Food, food--poisonous food.

It's been some time since I've updated this blog. At some point over the past few months, I grew weary of that ever-present "news cycle"--the constant dirge of misery, warning of an impeding apocalypse and collapse of society. It's possible the smug hosts of Marketplace (and others like them) may have contributed to my fatigue, with their flippant talk about an economic crisis they weren't actually experiencing. Regardless of the source, though, I grew tired of the endless noise, and unconsciously decided to step away from the activist circle, away from the fiery tempers, away from the indignation and outrage. As valid and necessary as these things may be, at times life can be rocky enough on it's own without someone standing on the sidelines, narrating every unhappiness.

And yet...here I am again.

What for, you may ask...?

Well, as it turns out, my husband and I have gradually been improving our diet over the past few years, picking up new information here and there and adjusting our intake accordingly--and at this point, I have to admit we've become a part of the food activism movement. Which means Whole Foods, organic produce, strangely named grains, food restrictions, and a number of other stereotypes I may not be aware of. I suppose this shouldn't be completely surprising, since I was vegetarian for 9 years when I was younger. But I really did think I'd gotten it out of my system.

It all started innocently enough, around the time I discovered chain restaurants like Chili's and Cheesecake Factory aren't just "bad for you"--they're downright criminal. With an average of 1000-3000 calories per meal, it became obvious to me that consumers who eat at these establishments aren't just enjoying a casual meal, they're eating something intentionally and otherwise unnecessarily designed to be toxic, fatty, and addictive. Even worse are the restaurants who refuse to share their ingredient and nutrition information with their customers, deliberately maintaining a shroud of ignorance and removing all potential for them to make informed decisions.

But to be honest, that was just the beginning.

At the time, I already had a longstanding personal boycott on "fast food", but after learning how toxic chain restaurants can be, we stopped attending them altogether. This decision caused us to pay new attention to our diet and menu, because although we'd never eaten out much, we were suddenly aware of how easy it can be to consume recklessly.

And so it continued. In came an influx of veggies, homemade dishes, spices and more. I should mention I have the incredible fortune of being married to a fantastic man, and on top of that, a spectacular chef--so we were able to explore our culinary choices with enthusiasm. Natural foods became more commonplace in our household, red meat was almost nonexistent, processed foods were out. Our tastes became more sophisticated and our health began to improve. My long battle with hypoglycemia (and his with migraines) slowly started to dissipate, and we became acutely aware of how our diet was affecting our lives.





Then came the following documentary, a sneak peek into the British food industry. I don't recall how we stumbled across it--in fact, it may have been through StumbleUpon, or a random link clicking adventure on youtube. Either way, we both sat rapt, and watched it from start to finish.









The info about the chickens was a particular shocker for both of us, and without much discussion, another month passed without either of us eating any meat. This was accompanied by an uncomfortable revelation I had during a roadtrip through the Rocky Mountains, where we happened to pass two eighteen wheelers packed like sardines with full grown pigs. One pig in particular struck a chord with me--he sat despondent, head hung, and I could see his depression and pain quite clearly. The feeling I got from these animals wasn't the one I experienced around chickens or even cows...it was as though I was passing a truck filled with dogs headed off for slaughter. And that thought made me feel ill, despite all my post-vegetarian pragmatism and hard heartedness.

http://www.savebabe.com/




So, pork was out. Chicken was ridiculously fatty. Other types of red meat had already become too heavy for us to enjoy, as a result of our changing diet. And although we didn't want or intend to become vegetarians, we were so turned off by the idea of what we'd been eating, meat simply became sparser and sparser in our diets. On the rare occasion we did want it, we actively sought out local butchers, farm-raised chicken, wild caught fish, and so on. But despite that...it mostly lost it's appeal.

Then came the news that we were eating mercury.

High fructose corn syrup (HFCS), that is. That lovely little additive everyone's heard of, but no one seems able to describe. Again, I'm not sure what caused me to investigate the substance, but it didn't take much before I was horrified.

Chi-Tang Ho et al. found that soft drinks sweetened with HFCS are up to 10 times richer in harmful carbonyl compounds, such as methylglyoxal, than a diet soft drink control.[29] Carbonyl compounds are elevated in people with diabetes and are blamed for causing diabetic complications such as foot ulcers and eye and nerve damage."

"In a 2007 study, rats were fed a diet high in fat and HFCS and kept relatively sedentary for 16 weeks in an attempt to emulate the diet and lifestyle of many Americans.[35] The rats were not forced to eat, but were able to eat as much as they wanted; they consumed a large amount of food, and the researcher, Dr. Tetri stated that there is evidence that fructose suppresses the sensation of fullness. Within four weeks, the rats showed early signs of fatty liver disease and type II diabetes."

