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Soy Happy News
Autumn 2002
Baseball season may be ending,
but Soy Happy is year round! Perhaps you'll be going to basketball
games or concerts, or visiting the zoo with your family, or taking
a holiday at a large resort, or maybe you fly all the time and
would like to have something healthy to eat at your local airport....the
opportunities to make suggestions for tasty vegetarian alternatives
are all around you. Never underestimate the power of your suggestions.
Every voice makes a difference! As Margaret Mead said, "Never
doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can
change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has."
Click on a heading to go directly to the story,
or scroll as you go.
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Sysco, the largest
foodservice distributor in the U.S., is launching a new division
of vegetarian (and mostly vegan) products, entitled MoonRose.
The division should be up and running by the end of December.
The initial phase will focus on supplying general ingredients
like tofu, tempeh, soy milk, etc. The next phase will consist
of prepared foods coming from various participating veggie companies
and using the Sysco label. Menu suggestions will be included
with each listing. Most public venues, from sporting arenas
to corporate cafeterias to schools to hospitals and restaurants,
rely on Sysco for their foodservice needs. Sysco's new label
now makes it easy for these venues to include healthy and tasty
vegetarian alternatives to their menus. Keep politely voicing
your suggestions. Now, more than ever, your voices will be effective
in creating the changes you desire!
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From SYSCO TODAY September 2002
Did You Know?
A New Moon Is Rising
GET A TASTE OF SYSCO'S NEW MOONROSE¨ VEGETARIAN BRAND
An astonishing
125 percent. This is the growth in vegetarian food sales expected
between 2001 and 2006.* With all these vegetarian customers
crowding our nation's restaurants today, the trend toward
health-conscious and meat-free lifestyles is definitely no
longer confined to college towns and hip coastal capitals.
And now, thanks to the new MoonRose Vegetarian line of vegetarian
and vegan products-coming soon from SYSCO-your operation's
menu can meet the needs of a market segment hungry for attention.
The first comprehensive vegetarian/vegan foodservice brand
to hit the industry, the MoonRose family also answers the
call of customers in search of lactose-free, low-fat and kosher
options. An extensive array of dry products ideal for use
as basic building blocks opens the door to a limitless number
of applications. Try Vegan Basic Cookie Mix, Breakfast "Sausage"
Quick Mix, "Chicken" Broth Mix and Chili Mix. Or
add your own seasoning to Vegetarian Burger Bits for a profit-building
signature veggie burger alternative. And top off appetizer,
pasta, sandwich and entree menus with a full complement of
soy pastas, vegan sauces, soy dressings, veggie burgers, tofu
and veggie deli slices that entice customers with a craving
for the creative.
*Source: "The Vegetarian Food MarketÑU.S. Report,"
Mintel International Group Ltd. September 2002
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As
Sysco's new MoonRose division clearly indicates, vegetarian
alternatives in mainstream venues are gaining in popularity.
Last year, Burger King set a major precedent for fast food
chains by introducing the BK Veggie Burger. Shortly
thereafter, McDonalds introduced a veggie burger in all of
their Canadian franchises. (Both fast food companies have
offered vegetarian burgers in their London franchises for
years). Here's the latest American fast food precedent setter:
Pizza Hut now offers soy cheese pizzas!
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Pizza Hut Serving Up Heart-Healthy
Pizza With Galaxy Nutritional Foods'(R) Veggie (Soy) Mozzarella
FORT WAYNE, Ind., and ORLANDO, Fla., Oct. 2, 2002 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/
-- Pizza Hut of Fort Wayne is now offering a Lite Bite Menu
topped exclusively with Galaxy Nutritional Foods' Veggie Mozzarella.
Galaxy Nutritional Foods (Amex: GXY) is a leading producer
of nutritious plant-based dairy alternatives for the retail
and foodservice markets. Pizza Hut of Fort Wayne is the first
Pizza Hut franchise to include this heart-healthy and delicious
alternative. Veggie Mozzarella is a saturated fat-free, cholesterol-free,
transfatty acid- free and lactose-free topping that satisfies
your taste buds and desires for healthy eating.
Click
here for the full article on the Soy Daily News.
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Surprisingly,
nutritional studies are barely present on the course list
in most medical schools.
Nevertheless, our health is greatly affected by what we eat,
and what we don't eat. As the following study tells us, most
doctors are not providing adequate information or resources
for women on the subject of health and nutrition.
Soy Happy recommends utilizing
the non-profit Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine
(PCRM) as a resource for nutrition and health information.
From their site: "The leading killers in the Western
worldÑheart disease, cancer, and strokeÑcan often be preventedÑand
even treatedÑwith dietary and lifestyle measures. PCRM resources
help both medical professionals and laypeople put powerful
preventive medicine to work."
Click
here for PCRM resources and more information.
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New Study finds that 75 Percent
of Women Don't Speak Up at The Doctor's Office
Yet, Diet Plays a Major Role in
Women's Health
CHICAGO, Sept. 26, 2002 /PRNewswire/ -- Although diet is
implicated in scores of illnesses and health-care concerns,
a new study finds that just one in four American women initiate
conversations with their doctors about nutrition.
