VEGETARIANS TO BE OFFERED CHEAPER LIFE INSURANCE

UK VEGETARIANS TO GET 
CHEAPER LIFE INSURANCE

www.dailymail.co.uk - In the UK, vegetarians are to be offered cheaper life insurance because, it is claimed, they are healthier and less likely to die early. The AFI insurance agency has devised the Vegetarian Term Life policy to reward non meat-eaters with lower premiums. The company claims that the wider industry has failed to catch up with the reality that vegetarians are a better insurance risk. They are, it says, less likely to suffer from the sort of serious or chronic illnesses that shorten lives.
According to the Vegetarian Society, the risk of some cancers is reduced by up to 40 per cent and of heart disease by 30 per cent.

The chance of developing kidney and gall stones is also lower, it says, while the threat of diet-related diabetes and high blood pressure is minimised. The prospect of getting the human form of Mad Cow Disease becomes much more remote, it is argued, while there is also less danger of food poisoning. The new policy, underwritten by the Liverpool Victoria Life Company, offers a 25 per cent reduction on monthly premiums in the first year only.
But AFI - which stands for Animal Friends Insurance - is arguing for the entire industry to deliver long-term discounts to vegetarians. They gave the example of a 45-year-old female non-smoker. She would pay US$16.48 a month for a $150,458 policy over 15 years with the company's vegetarian policy, compared to an average figure of $24.66 and a top rate of $27.68.

An insurance company in the UK has developed a special policy to reward vegetarians with lower premiums. It is definitely good news and it is very encouraging that vegetarians receive a financial reward - reducing the cost of premiums - by the fact of not consuming meat. However, the best reward for those who do not participate in acts of violence against animals and can maintain a meat-free diet is to get to understand what is compassion towards our younger brothers and develop love for all living entities. (Editor's note).

WHAT DO THE VEDIC TEACHINGS TELL US? 

“The animals are my friends, I don't eat up my friends.” G.B. Shaw.
If we are the children of the same Mother Earth, Mother Nature and of the Supreme Lord, then how can we deny our smaller siblings, the little animals, their right to live just as we claim it for ourselves. We are all maintained by the Creator, thru Mother Earth. We should feel gratitude for her and manifest compassion for those that need our help. That will provide us with happiness and peace. While we put meat and blood on our plates we won't be able to find peace in our lives. The Biblical principle is that who kills with a sword will die by a sword. It is the clear law of karma. Don't do to others what you don't want them to do to you. We should learn how to feel. To love. We will be loved this way also and we will feel happy.

Casa de la Sabiduría - House of Wisdom :
“Services - Health”
“Peace and Vegetarianism”
http://www.houseofwisdom.org/english/
http://www.houseofwisdom.org/english/advices_health_peace1.htm

Published by dasavatara das - “Vedic Views on World News”
http://www.vedicviews-worldnews.blogspot.com.ar/

GATORADE TO DROP BVO AFTER CONSUMER COMPLAINTS

GATORADE PULLS INGREDIENT 

LINKED TO FLAME RETARDANT

www.chicagotribune.com - Responding to consumer concerns, PepsiCo announced Friday that it will remove brominated vegetable oil, an emulsifier, from citrus-flavored Gatorade sold in the U.S. Mississippi teenager Sarah Kavanagh launched an online petition in November that drew recent media attention, but the company said earlier customer complaints had sparked the reformulation. 
"While our products are safe, we are making this change because we know that some consumers have a negative perception of BVO in Gatorade, despite (it) being permitted for use in North American and Latin American countries," Gatorade spokeswoman Molly Carter said. "We began working on an alternative ingredient to BVO for the few Gatorade flavors that contain BVO, more than a year ago." "When I went to Change.org to start my petition, I thought it might get a lot of support because no one wants to gulp down flame retardant, especially from a drink they associate with being healthy," Kavanagh said.

Some countries, including those in the European Union and Japan, do not allow the use of brominated vegetable oil in food. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration's last review of the chemical, conducted in the 1970s, called for more toxicological testing that was never performed, and it remains a legal dietary ingredient. Studies on BVO have suggested the chemical can build up in fatty tissues and cause reproductive and behavioral problems in rodents. 
A 2011 article in Scientific American noted that a few patients who binged on soda "have needed medical attention for skin lesions, memory loss and nerve disorders, all symptoms of overexposure to bromine." Carter said the company spent the year making sure the new Gatorade formulation "would not affect taste or functionality." Carter said BVO will be replaced with sucrose acetate isobutyrate, or SAIB, "one of the flavor emulsifiers we use internationally."

