Stop eating meat & dairy to save the planet. Really. Science* says so.

Researchers of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research have found that reducing the consumption of meat and dairy products and improving agricultural practices could decrease global greenhouse gas emissions substantially. By 2055 the emissions of methane and nitrous oxide from agriculture could be cut by more than eighty percent, to levels below those of 1995, if demand for  "livestock products" (i.e., meat and dairy) decreases by 25% over each decade from 2015 to 2055.

Early in June, even before the results of this study were published, the UN issued a report suggesting that "a global shift towards a vegan diet is vital to save the world from hunger, fuel poverty and the worst impacts of climate change."

In a study published today in the peer-reviewed journal, Global Environmental Change, climate impact researchers modeled the impact of future changes in food consumption and technological mitigation of agricultural greenhouse gas emissions on the effect on climate in a scenario over the next 45 years, to 2055. The global model combined information on world population, income, food demand, and production costs with environmental data on potential crop yields. The calculations show that global agricultural greenhouse gas emissions (e.g., methane and nitrous oxide) increase significantly until 2055 if food energy consumption and diet preferences remain constant at 1995 levels. However, the agricultural emissions of greenhouse gases have increased steadily over time, and show no sign of slowing down. In fact, in 2005 they accounted for "14% of the total anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions." Assuming world dietary preferences continue to shift towards animal-based foods, i.e., meat and milk, in regions and countries that have typically not favored these food sources, emissions will rise even more.

To gain an idea of how one person's food choices impact the climate, I consulted The Nature Conservancy's Carbon Footprint Calculator. As a baseline, "in 2004, the United States emitted 7074 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent green house gases. This equals approximately 27 tons per person." An "average" American's carbon emissions from diet, calculated only on the basis of a predominantly meat-based, non-organic diet alone, is 4.1 tons of CO2 and carbon-equivalent emissions a year. When I changed the selections to more accurately reflect my diet, or the diet of any "average" vegan or vegetarian, ("I eat meat in my diet... never" and "I eat organic food... most of the time") the CO2 and carbon-equivalent emissions decreased to 0.6 tons per year, 85% below average. The cumulative power of vegans and vegetarians to positively effect the environment is easy to calculate, even if you're not great at math. Playing with the calculator is fun, and informative. Even simply reducing meat intake to "Rarely" from "Most days" and taking the middle road with respect to organics, "I eat it sometimes" reduces individual emissions (again, from diet alone) to 1.3 tons per year, 69% below average.

If you're curious about how the calculator actually works, this gives a very detailed explanation of how your carbon footprint is calculated. The following excerpt about "Food and Diet" outlines the impact one person's meat-heavy, non-organic diet has on greenhouse gas emissions in very clear terms.

"Average: Agricultural activity (crop, land, and animal including management, and including farm vehicles) accounts for 7% of all greenhouse gas emissions in the United States, with 91% of that being from methane and nitrous oxide emissions. 
Behaviors: Vegan and vegetarian diets emit 72% and 42% less than the typical American diet, respectively. A heavy meat diet emits 24% more than the average. For the organic food responses, "Most of the time" reduces your emissions by 29%, "Sometimes" reduces emissions by 15%, and "Never or rarely" is the average emissions figure."

It's pretty clear that every small choice makes an incremental, yet measurably cumulative effect on the environment, and for our future. Something to think about the next time you're in the grocery store. Start small: eschew the hamburger for a veggie burger once in a while.

*Source: Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) (2010, June 28). Conscious choice of food can substantially mitigate climate change, research finds. ScienceDaily.

Using The Vernal Equinox As A Time of Balance

Today, March 20, is the first day of the solar new year, otherwise known as the vernal equinox, the first day of spring and one of two days each year when the hours of daylight and nighttime are equally long. The word "equinox" actually derives from the Latin aequus (equal) and nox (night). As the earth's angle of inclination towards the sun changes throughout the year, lengthening or shortening the days according to hemisphere and season, there are two times a year when day and night are of nearly equal length: the spring and autumn equinoxes. These celestial times have been recognized for thousands of years among all cultures and have given rise to a significant body of seasonal folklore and ritualistic traditions. Across all cultures and spanning centuries, spring is celebrated as a time of renewal as lengthening sun-warmed days take the place of the short, dark and cold days of winter.

Though there are many superstitious beliefs around the equinox, one of the most prominent is that you can stand a raw egg on its end on this day, and this day alone. Apparently this phenomenon has been attributed to the "special gravitational forces" that arise due to the sun's equidistant position between the poles of the earth at the time of the equinox. 

