-V-
06/13/08, 08:13 pm
It wasn't long ago (last year?), in what amounted to a salute to decadence, that Oprah gave away cars to everyone in the audience (who already had their SUV's in the parking lot).
But lately, she seems to be doing the right thing (i.e. left thing).
First, she took a political stand (finally) and endorsed Barack Obama. The timing was perfect. It jump started his campaign and probably was a key to him overtaking Hillary early in the Primaries.
Then she be opened up her audience to Eckhart Tolle and a whole new dimension of spirituality that is outside the suffocating box of organized religion.
Then, a few weeks ago, she devoted the whole hour to an expose of what goes on at Puppy Mills.
Now she's experimenting with a Vegan diet.
Sure, she still dables in fashion, beauty tips and hollywood actors who are full of themselves. But as she gets older, wiser, more bored with her wealth and Tom Cruise, and more grounded in the Power Of Now, I'm hoping we can expert more good things to come.
Here's the "meat" of an article about her new adventure:
http://www.miamiherald.com/opinion/inbox/story/545007.html
Tue, May. 27, 2008
By SUSAN LEVIN
slevinpcrm.org
Oprah checks out the vegan diet: Will America follow?
One of the best things to ever happen to public health happened this month when Oprah Winfrey announced she was starting a 21-day vegan makeover. If anyone can inspire positive change in America, it's someone as influential as Oprah.
The healthy vegan diet, which is free of meat, chicken, eggs, dairy and other animal products -- but rich in fruits, vegetables, whole grains and beans -- is finally coming into its own.
Two irreverent vegan advice books, Skinny Bitch and Skinny Bitch in the Kitch, have both scored big on the best-seller lists. And they're hardly the only meat-free books flying off the shelves. Quantum Health, which promotes the three-week diet makeover that Oprah is following, recently hit No. 2 on Amazon.
Every few months, we hear of a new celebrity or sports star who's ditching meat. (Last month, it was Prince Fielder of the Milwaukee Brewers.) Vegan story lines have worked their way into episodes of Boston Legal and other top TV shows. The most conservative newspapers in the country offer columns on how to work more vegetarian foods into one's diet. Even Dunkin Donuts is offering soymilk at some locations.
What's going on? Have we reached a critical mass -- where the average American might consider trying a vegan or vegetarian diet? As a dietitian, I certainly hope so.
For decades, nutrition experts have known that the healthiest diet is one that's free of saturated fat and cholesterol and rich in fiber and other helpful compounds found in plant food. Numerous scientific studies have demonstrated the wide-ranging health benefits of a vegetarian or vegan diet -- from lower rates of heart disease, obesity, and diabetes to less risk of several cancers. Vegetarians are even at lower risk of gallstones, kidney stones and osteoporosis.
And though an ever-growing number of Americans have been lucky enough to discover the power of a healthy vegan diet, the information has largely been a well-kept secret.
Medical schools notoriously do not offer much in the way of nutrition education so many doctors are woefully uninformed about how helpful a vegan diet can be. Government food policies are skewed in favor of the powerful meat and dairy industries. Consumer advertising overwhelmingly promotes meat, sugar and unhealthy processed foods.
Fortunately, change is in the air. As WebMD reported this January, trend spotters have declared 2008 ''The Year of Ethical Eating.'' Part it has to do with health. As middle-aged baby boomers begin to deal with life-threatening chronic diseases, they are more interested in using diet to reverse those conditions. Part of it has to do with the multitude of delicious vegetarian options now widely available. And part of it has to do with a growing consciousness about food -- where it comes from, how it's produced, and how it affects our environment and animal well-being.
Popular books like Fast Food Nation have opened our eyes to the truth about the food industry. Food activists like Alice Waters have taught us the benefit of eating locally. And a recent undercover investigation at a California slaughterhouse exposed the cruelty that is endemic to the meat industry.
Former Vice Presdient Al Gore got everyone concerned about global warming, but it took a United Nations report to reveal that livestock production is actually responsible for more greenhouse gasses than all the world's vehicles and airplanes combined. And now we face a global food crisis, one that could be greatly alleviated by a reduction in resource-intensive meat production.
...
