Scary!

Cheap Meat: An Accident Waiting to Happen

By Jo Robinson

The latest fiasco in the U.S. livestock industry is that thousands of hogs and chickens have been raised on feed contaminated with melamine, the same chemical that has sickened thousands of cats and dogs. According to the U.S.D.A., some meat from those hogs and chickens has already entered our food supply.

How did this happen? The story begins in China. Melamine is an inexpensive by-product of the coal industry. In a deceptive practice, some Chinese producers have been adding melamine to rice, wheat, and soy meal to make the products appear to contain more protein. (Melamine is not a protein and has no food value, but it is rich in nitrogen and mimics protein on standardized laboratory tests.) Melamine costs less than true sources of protein, so the manufacturer makes more money.

The story continues in the United States. In order to lower the cost of pet food production, U.S. companies have been importing cheap protein meal from China. The pet food manufacturers had no way of knowing that some of these products were spiked with melamine. The exact number of dead and sickened pets is unknown.

But how did melamine get fed to our pigs and chickens? A common cost-cutting practice in the livestock industry is to supplement animal feed with floor sweepings and other leftovers from pet food manufacturing plants. In recent months, however, some of the sweepings happened to be laced with melamine. In this serpentine fashion, a cost-cutting adulterant that was added to protein meal in China found its way into U.S. pet food, then U.S. livestock feed, and then the food on our dinner tables.

The F.D.A. and the U.S.D.A. do not foresee any health consequences from eating melamine-spiced pork and poultry. This may prove to be true. The family pets that died ate the melamine itself; we are eating chickens and pigs that ate the melamine, diluting its concentration.

We may have dodged the bullet this time, but as long as we continue to raise our livestock on a least-cost basis, our health is at risk. For example, many cost-cutting practices lower the nutritional value of our meat. Research shows that the nearly universal practice of fattening cattle on straw and grain instead of fresh pasture gives us beef that is higher in total fat and lower in antioxidants and omega-3 fatty acids. The practice causes no immediate harm, but our health may suffer over the long term.

Some cost-cutting strategies are deadly. In the 1980s and 90s, feedlot managers tried to save money by feeding cattle scraps back to cattle. The tragic result was mad cow disease. Eating meat contaminated with trace amounts of melamine may cause little or no harm. Eating just one serving of beef from a mad cow can kill you.

Adding more governmental oversight is a stop-gap solution. We need a sea change in the way we raise our livestock. We need to raise the animals on their native diets or on quality ingredients that match their original diets as closely as possible. When we feed wholesome feed to our animals, we can serve wholesome food to our families. We are what our animals eat.

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Jo Robinson is the originator and primary researcher of www.eatwild.com, a science-based website that details the benefits of raising animals on pasture. She is also the author of Pasture Perfect, the Far-Reaching Benefits of Choosing Meat, Eggs, and Dairy Products from Grass-fed Animals.

Certiorari granted in lethal injection case...

See my notes below....

Cert granted today in Baze v. Rees, 07-5439
(lower court opinion: 217 S.W.3d 207)

QUESTIONS PRESENTED

Although the Court has authorized civil actions challenging portions of a method of execution, it has not addressed the constitutionality of a method of execution or the legal standard for determining whether a method of execution violates the Eighth Amendment in over 100 years--leaving lower courts with no guidance on the law to apply to the many lethal injection challenges filed since the Court’s rulings allowing the claim in a civil action. Lower courts have been left to look to cursory language in the Court’s opinions dealing with the the death penalty on its face and prison conditions. As a result, the law applied by lower courts is a haphazard flux ranging from requiring “wanton infliction of pain,” “excessive pain,” “unnecessary pain,” “substantial risk”, “unnecessary risk,” “substantial risk of wanton and unnecessary pain,” and numerous other ways of describing when a method of execution is cruel and unusual.

Considering that at least half the death row inmates facing an imminent execution in the last two years have filed suit challenging the chemicals used in lethal injections, certiorari petitions and stay motions on the issue are arriving before the Court so often that this issue is one of the most common issues. Thus, it is important for the Court to determine the appropriate legal standard, particularly because the difference between the standards being used is the difference between prevailing and not.

