The growth of the vegetarian movement is astonishing. Twenty years ago, the word was virtually unknown, so when it was announced you were vegetarian, the barrage of questions seemed unending… foreign? Not any longer. Strange how much things change in a short 20 years.

Today though, it is so common that in most countries and cities in the U.S. and abroad, you can dine like a king or queen on some of the best vegetarian food available anywhere. Italy is no exception, and with their well known culinary expertise, it’s likely you’ll feel like you have dined and gone to heaven.

Italy is such an amazing country – nearly every place you visit is steeped in history and art – the landscapes display fields of fresh crops, and rows and rows of some of the most spectacular gardens imaginable.

It definitely has it’s mind on growing fresh food in the most unusual places – as is evident in the hillsides and in the unique terrain used. Its as if each piece of land is usable to grow something – anything, regardless of the unusual geography.

Hills are full of fruit trees, and rows and rows of veggies, and lots of grape vines. Yes, Italians love their vino!

Its no wonder that finding a great veggie eatery is so easy in Florence, the city well known as the birthplace of Michelangelo and the home of his ‘David’.

More…. Social Expat

With the number of vegetarians in the world increasing, to the tune of 10 percent per year – due to the realization that lifestyle is more beneficial in sustaining health, longevity and prevention of disease, it comes as no surprise that in most parts of the world, finding a good vegetarian eatery is not as challenging as one might think.

Truth be told, Italians have been partial to vegetables, breads and pasta for centuries, especially in the impoverished areas where meat was not as readily available because of cost or convenience. So you won’t be startled to learn that when I visited Tuscany, and sat at a meal table asking “Sono vegetariana,” I got nods and smiles, and nobody made a face. “Non c’è problema” was the response. (no problem!)

My father and grandmother came over the ‘big drink’ to the U.S. in 1921 in search of a better life – and since money was tight, my family ate a lot of pasta e fagiolio (pasta and beans), and a dish my family called poparelle, made with baked, crusted cornbread (polenta) and sautéed greens which was popular in Abruzzo …and many other vegetarian dishes, including every possible way imaginable to smother and enhance polenta.

Happily this truth remains today – and finding a great meal that has nothing but ‘good fresh stuff’ is easy to find and promises a treat to any palate, after all, the Italians are known for their extraordinary food. Who would turn down a steaming plate of penne pasta smothered in marinara sauce?

The more populated areas seem to be offering more and more ‘exclusive’ vegetarian restaurants, and Tuscany is definitely one of them.

Tuscany – with it’s amazing wineries, world-renowned art museums and rolling hills that lead to beautiful beaches and coves, offers more than a place steeped in history, and beauty. It offers meals exclusively tailored to those of us who refrain from flesh.

It’s most popular vegetarian restaurants are well known and highly established. Finding them should be as easy as asking a hotel concierge or taxi driver, and from the reviews, they are worth seeking.

Read More:  Social Expat

Since recently reading one of my favorite Author’s articles on the exact same topic of Happy Cows, I thought I’d put my thoughts down on the subject as well.  Since the swindlers are advertising Milk now as well as Cheese in Happy Cow, California …. (actually those commercials are filmed in New Zealand). I am a little bit more frustrated about this entire fabrication.

Happy Cows come from California

The television commercial, “Happy Cows come from California” airs on National television at least daily, in several different scenarios. The central commercial is depicting female milk cows in a beautiful pasture scene talking about how wonderful their lives are in California, sometimes introducing a new cow from another state raving about the weather and how beautiful it is there. The ad goes on to claim “Great cheese comes from happy cows. Happy cows come from California” portrayed in big bold words on your screen.

Surveys have proven the effectiveness of the inclusion of animals into an advertisement, photo or commercial. (Think Geico/gecko or the Aflac duck).  It draws the viewers’ attention to the ad by using a subject that creates an emotional response, as most people love animals. This ad is also playing on the heartstrings of people who are concerned with animal welfare but who are unaware of the reality of the dairy business. The industry that is spending billions of dollars on these advertisements appears to be trying to influence people into believing that their production of dairy is humane and safe. This could not be further from the truth. A huge percentage of people eat cheese, so their target audience is the general consumer, i.e. anyone who shops for and consumes food. This ad is also making an effort to ease consumers’ concern for ethics in dairy production practices.

