The Raw Vegan Network e-newsletter
June 2005
Welcome to the Raw Vegan Network e-newsletter. This newsletter is for informational purposes only. It is not intended for diagnosing, prescribing or healing.
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In this issue:
-Network Happenings
-In the News
-Health Tip
-Recommended Reading and websites
-Featured Network Member
-Favorite Recipes
-Products
-Coming Attractions
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NETWORK HAPPENINGS
-We provide online raw food certifications for those who wish to expand their portfolio of expertise enabling them to serve others in there locale that wish to experience the health benefits of living a raw food lifestyle. For information: www.therawvegannetwork.com
-We also provide free contact services for people desiring help in there local area for raw food services. For information: www.therawvegannetwork.com
-Check out the “member’s events” page at www.therawvegannetwork.com/events.htm. It has the latest on what members are doing, such as raw food classes, retreats, raw food delivery, etc.
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IN THE NEWS
New Government Report has Major Concerns Regarding GMO Foods
The National Research Council panel of the National Academy of Sciences suggests that more work needs to be done to ensure that genetically engineered salmon, corn and other organisms do not taint the food supply or wipe out other species.
Washington Post January 20, 2004
Food Policy Institute (Free Full-Text Article)
Why Genetically Modified Crops Can Devastate Health
Independent Science Panel Report June 15, 2003
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HEALTH TIP
Genetically Engineered Foods
What’s wrong with genetic engineering? Genetic engineering is a radical new technology that breaks down essential generic barriers between species and between humans, animals and plants. By joining the genes of related species and permanently modifying their genetic codes, new organisms are created that will pass the genetic changes on to their offspring through heredity.
Scientists are editing, rearranging and programming genetic material. Animal and human genes are being inserted into plants and animals creating never before imagined transgenic life forms. As never before, humans are becoming the architects of life.
What are some of the concerns with genetic engineering? Plants genetically engineered to be herbicide-tolerant will lead to increased use of chemicals in agriculture and future contamination of the environment. Companies like Monsanto, Du Pont and Rhone-Poulenc are genetically engineering plants to be resistant to herbicides that they manufacture so they can sell more herbicides to farmers who, in turn, can apply more poisonous herbicides to crops to kill weeds. Even crops genetically engineered to produce their own pesticides present dangerous problems. Pest will eventually evolve that are resistant, so stronger chemicals will be needed to get rid of the pests. Then what will happen when pesticides alter the genes of weeds and other unwanted plants?
Genetic engineering of crops and food-producing animals can produce toxic and allergic reactions in humans. Someone allergic to shellfish or peanuts would have no way of knowing if a tomato or other food had been altered with proteins from these substances. This could lead to a fatal reaction if eaten.
Genetically engineered products do not have a very good track record for human safety. In 1989 and 1990, a genetically engineered brand of L-trytophan, a common dietary supplement, killed more than 30 Americans and permanently disabled or afflicted more than 5,000 others with a potentially fatal and painful blood disorder, eosinophilia myalgia syndrome, before it was recalled by the FDA. The manufacturer, Showa Denko K.K., Japan’s third largest chemical company, had used genetically engineered bacteria to produce the over-the-counter supplement. It is believed the bacteria had become contaminated during the recombinant DNA process. There were no labels on the product to identify it as having been genetically engineered.
Genetically engineered organisms that escape or are released from laboratories could wreak havoc on the environment. Because genetically engineered products are alive, they can reproduce, migrate and mutate. Once released, a genetically engineered organism is impossible to recall back to the laboratory. A report published by 100 top American scientists warned that the release of gene-spliced organisms “…could lead to irreversible, devastating damage to the ecology.”
By patenting the genes they discover and the living organisms they create, a small corporate elite will soon own and control the genetic heritage of the plant. Chemical, pharmaceutical, and biotech companies such as Du Pont, Upjohn, Monsanto, Rhone-Poulenc, Bayer, Dow and Cib-Geigy, are urgently trying to identify and patent plant, animal, and human genes in order to complete their take-over of agriculture, animal husbandry, and food processing.
