Jordan Rubin Shares His Passion for Music

Music has always been a huge part of my life. Music can reach people when nothing else can. During my illness, when I couldn't sleep at night, I would listen to Steven Curtis Chapman's, "Hiding Place," over and over. When I heard a song that worship leader and singer/song writer, Michael Neale had written for a girl who had special needs, I had an idea. I spoke with Michael and asked if he could help me write a song about my faith in God's plan for my life, centered around Hebrews 11:1.

Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

UK Teen Lives—and Almost Dies—on Chicken Nuggets

Many of you may have seen the Morgan Spurlock documentary Super Size Me in which Mr. Spurlock did nothing but eat fast-food for 30 days straight. The movie chronicles the horrible physical and emotional changes that occurred, and is a scathing indictment on the entire fast-food industry.

Now, it seems, a teenager from the UK has unwittingly recreated the scenario first shown in the documentary. Sarah Irvine has reportedly eaten little else but chicken nuggets since the age of 2. As a result, the 17-year-old was recently hospitalized after she collapsed at work.

Responsible Adults + Kids Team Up To Better Environment

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I love this story! It’s a small back page story from the BBC about an environmental group (with the awesome name Men of the Trees) in the UK that was granted permission and funding to plant 500 trees on an unused parcel of government-controlled land. The best part is that they’ve enlisted the help of students from a local school to lend a hand.

You know, just when you think the world doesn’t get it, you come across a story about a small group of individuals who are actually doing something to better the planet. Kudos to Men of the Trees and the kids who are helping them!

Big Dairy and the Federal Government In Bed Again

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Where to start with this article? The National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF) is super-excited about the fact that the USDA has mandated that low-fat and fat-free milk be a required part of school lunches! Yeah!

Give me a break. Puff piece articles like this tick me off. Note how the entire article quotes an NMPF mouthpiece reciting how the nutritional benefits of milk shouldn’t be forsaken in the school lunch line. But folks, look at the name of the organization, the National Milk Producers Federation. It’s just another name for Big Dairy, and of course they’re excited by the USDA’s stance. And I promise you it has nothing to do with wanting kids to eat healthier. The USDA regulations simply mean a guaranteed revenue stream that is federally mandated!

Big Livestock Wins the Right to Treat Cows Inhumanely

As reported by CNN, the Supreme Court struck down a California state law that would have required livestock operations in that state to humanely treat downed livestock. The California law was enacted in 2009 after the humane society shot footage (beware, this footage is graphic and disturbing) of downed cows being bulldozed and hosed.



Big Livestock fought the law all the way to the Supreme Court, supported by the Obama Administration, and won when the Supreme Court decided that the California law went too far and effectively limited the federal standards set forth in the Federal Meat Inspection Act.

Big Livestock Fights Egg Farming Regulations

"Battery" Caged Hens

Let me start off by saying that I don’t have an issue with the Humane Society. This article notes the progress the Humane Society has made to standardize the living conditions for egg-producing hens—basically allowing that these animals have larger cages.

While I don’t believe the measure goes nearly far enough, I do applaud the Humane Society for making the effort. A small change is often the predecessor of larger changes, and any effort is better than none at all.

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