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unplug magazine asks you to unplug from your current modes of thought and look at life in a new way, whether this means unplugging from our toxic consumer culture, mainstream society, the tv, or a limiting mindset. author megan prusynski explores life's alternatives and discusses activism, progressive thinking, and moving towards a "green" & sustainable life.

Wednesday, November 05, 2008

Change Has a Chance!

What a historic, amazing election. I have never been prouder to be an American. We finally elected an African-American president, Bush and company will soon be history, and change will finally be possible. It's about time this election madness was over, and I'm glad there was a good outcome.

The election also brought a great victory for animals here in California - Proposition 2 passed! This historic ballot measure will make the cruel gestation crates, battery cages, and veal crates used by California's factory farms a thing of the past. The lives of 20 million farm animals will be improved in this great step in the right direction. Another victory for animals happened in Massachusetts, where greyhound racing was banned. Animals everywhere thank voters supporting these measures, and it looks like Obama will be a great advocate for animals as president.

California may have improved things for animals, but it's still uncertain whether things will improve for same-sex couples. Proposition 8, which makes a state constitutional amendment defining marriage as between a man and a woman, narrowly passed. Opponents of the proposition are still hoping that when all votes are counted, things will turn around. I sure hope they're right. What a blow to equality and human rights. I guess the fight continues!

Hopefully Obama will make good on his promises to bring much-needed change to this country. I am definitely counting down the days until January 20th when we can finally have a changing of the guard. It has been wonderful to be a part of this historic process, now, viva la revolution!

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posted by Megan | 2:50 PM | 0 comments | buzz on this post | stumble it | digg it

Wednesday, September 12, 2007

Inspiration from Other Veg-Heads

Being on the road for the last couple of months (and about to be again as of tomorrow), I have found it sometimes difficult to stick to an organic vegan diet, especially when dining out. We have been blessed that our volksvegan van is equipped with a fridge, two-burner stove, and sink so we can prepare yummy vegan grub when we're camped out. But often, finding organic vegan options have been a challenge. Luckily, health food stores and Co-ops could be found in most larger cities throughout Canada and Montana, so we'd stock up whenever we ran into one. We did manage to find a few vegetarian restaurants as well, such as the wonderful Nourish in Banff, Alberta, and vegan restaurant Paradox Cafe in Portland, Oregon.

Since returning to Boise while our bus was in the shop, we have been visiting the Co-op regularly (although we certainly miss "our" Co-op in Moscow) and preparing some yummy vegan meals for my parents like spicy Indian dahl and seitan-mushroom stroganoff (the latter from one of my favorite cookbooks, Vegan With a Vengeance). We have also had the internet while we were here, so I've been seeking support from other veg-heads and found some great articles!

First up, I have been really enjoying Colleen Patrick-Goudreau's blog on Green Options, on the subject of compassionate cooking. From recipes to tips on being vegan in a non-veg world, Colleen is full of great ideas on how to eat well and help animals. And while I'm on the subject, Green Options is a great resource for living sustainably and greening your lifestyle. It's really grown since the launch in February, and I was lucky enough to be a part of it, writing on green art & design for several months before leaving on our trip. I hope to return once we settle this fall, so keep your eyes out!

I also stumbled upon a great article on the blog "pink rabbit says" by vegan animal rights activist Ari Moore. How to Get Vegan and Stay Vegan is an insightful look in transitioning to a vegan lifestyle without it being a pain in the ass. I know Ari through the Animal Rights group on flickr, so if you're a flickr addict who loves animals, be sure to check it out!

And in other news, unplug officially has a new domain name, so update your bookmarks: unplugmagazine.com. The old (longer) url will still work, but this is much nicer. I'm not sure how much work I will be doing on the unplug site until the volksvegan adventure winds down, but stay tuned for my observations during our trip on the blog!

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posted by Megan | 2:42 PM | 0 comments | buzz on this post | stumble it | digg it

Monday, April 30, 2007

Kentucky Fried Cruelty

KentuckyFriedCruelty.comIf you know me at all, you know that KFC is one of my favorite places to protest and boycott. There is a lot of hidden suffering behind every bucket of genetically modified, tortured KFC chicken. Find out more about KFC and why any compassionate person would boycott them on the all-new KentuckyFriedCruelty.com!

I'm especially excited about this site launching because I have been working on it for work for the last few months. I redesigned PETA's old KFC site and parodied KFC's look to show the truth behind KFC's lies... and of course, I couldn't have done it without my awesome co-workers! Check out the site and help us get KFC to listen and make a few minor changes that would greatly reduce the suffering of the chickens by signing the petition and boycotting KFC!

I leave you with a quote of Margaret Mead's:

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has."

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Wednesday, March 28, 2007

Recent Sources of Inspiration...

