Don't Get Mad, Get GLAD: Organic Farming

This is part 5 of my research on global food movements entitled
GLOBALIZATION: It's what's for dinner

Global food movements making a difference:
ORGANIC FARMING

Though One Planet Living is not specifically a global food movement, it exemplifies one of the most important principles in other movements - sustainability. Sustainability is defined as “meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs," [19] and nowhere is it more evident today than in the organic farming movement which has also been referred to as sustainable agriculture.


In the largest known survey of worldwide sustainable agriculture, Pretty and Hine note that sustainable agriculture, which is now a financially feasible option for farmers, makes "the best use of nature’s goods and services as functional inputs." [20] By integrating natural and regenerative processes, it minimizes the use of non-renewable inputs of conventional farming (pesticides and fertilizers), which are now known to damage the environment and harm the health of the farmer and the consumer.

During the first 40 years of the 20th century, advances in biochemistry and engineering rapidly and profoundly changed farming in industrialized countries. Gas-powered vehicles, mechanized farms, hybrid seeds, and nitrogen fertilizer were embraced and became affordably abundant and developed for the conventional farming system. Technological advances during World War II accelerated all aspects of agriculture, with advances in large-scale irrigation, fertilization, and pesticides. In particular, two chemicals, ammonium nitrate and DDT, were repurposed for peacetime agricultural uses.

In 1944, the international campaign called the "Green Revolution" changed the face of farming practices around the world through the use of hybrid seeds, which were fed by chemical fertilizers, protected by pesticides, and harvested through large-scale irrigation and heavy mechanization in single crop farms. Beginning in Mexico with private funding from the US, traditional indigenous practices were soon replaced by a dependence on multinational corporations for supplies.

Agricultural diversity and local seeds would eventually be lost as farmers in the developing world bought the promise of better crops and increased revenue. Though there was initial success, over time soil nutrients were depleted; crops required more poison for protection and production; harvests produced less as the food quality declined. Within this farming climate the fast food movement took root in the US during the 1950s, and internationally beginning in the 1960s.

In their book, Hope's Edge, Frances Moore Lappé and daughter Anna tell the story of Navdanya, a movement in India, which, according to one of its leaders, "wants to retrieve indigenous food and drink from extinction through pleasure - and fast, before our taste buds are completely stolen by Pepsi and Coke." [21] According to the Lappés, Navdanya fears that Indians are being "sucked into this radical, experimental diet - the one spreading from America to the rest of the world, bringing with it heart disease, cancer, and diabetes." [22]

Farmers in India like those in Mexico bought into the Green Revolution and have been paying the consequence in terms of human health, environmental damage, and financial losses ever since. By empowering farmers with knowledge and skills, and reintroducing native seeds and resources to off-set the five to seven year transition as the soil is rebuilt, Navdanya is now changing the lives of farmers and communities through organic, indigenous farming practices and crops that were nearly lost.

How ironic that as India today reclaims its agricultural heritage, India a century ago is where the roots of the modern organic farming movement began. Conscious organic farming (as opposed to the agriculture of indigenous cultures, which "always employs only organic means," which Wikipedia correctly notes) began in the early 1900s through Rudolf Steiner's first comprehensive organic farming system in Germany in 1924, and the research by British botanist Sir Albert Howard who came to regard Indian farming practices as superior to conventional agriculture science. [23]

According to William Tate in 1994, there are three main phases of the international organic movement: (1) 1924-1970 = Struggle and financial difficulty as core works were written amid a hostile environment due to the rise of new conventional farming practices; (2) 1970-1980 = Key organic symbols were established, the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements was founded (1972), 'green' awareness grew, and retailer outlets multiplied as customer awareness of the risks in conventional farming were raised and organic demand increased; and (3) 1980 on = Popular acceptance as national and international standards were set and governments introduced organic aid schemes for farmers. [24]

In their 2001 study, Pretty and Hine note, however, that though there has been "a very rapid spread" of sustainable agriculture in the last decade and considerable global recognition of the need for policies, in most countries, organic farming remains in the margins. [25] Only Cuba and Switzerland have given explicit national support for sustainable agriculture.