No one is regulating genetically engineered organisms adequately or properly testing them for safety. To date, no suitable apparatus has been set up to deal with this potentially overwhelming environmental and health threat. In May 1992, Dan Quayle, then head of the Competitiveness Council, announced the USDA’s newly developed policy on biotech foods: genetically engineered foods will not be treated differently from naturally processed foods; they will not be safety tested; they will not carry labels stating that they have been genetically engineered, nor will the government keep track of foods that have been genetically engineered. As a result, neither the government nor consumers will know which whole or processed foods have been genetically engineered. As a result, vegetarians and followers of religious dietary restrictions face the prospect of unwittingly eating fruit and vegetables that contain genetic material from animals, including humans. Only by trial and error will consumers discover health risks.
What are some of the genetically engineered products? Corn: genetically engineered to tolerate high qualities of the chemical pesticide glufosinate, and genetically engineered with a virus and the DNA of the bacteria bacillus thuringiensis. Canola Oil: genetically engineered and DNA altered with California bay turnip and various viruses and bacteria in order to produce high qualities of lauric acid. Cottonseed oil: genetically engineered and DNA altered with Arabidopsis bacteria and viruses to be able to withstand large applications of the chemical pesticide bromoxynil (which causes birth defects in humans). Potatoes: genetically engineered with wax moth insect DNA; genetically engineered to produce its own pesticide internally with the DNA of bacillus thuringiensis bacteria. Soy: genetically engineered and DNA altered by Monsanto with bacteria; capable of tolerating heavy doses of Monsanto’s Roundup brand chemical pesticide (glyphosate) . Tomatoes: genetically engineered with bacteria derived kanamycin resistance genes, Antisense backwards DNA, antibiotic marker genes, viruses, and DNA of flounder and North Atlantic shellfish. This and the previously mentioned genetically engineered foods have antibiotic marker genes used to facilitate the genetically engineering process. They can cause allergies and autoimmune disease.
What can you do to avoid foods that have been genetically engineered? Read labels carefully: watch out for conventional, non-organic corn and soy that are found in many products. Avoid foods with corn syrup, fructose, and fructose corn syrup in almost all beverages and sodas (even health food brands), and in almost all sweet products, yogurt and aspirin. Avoid corn oil, corn starch, corn meal, baking soda, baking powder, glucose syrup. Avoid soy, soy flour in baked goods, pizza, cookies, cakes, pasta, fillers in meat products (for example Big Macs), vegetarian meat substitutes (tofu burgers, tofu hot dogs), soy milk, infant formula, baby foods, pet foods, diet and protein shakes, protein bars, and soy oil in salad dressings. Avoid Aspartame: otherwise known as Equal and NutraSweet which is made up of three chemicals and a genetically engineered enzyme. It has been implicated in many diseases. Avoid eating in restaurants: since genetically engineered foods are not labeled, restaurant managements have no ides which tomatoes, potatoes, corn, soy, canola, or other products may be genetically engineered.
Your nation or another exporting to yours may be doing genetic engineering. To ensure your food is free of genetic engineering, consume only organic products if possible. If you grow your own food, buy only organic seeds. By purchasing only organic foods whenever possible, you will protect yourself and your family from “Frankenfoods”. If you buy conventional foods, keep up-to-date through websites and mailing lists on which ones are safe.
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RECOMMENDED READING AND WEBSITES
Store Wars Star Wars Spoof: Organic Rebels and the Dark Side of the Farm
The Organic Center for Education & Promotion
To keep up with latest developments of genetically engineered products www.truefoodnow.org
Alliance for Bio-Integrity: www.biointegrity.org
The Campaign to Label Genetically Engineered Foods: http://thecampaign.org
Mothers for Natural Law: www.safe-food.org
Organic Consumers Association & Biodemocracy (an excellent organization working on genetic engineering of foods and other crucial issues): www.organicconsumers.org
Organizations concerned about or opposed to Genetically Altered Foods: www.cqs.com/gmorg.htm
Say No to GMOs: www.saynotogmos.com
Northeast Organic Farmers Association
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FEATURED NETWORK MEMBER
Debi Chase
Williams, CA
uncookedcreations@earthlink.net
Out of the Frying Pan, Away from the Fire
“We are stardust, we are golden we are billion year old carbon,
and we got to get ourselves back to the garden.”
Woodstock, by Joni Mitchell, 1969.
Looking out of my kitchen window while washing the breakfast dishes I see that my husband is mowing the lawn with his tractor. I think he’s cute in his farmer hat and overalls. It’s Sunday. Bright and sunny, there is a soft breeze. I feel fortunate and grateful. I probably should have had this article written days ago. But the good weather, a last minute dinner with old friends, and the ever increasing responsibilities of our farm kept me away from the computer. My journey is simple and complicated, like a lot of folks I suspect. From meat eater to vegetarian to vegan to living foods, my steps were taken slowly and really began when my stepdaughter came to live with us. I’ll start there.