I am getting ready to leave for a vacation to Spain (of course I offset the carbon emissions of my flights!) but I had to take a break from packing and finishing up projects to share two recommended sources of inspiration I have encountered recently.

The first is a film: The U.S. vs. John Lennon. It's about John Lennon (obviously) and Yoko Ono and their revolutionary art and music. Being a huge fan of the Beatles, I was surprised at how little I knew about John Lennon's political views and post-Beatles music. Let's just say he is my new hero! He was a self-described "Peacenik" and used art and music to open minds, reach out to others, and shed light on important issues. This film has renewed my belief that art can truly change the world. Of course, the end is sad, since such a wonderful, revolutionary, creative, and inspirational person was murdered and thus silenced (wait, you all knew John Lennon was dead, right?). But overall the film is uplifting and inspiring - and sheds some light on the 60's and 70's era of radical politics and music, but not enough change...

The second inspirational item is the book Diet for a New America: How Your Food Choices Affect Your Health, Happiness and the Future of Life on Earth by John Robbins, which I have been reading for months and just finished. This book is not new by any means, it was written in 1987, and I must admit that I wish I had read it years ago. This book is revolutionary. Robbins examines the typical American diet (namely an obsession with meat, eggs, and dairy products that pads the pockets of the industries that produce them while robbing everyone and everything else). Diet for a New America is very well-researched and based on solid science, all presented in digestible language. Basically, the point of the book is that our country's meat-centered diet is the hidden cause of many of today's biggest maladies: world hunger, overuse of water, the destruction of the world's forests, our deadliest diseases (including heart disease, many forms of cancer, diabetes, obesity, and many more), our reliance on foreign oil, pollution, soil erosion, depleting resources, unmeasurable animal suffering, and even a dwindling economy. After examining every possible effect of our meat-centered diet and especially the post-WWII industrialization of farming, Robbins ends on a positive note. There is a solution that will in time reverse many of the diseases we are afflicted with, make our lives more sustainable, boost our economy, and ensure clean food, water, air, and land for future generations: a shift in the American diet-style towards a plant-based diet. Even reducing our reliance on meat for food by 10% can have an enormous impact. Not that I really needed any more convincing to be vegan, but this book is life-altering and very enlightening (although I must admit parts of it were hard to get through and often left me in tears - yes, the truth is harsh).

I will end this post with a quote from Chief Seattle, which appears at the end of Diet for a New America and is one of my absolute favorite quotes:

The earth does not belong to man:
Man belongs to the earth.
This we know:
All things are connected
Like the blood which unites one family.
All things are connected.
Whatever befalls the earth
Befalls the sons of the earth.
Man did not weave the web of live.
He is merely a strand in it.
Whatever he does to the web,
He does to himself.

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posted by Megan | 9:17 PM | 0 comments | buzz on this post | stumble it | digg it

Monday, March 12, 2007

Stop Canada's Seal Hunt

Baby SealThe Canadian government condones the killing of hundreds of thousands of harp seals each year. These beautiful creatures are bludgeoned to death and often skinned alive so their fur can be sold. Many of the seals killed are helpless babies. This year, Canada has given the go-ahead for hunters to kill 335,000 baby harp seals and Canada's ice floes will be covered in the blood of innocent animals for something as unnecessary as fur coats.

Please sign PETA's petition to Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper before this year's hunt begins. You can also help boycotting Canadian products and of course, refusing to wear real fur of any kind. For more information and ways to help, see StopTheSealHunt.com.

This cruel tradition needs to end. Thank you for your compassion.

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posted by Megan | 12:29 AM | 6 comments | buzz on this post | stumble it | digg it

Monday, March 05, 2007

You Really Can't Be a Meat-Eating Environmentalist

Al Gore may be getting flack from the press lately about his energy usage, but why has no one brought up the fact that his meat eating is actually causing more environmental damage than his energy-guzzling mansion?

According to a new report published by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, the livestock sector generates more greenhouse gas emissions as measured in CO2 equivalent - 18 percent - than transport. It is also a major source of land and water degradation.

Says Henning Steinfeld, Chief of FAO's Livestock Information and Policy Branch and senior author of the report: "Livestock are one of the most significant contributors to today's most serious environmental problems. Urgent action is required to remedy the situation"

With increased prosperity, people are consuming more meat and dairy products every year. [You can download the report here.]

So basically, raising animals for food generates more greenhouse gases than all the cars and trucks in the world combined. This begs the question: why aren't more environmentalists vegetarian? Is changing your eating habits too difficult for even the most dedicated environmentalist? Apparently the addicition to meat is a tough one to break.

