afraid by it. They think that if they remove animal products they will immediately suffer from malnutrition and get sick. It couldn't be further from the truth. I've heard over the years the comment that "well, I'd like to be vegan or vegetarian, but you have to be so careful." But here's the thing...most of this country is extremely unhealthy and most (by far) are omnivores. You do the math. To me it's obvious that everyone needs to be careful about what they eat. The fact that statistically vegans are healthier as a group than any other I think is no coincidence. It could be simply that when you choose to be vegan you start paying attention to your diet, and begin putting healthier things in your body, but I think it's also that they do not consume animal products. There's tons of research to back me up.

I will continue to blog on this, and to provide tips on transitioning to veganism. In the meantime, if anyone wants to give it a try, it's really simple: stop consuming animal products. You will not die. Orangutangs eat mostly fruit with some vegetation (I learned this at the Sacramento Zoo--pretty fancy, no?), and they're doing just fine, and could kick most of our asses. The earth provides all the nutrients we need (it's where the animals we eat get their nutrients). Eat as close to real food as you can without the animals and you'll not only survive, you'll thrive. You will feel so good within a few weeks (after your body detox's from all the excess protein it's been having to process) that you won't want to turn back. Oprah did her 21 day vegan cleanse, and is regretting not sticking with it...She called herself a cow recently. Not nice. Cow's are healthier.

I wish everyone a healthy and prosperous 2009.

First of all, I hope everyone had a nice Thanksgiving. We had a great one. Vegan meatloaf, grean beens with water chesnuts and bread crumbs, mashed potatoes, gravy, cranberries, stuffing. All vegan. Remember, we don't just eat sprouts. Although, why the bad rap for sprouts? That's sproutism.

On to the vegan meat of the blog...

According to MSNBC.com, 691,000 children went hungry in the U.S. in 2007, and one in eight Americans "struggled to feed themselves adequately even before this year's sharp economic downturn."

How can this be in one of the world's richest nations? You bet I'm being rhetorical. With all the crap that vegans get about protein, calcium, malnutrition etc. it's interesting to me that the health of this nation in particular is getting worse by the day, and it ain't the vegans. I know there are unhealthy vegans out there, but the percentage of vegans in this country is so tiny, they are not a factor at all when assessing the health of the nation as a whole. But I digress....

The reason wny I bring up the MSNBC article is that it is absolutely disgraceful that we have children going hungry in this country. I realize part of this problem is the economy, and this is a factor in adults not being able to get adequate nutrition as well (let's also include education in that equation). We all know that food costs have skyrocketed. My family spends 200-300 dollars a week on groceries. We buy 100% organic, and mostly produce. It's cheaper in this country to eat crap t.v. dinners. Meat and dairy are subsidized by the government. I read last year that if beef weren't subsidized, it would cost about 30 dollars a pound for the consumer.

So, OK, food costs are high...but here's something to consider:

1. Eighty percent of grain grown in the U.S. and about half the fish hauled in are wasted to grow billions of animals big and fat enough to be profitably slaughtered, or to produce dairy products and eggs at the high levels demanded by consumers. And over ninety percent of the protein in this grain turns into methane, ammonia, urea, and manure that pollute our air and water. A conservative estimate is that the amount of land, grain, water, petroleum, and pollution required to feed one of us the Standard American Diet could feed fifteen of us eating a plant-based diet. (World Peace Diet, Will Tuttle)
2. Researchers estimate that 2.5 acres of land can meet the food energy needs of twenty-two people eating potatoes, nineteen people eating corn, twenty-three people eating cabbage, fifteen people eating wheat, or two people eating chicken or dairy products, and only one person eating beef or eggs. Everyone on earth could be fed easily because we currently grow more than enough grain to feed ten billion people.(World Peace Diet, Will Tuttle)

Read that last line again....Everyone on EARTH could be fed with the grain we currently grow and feed to animals who are, in effect, tortured because 'I could never give up cheese, I just love it too much.'

Children are going hungry.

I found an article today which moved me to blog. Nothing like a good blog movement. Check it out yourself at http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27774614, It's scary!

A 'gut bug' known as Clostridium difficle was found in more than 40% of packaged meats tested in Arizona. Nearly 30% of those strains were identical to a super-toxin strain of C.diff (apparently its nickname) that is causing increased rates of illness and death in the U.S. This all raises the possibility that bacterial infections can be transmitted through food. Not a big surprise. Infections from the super-toxin cost 300 lives and $32 million EACH DAY.

Some are concerned that the origin of the bacteria is from hospitals themselves, but given the information surrounding certain cases, the potential for food-based origins--specifically 'retail meats' is increasing. The fact that the bacteria is definitely found in these meats (turkey, pork, beef, you name it) is certainly telling...

How much more information like this is necessary before people realize that animal consumption is simply not good for human beings, and that adopting a vegan diet will have tremendously positive impact on our health, society, environment? How many more deaths? How much more monetary strain? How much more health insurance premium increases?