This case presents the Court with the clearest opportunity to provide guidance to the lower courts on the applicable legal standard for method of execution cases. This case arrives at the Court without the constraints of an impending execution and with a fully developed record stemming from a 20-witness trial. The record contains undisputed evidence that any and all of the current lethal injection chemicals could be replaced with other chemicals that would pose less risk of pain while causing death than the tri-chemical cocktail currently used.

Although this automatically makes the risk of pain associated with the use of sodium thiopental, pancuronium bromide, and potassium chloride unnecessary, relief was denied on the basis that a “substantial risk of wanton and unnecessary pain” had not been established. This squarely places the issue of whether “unnecessary risk” is part of the cruel and unusual punishment equation and whether an “unnecessary risk” exists upon a showing that readily available alternatives are known.

The Kentucky Supreme Court’s decision gives rise to the following important questions:

I. Does the Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution prohibit means for carrying out a method of execution that create an unnecessary risk of pain and suffering as opposed to only a substantial risk of the wanton infliction of pain?

II. Do the means for carrying out an execution cause an unnecessary risk of pain and suffering in violation of the Eighth Amendment upon a showing that readily available alternatives that pose less risk of pain and suffering could be used?

III. Does the continued use of sodium thiopental, pancuronium bromide, and potassium chloride, individually or together, violate the cruel and unusual punishment clause of the Eighth Amendment because lethal injections can be carried out by using other chemicals that pose less risk of pain and suffering?

IV. When it is known that the effects of the chemicals could be reversed if the proper actions are taken, does substantive due process require a state to be prepared to maintain life in case a stay of execution is granted after the lethal injection chemicals are injected?


***** I'd like to note that at least in Texas, question #4 is a non sequitur-- we never START an execution while there's any pending litigation, so this situation would never come up. I find it hard to believe that it comes up anywhere, frankly.

More of my favorite salsera..

I'm silly for procrastinating today with all these deadlines, but I was distracted watching some more salsa clips, so I thought I'd share one more.

Again, Magna, with Eric Baez.

All settled in...

The housewarming pool party was last weekend and I think it went very well. Lots of friends, good sangria (if I do say so myself), and good weather. Some folks hung around for dinner, just burgers on the grill and some potato salad etc.

I was very happy with my first experience making ice cream from scratch-- turns out the ideal mechanism to convey the ice cream to the mouth is two cookies :) In this case, it was vanilla ice cream with reverse chocolate chip cookies (chocolate cookies, white chocolate chips). I will have to play around and experiment with that! I'm thinking gingersnaps, but made so they stay chewy, with caramel ice cream :) Or maybe sugar cookies and key lime pie ice cream...

Anyway, we had Nicole in from Houston for the weekend too, and that made it all the better. Now this weekend we'll be in Houston for a fantastic salsa event, with Eddie Torres in from NYC and Francisco Vasquez from LA.

Monday night we met with Father Larry to set a date for the wedding. I was actually giddy in the church office! He did give us a little hard time for living together before the wedding, but we explained it wasn't a "trial period" arrangement, and I think he knew better than to keep pushing. It's not feasible to have any other living arrangement anyway. And besides, I feel like I'm already married in my heart-- the marriage ceremony is for friends and family.

So thus begins the wedding planning! I've already decided on a dress, the hair, the caterer (I think.) We have a tasting coming up next week, and if it's good, we will go with her.

Anyway I have a pile of work to get to, so that's it for now :)

There's a new function on this blog, to add video, so here's a favorite of mine-- Magna and Ismael in a fun performance. Magna's husband Jareau (who filmed this) edited it to go back and forth between the practice video (daytime, casual clothes) and the performance (at night, matching outfits.) It's just one example of how fabulous Magna and Ismael are when they dance together-- though they're fabulous pretty much no matter who they dance with, they're doubly good together! Enjoy!