It's not true. You can stand a raw egg on its end anytime. 

However, the principle that a feat of precarious balance can most easily be achieved on this day got me to thinking about the principle of balance and the notion of integrating more balance into our daily lives. What better time to start than on the vernal equinox, in spring, when the planet is most astronomically "in balance"?  

Hasn't the quest for "balance" become a constant refrain in our hectic 21st century, techno-driven, globalized world? The numbers on a clock mean very little now, with the ability to communicate 24 hours a day with people in time zones on the other side of the earth. Yet, people are forever striving for "work-life balance" even as they work more hours, blur lines between work and home, and utilize mobile and wireless technologies to stay "connected anytime, anywhere." As a result, people become mentally, physically, and emotionally drained and exhausted, throwing themselves even more out of whack as a result. 

Spring, specifically the vernal equinox, is the perfect time to reassess the balance (or imbalances) in your life and take stock of areas in your life that you need to replenish and renew, and reduce those that are depleting and draining.  If the unfolding events in most days seem to direct (and maybe overtake) you, it can be nearly impossible to even think about how to refocus and redirect your energy. Here are five simple ideas to help get you started on rebalancing... These are things I have integrated into my life that I have found help me regain a sense of balance and equanimity.

1) Spend a few seconds focusing on your breath. Note I didn't say "minutes" - just spend the "seconds" it takes to count just 10 breaths. I find that before I do anything else in the morning, focusing on my breath helps me focus my mind before I have to get up and face the day. Often, this simple act helps me to plan for, and subsequently approach the course of my day with a feeling of control and enthusiasm. Whenever you focus on your breathing, you're in the present moment. And what is balance if not being fully present in the moment? Focus on your breath anytime throughout the day, particularly in moments you feel stressed, anxious, tense, bored, or overwhelmed.

2) Plan and cook one meal a week. Think carefully about what you would like to eat, how it will taste, nourish your body, and energize you. Plan it out and take the time to prepare it from scratch. It doesn't matter if it's a simple salad, a pot of pasta, or a five-course meal. Just plan it out and "cook with love." I used to never cook. Now I cook meals from scratch four, sometimes five nights a week. I feel so much more connected to flavors, innovation and creativity, and my body. Not to mention, I have become a pretty awesome cook, if I do say so myself.

3) Spend some time outside each day. I know I can become fully "tunneled" into the virtual world of my computer screen, and find entire hours have completely slipped away. Whenever this happens, I usually find that along with the disappearing time, my neck and back have stiffened and cramped, my head is swimming, and my vision has blurred. These are all signs that it's time to physically get outside into the real world and inhale some fresh air. Connecting with nature has been shown to have a direct impact on people's moods and productivity. And not just when it's sunny, which for me, is a hard pill to swallow. But I try to get out, even when it's raining, or worse.

4) Get some exercise. Exercise is a natural mood-lifter, depression-antidote, fitness-enhancer, etc. We have all heard the benefits, yet many people still feel as though they don't have the time to fit a half-hour of exercise into their day. It's easy if you can integrate this with #3 above! Get outside a couple of times a day: go for a walk to grab your lunch, walk or bike to and from work if possible, walk your dog, plant a garden (hey, it's spring after all!), hike a trail - all of these are very viable forms of exercise that will also have you soaking up some Vitamin D from the sun and absorbing the benefits of fresh air and green space around you! 

5) Express gratitude. Psychology research has shown that one's level of happiness is very stable over the long-term, regardless of external events. That means that whether a person won the lottery or suffered a paralyzing accident, that person will return to their usual baseline level of happiness in approximately three to six months. It's not what happens to you in your life that makes you a happy (or miserable) person; it's your internal frame of mind. If you're a pessimist, reading this probably didn't do anything to raise your hopes of happiness.

However, one thing that can increase overall levels of happiness permanently is through consciously expressing thanks (yes, even for die-hard pessimists). A leader in the relatively new field of positive psychology, Dr. Robert Emmons, discusses the "psychology of gratitude" in his new book, Thanks, as well as his more academic text, The Psychology of Gratitude (Series in Affective Science). Emmons conducted an experiment in which he asked people to either 1) record things that they were grateful for, 2) record neutral events with neither a positive nor negative attribution, or 3) write down events that annoyed, angered, or upset them. The three groups did this once a week for ten weeks, and those who were in the "gratitude group" were 25% happier at the end of the study than when they started the study, and happier than those who recorded either neutral events or, the group that fared the worst, those who wrote down things they were annoyed or upset by. "People in the gratitude condition were more optimistic about the future, they felt better about their lives, and they even did almost 1.5 more hours of exercise a week." Research has shown that the content of the event a person is grateful for is much less important than simply feeling grateful.  