"A pilot study reported that some high-fructose corn syrup manufactured in the U.S. in 2005 contained trace amounts of mercury." [Source.]

And on and on. So it not only slows the metabolism, but it causes the body to retain fat and makes you feel like you're never full. Fabulous! Even more fun, HFCS didn't appear until the mid 1970's, and as its use has become more widespread, so have rates of obesity, heart disease, diabetes, and cancer. Not to mention the whole mercury thing...which is toxic in all forms, and linked to mental and emotional instability.





So, HFCS was out. But this decision turned out to be an adventure, because as we discovered, HFCS is in EVERYTHING. It's in all the stuff you'd expect--soda, chips, candy, junk food. But since we didn't eat any of that, we figured we were probably ok.

Wrong.

Mind-bogglingly enough, this handy little mixture isn't just in junk food and every processed food imaginable. It's also in many types of basic bread (including whole grain, 7 and 9 and 12 grain, and many other fancy breads that trick you into thinking you're eating healthfully). It's in yogurt. It's in crackers. It's in salad dressings. It's in juice. It's in pasta sauce. It's in nearly anything you can think of, which means despite any "Corn Growers Association" propaganda ads that tell you HFCS is "safe in moderation"--it's also impossible to escape it.

Basically, we've all been eating a chemically processed corn based sugar additive that changes the basic functions of our bodies, and didn't even know it. Worse still...most people 50 and younger have been eating it every single day for the majority of their lives. We've already seen the health effects. The correlation isn't accidental. But the real question is--what's the quality of life going to be for each new generation, as more and more food contains HFCS?





Sufficiently scared and pissed off, I was able to take this new information and look back on my youthful struggles with weight and blood sugar management in a new light--a light that eliminated the refrain, "It was somehow your fault" and reframed it to: "You just didn't know."

But now I do, and refuse to continue eating poison.

It only took another month for the absence of HFCS in our diet to become apparent. We both suddenly (and unintentionally) lost weight, and noticed a spike in our energy. Food tasted different, too...bell peppers and carrots and garlic became so flavorful, at times they were almost too much to handle. We also became increasingly aware of "when we were full", and portions that had been adequate for years suddenly seemed monstrously large. In short, we were experiencing a reversal of all the "purported" effects HFCS can have on the human body.

And we haven't stopped. Day by day, week by week, month by month--we learn more and more about what we're putting into our bodies, and continuously strive to make ethical and non-toxic choices that won't put our health (and quality of life) at risk. We're not rich or living in the lap of luxury, and at times it's been admittedly difficult and frustrating to spend more time and money on the content of our pantry. But the question, "Do you want to eat mercury, or not?" doesn't seem like much of a choice. My answer is a resounding "NO."





At this point, I'd like to rekindle this space once more, if only to air my grievances at the food industry and discuss new information. I'd also like to delve a bit into the recently released movie 'Food Inc.' and a few books I've discovered about ethical and non-addictive food, as well as genetically modified food, Monsanto, bovine-growth hormone, aluminum in deodorant, aspartame, and the magic of quinoa...among others. But I think this will do for now.

In the meantime, if you're sharing (or interested in sharing) this crusade with me--what have you learned? What are you eating? What challenges have you faced in your journey so far?

Surprisingly positive:

White House Council on Women and Girls

Warning--New sexual assault "game"

Apparently this is a new "game" in some European countries, where a concealed man runs up to a woman he doesn't know, in a public place, then yanks her shirt off or pulls her skirt/pants and underwear down. The video is NSFW, and upsetting to anyone who has been sexually assaulted. Just thought I'd pass the word along, since some of the comments I've seen seem to be suggesting this "game" will catch on in America (and if you live outside of the US, please be aware).

Watch Video Here

Reporter throws shoes at President Bush

Via Reuters/Yahoo News
By Waleed Ibrahim
Decemeber 15

"Zaidi shouted "this is a goodbye kiss from the Iraqi people, dog," at Bush in a news conference he held with Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki during a farewell visit to Baghdad on Sunday.

The journalist then flung one shoe at Bush, forcing him to duck, followed by another, which sailed over Bush's head and slammed into the wall behind him. Throwing shoes at someone is the worst possible insult in the Arab world.

Zaidi was dragged struggling and screaming from the room by security guards and could be heard shouting outside while the news conference continued after momentary mayhem."