In the United States, organic farming is recognized as one of the fastest growing segments in U.S. agriculture with the market for organic products expanding and expected to continue its expansion as consumers are becoming increasingly aware about conventional farming and its impact on human health due to pesticide residues, and environmental health due to the loss of wildlife species and natural habitats, and rise of pollution and non-renewable resources. Michael Pollan’s poular 2006 book on organic agriculture, The Omnivore’s Dilemma, has also raised awareness about the realities in the industry.

Nationwide, organic food sales have grown 20 percent annually in the last eight years due to consumer demand. [26] In their book, the Lappés also tell the story of a Wisconsin farmer who transitioned to organic practices from farm chemicals which he says killed his father. "Consumers are smarter now," he says. "Once a week there's something in the paper about what's going on - hormones, pesticides, resistance to antibiotics. So the big food chains are responding. They are working with us to get organics into their stores. . . . because consumers have a vote and they're using it." [27]

Next week:
Other sustainable food movements

[19] "Sustainability," United States Environmental Protection Agency, http://www.epa.gov/Sustainability/ (accessed December 16, 2008).
[20] Jules Pretty and Rachel Hine, "Reducing Food Poverty with Sustainable Agriculture," Centre for Environment and Society, University of Essex, UK, http://www.essex.ac.uk/ces/esu/occasionalpapers/SAFErepSUBHEADS.shtm (accessed December 16, 2008), 11.
[21] Frances Moore Lappé and Anna Lappé, Hope's Edge: The Next Diet for a Small Planet, First Trade paperback edition 2003 (New York: Jeremy P. Tarcher/Putnam, 2002, 148.
[22] Ibid., 148.
[23] "History of organic farming," Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_organic_farming (accessed December 16, 2008).
[24] William B. Tate, "The Development of the Organic Industry and Market: An International Perspective," in The Economics of Organic Farming: An International Perspective, ed. N.H. Lampkin and S. Padel (Oxon, UK:CAB International, 1994), 11.
[25] Pretty and Hine, 21.
[26] cf. Lappé and Lappé, 270 and "History of organic farming," Wikipedia.
[27] Lappé and Lappé, 270.

Don't Get Mad, Get GLAD: One Planet Living

This is part 4 of my research on global food movements, entitled
GLOBALIZATION: It's what's for dinner.

Global food movements making a difference: ONE PLANET LIVING

With growth rates unprecedented before the 20th century, the world's population is estimated to be about 6.7 billion today, and with population projections, is expected to reach nearly 9 billion by the year 2042. [13] As the population mushrooms and the lifestyle choices of global people shift towards more Western and American ways, researchers predict that we are headed for an inevitable future.

Erik Assadourian, Project Director of Vital Signs 2007-2008 writes, "It is increasingly clear that if we follow our current path much longer it will likely take Earth millennia to recover from the devastation we have caused. One entity among the thousands of threatened species and ecosystems may not make it through this global change: human civilization." [14] The United Nations Environment Program echoes this in its 2007 report, which asserts that, "The human population is living far beyond its means and inflicting damage to the point of no return." [15]

Climate change, the rate of extinction of species and the challenge of feeding a growing earth population are factors that are putting the planet at risk. Achim Steiner, executive director of the UN Environment Program, said, "The human population is now so large that the amount of resources needed to sustain it exceeds what is available at current consumption patterns." The most recent measurement shows that humans currently use the resources of 1.25 Earths and are thus depleting the ecological capital on which future populations will depend. [16]

As growth accelerates in both the first and the two-thirds world, so does the depletion of ecological capital and environmental resources.

This reality is the philosophical foundation of One Planet Living, a global initiative based on 10 principles of sustainability developed by BioRegional, a British-based NGO, and WWF, the largest multinational conservation organization in the world. [17] The starting point of One Planet Living is based on the scientific principle of eco-footprinting.

Eduardo Gonçalves, Coordinator of One Planet Living in Portugal, describes it this way.

Put crudely, the world has approximately 12 billion hectares of bioproductive land: this is the area of land (and sea) that can usefully provide us with food, fuel, fibres etc as well as forest cover to absorb our CO2 emissions. On the other end of the scale is the world’s population of approximately 6 billion. Divide the first by the second and that leaves us with a per capita global quota of 2 hectares. However, if we actually measure the rate of resource consumption and waste reduction in the developed world, we see that we are consuming an unfair share of the planet’s resources. The land and sea needed to satisfy the demands of the average EU citizen is nearer to the equivalent of 6 hectares. . . . Clearly, this is not sustainable. We need to find ways to live within the world’s natural limits. [18]

Based on these calculations, the rallying cry of One Planet Living is: "If everyone in the world lived like an average European, we'd need 3 planets to live on. If we all lived like an average North American, we'd need 5 planets."