Of course, taking time out each day to -- breathe, walk outside, prepare and eat food, and say thank you -- may be too overwhelming to consider packing into an already full schedule. 

...Or perhaps not. Taking the time for these obvious necessities of life may be just the first small steps to a more realigned - and balanced - life.

A week of eating in - An experience in culinary consciousness

Huffington Post Green, one of the top 5 websites I visit daily, has issued a challenge to its readers: "The Week of Eating In" starting today: Monday, February 22. Now, eating at home for a whole week may not sound like that big of a challenge; however, the typical day in the food-life of an American often consists of: no breakfast, or perhaps a hastily purchased coffee and danish from Starbucks, a quick run to the deli for lunch, a vending machine snack, and rushing to get home with no time to cook, maybe a quick drive through the drive-thru or pulling out a frozen dinner to throw in the microwave. We celebrate the weekend by making drinks plans with friends, and then make reservations at a favorite restaurant or two for Friday and Saturday nights.

I have to admit, when I lived in New York City, the thought of preparing a meal in my miniscule kitchen with nothing more than a sliver of formica that constituted "counter space" filled me with dread. I nearly resorted to using my oven for additional shoe storage, as Carrie Bradshaw did in Sex and the City... except I needed it to heat up takeout. I'm kind of embarrassed to admit that I can probably count the times I prepared "real" food (from scratch) on two hands during the entire decade I lived there. Braving the mayhem of the markets, cracking open a cookbook, juggling cutting boards on that aforementioned counter-sliver, and dealing with all of the cleanup (dishwasher? in that kitchen? ha!) sounded like unnecessary sado-masochism, and I avoided the whole brouhaha at all costs. Plus, in a city where any restaurant would deliver to your door almost 24 hours a day, (almost) no one I knew cooked at home.

Since living in Seattle and having more time on my hands as well as a significantly larger and more user-friendly kitchen to work in, I have become much more proficient at cooking meals at home. I usually cook four days a week, and I really do "cook," rather than "heat up." I prepare all of my foods from scratch with fresh (occasionally frozen) produce and fish. Whole Foods is two blocks away from where I live and Pike Place Market, the largest and most famous daily farmers market in the country, is just a few blocks down the street. As a result, I have tried to emulate the European market methods by shopping for food almost every other day, which ensures the produce and fish I use are as fresh as possible. I have grown to love buying bread that was baked fresh that day from the local bakery, fish that was caught that morning in nearby Alaskan waters, and seasonal produce that was picked as recently as yesterday from a nearby farm.

I like the experiment for the following reasons:

• When you don't cook what you eat, it is so much easier to be disconnected from what it actually is and what it contains (typically, there are much more fattening ingredients in restaurant foods, and portion sizes are HUGE!)
• Personally, I'm hoping to try out some new recipes and challenge myself further - to actually shop more often at Pike Place Market and get to know some of the growers, acquaint myself with the changing produce and fish, and create inspired dishes out of what I happened to find freshest and most beautiful that day at the market.
• I'm admittedly a little curious about tracking cost per meal when cooking this way vs. eating out. I actually suspect it's not that much cheaper, because I kind of have a penchant for fine ingredients and all-things organic, but I've never actually compared these costs before (and I've read that it's cheaper to buy and cook your own organic food than to eat out). 
• Cooking can be empowering, and the act of cooking requires mindfulness, depending on how one approaches the act. As the old, oft-quoted Zen saying goes: "Wash the dishes when you are washing the dishes." Staying in the moment and fully immersing oneself in the experience - of chopping, washing, stirring, sauteeing - can create a rhythmic meditative state and affects consciousness, which, according to Ayurvedic medicine, among other traditions, influences the resulting dish (in good ways).  We'll see.

For more information, or to participate, see The Week of Eating In: A HuffPost Green and Eyes and Ears Challenge

I'll post my results and the recipes I used, after the week is over. If you choose to join me, I welcome your comments and recipes too!

You Are What You Eat: "Live" Foods Give Life, Reverse Disease

"You are what you eat:" it's an age-old adage that has never been proven more visibly than when we observe the effects of our grab-and-go, convenience-foods culture on our nation's growing obesity, type-2 diabetes, and heart disease epidemics. A more conscious approach to healthful eating can result in a major difference in how people look and feel, and even reverse disease, according to Danielle Heard, MS, HHC, a holistic health counselor certified by the American Association of Drugless Practitioners and founder of Artemis in the City, a holistic nutrition services company.

