Calcium: Collard Greens Have More Than Milk

According to this article from the Harvard School of Public Health, one cup of collard greens contains 357 milligrams of calcium, but a cup of milk has 306. Collard greens also are one of the leafy greens with calcium that is more absorbent. (Some greens like spinach contain oxalic acid which interferes with absorption of calcium).

In addition to calcium, Collard greens contain Vitamin K which plays a role with calcium in keeping bones healthy and strong. Three proteins in bone depend upon Vitamin K to function. Collard greens are a member of the cabbage family. The leafy vegetable has been a regular part of American cooking in the South, aka ’soul’ food for decades. (They were also popular with the ancient Greeks and Romans). In the South, they are often cooked with black eyed peas. A Collard Greens Festival has been held for several years in East Palo Alto celebrating Southern African-American culture.

In Portugal, soup is made with the greens, potatoes, onions, garlic, salt, savoy cabbage, and pork sausage, although tofu could be substituted for the pork.

Kevin Gianni has a video for Vegetable Wraps with Collard Greens and Tahini Sauce. Chef Keith Snow provides some video tips for washing and cooking them Southern Style.

The vegetable is usually planted in the early spring. In the South it can also be planted in midsummer and harvested in fall or early winter.

*article from Care2.com
(http://www.care2.com/greenliving/calcium-collard-greens-have-more-than-milk.html)

The Truth About Foie Gras

Kate Winslet Exposes Foie Gras Cruelty.

Oscar-winner Kate Winslet is following in the footsteps of other great actors, including Sir Roger Moore, in urging consumers and retailers to drop foie gras. She narrates this PETA exclusive video revealing undercover investigation footage of the cruelty that is endured by ducks and geese who are abused for this delicacy of despair.

Foie gras, which literally translates to "fatty liver," is made from the engorged livers of ducks and geese. Kate describes, "To produce foie gras, ducks and geese are force-fed enormous amounts of grain and fat, which causes their livers to swell to many times the normal size."

When these feeding pipes are jammed into the birds, their throats are often punctured and the birds can suffer from severe tissue damage and internal bleeding.

Help Kate and myself spread the word about the tortures of foie gras.

*article from peta.org
(http://www.peta.org/FeatureKateWinsletExposesFoieGrasCruelty.asp)

Pamela Anderson's Vegan Milkshake

Pamela Anderson teamed up with PETA at Los Angeles' Millions of Milkshakes to launch her new vegan milkshake concoction. The "Pamela Anderson" is a vegan vanilla soft-serve blended with coconut and pineapple. Yum!

When Anderson was asked why it is beneficial to be vegan, Anderson replied, "It's healthier. It did it just to be healthy. I wanted to make healthier choices."

"Leading health experts agree that going vegetarian is the single-best thing we can do for ourselves and our families. Healthy vegetarian diets support a lifetime of good health and provide protection against numerous diseases, including our country’s three biggest killers: heart disease, cancer, and strokes. The American Dietetic Association states that vegetarians have “lower rates of death from ischemic heart disease, lower blood cholesterol levels, lower blood pressure, and lower rates of hypertension, type 2 diabetes, and prostate and colon cancer” and that vegetarians are less likely than meat-eaters to be obese."

Well-planned vegetarian diets provide us with all the nutrients that we need, minus all the saturated fat, cholesterol, and contaminants found in animal flesh, eggs, and dairy products.

Be Nice to Bunnies

Stephanie Pratt, an outspoken animal advocate and star of the hit MTV series "The Hills", bares her buns to save bunnies, rats, mice, guinea pigs, and other animals from excruciatingly painful and unreliable animal tests for products.

Olivia Munn Combats Circus Cruelty

Olivia Munn has a soft spot for animals and was shocked to learn that elephants used in circuses are torn from their mothers at birth. They are bound and electroshocked as babies in order to break their spirits. They spend the rest of their lives performing silly, meaningless tricks out of constant fear of physical punishment, including beatings with bullhooks—sharp, metal-tipped implements that resemble fireplace pokers.

Since elephants are not naturally inclined to balance on balls, stand on their heads, or perform tricks, trainers use whips, tight collars, muzzles, electric prods, bullhooks, and other painful tools to force them to perform these physically uncomfortable tasks. Elephants used by Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus are beaten, hit, poked, prodded, and jabbed with sharp hooks, sometimes until bloody. When they are not performing, elephants—who walk up to 30 miles a day in their natural environment—spend their time in chains as the circus travels from city to city.

Olivia Munn explains, "When you look at something like the circus and everyone's laughing and there's color and there's music and everything seems so great, but when you go right behind that door and they're in these crates all day long and then they're getting shocked and beat just so they can get up and dance around on a ball. It was just so sickening." Please join Olivia in helping to stop cruelty under the big top and spread the word about this important issue to everyone you know!



*Story reported by PETA (People for Ethical Treatment of Animals) http://www.peta.org/FeatureOliviaMunn.asp

Too Much Sex for Jenna Jameson?

Jenna Jameson discusses how too much sex can be bad especially for animals. Millions of unwanted cats and dogs are born on the streets who starve to death or are hit by cars. Educate yourself. Spay or neuter your animals.

The Naked Vegetarian: Alicia Silverstone

Sexy Hollywood star Alicia Silverstone bares all in PETA's first-ever naked vegetarian testimonial. Watch Alicia's sexy video, directed by acclaimed director Dave Meyers, whose credits include videos for Britney Spears, OutKast, and Dave Matthews Band.

Alicia Silverstone, like many individuals, was not always a vegetarian. It was only after meeting some farm animals where she realized that these animals were no different than a domestic dog or cat. These cows and chickens have feelings and feel pain. From that point, she decided to become a vegetarian.

After becoming a vegan, not only has she helped animal suffering, but Alicia has noticed significant changes in her body physically and spiritually. Alicia has been a vegan for over 10 years.