6 Reasons to Go Vegan

Take this 6 facts:

• Worldwide over 852 million people go hungry.
• 79% of annual world cereal + soy harvest is consumed by the 20billion "farm- animals".
• To produce 1 kg of meat, you need 7-16 kg corn or soy beans+ 15.000 litres of water.
• On the surface, which is needed to harvest 1 kg of meat, could generate, in the same period, 200 kg of tomatoes or 160 kg of potatoes.
• 50% of water pollution in Europe are caused by factory farms.
• The contribution of livestock to the greenhouse effect is the same as that of the entire global, auto, air and waterway together.

GO VEGAN ! ♥

Redirecting even a portion of the grain used to fatten cattle could feed every hungry mouth on the planet.
- Forks Over Knives

Original Here!

Eating Meat = Poisoning the Earth

Industrial-scale agriculture now dominates the western livestock and poultry industries, and a single farm can now generate as much waste as a city. A cow excretes around 40kg of manure for every kilogram of edible beef it puts on and when you have many thousands crowded into a small area the effect can be dramatic. Their manure and urine is funnelled into massive waste lagoons sometimes holding as many as 40m gallons. These cesspools often break, leak or overflow, polluting underground water supplies and rivers with nitrogen, phosphorus and nitrates.

Tens of thousands of miles of rivers in the US, Europe and Asia are polluted each year. A single spill of millions of gallons of waste from a North Carolina pig factory lagoon in 1995 killed about 10 million fish and forced the closure of 364,000 acres of coastal wetlands to shellfishing.

The sheer quantity of animals now being raised for humans to eat now threatens the earth's biodiversity. More than one third of the world's 825 "ecoregions" identified by conservation group WWF are said to be threatened by livestock and giant US group Conservation International reckons that 23 out of 40-odd global "biodiversity hotspots" – the places considered most valuable for life – are now seriously affected by livestock production.

Eating Meat = Wasting Water

Eat a steak or a chicken and you are effectively consuming the water that the animal has needed to live and grow. Vegetarian author John Robbins calculates it takes 60, 108, 168, and 229 pounds of water to produce one pound of potatoes, wheat, maize and rice respectively. But a pound of beef needs around 9,000 liters – or more than 20,000lbs of water. Equally, it takes nearly 1,000 liters of water to produce one liter of milk. A broiler chicken, by contrast, is far more efficient, producing the same amount of meat as a cow on just 1,500 liters.

Pigs are some of the thirstiest animals. An average-sized north American pig farm with 80,000 pigs needs nearly 75m gallons of fresh water a year. A large one, which might have one million or more pigs, may need as much as a city.

Farming, which uses 70% of water available to humans, is already in direct competition for water with cities. But as demand for meat increases, so there will be less available for both crops and drinking. Rich but water-stressed countries such as Saudi Arabia, Libya, the Gulf states and South Africa say it makes sense to grow food in poorer countries to conserve their water resources, and are now buying or leasing millions of hectares of Ethiopia and elsewhere to provide their food. Every cow fattened in Gambella state in southern Ethiopia and exported to Abu Dhabi or Britain is taking the pressure off water supplies back home but increasing it elsewhere.

Eating Meat = Eating up Land

A human population expected to grow by 3 billion, a shift in developing countries to eating more meat, and global consumption on track to double in 40 years point to the mother of all food crises down the road. How much food we grow is not just limited by the amount of available land but meat-eaters need far more space than vegetarians. A Bangladeshi family living off rice, beans, vegetables and fruit may live on an acre of land or less, while the average American, who consumes around 270 pounds of meat a year, needs 20 times that.

Nearly 30% of the available ice-free surface area of the planet is now used by livestock, or for growing food for those animals. One billion people go hungry every day, but livestock now consumes the majority of the world's crops. A Cornell University study in 1997 found that around 13m hectares of land in the US were used to grow vegetables, rice, fruit, potatoes and beans, but 302m were used for livestock. The problem is that farm animals are inefficient converters of food to flesh. Broiler chickens are the best, needing around 3.4kg to produce 1kg of flesh, but pigs need 8.4kg for that kilo.

Other academics have calculated that if the grain fed to animals in western countries were consumed directly by people instead of animals, we could feed at least twice as many people – and possibly far more – as we do now.

To make matters worse, our hunger to eat animals has led to overstocking of fragile lands and massive soil erosion and desertification. Overgrazing, from the down lands of southern England to the uplands of Ethiopia and mountains of Nepal, causes great loss of fertility, as well as flooding.

Eating Meat = Overheating the Planet

We humans eat about 230m tonnes of animals a year, twice as much as we did 30 years ago. We mostly breed four species – chickens, cows, sheep and pigs – all of which need vast amounts of food and water, emit methane and other greenhouse gases and produce mountains of physical waste.

