A little over ten years ago I noticed that my dogs were getting strange diseases. Breathing problems, cancers, lumps and bumps that I don't remember them having when I was growing up. I decided to stop using any pesticides or poisons anywhere in my home. At first it wasn't easy but we just went back to basics. I asked around and with a little research (I love to collect books) I found some great old fashioned cleaning methods.
Them my mother got cancer and I really started to read... The China Study -- a real eye opener-- Dr Dean Ornish, Dr Neal Barnard, Kathy Freston, Skinny Bitch: all talked about how a plant based diet helps fend off and reverse disease. Then I read Gene Baures Farm Sanctuary. It is one of the most beautiful and inspiring books I have ever read. I guess on some level I always knew that factory farms were pretty horrible, but I learned that the suffering and torture these animals go through to be our food is just disgusting and not something I wanted to be a part of. I am not an expert on any of this but I am constantly overwhelmed, like most, about how to be green, organic... the list is endless. So I have chosen to educate myself and live in a way that is conscious to all two and four legged beings, and our amazing planet.
Just a few weeks ago the NY Times Sunday front page had an article about a beautiful young girl that is now paralyzed. Why? She ate a hamburger and got E Coli. The article spoke about the horrors of factory farms and how a hamburger is made and the process of processing meat. Read it, and I promise not only will it make you want to vomit but you will look at a hamburger very differently. Then a few days later, the Times had another great article on " Atrazine" a weed killer that the EPA has now decided might be a little more dangerous to humans than they thought!! Thank you New York Times!!!
I have been eating a plant based diet for about 2 years now and have never felt better or been healthier. Knowing that step by step, I am learning to be responsible to our planet and all its wondrous creatures. It is just one step, and I intend to do a lot more!!!!