A World Gone Upside Down
For many of us, the last few months have felt like a bad dream where we have been dragged through a washing machine, spun dry on overdrive, then forced to relive it again and again….and again.
Hurricanes, storms, and earthquakes have ravaged our planet. And closer to home, the worst fires in California’s history have displaced thousands, injured countless, and taken lives. But this has been much more than a human tragedy. The animals we love and live alongside us have also suffered greatly.
Three Questions We Ask Ourselves
Recently during my book tour, for “Dog as My Doctor, Cat as My Nurse,” animal lovers would ask me, “What is the one way I can help animals best?” Sign petitions? Donate money? Volunteer?
People who come to see me professionally at my wellness practice, Modern Alchemy Acupuncture & Nutritional Counseling ask me another question, “What is the one thing I can do to be healthier?”
And when people have been through climate disasters like the ones I’ve described, we naturally ask “Why is this happening?” And “What can we do about it?”
Like a challenging jigsaw puzzle, the solution is made of many pieces. But once the pieces come together, it paints a clearer picture. When it comes to maintaining our personal health, having a powerful impact on our environment, and helping our animal friends, there is only one solution that sweeps across the board….Eating a Plant-Based Diet.
Your Healthy Life
Did you know that 1 in 4 Americans will die of cardiovascular disease? Did you know that 1 in 3 adults are obese? Or that 1 in 10 people will be afflicted with type 2 diabetes? Studies show that chronic diseases such as these are preventable and sometimes reversible with a healthy lifestyle, which includes a plant-based diet. If you’ve seen a family member or a friend suffer from Alzheimers disease, arthritis or cancer, you will not want to see it again. And a plant-based diet, the diet that the longest living people in the world eat, can tip the scales of health and longevity in your favor.
Our Healthy Planet
You may or may not believe in global warming but it’s a hard fact to argue when your temperature gauge keeps rising year after year. 2016 was the hottest year on record and the 12 warmest years ever recorded have all occurred since 1998. Because of these changes, glaciers are melting, sea levels are rising, and we will see drought and more severe weather on the horizon. If you feel like throwing up your hands in frustration and shouting the infamous words of the Wicked Witch of the West in the Wizard of Oz – “What a world! What a world!” Don’t.
You can have a profound, positive and powerful impact on climate change at dinnertime, lunch, and at breakfast too. Sure, it’s great to take shorter showers and save water, it’s wonderful to drive emission conscious cars, but the strongest thing you can do to reduce emissions and save water comes from choosing to leave animals off your menu and eating plant-based foods instead.
Love Animals, Don’t Eat Them
And finally, when it comes to the animals we say we love. Well….if you’re eating animals, isn’t that a bit of an odd way of showing it? I’m not casting stones here. Although I’m vegan now, it took me a while to get here. Many animal lovers face a similar conundrum. We love animals from an early age.As children, we curl up in bed wearing pajamas with animal prints. Beside us are our beloved lambs and cows stuffed with cotton as we listen to our parents read us fairy tales where pigs and bunnies teach us great wisdom and often save the day. We are told by authority figures to be kind to animals – and then we are served them on a dinner plate. If we balk we’re laughed at, if we question the status quo we’re chastised, and soon we discover that it’s easier to fall in line with the meat-eating culture instead of following our own integrity and the wisdom of our hearts.
Things Are Changing And Changing Fast
The plant-based movement is flourishing. Top athletes, well-known celebrities, politicos, and even our surgeon general have gone plant-based. Restaurants, food trucks, and even large food chains are coming onboard. Sir Richard Branson, the CEO of Virgin America says, “I believe that in 30 years or so we will no longer need to kill any animals and that all meat will either be clean or plant-based, taste the same and also be much healthier for everyone. One day we will look back and think how archaic our grandparents were in killing animals for food.”
Animals are suffering acutely from the many natural disasters we’ve recently experienced and whatever you can do to help them, please do it. Yes – donate, volunteer, foster, and give, give, give. When it comes to animals they give back so much love in return that whatever we do for them is cheap at twice the price. But remember, there is so much more you can do for the animals, for your own health, and ultimately for this beautiful planet we call home. Go plant-based. Do it now. What are you waiting for?
Stay Pawsitive!
Carlyn
Join me for my very special presentation of “Dog As My Doctor, Cat as My Nurse” at the prestigious
Commonwealth Club in San Francisco
Great job! Thanks for sharing this article.Happy new year.