Susan Levin is a staff dietitian with the nonprofit vegan group Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine.
(c) 2008, Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine
http://www.pcrm.org/
But lately, she seems to be doing the right thing (i.e. left thing).
First, she took a political stand (finally) and endorsed Barack Obama. The timing was perfect. It jump started his campaign and probably was a key to him overtaking Hillary early in the Primaries.
Then she be opened up her audience to Eckhart Tolle and a whole new dimension of spirituality that is outside the suffocating box of organized religion.
Then, a few weeks ago, she devoted the whole hour to an expose of what goes on at Puppy Mills.
Now she's experimenting with a Vegan diet.
Sure, she still dables in fashion, beauty tips and hollywood actors who are full of themselves. But as she gets older, wiser, more bored with her wealth and Tom Cruise, and more grounded in the Power Of Now, I'm hoping we can expert more good things to come.
Here's the "meat" of an article about her new adventure:
http://www.miamiherald.com/opinion/inbox/story/545007.html
Tue, May. 27, 2008
By SUSAN LEVIN
slevinpcrm.org
Oprah checks out the vegan diet: Will America follow?
One of the best things to ever happen to public health happened this month when Oprah Winfrey announced she was starting a 21-day vegan makeover. If anyone can inspire positive change in America, it's someone as influential as Oprah.
The healthy vegan diet, which is free of meat, chicken, eggs, dairy and other animal products -- but rich in fruits, vegetables, whole grains and beans -- is finally coming into its own.
Two irreverent vegan advice books, Skinny Bitch and Skinny Bitch in the Kitch, have both scored big on the best-seller lists. And they're hardly the only meat-free books flying off the shelves. Quantum Health, which promotes the three-week diet makeover that Oprah is following, recently hit No. 2 on Amazon.
Every few months, we hear of a new celebrity or sports star who's ditching meat. (Last month, it was Prince Fielder of the Milwaukee Brewers.) Vegan story lines have worked their way into episodes of Boston Legal and other top TV shows. The most conservative newspapers in the country offer columns on how to work more vegetarian foods into one's diet. Even Dunkin Donuts is offering soymilk at some locations.
What's going on? Have we reached a critical mass -- where the average American might consider trying a vegan or vegetarian diet? As a dietitian, I certainly hope so.
For decades, nutrition experts have known that the healthiest diet is one that's free of saturated fat and cholesterol and rich in fiber and other helpful compounds found in plant food. Numerous scientific studies have demonstrated the wide-ranging health benefits of a vegetarian or vegan diet -- from lower rates of heart disease, obesity, and diabetes to less risk of several cancers. Vegetarians are even at lower risk of gallstones, kidney stones and osteoporosis.
And though an ever-growing number of Americans have been lucky enough to discover the power of a healthy vegan diet, the information has largely been a well-kept secret.
Medical schools notoriously do not offer much in the way of nutrition education so many doctors are woefully uninformed about how helpful a vegan diet can be. Government food policies are skewed in favor of the powerful meat and dairy industries. Consumer advertising overwhelmingly promotes meat, sugar and unhealthy processed foods.
Fortunately, change is in the air. As WebMD reported this January, trend spotters have declared 2008 ''The Year of Ethical Eating.'' Part it has to do with health. As middle-aged baby boomers begin to deal with life-threatening chronic diseases, they are more interested in using diet to reverse those conditions. Part of it has to do with the multitude of delicious vegetarian options now widely available. And part of it has to do with a growing consciousness about food -- where it comes from, how it's produced, and how it affects our environment and animal well-being.
Popular books like Fast Food Nation have opened our eyes to the truth about the food industry. Food activists like Alice Waters have taught us the benefit of eating locally. And a recent undercover investigation at a California slaughterhouse exposed the cruelty that is endemic to the meat industry.
Former Vice Presdient Al Gore got everyone concerned about global warming, but it took a United Nations report to reveal that livestock production is actually responsible for more greenhouse gasses than all the world's vehicles and airplanes combined. And now we face a global food crisis, one that could be greatly alleviated by a reduction in resource-intensive meat production.
...
Susan Levin is a staff dietitian with the nonprofit vegan group Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine.
(c) 2008, Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine
http://www.pcrm.org/