Labor Day weekend

How was yours? I took a short-notice trip to Long Island and Virginia, because my uncle had a gallbladder attack and needed emergency surgery. He and my aunt were visiting friends on Long Island, so I flew up there, hung out for a few days while he gathered his strength, and then helped them drive back down to the Eastern Shore of Virginia where they live. It was wonderful to see them again, but sad of course under the circumstances. Fortunately he is recovering very quickly, giving my aunt all kinds of heck and griping about his new low-fat diet. It's a good sign when he starts giving people a hard time :)

How sad about Luciano Pavarotti. Easily the most known tenor for my generation.

Uh, no...

On Tuesday, the European Union urged the governor of Texas to halt executions and introduce a moratorium on capital punishment in the United States' busiest death penalty state. The EU said Texas Gov. Rick Perry must ''exercise all powers vested in his office'' to halt the impending 400th execution since Texas resumed carrying out death sentences in 1982.

Governor Perry's office issued a reply, which I rather like regardless of how one might feel about the death penalty:

''The reason our forefathers fought a war 230 years ago was to throw off the yoke of a European monarch so that we may have the freedom of self-determination. Texans long ago decided that the death penalty is a just and appropriate punishment for the most horrible crimes committed against our citizens.''

life is good...

We're getting settled into the new place and I really like it. I will like it even better when the new carpet is installed (next week Mon-Tues) because that's why I can't fully unpack. (Easier to move china cabinets, dressers etc when they're empty!)

So this weekend is a nice little salsa event in Dallas featuring John & Liz from Salsamania in San Fran... we'll also get to see Mitch's brother and family, and his best friend Jeff, so that's all good.

Then Labor Day weekend we'll be unpacking and cleaning and repotting plants... then the next weekend (9/8) is our big housewarming pool party. Unlike most of my parties, this will be very low-key and low-cooking for me... just sangria, guacamole, chips, maybe a fruit salad, and soda pop. The rest is potluck and BYOB :)

The nicest thing about our new house (so far) is the wonderful outdoor entertainment opportunities. The deck is in the middle of a tree canopy plus we have a lot of houseplants, so we're enjoying our "tree house" frequently. Astonishingly there's no mosquitoes! We grill most of our dinners (the non-stick grill basket/wok thing is perfect for veggies) and eat most of our dinners al fresco. It's nice when you have friends with little ones, because the inevitable showers of food from their mouths just get washed away with a hose when it's all done. (sure, people don't clean their feet when they go in the house, so we find food in the carpet, but we'll figure out how to prevent that soon enough.)

Anyway, I sold some stuff on Ebay so I gotta bolt to get them to the post office in time. And I woke up too late to walk/swim this morning, so that's still on my to-do list.

Have a good one :)

A brush with mortality, and a view of immortality...

I AM NEVER MOVING AGAIN.

Just wanted to say that aloud-- it's been running through my head so frequently since July 15th. It makes me feel better, you know? (This is the brush-with-mortality part-- the part where I realize just how close I was to dying of exhaustion, or at least wishing I was dead so I could rest.)

a) The movers, two elementary school teachers and one of their alumni students about to be a senior in HS, were very cheap and very polite. However, they were not very efficient in terms of packing the 26' Uhaul, so they had to do two trips. Thus, our day began at 7am (they arrived at 9:30am) and we got to bed in the new place at 2am (the movers left at 11:30pm).

b) My honey-bunny is wonderfully astute about many things, but he didn't notice just how much stuff he'd been acquiring over the eight years since his last move. Thus, his moving/packing philosophy ("Oh, I'm not letting the movers do that, I'll just put a few things in the car and make a few trips") was not really up to the task.

c) We ended up renting another Uhaul truck (14') and hiring the movers *again* for Thursday of last week. And we filled that truck, with all the things honey-bun ended up deciding to let the movers move, plus all the enormous houseplants we both collect.

d) I took last week off to unpack. I lost some weight, let me tell you. I'm thrilled with the weight loss, thrilled with the new house, and hoping I can find a way to keep it up.

e) We still are not unpacked entirely-- new carpet installation and built-in bookshelves getting built in, sometime in August. So the housewarming BBQ and pool party will be in September.

So, I'm back at work, rested up and ready for this weekend (we'll play Chinese firedrill with the garage and get it sorted out and cleaned up.)