Continue reading, or watch the video of the incident here.

Heartbreaking: Terrorism against women.

The New York Times
By NICHOLAS D. KRISTOF
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan


Terrorism in this part of the world usually means bombs exploding or hotels burning, as the latest horrific scenes from Mumbai attest. Yet alongside the brutal public terrorism that fills the television screens, there is an equally cruel form of terrorism that gets almost no attention and thrives as a result: flinging acid on a woman’s face to leave her hideously deformed.

Here in Pakistan, I’ve been investigating such acid attacks, which are commonly used to terrorize and subjugate women and girls in a swath of Asia from Afghanistan through Cambodia (men are almost never attacked with acid). Because women usually don’t matter in this part of the world, their attackers are rarely prosecuted and acid sales are usually not controlled. It’s a kind of terrorism that becomes accepted as part of the background noise in the region.

This month in Afghanistan, men on motorcycles threw acid on a group of girls who dared to attend school. One of the girls, a 17-year-old named Shamsia, told reporters from her hospital bed: “I will go to my school even if they kill me. My message for the enemies is that if they do this 100 times, I am still going to continue my studies.”

When I met Naeema Azar, a Pakistani woman who had once been an attractive, self-confident real estate agent, she was wearing a black cloak that enveloped her head and face. Then she removed the covering, and I flinched.

Acid had burned away her left ear and most of her right ear. It had blinded her and burned away her eyelids and most of her face, leaving just bone.

Six skin grafts with flesh from her leg have helped, but she still cannot close her eyes or her mouth; she will not eat in front of others because it is too humiliating to have food slip out as she chews.

“Look at Naeema, she has lost her eyes,” sighed Shahnaz Bukhari, a Pakistani activist who founded an organization to help such women, and who was beginning to tear up. “She makes me cry every time she comes in front of me.”

Continue reading, and watch a video about this story.

Why is the LDS Church afraid of GLBT people?

Last Friday there was a rally in Salt Lake City. The announcement came through email, and I anxiously passed the word around. It had been arranged quickly, by a man who planned to marry his longtime partner in California this spring. With the passage of Proposition 8, that ceremony can no longer take place.

Rallies have been going on all over California since November 5th, but this was the first show of support from Utah. It was a cool night, and dark by the time we arrived. I worried only a handful of people would show up, and my husband and I walked towards the park with woven hands and set faces.

The first thing I saw was a group of counter-protesters. They waved signs and shouted about Adam and Steve, tradition, and shame. Many smirked and jeered as protesters moved towards the park, and though I met their gaze, they looked away. The sadness filling my chest and stomach since November 5th moved to my eyes. I tried to remind myself this was nothing new, nothing to be shocked by.

After walking up a short hill, I was glad to see the turnout for the rally was thousands strong. The weak sound system prevented most of the crowd from hearing the speakers, but soon after, there was a call to march. The relief and building excitement was palatable; a march was something distinct, a clear statement we could all participate in. We were desperate for something to do.

As we circled Temple Square, the city block owned by the LDS church, I was stunned to see the gates were closed and members of the Mormon church and security team stood grim faced on the other side. They seemed to be frightened of us, anticipating aggression. I looked around at my fellow marchers--middle aged gay and lesbian couples, children with gay parents, mothers with infants, shy teenagers--and back at the people behind the gates. What were they afraid of? Why were they surprised by our frustration..?

I am still trying to answer these questions. Since Friday, I've tracked the responses to the rally and similar protests around the country. The GLBT community is uniting in a way I've never seen before; people are talking, planning, and hoping at last to gain the rights they have been denied for so long. Generation after generation, people have silently struggled, unable to live openly for fear of losing their family, friends, jobs, and even their lives. And now they're coming out of the woodwork to stand in solidarity with others who've shared their struggle. It's exhilarating.

In contrast, the LDS church has decried the protests, and many members have indicated that they feel persecuted. Confused by this response, I had a prolonged discussion with a Mormon woman who supported Proposition 8. I did my best to explain why people are frustrated and angry; that church leaders held closed meetings with Yes on Prop 8 managers and donated 2-5 thousand dollars despite being a 501(c)(3), while LDS members contributed over 20 million dollars to support a campaign based on deceit and lies. I told her that many feel the church used and manipulated their followers into acting as a massive political lobbying machine, and believe the Mormon Church defied both tax law and the Constitution of the United States.

