“Nothing will benefit human health and increase the chances for survival of life on Earth as much as the evolution to a vegetarian diet.”

~ Albert Einstein

[NOTE* from Leftish: This is a subject I usually avoid, not wanting to make anyone uncomfortable, and trying to butt out of other people’s personal decisions, however a fact has recently come to my attention of which I was unaware until now…I don’t know how much you know about Cow Farts and Burps, but we are caging so many Beef Cattle, and FEEDING THEM THE WRONG DIET, so that they are constantly farting and burping, so much so, that it has released enormous amounts of METHANE into the atmosphere.  Cows are meant to GRAZE and eat solely GRASS…that is their NATURAL diet…instead we feed them a diet CORN and Antibiotics!!  No wonder they are having a hard time with their digestion!  It is cheaper for the rancher, but not good for either the cows or the consumers.  So, cows are having a hard time digesting this WRONG FOOD, and consequently they are producing more stomach acid than they would if they ate grass, and they are constantly burping and farting.  This releasing of METHANE into our atmosphere is one of the main ingredients in the Environmental Soup that is contributing to Climate Change - I know, crazy, huh?  But, nonetheless, true…

So, Einstein was actually quite prescient, in suggesting that humans need to stop eating other animals in order to preserve survival of the species.

I ask you to please consider the vegetarian diet…I mean, think about it - you can exist perfectly well without participating in the slaughter of another’s life.  Just because you don’t see the cow from whom that steak you are eating was extracted does not mean that you are not a participant in this mass cruelty that is the way animals are treated so that they arrive fat, juicy and full of chemicals on your plate.

If you have considered becoming Vegetarian, how about giving it a try?  Don’t go all the way to vegan, but start out slowly, and see if you can take it.

I used to be a meat-eater.  I adored the taste of steak (well, blood, actually), and thought that I could never enjoy food if meat were not in my diet.  Than I met a few very healthy looking vegetarians, and it got me thinking.  I started to feel some guilt about eating other living beings who had feelings and mothers who loved them (yes, the animals we eat do actually have feelings and experience maternal love - pigs can even be trained to live in a house with humans, i.e. George Clooney).  I started to re-think my  diet as I realized that what I ate was actually a POLITICAL DECISION.

I became vegetarian over a plate of Shrimp Paella…I had just fried up a delicious dish with about 8 small shrimp, yummy basmati rice, and several assorted vegetables.  It was fantastic!  But then, I realized, that the rice and vegetable parts of the dish were JUST AS SCARFY as the shrimp…and then I realized…wow, you just took 8 lives to make this ONE dish…I know that I have tremendous survival instincts, and I assume it is that way for all other beings.  I had tremendous guilt, and I mentally apologized to the shrimp that were now in my belly.  I realized that I could have enjoyed that meal just as much without the shrimp being involved, and that I could get protein from other sources, and I became a vegetarian at that exact moment.

Won’t you consider it?  The cost to our planet is not limited to the taking of innocent lives, There is also the issue of the amount of water it takes to “grow” one pound of beef, and the resources that could be used to grow massive amounts of vegetables instead.  There is also the issue of the extremely cruel conditions that animals are raised in - it is heartless and exploitative, and the meat that is produced is full of harmful chemicals that perhaps are what is causing so many diseases in such rampant numbers.

I feel for the animals, I feel for the earth, I feel for the water, and the air…I feel for the tremendous toll that meat-eating is taking on our entire planet.

“Give up meat one day a week, then two days a week.  It’s a very intelligent idea.” ~ Yoko Ono

 “You save more water by not eating 1 lb of beef than by not showering for at least 6 months.” @veganfacts 

“1 acre yields 165 lbs of beef vs 20,000 lbs of potatoes“ 

Bill Clinton goes Vegan

No more burgers for Bubba. Bill Clinton says he’s gone vegan.

The former president - and former heart patient - said in an interview with CNN medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta that he had given up the fatty fare he used to eat and switched to fruits, vegetables, and beans. When asked if that made him a vegan, Clinton said, “I suppose I am, if I don’t eat dairy or meat or fish.”

Clinton didn’t say whether he ate eggs or honey. True vegans avoid those foods as well as meat, fish, and dairy products, according to a definition posted by theVegetarian Society. 