But how much stress does our meat-eating put on ecological systems? The answer is a lot but the figures are imprecise and disputed. In 2006, the UN calculated that the combined climate change emissions of animals bred for their meat were about 18% of the global total – more than cars, planes and all other forms of transport put together.

The authors of the report, called Livestock's Long Shadow, did not just count the methane from the belching, farting cattle, but the gases released from the manures that they produce, the oil burned taking their carcasses to markets often thousands of miles away, the electricity needed to keep the meat cool, the gas used to cook it, the energy needed to plough and harvest the fields that grow the crops that the animals eat, even pumping the water that the cattle need.

The figure was revised upward in 2009 by two World Bank scientists to more than 51%, but attempts to fully account for meat-eating are condemned as simplistic. Should the studies have been based on giant US factory farms, or on more sustainable breeding in Europe? Should you include all the knock-on emissions from clearing forests? What about the fertiliser used to grow the crops to feed to the animals, or the emissions from the steel needed to build the boats that transport the cattle; or the "default" emissions – the greenhouse gases that would be released by substitute activities to grow food if we were to give up meat? And is it fair to count animals used for multiple purposes, as they mostly are in developing countries, from providing draught power to shoe leather or transport, and which only become meat once they reach the end of their economic lives?

It's an accounting nightmare but depending on how it's done, livestock's contribution to climate change can be calculated as low as 5-10% of global emissions or as high as 50%. Last year, a Food Climate Research Network report concluded that UK meat and dairy consumption was responsible for 8% of the country's total greenhouse gas emissions. But however it's counted, livestock farming ranks as one of the three greatest sources of climate changing emissions and one of the largest contributors to environmental degradation.

Environmental Reasons to Stop Drinking Milk

What could be more American than a glass of milk? Cow's milk, that is. In light of this common perception, the time is long overdue to add the milk mustache to that ever-growing list of American myths. Human beings are not designed to drink any milk except human milk (only during infancy, of course). As you'll see below, consuming dairy products—milk, cheese, yogurt, sour cream, ice cream, etc.—is not green and it's not healthy.

It's also a nightmare for the cows themselves. Here's a little of how the folks at GoVeg describe it: "The 9 million cows living on dairy farms in the United States spend most of their lives in large sheds or on feces-caked mud lots, where disease is rampant. Cows raised for their milk are repeatedly impregnated. Their babies are taken away so that humans can drink the milk intended for the calves. When their exhausted bodies can no longer provide enough milk, they are sent to slaughter and ground up for hamburgers."

Living dairy-free has never been easier...so here's a little motivation to get you on the greener, cruelty-free, not-milk track.

Environmental Reasons to Avoid Milk

1. Dairy cows produce waste.
Lots of waste. In fact, your average dairy cow produces 120 pounds of waste every day—equal to that of more than two dozen people, but without toilets, sewers, or treatment plants.

2. Let me repeat: Dairy cows produce lots and lots of waste (and greenhouse gases).
California produces one-fifth of the country's total milk supply. According to MilkSucks.com, "in the Central Valley of California, the cows produce as much excrement as a city of 21 million people, and even a smallish farm of 200 cows will produce as much nitrogen as in the sewage from a community of 5,000 to 10,000 people, according to a U.S. Senate report on animal waste."

3. Milk production ultimately leads to climate change.
The dairy industry is an extension of the beef industry (used-up dairy cows are sent to the slaughterhouse after an average of four years, one-fifth their normal life expectancy) which means it plays a major role in creating climate change. Here's the equation: The dairy industry uses cows before passing them on to be slaughtered by the beef industry which is now recognized as an environmental nightmare. "According to a UN report," writes Brian Merchant, "cows are leading contributors to climate change ... Accounting for putting out 18% of the world's carbon dioxide, cows emit more greenhouse gases than cars, planes, and all other forms of transportation combined." That means the industry of exploiting all cows—including dairy cows—involves destructive practices like deforestation and polluting offshoots like runoff.

4. Milk often contains unwanted ingredients.
Under current industrial methods, cow's milk is often a toxic bovine brew of man-made ingredients like bio-engineered hormones, antibiotics (55% of U.S. antibiotics are fed to livestock), and pesticides—all of which are bad for us and the environment. For example, unintentional pesticide poisonings kill an estimated 355,000 people globally each year. In addition the drugs pumped into livestock often re-visit us in our water supply.

Meat Consuming is Responsible for 80% of the Destruction of the Forests

Did you know?
The meat consuming is responsible for 80% of the destruction of the Forests, Rainforests and Jungles around the world.

Specially in Brazil, the world´s biggest meat productor. Where does this meat comes from? From the AMAZON.

The whole Rainforest is being destroyed and the Native people (Indians) are being expelled with violence from their villages only to give space to grass fields that will feed the oxe for only a few years.

Now they do not have anywhere to go and anything to eat, for their tents and plantations have been destroyed.