What's more, 53 percent of those who visited a doctor in
the past year say they do not feel "well-informed" about nutrition.
These findings -- from a study by Quaker Oatmeal Nutrition
for Women -- contradict national health-care statistics that
say nutrition can play a major role in maintaining general
health, weight loss, preventing chronic ailments and diseases,
and also performs a vital role in health care during pregnancy
and breastfeeding. At least four of the 10 leading causes
of death in the U.S. -- heart disease, cancer, stroke and
diabetes -- can be directly related to eating habits, reports
the Centers for Disease Control.
Click
here for the full article on the Soy Daily News.
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| The
ballpark selling the most soy dogs is in the 2002 World Series.
Co-incidence??? We think not. ;) Perhaps other ballparks and
sports arenas should pay attention and add soy dogs to their
menus next year!
BALLPARK UPDATES
Soy Happy supporter Gerard Granucci tells us that San
Francisco's PacBell Park sold out of veggie dogs and veggie
burgers by the end of the 7th and 8th innings of the two play
off games he attended last week. Soy dogs were only added
to the concessions during the mid-season, too. Obviously,
word of mouth is spreading among Giants fans and veggie dog
and burger sales are starting to reflect their interest. News
Alert: Veggie Dogs in World Series !
Veda Stram tells Soy Happy that she attended a game at the
Seattle Mariners' Safeco Field and they announced concession
stand information, including veggie dog locations, over the
loudspeakers. This is another ball park that is doing very
well with veggie dog sales. It's no wonder. Fans know they
are available!
The Baltimore Orioles have unfortunately decided to pull
veggie dogs from the menu at Oriole Park at Camden Yards
after only two months. Several reasons were cited, principally
a low percentage of sales. Hopefully, they will consider the
item anew for next season.
From a Soy Happy supporter in Maryland: "FYI -- the
Bowie Baysox (Double A) in Maryland carry vegetarian
black bean burgers at their stadium. (Prince GeorgeÕs Stadium)"
For information about
veggie menu items at the ball parks, including veggie dog
brands and stand locations, go to the Venue
Reference Guide.
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| Thanksgiving
and Christmas will soon be here. Please consider these facts.
Below them is a list of resources for creating a vegetarian
holiday celebration everyone will enjoy.
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THE FACTS ON TURKEYS RAISED FOR
MEAT *
Note: No laws protect turkeys from cruelty on factory farms
and in slaughterhouses. All animals raised for food are excluded
from the Animal Welfare Act. All poultry animals are excluded
from the Humane Slaughter Act.
- Turkeys are bred to weigh four times their natural weight
which often causes their legs to break. The industry publication
Feedstuffs 9/9/91 states: "turkeys have been
bred to grow faster and heavier but their skeletons haven't
kept pace which causes "cowboy legs". Some turkeys
have problems standing and fall and are trampled on."
- Most turkeys are reared in windowless sheds with up to
25,000 other birds and have so little space that moving
becomes an overly stressful challenge that can induce aggression.
To prevent this aggression most turkeys spend their short
lives in near-darkness.
- Factory-farmed turkeys have their beaks and toes sliced
off without anesthesia in order to prevent injuries to each
other in their overcrowded environment.
- The USDA does not require "free-range" poultry producers
to let their turkeys or chickens outside for a particular
amount of time. A turkey factory, which provides each bird
with less than 3 sq. ft. of space, could label itself "free
range" if they open the barn door 5 minutes each day.
- Massive doses of antibiotics which are fed to turkeys
are responsible for the evolution of new, potentially untreatable
strains of bacterial infections in both humans and animals.
From trade publication Turkey World 5/99: "36%
of turkeys are infected with salmonella". From Food
Chemical News 7/26/99: "88% of turkeys sampled
in the USDA=92s complete baseline study were infected with
campylobacter."
* Facts provided by the Humane Society of the United States;
The Ecologist magazine; Farm Sanctuary; EarthSave Boston and
the Animal Protection Institute.
From Karen Davis, President, United Poultry Concerns:
Even the turkey industry
admits the suffering, whether it be for "free-range" or standard
commercial production. For example, the January-February 1995
issue of Turkey World, a U.S. trade magazine, says regarding
the baby turkey's experience: "They are squeezed, thrown down
a slide onto a treadmill, someone picks them up and pulls
the snood off their heads, clips three toes off each foot,
debeaks them, puts them on another conveyor belt that delivers
them to another carousel where they get a power injection,
usually of an antibiotic, that whacks them in the back of
their necks. Essentially they have been through major surgery
[without anesthetic]. They have been traumatized."
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RESOURCES FOR A VEGETARIAN HOLIDAY
CELEBRATION
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December, 2002: Satya Magazine will feature
an interview with Soy Happy's director regarding her perspective
on activism. Satya Magazine is a monthly publication
focusing on vegetarianism, environmentalism, animal advocacy,
and social justice. Link
to Satya Magazine.
November 10, 2002: The Augusta Chronicle in
Georgia featured an article about the rise in popularity
of vegetarian alternatives. Soy Happy was used as a resource
for this story. The
feature, with links to the Editors and a Chat room can be
linked here.
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