Germans Ditching Sausage for Vegetarian Food Over Health Concerns

German’s love their sausage! But recently, it has been a hot topic that eating too much meat can result in various health problems; not to mention concerns for animal welfare and the impact on the environment of raising animals for human consumption. I had some of my best vegan meals in Berlin!

Meat consumption is stable or declining in most developed countries but the shift is particularly striking in Germany, Europe?s biggest pork producer and home to 1,500 varieties of sausage including Berlin?s favorite, the ?Curry-Wurst?. Granted, the German’s are not about to ditch their meat-eating culture altogether, but it has been noticed by the food industry that sausage will not be held on a pedestal any longer.

Income Inequality Is Costing the U.S. on Social Issues

In many ways, the United States has an incredible health care system; but we view sickness as something that can be handed over to the medical industry to be fixed, when this should not be the case.

Three or four decades ago, the United States was the most prosperous country on earth. It had the mightiest military and the most advanced technologies known to humanity. Today, it?s still the richest, strongest and most inventive, but when it comes to the health, well-being and shared prosperity of its people, the United States has fallen far behind.

Pick almost any measure of social health and cohesion over the last four decades or so, and you will find that the United States took a wrong turn along the way.

The Uphill Battle to Better Regulate Formaldehyde

So what is formaldehyde? Formaldehyde is a known carcinogen that can cause respiratory ailments like asthma, but the potential of long-term exposure to cause cancers like myeloid leukemia is less well understood.

It has come to the EPA’s attention that exposure to this chemical may be causing health problems among Americans and has plans to regulate how much of it is used in our everyday products. Formaldehyde is present in furniture, mattresses, flooring, and even the clothes you wear.

The proposal would not ban formaldehyde, but it would impose rules that prevent dangerous levels of the chemical?s vapors from those products, and would set testing standards to ensure that products sold in the United States comply with those limits.

Central Valley’s Growing Concern: Crops Raised with Oil Field Water

In California, where the majority of our produce comes from, and where they are experiencing the worst drought in recent history, using treated oil field wastewater to irrigate crops might make sense to some people, but to me it seems crazy!

Oil giant Chevron, recycles 21 million gallons of that water each day, and sells it to farmers who use it on about 45,000 acres of crops, about 10% of Kern County’s farmland. And they are not even checking the produce for contamination! Another reason to purchase organic produce when ever possible!