The Meaty Truth (23 page)

In college? There is never a better time to start changing your diet. You will need to be on your A game to get the grade. College students are known for following the CCC diet of carbs, caffeine, and candy. However, after learning about the harmful effects of meat on our health and environment, one in five college students have ditched meat from their dinner plates and are holding the cheese on their pizzas.
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Most colleges these days cater to vegetarians and vegans. If your campus is still living in the past, join the Real Food Challenge. The Real Food Challenge seeks to take the junk off our college campuses and put grains, fruits, and veggies back onto the plates.
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Now on three hundred campuses across the country and growing, the Real Food Challenge shows that young people have a voice that can change food options on campus. College is the best time to explore food options, and you have the most amazing networks and resources at your fingertips. Not to mention, college students hold $300 billion in spending power. Collectively, you are more powerful than you think.
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Use it.

Fast Food No More

We know the feeling of driving down the road with your stomach growling and seeing those golden arches in the distance. Your stomach lurches, and oh what you would do for some French fries or a burger right now. Stay on the road! The fast-food industry is not only extremely unhealthy, but it is also a major supporter and driving force of factory farms.

For those young professionals and parents who have spent an entire day working and just want to reach for the nearest fast-food offering, we’ve been there, done that. Be honest with yourself. Have you ever felt great after eating those greasy nuggets that somewhat resembled chicken? It’s not worth it.

Since fast-food chains are the main buyers of animal products from factory farms, by choosing to pass up the drive-through you are saying no to crappy food and the crappy-food system it perpetuates. A recent Yale
study found that less than 1 percent of children’s meals at fast-food restaurants could qualify as healthy.
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Our children deserve so much better, especially as food is critical to development. That ninety-nine-cent dollar menu is a ruse, as you now know that your “cheap” food comes at an untold global, environmental, and health price.

Cut the desire for greasy fast food and throw your own (veggie) sandwich together at home for lunch. It is cheaper, healthier, and won’t leave your car or you smelling like a fast-food dump. Also try cooking big, delicious meals such as veggie lasagna, stew, stir-fry, and soup on Sunday. Then during the week, after a long day all you have to do is thaw, heat, and serve. Not sure what to make? Look at our recipes and resources page.

Down with Pus, Down with Feces!

For those of you who like a more active approach and are burning with the knowledge to make profound impacts on this agribusiness industry, start making the protest signs for the Hill. Along with voting with our forks, we must change the laws and enforcement procedures to ensure our food safety. Unfortunately, unless corporations are forced to amend their ways due to legislative action or public outcry, rarely will any voluntary, positive action take place. This starts with us banding together and bombarding our congressmen and women with the changes we want to see.

We have compiled a list of changes that esteemed bodies such as the Pew Commission, World Health Organization, and the UN have suggested.
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These changes are:

• Phasing out the use of antibiotics and other additives, such as slaughterhouse waste, blood, and manure fed to animals
  
• Phasing out the use of growth hormones for dairy cows and pigs
  
• Phasing out manure lagoons as waste storage and forcing more efficient and environmentally friendly storage facilities
  
• Regulating pollution and spills from manure lagoons and factory farms
  
• Increasing the USDA and FDA staffs to regulate the dairy and meat industries
  
• Fining and closing all CAFOs that violate animal rights or food-safety measures
  
• Ending air emissions programs that allow factory farms to violate air-quality standards
  
• Allowing governmental regulations of factory farms through zoning laws
  
• Ending veggie-libel laws
  
• Increasing competition and enforcing antitrust and anticompetitive laws to disperse the concentration of corporate power in the livestock and dairy markets
  
• Supporting those facilities that practice animal welfare and animal rights
  
• Ending the farm subsidies under EQIP to factory farms, which currently hide the true cost of producing food
  
• Enforcing environmental laws through the Clean Water and Clean Air Acts that make the corporations liable for damage to the environment and subject to stricter punishments for violations
  
• Reducing the level of feces allowed in meat
  
• Holding processing plants liable for any meat found containing
  E. coli
  ,
  salmonella
  , etc. and requiring the slaughterhouse and factory-farm companies to step forward and claim responsibility for that meat, as well as an accurate account of where it was shipped
  
• Holding the actual corporation, rather than the farmer, liable for all environmental and health damage that is connected to its facility
  

While it might seem like campaigns and letters to Congress go nowhere, think again. Local and national groups challenging the laws are having success! Jerry Nivens and a few supporters successfully pushed New Mexico to enact the most progressive dairy-water regulations laws to date. It all started with a petition.