The aim is to translate these principles into reality in a series of model or ‘flagship’ communities, one on each continent of the globe. One Planet Living Pioneer Communities are being developed in Australia, China, South Africa, North America and the EU, with the first underway in Portugal.

Yet, it is not just about the founding sustainable communities. Through the internet, individuals also are being challenged to make changes in their lifestyle, diet, and consumption patterns. Local authorities in Canada and Britain are looking to implement One Planet Living as municipal policy. According to Gonçalves, the London Olympic body has decided to make the 2012 Games a One Planet Living event "complete with an urban regeneration and nature restoration strategy designed to leave a lasting legacy for people and planet."

One Planet Living is catching on globally though in the US there is currently little if any awareness.

Next week:
Global food movements making a difference: ORGANIC FARMING

[13] "Current World Population," Worldometers, http://www.worldometers.info/population/
[14] Erik Assadourian, "Acknowledgements," in Vital Signs 2007-2008: The Trends That Are Shaping Our Future, ed. Linda Starke (New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 2007), 9.
[15] James Kanter, "U.N. Warns of Rapid Decay of Environment," The New York Times International, October 26, 2007.
[16] Global Footprint Network, (accessed December 16, 2008).National Footprint and Biocapacity Accounts, 2006 edition (Oakland, 2006). Cited in Vital Signs 2007-2008, 54.
[17] The 10 principles of One Planet Living are: zero carbon, zero waste, sustainable transport, local and sustainable materials, local and sustainable foods, sustainable water, natural habitats and wildlife, cultural and heritage, equity and fair trade, and health and happiness.
[18] Eduardo Gonçalves, “One Planet Living: Innovative Partnerships for Sustainability, Development and Conservation,” Europa - European Commission, http://ec.europa.eu/regional_policy/conferences/od2006/doc/presentations/c/goncalves_12c12.doc (accessed December 16, 2008).

We interrupt this series for CHOCOLATE CAKE

If you know me or if you've followed this blog, you know that I'm always in search of the "perfect" chocolate cake. My taste buds appreciate a dark, moist, subtly bittersweet chocolate cake, which is rich, but not overly dense. And for a good piece of chocolate cake, I do make exceptions in my vegan, and now, my raw vegan diet.

Though I do enjoy chocolate cakes that use animal products, for me, the "perfect" chocolate cake is one that meets my standards but is also raw and vegan. A futile search? No longer. I've found THE recipe. After my personal taste tests and three rounds of "non-baking," with slices enjoyed by a handful of my guinea pigs, I am interrupting this blog series on Globalization and Food to share my recipe of the "perfect chocolate cake" with you!



THE PERFECT CHOCOLATE CAKE: raw & vegan
3 cups walnuts
20 medjual dates (pitted)
2/3 cups carob powder (cacao or cocoa powder also work)
1 t vanilla extract
¼ t sea salt

1. Process walnuts with salt in food processor. Pulse to mix, but do not over process as walnuts will get oily. Consistency should be larger than a grain of sand but smaller than a pebble.
2. Add carob powder, dates, and vanilla.
3. Continue processing as the mixture becomes a cake-like consistency, slightly granular, like sand. When pressed together, the mixture should hold its shape.
4. Place mixture on a plate and form into shape. (It will feel like you're making a cake out of sand!)
5. The cake may be cut into slices and enjoyed as is, or you can top with shredded coconut and/or sliced fruit (like strawberries or bananas), or you can frost it with soy whip cream or a cashew nut frosting.

My taste testers have been surprised at how intensely rich this cake is in terms of its texture, color, and flavor. And who would have thought that chocolate cake could actually be good for you as dates and walnuts have wonderful health benefits? With no added processed sugars, this yummy dessert actually satisfies those afternoon craving for sweets.

Though vegan-me has been getting all the credit for this cake, it comes from Andrea Primm, raw food chef and instructor. Check out her YouTube video and watch her create this 10-minute or less recipe.

NOW BACK TO THE REGULARLY SCHEDULED SERIES
Next week:
Global Food Movements making a difference
.