I also tried to point out that it was the responsibility of LDS church leaders to think through the possible consequences of their actions. Getting involved in controversial political issues is always risky, and likely to provoke anger. Certain events since the election have confirmed this, because although GLBT leaders have made it clear they support nonviolent resistance, certain people will always choose aggression when they are angry. If the Mormon church didn't want to face criticism, why did it blatantly encourage members to strip rights from a community that has nothing to do with them?





Only now am I beginning to understand why. As I've come to learn, people of strong religious tradition often feel entitled to create and enforce rules. The Rules are their salvation--all that keeps them from going astray--and they believe more rules are needed to save the world from itself. More than that, they believe they are working as agents of God. The rules are His, His truth is the only Truth, and the world is divided into distinct categories of Good and Evil: those who follow the rules, and those who don't. This world view makes life, in all its complexities, seem much simpler. When an explicit rule system is provided, you do not have to think, question, or doubt. Everything is easier.

But the GLBT community defies these rules, this narrow perception of the world, by its very existence. We are gray (or rainbow). For many of us, gender and sexuality fall on a spectrum that cannot be defined or constrained--which is a direct contradiction to the religious view. Our experiences, our truth, tells us that labels do not work, and that humanity is infinitely diverse and changing. We cannot be sorted and separated into neatly defined categories. We are complicated--and this is maddening for those who want and need the world to be simple.





In other words, the values of the LDS church and the GLBT community are too different to ever reach an understanding. Their members often feel their lives depend on their ability to cling to the rules. Since we do not fit those rules, we cannot be considered Good or even benign--and they are justified in their actions against us.

The woman I spoke with told me that the church does not hate gay people, but it considers their 'lifestyle choice' to be unnatural and deviant. In turn, I explained that the GLBT community does not hate the Mormon church, but it considers their beliefs on homosexuality to be bigoted and abhorrent. Fact of the matter is, these views will never be reconciled--and they do not need to be. LDS people have the right to worship as they please, whether we agree with their belief structure or not. And I think most members and supporters of the GLBT community acknowledge that. Despite our anger, we know we have no right to dictate their beliefs or lifestyle.

But the LDS church (and many others) clearly does not share this stance. Their belief in rules made them feel entitled to dictate the lives of others, whether Mormon or not, and they did not anticipate that their authority would be challenged. Likening themselves as the "parents" of society, they sought to enforce boundaries when they had no right to do so. And like many parents, they also refuse to acknowledge their own fallibility. They are confused and frightened by our anger, and continue to believe their decisions were righteous and correct.

Regardless, the LDS church is not the parent of society. Despite their feelings of righteousness, it was and is not their privilege to lobby for laws that enforce religious beliefs--which is precisely what Proposition 8 does. There exists no non-religious argument against gay marriage, which means many members of the religious community deliberately supported a law based on religious doctrine, though doing so is strictly prohibited by the Constitution.





And this is why we are angry. This is why we are protesting. For too long, conservative Americans have used religion as an excuse to deny rights to many citizens, and Proposition 8 is a very clear symbol of this truth. The religious community does not 'own' marriage, nor does it have the right to dictate who can and cannot be protected under the law. Since there seems to be some confusion on this point, it is now the responsibility of the GLBT community to take a stand against religious conservatives who crossed the line.

Sadly, what conservatives fail to understand is that GLBT people truly mean them no harm. In fact, most gay people want little to do with religious doctrine, much less change it--and if religious conservatives would simply leave us alone, we would by happy to do the same. All gay Americans want is to be acknowledged as full and equal citizens, including the right to civil marriage. This has no effect on religious marriage. They are two separate ideas, and allowing gay people that right will not mean the government can dictate what happens inside church walls.

If only the LDS church and others like it could understand. There should not be a need for conflict. There should not be a need for anger. There should not be a need to march. If churches simply focused on their parish, and allowed others to live their lives, we would not be having this debate. And I sincerely wish that were the case.





At the end of my conversation with the Mormon supporter of Proposition 8, she asked me what it would take for the homosexual community to feel satisfied that they had achieved their goals. Would it end with the passage of homosexual marriage in all 50 states, full adoption rights, and ability to openly serve in the military? Or would there be another hurdle to overcome?

I replied:

"I think I will feel we have succeeded when this is no longer something that needs to be debated. Meaning--I will be content once it is considered irrelevant and offensive to discuss which rights GLBT people deserve.