I've been researching this topic quite a bit lately, and have found that there really is no good excuse for eating meat if you claim any sort of envrionmental sensitivity. The factory farming industry is one of this country's top polluters, literally creating lagoons of shit that end up in our soil and waterways. In 1995 in North Carolina, 25 million gallons of excrement from a hog farm spilled into a river, killing millions of fish and damaging the river's ecosystem all the way out to sea. The modern industrial farming methods are not only horribly cruel to animals, they are contributing to the demise of the earth and all of us humans as well.

I've rounded up some excellent articles on the envrionmental costs of eating meat and the benefits of a vegetarian diet so you don't have to take my word for it. Here are some good reads on the subject:

I have just learned that PETA sent a letter to Al Gore with information about how he can shut up the critics and do more to stop global warming at the same time: by going vegetarian. Hey, maybe he can lose some of those post-election pounds at the same time! So, Al, what do you say? Can you drop the meat? I've got a load of recipes I can share! :)

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posted by Megan | 8:51 AM | 0 comments | buzz on this post | stumble it | digg it

Friday, February 02, 2007

Great Strides for Animal Rights

Pigs in Gestation CratesI just watched a great little video on PETA's Highlights in 2006. I'm constantly amazed at how much we get done, and it's great to be part of such a dedicated and productive movement. Watch PETA's Highlights of 2006.

This year has started off pretty well also, with a couple of 2007 Victories! POM Agreed to Stop Funding Animal Tests - not sure why they were testing pomegranate juice on rodents in the first place, but thank goodness it's over! Also, one of the country's largest pig-flesh producers began phasing out cruel gestation crates, which force mother pigs to live in filthy crates that are so cramped that they can't even turn around. Another company followed Smithfield's lead, proving that by pressuring the big guys, you can truly provoke change. Read about it here: Smithfield Foods and Maple Leaf Foods Are Phasing Out Cruel Gestation Crates.

Animals everywhere (and the people who protect them) certainly have reasons to celebrate. And of course, we still have a lot of work to do!

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Tuesday, November 28, 2006

The Facts About Eating Animal Products

I stumbled across this very comprehensive list on the internet, which basically covers reasons to go vegetarian from several different perspectives. I recently picked up Diet for a New America by John Robbins and haven't started it yet, but these are just a few of the facts from the book:

The Facts About Eating Animal Products...
by John Robbins, author of Diet for a New America and founder of Earthsave International.

The Hunger Argument:
Number of People worldwide who will die of starvation this year: 60 million
Number of people who could be adequately fed with the grain saved if Americans reduced meat intake by 10%: 60 million
Human beings in America: 243 million
Number of people who could be fed with grain and soybeans now eaten by US livestock: 1.3 billion
Percentage of corn grown in US eaten by people: 20%
Percentage of corn grown in US eaten by livestock: 80%
Percentage of protein wasted by cycling grain through livestock: 90%
Percentage of oats grown in US eaten by livestock: 95%
How frequently a child starves to death: every 2 seconds
Pounds of potatoes that can be grown on an acre: 20,000 lbs
Pounds of beef produced on an acre: 165 lbs
Percentage of US farmland devoted to beef production: 56%
Pounds of grain and soybeans needed to produce 1 pound of feedlot beef: 16 lbs.

The Environmental Argument:
Cause of global warming: greenhouse effect
Primary cause of greenhouse effect: Carbon Dioxide from fossil fuels
Fossil fuels needed to produce a meat-centered diet vs. a meat-free diet: 50 times more
Percentage of US topsoil lost to date: 75%
Percentage of US topsoil loss directly related to livestock raising: 85%
Number of acres of US forest cleared for cropland to produce meat-centered diet: 260 million acres
Amount of meat US imports annually from Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Panama: 200,000,000 pounds
Average per capita meat consumption in Costa Rica, El Salveador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Panama: Less than eaten by average US house cat
Area of tropical rainforest consumed in every quarter-pounder hamburger: 55 sq. ft.
Current rate of species extinction due to destruction of tropical rainforests for meat grazing and other uses: 1,000 species extinct per year

The Cancer Argument:
Increased risk of breast cancer for women who eat meat four times a week vs. less than once a week: 4 times
Increased risk of breast cancer for women who eat eggs daily vs less than once a week: 3 times
Increased risk of breast cancer for women who eat cheese and butter 3 or more times a week vs less than once a week: 3 times
Increased risk of ovarian cancer for women who eat eggs 3 or more times a week vs less than once a week: 3 times
Increased risk of fatal prostate cancer for men who consume meat, cheese, eggs and milk daily vs sparingly or not at all: 3.6 times

