If you’re like most vegans, it was probably the humane treatment of animals that spurred your decision to quit animal products. But what you might not have realized is that you simultaneously dodged another bullet in the ethical eating dilemma: the environmental impact of your food. Meat and dairy farms have a pretty hefty “foodprint”—the measure of their carbon emissions from field to plate. Both generate large amounts of carbon…
Definition of Hunger: “Not consuming enough calories to maintain good health”. In prior blog posts focused on the 4 COS4S initiative, we have learned that moving toward a whole food, plant-based lifestyle is good for our bodies, the health of the Earth, and animal welfare. In today’s post, we explore the effect of what we eat on world hunger. If you have not yet seen the film PlantPure Nation, do…
By Kathryn Hayward, M.D. and Elle Stetson-Dibble One of the most emotionally charged subjects concerning our food choices involves animal welfare. As we embarked on understanding and writing about this often-polarizing topic, we made a commitment to discover a way to discuss it with balance, openness and curiosity, and to find areas of common ground among all concerned. We both felt eager to learn about this theme from a variety…
By Kathryn Hayward, M.D. and Elle Stetson-Dibble There are few activities that affect our individual health and well-being more than what we put in our bodies for nutrition. When we make daily decisions about what to eat, we usually think about how that food is going to taste, going to make us feel, and how it is going to affect our health and our weight. However, we often do not think…
Global Green kicked off Oscar week once again this year with the green event of the week on Wednesday, Feb. 24 at the Mr. C Beverly Hills Hotel. Global Green rolled out the green carpet that welcomed Hollywood’s eco-conscious celebrities and allies as they arrived in eco-friendly cars to raise funds and awareness for Global Green’s ongoing initiatives. Singer/Songwriter Charlie Puth opened the show before headliner and vegan singer/songwriter legend…
International Integrators Facilitator Caty Genestra Villalonga has started a movement in Spain around the common expression “4 COS4S” or “four things” to increase awareness about the benefits of eating whole, plant-based foods. As discussed in the January 25th blog, the 4 COS4S Project started by inviting restaurants on the Mediterranean island of Mallorca to add “4 things” (“4 cosas”) to their menus whose ingredients are whole food, plant-based and do…
Our Mallorcan friend Caty is the inspiring leader of the International Integrators project 4 COS4S. When Caty became involved with International Integrators, she read El Estudio de China (The China Study), which immediately affected her awareness of her own eating patterns and those of her two school-aged nephews and their schoolmates. “It’s nothing like the Mediterranean diet that I grew up with,” she says. The more Caty learns about whole…
A few years ago, I was facilitating a group of medical students in a self-reflection exercise. After sharing, listening, weeping and hugging, we stood in a circle and pressed the palms of our hands together and brought them to our hearts. I looked deeply into the eyes of each student in the circle and said, “Namaste. The light in me sees the light in you. The sacred in me sees…
Did you know that cutting just one beef hamburger out of your diet can save 1,300 gallons of water? Maybe you did, but a lot of people don’t. Here in California, we’re suffering from a severe drought that will likely change our state forever. If you’re yawning and dismissing this as unimportant because you’re not from this increasingly arid state, think again. Nearly half the fruits, vegetables, and nuts grown…
Shaun Monson, the creative mind behind the acclaimed production “Earthlings”, brings out the much anticipated “sequel” “Unity”, a documentary about the unifying power of consciousness that exists in us all. At the core of the movie is a powerful message, namely that there is hope for man to evolve from his primal mindset to a spiritual, enlightened state of mind where he is able to understand and have empathy for…
Overstimulated. Thats how I felt when I returned to Europe after 8 years working and living in Latin America. It became apparent to me that the media have to SHOUT to get our attention; overpopulation, sustainability of food production, loss of natural resources, animal welfare, human health, and so on. Information overload. Two years later saw the start of Veganbnb Travel; vegan adventure holidays in Guatemala and Spain and the…
If there was a modern day David & Goliath battle worth taking note of it would be the Cowspiracy movie. In this case David could use all the support he can get! There is one single movement destroying the planet more than any other… but no one wants to talk about it. The time has come to put the record straight. It’s time for the world to open it’s heart…
It seems carnivores want to make us, vegetarians and vegans, out to be the environmental bad guys. As the Brazilian rainforest is being destroyed by illegal soybean plantations the finger is being pointed at us the biggest culprit. Except, of course, that according to Worldwatch Institute nearly 80 per cent of global soybean harvest is used to feed livestock.…