The Standard American Diet 2

This is part 3 of my research on global food movements, entitled
GLOBALIZATION: It's what's for dinner.
(Please note: This week's photo may be disturbing, yet for some, it is dinner.)

A SAD STORY:
The Standard American Diet and Farming

The rise of the global fast food empire has not only changed dietary patterns and increased health risk, it has also led to fundamental changes in the farming industry. What came first - the new technologies or the demand for cheap standardized quality-controlled food - is hard to say, but the two were wed in the fast food industry, which has transformed global food production over the past 50 years.

In his book, Schlosser describes the "advances" in potato production, as well as the beef and poultry industries during the initial rise of the fast food giants. Though more efficient and cost effective, the changes resulted in major abuses, which continue to impact people and the environment. Prompted by the needs of these growing corporations, large farms have now replaced small farms; the harvest of a single product has replaced a variety of rotated crops; pesticides and synthetic fertilizers are now required necessities; antibiotics and growth hormones in meat are standard practices; assembly line meat-packing abuses, slaughter house wastewater "lagoons," meat contamination, food borne pathogens, chemicals, preservatives and additives in processed foods, genetically modified crops (GMO), intense competition, multinational corporations - all are the realities of contemporary food production due in large part to profit on the side of the producer and increased demand on the side of the consumer.

"Agricide" is how Michael W. Fox describes the quiet holocaust taking place worldwide in the animal kingdom and in the environment as human beings, often as unknowing perpetrators, participate in the inhumane treatment of animals by purchasing certain foods, which lead to the production of deadly environmental pollution. [8] It is the dietary demand for a Western diet of meat, represented in fast food, which has changed farming practices worldwide and is having a negative impact on the environment.

According to Vital Signs 2007-2008 by The Worldwatch Institute, an independent research organization, meat production increased 2.5% to an estimated 276 million tons in 2006, with an expected rise in 2007 to 285 million tons. [9] The increase in meat production has been on a steady rise since studies began in 1961, with the current surge coming from Asia. It is estimated that in the developing world, people eat about 32 kilograms of meat per year, compared with almost 85 kilograms per person in the industrial world. With the ever-expanding advance of the fast food industry, this figure is expected to continue its rise as dietary preferences shift worldwide as is currently occurring in Asia. "The developing nations are copying us," writes John Robbins. "They associate meat eating with economic status of the developed nations, and continue to strive to emulate it." [10]

Though worldwide livestock production is up, livestock is "the single largest anthropogenic user of land," as meat production accounts for 70 percent of all agricultural land and 30 percent of the land surface of the planet. [11] In addition, they are responsible for 18% of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, which is higher than the share contributed by cars and sport utility vehicles. Of GHG, livestock account for 37% of methane, which has more than 20 times the global warming capacity of carbon dioxide, and 65% of nitrous oxide, which comes from the "lagoons" of manure at slaughterhouses. Schlosser explains these lagoons as such, "Each steer deposits about fifty pounds of manure every day. Unlike human waste, this manure is not sent to a treatment plant. It is dumped into pits, huge pools of excrement. . . . The amount of waste left . . . is staggering." [12]

With GHG rising through animal farming and poisonous chemical fertilizers being injected into the soil for crop production, the globalization of the American diet really is an agricide, but food movements across the world are taking notice and taking action.

Next week:
Global Food Movements making a difference

[8] Michael W. Fox, Eating with Conscience: The Bioethics of Food (Troutdale, OR: New Sage Press, 1997), 11.
[9] Danielle Nierenberg, "Meat Output and Consumption Grow," in Vital Signs 2007-2008: The Trends That Are Shaping Our Future, ed. Linda Starke (New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 2007), 24.
[10] John Robbins, Diet For A New America, (Tiburon: H.J. Kramer Book and New World Library, 1987), 351.
[11] Nierenberg, 24.
[12] Schlosser, 150.

The Standard American Diet

This is part 2 of my research on global food movements, entitled
GLOBALIZATION: It's what's for dinner.

A SAD STORY:
The growing problem of
the Standard American Diet

It may be a generalization to say that it all started with a hamburger, but the globalization of the Standard American Diet is represented today by one. The hamburger is now a worldwide fast food phenomenon, with McDonald's as the proverbial "king," operating over 31,000 restaurants in 119 countries, serving nearly 47 million customers each day, and employing more than 1.5 million people. [3] For many around the planet, as in Hong Kong today, eating at McDonald's is "an ordinary, everyday experience" as the chain creates a transnational culture, becoming a pop icon and local institution by blending into the landscape and adapting to the culture. [4]

This glocalizing of the American diet is evidence of expanding globalization in many cultures. Books like Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser and Don't Eat this Book by Morgan Spurlock tell the story of the fast food movement, but also the shifts that have occurred in food preferences, which have resulted in an increase in health risk factors and shifts in farming practices. The tale these books tell is really a SAD one.