The rivers are running dry in those places for the water NEEDS the trees there to keep its cycle.

In Amazon it works like that:
TREES=RAIN
NO TREES=NO RAIN

When the fields go dry, they move to the next fertile land. They do it over and over again.
THEY ARE TURNING THE AMAZON INTO A DESERT!

It happened once, a long time ago the Ancient Egypt was built on fertile lands around the Nile, but they destroyed it with the ox farms to the same way!

Please help us to stop this madness, stop this destruction!
Stop being a parasite!

The food that feeds these animals (a +200 million oxes hood!) could be feeding the children of the brazilian favelas and Africa together!

BE VEG, IT'S YOUR NATURE, JOIN US!

And congratulations to all the vegans and vegetarians around the world.

"Vegan revolution, the next step of the human evolution!"

Why Vegetarian Diets Are Good for Your Health, Planet, and Bank Account

You probably know that vegetarianism is good for you. You may have also thought of it as difficult or dull. In fact, it can be easy and great fun.

Vegetarianism may not be for everyone. But if you’re reading this, you’re probably curious and open to learning more.

Good for your health

Some people are drawn to vegetarianism for moral or religious reasons, while others appreciate the many health benefits: Depending on your food choices, you may lower your cholesterol, lose weight, reduce your risk of heart disease, cancer, or Type 2 diabetes, improve digestion of food, and reduce the risk of constipation.

Good for the earth

The meat industry generates nearly one-fifth of man-made greenhouse gas emissions, according to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization. By choosing a more plant-based diet, we could collectively take a big bite out of that.

Good for your wallet

While it’s possible to spend a lot on some vegetarian foods – such as organic imported or off-season fruits and vegetables – much of the world’s poor people eat a mainly vegetarian diet based on staples such as rice, beans, and corn. A pound of dried beans and rice will cost much less than the cheapest cuts of beef, and a pound of tofu is generally less expensive than chicken breasts.

But the biggest savings could be long-term. By remaining healthy and avoiding chronic illnesses, such as heart disease, you could save on such procedures as a $60,000 bypass operation and substantially lower your life insurance premiums.

Vegetarianism can be easy. Here are a few tips…

• Find a reason. Trying a vegetarian diet as a lark might be interesting, but if you want to make it a long-lasting change, find a reason you believe in, such as “I can’t stomach the thought of eating animals,” or “I need to lower my risk of a heart attack.”
  Eliminate red meat. If you’re looking for gradual change, or you love chicken and fish, start simply by not eating red meat.
• Embrace Meatless Mondays. If you just want to explore non-meat recipes without committing to more, join the trend of going a day without meat to see what it’s like.
• Find good recipes. Look for a handful of vegetarian recipes that interest you. The possibilities are endless. Think of the variety and fun you could have.

Source : Money Talks News

Three Easy Steps to Eating Green

By Marie Oser, Managing Editor ecomii.com

Eating Green is at the heart of the green revolution and can be the most important contribution you can make toward preserving the planet.

What could be greener than plants? The average American diet requires the production of an extra ton and a half of greenhouse gases when compared to a vegan diet.²  Both the burning of fossil fuels during food production and the non-carbon dioxide emissions associated with livestock and animal waste, contribute to the problem.

Eating green can be as easy as one, two, three! Every plant-based meal you consume can be an adventure and exploring delicious new foods also helps reduce pollution.  While many find it most effective to drop all animal products at once, others find that a gradual approach is best for their family.

• “Meatless Monday.” Eating green one or two days a week is a great way to explore how easy and delicious it can be. Start with vegetarian meals that you may already enjoy. Dishes such as Pasta Primavera, Bean Burritos or vegetable stew with a side of salad and crusty bread are satisfying and very tasty. Try these quick and easy Asparagus Wraps

• Choose a few of your favorite recipes and adapt them. With a few simple adjustments, you can transform some of the meals that you make most often into a healthier and more eco-friendly version. You can replace poultry or beef with seitan, tofu or tempeh in just about any dish. Use soymilk in place of cow’s milk one-for-one in any recipe and it is delicious on cereal, too! Explore healthy foods like hummus and tofu. Some find a more gradual approach fits their lifestyle more easily. A lot of people choose to drop one class of food at a time with a one or two week interval. Most choose to begin by eliminating beef, then poultry, followed by fish and lastly, dairy and eggs. Here’s a delicious dish: Louisiana Stuffed Potatoes with Cajun Cream Sauce

• Give it a try for 30 days. This can be a great opportunity to experience the effect this healthful regimen has on your body.  Most are surprised at how easy it is and how soon they begin to feel really good. It is not uncommon to notice an increase in clarity, energy and endurance. You may realize that you’ve lost a few pounds and require less sleep. The surprise for most is that adopting a vegetarian lifestyle is easy, saves money and improves overall physical wellbeing.

