First of all I am not a vegan; I do not wish to be defined by a word. I choose to eat a vegan or plant-based diet on most occasions, and I am having a rollicking time discovering new culinary delights. I still stock a good cave-aged gruyere for my friends, my shoes remain leather bound and my animals dine on organic chicken dinners. Why then would I make such a drastic switch after years of juicy pot roasts and succulent duck flambés? There are four good reasons that I discovered, after reading, watching a few videos and taking a check on my inner feelings. I discovered that how I ate had a profound effect on myself, the planet, its people and its creatures. Four good reasons to make a switch!
My Health:
After years and years embracing a low-carb, high-protein diet that relied heavily on animal products, I was feeling a little off. I will spare you the ghastly details but let’s say my system wasn’t functioning as it should. My doctor took routine blood tests and confirmed that yes, my cholesterol and blood sugar were both way too high and in fact were precursors of some frightening wellknown (and unmentioned) diseases. So I traded in my three egg omelet pan for a crock of organic steel cut oats simmering with walnuts and berries. I steamed and sautéed plenty of organic bok choy with shitake and miso. The chicken flew from my dinners, as did the beef trot on by. Instead, I discovered wonderful soba noodles, marinated tofu cutlets and hearty chana dhal stew. My meals became adventures in new culinary traditions from far flung places where the native cuisine was plant based. My next round of blood tests was astounding! My numbers had dropped and I was out of the danger zone. I began feeling spry and frisky again and my joints felt less swollen. It seems there can be immediate results from eating plants instead of animal!
The Health of the Planet:
Climate change is clearly something we can no longer dispute, as we paddle through the downpours and alternately suffer 100-year droughts. Did you know that agriculture accounts for most of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions such as methane, carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide? Livestock production accounts for over 51 percent of that according to The Worldwatch Institute. To make matters worse, large food companies are clearing the rainforests in the equatorial regions to bring us $.99 “happy meals”. We are simultaneously cutting down the very lungs of the planet that would offset these emissions! Now that’s just a lot of bull!
In our own country, confined animal feeding operations (CAFO’s) produce large concentrations of animal feces that often leak into rivers streams and ponds. The EPA reports that over 80% of all ammonia emissions in the U.S. come from these animal wastes. They are floating down the tributaries, into the mighty Mississippi, contributing to the dead zone that has grown to the size of Connecticut this summer.
Meat and dairy production uses more water, fuel and land according to most findings. In a world looking to feed 9 billion, can we really afford this resource drain and degradation?
Feeding the World:
How do we feed the future souls that will inhabit this globe in a few short years? It’s a fact that most of the agricultural acreage in the world is planted with commodity crops such as corn and soy. Yes, Corn is King and Soy is Sovereign in the heartland. According to the USDA, around 80 million acres of land are planted in corn and most of it is used as the main energy ingredient in livestock feed. That is 80 million acres dedicated to feed animals and not people directly! Imagine if we took all the land dedicated to feeding and planted it with food people could eat! Now there’s a thought! National Geographic said it in their Feeding the World Feature: “Finding more efficient ways to grow meat and shifting to less meat-intensive diets…” is a key strategy.
Animal Welfare:
I refuse to elaborate on the grisly details in this writing because they are readily available on many a website, YouTube and media outlet. We don’t raise our chickens in the backyard anymore and our pigs don’t wallow in mud havens while the cattle come home. Instead, we confine them so they cannot move; we de-beak, de-horn, and force feed. The animals do not live lives that are natural to their species and instead experience a brief existence of suffering before they arrive vacuum sealed, de-boned, de-skinned, chopped and marinated. I have no qualms about death but feel strongly that life must be lived fully and that right belongs to animals as well. If you want to learn more about the specifics, become acquainted with and a supporter of People For The Ethical Treatment Of Animals (PETA)
Change the World One Dish at a Time
I don’t feel deprived or distressed with my new culinary dance. I love the flavors of organic quinoa soup and creamy Mayan potatoes. I love organic kabocha squash stuffed with aduki beans and wild rice baked tenderly and served with kale salad. I spice up Thai curry tofu over soft rice noodles with toasted sesame and broccoli. These days grains are my friends and beans are my buddies, and I eat as much and as often as I want. I am choosing new flavors, new sources of protein and I love the exploration into new galaxies of taste and texture. I also feel better about my health, our planet, the people and the beasts who share it.
Give it a whirl by joining PETA for meatless Mondays. You CAN change the world by choosing what’s on your plate!
And of course, always choose organic!
