Vegetarians and Oral Sex

Will this convince you to go veg? Studies show that vegetarians enjoy oral sex more than meat eaters. Read all about it here:
http://www.treehugger.com/files/2011/08/vegetarians-enjoy-oral-sex-more-says-...

Photo via Flickr/LUNARIX-PIX

Here at TreeHugger, we post regularly on the connections between a vegetarian diet and the effect it has on the planet. However, OKCupid has trumped us in a way we never saw coming: vegetarians enjoy giving oral sex more than non-vegetarians.

The findings come via OKCupid's data blog, OKTrends, where they give you a backstage pass to online dating. The blog divulges everything from the best first date questions to which states are the most gay-curious (oh really, Oregon?). As sensational as these findings are, I wouldn't qualify them as merely trivial either.

While eating a vegetarian diet is good for the planet (carbon footprint reduction) and great for you (health and it is cheaper), this could very well be the sexiest.

Carbon Footprint

As our own Collin Dunn has reported over at Planet Green, what you eat has a significant impact on the climate (see the report here). The average U.S. diet gets 47-percent of its calories from animals or their byproducts. A consumption habit that results in a carbon footprint of 2.52 tons per person every year.

If you are veggie-curious, your yearly carbon footprint gets reduced by 0.7 tons. Check out our Weekday Vegetarian recipes for ideas and recipes. It's kind of like being a Supermarket Catholic but tastier and with a lot less guilt. If you go full blown vegetarian your footprint drops by a full ton. Of course the winners here are vegans. Their diet has a full two ton reduction when it comes to carbon. The downfall is you no longer get to eat Gouda cheese. That's a world I am afraid to live in!

The True Cost of Eating Meat

Matthew McDermott, a part-time contributor to our veggie-centric wine guide, points out how a vegetarian diet reaches way beyond just the carbon footprint. It has a huge effect on our forests, our health care system and even our pocket books. You can read the full article here but below are some highlights.

1. Raising cattle for beef accounts for 80% of Amazonian deforestation.

2. Eating your veggies means lowering your water consumption.

3. It's cheaper, like 20% cheaper.

4. Vegetarians consume less calories, therefore no pesky crash diet needed!

5. You are healthier which saves you (and everyone else) money when it comes to health care.

6. Meat eating raises the cost of climate change mitigation. If there were more vegetarians, these costs could be cut by 70%.

It is also worth noting that vegetarians tend to be happier according to a report in the Nutrition Journal. They have a lower incidence of depression, anxiety, and other mood problems than their meat-eating neighbors. The researchers found vegetarian diets are significantly lower in EPA and DHA, the omega-3 fatty acids that we get from eating fish, and which many studies have found are a key factor in improving both physical and mental health.

Whether you become a vegetarian or not is clearly up to you. But one thing is for sure, you might want to start dating one.

Follow me @jerryjamesstone or friend me on Facebook.

More on Sex and Vegetarians
How to Go Green: Sex
How To Buy A Green Sex Toy
Vegetarian Diet Could Cut Climate Change Mitigation Costs by 70%

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Vegan Takeout From Around The World

Love this email series. If you've ever wanted to try being vegan, this series will guide you every step of the way...

http://www.kindgreenplanet.org/programs/veganatheart/welcome/vegan_subscripti...

CHINESE
steamed veggie dumplings tofu and broccoli with garlic sauce mixed vegetables with cashews vegetable chow fun or mei fun ETHIOPIAN vegetable sambusa vegetarian combo, which includes a bunch of dishes, including my faves: string beans & carrots gomen (collard greens dish) yater kikalicha (split pea dish) yatakilt alicha (cabbage, carrot, potato dish) INDIAN vegetable samosas chana saag (chickpeas and spinach) daal saag (lentils and spinach) aloo gobi (potatoes and cauliflower) [Note: be sure to ask for "no ghee," a clarified butter that's usually added at the end of cooking] ITALIAN bruschetta pasta marinara pasta primavera pasta with garlic and olive oil (with veggies or mushrooms, optional) pizza marinara with veggies (artichokes and olives make it more savory) [Note: fresh pastas are usually made with egg, but dry pastas and whole wheat pastas usually aren't.] JAPANESE edamame miso soup salad with ginger carrot dressing avocado sushi cucumber sushi [Note: you might want to ask for no fish sauce in the miso soup.] MEXICAN chips with guacamole or salsa bean burrito (with guac instead of sour cream or cheese) vegetable fajita (with guac) MIDDLE EASTERN (Israeli, Lebanese, Turkish, etc.) stuffed grape leaves falafel babaganoush (eggplant puree) hummus tabouli THAI spring rolls massamam curry with veggies and tofu pad thai with veggies and tofu (ask for no egg!) [Note: specify no fish sauce for these as well.]

