DO YOU THINK I’M STARVING?

Many people believe that a vegan diet limits you to eating a nutritious and balanced meals.  That is simply NOT true.  You do not have to eat meat or dairy in order to receive proper nutrients – despite what “experts” say.  The World Health Organization (W.H.O.) has recently indicated that meat causes cancer, something many vegans, holistic health-care practitioners and doctors already knew.

Today’s blog IS NOT about proving the above claims as I don’t require the proof as what I eat and the state of my health is proof enough.  So, what do I eat??  Here are some of the many vegan dishes I have made and eat regularly:

Tofu scramble, baked home-fries, meatless sausage, toast and beans in a tomato sauce make for a delicious and hearty breakfast, lunch or dinner.

This is a vegan version of an egg salad sandwich.  It includes seasoned tofu, vegan mayo, celery and green onion.

Breakfast could not be more delicious with a serving of vegan pancakes topped with maple syrup and fresh and organic strawberries.

How can you make a vegan pizza??  Easy – this pizza was made with quinoa balls, green olives, tomato, dairy-free cheese and tomato sauce.  The crust is a whole-grain crust.

I love experimenting with salads.  This is a lightly fried tofu and garden salad.  I add a combination of mixed greens, carrots and cucumber.  For the dressing – it’s either a home-made oil and vinegar or I buy an organic vinaigrette dressing.  I also add hemp, pumpkin and sunflower seeds.

This is a seasoned tofu stir fry – I make sure only to use NON-GMO and organic tofu.  I also use a salt-free stir fry sauce if I don’t make my own.

Another mixed green salad – this one includes avocados and beans.

Meatless ‘loaf’ with some baked potatoes and seasoned peas.

Oven roasted tofu with mash and seasoned roasted vegetables.  Great substitute for turkey during the holidays.  The key is knowing how to season it.

Seasoned tofu steaks, lemon-ginger brocoli and carrots.

A mixed bean salad with meatless ‘italian sausage’.

Mixed vegetable salad with rice and breaded and meatless ‘chicken’.

I sometimes drink a vegan wine and prefer Yellow Tale from Australia.  I occasionally have coffee and only drink it with either soy or almond milk.  I rarely have any white pasta or rice – the rice is usually whole grain and the pasta either kamut, rice or quinoa.

My decision to become first vegetarian then vegan was mainly due to my spouse’s decision to go vegetarian.  I later became vegan after watching a video of rabbits screaming in pain – it changed my life.  At that moment, I decided that I could no longer support an industry that caused animals so much pain and suffering.  I later concluded that by not eating these tortured souls that I wouldn’t be consuming the pain and suffering those animals endured.  I really am conscious of what I buy and what companies make an effort to support a cruelty-free life for animals.

Along with the ethical reasons I became vegan – I wanted to make a difference in curbing climate change.  Agriculture and raising beef for food is the biggest culprit in climate change.  Cattle ranching is a huge cause in deforestation across the planet – and this is the tip of the iceberg (pardon the pun).  You can find proof of the effects cattle ranching has on our environment by visiting any of the following sites:

http://www.350.org

http://www.peta.org

http://www.greenpeace.ca

We all have a responsibility to end cruelty against one another, including the animals we share the planet with.  We also have a responsibility to the planet that has given us so much.  We need to focus on healing it and ensuring the children of tomorrow have the right to clean water, clean air and clean food.

Together, we can make the world a more positive one!

WHO IS THIS TIME OF YEAR FOR?

The holiday season is somewhat of a bitter-sweet time of year for me.  For me, this time of year represents a time of camaraderie, sharing, joy, laughter, love and family.  I don’t really participate in the anxiety filled ‘corporate driven’ side of the holidays because I really don’t believe that the ‘holiday spirit’ is about purchasing needless items that only bring you temporary joy and happiness.  The holiday season should be about teaching those who are fortunate to help those who are not as fortunate.  Instead of buying endless toys, trinkets, electronics and so many other items that will end up in landfills and polluting our earth, why not feed the homeless, provide clothing to women’s shelters, saving a pet from a shelter, donating to organizations that protect our planet, food, water and forests?  Isn’t that what the holiday spirit is all about?

More and more – this time of year becomes about all the wrong things, buying, buying, buying and more buying.  Companies step up their marketing game to endlessly promote their products with no regard to earth’s natural resources – Imagine the deforestation that takes place to ensure flyers are distributed to all those potential consumers?  Consumers go into overdrive (and debt) to ensure they purchase the latest fashions, electronics, toys and all the other things that make them feel loved, needed, wanted and important but never think about the working conditions of the individuals that made those products or the impact to the environment these products will have in the future.