Schlosser writes, "The obesity epidemic that began in the United States during the late 1970s is now spreading to the rest of the world, with fast food as one of its vectors." [5] As the number of fast food restaurants in Great Britain roughly doubled, he goes on tell, so did the obesity rate among adults. Unlike the Brits who eat more fast food than other Western Europeans and who have the highest obesity rates, Italy and Spain have the lowest rate, while consuming far less fast food fare. In Japan, overweight people, once a rarity, are now common as the traditional healthy diet of rice, vegetables, and soy products is being replaced by an increase in red meat, a Western diet, and American fast food with its "Bi-gu Ma-ku."

Schlosser notes that, "The relationship between a nation's fast food consumption and its rate of obesity has not been definitely established through any long term, epidemiological study. The growing popularity of fast food is just one of many cultural changes that have been brought about by globalization. Nevertheless, it seems wherever America's fast food chains go, waistlines start expanding."

And it's not just waistlines that are expanding. The risks of a heart attack, cancer, diabetes, and other degenerative diseases also rise as Campbell and Campbell reveal in The China Study, the most comprehensive international study of nutrition ever conducted. [6] The study, which began in 1983, found that the greatest single influence on the growth of degenerative diseases was the amount of animal fat and animal protein eaten – the more you eat, the greater your risk. A recent 2008 study of 16,000 participants in 52 countries confirmed again that a western diet of fried food, salty snacks, meat and eggs (what would be classified as a typical fast food meal) accounts for 30 percent of heart attack risk across the world. The study noted that "the same relationships that are observed in Western countries exist in different regions of the world." [7]

Next week:
The Standard American Diet and the farming industry

[3] McDonald's Canada, "FAQs," http://www.mcdonalds.ca/en/aboutus/faq.aspx (accessed December 15, 2008).
[4] James L. Watson, "McDonald's in Hong Kong," in The Globalization Reader, 3rd ed., ed. Frank J. Lechner and John Boli (Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing, 2008), 129.
[5] Eric Schlosser, Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal (Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2001), 242.
[6] T. Colin Campbell and Thomas M. Campbell II, The China Study, 1st Benbella paperback ed. (Dallas: Benbella Books, 2006).
[7] "'Western' Diet Increases Heart Attack Risk Globally," ScienceDaily (October 22, 2008), http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/10/081020171337.htm (accessed October 31, 2008).

GLOBALIZATION: It's what's for for dinner.

My first full-time semester back in school with part-time work proved to be rather rigorous, leaving little time for me to maintain a weekly blog. However, for one of my courses (Globalization and Missions), I was able to focus on a topic that interests me: FOOD! I researched and wrote about contemporary global food trends. Because I want to keep this blog up and running, and to provide information and resources to encourage others to choose healthier and more environmentally friendly options in diet and lifestyle, I thought I'd feature sections of my paper over the coming weeks. I found the research invigorating (and infuriating). I hope you enjoy it and find it informative as you consider the choices you make each day for dinner.

GLOBALIZATION: It's what's for for dinner.
An Overview of Contemporary Global Food Trends
(It's not just a SAD story after all.)

Part 1:
INTRODUCTION
The statistics can be disheartening. Obesity, heart disease, diabetes, colon cancer, breast cancer - the "diseases of civilization" - are all on the rise worldwide, while slaughterhouse scandals, mad cow disease, food born illnesses, avion bird flu, and meat recalls regularly appear in the headlines. The facts tell us that global dietary patterns have shifted in the past 50 years primarily due to the globalization of the Standard American Diet (SAD) [1]. The introduction of fast food choices has contributed to a decrease in overall health and an increase in the environmental crisis around the planet. It is currently a SAD story, but hopeful signs of a GLAD ending are emerging through Global Living Awareness Diets (GLAD) [2]. As the clown, the king, and the sub make their global way into communities, individuals are taking notice and making new choices. NGO food movements are pushing back and washing the palate of the world with fresh, local, healthy alternatives which nourish the body and the soul.