Marie Oser is a best-selling author, writer/producer and host of VegTV, Follow Marie on Twitter: http://twitter.com/vegtv

Source : Ecomii

Study Links Pesticides to ADHD

A new study from researchers at University of Montreal and Harvard found a link experts call "persuasive" between attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and exposure to common pesticides.

The study examined more than 1,100 children, 150 of which were previously diagnosed as ADHD. The findings, published in Pediatrics, revealed that around 94% of children examined had detectable levels of organophosphate pesticides in their urine. Children with higher levels of residue had increased chances of ADHD.

Said Maryse F. Bouchard of the University of Montreal Department of Environmental and Occupational Health and the Sainte-Justine Hospital Research Center and lead author of the study: "Previous studies have shown that exposure to some organophosphate compounds cause hyperactivity and cognitive deficits in animals. Our study found that exposure to organophosphates in developing children might have effects on neural systems and could contribute to ADHD behaviors, such as inattention, hyperactivity and impulsivity."

Previous studies have linked ADHD and attention deficit disorder to exposure to food additives, lead and phthalates. Which, or which combination, is the real culprit? Dr. Philip Landrigan, a 2010 Heart of Green Award winner, is trying to find the cause of autism, adhd, obesity and other chronic childhood illnesses through the ambitious Children's Health Study.

The most common route of organophosphate pesticide exposure for most children is through eating foods that have a high pesticide residue. Organic produce is grown without the use of pesticides or chemical fertilizers. A 2008 study found that when children switched to organic produce, detectable pesticide levels dropped to undetectable levels.

Important to note: Some produce has markedly higher levels of pesticide residue than others. The produce most likely contaminated with pesticides frozen blueberries, strawberries and celery topped the list.

Source : The Daily Green

Breathe Easier: Use Household Plants to Help Clear the Air

Can common houseplants clean your indoor air? Some scientists say they can. The reason: Many plants can act as natural air filters; improving your indoor air quality by absorbing contaminants. And, of course, all plants contribute to healthy air by converting carbon dioxide to oxygen.

Studies have shown that some common plants can be effective at removing formaldehyde, benzene, carbon monoxide, and other nasty pollutants.

NASA published the first studies over two decades ago. Since then, other scientists have supported its findings.

Which plants should you choose?

• Dr. Bill Wolverton, a former NASA scientist who was involved in the original research, suggests Peace Lily, Areca Palm, Lady Palm, Ficus Alii, and Golden Pathos because they are easy to take care of and are among the most effective at removing air pollutants.

• Researchers at the University of Georgia say the best purifiers of the 32 plant species they tested include: Purple Waffle Plant, English Ivy, Purple Heart, Foxtail Fern, and Wax Plant.

When it comes to indoor air quality we can use all the help we can get. The air inside our homes can be more seriously polluted than outdoor air thanks in part to many of the products we use. That's not great news when you consider that we spend about 90 percent of our time indoors. Check out 25 indoor air quality yips from The Daily Green and American Lung Association.

Why Eat Less Meat?

Why eat less meat? Eating lower on the food chain is probably the single most important thing you can do to help the environment. If the whole world stopped driving cars and SUVs, shipping goods in tractor trailers, flying planes, sending freighters across the ocean and all other transportation activity, it wouldn't do as much as if we all just stopped eating beef.

Livestock accounts for 18% of the world's greenhouse gas emissions, according to the United Nations. That includes clearing land for grazing, raising grains for feed (often with the help of fossil fuel fertilizers) -- and the not insignificant burping of cows. All the fertilizer and pesticides used to grow grain, the antibiotics and hormones (often) used to speed up livestock growth on feed lots and the copious manure all add to the environmental impact of raising livestock.

Americans eat the equivalent of three quarter-pounders a day. If we each cut the equivalent of one hamburger from our daily diet, it would be like taking half million cars off the road. We might all live a little longer, too.

When you do eat meat, look for ethically raised animals, raised locally on natural diets whenever possible.

Eat Less Meat to Help Double World's Food Supply

MONTREAL - A newly published blueprint for doubling the global food supply includes a key suggestion about how everyone can contribute to this increasingly pressing ambition: eat less meat.

An international team of researchers has developed solutions to respond to what it calls one the greatest challenges of the 21st century — boosting food production while slashing the environmental impact of agriculture.

The research, which will be featured on the cover page of the Oct. 20 edition of the journal Nature, comes as international concern grows over how the planet will feed the rapidly expanding human population.

With the world's population expected to climb from 6.9 billion to 9 billion by 2050, the issue of food was put at the top of this year's G-20 agenda. The study, published online Wednesday, says there are already a billion people who don't have enough to eat.

McGill University's Navin Ramankutty, one of the team leaders on the paper, said the research is the first of its kind to quantify both food production and ecological consequences in the same analysis.

He added that it's also the first study to examine these factors while considering the specific environmental characteristics of different regions of the planet.