Vegetarianism: Trendy or Smart

from: http://www.tampabay.com/features/food/general/article1187338.ece

To be a vegetarian is to be an eater in transition. The first step may have come as an ovo-lacto adherent who eschews meat, fish and chicken but eats eggs and dairy.

The next step was strict vegan, dabbling at times with macrobiotic and raw food, but eating (and wearing) no animal products at all. What may follow that is a return to cooked vegetarian fare. That's just one scenario on the path of a plant-based diet.

To be a vegetarian is to be an eater on a mission for improved health, often in concert with a quest for a more wholesome planet and better treatment of animals. Sometimes it's to be an eater on the defensive, or to follow religious convictions.

To be a vegetarian is to be a lot of things, and sometimes it's a pick-and-choose lifestyle. Certainly, to be a vegetarian in America — if not in the strictest sense then occasionally — is to be part of a growing population, especially if you're a teenager or young adult.

About 8 million U.S. adults and 1.5 million youths ages 8 to 18 identify as vegetarian, according to the Vegetarian Resource Group in Baltimore. Three million others in that age group don't eat meat but include fish or poultry in their diets.

While strict vegetarians account for only 3 percent of the population, they have mightily influenced others, including food manufacturers. A stroll through any supermarket results in an array of veggie products that weren't available there a decade ago.

Then there are the "Meatless Monday" folks who go without meat at least one day out of seven. The national campaign, supported by Johns Hopkins University's Bloomberg School of Public Health, is an effort to get us to think about regularly satisfying our protein needs with plants, which tax the environment less than animals.

Chef Mario Batali, a seemingly unlikely proponent, has gotten on board, as have thousands of other people. Rather than vegetarian, you might call these people "conscientious eaters." Debby DeGraaff of Lutz, who has taught vegetarian cooking classes in the Tampa Bay area for 25 years, has noticed the growth in interest. She tracks it by the number of people in her free classes, held at area natural-food stores. What was once a cozy group of 15, she says, has routinely become a crowd of 40.

Organics and bulk foods (less packaging) are more popular, and so is home cooking, DeGraaff says. The interest in home cooking is up in all types of food preparation, thanks to the lousy economy and job losses. "There is this ill-conceived conception that (vegetarian) food is boring," she says. But it's actually the cook's shortcomings that prevent anything prepared with tofu or eggplant from being tasty, she says.

DeGraaff says that most people come to vegetarianism for health reasons and stay because they feel so much better. In fact, she says, "they didn't know how bad they felt until they cleaned up their diets." Denise Rispoli Becknell, owner of Leafy Greens Café, a 3-year-old raw-food restaurant in St. Petersburg, agrees that health issues often drive people to a plant-based diet, but concerns about the environment and treatment of animals soon follow. "There are a lot of moral and ethical issues" surrounding food. Still, Becknell says, it's not always easy to be a vegetarian, especially in a contemporary culture that likes to dine out.

If you want to stay strict, you have to ask a lot of questions at restaurants. For instance, Indian restaurants offer many vegetarian dishes, which makes sense because Hindus often follow a veg diet. However, there are many Indians who are Muslim and they eat meat, so a vegan diner shouldn't expect everything in every Indian restaurant to be meatless, she says.

"It's not always convenient, and there are a lot of social pressures on vegetarians," Becknell says. She notes that 75 percent of vegetarians return to eating meat, a number backed up by a 2005 CBS News poll. The study showed that some people return to eating meat because of the "toll on their social life," though nearly all who add meat back have become changed eaters in some ways.

Still, Chris Sand of Land O'Lakes has made the transition. A former girlfriend got him to go vegan three years ago. She's out of the picture, and so is his "little bit of a beer belly." He says he has more energy, and now the student at Pasco-Hernando Community College is teaching a vegetarian cooking series at the Land O'Lakes Recreation Complex (see box for information on Sand's class and others).