"A glimpse inside the neck arteries of obese children and teens reveals cardiovascular systems more like those of 45-year-olds, researchers said Tuesday."

The quote above was from an article I read on MSNBC.com. The article goes on to say that using ultrasound imaging, scientists detected fatty deposits in children as young as 10 that resembled those found typically in middle-aged adults. I've got a couple of things to say about this...

1. More and more information is coming out about the affects of diet on children, and most specifically, on their health LATER IN LIFE. In other words, it is not just about the health of the child at their given age, rather researchers are finding out that bad habits early on can increase a child's chances of major diseases (cancer, heart disease etc) when they reach adulthood...Every seen a teenager who eats like crap but looks generally ok, and may not even be sick very much? Check in with that teen when they reach forty. Or worse yet, take a look at an obese 8 year old and start to think about what their life is going to be like health-wise (and how that will affect their general quality of life).

2. Later in the article, they cite a 17 year old who is 5'9" and weigh 185. They say he is 'stocky' but not obese. I'm 6'1" and also weigh 185, and I could probably stand to lose another 5 lbs. Spare me....Anyhow, the author writes that this kid has substituted grilled chicken for burgers.
However, according to "Eat to Live" by Dr. Joel Fuhrman, chicken has about the same cholestrol as beef, there appears to be no advantage to eating lean white meat over lean red meat, low fat dairy and skinless chicken raise cholesterol, and lastly, it is the animal PROTEIN, that has a significantly negative affect on cholesterol levels.

So, I say again...the facts are out there. Animal protein is simply bad for human beings. There are no benefits to consuming it (especially when taking the environment and compassion into consideration). We do not live in a society where food is scarce and we must hunt for our food. We have access to an almost overwhelming variety of fruits, vegetables, beans, grains, nuts, and seeds. We are not able to simply survive without animal products, we are able to thrive.

It breaks my heart to think about these children and the lack of direction and information they are given. It also angers me that my health insurance costs (I pay for my own) are sky high, not because my family is perfectly healthy and rarely sees a doctor except for checkups, but rather because of the Standard American Diet and the profoundly unhealthy population that I live amongst. Diet is simply the first line of defense against disease. If a study that states that animal products are health promoting, check its funding. I do not stand to make any money by relating this information or doing this blog. Dr. Joel Fuhrman ("Eat to Live", "Disease Proof your Child") could certainly cash in by writing an Atkins style book that caters to this Country's insatiable appetite for meat and dairy. Read the facts.

Jeff Stanford and I were talking the other day about the boy who was abducted last week in Nevada...It turned out to be drug related. From what I understand, the boy was kidnapped by drug dealers as a way to send a 'message' to the boy's grandfather...So let's just say for the sake of argument that the boy's grandfather was involved in drugs, and most likely would never have thought that his actions would in some way harm his innocent grandson...How could I link this to Veganism? Watch my smoke.

When one consumes animal products, there are the obvious (or what should be obvious) consequences of poor health, and damage to the environment. Somewhat less obvious may be the psychological consequences on humans who know, on some level, the violence they are causing by in effect asking another human being to do the killing (and in most cases abusing) for them.

However, here is a consequence that is most likely unintended by the consumer, and perhaps, never even considered. Namely, the effects of the animal product industry on the workers. In "World Peace Diet," Will Tuttle writes:

"It is well documented that slaughterhouse and factory farm work is ugly and terribly stressful, emotionally, mentally, and phsyically. Slaughterhouse workers, perhaps the lowest caste in the U.s., have the highest rate of work-related injuires and one of the highest turnover rates." (World Peace Diet, pg.168)

Further in the book,Tuttle shares testimonials of slaughterhouse workers who suffer from their jobs--watching cows skinned alive (having not been 'stunned' properly), or this worker whose job was to kill pigs:

" The worst thing, worse than the physical danger, is the emotional toll. If you work in that stick pit for any period of time, you develop an attitude that lets you kill things but doesn't let you care. You may look a hog in the eye that's walking around down in the blood pit with you and think, God, that really isn't a bad-looking animal. You may want to pet it. Pigs down on the kill floor have come up and nuzzled me like a puppy. Two minutes later I had to kill them--beat them to death with a pipe. I can't care...I was killing things. My attitude was, it's only an animal. Kill it. Sometimes I'd look at people that way, too. I've had ideas of hanging my foreman upside down on the line and sticking him." (World Peace Diet, pg. 176)

The point of this writing is that, just as in the case of the innocent boy who was abducted as a consequence of his grandfather's actions that were seemingly unrelated to the boy, consuming animal products also have unintended consequences that I believe should be considered and evaluated. Most of this writing and my other writings come down to this: learn as much as you can about everything you do in your life, about yourself, and about the world. Being informed, educated, will bring one to a higher level of consciousness. Yes, sometimes it means finding out things you wish you hadn't, but mostly, in my experience, 'knowing' is better than not knowing, and the result is inevitably a deeper, more fulfilling experience of life.