Nourishing Activism - Fri. 4:30pm
Health/fitness benefits and concerns of a vegan lifestyle; for animals too

Presenters: Eisman, Graham, Guimaraes

Dr. Douglas N. Graham
Vegan Nutritionist & Author of The 80/10/10 Diet

Ethical Veganism: Save the Planet While Saving Your Health

Defining ethical veganism: the logical next step in the vegan lifestyle

Ethical veganism takes the premises of ahimsa and applies them to the Gaia concept of a 'living earth."
This means that doing no harm is more than just doing no harm to animals, but also to the planet.
Ethical vegans go beyond the idea of doing no harm, and accept the challenge of being a force for good, in as many ways as possible.
Ethical veganism is about living responsibly.

This presentation, however, focuses primarily on the ethics of our food choices

The finances of ethical veganism: what you purchase gets more shelf space, so vote with your dollar
How the following vegan foods support the livestock industries and ruin your health:

Grains - They aren't as vegan as you think

Key food point: complex carbs are by definition tasteless, so we rely upon condiments to make them palatable.

Key nutritional point: cooked food can only supply empty calories

Key health point: acrolein is carcinogenic

Key environmental point: two-dimensional monoculture of deforested space

Key animal rights point: destruction of wetlands and other living space

Main point: How human grain consumption finances the livestock industry

Oils - Fat isn't sexy, and oil isn't ethical. Oils are 100% empty calories. When you use empty calories in food, you make junk food.

Key food point: We cannot taste fat, and it doesn't satiate, so we tend to overeat it

Key nutritional point: Rises in fat intake parallel declines in ability to uptake, transport, and deliver oxygen and glucose to the cells

Key health point: Who cares if the oil is cold-pressed if you are going to cook with it? All oils are rancid and likely carcinogenic

Key environmental point: growing whole food for use as refined food is extremely energy inefficient

Key animal rights point: Feeding the leftovers to animals is not nutritious for them. We are feeding them into sickness.

Main point: How human oil consumption finances the livestock industry

Why vegan does not automatically mean green, and what you can do about it. Cooking is not green, so, increase the raw part of your diet.

What generates the most greenhouse gas: animals, cooking, driving? Hint, it isn't driving.
We are bankrupting ourselves in order to drive our cars: Hydrocarbon or carbohydrate: green fuel or real food?
Get fit. Use your legs. Get on your bicycle. Earn your meals with activity

The sweet solution is to rethink your food choices and start eating fruit as if your life depends upon it, because it does.