A couple days ago, I felt like I was in the twilight zone. I spent endless hours yesterday awaiting to see the emergency doctor to check out my boyfriends wrist. (He injured it while sliding into second base - he assures me they won the game because of his slide :) We waited....and waited...and waited. There seemed to be no rushing in the emergency room. I felt as though everyone was working at a turtle's pace, but then again, we were on the outside, looking in. I'm sure everyone was working hard behind the glass partition....presume positive intentions, right?
So, we sat among the many patients awaiting care. To pass the time, I read the newspaper....grabbed a coffee (which I don't drink anymore but tea is often hard to find or seems to be bothersome).....went to the washroom......paced around a bit......and then, we realized we had a documentary saved. We both took an ear bud and watched 'Fork over Knives' (insert the duh, duh, duhhhhhh sound effect). Trailer: click here. It was actually ironic, to be watching this documentary in a hospital, especially sitting beside a 'sandwich' machine. I wish I took a picture of this. Let me create a visual for you: sandwiches sitting there, in a chocolate bar/candy machine. (I'll choose A3 please - ham and cheese on a white bun) Healthy? As if. Yet, I'm in a hospital, a place to regain wellness and health?Anyways, back to the video...
This documentary highlights research studies and science behind the devastating effects of our diet today -- MEAT and animal products. Some of the research is astounding (warning: remember to pick up your jaw from the floor) For example:
- 40% of Americans are obese
- almost 1/5 American 4 year olds are considered obese
- Richard Carmona (former surgeon general of the USA) states 'this could be the first generation of children in the United States that lives less than its parents'
- unprecedented diabetes II rates in kids
- about half of Americans are taking prescription drugs
- and on and on and on.
This documentary highlights the power of food. Food can cure.....time and time again, you hear about people changing their lives (more exercise and healthy eating) and they are able to live without their prescription medicine. Wow...how powerful stuff, eh? (Credits: Forks over Knives website)
This movie encourages a whole food, plant based diet. 'If your food ever swam, flew, walked, slithered, jumped, don't eat it' was the advice. There is a lot of evidence and research out there that suggests that animal products are dangerous for our health, especially in large quantities. According to LiveStrong.com, eating meat can lead to weight gain, decrease life expectancy, and according to a Harvard University research study, increase diabetes risks and heart disease. Check out this link for more details. There is so much information on the Internet to suggest that we should be eating whole foods, plant based diets. Just do a little google search....you'll be shocked.
Eating plant-based is not just for your health but the health of our environment. So, back to my post name - Meatless Mondays. This is becoming a popular trend among households today; eating plant based on Mondays. Meatless Monday Canada is an organization that is promoting at least, 1 veggie meal a week to help Canadians become more aware of the environmental impact of their food choices. They are not promoting vegetarianism, but rather making us aware of the impact of eating meat. Get this...
- animal agriculture is responsible for about 18% of the world's greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to global warming - Wow!
- and get this, many of the emissions are from cow's burping! Yes, cow gas is responsible for so much of it! (and methane from animal manure, nitrous oxide from fertilizers, and deforestation for cows to graze)
- you could reduce your carbon emissions by 28.5% /week, if you just eat meatless on Mondays. improve their health too! Check out Meatless Mondays Canada here.
- a global shift towards a vegan diet would be effective to tackle our climate change. In addition, a University of Chicago study discovered that switching from our standard American diet to vegan would be more effective than switching from standard cars to hybrids. (PETA credit: link here)
- according to a German study, meat eaters contribute more than 7X the harmful gas emissions than vegans (PETA credit: link here)
- Get this... "According to Environmental Defense, if every American skipped one meal of chicken per week and substituted vegetarian foods instead, the carbon dioxide savings would be the same as taking more than half a million cars off
Hence...Meatless Mondays. Great for your health and our environment! So, what are you thinking? Soaking it all in? Thinking, how can I do this? For starters, visit one of my favourite blogs called 'My New Roots'. She posts a bunch of Meatless Monday recipes for you to play around with! Give it a try...plan to do meatless next Monday. I want to hear about your kitchen adventures and what recipes you put together. Please share!
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