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People also often try to simply change the topic of conversation. Image credit: zeljkodan/Shutterstock.com ================================================================== Eating too much meat is bad for you, bad for the environment, and fatal for the animals involved. Those are straight facts, indisputable and proven through years of study. But counterpoint: have you considered that vegans are annoying? If the comments section under just about any media promoting a vegetarian or vegan diet is anything to go by, the answer to that question is probably “yes”. And, in any case, what about all the poor plants, huh? You okay with murdering them, IFLScience? The blood...

Empty Gestures On Climate Change Switch to energy-efficient light bulbs, wash your clothes in cold water, eat less meat, recycle more, and buy an electric car: we are being bombarded with instructions from climate campaigners, environmentalists, and the media about the everyday steps we all must take to tackle climate change. Unfortunately, these appeals trivialize the challenge of global warming, and divert our attention from the huge technological and policy changes that are needed to combat it. For example, the British nature-documentary presenter and environmental campaigner David Attenborough was once asked what he as an individual would do to fight...

Scans of mummified Inuits from 16th-century Greenland revealed that the ancient hunters suffered from clogged-up arteries despite a diet rich in omega-3 fatty acids. Atherosclerosis — the build-up of plaques of fat, cholesterol and calcium in one's arteries — is a leading cause of death today in the world's wealthier countries. While often seen as a product of modern lifestyles, evidence of the condition has been found in human remains dating back as far as around 4,000 BC. However, none of these examples enjoyed a diet rich in omega-3 fatty acids, which has been suggested can help protect against plaque...

Hip-hop mogul and animal-rights advocate Russell Simmons is comparing New York's horse-drawn carriages to slavery and the Holocaust. Simmons spoke Thursday at an event organized by horse carriage opponents. The Wall Street Journal reports that he likened horse carriages to slavery, ethnic cleansing and "people who put people in ovens."

If you're sipping your lunch, you probably have an iPhone. If you're enjoying pizza from Little Caesars, you're probably on Android. Consumer choices have always been about picking this or that, and the current either/or decision is between smartphone operating systems. Your choice when it comes to operating systems says a lot about you, including what you like to eat, according to data provided to CNBC by NPD Group's Checkout Tracking. IPhone users were much more likely to go for a liquid lunch, with soup and smoothies taking the top spots for iOS choices. Soup had an iPhone-to-Android index of...

Electronic music pioneer Moby (real name Richard Melville Hall) went on quite the Twitter tirade on Saturday, railing against “racist, xenophobic, ignorant” Republicans who “support war” and “hate immigrants.” The musician, who has campaigned for and written open letters to President Obama, began his rant in standard fashion, calling Republicans “loathsome” and linking to a Los Angeles Times article about NASA funding:

An actor named Sean Whalen sits at a desk, spreading a generous helping of peanut butter on a slice of bread, listening to a classical music radio station. The scene of the ad makes it clear he’s surrounded by artifacts from the Burr-Hamilton duel, the historic 1804 showdown between U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton and vice-president Aaron Burr; Whalen’s character is, apparently, something of an expert. The song on the radio fades, and the radio host announces that day’s $10,000 trivia question as the subject shoves a peanut butter sandwich — the whole thing! — into his mouth...

PETA is demanding to know: Why won’t Al Gore’s climate change music festival go vegan? On stage at Davos this year, Gore and Pharrell Williams announced the return of the Live Earth music festival — a concert series meant to raise awareness of climate change. And now the animal rights group is demanding each of the concerts exclusively serve vegan products, arguing that Gore’s own group touts the benefits of giving up meat to reduce greenhouse gas production. In a series of emails obtained by BuzzFeed News, representatives from PETA repeatedly ask Live Earth’s organizers if they plan to serve...

ATLANTA, Dec. 18 (UPI) -- A new survey by anthropologists calls into question the scientific and historical justification for the paleo diet. Early man, they say, was an opportunist, not a nutritionist or dieter. By now, most people have heard of the paleo diet. The popular diet is named for the Paleolithic Age, the expansive period of prehistory characterized by so-called cavemen and primitive stone tools. Its followers forgo grains and processed foods in favor of meat, fish and vegetables. Its emphasis on protein and whole foods isn't without merit, but its genesis is based on the idea that humans...

A radio station that asked listeners to vote on whether two turkeys should be killed has been criticised by animal lovers - including Queen guitarist Dr Brian May. And the RSPCA has urged Jack FM to rethink the online vote on whether the turkeys should be cooked or kept alive. The RSPCA said it opposed any practice with the "potential to cause animals pain... in the name of entertainment". Currently, 62% of people have voted to save the turkeys, named Sage and Onion. The Oxfordshire station said if listeners voted to kill the pair in the "cook it or keep...

Red meat molecule 'may cause health problems' Eating red meat introduces a potentially dangerous non-human molecule into the body tissues, new research has showed. A study found that the molecule, a sugar only found in non-human mammals, is absorbed into tissues such as blood vessels and secretory cells. Tests showed that it can generate an immune response which might induce harmful inflammation. The scientists have not ruled out a link with cancer and heart disease - although they acknowledge that at present this is speculation. To date, research has focused on the role of red meat saturated fats and chemical...

Livestock and Climate Change: What if the key actors in climate change are...cows, pigs, and chickens? The environmental impact of the lifecycle and supply chain of animals raised for food has been vastly underestimated, and in fact accounts for at least half of all human-caused greenhouse gases (GHGs), according to Robert Goodland and Jeff Anhang, co-authors of "Livestock and Climate Change". A widely cited 2006 report by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, Livestock's Long Shadow, estimates that 18 percent of annual worldwide GHG emissions are attributable to cattle, buffalo, sheep, goats, camels, pigs, and poultry. But recent analysis...

The price of meat, milk and other British farm products will have to rise to reflect the environmental cost of producing them, a Government study has concluded.

After four years and escalating legal fees, a federal judge has dismissed a lingering lawsuit accusing Oprah Winfrey of maligning the beef industry. U.S. District Judge Mary Lou Robinson threw out "all claims and causes of action asserted or that could have been asserted" by Cactus Feeding Club and against Winfrey, her production company and vegetarian activist Howard Lyman. The lawsuit, filed in April 1998, was similar to another suit filed two years earlier that went to trial in Robinson's court in January 1998. The first suit caused Winfrey to move her popular talk show to Amarillo for several episodes...