Ramankutty said limiting meat consumption is one of several ways to increase food production.

He estimates that simply dedicating prime cropland to growing food for humans — rather than growing biofuels or feed for animals — could spike the global output by nearly 50 per cent.

The study says that three-quarters of the world's agricultural land is devoted to raising livestock, either for grazing or for growing feed.

Ramankutty added that beef is the most resource-intensive animal product of them all.

"That doesn't mean we all have to become vegetarians and vegans, but even if you ... eat meat one or two days less a week, you can hugely contribute to the amount of food that's needed," Ramankutty, himself a meat-eater, said from Montreal.

"It would have a huge impact, but this also happens to be one of those things where people are much more personally attached to it."

He said that scientists in his field rarely raised diet as an issue in the past because they didn't want to infringe on a person's right to choose.

But Ramankutty said fewer researchers are staying quiet on this subject, particularly when the consequences have global environmental impacts.

Changes to the human diet are only one component of the study's strategy to double the global food supply.

The research also calls for improved crop management to increase yields; an end to deforestation to make way for farmland; and a cutback on food waste, which amounts for as much as half of the planetary food production.

The catch? Ensuring these strategies are adopted on a global scale.

Ramankutty was coy when asked about the likelihood of these tactics being implemented in his lifetime — though he did laugh at the question.

"To be honest, I'm probably pessimistic about it, but I always think that optimism is the only choice we have," the geographer said.

"It's not going to happen in a big, single step. Obviously, it's going to happen slowly."

Ramankutty continued by noting that some aspects included in the study are already being discussed politically and at the international level, such as plans to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions caused by deforestation.

He hopes the study will influence both policy makers and even personal dietary choices.

"Hopefully, people who had been thinking about these issues before (will) read this paper and say: 'Hey, this can make big changes; it's not just a small drop in the bucket,' " Ramankutty said.

Source : CTV News

 

You are the Change

A short video which highlights several issues that I personally find utterly important and worth researching such as: animal cruelty, water fluoridation, food control through codex alimentarius that's going to be valid from December 2009, GM food, media manipulation through mass media, engineered viruses, human caused global warming, the myth of terrorist and many others.

It's time for a change now so let's be the change!

“Be the change you want to see in the world!”
~ Mathama Gandhi

“The world is a dangerous place, not because of those who do evil, but because of those who look on and do nothing.”
~Albert Einstein

 

British meat and dairy is destroying rainforests

Huge swathes of rainforest are being destroyed every year to grow animal feed for British factory farms, according to new research.

By Louise Gray

More than 350,000 hectares of rainforest, twice the size of the Yorkshire Dales, is being chopped down to grow soy beans, most of which are genetically modified (GM).

The animal feed is then imported to British factory farms to produce cheap meat and dairy for supermarkets.

Friends of the Earth said that consumers are indirectly destroying the rainforest by buying meat and dairy and urged people to switch to a more vegetarian diet.

The charity pointed to new research by the Royal Agricultural College that found if just eight per cent of agricultural land in the UK was used to grow crops for animal feeds, it would be possible to halve the amount of feed currently imported from South America.

Sandra Bell, Senior Food Campaigner at FOE, blamed the drive to produce cheap meat for the growth in imported feed.

She urged the Government to support farmers in grazing more animals and growing animal feed themselves rather than relying on GM animal feed from abroad.

"Many people choose British milk and meat without realising that the animals in our farms munch on feed produced by destroying wildlife and rainforests in South America,” she said.

"Animals should be born, bred and fed British – but pressure from supermarkets and biased EU subsidies force farmers to rely on damaging imports.

"The Government must listen to growing calls for it to restore a thriving meat and dairy sector by helping farmers switch to planet-friendly practices."

However farmers insisted imported animal feed is an essential part of producing affordable and nutritious meat and dairy in Britain.

Source : The Telegraph

The Advantages of Eating Organic Fruits and Vegetables

Including organic produce in our vegan diet is a sure way to increase our nutrient intake and safeguard ourselves from the devastating effects of harmful, chemical fertilizers and pesticides. Along with enjoying the enhanced flavor of organic produce, we can also enjoy the enhanced ecological connection we nurture through our support of the organic, natural process of food production.

It All Begins With The Soil

It is the nutrients in the soil that are the source. We are made from these very minerals, and it is these soil minerals that sustain our lives. Plant life is the conduit. Organic agriculture promotes the unhindered transfer of nutrients from the soil, into the plants, into our systems.

“In the original design of nature, plants play an essential role, because man cannot ingest elements (nutrients) for his sustenance directly from the soil. Man must receive nutrition through the living tissues of plants, which likewise, feeds all animal life.

Hence, via plant life, “the body of man grows out of the soil… It should be obvious that soil is vital to health! Soil is a living dynamic substance and it transfers its life force to man, via plants.” (1)

“The universe of micro-organisms in a healthy soil contributes to the major nutrients and micro-nutrients, minerals and enzymes in our food.”