FOUR REASONS TO CHOOSE A PLANT BASED DIET–
A very well written article that gives more than enough reasons for everyone to at least try
Dennis Singsank
Thanks Dennis Please share it with others and thanks for reading!
Sent from my iPad
LOVED this post. I’ve been vegan-ish for the past 2.5 years. And I’ve been a vegetarian for over 30+ years, but for many of the same reasons you leaned in toward plant-based, so did I. And I have to confess — my husband and three of my clients and my best friend are paleo or paleo-ish (banning all grains and beans and even a bunch of fruit, yes FRUIT!). And as much as I try to respect their choices, I have to say it makes me slightly angry, too. Why angry? Because I feel like the paleo people are totally missing the BIG message that livestock is super-duper (how’s that for some scientific lingo?) responsible for so much of our climate chaos and destruction of the planet.
Paleo is the new Black. I see and hear all of these self-professed “yogis” who are paleo and talk all of the time their tree-hugging/earth-loving ways and YET they consume massive amounts of animals (most of them are from CAFOs). It just seems like a HUGE disconnect for me. I just don’t get it. And I don’t get it. At all.
And I also don’t get how they don’t see that paleo is *NOT* a diet anyone on our planet adheres to except maybe the Inuits. What culture just advocates meat and nuts and a few veg? No beans? Beans for goodness sakes! When we look back on cultures throughout history and examine those with the healthiest diets (Okinawa, Mediterranean, East Asian…) we see that they are primarily plant based.
End of rant. I could go on, but I gotta go make a pot of minestrone. 🙂
Hi Sarah,
Thank you for your meaningful comment. Diets and fads come and go but evolution and history show us that grains and beans were an integral part of our natural diets. Never before have so many eaten so much meat and animal products! I hope this sparks some dialogue on the subject. Thanks again!
I saw “steel toe” socks at the department store, couldn’t find plant-based boots, go figure (yet it’s nice to see the word “vegan” defining a food label, so I don’t have to question whether everything else on the it defines me, being what I eat, as it were).
The it defines a typo in this case, coincidentally.
And did the socks have a steel toe? No. But I think you’ve said “organic” is the only certified label, so there we go.
Would you define yourself as organic? Almost sounds like a trick question…
Well, the socks may have had some steel-based fibers in them, but that’s only a grain of truth. I’m wondering about organic water, myself (being mostly water)…
But I digress, and will take an educated guess, that only a vegetable labled vegan could be taken literally (while this, as an ingredient, might qualify the vegan label as steel toe semantics).
Regardless of whether we’re tap dancing around veganism to such an extent (as buying American made conglomerations is a homogenous act of organicism), have fun with your culinary dance, Melody (and I’ll try to wear plant-based socks for mine).
Of course, this keeps getting better (with one step forward and two back at ya), when “plant-based” can just as well mean something’s produced with industrial equipment, right (that’s our other left foot).
You know, organics is about comparing apples and oranges, so I’m with you on this, somehow, I’m sure of it!
Love your wit!
Great article, I appreciate your views on our planet and the welfare of animals. Hoping that one day more will realize the value of a healthy life for is far greater than a dollar!
Thank you,
Joe Bellavia
President
Bellavia Organics
http://www.bellavia-organics.com
Thank you for the comment. I do think we undervalue the importance of our food.
Sorry “The value of a healthy life is far greater than the value of a dollar”
Good day! I know this is kinda off topic but
I was wondering which blog platform are you using for this site?
I’m getting tired of WordPress because I’ve had problems with hackers and
I’m looking at alternatives for another platform. I would be
fantastic if you could point me in the direction of a good platform.
This is very interesting, You’re a very skilled blogger.
I have joined your rss feed and look forward to seeking more of your great post.
Also, I’ve shared your site in my social networks!
Hello! Do you know if they make any plugins to protect against hackers?
I’m kinda paranoid about losing everything I’ve worked hard on. Any
tips?
Thank you for commenting and reading!
Sweet blog! I found it while browsing on Yahoo News.
Do you have any suggestions on how to get listed in Yahoo News?
I’ve been trying for a while but I never seem to get
there! Cheers
The speed of the circulation of air can also
be adjusted as per the requirement. In other words, agriculture has the potential
to become a fighter against climate change. The foundation operates by sponsoring
“organic farming research and education,” and helping to create policy that will instill
organic farming into our farming society. Little cost of nutrients,
since the nutrition blended along with normal water are usually reprocessed.
Use of artificial supplements to maintain health.