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/

RED MEAT BOOSTS DIABETES RISK: US STUDY

RED MEAT CONSUMPTION MAY
INCREASE RISK OF TYPE 2 DIABETES

AFP - Two slices of bacon, a hot dog or a serving of deli meat daily has been found to significantly boost the risk of getting type 2 diabetes, said a major US study published on Wednesday. The research by experts at the Harvard School of Public Health represents the largest study of its kind to date and appears in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.  Eating 50 grams of processed red meat every day increased a person’s diabetes risk by 51 percent, while eating 100 grams of unprocessed red meat each day, about the size of a deck of cards, boosted the risk by 19 percent. However, those risks went down if the red meat was substituted with nuts, white meat, low-fat dairy or whole grain proteins. “Clearly, the results from this study have huge public health implications given the rising type 2 diabetes epidemic and increasing consumption of red meats worldwide,” said senior author Frank Hu. “The good news is that such troubling risk factors can be offset by swapping red meat for a healthier protein.”
 
The data for the study came from questionnaire responses from more than 204,000 people in US nurses and health professionals’ studies. The subjects were tracked for between 14 and 28 years. Researchers also updated a meta-analysis that included their data with other studies covering more than 442,000 participants. Diabetes affects nearly 350 million adults worldwide, and more than 11 percent of adults over age 20 - or 25.6 million people - in the United States have the disease, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Type 2 diabetes, a chronic disease that involves high levels of blood sugar, is often caused by obesity, lack of exercise and unhealthy eating habits.
 

Recently, a major study of the US conducted by researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health has found that routine consumption of meat could trigger Type 2 diabetes.  It is believed that the high iron content of red meat can increase inflammatory chemicals, which can destroy insulin- producing beta cells - could be the main reason of triggering Type 2 diabetes.  Due to their unnatural diet meat-eating human beings are far more susceptible to diseases and disorders as compared to their vegetarian counterparts.  

WHAT DO THE VEDIC TEACHINGS TELL US?

Every day, several times a day, every living being, in whichever part of the world he may be, enjoys a universal ritual - eating.  Most people decide what they eat based mainly on taste, cost, habit, nutrition and convenience.  But for those who are a little more thoughtful, here are some other points worth considering. ... The Bhagavad Gita states that foods such as milk products, grains, fruits, and vegetables increase the duration of life and give strength, health, happiness, and satisfaction. Conversely, foods such as, meat, fish and fowl are putrid, decomposed and unclean. They cause numerous hazards to physical health. ... Apart from bringing severe sinful reactions, meat-eating also dulls the human intellect thus rendering it incapable of understanding the higher dimensions of life. Therefore real spiritual life, nay real human life, can not begin unless a human being stops killing his younger brothers, innocent animals, just for the satisfaction of his tongue.

Śrīpad Caitanya Caran das (BE E&TC) :
“Think Before You Eat”
“The Spiritual Scientist” - Vol. 1 Issue 8.
Bhaktivedanta Academy for Culture and Education (BACE), Pune
http://thespiritualscientist.com/