Page 46 - Spring2008

supply more calcium on a per-calorie basis. The opposite is the case. The production and wild caught fi sh do not contribute
RDA for calcium can be met for under 700 calories using cheese or milk, to pesticide residue. Conventionally raised veg-
but requires 1200 calories for spinach and 5100 calories for lentils. And etables and grains are loaded with chemicals.
not even the most dedicated vegetarians could choke down 13 cups of Vitamin A obtained in adequate amounts
spinach or 32 cups of lentils (that would be almost doubled once the lentils from animal foods provides powerful protection
were cooked) per day (see sidebar, below). Leafy greens present additional against dioxins like PCBs and DDT. Vitamin B
23
12

problems because they contain calcium-binding oxalic acid. is also protective. Good gut flora prevents their
Calcium assimilation requires not only adequate protein but also absorption. Humans have always had to deal with
fat-soluble vitamins A, D and K , found only in animal fats. The lacto- environmental carcinogens—smoke is loaded
2
ovo vegetarian consuming butter and full fat milk will take in the types of with them—and heavy metals like mercury,

nutrients needed to maintain healthy bone mass, but not the vegan. which occur naturally in fish. We can deal with
these challenges when we have adequate amounts
12. YOU’LL HELP REDUCE FAMINE: of the nutrients supplied by animal foods.
It takes 15 pounds of feed to get one pound of meat. But if the grain
were given directly to people, there’d be enough food to feed the entire 14. YOU’LL PROTECT YOURSELF FROM
planet. In addition, using land for animal agriculture is inefficient in terms FOODBORNE ILLNESSES:

of maximizing food production. According to the journal Soil and Water, According to the Center for Science in the
one acre of land could produce 50,000 pounds of tomatoes, 40,000 pounds Public Interest, which has stringent food stan-
of potatoes, 30,000 pounds of carrots or just 250 pounds of beef. dards, 25 per cent of all chicken sold in the United
No land anywhere in the world will produce 50,000 pounds of toma- States carries salmonella bacteria and, the CDC
toes, 40,000 pounds of potatoes or 30,000 pounds of carrots per acre year estimates, 70 percent to 90 percent of chickens
after year after year unless bolstered with fertilizer. Such land rotated with contain the bacteria campylobacter (some strains
animal grazing will be fertilized naturally; without the manure and urine of of which are antibiotic-resistant), approximately
animals, synthetics must be applied—synthetics that require large amounts 5 percent of cows carry the lethal strain of E. coli
of energy to produce and leave problematic pollutants, such as fl uoride O157:H7 (which causes virulent diseases and
compounds, as a by-product. And much of the world’s land—mountainous, death), and 30 percent of pigs slaughtered each
hillside, arid and marginal areas—is incapable of producing harvestable year for food are infected with toxoplasmosis
crops even with a large fertilizer input. But this land will support animal (caused by parasites).
life very well. Eliminating the animals on this land in order to produce The most common source of food-borne
vegetable crops will indeed create famine for the people who live there. illness by a long shot is fruits and vegetables. 24
Problems with animal foods stem from factory
13. YOU’LL AVOID TOXIC CHEMICALS: farming practices. Milk, meat and eggs raised
The EPA estimates that nearly 95 per cent of pesticide residue in naturally do not present problems of food-borne
our diet comes from meat, fish and dairy products. Fish, in particular, illness.

contain carcinogens (PCBs, DDT) and heavy metals (mercury, arsenic;
lead, cadmium) that cannot be removed through cooking or freezing. Meat 15. YOU MAY GET RID OF YOUR
and dairy products are also laced with steroids and hormones. BACK PROBLEMS:
Pesticides and heavy metals are found in animal foods only because Back pain appears to begin, not in the back,
they are applied to plant foods that feed the animals. Pasture-based livestock but in the arteries. The degeneration of discs, for
instance, which leads to nerves being pinched,

CALCIUM IN DAIRY PRODUCTS AND PLANT FOODS 22

Calories Calcium in mg Calcium/Calorie Amnt needed for
per 100 grams per 100 grams Ratio RDA (1200 mg)

Cheddar cheese 402 718 1.8 170 grams (about 6 ounces) = 680 K
Whole milk 66 117 1.7 1000 grams (about 4 cups) = 660 K
Spinach 91 93 1.02 1300 grams (about 13 cups) = 1200 K
Lentils 106 25 0.23 4800 grams (about 32 cups) = 5100 K

46 Wise Traditions SPRING 2008