The commercial is focused on an idyllic scene of cows in a grassy green pasture with rolling hills, a few oak trees scattered around for shade, a sunny day and blue sky with white puffy clouds and a red, old-fashioned barn in the background – typical of a Norman Rockwell painting. The cows are smiling and seemingly happy. All of the cows pictured are Holstein bred cows (black and white), which are the most common milk cow used today. They are exceptionally clean and give the impression of being well fed, both physically and emotionally, and appear to be living a life of bliss.

The Milk Advisory Board paying for these commercials is obviously trying to thwart any notion of abuse or misuse of these beautiful and peaceful creatures because evidence has proven otherwise. (1) This ad also appears to be a reaction to the many lawsuits filed against the industry for inhumane treatment by the groups attempting to hold them accountable for their actions. (2) This ad also appears to be a huge endeavor to keep afloat in a seriously drowning industry. The milk industry is experiencing a downturn in business as more and more dairy farms are closing regularly. (3) It seems that keeping cows alive and well enough to produce 100 times the milk that would naturally be produced for their offspring, with added antibiotics, bovine growth hormones and all the other foreign garbage they feed them is costing them a fortune. Cows continue to die prematurely at an alarming rate as a consequence of their maltreatment and the industries profits die right along with them.

False advertising is a crime, however, considering that the bovine sensibilities and pain thresholds are difficult to prove since they cannot speak, the milk industry, since winning one arm of the lawsuit brought to them by PETA, has the OK from the legal system to continue to air these commercials. The Milk Advisory Board is trying to appeal to their viewers sense of ethics and morals by relieving consciences for the consumption of inhumane animal products in an effort to help the industry look beautiful, kind, loving and oh-so responsible. Their appeal to consumers is an attempt to provide proof – via these commercials – that their dairies and products are safe and nutritious. That most consumers cannot live without the protein or outstanding health benefits they supply. Unfortunately they have reached deep into their pockets to put out some of the most blatant lies ever aired on television.

The fact that advertisers in all facets of our lives try to ‘trick’ us into buying their products by appealing to some deeply seeded need or deceptive emotional requirement is absolutely unethical. What is even more astonishing is that a large percentage of consumers fall for the ads. We all purchase products without further research, trusting that these companies deliver what they are selling. We as consumers have to learn that not a single ad on television in newspapers or magazines can be trusted.

The illegal ad practice known as  “failure to inform” is what is being used in the “Happy Cow” commercials; however, there are probably a few others not identified. False advertising has become big business and a consumer nightmare.

The point is that it is shameful that this type of deceit exists at all.  Most people like myself are easily fooled when it comes to merchandise that promises to make us look and feel younger, thinner, grow more hair, even have better sex.  Most of these things tempt customers to purchase based on the premise that these products will work.  Why?  Because the advertisement stated that it would. I think as consumers, we have to realize that there is a heck of a lot of deception going on out there in the marketing and advertising industry.

What the Happy Cow commercials are selling is good clean dairy food, namely cheese. Dairy is a food that is very detrimental to the human body.  The Milk Advisory Board knows this; they have all seen the reports, statistics and the evidence of cancer, heart disease, diabetes, obesity and a host of other ailments that their products cause. (4) But ethics and responsibility fly out the window when the bottom line is money. How much money can they make with these contemptible commercials? How many more people can they fool into purchasing their products? Plenty. Their ads are effective and their tactics are working. In researching some comments on this ad from Happy Cow websites, most people who comment state they “just love” these commercials. Some even believe that this is the life cows lead in dairy farms. Most don’t even get up or change the television channel when the ad airs. They think the cows and the scenarios are adorable and the ad is appealing to the audiences’ pathos and in many cases logos.

I think we must become smarter and wiser than succumbing to these deceptive advertisements. That is the bottom line in fighting this trickery, not buying the products that do not project truth, which fuels their pockets to do more of the same.

