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last updated 18th August 2003

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Think that vegetarian diets are risky or just a passing phase? Not so! According to the American Dietetic Association (ADA)and Dietitians of Canada (DC), a well-planned vegetarian diet can be a healthy alternative to standard meat-based eating styles for all age groups.

In a joint statement, published in the June issue of the Journal of the American Dietetic Association, and DC say:

It is the position of the American Dietetic Association and Dietitians of Canada that appropriately planned vegetarian diets are healthful, nutritionally adequate and provide health benefits in the prevention and treatment of certain diseases.

The statement reaffirms and updates ADA's position on vegetarian diets. It details the most current science regarding key nutrients and how to obtain them through a vegetarian diet. Numerous health benefits are also cited such as lower intakes of saturated fat and cholesterol and higher intakes of carbohydrates, fiber, magnesium, potassium, folate and antioxidants such as vitamins C and E.

Approximately 4 percent of Canadian adults and nearly 3 percent of adults in the United States follow vegetarian diets and interest is on the rise, according to the ADA/DC statement. Many restaurants and caterers routinely offer vegetarian meals. Substantial growth in sales of foods attractive to vegetarians has occurred in recent years.

"Vegetarians have been reported to have healthier body weight than non-vegetarians, as well as lower rates of death from heart disease, lower blood cholesterol levels and lower rates of high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes and prostate and colon cancer," says Cynthia Sass, a registered dietitian and ADA spokesperson .

"Planning a healthy vegetarian diet doesn't need to be complicated, but steps should be taken to ensure the diet is nutrient-dense," Sass says. "Just as with a meat-based diet, the key to ensuring the body meets all its nutritional needs is to choose a wide variety of foods."

Sass says the best way to ensure a healthy vegetarian diet is to obtain advice from a nutrition expert, a dietetics professional.

Courtesy of http://www.theanimalspirit.com
{The Animal Spirit Newsletter} Issue 6/9/03-6/15/03
 

Dear Jaya,

Thank you for your attached E mail. We do not use animal products at any stage during the production of our sugar products. All of our products are suitable for vegetarians.

We used to use bone char to decolourise sugar, but that is no longer the case. Since the beginning of this year we have switched to using a mineral carbon derived from coal for decolourising the sugar.

I hope this answers your question

Regards

Robert Crow

content-class: urn:content-classes:message
Subject: FW:
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Date: Mon, 11 Aug 2003 09:52:25 +1200
Message-ID: <58AC90F78C9A43449557DAD09D166A545B6ADA@n01sdnz.nzsugar.co.nz>
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From: "Chelsea - Chelsea Mailbox" <Chelsea@nzsugar.co.nz>
Sender: "Clarence, Linda" <LClarence@nzsugar.co.nz>
To: "Crow, Robert" <RCrow@nzsugar.co.nz>
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-----Original Message-----
From: Jaya Tirtha Charan dasan [mailto:jtcd@xtra.co.nz]
Sent: Saturday, 9 August 2003 1:04 p.m.
To: Chelsea - Chelsea Mailbox
Subject:

Hi,

Can you please tell me for sure which sugars that you produce are free from
animal contaminants such as bones used in the bleaching process.

http://members.cox.net/pnienstedt/processed_sugar.htm

http://www.sucrose.com/bonechar.html

I understand that some sugar companies do not use animal bones for charcoal
these days, I want to find those companies and purchase their products
as  we are part of a vegetarian group and keep away from things where
animals are exploited or harmed to make the product.

Thank you for your help, I look forward to your positive response.

Jaya

21st February 2003
Standing up for ourselves against NZ Beef & Lamb Marketing Bureau - Join us !!!!

The ad' is now off the air and the Advertising Standards Authority Complaints Board sent a letter:

These rascals have slightly modified the add so that it no longer fits the former complaint and so we are fighting it again PLEASE HELP. Get back to me for details.
 

......Channel 2 19:43 on Sunday 20th July the NZ Beef and Lamb Marketing Bureau AGAIN had shown through TV2 the offensive ad' ridiculing the Hare Krishna movement in favour of presenting their "Red Meat".

You may remember:
Over the past 6 months the Hare Krishna movement, Vegetarian societies and many individuals have written formal complaints to the Advertising Standards Authority Complaints Board regarding ads' which we consider offensive.