The first time I met Danielle, I was blown away by her amazing mane of lustrous hair, luminous skin, and bright but warm eyes. This woman radiated health and harmony. Apparently, it wasn't always so. In 1996, Danielle became very sick:

"I was so very ill and was diagnosed with migraines, chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia, and depression. I saw about 20 doctors who could not determine the cause of my illness, and basically said it was psychological." 

After living for many years with a variety of chronic health problems and illnesses, none of which were helped by traditional medicine, Danielle took matters into her own hands and turned to healing herself from the inside out through adopting a "whole foods" lifestyle.

"I completely changed my diet, and within two months I felt noticeably better. Within two years, I was completely healed." After experiencing firsthand the 180 degree difference in her health following a lifestyle and diet change, Danielle trained to become certified as a holistic health counselor so that she could help others affect change in their own lives.

"I want to teach people that it is possible to take control of your own health. In our society, traditional medicine often treats individual symptoms after they have occurred rather than addressing the root cause of disease, or even better, preventing disease."

Danielle says that the body is capable of healing itself and reversing long time unhealthy patterns soon after healthful changes are made: "I help people transition to a whole foods lifestyle and eliminate processed foods. Living foods are the most beneficial to the body. Not all calories are created equal."

Danielle says most people will reach for whatever is most convenient, which are often pre-packaged or fast foods, filled with toxic trans fats and preservatives. "My goal is to help people become more conscious of their food choices." Something as simple as drinking more water, decreasing sugar, and adding more greens and whole grains to the daily diet can make a huge difference to energy levels and overall health.

I had the opportunity to pick Danielle's brain a bit about the best ways to improve our daily diet:

What is the most important thing we should eat every day?

"#1 = Water. Without a doubt. 64 ounces: at least 8 glasses! Most people don't even know that when they feel thirsty their body is already dehydrated. Most people exist in a chronically dehydrated state. Drink water. Often!
#2 = Greens! Eat leafy greens every day."

Should we take vitamins and supplements?

"Food is your medicine. A normal healthy person has no need for supplemental vitamins if she or he is eating a balanced and varied whole foods diet."

In your opinion, what is the worst thing we can do for our health?

"Fast food. Food should not be 'fast.' The transfats and hydrogenated oils in fast foods are toxic. Aspartame (found in equal, nutrasweet, over 6000 products including all "sugar-free" items) is a poison."

Is eating this way really hard and/or expensive?

"Eating this way is not hard once you know what kinds of food to shop for, and which foods to avoid. Slow food IS health."

What if I have no time or don't like to prepare and cook food?

If you care about your health, and see the effects a whole foods lifestyle has on your health, then shopping and preparing your food in this way becomes a top priority."

What do you do for your health every day?

"I drink at least 8 ounces of green juice every day: I make a 'green goddess' drink in my juicer that includes:

cucumber
parsley
spinach or other dark leafy greens
green apple
ginger root
lemon juice

It's delicious and keeps me well and healthy!"

Artemis in the City offers clients individualized consultations and tailored nutrition programs to address individual concerns and health problems, specifically helping clients battle obesity, decrease high blood pressure, eliminate food allergies, and reverse heart disease, diabetes, and autoimmune diseases such as arthritis, chronic pain and IBS and fibromyalgia.

For recipes, client testimonials, additional resources, and more information, check out Artemis in the City's website: www.artemisinthecity.com and to learn more about Artemis in the City's services, Danielle offers clients a free health history session: call 212-535-3160. 

Easy Ways to Make Sustainable, Local and Healthful Food Choices

Today is the Fourth of July... US Independence Day. This has become the day for Americans to crank up the BBQ, pile on the potato salad and enjoy a summertime feast before the fireworks start. In recognition of the food-centric way in which we tend to celebrate occasions, and what seems to be a fair amount of buzz around exposing the dirty little secrets of the food industry lately, I thought I would take a conscious look at how the way we shop for food and the choices we make at the market affect our health and the environment.

Living in Seattle, I recognize my good food fortune in that I can walk to the country’s best farmers’ market, Pike Place Market (internationally recognized as “America's premier farmers' market,” attracting over 10 million visitors a year) within 10 minutes. The easy access we have here in Seattle to local, organic, and seasonal farm-fresh produce and dairy products as well as knowing the seafood offered at the local fishmongers is usually guaranteed wild and fished responsibly from nearby waters makes choosing healthful, natural and locally-sourced foods almost effortless. In most of the country, however, food options are dominated by whatever is offered in the local corporate grocery chain. Unfortunately, these large chains often emphasize size (bigger is better) and reduced cost (via mass manufacturing, industrial farming, genetic engineering, other technological “innovations”) over quality, natural growing techniques, or support of local farm operations.