Clinton, who turned 65 Friday, said he had decided to revamp his diet after realizing that cutting calories and working out might not be enough to prevent a recurrence of heart trouble. He has twice undergone surgery to open clogged coronary arteries.

“I had played Russian roulette because even though I had changed my diet some and cut down on the caloric total of my ingestion and cut back on much of the cholesterol in the food I was eating,” Clinton said, according to the Boston Herald. “I still - without any scientific basis to support what I did - was taking in a lot of extra cholesterol without knowing it. So that’s when I made a decision to really change.”

Beans might not be as tempting as a burger, but there’s strong evidence that switching to a vegetable-based diet offers some protection against high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, and prostate and colon cancer as well as a reduced risk of death from heart disease.

Clinton told Dr. Gupta that he likes the foods he now eats, But, ever the politician, he fessed up that he eats meat “once in a while.”

“At Thanksgiving,” he said, “I have one bite of turkey.”

The Vegetarian Society has more on the health benefits of vegan diets.

Our Appetite for Frog Legs May Be Wiping Out Frogs - Deadly chytrid fungus killing native amphibian species

Things you may not know: America, like Europe, has a pretty massive appetite for frog legs … and that hunger may very well be causing frog extinctions around the globe. Scientific American reports on a new study released this week that weighs the demand: 2,280 metric tons of frog legs, which come from somewhere between 450 million and 1.1 billion frogs, are imported to the US each year; the EU’s appetite is about double ours. Another 2,216 metric tons of live frogs enters our borders as well. All for a menu entry that’s harming frog populations in two ways, according to the report.

Read entire article…

I find it interesting that “Punk” has been elevated to be equivalent to a gender or a race…but hey, if we’re going to include PUNKS in that list, and we’re inserting any individual that has been persecuted for their beliefs, looks, gender, race or thoughts, please don’t leave out ATHEISTS, VEGETARIANS, and HIPPIES!!

Atheists have gotten a really bad deal, for a really long time.  How does an Atheist feel when they have to say the Pledge of Allegiance, or look at all the Christian wording on our Money, or when the President says God Bless You All?  There are more Atheists than Blacks in this country, yet they are not represented in Congress at all.

Vegetarians are also abused and treated with derision - often within their own nuclear family.  They suffer abuse from corporations that do not take them into account whatsoever, and it is only in recent years with a greater emphasis being placed on proper nutrition that vegetarian choices are appearing on menus across the nation.

And you can thank Hippies for the ENTIRE ECOLOGICAL MOVEMENT, as well as GREENPEACE, ANTI-WAR ACTIVISM, ROCK AND ROLL and the fact that you can buy Organic Produce at a WHOLE FOODS in every big city and town in America!

And, I can tell you, they were persecuted back then, pretty severely (“WHY DON’T YOU GET A HAIRCUT YOU FILTHY HIPPY?”)….”because what I wear lets other people of like mind know my beliefs, dickwad”…

Having Long Hair was considered “probable cause”.  Nuff said.

I feel a great affinity with Punks…if I had come of age in their era, I would have been one…and likewise, if they were around in the 60s, they probably would have been hippies, because that’s what you did if you were against the system back then…

Before that were “Bohemians”…and a few decades before that you were being hunted down by McCarthy….

You could interchangeably label that “Racist” head “Tea Partier”, “Palinite” or “GOP Congress person”, too…imo. 

NOTE: I will not be hurt if you just want to reblog the photo without my commentary.  :)

(via dumbledoreisabamf)

“Meat: Not on the Menu of the Future” says Lord Stern 

Any passionate vegetarian can quickly tell you why eating meat contributes to global warming: methane from cow farts and carbon from deforestation for cattle land and cattle crops are a significant source (18 percent) of global carbon emissions.

Faced with facts like these, it’s no wonder that climate advocates, such as Lord Nicholas Stern, are speaking out against eating meat. Lord Stern told The Times Online:

“Meat is a wasteful use of water and creates a lot of greenhouse gases. It puts enormous pressure on the world’s resources. A vegetarian diet is better…”

…“I think it’s important that people think about what they are doing and that includes what they are eating,” he said. “I am 61 now and attitudes towards drinking and driving have changed radically since I was a student. People change their notion of what is responsible. They will increasingly ask about the carbon content of their food.”

Read entire article…