Organic produce is grown with natural methods that work in unison with the inherent nature and cycles of soil development to provide plants with maximum nutrients; which is great for those who consume organic vegetables.

Precious Nutrients Lost

f you are not consuming organic vegetables, not only are you missing out on needed nutrients, but you are subjecting yourself to the harmful effects of chemical pesticides and fertilizers. Chemical fertilizers rob the soil of their nutrients and pesticides kill off helpful micro-organisms in the soil, while simultaneously accumulating in our body tissues causing illness.

“Unfortunately, many pesticides can kill more than just their intended targets, namely the necessary micro-organisms in the soil. When chemicals are used for a period of time on plants in an area, they will eventually leach into the soil. Once in the soil they can kill the micro-organisms living in the soil that break down organic material and aid in plant growth. It can take years before micro-organisms can once again live in soil that has had toxic chemicals applied to it.”

Chemical fertilizers destroy topsoil minerals that plants are meant to absorb. The three main chemicals in fertilizers, Nitrogen, Phosphorus and Potassium are pumped onto the soil in excessive, unnecessary amounts and this affects not only the soil but our bodies as well. The nitrates formed, damage red blood cells. The excess phosphorus produces salts that block nutrients from entering the plant. It causes deficiencies of iron and zinc in the soil. Excess potassium causes deficiencies of magnesium and calcium in the soil. These are all nutrients we are meant to receive from plant life; nutrients that give us health and vitality.

Organic Produce Provides More Nutrients

With all the strides we have made to become vegans, we don’t want to get taken out by fruits and vegetables that lack nutrients and have pesticide residues that enter our body tissues and cause us ill health. Organic vegetables are well worth the extra pennies. We will either pay for the food or pay for the doctor bills. Even if you supplement your diet partially with organic produce, those nutrients count and help to fight off the ill effects of the commercially grown produce. There are plenty of facts and studies that support the claims and that verify our innermost feelings that the ecologically sound method for growing food, the organic method, yields more nutrients to us.

“Organic produce have more nutrients because they are grown in good quality soil. Further, because the growth of conventional produce is usually artificially sped up using chemicals, they tend to contain more water and less actual solid food content…

Not only does organic produce have more vitamins, minerals and other important nutrients, it retains the nutrients for longer periods of time…

The truth is, many of today’s fruits and vegetables only have a fraction of the nutritional concentration they once had 50 or 100 years ago. This is due largely to the depletion in soil quality worldwide, caused mainly by modern conventional farming methods…”

-All 4 Natural Health

One of the most exciting studies involves the higher levels of antioxidants found in organic produce:

“The Organic Center carried out a State of Science Review (SSR) on the impact of organic farming methods, and organically acceptable food processing techniques, on average antioxidant levels in food. The January 2005 Executive Summary and full report are freely available on the Center’s website. We found that a shift to organic farming methods can increase average antioxidant levels from a few percent to over 200 percent, with the average increase being about 30 percent. We also document that organically acceptable food-processing methods can lessen the percent of antioxidants lost when fruits and vegetables or grains are processed and cooked, sometimes dramatically.” -Growing Healthier Food

This is great news! Antioxidants are one of our best friends in the nutrient world. They protect us from free radicals that cause so many ailments; from skin problems to infections to degenerative diseases such as cancer.

“The biggest and most extensive scientific study and research into the benefits of organic food has found that it is more nutritious than ordinary produce and may in fact lengthen people’s lives. They also contain higher levels of antioxidants and flavonoids which help ward off heart disease and cancer as well as higher levels of beneficial minerals such as iron and zinc. (But you could’ve told them that.)

Newcastle University have been leading this £12m, four-year project, funded by the European Union and their findings show that organic food contains more antioxidants and less unhealthy fatty acids

The studies have indicated that differences between organic and non-organic produce were so marked, eating organic produce is like eating an extra portion of fruit or vegetables everyday. “If you have just 20% more antioxidants and you can’t get your kids to do five a day, then you might just be okay with four a day,” said Leifert.”

- Naturalnews.com

Great Benefits For Children

One of the brightest aspects of eating organic produce is the protection and nutrient boost it gives to children. Children’s bodies are yet developing and they need all the nutrition they can get. Organic produce also protects them from the harmful pesticide residues that are in commercially grown fruits and vegetables; their sensitive systems are affected more adversely.