PepsiCo announced that it would no longer use an ingredient in Gatorade after consumers complained. The ingredient, brominated vegetable oil, which was used in citrus versions of the sports drink, was the object of a petition started on Change.org by Sarah Kavanaugh, a 15-year-old from Mississippi, USA, who became concerned about the ingredient after reading about it online. Studies have suggested there are possible side effects, including neurological disorders and altered thyroid hormones. "Companies like Gatorade can no longer sit back as thousands of consumers are asking for a change - they're compelled to do something about it," said Pulin Modi, senior campaigner at Change.org. A healthy life is manifested internally and externally. The simple life and high thoughts are the true values of life.

WHAT DO THE VEDIC TEACHINGS TELL US? 

Real life is gratitude toward the supreme truth. A life of truth is really the only thing that we miss. Foods that are full of chemicals, insecticides and other artificial things definitely have undesirable effects. A natural life is one that unites all the elements and maintains them in total harmony, achieving an integral well-being. Such as: Eating natural foods. Preparing the kitchen with love. Eliminating artificial coloring, preservatives, and products. Strengthening our natural defenses with inner and outer cleanliness. Dressing in natural fiber such as cotton. Constructing our homes with natural elements such as adobe, bamboo, straw, and non-poisonous paints. Avoiding jarring noises that hurt our meditative and intellectual capacity. Combatting exploitation dressed up as science and medicine.

Casa de la Sabiduría - House of Wisdom
"Ecology - Natural Way of Life"
http://casadelasabiduria.org/
http://www.houseofwisdom.org/
http://www.houseofwisdom.org/english/advices_eco_natural.htm

Published by dasavatara das - "Vedic Views on World News"
http://www.vedicviews-worldnews.blogspot.com.ar/

DANGER: AMAZON RAINFOREST UNDER PRESSURE

HALF OF AMAZONIA RAINFOREST
MAY DISAPPEAR IN THE NEAR FUTURE

Latinamerica Press - The Amazon Network of Socio-Environmental Geo-Referenced Information, or RAISG, comprised of 11 environmental organizations from Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Peru, Suriname, and Venezuela, presented on Dec. 4 in Santa Cruz, Bolivia, the atlas “Amazon rainforest under pressure,” which warns of the dangers the South American Amazon region faces that in the near future could lead to the disappearance of half of the current Amazonian forests. The RAISG has identified a set of six threats to the Amazon rainforest in the last decade: roads, oil and gas, hydroelectric dams, mining, forest fires, and deforestation. 
The Amazon region covers 7.8 million km2 shared by Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Peru, Suriname, and Venezuela. About 33 million people live in this region, including 385 indigenous communities. “The forest sceneries, socio-environmental diversity and fresh water are being replaced by degraded sceneries turned into savannas, drier and more homogeneous zones,” says the atlas.

The deforestation analysis shows that between 2000 and 2010 nearly 240,000 square kilometers (92,000 square miles) of Amazonian forest were deforested. This is equivalent to twice the Ecuadorian Amazon. 
The document recommends “to deepen the prospective analysis of the Amazon rainforest, starting with the information generated by the RAISG, to identify the future situation in the topics of: the capture and storage of forest carbon emissions according to the use of the land (protected areas, indigenous territories, and others); new frontiers to extractive economies around water sources (hydroelectric dams or systems for irrigation and drinking water); promotion of regional integration and its implications on infrastructure, energy security, or the movement of populations; strategies for adapting to climate change to reduce socio-environmental vulnerability in the high forests and flood zones of the Amazon rainforest.”

During 2000-2010, 92,000 square miles of Amazon forest were destroyed. “The largest and most complex rainforest on the planet - with at least 10,000 years of human activity - continues to be a place for extraction and/or production of agro-industrial supplies and non-renewable raw materials (commodities of low aggregate value), for national and international markets, which compromises [the rainforest’s] future potential for sustainable development and affects the conservation of living spaces,” RAISG says. Another study from the Universidad Andina, warns that deforestation will likely escalate in other regions of the Ecuadorian Amazon as a result of 13 new oil blocks that were opened for lease last month. We want to thrive… not just survive. Please, no more pain for Mother Earth!