1.            Advocacy for Animals;

2007 The big Business of Dairy Farming; Big trouble for cows

http://advocacy.britannica.com/blog/advocacy/2007/06/dairy-farming/

Unhappy cows come from California:

(http://tinyurl.com/yaj854o) or (http://www.unhappycows.com/)

2        UnhappyCows.com: 2010 PETA Takes “Happy Cows” Lawsuit to Higher                                                             Court. www.peta.org/feat/caldairy/index.html

3      Burnett, John – NPR

2009 Independent Farmers feel Squeezed by Milk Cartel

http://tinyurl.com/ncnalq

4.            Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM)

2010 Health Concerns about Dairy Products

http://www.pcrm.org/health/veginfo/dairy.html

Thelma and Beauty

The animals I am lucky enough to share my life with – never cease to amaze me with the kindness they show to one another.  Of course there is the occasional misunderstanding, or pecking order disagreement, but generally the chickens, turkeys, ducks, peacocks and all of the others are simply amazing in the love and kindness, even empathy – shown to one another.

The photo that is attached shows Thelma, one of the turkey’s I have adopted, and Beauty, an older Rhode Island Red chicken who has been with me her entire life…

Beauty is getting old by chicken standards, and it shows it in her walk -  a slight limp and a very slow methodical manner of getting around is what can be seen from the outside.  She is very trusting and sweet, and comes to humans for pets on occasion.  She sometimes gets picked on by the younger chickens.  But, Thelma is having none of that.  She actually sits next to Beauty, sometimes covering her with a wing in a protective pose and when anyone comes around to touch Beauty’s food or thinks about picking on her, Thelma puts herself between Beauty and the other animal.   When I see this, it displays love in a fashion that I wish I knew more of in this world.

Thelma passes up some of the treats I throw outside, something that most fowl will never do, in order to stay close to Beauty.  It is astonishing how kind and gentle turkeys are, it took me awhile to realize they were such loving, kind and gentle beings.  They have always been aloof, even to me, who raised them as babies,  but to take on an older chicken to protect is beyond any kindness or empathy I would’ve imagined from a turkey.  One of the “labeled”  creatures for being the least intelligent.  There is no stupidity in any turkey I have ever known. In fact, I’ve known more unintelligent human beings.

I am continually amazed at turkeys.  They move in a slow and steady manner, never getting ruffled or excited, unless threatened by a peacock or an aggressive rooster, and even then, they perk up their feathers, show a little strength, and go on their merry way.  Not ever have I seen a turkey actually attack or try to harm another animal who lives on this farm.

In the mornings when I open the pen to allow them their freedom, they are graceful and excited to be free and enthusiastically run toward the feeding area making excited cooing sounds…they usually spend their days dust bathing, picking at plants and grass and are peaceful and quiet creatures.

I cannot imagine ever doing any harm to any of these loving birds.  I rescue them, but I would never consider eating them.  I imagine what their brothers and sisters, OUR brothers and sisters for that matter are enduring in factory farms and slaughterhouses.  These gentle birds constantly suffering makes me very sad.  That someone could do harm to another creature who by nature protects older chickens – sickens me.  I wish I could save them all.

Instead, I plea to others who do not have the opportunity to know turkeys the way that I do, to take my word – and to please help them too.  Start by not eating them.  Our food industry is consumer driven.  The more of us that refrain from purchasing these beloved animals in those plastic wrapped packages, the more our voices will ring out that we don’t agree with the lives these animals lead.

Hope is the baby duckling hatched with only one moving leg -the bad one is stuck in the bent position and won’t open.   I wasn’t sure she would make it – at first.  She could barely reach the food or water, and didn’t seem interested. I held her up to the food and water several times a day and she would eat and drink, but would not eat or drink on her own.

(more…)

Dr. Grandin’s book “Animals Make Us Human” was a disappointment to this animal rights/vegan.  I can only justify the reason for its apparent popularity, in part, to the underlying supposition being similar to Mr. John Mackey’s (CEO of Whole Foods) Humane Meat premise.  One that is predicated on an attempt to give readers some “guilt relief” in their consumption of animal flesh and secretions and minimizes the responsibility to really consider the consequences of their actions on animals, the environment and health.

(more…)

The Missing Peace, The Hidden Power of our Kinship with Animals:  Tina Volpe, Judy Carman

In this time of war, recession, foreclsosures, high gas prices and a very shaky economy, discovering inner peace and unending joy is essential to surviving and remaining helpful, compassionate, happy and loving.

The Missing Peace is the book designed to do just that.

(more…)