“Children eating primarily organic diets had significantly lower levels organophosphorus (OP) pesticide metabolite concentrations than did children eating conventional diets. In fact, concentrations of dimethyl metabolites, one OP metabolite group, were approximately six times higher for the children eating conventional diets. Other studies indicate that chronic low-level exposure to OP pesticide may affect neurological functioning, neurodevelopment, and growth in children. “Dose estimates suggest that consumption of organic fruits, vegetables, and juice can reduce children’s exposure levels from above to below the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s current guidelines, thereby shifting exposures from a range of uncertain risk to a range of negligible risk,” authors Cynthia L. Curl, Richard A. Fenske, and Kai Elgethun wrote, adding, “Consumption of organic produce appears to provide a relatively simple way for parents to reduce their children’s exposure to OP pesticides.” A previous study by members of the study team had shown that children eating primarily organic diets had significantly lower OP pesticide exposure than did children consuming primarily conventional diets. In fact, an earlier study found no measurable pesticide metabolites in the urine of a child whose family bought exclusively organic produce.” (2)

This is invaluable knowledge and provides an invaluable opportunity for improving children’s health.

Eating organic produce is well worth the extra money it demands. Organic fruits, vegetables, grains, nuts and legumes are packed with true, potent nutrient power. It is part of the real health stimulus to cut down medical bills. You can even cut some economic corners by growing your own organic produce. Just knowing that you are eating (and producing) food produced in the natural ecological cycles, brings you closer to nature. A higher appreciation for the soil, from which the food springs forth, connects you to the source of your being.

Additional Sources:

1. Agri-Nutrition Bulletin from The Community Agricultural Project
2. [Original study: Environmental Health Perspectives, Vol. 109, No. 3, March 2001 (pp. 299-303, C. Lu, D.E. Knutson, J. Fisker-Andersen, and R.A. Fenske, “Biological Monitoring Survey of Organophosphorus Pesticide Exposure among Preschool Children in the Seattle Metropolitan area”). Subsequent study: Environmental Health Perspectives ehponline.org, posted online Oct. 31, 2002, C.L. Curl, R.A. Fenske, and K. Elgethun, “Organophosphorus pesticide exposure of urban and suburban pre-school children with organic and conventional diets”]. Source: Environmental Health Perspectives, March 2003.”

Source : Vegan Campus

VEGAN. For the People. For the Planet. For the Animals.

People everywhere are making choices more connected with their values.

We are simplifying our lives, buying less and living more because we know that the Earth provides enough to satisfy everyone's need, but not everyone's greed.

But there is one connected choice that sometimes gets overlooked. It's one of the most far-reaching personal, practical and ethical choices you can make. With this choice we can help...

• Feed ourselves and every hungry person on the planet.
• End deforestation -- replenish the deep woods of the North and save our disappearing rainforests.
• Revitalize our rural landscapes and save family farms.
• Stop the number one polluter of water and the number one waster of water.
• Return our oceans to thriving underwater worlds teeming with life and wonder.
• Make cancer and heart disease a rarity instead of a common occurrence.
• Stop the unnecessary suffering of billions and billions of animals.
• And return wild lands to their rightful owners.

This powerful choice can be done by everyone every day... by you... right now.

Vegan.

Every day you are invited to make choices. Live your values. Change the world. It's that simple.

Food INC

Everyone should watch the movie FOOD INC. It’s very informative and will change the way you think of food! People really need to be educated about where their food comes from!

Buy the DVD of Food INC here!

Healthy Resolutions Bring a Happier and More Natural New Year

Almost everyone makes New Year's resolutions. However, by February each year, many well-intentioned attempts to make changes in one's life trickle away with nary a glance backwards. Why are so many resolutions never fulfilled? Perhaps it's because the goal is too difficult to accomplish. If individuals choose goals that are more easily attained on a daily basis, the success rate for New Year's resolutions may improve along with the quality of life. Include one or more of the following goals in your New Year's resolutions for 2013.

Avoid MSG and artificial sweeteners
Monosodium Glutamate, or MSG, and artificial sweeteners may make foods taste better; but they're neurotoxins that contribute to a wide range of disease conditions. Symptoms of MSG poisoning may include headaches, dizziness, trembling, palpitations, and cognitive or neurological dysfunction. Artificial sweeteners have been associated with various cancers as well as insulin and other pancreatic disorders.

Avoid GMO foods
Foods that are genetically modified are done so at the expense of life-building nutrients and a healthful environment. Genetically modified crops destroy the ground in which they're grown, damage natural environmental life cycles and cause a variety of nutritional deficiencies and digestive disorders. The most common GMO crops are corn, soy and canola.

Eat organic
Eating organic foods provides natural nutrients to sustain life and build healthy immune systems. Organic food is real food, without additional chemicals or foreign genes added to alter its makeup. Integrate organic foods into your diet throughout the year until it becomes a primary eating style.

Buy local
Supporting local growers and artisans supports the community in which you live. Snubbing large corporations and mega-box stores creates jobs at home where people create products with more care and quality to detail. Locally grown food can be produced on smaller farms, providing positive support for sustainability.

Use natural medicine
Avoiding pharmaceutical drugs can shed more light on real health. In 2012 venture out of comfort zones and seek one or more alternative approaches to health care. Many health problems can be treated with natural medicine with outstanding results and lower cost to the consumer.