When your Congressman or woman receives letter after letter and campaign notice after campaign notice asking for healthier food and better regulation of agribusiness, he or she will begin to take notice and maybe even act with vigilance on your behalf. Congress and state legislatures will eventually have to get out of bed with agribusiness leaders and respond to the actions the public is alarmed by.

Without these legislative changes, the agribusiness corporations will continue to pollute our air, soil, and waterways with the animal crap that makes us sick. We cannot afford to waste time. Organize a group in your local community to start protesting this injustice that is levied on each one of us, and demand to know how your food is raised in animal factories.

Ensuring Americans Know Their Sh!t

Poll after poll cites that most Americans have absolutely no clue about where their food comes from, how it is produced, or what’s in it. This lack of knowledge is what factory farms and agribusiness thrive upon, because they understand if the public knew the full truth there would be outrage. Look what happened when we found out about the “lean” beef trimmings or what has come to be known as pink slime in 2012. When Americans learned that this filler wasn’t 100 percent beef and was sprayed with ammonia to kill off the
E. coli
and other harmful pathogens, there was such a strong backlash that it forced the USDA to allow schools to only serve it by choice. Guess what? Schools, fast-food companies, and grocery-store chains opted out of pink slime because of the public outcry.

Education and awareness are some of the most effective tools to create a better food system. There are so many resources that you can use to educate yourself and others about what is happening. Technology has made it infinitely easier to share information these days and spread awareness in a second. Please look at our resources pages that details organizations helping to change our broken food system and the books and reports that taught us our sh!t.

A Better World Begins with Breakfast

Ever dreamed of making a positive change in the world? You can do it every day, three times a day. It is our decision whether we preserve America the Beautiful or let it disintegrate into a pile of crap. As we approach a new age of climate change and water and food scarcity, the future health of our planet and the health of America’s citizens rests in the hands of individuals taking action to change how their dairy and meat are produced and calling on agribusiness leaders and government to take the feces out of our meat, freshwater sources, ecosystems, land, and air. It is time to take back control and choose action over apathy, voices over silence, and compassion over cruelty. By speaking up, we will show the public officials that we know our sh!t, and we want better for us and our planet. Together we can implement the food system of the future!

Know your Sh!t Solutions:

1) Try one of our delicious, plant-powered recipes. From pancakes to Thai curry to All-American, decadent, chocolate cake, when it comes to starting your plant-powered journey, we’ve got you covered.

2) Vote with your dollar at the grocery store for humane choices. Every item you place into your grocery cart does and can have a ripple effect. Let’s vote for healthy, clean food!

3) Eliminate fast food from your diet—it’s gross anyway.

4) Cook a plant-powered meal at least once a week, and share it with family and friends.

The Meaty Truth Recipes

T
here are so many delicious foods that we can eat when we ditch the meat and dairy crap. Here are some of our All-American, favorite recipes for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, as well as some of our favorite food products to get you started.

Join the Breakfast Club

It’s true: breakfast is the most important meal of the day. So friends, let’s make it count and start the day off right. From savory to sweet, here’s a selection of our breakfast favorites.

All-American Tofu Scramble

Who said we had to give up our breakfast staples? We can make them more nutritious instead. This breakfast scramble will have you jumping out of bed. Who needs coffee?