Luckily, we seem to be in the midst of a tipping point with respect to recognizing the adverse health and environmental effects of supporting such a mass-produced, genetically- and synthetically-engineered food system. Recently, the unappetizing horrors within the modern commercialized food chain have been exposed in books such as Michael Pollan’s The Omnivore’s Dilemma, Marion Nestle’s Food Politics: How the Food Industry Influences Nutrition, and Health, and Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser. Recent documentaries such as King Corn highlights the frustrating system of governmental subsidies to corn farmers and high fructose corn syrup as the insidious culprit behind America’s obesity and diabetes epidemic, and Food Inc, which I have not yet seen but is high on my list, is reviewed by the New York Times as “an informative, sometimes infuriating, activist documentary about the big business of feeding or, more to the political point, force-feeding, Americans all the junk that multinational corporate money can buy” both cast a spotlight on the previously shadowy world of food manufacturing. As long as food tastes good, most people are happy to remain blissfully unaware of what is involved in getting it that way, or to their table. But no longer.

The sustainable food movement is gaining more momentum, rolling all the way up to Washington, via the political and environmental symbolic statement made by Michelle Obama's planting of the very first Presidential vegetable garden. Although starting a farm in your backyard or rooftop may not be immediately feasible (typical and immediate responses include: “I don’t have a green thumb!” “I don’t have time to tend a garden!” “I don’t have the space for that!” and/or “I wouldn’t know how to start a garden!”); technically, we do have the power to grow our own food. This Sunday’s New York Times magazine features Will Allen, an urban-farming expert of Growing Power Farming who has pioneered a local-farming movement to help educate people to do just that, regardless of where they live or how much money they have.

Each of us really does have the power to make a difference in the kinds of foods that are stocked in our markets. Choosing locally sourced foods from small, independent growers helps our health as well as the environment. Chances are the foods will be fresher, with less or no chemical preservatives since they were likely on the vine or in the ground as recently as a day ago, and the carbon footprint required to transport the foods to the market is minimized. In addition, every time we buy groceries and the scanner registers the bar codes of the products we buy, a marketing company registers our purchasing preferences, and the more we buy locally, the more locally sourced items we'll see.

Think about the following the next time you’re in the grocery store or at a restaurant:

1) Check to see where the produce you are buying is from. In my local Whole Foods, there are signs that proudly advertise “Locally grown WA Rainier cherries!” “Lady Washington apples from Snoqualmie…” etc., and I notice that often these local items are cheaper than others that have been transported from other states or countries. If there aren’t signs, the produce stickers usually contains location information: “product of Chile, Mexico,” etc. (I avoid these!)

2) Ask your produce manager if they carry fruits and vegetables from local farmers. The more you ask for it, and the more people who request it, the greater the chances they will start carrying it.

3) Print off and carry with you the “Seafood Watch List,” listing the seafood choices that are sustainably fished, abundant, and/or farmed in environmentally-friendly ways. You can view the guide online, or download a wallet-sized version. Try to avoid ordering or buying fish such as Chilean Sea Bass, Atlantic Cod, and others that are either overfished or unsustainably harvested. The list is long and surprising, but there are also many kinds of fish on the “best choices” list for abundance and responsible fishing.

4) Recognize that many label claims such as “natural,” “naturally raised,” “Raised without antibiotics,” and the use of “Organic” for seafood and personal care products are unregulated, misleading and basically meaningless.

5) Check out Food Democracy Now, a grassroots movement initiated by farmers, writers, chefs, eaters and policy advocates to: “implement real and significant change in our nation’s food, agricultural and environmental policies through advancing best practices in food production, animal husbandry, conservation of natural resources, renewable energy and soil preservation.” Sign the petition to make your voice heard for a sustainable USDA!

6) Consider signing the petition on Food Independence Day.Org, launched by Roger Doiron of Kitchen Gardeners International, who earlier this year petitioned the Obama administration to plant a Victory Garden on the White House lawn. Part of this effort was to gain the commitment of individuals to include local foods in their menu and to encourage support of locally grown food and local eating on the Fourth of July.

7) Remember that every small change is still helpful, in a large way at an individual wellness level, as well as becoming part of the aggregate contribution to our global health.

“A small group of thoughtful people could change the world. Indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.” -Margaret Mead