I don’t know when I have denounced my attachment to materialistic goods at this time of year – but I do know that I am much happier that I don’t support corporate greed and the unneccessary destruction of our planet.  Don’t get me wrong, I am not perfect and I am certainly not saying that I am better than everyone else because of my beliefs of the holiday season.  One year – I handed out Christmas cards to various strangers on the street…I wrote a positive inscription in the card, basically wishing health and happiness to whomever took the card…..for me, the joy of brightening someone else’s day gave me much more gratification than buying a present for a family member.  I love my materialistic detachment to this time of year and find myself committing more and more to giving joy to strangers or donating to those who fight for the future of our planet, animals and humanity.

I hope that whomever reads this finds compassion in their hearts and gives back to those who are less fortunate, or saves an animal from certain death, be it by reducing their meat intake or visiting a local shelter or by donating money to organizations that really make a difference in the world by fighting for humanity’s survival.

I wish you all much love, health and happiness and hope that this year brings you much positive energy.

Together, we can make the world a more positive one!

 

WHERE ARE ALL THE GOOD STATISTICS?

http://www.worldometers.info/

What can you find on this site?  Here are some examples (numbers reflected are real-time and will have changed by the time you finish reading this):

SOCIAL MEDIA

• 75 billion emails have been sent
• 1.4 billion blogs have been written
• 251 million tweets have been sent
• 1.4 billion Google searches have been made

WORLD POPULATION

• 7.2 billion is the current world population (and growing – SCARY)
• 130 million births have occurred this year
• 138,000+ births have occurred today

ENERGY

• 14, 239 days left to the end of oil (under 39 years)
• 27 million MWh used from renewable energy sources
• 116 million MWh used from non-renewable energy sources

The statistics from this site paint a portrait of a world in dire need of help.  We only have one planet and we are depleting its resources at an alarming rate.  There is only 39 years left before the earth is depleted of oil….so why are oil companies still searching for new areas to drill in?  If we know that ‘dirty oil’ is a contributing factor in climate change, why risk drilling in areas of the world that would ensure a much more serious future in terms of devastating climate.   The Arctic should be off-limits to big oil corporations and should be protected as the Antarctica is.  (Thanks Greenpeace).

We need to make changes in our lives, in our homes, in our towns, cities and countries that will ensure we create positive change for our environment and our planet.  Really think about what you buy, who you buy and where you buy your products from.  Is your food locally grown and supporting local farmers?  Are the companies you are supporting giving back to the environment – and are environmentally safe?  Are the companies you buy from supporting deforestation, killing/displacing endangered species?  If we don’t start changing our habits and our need to consume anything and everything – our future will be much different from it is today.  

Let’s help create a future where our children will have clean water and clean air.  Let’s ask governments and corporations to make the environment the number one priority – tax corporations for polluting.  Let’s protect forests and lakes and highly sensitive eco-systems from corporation greed.  

Is it possible to curb these statistics to ensure a positive future for humanity?  Yes we can, however, we can’t change things without action and without a major shift in how we live our daily lives.  What are you willing to do to ensure a brighter future?

Together, we can make the world a more positive one!

THE THINGS I STAND BEHIND

I always believed that, as I got older, things would become better in our world.  The environment would be taken care of, animals would have the protection they required against cruelty, there would be tougher laws for those who inflicted hate crimes against the LGBT community, corporations would not dictate legislation, government would award companies that invested in sustainable energy, there would be laws against deforestation, laws against the use of animals for our entertainment and for clothing, we would see the protection of our water from BIG OIL, we would outlaw deforestation due to cattle farming basically, we would find new approaches and ideas for the things that have disabled the planet.

So many people believe they can’t effect change because they are only one person – but if that passion was felt by many, imagine the positive changes that would begin to happen across the planet.  The politicians and policies of yesterday should be left in the past – they haven’t served us well.  It is time for a new generation to rise and to actually do some good for the planet because this is the only one we have.  It is time for past generations to release their hold of power and allow a new generation to fix the mistakes they have made to ensure our survival and to pave the way for positive change in the world.

Here are some things that generations past have left us to contend with – it is up to ALL OF US to end this and to look for new ways that don’t harm the planet, our environment, our water, our land, animals and our people.  It’s time to make things right:

WE CAN DO SOMETHING – Share this information, write your politicians and hold them accountable – ask them to support sustainable energy, educate yourself and support companies that have excellent environmental policies and DO NOT contribute to the destruction of the planet.  Also – you don’t need more ‘things’ to be happy.  Surround yourself with positive people who want to contribute to healing our planet.

Together, we can make the world a more positive one!

ARE YOU A CORPORATE ZOMBIE?

