Love & Growth in the Time of COVID
The time for an intro has been gobbled up by life and business-hustling, but the photos are copious and the doctor quotes equally so. :-)
Continue for: Zoonotic Diseases & Animal Agriculture; 5 Reasons to Ditch Dairy from the Physician’s Committee ( if the vast environmental harms weren’t enough of a reason); and what a plant-based family of three was eating this week (<— each of us once said something akin to “I could never be plant-based (/vegan)!” and now can’t ever imagine going back to our old diet), and what that environmentally & bodily-kind fuel powered us up to do.
Live Kindly, Feast Kindly, Grow Forward.
Cardiologist Dr Danielle Belardo above and below (<—also one of my favorite podcast interviewers).
(And if you’re about to doubt what she said above without looking into Zoonotic diseases, here’s what the CDC says and here’s what the World Health Organization says.)
“What is the EAT-Lancet Commission?
The EAT-Lancet Commission consists of 37 world-leading scientists from 16 countries from various scientific disciplines. The goal of the Commission was to reach a scientific consensus by defining targets for healthy diets and sustainable food production. The findings of the Commission provide the first ever scientific targets for a healthy diet and sustainable food production within planetary boundaries that will allow us to feed up to 10 billion people by 2050.”
”Why is this report so important?
Today, global food production is the single largest driver of environmental degradation, climate instability and the transgression of planetary boundaries. At the same time, global population health is increasingly pressured by several forms of malnutrition. Unhealthy diets are now the leading risk factor for global burdens of disease with growing rates of noncommunicable diseases such as diabetes, heart disease and cancers. Vast global undernutrition is adding mounting pressure to these challenges. Effectively, how we grow, process, transport, consume and waste food is hurting both people and the planet.
If we want to live in a future where people’s health and the environment are not irreversibly damaged, the world needs to start living within scientific boundaries for health and the environment. Meeting the targets of the UN Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris Agreement requires an urgent and fundamental shift in the ways that we produce and consume food.”
”Why is this diet good for both my health and the environment?
Today, food is a defining challenge of humanity by contributing to both poor health outcomes and severe environmental degradation. Increasing food demand and the adoption of unhealthy diets including persistent hunger, generalized overconsumption as well as overconsumption of unhealthy foods lead to incredible strains on public health and has severe consequences on natural resources and the environment. As it stands, the global food system cannot meet the nutritional demands of a growing world population projected to increase to 10 billion by 2050 without irreversibly damaging the planet.
To change this, the planetary health diet sets out scientific targets for healthy diets that will optimize human health. Adopting the guidelines can result in a reduction in undernutrition, overnutrition and diet-related noncommunicable diseases, which are continuously on the rise globally. Global uptake of the planetary health diet, however, can reduce approximately 11 million premature adult deaths annually, effectively contributing to a 19-23% overall reduction in premature mortalities per year.
In addition, the report also identifies environmental limits for sustainable food systems that define a safe operating space for food production within planetary boundaries. The targets emphasize those environmental processes most impacted by food including climate change, freshwater use, contamination of water by nitrogen and phosphorus, and the loss of biodiversity. It also recognizes the significant land that has been appropriated for food production and the contribution that natural ecosystems make to climate regulation, provisioning of freshwater and the conservation of biodiversity.”
“The Physicians Committee combines the clout and expertise of more than 12,000 physicians with the dedicated actions of more than 175,000 members across the United States and around the world.
The Physicians Committee is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, headquartered in Washington, DC. Our efforts are dramatically changing the way doctors treat chronic diseases such as diabetes, heart disease, obesity, and cancer. By putting prevention over pills, doctors are empowering their patients to take control of their own health.”
….and can be far more so if you are of African or Asian descent.
“Overall, about 65% of people experience some form of lactose intolerance as they age past infancy, but there are significant differences between populations and regions; rates are as low as 5% among northern Europeans and as high as over 90% of adults in some communities of Asia.[72]
Some populations, from an evolutionary perspective, have a better genetic makeup for tolerating lactose than others. In northern European countries, lack of Vitamin D from the sun is balanced by consuming more milk and therefore more calcium. These countries' people have adapted a tolerance to lactose. Conversely, regions of the south, such as Africa, rarely experienced Vitamin D deficiency and therefore tolerance from milk consumption did not develop the same way as in northern European countries.[45] Lactose intolerance is common among people of Jewish descent, as well as from West Africa, the Arab countries, Greece, and Italy.[73] Different populations will present certain gene constructs depending on the evolutionary and cultural pre-settings of the geographical region.[45]”
I’ve also over-documented just how firm I was in unchanging my ways and how far I’ve come.
Back in college (<—my first exposure to souls outside my bubble) I used to bristle and get irrationally angry around vegans, and as I was munching down a brick of cheese and chicken wings I was quick to bark, “I could never be vegan!”
