An important reminder from Howard Zinn:

How many Democrats, Liberals & Progressives continue to buy from Conservative businesses. Do these DUMBASSES understand BOYCOTT? I socially boycott conservative friends & family. I don't have to listen to their BS. To use G.W. Bush's line: You are either with me or against me.

My household refuses to buy any products that are made with Monsanto RoundUp ready GM seed and crops.

What that means, ultimately, is that none of these things can enter our home:

Aunt Jemima Quaker Betty Crocker General Mills Bisquick Duncan Hines Hungry Jack Jiffy Mrs. Butterworth's
Pepperidge Farms Campbells urora Foods Post cereals
Hershey's Nestle Carnation Holsum Interstate Bakeries
Best Foods Knorr Kellogs Nature Valley

And 120 other brands of foods.

The Big Piggie Neo Lib/Neo Cons own the market, in terms of the food shelves in your grocery.

The only way we can successfully avoid the above is living only on fresh produce and fresh organic meats. It's a very time consuming process. I know damn well I wouldn't have been able to do this back back when I was working full time and feeding a hungry teenager and his ravenous friends

I have recently begun a Vegan lifestyle. I had begun eliminating Agri-corporations' products before becoming Vegan, but I'm finding it easier to do so now.

Do you have the list of the other 120 companies? If you do, would you pm them?

Thanks.

As soon as he gets home, I'll run the URL. If that is not available, I'll type out the rest of the company names. (Hoping you'll give me till tomorrow for that one though.)

The worst thing is the bread issue. I can't eat wheat, and although I can now buy gluten free crackers, they cost like $ 4 for about thirty 2/3 inch crackers.

Baking bread is the most time consuming thing. I like doing it in the winter, but of curse in the summer it is just too damn hot.

You are to be applauded for going vegan. My spouse is vegan now - what he has done to get there is learning how to make hummus. High in protein and with the garlic and tahini in his recipe, it is very tasty too.

I get anemic too easily and will probably always eat meat. But don't do it more than three times a week right now.

and have several great recipes for crackers, including graham crackers (which I have used to make a vegan cheesecake that even my non-vegan friends think is delish). I have a recipe for spelt crackers that I cannot wait to try. If it makes an exceptional cracker, I'll let you know.

BTW, I have a 'raw' cracker that is made in a dehydrator. It is way delish, but I over-salted the first batch I made. Consequently, I have to eat them with hummus or something else to cut the sea salt flavor.

I have some friends who are derisive about my decision to go vegan. I don't listen to their nay-saying, but I find it interesting that some people seem so threatened by this lifestyle. I feel much better, and I'm losing weight. I can't think of a better way to avoid heart disease, diabetes and stroke.

My wife and I, although not vegan, became vegetarians about 6 or 7 years ago and you wouldn't believe how much crap we got from friends and family. We mindfully don't pass judgment on others who eat meat, but, man, the meat-eaters in our family sure take exception to our choice.

Very curious.

If I must engage in any discussion after my friends' derision, I make sure to observe that I am NOT trying to compel anyone else to be vegan, and I'm NOT slamming anyone for eating meat. That usually ends the derision.

Rest of the list:

Nabisco, Pillsbury, Heinz, Hellmans, Hunts, KC Masterpiece,
Frito-Lay/Pepsi, Delicious brand cookies, Famous Amos,
Keebler Flowers Industries, Banquet, Green Giant, Helathy Choice, ConAgra, kid Cuisine, Stouffers, Lean Cuisine, Marie Callenders, Ore-Ida, Smart ones, Power bAr brand, Chef Boyardee, Hormel, Loma Linda, Morningstar, Lipton, unilever, Uncle Ben's, Rice A roni Pasta a roni, Tombstone Pizza, Totinos, Orville Redenbacher, Pop Secret, Priocter and Gamble, Coca Cola, Minute Maid, Pepsi, Cadbury/Sweppes, Capri Sun, Kool Aid, Ocean Spray, V 8,
Prego Pasta Sauce, Ragu

Of course, most of these brands we had eliminated back when I realized that MSG was in so much of these things. Back in 2004,k I had amjor depression hit me - and it was all traced back to MSG in the food that I ate. (A phone call from Dr Betty Martini came to me just at the right time. She is the lady who alerted so many to the dangers of aspartame.) Even last night watching TV, the ad had a zoom in on the package of Cheerios to show that the number one ingredient was oats, but what caught my eye was ingredient number two: Modified Corn Starch (In other words, MSG!) Cheerios is oats, and MSG, along with wheat!

