From BP oil to olive oil

As environmentalists and people committed to healing the earth, what do we see when we look at our plates at mealtime? How do we measure the environmental impact of the food we eat? Since eating is something we do at least three times every day, wouldn’t it be lovely if we could make a big difference for the earth simply by choosing foods that cause the least possible harm to our planet? Consider these findings.

1. World Bank researchers reported in a 2009, Worldwatch Institute Magazine, that livestock and their byproducts create 51% of the annual greenhouse gas emissions worldwide.

2. The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization released their report Livestock’s Long Shadow showing that 70% of the Amazon rainforests have been cut down for grazing and one third of our planet’s agricultural land is dedicated to raising animal feed.

3. Christopher Weber and Scott Matthews wrote in the Environmental Science and Technology Journal, that adopting a vegan diet (no meat, dairy, or eggs) is equivalent to driving 8,000 miles less per year, while switching to a local diet that includes meat and dairy would save only 1,000 miles per year.

4. “…the human appetite for animal flesh is a driving force behind virtually every major category of environmental damage now threatening the human future—deforestation, erosion, fresh water scarcity, air and water pollution, climate change, biodiversity loss, social injustice, the destabilization of communitites, and the spread of disease.” Worldwatch Institute Magazine.

5. According to Kathy Freston, New York Times bestselling author, if everyone in the U.S. went vegan for only one day, it would save in that one day: 100 billion gallons of water; 1.5 billion pounds of crops grown for livestock, 70 million gallons of gasoline; 3 million acres of land, and 33 tons of antibiotics. It would also prevent: the emissions of 1.2 million tons of CO2; 3 million tons of soil erosion; the release of 4.5 million tons of animal excrement and of nearly 7 tons of ammonia. She reported these findings in her recent Huffington Post article, “The Breathtaking Effects of Cutting Back on Meat.” Her statistics, were calculated, she stated, “ from scientific reports by Noam Mohr, a physicist with the New York University Polytechnic Institute.”

Today, as never before, we are all being called to do what we can for the planet. Urgently, we are facing one of the most devastating environmental disasters in our unrelenting history of human mismanagement of our planetary home—the near apocalyptic BP Gulf Oil geyser. So many of us have felt a sense of helplessness while watching the oil and BP’s chemicals take their toll on so many lives. It may seem too simple to be true, but there is a lot we can do to help prevent more oil drilling and usage by immediately reducing our own personal need for oil. How? A meat based meal, according to a 2008 New York Times article entitled “Rethinking the Meat-Guzzler” by Mark Bittman, requires 16 times more fossil fuel than a plant based meal. We cannot and must not ignore the connection between animal food and oil any longer. This BP disaster can be our wake-up call to stop, look at our own individual footprints, and find a way to end our reckless race toward total environmental breakdown.

The Guardian newspaper recently published an article entitled “UN urges global move to meat and dairy-free diet.” In it we find this powerful statement: “A global shift towards a vegan diet is vital to save the world from hunger…and the worst impacts of climate change.”

Going vegan is the single most important thing any of us can do for the planet, and it is something every one of us can do. Easily. Right away. No extra time. No extra money. A simple change with consequences so vast and far reaching, we just might be able to turn this ship around in time. What is so amazing about making the switch to veganism is that, although it might seem like a sacrifice at first, it soon becomes a joyous new way of life full of delicious food, better health, more energy, and the great feeling that we are saving the lives of animals and doing something big for the earth three times every single day for the rest of our lives.
Peace to you and to all beings, Judy

Lose weight and save the world? What?

Yes it's true.  Losing weight can actually help save the world, bring lasting peace, and heal the earth.  How is that possible?  What is the connection?  The best and most effective weight loss plan in the world is a plant based diet.  When we stop eating animal products, the weight starts coming off without effort.  Not only that, but when we realize that this new diet brings us:

1. dramatically improved health
2. more energy
3. more inner peace
4. and the joy of knowing we are not causing harm to the animals and to the earth-----

When we realize and experience all that, there is no going back.  This is not a diet that we get tired of and forget about.  It becomes a lifestyle so joyful and natural that it becomes simply--just the way we eat from now on.  No question.

Why does the weight come off without effort?  That is a big subject, and there are many books that go into great detail explaining why.  Skinny Bitch by Rory Freedman and Kim Barnouin is one I highly recommend.  (See my favorite books list for more info.)  For starters, acidic food causes your body to make more fat cells.  Meat, dairy, and eggs are all acidic.  Nearly all plant foods are alkaline.  In addition, foods made from animals are loaded with addictive chemicals and hormones which cause us to eat more than we should and create more fat cells (again).  Considering that cow's milk is designed to help baby calves grow into big cows much more quickly than human beings grow, milk and all the cheeses and sauces and ice creams made from it are fat, fat, fat.  If I kept going, this blog would become a book. 

The facts are out there, but I believe that, deep down, we all already know intuitively that human beings are plant eaters, and dining on plants is what keeps us at our perfect weight, healthy, and energized.  The simplest way to prove it to yourself is to try a healthy vegan diet, eat all you want, and see what happens.  I do need to add one warning, though.  As veganism has gained tremendous popularity, it is much easier now to find vegan desserts and junk food.  In the past, especially in the Midwest where vegan restaurants and choices have been few and far between, skipping dessert was no problem.  There weren't any unless we made our own.  Now we have to be a bit more discerning.  Keeping that in mind, challenge yourself, and go forth to try this wonderful way of life.  Ultimately, you will look at your weight loss, not as a goal accomplished, but as a reward for having gotten in synch with the nonviolent, harmonious energy that is always present around us waiting for us to feel its rhythm.

So how does losing weight save the world?  When enough of us choose a plant based diet, we will drastically reduce the amount of water and land used to grow our food; reduce the amount of pesticides, fertilizers, and animal waste polluting our water, air, and soil; dedicate more land for wildlife; end world hunger; end the international politics of meat production; and eliminate the dark cloud of violence that hangs over the world due to the abuse and killing of approximately 100 billion animals per year.   

The number of vegans grows every single day for these very reasons.  That's good news for each of them and for the earth and all the animals.  Tune in regularly for more facts, more hope, and more ways to lose weight and save the world.
Peace to you and to all beings, Judy