He gets a little sly with meat-eating friends, sneaking vegetarian entrees onto their plates. Most in their mid 20s and early 30s — he's 27 — are happy to have a friend who cooks. They are often surprised how yummy dishes such as his Marinara Sauce with Raw Zucchini and Summer Squash "Pasta" are. "Veganism has been good to open people up to new ideas and new food preparations," he says. "When most people think burger, they think Angus and Kobe. When I hear burger, I think carrots and walnuts."

Vegetarian Labor Day BBQ Ideas

from:http://www.care2.com/greenliving/grill-recipes-for-a-vegetarian-friendly-labor-day-cookout.html

With Labor Day less than two weeks away, you’re probably planning a picnic or cookout. If you’re a vegetarian, or planning to host a few vegetarians, it can be challenging when the traditional grill foods are rather meaty.

As you start planning to celebrate the last “official” weekend of summer, we wanted to help you round-up a few recipe ideas that are as good on the grill as any burger or steak.

Veggie Kabobs

These can be rather filling and are great served as a stand-alone meal, or as a side for the grilled chicken eaters in your party. Use bamboo or stainless steel kabob skewers and stack your choice of baby bella mushrooms, bell peppers, onions, zucchini, squash, cherry tomatoes, pineapple, peaches, and eggplant. Toss the veggies first in a little olive oil, Kosher salt, and cracked black pepper, and freshly chopped herbs for more flavor.

Black Bean and Sweet Potato Burger

Inspired from a vegan cookbook, this burger uses black beans, sweet potatoes, almond butter, garlic, and ginger to to make a hearty and delicious meatless burger. Top with your favorite condiments and veggies and your cookout doesn’t look any different than any other!

Raw Portobello Mushroom Stuffed with Basil Pesto Raw foodies are becoming more popular, and this recipe is a great example of why. However, once you’ve packed your portobello with the recipe for fresh pesto, no one is stopping you from tossing it on the grill for a few minutes.

Grilled Jerk Tofu

Your choice of barbecue sauce, brown sugar, and a homemade Cajun spice mix will give firm tofu a bold flavor that will be irresistible to just about any guest in your backyard.

Grilled Open-Face Herbed Goat Cheese Sandwich with Nectarines and Walnuts

While not exactly classic cookout fare, if you’re going for a more white-wine-and-cloth-napkins affair, this will go over very well with guests no matter their take on the herbivore vs. carnivore argument. Sweet in-season nectarines are complemented by a homemade balsamic glaze on grilled baguette and creamy goat cheese. Serve as an appetizer or entree.

Of course, no cookout is complete without the sides. A few vegetarian options that will add color, flavor, and variety include these recipes for Grilled Vegetable Couscous, Smoky-Spicy-Sweet Vegetarian Barbecue Beans, and Asian Napa Cabbage Carrot Slaw with Snow Peas. And no recipe is needed for throwing corn on the cob or thick slices of fresh pineapple on the grill for delicious and effortless sides.

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Meat Recalls: Should You Go Vegetarian

from:http://planetgreen.discovery.com/tag/Politics

It’s unclear why such vast meat recalls are becoming so much a part of the news. Is it a global food market or is the USDA getting a handle on the contamination faster than they used to?

Salmonella and e coli are deadly to start off with but the addition of antibiotic resistant varieties are making them even scarier. It’s like playing Russian roulette--with meat coming from all over the world, it’s difficult to tell the origin of the animal, how it was treated, and the conditions of the farm.

You never know when you’re going to get a bad batch, not cook it quite enough, and find yourself sick. And who wants charred meat anyway? If it’s the flavor you’re after, then cooking the animal to death doesn’t do anyone justice, quite frankly.

Just last week 36 million pounds of Cargill turkey products were recalled because of salmonella contamination. The Centers for Disease Control said that Salmonella Heidelberg, as it's named, has shown resistance to multiple antibiotic treatments. The CDC identified Salmonella Heidelberg through DNA "fingerprints" of salmonella bacteria in order to link each to the outbreak.

This week, Reuters reported that The U.S. Department of Agriculture said National Beef Packing Co recalled about 60,424 pounds of ground beef products under suspicion of e coli contamination. The bacteria was discovered through routine microbial testing conducted by the Ohio Department of Agriculture.

While recalls can happen in any food product, they are commonly associated with eggs, meat and poultry. How have such recalls impacted you? Have you cut back or cut out your meat and egg consumption? Have you started to source your meat closer to home from producers you know and trust? Or--are you just cooking the burger patty to death? Or are you going vegetarian?

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