Have you ever done something or acted in a certain way to feel accepted or to fit in?  Do you copy the mannerisms of others or copy their clothing style?  If so, think about why you do it.  Are you not comfortable with your own identity or do you just conform to what everyone else is doing?

Prada, Fendi, Dior, Chanel, Gautier, Kors, Gucci…..are you a label whore?  Do you buy things because of the quality of the product or because of the brand name?  Do you know and understand what you are buying into when you purchase a product from a certain company or buy into a brand?  We have heard the stories how big corporations cut corners to ensure they meet their consumer demands – human rights issues, low wages for their factory workers and un-safe work conditions or the unethical treatment of animals for clothing/makeup/bags – but we keep supporting these companies.  Have you ever attempted to ask this corporation to stop this type of behaviour?  If the products are obtained on the hardships of other people or animals, why would you continue to support that brand by giving them more money so that they continue their abuse?

Here are some examples of what companies support:

HERAKLES FARMS

Chief Executive (Bruce Wrobel) efforts to flatten a chunk of Cameroon’s dense rainforest to develop a palm oil plantation are borne of a desire to address a “dire humanitarian need”.  I’m sure it’s clearly for his desire to turn huge profits at the cost of Cameroon’s rainforest and ultimately, the planet’s environment.  (This project has since been suspended due to much protest).

CALVIN KLEIN/THE GAP/ABERCROMBIE & FITCH

Not only are these companies marketing their clothing to those they consider to be ‘desirable’ – they are toxic polluters.  They release hazardous chemicals into our water – how is that environmentally responsible. 

JOE FRESH

Using sweatshops in Bangladesh.  A few weeks ago over 300 workers lost their lives due to a buildings collapse.  People are working 13.5 hours a day, seven days a week for a maximum of .26 cents per hour.  Some say that closing these sweatshops would put these workers back on the streets – the issue isn’t about putting people out-of-work, it’s about creating a safe work environment where people are fairly compensated for the work that they do.   Would this happen in Canada, USA, France or Britain?  Absolutely not.

FASHION DESIGNERS with BLOOD ON THEIR HANDS – THAT STILL USE FUR

These fashion designers have blood on their hands for using real fur – if only they witnessed how that fur was obtained, maybe they would think twice:

Dolce & Gabbana, Donatella Versace, DSquared2, Fendi, Givenchy, Hermes, Gucci, Alfred Sung, Alexander McQueen, Annabella, Baby Phat, Bill Blass, Bob Mackie, Chanel, Christian Dior, Christian LaCroix, DKNY…..and many more, for a complete list to ensure you don’t support the cruel act of obtaining fur for fashion, please visit the following site:

http://www.nycanimalrights.com/Designers%20That%20Use%20Fur.htm

APPLE/FOXCONN FACTORY WORKERS MISTREATMENT/SUICIDES

Is our need for the latest gadget creating hardships for those that are assembling these products?  What about the environmental implications of creating so many of these products?  Are they recycled?  Here is a report on Apple’s human rights issues:

COMPANIES THAT CONTINUE TO TEST ON ANIMALS

http://www.peta.org/living/beauty-and-personal-care/companies/default.aspx

We live in a world that doesn’t appreciate individuality or uniqueness – BIG CORPORATIONS rely on their marketing campaigns to have the latest and coolest gadget.  They rely on the ‘  ignorant  consumer’ – they know that people are going to believe that their product is safe and will make your teeth whiter than ever before or that their latest handbag is trendy and fashionable, despite the cruel method in which it was made.  Consumers don’t think about the products they clean their homes with or flush down their toilets because they believe that these same products are okay because they are being sold.  These same products are destroying our environment – polluting our water and soil thereby polluting our food and eventually killing us.  Is our appearance that much more important than our planet?  Are the products we use in our homes really taking care of the bacteria the companies are fearing us into buying?

Do the products you buy say something about what type of person you are?  Yes they do.  Next time you pick up a cologne or perfume made by DKNY or Chanel – you are indirectly responsible for the suffering of countless animals.  You love that Gucci purse – I’m sure that alligator or snake that was skinned alive appreciates you showing you lack of respect for animals.  All you Abercrombie & Fitch clones out there – when you are 60 and are struggling to obtain clean water, just reach for your fashionable jeans and reminisce about how great you looked in them all for the sake of our water supply.

Being cool, different and unique is being yourself and not following the latest trends.  Being cool, different and unique is being compassionate to others, to the planet and showing respect for other living creatures.  Which are you – a zombie of BIG CORPORATIONS or an individual who is aware and educated about what you wear, who you buy and what you support?

Together, we can make the world a more positive one.