Smile more often
A smile is a ball of light moving between people, leaving a mark of happiness on both the smile-er and the smile-ee. Smiling connects people from the heart without words, and its effects linger for much longer than it takes to create a smile. Smiling relieves stress, boosts the immune system, lowers blood pressure and releases endorphins that act as natural painkillers.

Make a gratitude list
Make a list of five things you're grateful for each day - to appreciate what you have rather than focusing on what you don't have. Experiencing gratitude provides grounding, shifts the mind's focus and creates a sense of satisfaction and contentment with one's life.
Best wishes to all for a happy, healthy New Year filled with easily accomplished goals and resolutions.

Top 10 Reasons to Go Vegan in the New Year

Many people's New Year's resolutions often include losing weight, eating better, getting healthier, and doing more to make the world a better place. You can accomplish all these goals by switching to a vegan diet, and you'll enjoy delicious, satisfying meals as well. Here are our top 10 reasons to go vegan this year:

1. SLIM DOWN AND BECOME ENERGIZED
Is shedding some extra pounds first on your list of goals for the new year? Vegans are, on average, up to 20 pounds lighter than meat-eaters. And unlike unhealthy fad diets, which leave you feeling tired (and usually result in gaining all the weight back eventually), going vegan is the healthy way to keep the excess fat off for good while feeling full of energy.

2. IT'S THE BEST WAY TO HELP ANIMALS
Every vegan saves more than 100 animals a year from horrible abuse. There is simply no easier way to help so many animals and prevent so much suffering than by choosing vegan foods over meat, eggs, and dairy products.

3. A HEALTHIER, HAPPIER YOU
A vegan diet is great for your health! According to the American Dietetic Association, vegans are less likely to develop heart disease, cancer, diabetes, or high blood pressure than meat-eaters are. Vegans get all the nutrients they need to be healthy (e.g., plant protein, fiber, minerals, etc.) without all the nasty stuff in meat that slows you down and makes you sick, such as cholesterol and saturated animal fat.

4. VEGAN FOOD IS DELICIOUS
So you're worried that if you go vegan, you'll have to give up hamburgers, chicken sandwiches, and ice cream? You won't. As the demand for vegan food skyrockets, companies are coming out with more and more delicious meat and dairy product alternatives that taste like the real thing but are much healthier and don't hurt any animals. Plus, we have a list of some of our favorite products and thousands of tasty kitchen-tested recipes to help you get started!

5. MEAT IS GROSS
It's disgusting but true: Meat is often contaminated with feces, blood, and other bodily fluids—all of which make animal products the top source of food poisoning in the United States. Scientists at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health tested supermarket chicken flesh and found that 96 percent of Tyson chicken was contaminated with campylobacter, a dangerous bacteria that causes 2.4 million cases of food poisoning each year, resulting in diarrhea, cramping, abdominal pain, and fever.

6. HELP FEED THE WORLD
Eating meat doesn't just hurt animals—it hurts people too. It takes tons of crops and water to raise farmed animals. In fact, it takes up to 13 pounds of grain to produce just 1 pound of animal flesh! All that plant food could be used much more efficiently if it were fed directly to people. The more people who go vegan, the more we can feed the hungry.

7. SAVE THE PLANET
Eating meat is one of the worst things that you can do for the Earth. It's wasteful, it causes enormous amounts of pollution, and the meat industry is one of the biggest causes of climate change. Adopting a vegan diet is more important than switching to a "greener" car in the fight against climate change.

8. ALL THE COOL KIDS ARE DOING IT
The list of stars who shun animal flesh is basically a "who's who" of today's hottest celebs. Joaquin Phoenix, Natalie Portman, Tobey McGuire, Shania Twain, Alicia Silverstone, Anthony Kiedis, Casey Affleck, Kristen Bell, INXS lead singer J.D. Fortune, Benji Madden, Alyssa Milano, Common, Joss Stone, Anne Hathaway, and Carrie Underwood are just a handful of famous vegans and vegetarians who regularly appear in People magazine.

9. LOOK SEXY AND BE SEXY
Vegans tend to be thinner than meat-eaters and have more energy, which is perfect for late-night romps with your special someone. (Guys: The cholesterol and saturated animal fat found in meat, eggs, and dairy products don't just clog the arteries to your heart. Over time, they impede blood flow to other vital organs as well.) Plus, what's sexier than someone who is not only mega-hot but also compassionate?

10.  PIGS ARE SMARTER THAN YOUR DOG
While most people are less familiar with pigs, chickens, fish, and cows than they are with dogs and cats, animals used for food are every bit as intelligent and able to suffer as the animals who share our homes are. Pigs can learn to play video games, and chickens are so smart that their intelligence has been compared by scientists to that of monkeys.

Source : PETA.org