In my mind, we will have succeeded when "gay" is no longer used as a substitute for "stupid" or "disgusting". We will have succeeded when a GLBT couple can walk hand and hand down the street of any American city, without fear that someone will drive by screaming "faggot", spit on them, and throw things (or perhaps wait around the corner, hoping to beat them within an inch of their lives). We will have succeeded when employees are no longer terminated on bogus charges, shortly after their boss discovers (or even suspects) they might not be heterosexual. We will have succeeded when it is considered sick and absurd to assume GLBT people are, by default, child molesters. When hospital staff members no longer tell gay couples who have devoted their lives to one another that they don't 'count' as family, even as one of them lays sick and dying in the other room--we will have succeeded."





Personally, I will be satisfied when society is no longer afraid of GLBT people, desperately consumed by what may or may not go on in the privacy of their bedrooms, and seeking to punish them for merely being who they are. It breaks my heart to acknowledge that I don't think this will happen in my lifetime. But I will continue to fight, with the hope that I might see that day before I go.

Change.gov

The Obama Administration has launched a new site. Check it out:

www.change.gov

I'm still exploring, but the "American Moment" page definitely caught my eye. They're inviting Americans to write in, tell their story, and discuss the issues that matter most to them. In other words, "share with us your concerns and hopes, and the policies you want to see carried out in the next four years". This is a definite opportunity for activists against Proposition 8 to speak out. I hope you'll join me in writing a letter to our new administration, expressing your dismay over the loss of rights in California that took place on the very day of their election.

Why isn't love enough?

Bittersweet Celebration

History has been made. A black Democratic president has been elected. His wife is strong, and their relationship is egalitarian. His vice president not only acknowledges the existence of women, he fights for their rights. It is a triumph for the United States, and a hopeful precedent for the world.

My husband and I barely got a chance to sit with bated breath as the election was called surprisingly early. We both refused to believe it--we've been down this road before. It's our policy not to believe in anything until the proof is in our hands; perhaps it's a result of being poor, but optimism is a luxury we've rarely been able to afford. And yet, we heard McCain on the radio, conceding the election. We saw FOX News announce that Obama had won. And at 10 pm Mountain Time, we saw Obama take the stage to deliver his first speech as president elect of the United States.

I did not drink the kool aid, as cynical Republicans like to sneer. I am a pragmatist, and I recognize the limitations of Barack Obama. He is human. Mistakes will be made, I am sure. He may fail to deliver on certain promises, although I ardently hope he will not let us down. But in spite of this awareness, I am so grateful to him for everything he has already done. I am grateful to him for inspiring the country, for addressing the struggles of working people, for acting as an impetus of change. I am hopeful--and that is a first in a long time.

Yes, there were tears on my cheeks by the time he was done. He called his wife his best friend, and it was evident he meant it. She did not stand idly by with blank eyes and a plastered smile, as so many First Ladies are prone to do. She clutched his arms, embraced him, said "I love you", and took her place as his equal partner. My husband kept his arm around me, and I was moved to see the respect we have for one another mirrored on screen.

I am sad that half our country was unable to share in the victory we experienced last night. I am sad that shortsightedness, anger and lingering bigotry prevented many people from appreciating the enormity of this event. Forty years after the thoughtless murder of Martin Luther King Jr, our country has come together at last to elect an African American president. I only wish all citizens would celebrate this fact.

In the midst of my joy, I am brokenhearted to know that on such a momentous day in history, our country has once again proved how much work there is yet to do. Across the country, we saw triumph for women's rights and social progress--yet on four separate occasions, we saw utter failure to support and uplift members of the GLBT community. Not only did we fail to gain rights, we failed to keep rights. With the passage of Proposition 8, over 18,000 Californian couples will now have their marriages called into question. They have been told their relationships are illegitimate. They have been told, in no shortage of words, that their rights don't count.

It sickens me to know that when I go to the store tonight, I will likely be shopping alongside members of the LDS church who eagerly donated their money to support this hateful proposition. What's worse, I doubt many of them can explain why they did so. "Church leaders told them so", and in their eyes, that's enough. Their blindness and fear led them to support hate, even when many can't articulate why. Which makes it all the more heartbreaking--rights have been stripped from so many people, and for what? For what cause? For what belief? For what reason?

I am excited for January to come, and thrilled to live in a country with an incumbent leader who shares my passion for social responsibility, social justice, and social change. I am ecstatic at the prospect of having a First Lady who I know will act as a champion for women. And I am eager to see what our new Vice President does with his position, knowing the efforts he has made in the past. The idea of living in a world where I don't feel beaten down by our own President is overwhelming and foreign. And the prospect of living in a country where the government doesn't automatically seek to squelch the rights of any person who might not be white, straight, male, rich and privileged is beyond belief.

I only hope that the climate of our country can change enough to provide real equality for everyone, someday.

And I am so sorry that day is not today.