It seems like so long ago that I reported on the remarkable ability of plants to communicate with one another. But lo and behold, none other than the New York Times is finally following suit with news from the world of plants.
Michael Bloomberg, or should I say, Mayor Bloomberg of New York hasn’t exactly been much of a meat man in the past. As one of the richest men in the world, he decided to dedicate the rest of his life to public service in 2001. In truth, I know little to nothing of his politics, but I do know the man loves his steak.
A lot of unvegans avoid vegetables due to ethical or taste-related reasons, but for some, the hatred goes much deeper. Vicki Larrieux is one of these people. Not content just disliking vegetables, Larrieux has actually developed a phobia for vegetables.
Horton Hears a Who!, by Dr. Seuss is a beloved children’s book that was recently developed into a major film. Anti-abortion people commandeered this book as a sort of anti-abortion manifesto and used the movie to stage protests. After all, how could you misinterpret the line, “a person’s a person, no matter how small”? Well, none of the characters in the book are technically “people,” so the logic kind of gets skewed. Instead, I would like to offer up an interpretation of this book as an anti-vegan manifesto and re-interpret the main line as “an animal’s an animal, no matter how small.”
Confused?
For my Canadian readers, it looks like it’s time to ditch the veggies again. Onions and alfalfa sprouts have been linked to perennial veggie companion, salmonella. Look out for these two products: Sprouts Alive Baby Onion Sprouts and Sun Sprout Alfalfa & Onion Sprouts. As always, I strongly recommend avoiding all veggies. Better safe than sorry.
(via CBC)
Looks like you really don’t make friends with salad. In another vegetable-related salmonella case, lettuce from Tanimura & Antle Inc. seems to have been tainted with a nasty little uninvited guest. The company has issued a recall on 22,000 cartons of romaine lettuce, but to be safe I will avoid eating all products that could be related to lettuce. Specifically, all vegetables.
(via AP)
Just when you thought it was safe to eat raw alfalfa sprouts, the salmonella returns!
In an incident unrelated to the last alfalfa attack, there is now a food company in Culver City, California recalling their alfalfa.
This time it’s from Kowalke Organics. They say it isn’t safe to eat a few of their products, which can be found here. Interestingly enough, they are primarily sold in the fancy grocery stores like Gelson’s and Whole Foods.
I am of the opinion that it’s never entirely safe to be eating raw vegetables, but when salmonella is involved, it just gets that much worse.
(via LA Times)
One of the nights that I was visiting my grandparents in Rancho Mirage, we went to a restaurant called Thai Smile. There was a 20 minute wait, but I was assured that it would be worth it. Besides, I really had nothing better to do.
While waiting, we checked out the menu so we could order as soon as we got our table. It really took me a long time to decide what to order because the Chicken Spicy Peanut Sauce looked great except that it had green beans and peppers, while I could just create my own dish, but none of the customizable items looked as good as the chicken dish.
Environmental Graffiti recently posted an awesome entry about vegetables that look decidedly un-vegetable. In fact, they look like they could be animals. It should serve as a warning to all unvegans out there that things are not exactly as they seem. Just like vegans can make tofu taste pretty similar to a turkey, these vegetables can look a lot like animals, but they will never be a substitute for the real thing. Check the rest out here.
Every so often, there is vegetable recall due to tainted vegetables. Although I consider vegetables alone to be tainted by their flavor, there are often worse surprises in store for the hapless vegetable consumer. The most recent of which is the recall of Enoki Mushrooms. They have been recalled because they contain bacteria called listeria monocytogenes. I’ve never heard of this particular strain of bacteria, but a quick search on Wikipedia tells me that it’s damn dangerous.
It’s bad enough that Enoki Mushrooms are funghi. I mean really, if they were called “Enoki Funghi,” would anyone eat them? No, of course not. The term funghi conjures up images of athlete’s foot, slime molds and that strange thing that grew in your yard as a kid that you knew you shouldn’t have eaten, but did anyway, and then your parents had to call poison control and pump your stomach. Those things are all similar enough to Enoki Mushrooms that I won’t touch them, but now throw in listeria monocytogenes and you have a severe case of When Vegetables Attack!
Give me meat and let my stomach digest in peace.