Yesterday’s revelation (The Boston Globe, C3) that Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (retired NBA basketball great) has a form of Leukemia and at age 62 is undergoing treatment is no great surprise really. These guys are used to eating enormous amounts of animal foods that contain everything from hormones, to antibiotics, to gobs of pesticides (they smear it on cow’s bodies now, didn’t you know?) At least when an athlete is young, they are working out every day and can work off some of those toxins.
But what bothered me was the quote from his doctor, who said: “You have a very good chan ce to live your life out and not have to make any drastic changes to your lifestyle.” The article went on to say Abdul-Jabbar is taking an oral medication from Novartis.
People, cancer is a wakeup call that your body is being assaulted by poor eating and lifestyle choices. I enjoyed watching Kareem play for many years, so I wish I could tell him that being open to change is natural and important, especially as we age, and that he may indeed have to give up his beloved Thai food (he mentions this in the article too), at least in the short run.
We all need to look at our diet and lifestyle, to address our own conditions, as well as society as a whole. There is so much talk now about how animals are suffering so we can eat meat, how there are many toxins in farm-raised fish and all animal foods, due to the methods used, and how the water and air quality is dramatically worse because of our excessive animal protein diets.
Please, consider attending one of these events in the next few days if you can, and help us get the message:
1) Today, Wednesday, November 11, 2009, at Congregation Kehillath Israel, in Brookline MA, author Jonathan Safran Foer will read from his first nonfiction work, “Eating Animals.” Admission is $5. There was a mention of this in yesterday’s G (Page 3, Boston Globe) in which Foer is quoted: “This is the number one cause of global warming.”
2) This Thursday evening November 12, 2009 at UU Church in Lexington, MA and this Friday, November 13, 2009, at Temple B’nai Torah, Sudbury, MA, Will Tuttle PhD , author of the well known book “The World Peace Diet”, is coming to explain the views expressed in his book. He’ll be talking (and playing some of his original music because he’s also a composer) from 1 to 3 PM. Tuttle lectures around the country and gives a fascinating and inspirational talk with lots of new ideas to think about. Vegan Desserts will be served and the talk is free to the public.
3) The movie Food, Inc. is being played Wednesday, Novembber 18, at 7pm, at the Framingham Public Library, Costin Room. There will also be a discussion with various professors of food and nutrition. The film is an insightful and eye-opening look at our nation’s food industry. In his documentary, Robert Kenner looks at the huge food conglomerates that mass-produce food, putting profit ahead of the health of the American consumer, the environment and the survival of the farmer. Peter Traves of Rolling Stone says: “Don’t take another bite till you see Food, Inc., an essential, indelible documentary.”Refreshments provided by