WHAT DO THE VEDIC TEACHINGS TELL US? 

It’s time that humanity reverts to and values a simpler, healthier, and more natural way of life.  Only in this way may we attain true health, harmony, and prosperity.  We are part of the earth, and she is part of us.  The perfumed flowers are our sisters; the cow, horse, and great snake are our brothers. The rivers are our brothers and quench our thirst. The air has priceless value.  We all share the same breath - the beast, the tree, man; all breathe the same air, and it shares its essence with the life that it sustains.  The freshness of the air, the force of the waters, the mighty pine tree, every grain of sand at the beach, every drop of dew in the forest, the sap that runs through the trees, even the sound of the insects sustain and soothe the lives of humankind on this planet.  The biological wellbeing of our earth and the future of mankind are being ruined by the materialistic vision of society.

“House of Wisdom” - “Eco conscience”
http://casadelasabiduria.org/
http://www.houseofwisdom.org/
http://www.houseofwisdom.org/english/services_eco_conscience1.htm

Published by dasavatara das - "Vedic Views on World News"
http://www.vedicviews-worldnews.blogspot.com.ar/

LAWYER SUES CHIPOTLE OVER BEANS MADE WITH PORK

VEGETARIAN LAWYER SUES CHIPOTLE
RESTAURANT OVER BACON IN PINTO BEANS

New York (Reuters) - A vegetarian lawyer has sued Chipotle Mexican Grill for selling a bean dish that contains pork. The lawsuit, filed in Los Angeles Superior Court, accuses the national fast food chain of duping the public into believing its pinto beans are vegetarian.  The plaintiff Kevin Shenkman “reasonably assumed Defendant’s ‘Pinto Beans’ were not prepared with and did not contain bacon and/or pork since there were no representations made to the contrary,” the complaint said.  In-store menus made no mention of meat in the beans. And when Shenkman asked, Chipotle servers told him that the beans did not contain bacon or pork, the suit said.  

“Throughout our 18-year history, our pinto beans have always been made with bacon, and we have not described them as being vegetarian,” said Chipotle spokesman Chris Arnold.  He said a better option for vegetarian customers was the black beans, which are labeled as vegetarian on the restaurant’s menus and website.

To avoid any confusion, the company plans to roll out new menu boards that highlight the use of bacon in the pinto beans, Arnold said.  Shenkman, who is Jewish and a vegetarian, sued on behalf of a class of California customers who, like him, cannot eat pork because of “ethical, religious, moral, cultural, philosophical or health-related” concerns, according to the complaint.  The lawsuit alleges fraud and false advertising and requests unspecified damages, a corrective advertising campaign and an apology to class members.  This lawsuit is similar to the one against McDonald’s for its “natural flavored” fries - the additive is actually bovine meat.  The fast-food chain was sued by a Hindu and paid $10 million to several Hindu institutions.

A California lawyer is suing Chipotle Mexican Grill over the bacon in the restaurant’s pinto beans.  The plaintiff, Kevin Shenkman, is both Jewish and vegetarian, so the presence of pork in the beans is doubly offensive to him.  The average consumer probably wouldn’t expect to find pork in the beans, and these revelations probably wouldn’t matter to them.  However, they do matter to those with dietary restrictions, such as Jews and vegetarians.  The regulative principle of no meat eating is meant to promote the quality of mercy in a persons life.  Mercy is one of the four pillars of dharma (virtues).

WHAT DO THE VEDIC TEACHINGS TELL US?

We should learn how to feel.  To love. We will be loved this way also and we will feel happy.  Be more sensitive, so others will do well to us.  Let's be kind to our younger brothers, and so we will be living in a big family and our hearts will get great benefit from it.  Love others as yourself.  If we are the children of the same Mother Earth, Mother Nature and of the Supreme Lord, then how can we deny our smaller siblings, the little animals, their right to live just as we claim it for ourselves.  We are all maintained by the Creator, thru Mother Earth.  We should feel gratitude for her and manifest compassion for those that need our help.  That will provide us with happiness and peace.  Who doesn’t consume neither meat nor eggs can understand what is compassion toward the other living beings.  While we put meat and blood on our plates we won’t be able to find peace in our lives.