Best-selling books and numerous published health studies delineate the global trends and health risks related to a SAD fast food diet. This paper will summarize some of the key issues and highlight global food movements which combat them, offering consumers new choices which GLADden hearts, improve health, and ultimately, help save the planet.

Next week:
A SAD STORY: The growing problem of the Standard American Diet

[1] The "Standard American Diet" (S.A.D.) is a term coined by Peter Singer and Jim Mason in their 2006 book, The Ethics of What We Eat. They discuss the ethical implications resulting from the diets of three families, a "S.A.D." diet, a "Conscientious Omnivore" diet, and a vegan diet.
[2] GLAD is an acronym I created as a shorthand description of dietary choices that are globally aware of what it means to live in this new millennium.

No words needed

With Labor Day weekend here and my courses at FST beginning this week, summer is now over. Unfortunately, my summer plan to teach about vegan nutrition via this blog never materialized. The primary reason: MY COMPUTER, which had major issues early June and finally crashed on my birthday. By the time I purchased a new lap-top and was back to full on-line functioning, it was mid-August. With school around the corner, I decided to enjoy the rest of the summer, which I did.

During the summer, I took many steps forward in my journey as a "raw (or rawer) vegan". I have new restaurants and stores, which I will review. And I have numerous experiences, which I plan to share as I get back into the discipline of reading, writing, and blogging (unless of course, a full-time course load and part-time work get the best of me!).

Though I was not able to use this blog to articulate the nutritional value of a vegan and especially a raw vegan diet, my vegan life was able to make a positive difference this summer. Many of the vegetarian resources say that the greatest impact you can have in changing someone's diet and ultimately improving their health comes through your example and lifestyle. By doing what you do, and eating as you eat, people are watching and learning. I discovered the reality of this over the summer.

At camp these past months, I've been basing many more meals around the main kitchen. With the freshest produce in the walk-in fridge, it has been a lot of "grab and go." As my diet shifted and I began to decline certain meals, one of the cooks asked me point blank one day early this summer = "You're eating raw, aren't you?"

I had barely admitted to myself that I was a raw vegan, but caught red-handed, I fumbled for an answer and tentatively replied, "Yeah, I guess I'm eating rawer."

From the beginning, she has been observing my changing food choices. We've talked casually about diet, and she's overheard conversations I've had with her husband about health and fitness. And just last week she shared with me that she's taking a step forward with her health and giving up red meat. I'm so proud of her! Though hamburgers are still her weakness, it's a start and we all start somewhere. With the changes she has made, she's been feeling more energetic, less bogged down, and has even begun to lose weight!

At the neighborhood food pantry where I volunteer, I've had numerous opportunities to share about my diet. As we sort food, take food, and read food labels, we simply end up talking about food each Sunday. The food pantry workers are probably the first to learn about my latest decisions surrounding food choices, especially this summer as I've taken the "road less cooked."

A few weeks back, our food distribution coordinator shared with me that she has decided to eat raw during the daytime. It's been going very well and she is now enjoying it. Though she still cooks breakfast and dinner for her husband and family, she has shared that there are days she simply doesn't feel like eating what she's prepared so she will sit there with raw snap peas, her new favorite snack food.

She shared again today how Sunday after church lunches at a restaurant are now making her sick, and how, after the empenadas she had today, she thinks she's finally getting the message = Don't eat it! Her taste buds are changing, her body is detoxing, and through it, she has now lost 13 pounds in about 3 weeks. Her skin has cleared up and her allergies have not been as bad, and if anything, are disappearing. The wonders of going raw!

Her new favorite TV show is now on BBC America, "You are what you eat!" I've not seen it, but it sounds like my kind of show. She shared about one episode where they used 200 pounds of beef to form a human body, and then poured fat on it. The fat immediately coagulated when it touched the cold dead cow. Disgusting. She said, "The image would make any meat eater turn."

While I cannot take ALL the credit for her decision to eat raw during the day times, I do believe that my eating habits did have an influence.

As St. Francis is believed to have said (though I've not yet found it in my readings): "Preach the gospel. And if necessary, use words." Though I wasn't able to "teach" about vegan nutrition this summer, I am thankful that my example did encourage others to choose healthier and more environmentally friendly options in diet and lifestyle. And that is what this blog is really all about.