The ASA agreed with the Hare Krishna movement and friends and passed a ruling and formally requested NZ Beef and Lamb Marketing Bureau to desist from ridiculing such minority religious groups through it's ads' clearly seeing the dancing, chanting, style and intonation of the ads' to mimic and mock the Hare Krishna movement, who are a bone fide registered religious movement based on the ancient Indian (Hindu - Vedic) scriptures which uphold and practice Ahimsa - non-violence to ALL living beings.

"Advertising Standards Complaints Board said in a letter posted out to all Complainants; After carefully considering the information received from all parties the Board decided that the complaint be Upheld as there had been a breach of relevant code.
 In accordance with self-regulatory principles all parties have been requested to voluntarily withdraw the advertisement in its present form and to ensure that advertisements containing the material complained of do not appear in the future." (ASA)

03/20
Appeal 03/10 (Meeting 11th March 2003)
The Advertising Standards Complaints Board Ruled on 11th March 2003 to Uphold the complaint about the NZ Beef and Lamb Marketing Bureau advertisement for the following reasons:

"...it was unanimously of the view that the advertisement had in fact caused serious offence on the grounds of religious and ethical belief, thereby exceeding the threshold and effecting a breach of Basic Principle 3 of the Code for People in Advertising. In the Board's view it was not saved by humour as allowed for in Basic Principle 6 of the Code for People in Advertising...."

In response to the bebunked appeal by NZ Beef and Lamb Marketing Bureau the Complaints Board Decision 03/20 stated, ".....the Board was unanimously of the view that the dancing , instrumentation, rhythm and intonation of the singers engaged in an outdoor festival in a busy city, was evocative of the Hare Krishna movement."

"He noted that the Board had then taken into account the large number of complaints received, many of which had been from the minority group who had been offended by the portrayal in the advertisement. The Board had taken note of complaints received from the group concerned and the tone of those complaints, and had unanimously agreed that this indicated that the depiction in the NZ Beef and Lamb Marketing Bureau had caused serious offence to that minority group." (ASA Complaints Board Chairman)

According to Broadcasting Standards Authority, and the Advertising Standards Authority; Principle 3 clearly says: "Advertisements should not portray people in a manner which, taking into account generally prevailing community standards, is reasonably likely to cause serious or widespread offence on the grounds of their gender: race: colour: ethnic or national origin; age; cultural religious, political or ethical belief..." and in section Principle 4 of the Code also adds: "...advertisements should not use stereotypes in the portrayal of the role, character and behaviour of groups of people in society, which taking into account generally prevailing community standards, is reasonably likely to cause serious or widespread offence, hostility, contempt, abuse or ridicule." This has already been confirmed as happening.

We need your support to stop this heinous nonsense once and for all time.

Please write a formal letter of complaint with your name and address to:

Advertising Standards Complaints Board
PO Box 10 675, Wellinton.
Telephone 09 472 7852.

and to E mailto:asa@asa.co.nz

..........AND ASK THEM WHAT THE HELL ARE THEY UP TO, AND DEMAND THAT THEY ACTUALLY DO SOMETHING POSITIVE TO STOP THIS NONSENSE !!!!! Thanx

All Britons could be vegetarian by 2047 as 2,000 people a week stop eating meat, a study claimed yesterday.

Already 40 per cent of Brits avoid eating meat at least once a week with six per cent of the population totally vegetarian.

Jan Walsh, of the Consumer Analysis Group which did the research with Safeway, said: "To think that we could all be vegetarians by 2047 will come as a shock for some people, but it seems like we will be entering an age where the nation as a whole has finally begun to understand and respect the environment."

She added: "You can almost imagine that in the future it will be the norm to be vegetarian and people will have to consciously opt to eat meat, rather than the other way around."

Britain has the second largest number of vegetarians in Europe after Germany.

The study, released yesterday for National Vegetarian Week, estimated that a lifelong vegetarian saves 760 chickens, five cows, 20 pigs, 20 sheep and half a tonne of fish. And the average non-meat eater visits hospital 22 per cent less often, saving the NHS £220 a year per person - a potential cost cut of £736million.

Safeway spokeswoman Louise Barnett said: "Supermarkets have had a positive impact on the numbers of people becoming vegetarian in the last 50 years - especially by increasing the variety of products available.

"Our task must be to provide a total vegetarian solution: not just more fruit and vegetables, but more innovative products that offer customers choice and a sound nutritional balance.

"We predict that supermarkets will become much more like hubs of world foods, with flavours, smells and textures to tempt every taste bud."