House of Wisdom :  “Peace and vegetarianism - Advices”
http://www.houseofwisdom.org/english/advices_health_peace1.htm
http://www.houseofwisdom.org/english/index.html
http://www.houseofwisdom.org/

WORLD’S OCEANS IN ‘SHOCKING’ DECLINE

CAN WORLD’S OCEANS BECOME EXTINCT?
MASS EXTINCTION THREAT IN OCEANS

http://www.bbc.co.uk - In a new report, an expert panel of scientists warn that ocean life is “at high risk of entering a phase of extinction of marine species unprecedented in human history”.  They conclude that issues such as over-fishing, pollution and climate change are acting together in ways that have not previously been recognised.  The impacts, they say, are already affecting humanity.  
The panel was convened by the International Programme on the State of the Ocean (IPSO), and brought together experts from different disciplines, including coral reef ecologists, toxicologists, and fisheries scientists.  

“The findings are shocking,” said Alex Rogers, IPSO’s scientific director at Oxford University.  “As we considered the cumulative effect of what humankind does to the oceans, the implications became far worse than we had individually realized”.

The team noted there are alarming ways in which different issues act synergistically to increase threats to marine life.  Some pollutants, for example, stick to the surfaces of tiny plastic particles that are now found in the ocean bed.  
This increases the amounts of these pollutants that are consumed by bottom-feeding fish.  Plastic particles also assist the transport of algae from place to place, increasing the occurrence of toxic algal blooms - which are also caused by the influx of nutrient-rich pollution from agricultural land.  In a wider sense, ocean acidification, warming, local pollution and overfishing are acting together to increase the threat to coral reefs - so much so that three-quarters of the world’s reefs are at risk of severe decline.

The oceans are in a worse state than previously suspected, according to an expert panel of scientists.  A new report cautions that the world’s oceans are undergoing changes that threaten to wipe out marine species at a far faster rate than earlier feared.  Some species are already fished way beyond their limits - and may also be affected by other threats.  “The challenges are vast; but unlike previous generations, we know what now needs to happen,” says Dan Laffoley from IUCN.  In the long run, greenhouse gas emissions must be cut to conserve ocean life, the report concludes.  

WHAT DO THE VEDIC TEACHINGS TELL US?  

It’s time that humanity revert to and value a simpler, healthier, and more natural way of life. Only in this way may we attain true health, harmony, and prosperity. ... Nature is one of the manifestations of God; if we mistreat the environment, if we live irresponsibly, in any moment we will be sucked into an abyss. God is in each tree, each plant. The waters of the Earth are the veins of the Lord.  We should proceed with absolute compassion and responsibility, because by not taking care of other living beings, our present planet will become a complete desert.  Polluted waters cause the leukemia of the ecosystem. Mother Earth heals you, she allows you to build houses, sustains you, gives you drinkable water; that is our dear Mother Earth. If you cannot see divinity in the mud, in Mother Earth, it would be very astonishing to see it in anything.

House of Wisdom :  “Eco Conscience - Recommendations”
http://www.houseofwisdom.org/english/advices_eco_conscience.htm
http://www.houseofwisdom.org/english/index.html
http://www.houseofwisdom.org/

VOLCANIC ASH DISRUPTS SOUTH AMERICA FLIGHTS

ASH CLOUD FROM CHILEAN VOLCANO
GROUNDS FLIGHTS IN ARGENTINA

Buenos Aires (CNN) - The ash cloud from a Chilean volcano reached Buenos Aires, the capital of neighboring Argentina, but was not expected to cause problems for area residents, officials said.  The ash cloud had already caused most airlines flying into Buenos Aires to cancel flights, but if favorable weather conditions persist, it will not pose a risk to people, said Jorge Echarran, head of the emergency council.  Smoke and ash shot more than six miles into the sky when the Puyehue volcano in southern Chile first erupted Saturday afternoon. Authorities evacuated about 3,500 people from the area, the state emergency office said.  On Tuesday, there was an ash cloud between 5,000 and 7,000 meters (about 16,000 to 23,000 feet) in the atmosphere over the capital, Echarran said, according to the state-run Telam news agency.

The cloud’s consistency was not as strong as when it passed over southern Argentina, and therefore would not bring with it the same problems, he said.  The Patagonia region in southern Argentina was the area most affected by the volcanic ash.  Cities that draw tourists, like Bariloche, Junín de los Andes and others in the area, canceled school and public activities.  Ash piled as high as 30 centimeters (about 1 foot) on highways through Patagonia. Local governments used machinery to clear the roads.  Airlines canceled most flights Tuesday at the Ezeiza International Airport in Buenos Aires, an official there said. Airports in several other cities are also affected, Telam reported.

