If you don't have enough reasons to love President Bush...

There was another case of mad cow disease and how does our country respond? In the interest of saving money, of course!

US on Mad Cow: Don't Test All Cattle http://buzzflash.net/%20story.php?id=33366

"The Bush administration said Tuesday it will fight to keep meatpackers from testing all their animals for mad cow disease. The Agriculture Department tests less than 1 percent of slaughtered cows for the disease, which can be fatal to humans who eat tainted beef. But Kansas-based Creekstone Farms Premium Beef wants to test all of its cows. Larger meat companies feared that move because, if Creekstone tested its meat and advertised it as safe, they might have to perform the expensive test, too."

Why would they want to fight to have more illnesses in our country?

I love my "veggie" hamburger! I made the meat-loving boyfriend a taco with it the other night and he swallowed it whole! It microwaves in 1 1/2 minutes and there's no nasty grease to drain. Give it a try, it's a lot safer!

Don't eat the poor cows!

Food Allergies

I've never had any food allergies in the past. Now that I've changed my diet drastically, I've been trying many new things. The other day I was shopping at a grocery store that my boyfriend's cousin works at. He was throwing in weird stuff every time I wasn't looking: baby food, wrapping paper, wine, you name it. I got most of it, except for this package of pita-like tortilla wraps - my boyfriend eats a lot of wraps so I figured he had put them in the cart. Since I had already paid for them I made one for lunch...

My face and neck broke out! I was bright red and not to mention ready to scratch my face off! Then my palms started itching to the point I wanted to cut them off. After checking the package, the only "odd" ingredient was wheat gluten which was in bold print, I guess for a reason. I decided to look some things up about it to share with fellow new vegheads.

Gluten allergy is also sometimes called coeliac disease. The symptoms of the allergy are not at all similar to what I experienced though. The actual disease is related to many abdominal and bowel problems. So was it the gluten I had a problem with? I found on mayoclinic.com that you can have reactions without the disease,

"Signs and symptoms of wheat allergy range from mild to severe and can include skin reactions, congestion and digestive issues. Rarely, wheat allergy can cause anaphylaxis, a life-threatening reaction." It's one of the top eight food allergies as well.

Many people are aware of allergic reactions to nuts, soy, etc., but does anyone have further knowledge on gluten?

Jennifer Love Hewitt Bikini Pics

There is a huge ordeal about pictures taken of Jennifer Love Hewitt on the beach celebrating her new engagement. They say the fact that she is being called fat is a sign of problems in how society causes body image problems.
While I think its a sign of a problem, I don't think its body image.
Its America's diet. There is no way she could be eating healthy and exercising and look like that. America is probably near the fattest, laziest, and most unhealthy country in the world.
Honestly - I think she looks awful in those pictures.
While you should take pride in your body, I don't think eating whatever you want and fooling yourself into thinking its fine and normal is not healthy. It will lead to huge problems later in life. I'd like to see her go vegetarian or even vegan and go to a gym two to three times a week and see how much better she not only looks but feels. My guess would be she wouldn't be eager to go back to how she was because she loves her body no matter what it looks like.
She says she is a size two, which is not fat. While a size two, four, six, eight, ten, twelve, or fourteen is not fat in my opinion, I think she is a liar. I'm a size four and could not see the woman in those pictures getting into my clothes. You can be a larger size but still be healthy. If your adult frame is capable of a size two but suddenly you've become a size ten without having children, you are not healthy.
Maybe I'm being too insensitve here but I just don't think being fat should be any more okay than it is already - not because of appearance and vanity but because of the health of the entire country. Should we really raise kids to think that being fat is okay or is that just setting them up for self-destruction? If superficial reasons are the only reason people will take care of themselves, then maybe they're doing some good.

I did stand up for Britney; I didn't feel she looked fat on the vma's. We know she isn't very healthy with all of the drive-thru photo ops we see of her. Then again we also know about her liposuction and other work. Regardless of what is fat, which I guess is in the eye of the beholder - I think healthy should be the main point of discussion.
What do you think about body image and health in the United States?

Are vanity and envy sins or do they serve an evolutionary function?