And then I began to be nightly haunted by the lack of logic in eating a soul I didn’t need to eat (<—who was thus suffering needlessly purely for taste), I learned about the environmental impacts of that cheese and flesh (REGARDLESS of how local it is), the vast bodily harms associated with that needless/cruel/wasteful diet (and the massive health BENEFITS of shifting plant-based): and I started stepping forward. (We started swapping out items with plant-based alternatives and slowly it grew from by-meal, by-day, by-week, through on to fully plant-based feasting with nary a desire to return to the old ways.)
Life is supposed to be about growth, right? We’re supposed to be learning and taking that information and moving forward, right?
Wake up and start stepping forward, Folks. There is so much to gain by doing so, and so much to lose in standstill.
Favorite (Infectiously Enthusiastic) Dietitian: Ashley Kitchens. <3 Highly recommend following her for great meal ideas and motivational/informational wallops.
And what does “Plant-Based” look like through a week? Well right now we are blowing through the last leftovers from Your Kind Kitchen’s launch, so there’s been a lot of lentil taco meat to eat through. :-D
When I was a kid (on through my 20’s) my tacos were only meat, cheese, and copious amounts of hot sauce. I thought lettuce made tacos gross and I avoided eating green things as much as possible.
If you’re still transitioning, and you’re looking for a good stepping stone: lentil “meat” tacos are delicious and one of our favorite things. We could eat through 8 cups of leftovers and will be like, “Man… we’re out of taco meat? Bummer!” :-D
You lay those fibrous little wonders on a good dollop of cashew queso and you have yourself the beginning of an amazing meal. If you have kiddos who are easing into this process, this is a easy/cheap/super-nutritious step.
Used to be the sort of lady who hated vegetables and rarely ate them, and now this is how I fix up a tostada plate and I love every bite of it.
Baked Plant-Based Whole-Food Mac & Cheese (<— Crystal’s Recipe, which is potatoes, carrots, celery, cashews nutritional yeast, the noodles are aldi’s quinoa and brown rice spirals), mushroom gravy, garlicky green beans, and almond flour “parm” (combine almond flour, nutritional yeast, salt, garlic, paprika, and pepper and you have a shaker that is delectable and hormone free. :-) )
Black rice, peanut sauce, bell peppers, sweet potato, Pumfu, and green beans.
When leftovers get weird but are still winners: Mac & “Cheese”, lentil taco meat, and Crystal’s broccoli soup.
And last but not least: Shepherd’s Pie Sarlacc’s surrounded by mushroom gravy, compliments of Quill.
And how does all of the above translate in real-life? Well, we once spent the weekends exhausted and surfing Netflix, but we now have so much energy to burn you’ll find us in our local forests come sun, rain, snow, or all of the above at the same time (because that’s Central New York for you. :-) ).
Also, because of good ol’ glacial CNY topography this means this kiddo scales ridges, hills, ravines, gorges, etc and thanks to that plant-based diet, he has the gusto to do so.
Jamesville Reservoir
Jamesville Reservoir (audio highlight of this day: the Doppler pings that came from throwing stones on this frozen pond sounded like the sonar pings of a submarine. Video of that on Instagram.)
And feasting and running around in forests is fine and well, but is our kindergarten kiddo mentally sound with this plant-based diet?
Yep.
To the point that I have been Homeschooling him since the beginning on October, because his interests and skills were beyond the curriculum, and those teachers have far enough to handle without adding challenging Q to their mental/physical load.
Want more neutron star facts? The week’s lineup was posted on Instagram.
How to grasp 716 when you’ve only been revolving around the sun for 5 years? We use “math manipulatives” for this hyper visual kiddo (and recommended by his bestfriend’s family who is homeschooling with the same system.)
Q loves math (<—which has always surprised/delighted me given that his brain is usually so rooted in fantasy), and through these manipulative he works through the equations above and is then translating these (though in much smaller numbers) into mental-math. It’s been fun to see him absorb a challenging frequency through a medium he loves.
Ian has been doing vocal (made-up) chapters of a story evolving around a boy named Larry (and a cast of characters that weave in and out) to Q for months (usually while working away on some house project/dishes/etc <—Ian is a saint), and he decided to move some of it into a book where Q could add illustrations (<—also a new part of Q’s ELA work in a day.)
And ELA/ART Work, but also heart-squeeze through a hard week: though we are still reeling/regrouping on the business end, my brother was having a far worse week. As we visited Jim up north, they were able to play Mario (with masks) which seemed to brighten up both souls, and Q later drew this Thank You card for Jim that has a lot of detail and love packed into it. <3
Big Love: when your father is also your best (only at this point) play-mate. Daily grateful Q has the kind of father who wrestles with him every night to the soundtrack of laughter and elated squealing.