I think a sensible approach to being vegetarian and/or vegan is to be applauded. But one reason for (perhaps) why some people are opposed to vegetarians is that so often people who go "veggie" end up eating mainly bread and cheese. Which are the two most moldy, unhealthy foods out there. (Store bought bread, not home made.) Of course, vegan means you don't eat cheese, so that's one good thing.

Do make sure you have a way to get your B vitamins. I know I have lost seven or eight pounds simply because the spouse no longer buys us ice cream. And he has lost twenty pounds. After two weeks, we didn't even miss the ice cream/dairy stuff.

I don't buy any of those products now. I had considered getting a Morningstar product today, but thought better of it. Glad now that I did.

I am having a major adventure learning how to eat vegan. I bake my own bread. It is mult-grain and contains sprouted grains for extra texture. I have a recipe for vegan 'cheeze' that tastes like a rich bechamel sauce infused with a mild cheddar. Most delish. I made a 'meatloaf' from TVP, and I am amazed at how good it was! I took the last of it with me to visit family last night, and my NIL very carefully 'grilled' it for me. I made it into a 'sandwich,' with tomato, lettuce, and pickles. Yummy-licious!

I know I have to be careful to get adequate protein and B vitamins. I am using flax oil and I do have supplements (Stress B, which is so difficult to digest). I already feel tons better, and have lost weight, which is an added bonus.

Here is the recipe for the spelt crackers:

Spelt Crackers

½ cup warm water
½ teaspoon salt
1 and ½ cups spelt flour
3 T olive oil (can be omitted)

Fluff the flour as you measure, so it won’t be dense. Mix all ingredients to form dough. Roll out on parchment paper. Score. Mist with water to add sea salt and any seeds on top (black sesame seeds-yum!). Bake at 350 degrees for 5 – 10 minutes, or until lightly brown. Be sure to watch them so they don't burn.

Let me know if you want my recipe for 'raw' crackers (done in a dehydrator).

RW'ers are less well informed than people who watch no news!
Its very easy to refute their BS if you have the facts. We need to occupy their BS with the truth.

Certainly bears repeating.

I was only introduced to him in the past 6 months. I read his 700 page book and will continue to read anything he wrote. He was brilliant.

Screenwriter, director and actor Matt Damon.

Ever wonder why Matt stayed true to his early childhood experiences in terms of not selling us out (After all, Hollywood doesn't necessarily favor Matt's viewpoint.)?

I think in part it is because Zinn was one of Matt's neighbors and when Matt was a kid, they would spend time together.

There is that tremendously powerful scene in "Good Will Hunting" where Matt's character spells out how rather than work for the CIA as a numbers guy and statistician, and in doing so, destroy the job market for Americans, kill off people and the environment indirectly, he'd find it easier to simply shoot his friends, club baby seals over the head etc. directly, if he was willing to go that route.

He's never sold us out. I am hoping we see the day when he runs as a political candidate.

I remember that scene in the movie. It's one of the my favorite movies of all time. I appreciate your reply and the info. How cool for Matt to grow up next to a guy like that. Very cool! Thanks!

They are in fact actively destroying our wages and decimating our buying power.

Soon refusal to participate will be far less of an issue than being locked out, maybe we are already there.
The supply of the desperate for any sprig to throw on the home fires, means it better happen super quick or different solutions will be required.

I would consider a seer...someone who sees reality clearly and understands the big picture. He took his ability a step further and put his understanding into action.

A truly brilliant person.

Many times in each of our lives, we have an opportunity to choose. That's when you show what you're made of.

And I'm proud of him. What an exceptional life he had.

“TO BE HOPEFUL in bad times is not just foolishly romantic. It is based on the fact that human history is a history not only of cruelty, but also of compassion, sacrifice, courage, kindness.
What we choose to emphasize in this complex history will determine our lives. If we see only the worst, it destroys our capacity to do something. If we remember those times and places—and there are so many—where people have behaved magnificently, this gives us the energy to act, and at least the possibility of sending this spinning top of a world in a different direction.
And if we do act, in however small a way, we don’t have to wait for some grand utopian future. The future is an infinite succession of presents, and to live now as we think human beings should live, in defiance of all that is bad around us, is itself a marvelous victory.”
― Howard Zinn