Courtesy of The Animal Spirit Newsletter :
http://topica.com/lists/theanimalspirit@topica.com/ 

LONDON, ENGLAND, May 21, 2003: The following revelations coincided with the celebration of the National Vegetarian Week: if Britons continue to turn vegetarianism at the current rate, it is predicted in 50 years the traditional roast and full English breakfast will be consigned to the dustbins of history. Around 2,000 Britons a week are converting to vegetarianism and if the trend continues, by 2047 the British population will be predominantly vegetarian. The news will please the government struggling to cut the number of patients waiting for hospital admissions, for it is said that vegetarians enjoy better health. According to the study, the average vegetarian visits the hospital 22 percent less often than a meat-eater, saving the National  Health Service around US$5,280 per person per year.

Courtesy of http://www.HinduismToday.com/

WASHINGTON D.C., U.S.A., June 21, 2003: For 25 years, and most recently as the U.S. Navy's chief of chaplains, Pastor Barry C. Black has led interfaith services on aircraft carriers and destroyers and counseled military personnel. Now, after retirement from the military August 15, 2003, the rear admiral is set to become spiritual counselor to members of the U.S. Senate as its official chaplain. "I was elated when the opportunity to provide ministry there came available," said Black, who loves the pluralistic religious environment of the military and sees a parallel in the multi-faith makeup on Capitol Hill. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist named Black this week as 62nd Senate chaplain, the first African American and the first Seventh-day Adventist to be appointed chaplain in either house of Congress. His appointment is subject to approval by the full Senate, which is expected. Members of the Seventh-day Adventist faith follow Old Testament dietary restrictions, which include no shellfish or pork, and are encouraged to be vegetarians. Black said that he is a "vegetarian by choice," not requirement. The most visible duty of the Senate chaplain is opening each session with a prayer -- or providing a guest chaplain to do it -- and Black said he would follow the lead of his predecessor in using such general terms as "Lord " and "God' to address the deity and closing with such phrases as "in Your name."

Courtesy of http://www.HinduismToday.com/

Consumers May be Fed Up With Cattle Feed
http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2003-06-09-beef-cover_x.htm

UNITED STATES, June 9, 2003: Did you know meat leftovers from a favorite restaurant may be dinner for a cow? Or that calves, instead of drinking their mothers' milk, are fed formula made from cows' blood?  These practices, all perfectly legal, have come to light with the discovery last month of North America's first homegrown case of "mad cow" disease. Rocked by the specter of spreading infection on the continent, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and Department of Agriculture have turned their attention to ways of keeping deadly agents that spread the disease out of cattle and cattle feed. But opening this delicate topic could have unappetizing consequences for consumers who rarely think about what those sizzling steaks and burgers went through on the way from feedlot to backyard grill. Americans have a bucolic image of cows happily chomping grass in fields. Many don't know that modern animal husbandry practices have provided cheap, plentiful meat through such standard practices as feeding cattle not only pieces of their herd mates (before the practice was banned in 1997) but also chicken litter, leftover restaurant food and out-of-date pet food.

 Scientists know there's only one way a cow -- a natural herbivore -- can get bovine spongiform encephalopathy, or BSE, the brain-wasting disease that in its human form has killed at least 150 people worldwide since 1996 and devastated the British beef industry. It has to be given feed by its human handlers that contains infected animal by products.  In short, someone has to feed it ground-up cow.

HPI adds: Log onto "source" above for a very long and graphic explanation of how the meat industry prepares animals for consumption.

Courtesy of http://www.HinduismToday.com/

NY Indian Restaurant Gives Free Meals During Blackout
http://headlines.sify.com/2498news2.html?headline=Indian~restaurant~in~US~gives~free~meals~during~ blackout

NEW YORK, NEW YORK, August 16, 2003: As New York reeled under a severe power blackout, an Indian restaurant owner earned much praise for traditional Indian hospitality. When the lights failed Thursday night, several restaurants downed shutters. Those that remained open doubled or tripled their prices, but the stranded had nowhere else to go. As ATM machines did not work and credit cards became useless, those with little cash had a tough time. In this greedy jungle, Madras Mahal on Lexington Avenue, owned by Nitin Vyas, offered free meals to the hungry. More importantly, it provided free cold water when the going rate for a small drinking water bottle was five dollars compared to usual one dollar. The restaurant served rice with the Punjabi dish Channa-Bhatura and tea, which was much in demand. Even last afternoon, there was a queue of hungry people outside the restaurant waiting for a  free meal.

Courtesy of http://www.HinduismToday.com/