Big Love: Q and Aria met when they were three and their orbits have revolved deeply ever since. It started with daily snacks together (<—where he was sly enough to be like, “Oh hey, Aria, found your name in the placeholder set right now…wanna come have snack with me?” <— Also him: “Man, Aria eats a lot of peas. I’m always going after those crackers and jam, but she makes much better decisions. It’s impressive!” <—Also him: “I love Aria because she’s the kindest girl I’ve ever known, she laughs at my jokes, and she likes spooky things and telling stories too. We’re just perfect together. Completely.”), and it grew beyond attending different schools by them requesting that we keep the connections going.
Of their own accord, they volley in a perpetual parlay of drawings and letters declaring how often they are in eachother’s thoughts and missing the other. Pre-pandemic precautions, they would just run around for hours and/or completely disappear, and all you would hear was talking and laughter. (In contrast: when his boyfriends were over, us moms always seemed to have them attached to our legs in a static cling. :-D) Yet, he and Aria seem to never run out of energy or things to imagine together.
So now, at their most separated and fraught, every few months he’ll howl in urgency that he NEEDS to see her (<—”Can you see if Aria is free tomorrow? Or the next day? Or the one right after that? Whatever is closest to now that can be done. Please!”), and us moms will coordinate a way for them to safely revolve a little closer.
Here seen: a scheduled visit at the Zoo where they talked breathlessly through masks and played with penguins.
And if the above Q and Aria tale tugs at your heart strings, I’ll remind you that climate change will affect our kin with a wallop and we can start working toward lessening the blow, or we can continue digging ourselves deeper and setting them up for a worse future.
And last but not least, with all the love and fun comes helping… which can be both. :-)
He’s at the age where he has to help out around the house in some way (we unpack a lot of topics over here and helping/participating in your community —which involves a household— is key), and he does so in a few realms), here seen: he’s working with me as I dust/clean this house’s ancient (original) staircase.
What’s the most impactful thing you can do as an individual to help your kin, community, millions of species, and planet? Transition as plant-based as possible.🌎♥️
Why? Plant-Based foods are environmentally imperative 🌎. They also promote ideal health💪 (which takes stress off our overburdened health care system), are inexpensive🙌, delicious🤤, & compassionate. 💕
Why imperative, though? 🤔We’re approaching (& have crossed) climate tipping points that will doom our kin & millions of other species. 😱📣Reducing/eliminating animal products is the *most impactful thing an individual can do* to prevent worse. 🌎🔥
Why? Animal Agriculture creates more emissions than the entire transportation sector combined, it’s tied to water waste/loss/pollution (<-- freshwater is our most precious resource💧), land loss/deforestation (<-- exacerbates climate change by reducing our ability to sequester carbon🔥🌎), ocean acidification (<-- FYI 50-85% of earth’s oxygen originates from oceanic plankton🌊) & vast species loss/extinction/suffering💔📣🌎
Plus, consuming animal products is tied to increased risk of cardiovascular disease❤️🩹, diabetes👎, cancer👎, and chronic disease👎; whereas Plant-Based feasting is linked to preventing/reversing some of our most common diseases (<— like cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and cancer); plus it promotes ideal health & robust strength (ie Olympians, Weightlifters, Endurance Athletes are thriving via PBWFs too). 🎉🙌♥️
What organizations are promoting plant-based diets for best health and environmental stability? National Institutes of Health, Mayo Clinic, Yale, the United Nations, Harvard School of Health, American Heart Association, American College of Cardiology, American Cancer Society, American Diabetes Association, The American Academy of Pediatrics, National Kidney Foundation, even the Parkinson’s Foundation.
We’re all overwhelmed in one way or another, but for the sake of our kin (and the millions of species we share this planet with) we need to start pivoting forward. As someone who once rarely ate green things & used to eat animal products at every meal, I can assure you that is possible, affordable, enjoyable, & purposeful to pivot Plant-Based. In fact, our whole family is now healthier/stronger than ever. 🙌♥️
Anecdotally, our son had failure-to-thrive, was also plagued with perpetual ear-infections/sinus-infections, and had an omnipresent runny nose. What was he eating? Grass-fed milk, organic/antibiotic-free/grass-fed/local meats, eggs from organic-fed/well-loved chickens from a neighbor, every meal came with vegetables, and we limited junkfood. He was healed via a plant-based diet: he’s launched out of that diagnosis and the last time he had a sinus-infection (or was sick at all) was in 2019 when he had some cheese at a school Christmas party. Before shifting to PBWF’s he was sick every month, and how he’s a robust, vital, thriving kiddo. 🙌🎉♥️
If you think any of the above sounds over-reached/absurd/impossible, please go read the links above. I understand the inclination to hackle-raise (<—because I was once totally there) but the science is clear: any step we make forward is imperative (<—and again “STEPS” is the focus. Don’t leap, just start making steps!). It’s as simple as starting with one meal a week and growing from there.💕
We have the ability (deliciously, healthfully, kindly, inexpensively) to *preserve/protect* the planet we share with millions of species & our kin. How are we going to use that power today?✌️🤟🖖