Now what's the view of immortality, you ask? A few posts ago I mentioned my high school friend Brian's suicide, and part of my recollection of Brian was that he witnessed me forgetting my date Kevin Artl's name. Of course, who Googles their name and finds my reference? Kevin Artl! So he's immortal, and we're back in touch, and my shame expands apparently infinitely :)

Anyway, work is good, the house is good, and life carries on. If it ever stops raining, maybe I'll get some swimming in.

Moving, taxes, going to the dentist...

... all things which *can* be put off, but apparently the longer you wait between "sessions" the worse it gets.

I know I'm blessed with a wonderful life and I'm lucky to be moving into a beautiful house. However, I have to say I'm a little tired of it all. Between the pest guy who didn't do anything (meaning I had to call the company back, get another guy out there, and still he didn't have the right stuff in his truck, so I have to go back a third time today...) and the painters (more on them below) and the carpet cleaner (whose cleaning solution left my velvet couch feeling crusty and sticky-- so he's coming back today to rinse it out with fresh water)... it's just been a lot of running around.

The painting story: Majority of the house (interior) was painted with some kind of builder standard beige-- a cool, pinky beige to be exact. We wanted the entry repainted with the same color (lots of dings in the walls, and 2 stories, so hard for us to do) and then have the library (currently a faux painted red and gold) painted the beige too.

Owner of the painting company, a nice guy named Chuck, says "Oh yes, I know what color that is, it's Monarch Summertime, no problem."

Chief of our painting team, Richard, came out and said "No, that's not Summertime, we'll have to match it."

Mitch and Richard used a deck of paint chips, got the closest one, and the painters got started yesterday. I showed up in the afternoon, and it was just a hint lighter-- which meant that the entry looks almost white. That's fine, I don't care too much, the entry will have some furniture and art and whatever, so no biggie. But in the library, it felt cold and sterile and utterly UNcosy. So this morning I have to hustle over to the paint company and buy 3 gallons of something warmer.

Aside from that unfortunate, no-one's-fault kind of thing... they generally did a good job so far, though of course Mitch and I cruised around the house with a little yellow stickie pad in hand, noting places with touchup needs.

I decided to take today off, in part because I am pretty cool at work and in part because Mitch's kitchen could take all day. I did about 5 boxes' worth last night and another 2 this morning, and I'd say it's about 1/3-1/2 done. As I've said before, we have different packing styles. The living room looks like we mostly still live here-- the CDs and stereo are already packed, and so are the art tiles over the fireplace, but the TV/DVD are still hooked up, my honey's paperwork and receipts and bills etc are still covering the coffee table, and (ahem) my clean bluejeans are still draped over the back of the loveseat, next to a pile of his clean socks. (Never quite finished putting away laundry.)

Anyway, it's an adventure. But I just called the paint store and they open in 20 min, so I better get moving.

=)

Wheeeew!

OK-- time to take a breather and report on the last few weeks' worth of stuff!  [Work stuff deleted to comply with office policy!]

Now I'm in the last stages of packing, and we move to the new house on Sunday the 15th! Hooray hooray!! Nothing like a little lost-keys drama to add spice to the weekend though. I misplaced my car keys for two days (thank goodness I could use Mitch's car.) Found them Saturday, phew. Now, if I could just lay my hands on the spare key (which is also conveniently missing..)

This weekend was LOVELY weather (nice and cool and breezy, about 80 degrees, a little rain Saturday morning and then sunny... I can't believe I'm in Austin!) I spent most of Saturday dealing with various professionals out at the new house-- two electricians to discuss the wiring for my new cooktop, a landscaper, a carpet measurer, and so on. This whole week is quite busy, house-wise, as well-- maids come tomorrow, carpet cleaner on Wed, painters on Thurs, hopefully new carpet for the upstairs gets laid Fri-Sat... I am so excited I can't wait. Then I'm taking off all next week to unpack and get organized. (What a vacation :\)

I might get to do two days of scuba diving in the Gulf at the end of the month, so that will be the carrot at the end of my stick.

Hope you're well....