A vast cloud of ash spewing from a Chilean volcano disrupted air travel on Wednesday across much of South America, as heavy rains around the eruption site prompted fears of mudslides. Air traffic was sharply curtailed on the continent as the ash cloud drifted over Argentina, and into Brazil.  Chile is located on the Ring of Fire, an arc of volcanoes and fault lines circling the Pacific Basin that is prone to frequent earthquakes and volcanic eruptions.  When humanity exploits the earth and natural resources in a massive worldwide level it results natural to receive many ecological and karmic reactions. 

WHAT DO THE VEDIC TEACHINGS TELL US?  

Nature is one of the manifestations of God; if we mistreat the environment, if we live irresponsibly, in any moment we will be sucked into an abyss.  God is in each tree, each plant.  The waters of the Earth are the veins of the Lord.   We should proceed with absolute compassion and responsibility, because by not taking care of other living beings, our present planet will become a complete desert.  Polluted waters cause the leukemia of the ecosystem. Mother Earth heals you, she allows you to build houses, sustains you, gives you drinkable water; that is our dear Mother Earth. If you cannot see divinity in the mud, in Mother Earth, it would be very astonishing to see it in anything.  All the elements created by the Lord are different representations of His powers, and the combination of all the components produces food for us, the conscious beings.

House of Wisdom :
“Ecology - Eco conscience”
http://www.houseofwisdom.org/english/index.html
http://casadelasabiduria.org/  -  http://www.houseofwisdom.org/

16 DEAD IN MALAYSIA ORPHANAGE LANDSLIDE

LANDSLIDES BURY MALAYSIAN
ORPHANAGE, KILLING AT LEAST 16

KUALA LUMPUR (CNN) - Rescue workers were looking for at least a dozen children reported missing following two landslides that buried a Malaysian orphanage, killing at least 16 people and injuring nine others, the nation’s official news agency reported Sunday.  Rescue workers scoured the area for up to two dozen children believed buried in the landslides that hit the orphanage near Hulu Langat, southeast of the capital city of Kuala Lumpur, the Bernama news agency said.  It was not immediately clear how many of the 16 killed were children. Earlier reports said the bodies of at least five children, between the ages of 11 and 14, were pulled from the debris.  Eight children, between the ages of 11 and 17, and a 22-year-old adult were pulled out alive from the debris by rescue workers and villagers.  But rescue workers were still searching for dozens missing, the police said.

The landslides, which were triggered by heavy rains Saturday, struck the orphanage at about 2:30 p.m., while many of its 49 male residents, including five adults, were outside setting up tents on the hillside for an outdoor event later in the day, the police chief said.  It is believed that two landslides occurred within seconds of each other. All of them in the camp were trapped, authorities said.  
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said he “instructed relevant authorities to investigate the cause of the mishap,” and he also promised the government would rebuild the orphanage and provide payments to the victims, the news agency said.

At least 16 children died and three others were seriously injured on Saturday after registering two avalanches near an orphanage located 28 kilometers east of Kuala Lumpur.  People were attending a class when they were buried in tons of soil due to landslides after heavy rains in recent weeks.  These terrible misfortunes are due to environmental damage caused by indiscriminate deforestation, the huge amount of trees being felled to make way for cattle ranching and extensive farming. 

WHAT DO THE VEDIC TEACHINGS TELL US?  

It’s time that humanity reverts to and values a simpler, healthier, and more natural way of life.  Only in this way may we attain true health, harmony, and prosperity.  We are part of the earth, and she is part of us.  ... The air has priceless value.  We all share the same breath - the beast, the tree, man; all breathe the same air, and it shares its essence with the life that it sustains.  The freshness of the air, the force of the waters, the mighty pine tree, every grain of sand at the beach, every drop of dew in the forest, the sap that runs through the trees, even the sound of the insects sustain and soothe the lives of humankind on this planet.  The biological wellbeing of our earth, and the future of mankind are being ruined by the materialistic vision of society.

“House of Wisdom” - “Eco conscience”
http://casadelasabiduria.org/  -  http://www.houseofwisdom.org/
http://www.houseofwisdom.org/english/services_eco_conscience1.htm