Ingredients:

1 block firm or extra-firm, organic, non-GMO tofu (our favorite brands are Westwood and Nasoya)

¼ sweet yellow onion, sliced

5 cloves garlic, crushed

1 tablespoon of soy sauce or tamari sauce

¼ teaspoon turmeric

5 tablespoons nutritional yeast (this gives it that cheesy flavor!)

4 ounces grated, vegan-cheddar cheese (We love the Daiya brand. Pour at your discretion.)

1 carton sliced, button mushrooms

2 cups fresh spinach leaves

⅓ tablespoon of vegan butter (Optional)

Salt and pepper to taste

Fry onion and sliced mushrooms in a little vegan butter (or, for a healthier option, in a little water) until soft and mushrooms are cooked through. Lightly press tofu as you want to retain moisture. In a large bowl, crumble tofu and then add garlic, vegan cheese, nutritional yeast, soy or tamari sauce, turmeric, salt, and pepper. Mix well using a spoon or your hands. Don’t be afraid to get down and dirty! Add to onion and mushroom mixture. Cook, stirring occasionally, until cheese has melted and mixture is cooked through. Add spinach and cook until spinach is slightly wilted. Serve immediately.

Make it a meal. Pair this tofu scramble with Lightlife’s Smart Bacon, Field Roast Smoked Apple Sage vegan sausages, grilled tomatoes, or whole wheat toast.

Delicious and Nutritious Green Juice

They might be the newest diet trend, but green juices are filled with antioxidants, anti-inflammatory agents, and phytonutrients that will keep you energized and radiating from the inside out. Want to be the cool kid? Get into juicing.

Ingredients:

1 organic kale leaf

Half an organic cucumber

A few pieces of organic pineapple

1 organic apple or pear

A splash of soymilk or water, if you want to make it smoother

Simply blend in a Vitamix or juicer, pour, and top with some ground, organic hemp or flaxseeds for omega-3s.

Perfect Sunday Brunch Blueberry Pancakes

Sunday mornings are made complete with this steaming stack of freshly made pancakes adapted from Isa Chandra Moskowitz’s
Isa Does It
. While pancakes aren’t exactly a health food, blueberries are packed with antioxidants and anti-inflammatories. These are so good you can have them for dinner too. We wouldn’t judge you.

Ingredients:

1½ cups all-purpose flour

3½ teaspoons baking powder

2 tablespoons granulated sugar

1 cup almond or soy milk (or your favorite nondairy milk)

2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar

1 tablespoon ground flaxseed

½ cup water

3 tablespoons canola oil

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

2 teaspoons of vegan butter

½ cup of blueberries (Be sure to buy organic berries. Conventional berries are contaminated with pesticides and fertilizers.)

Tricks of the Trade: Use a dinner fork rather than an electric mixer for the batter. Over mixing can result in a dense pancake.

Preheat the pan for a good ten minutes with just a little vegan butter.

In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar. Make a well in the center.

Measure the milk into a large measuring cup or small bowl. Add the vinegar and ground flaxseed, and use a fork to vigorously mix the ingredients until foamy. This will take a minute or so.

Pour the milk mixture into the center of the dry ingredients. Add the water, canola oil, and vanilla, and use a fork to mix until a thick, lumpy
batter forms for about a minute. It doesn’t need to be smooth; just make sure you get all the ingredients incorporated. Pour in the blueberries and mix throughout. Do not overmix.

Use a measuring cup (about ¼ or ⅓ cup) to scoop out the batter for uniformly sized pancakes. Cook for about four minutes until puffy. Flip the pancakes, adding more vegan butter to the pan if needed, and cook for another few minutes. The pancakes should be a little under an inch thick and golden brown.

Let the pancakes rest on a cooling rack covered with aluminum foil until ready to serve. Top with Earth Balance vegan butter, whipped cashew cream, or organic maple syrup. You can’t go wrong. Stack ’em up and enjoy!

Still want that homemade pancake taste without making it from scratch? Cherrybrook Kitchen Original Pancakes™ are our go-to pancake staple. All you need on hand is some soy, almond, or rice milk, and vegetable oil!