She was thirteen, failing all of her classes in school and designated “a handful.” She was diagnosed with ADD, depression with complications of anxiety, and panic attacks so severe physicians warned that her heart was in danger of being over worked. (I had never heard of a thirteen year old human having a heart attack.) The drugs the doctors prescribed for her made her sleep a lot and she always felt groggy. So with her in agreement and the help of a holistic psychologist, the drugs were stopped. We changed her diet. She was a willing participant, tired of feeling bad all the time. We never forced any regimen or restriction. We all took baby steps. First she stopped eating fast food. Then sugar was tossed out. Next it was white flour. She weaned herself off of all of the foods that were contributing to her poor brain function and shaky emotional state. No artificial anything. She then decided that being a vegetarian was the logical next step. She and I began experimenting with meat substitutes. We made sloppy jo’s and pizza, tacos and hamburgers all of her favorite foods without using any meat. I am a life long professional chef used to cooking up foods consisting of meat, fish, fowl, butter eggs and cheese so at first I was a little flabbergasted then I became intrigued by the variety and basic goodness of a vegetarian diet. I read as much as I could on the subject. She improved. Her grades came up. She decided that the special school was not where she needed to be anymore and she went back to public school. She then explored being vegan and I explored with her. My health and energy improved. She blossomed. She started getting awards and accolades from school for her achievements scholastically and in art. She graduated high school at the age of seventeen second in her class. She is now a college student, independent, happy and healthy.
When she moved out she left behind one of her cookbooks; The Raw Gourmet by Nomi Shannon. I read it and felt like I was an explorer in a new frontier. I tried everything and had to learn more which brought me to the Raw Vegan Network and the Ekaya Institute of Living Food Education. Next thing I know my husband and I are the owners of Pheasant Hollow Farm a Bird Watchers Paradise in Colusa County California and of Uncooked Creations offering vegetarian, vegan and living food retreats, cooking classes and farm stays. Our mission is to help change the world one consumer at a time one step at a time. Helping others take the steps to a healthier lifestyle, reminding them that as an individual they do have the power to make the world a better place, for all creatures. I have traveled out of the frying pan and strayed away from the fire, content and ready to share what I have learned.
By Debra Chase
Certified Living Food Chef
Pheasant Hollow Farm a Bird Watchers Paradise - Home of Uncooked Creations
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FAVORITE RECIPES
Debi Chase
Williams, CA
uncookedcreations@earthlink.net
Sunshine Girl Pate
3 cups sunflower seeds soaked 8-10 hours and then sprouted 4-6 hours
½ cup lemon juice
½ cup chopped scallions
½ cup raw tahini
¼ to ½ cup raw almond butter
¼ cup liquid aminos
4 slices of red onion
6 tablespoons of chopped cilantro
3 cloves of garlic chopped
½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 tablespoons chopped ginger
1 teaspoon ground cumin
2 teaspoons chopped jalapeño pepper seeds removed
½ bunch of chopped watercress
Place all ingredients in the large bowl of a food processor and pulse until well blended and smooth. If it is too thick add a little water.
Use as a dip, a spread on sandwiches or in living sushi. Great stuffed in celery sticks.
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PRODUCTS
-The Raw Vegan Network is offering juicers, distillers and dehydrators for sale. Products are available at www.therawvegannetwork.com/productindex.htm .
-Need help getting started with incorporating healthy raw food choices into your diet and maintaining the raw vegan lifestyle? Put together an entire holiday feast or a light meal. Mostly Raw Recipes by Vickie Fisher (owner of The Raw Vegan Network) is available at www.therawvegannetwork.com/productindex.htm
- In today's environment, even if you are eating all organic fresh raw fruits and vegetables you may not be receiving all the nutrients you need for optimum health. If you are not a raw vegan, then you definitely need to supplement your diet. That is why we decided to add a line of all natural health products that we believe are the best health supplements available on the market. These are available at www.myaimstore.com/pathway2health .
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FEEDBACK AND QUESTIONS
-If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to email us at info@therawvegannetwork.com and we will include them in future e-newsletters. Please email us with your feedback about the articles and recipes, and what you would like to see in up coming issues.
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