CVA BLOG






























Christian Vegetarian Association
Blog
Discussions
Update Newsletters
T
ake Heart!

Take Heart Contents
| Animal Issues | Articles | Bible | Children | Devotionals | Environment | Food | Health | Opinion | Quotations | Recipes |

Our Faith and Our Choice of Diet: Are They Aligned?
November 28, 2011

Welcome to the weekly CVA blog!  In it you will find famous quotes, news and commentaries. 

  1. Meatless Mondays a Success in Santa Cruz, CA
  2. Famous Quote: Michael Greger, M.D.
  3. What Our Government Official Say Vs. What They Do
  4. Bible verse: Psalm 107:1
  5. Salmonella: From Birth to Kitchen
  6. This Week’s Video: The Tomato Effect

1. Meatless Mondays a Success in Santa Cruz, CA

Chef Jamie Smith, senior manager of food services and nutrition in Santa Cruz, CA, introduced Meatless Monday to Santa Cruz schools and seeks to reduce meat consumption in student diets for several reasons, including health, the state of the environment, food safety and ethics. Students seem to enjoy the new meals that include the familiar tacos and hamburgers, but also new items such as curries and samosas.

To learn more please visit More and more people embrace Meatless Mondays:
http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/localnews/ci_18993074

It's fantastic that Santa Cruz schools are setting the example by adopting Meatless Mondays! Hopefully many more schools will follow and reduce the animal products served in their cafeterias. Students should be exposed as much as possible to the consequences of their food choices on their health, the environment and God's animals.


2. This Week’s Famous Quote

Hopefully, for humanity’s sake, the direction world history will take is away from raising birds by the billions under intensive confinement. Tragically, it may take a pandemic with a virus like H5N1 before the world realizes the true cost of cheap chicken.

~ Michael Greger, M.D., Bird Flu: A Virus of Our Own Hatching


3. What Our Government Official Say Vs. What They Do

Myplate, the federal food diagram, illustrates what a healthful diet should look like by featuring half of the plate containing fruits and vegetables, about a third with grains, a fifth reserved for protein, and a separate, smaller circle designated for “dairy.” Ironically however, the federal government goes against their very own suggestions of food choices intended to curb increasing rates of obesity and chronic diseases, by subsidizing farmers who grow food for animals that become meat, leading to the wide availability of very cheap animal products that become the bulk of the diet of most Americans. To read the article please visit U.S. touts fruit and vegetables while subsidizing animals that become meat:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/us-touts-fruit-and-vegetables-while-subsidizing-animals-that-become-meat/2011/08/22/gIQATFG5IL_story.html

It is a shame that our government contributes so greatly to the ever increasing rates of chronic diseases that bring so much suffering to people. Fortunately, each of us can and should take control of our own health by paying attention to scientific evidence in regards to what is healthy food. Also, our faith and beliefs clearly show that compassionate choices lead to healthful choices.


4. This Week’s Bible Verse

(RSV) Psalm 107:1

O give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures for ever!

This Thanksgiving let’s focus on what is important: God’s essence in each of us that enables us to reflect His/Her love onto all creatures alike, trying our best to bring healing and reconciliation to Creation.


5. Salmonella: From Birth to Kitchen

Salmonellosis, an infection that causes diarrhea, fever and stomach cramps, sickens an estimated 1 million people annually, and is the most commonly reported foodborne illness. Poultry is commonly infected with Salmonella but few people realize the severity of the problem. This article looks in detail at how the nation’s food safety system operates in the case of salmonella-infected poultry and how unsafe food production of animal products is in the US. Please visit Salmonella stays with chickens, from birth to kitchens:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/salmonella-stays-with-chickens-from-birth-to-kitchen/2011/09/08/gIQA2EagDL_story.html

It’s not surprising that God’s farmed animals are infected with pathogens due to the unsanitary confinement to which they are subjected. The lack of ethics of agribusiness coupled with the lack of ethics of the government --which grants massive subsidies to the animal agriculture industry—puts the health of people at risk. This is one more reason as to why it’s imperative that each of us, stewards of our bodies, takes personal responsibility and makes mindful, ethical and compassionate choices regarding our choice of diet, taking into account how it affects God’s animals and the environment as well.


6. This Week’s Video: The Tomato Effect

In this short video, Dr. Michael Greger explains why the medical establishment sometimes ignores highly efficacious therapies such as plant-based diets for heart disease prevention and treatment.
Please visit The Tomato Effect and share with friends and family:
http://nutritionfacts.org/videos/the-tomato-effect/


Return to CVA Blog - Home Page

Your question and comments are welcome

Copyright 2008 © Christian Vegetarian Association. All rights reserved.

| Home Page | Bibliography | Blog | Books, T-shirts, Etc. | Community | Contact Us | CVA Board | CVA Videos | Essays and Coloring Book | Honoring God's Creation | How to Help | Links | Membership | Mission | Podcast | Take Heart | Vegetarianism's Benefits |

This site is hosted and maintained by
The Mary T. and Frank L. Hoffman Family Foundation.

Since