global-breastfeeding / CC

When President Obama came into office, we presented him with some detailed suggestions on changes we'd like to see during his presidency. One of our proposals was to make some much-needed improvements to the Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) program—a government program that offers meals to low-income mothers and their children in order to make sure that they get nutritional food even in times of financial hardship.

For a program that's dedicated to promoting healthy eating, however, WIC was sending a decidedly mixed message: At the time of President Obama's inauguration, the program was primarily offering milk, eggs, cheese, and formula to mothers in need.

What ever happened to "An apple a day keeps the doctor away?"

Our suggestion was to make fundamental changes to WIC in order to create access to healthy foods. Well, nine months into the Obama presidency, we're pleased to announce that the USDA (which operates the program) has decided to improve WIC's offerings. WIC's menu has expanded to include fruits, vegetables, brown rice, soy milk, tortillas, and bread with 51 percent whole grains.

So, what's next on our presidential agenda? Vegetarian options in schools!

Posted by Liz Graffeo

cularis / CC

Mississippi chef, restaurateur, and author Robert St. John has revealed that PETA's recent billboard inspired him to go vegetarian for the month of September in an effort to lose weight. In a column for the Laurel Leader-Call, he wrote the following:

There's been a big stink in the news lately. The animal activist group PETA posted a billboard in Florida with a photo of an obese woman in a bikini with the tag line, "Save the Whales, Lose the Blubber: Go Vegetarian." A lot of overweight people were offended. I'm a fat person, and I thought it was funny. If I had my choice, I'd rather see PETA's scantily clad model campaign, but I don't mind a good chuckle at the expense of a fellow fat person.

I wasn't offended, though I was intrigued by the premise. Could I lose the blubber by going veggie? It sounded like a challenge to me, so I'm going to take the challenge.

Yep, for 30 days the meat-loving columnist will forgo the bacon and buffalo wings, which means that some pigs and chickens will be spared from winding up on his plate.

Our advice to Mr. St. John? Stay away from dairy foods too. Seriously, you could gain 2 pounds just by looking at cheese fries.

Posted by Karin Bennett

hyscience / CC

Guess what, people: Eating vegetarian food is good for you! If you don't believe me, just ask the American Dietetic Association (ADA), which had the following to say in its latest position paper on vegetarian diets:

The results of an evidence-based review showed that a vegetarian diet is associated with a lower risk of death from ischemic heart disease. Vegetarians also appear to have lower low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels, lower blood pressure, and lower rates of hypertension and type 2 diabetes than nonvegetarians. Furthermore, vegetarians tend to have a lower body mass index and lower overall cancer rates.

Need more proof? Check out the following recent studies:

• According to a study published in the Journal of Nutrition, people with type 2 diabetes who consumed 40 grams of soy protein isolate per day for nearly two months saw significant reductions in both their LDL cholesterol and the ratio of LDL to HDL cholesterol. This is just the latest in a long list of studies showing that soy lowers cholesterol—the FDA even permits companies to boast about the cholesterol-lowering effects of soy on their product labels.
• In more soy news, an amino acid found in higher concentrations in soy and other vegetable proteins can lower your blood pressure.
• In addition to clogging your arteries, a low-carb diet makes you stupid—at least that's the conclusion of a recent study at Tufts University in Boston. Scientists there found that young women performed worse on mental acuity tests after just one week on the Atkins diet and other low-carb diets. D'oh—you could've aced that chemistry final if only you'd had a V8!
• Speaking of V8, a Mayo Clinic study has found that eating lots of antioxidant-rich fruits and vegetables may reduce your risk of non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Bad news for people who hate broccoli—taking antioxidant supplements doesn't have the same effect.
• A study at Oxford University backed up these findings and even went a bit further, concluding that vegetarians slashed their risk of non-Hodgkin lymphoma, leukemia, and other blood cancers by 45 percent.

So, how's about we mosey on over to VegCooking.com and get started fixing up a mess of cholesterol-lowering, artery-unclogging, cancer risk–slashing, brain-boosting veggies, shall we?

Posted by Alisa Mullins

The following is a guest post from peta2's Lara.

Greetings from our nation's capital! Pop quiz: What do Michelle Obama and PETA have in common? No, it's not our toned biceps. Yes, we are both anti-fur, but that's not what I'm getting at either. It's that we both have volunteered with a great organization called Miriam's Kitchen. Miriam's Kitchen is a D.C.-based nonprofit that provides free meals and support services to homeless people.

Since PETA is relatively new to the neighborhood, we wanted to pitch in and help out the community. And what better way to do that than with vegan pancakes?

Today, we had the great opportunity to prepare and serve the first vegan breakfast in Miriam's Kitchen history.

On the menu:

• Fluffy vegan pancakes with strawberry topping and non-Canadian maple syrup
• Fruit salad
• Hearty veggie chili and brown rice
• Salad
• Coffee with soy milk and orange juice

At first, the vegan breakfast was met with some skepticism, but afterwards, the empty plates spoke for themselves. Here are some reviews from some of the people I spoke with:

"It's actually good!"
"I wish they had soy milk every day. I am allergic to cow's milk, and it tastes better."
"They're trying to makes us healthy up in here!"

Indeed we are.

Posted by Lara Sanders

Update: The California Healthy Pets Act has passed the Assembly, and is on its way to the State Senate Committee! Thanks to everyone who worked so hard to push the bill this far — I’ll keep you updated on the Senate vote as it progresses.

California's Healthy Pets Act just got a lot more Hollywood support with a new celebrity-filled petition. Star Trek's Captain Kirk, Grey’s Anatomy hottie Katherine Heigl, Studio 60's Bradley Whitford, and CSI's Jorja Fox, along with Oscar nominee Ryan Gosling, director Richard Linklater, and more than a dozen other Hollywood stars, including Captain Kirk, have signed a PETA petition pledging support for Assembly Bill 1634—the California Healthy Pets Act—which mandates spay-neuter surgeries for cats and dogs. The bill is scheduled for a floor vote this week. Did I mention Captain Kirk signed the petition?!?! (I know it’s not the first time PETA's teamed up with The Captain, but it’s the first time I got to report on it. Thanks for understanding.)

This petition is just the latest act of celebrity support for the bill. In recent weeks funny guy Bill Maher recorded a “New Rule” supporting the bill and PETA released another PSA for the bill featuring Kevin Nealon, Mike White, Ami James, and other celebs.

It's not just celebrities who are coming out in support of this bill. The Healthy Pets Act has already gained support from hundreds of animal protection organizations, veterinarians, city police departments. The vote is coming up early this week and if you live in California the animals need your support. Please use our handy web form to contact your assembly person today. If you won’t do it for the animals’ sake, do it for The Captain.

Click the image below to view the full petition.