When I first started thinking about doing this work I wanted to title it Plant Compassion, a play on words with planting or instilling compassion. This is still at the base of why I am doing this. Compassion for three things: animals, the earth and OURSELVES. The more I learn the more I see these are inextricably intertwined and when you do something to help one you help all three.
Animals– I can not justify eating animal flesh when I would never eat my dog. All animals are living beings, feel pain and have a purpose in life. That purpose is not to suffer untold brutality just to satisfy the human desire for the taste of meat. Science has shown that there is no biological reason for humans to eat meat at all, let alone in the amount we do in current times. Over history meat was always a special occasion food, eaten rarely and in small amounts. Now people feel they need to have some sort of animal product at every meal and as the center of the meal. We can get all the nutrients we need from plants. Animals are kept in horribly inhumane conditions when they are part of the food system, conditions that would have a person sent to jail for animal cruelty if it was done outside the food system.
The Earth- The science is irrefutable on this one. The rate of consumption of resources on our planet is unsustainable. In 2020 the estimated ability of the earth to sustain human life is about 70 years. The production of animal agriculture produces more greenhouse gases than all the forms of transportation combined. It is great to use plastic straws but the best way to help heal the earth is decrease the amount of animal products you consume. It takes nine calories put in to a cow to get four calories out. The Amazon is being plowed under to crow soy to feed factory-farmed animals. Just eat the soy. Take out the middleman.
OURSELVES- When we eat plants we give our body the building blocks it needs to heal itself, build up immunity, prevent and and even reverse disease. We need to care and respect ourselves enough not to make ourselves sick because it is fast, easy or inexpensive. In my readings I came across the line” Do I care enough about myself to take the five minutes it takes to make a salad?” This really hit home with me and I think about it when I want to reach for something quick and unhealthy. Take the time now to care for yourself so that you do not get the lifestyle illnesses so endemic in our world- diabetes, obesity, heart disease, cancer- or so that you can work on reversing them. Respect yourself.
Deirdre Sweeney, Plant-Based Health 