The Natural Resources Argument:
User of more than half of all water used for all purposes in the US: Livestock production
Amount of water to produce a pound of wheat: 25 gallons
Amount of water to produce a pound of meat: 2,500 gallons
Cost of common hamburger if water used by meat industry was not subsidized by US taxpayer: $35/pound
Current cost of pound of protein from beefsteak, if water was no longer subsidized: $89
Years the world's known oil reserves will last if every human ate a meat-centered diet: 13 years
Years the world's known oil reserves will last if human beings no longer ate meat: 260 years
Barrels of oil imported into US daily: 6.8 million
Percentage of fossil fuel energy returned as food energy by most efficient factory farming of meat: 34.5 percent
Percentage returned as food energy from least efficient plant food: 328%
Percentage of raw materials consumed by US to produce present meat-centered diet: 33%

The Cholesterol Argument:
Number of US Medical Schools: 125
Number requiring a course in nutrition: 30
Nutrition training received by average US physician during four years in medical school: 2.5 hours
Most common cause of death in the US: Heart attack
How frequently a heart attack kills in the US: Every 45 seconds
Average US man's risk of death from heart attack: 50%
Risk for average US man who avoids the meat-centered diet: 15%
Risk for average US vegan man: 4%
Amount you reduce risk of heart attack if you reduce consumption of animal products by 10 percent: 9%
Amount you reduce risk of heart attack if you reduce consumption of animal products by 50 percent: 45%
Amount you reduce risk by changing to a vegan diet: 90 percent
Meat, dairy, and egg industries claim you should not be concerned about your blood cholesterol if it is: "normal"
Your risk of dying of a disease caused by clogged arteries if your blood cholesterol is "normal": >50%

The Antibiotic Argument:
Percentage of US antibiotics fed to livestock: 55%
Percentage of staph infections resistant to penicillin in 1960: 13%
Percentage of staph infections resistant to penicillin in 1988: 91%
Response of European Economic Community to routine feeding of antibiotics to livestock: Ban
Respons of US meat and pharmaceutical industries to routine feeding of antibiotics to livestock: Full and complete support

The Pesticide Argument:
Percentage of pesticide residues in the US diet supplied by grains: 1%
Percentage of pesticide residues in the US diet supplied by fruits: 4%
Percentage of pesticide residues in the US diet supplied by vegetables: 6%
Percentage of pesticide residues in the US diet supplied by dairy products: 23%
Percentage of pesticide residues in the US diet supplied by meat: 55%
Pesticide contamination of breast milk from meat eating mothers vs non-meat eating: 35 times higher
What USDA tells us: Meat is inspected
Percentage of slaughtered animals inspected for residues of toxic chemicals such as dioxin and DDT: <0.00004%

The Ethical Argument:
Number of animals killed for meat per hour in US: 500,000
Occupation with highest turnover rate in US: Slaughterhouse Worker
Occupation with the highest rate of on-the-job injury in US: Slaughterhouse Worker
Cost to render animal unconscious with "captive bolt pistol": 1 cent
Reason given by meat industry fo not using "captive bolt pistol": Too expensive

...So, given all of that, what can you do?

1. Consider a vegetarian or vegan diet, or at least reduce your consumption of animal products. For information about going veg and recipes, check out GoVeg.com, Veg Paradise, VegCooking.com, Veg Source, Veg Web, or The Vegetarian Society. There are tons of veg options nowadays, so get adventurous & try them out!

2. Educate yourself about what really goes into your food, how it is produced, and where it comes from. Buy organic, fair trade, and locally produced food if possible. Check out Farmer's Markets, where you can ask farmers directly how the food was grown.

3. Learn everything you can and then share what you learn with others. The meat & dairy industries do a good job of hiding the secrets of food production from the public, we need to do our part to make sure that information is available.

4. Get involved! There are many ways you can become an activist for the environment and animals. Check out Earthsave International or PETA's Action Center for ideas.

5. Remember that one of the easiest ways to make your voice heard is through your spending. Support companies and organizations you believe in and that are bettering the world, shop cruelty-free, research the companies you buy from, and boycott companies you don't agree with.

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posted by Megan | 3:25 PM | 0 comments | buzz on this post | stumble it | digg it

Tuesday, May 16, 2006

Diet for a Small Planet

I'm reading Diet for a Small Planet by Frances Lappe. There are some startling facts in this book about the American meat-based diet and how it is contributing to hunger around the world. The US has been blessed as a very agriculturally wealthy nation, and most people think that our food exports go to third world countries to feed hungry people. In actuality, two-thirds of our agricultural exports feed livestock. Half of our harvested acreage feeds livestock, not people (and this figure is an old one, I'm sure the number is much higher now!) The livestock is raised for meat, which only the rich can afford to eat. Raising livestock is an incredibly wasteful way to use our land and our grain. It's a waste of land, water, oil, fertilizers, topsoil, and other resources. 50 out of 100 gallons of water consumed in the US goes to raising livestock, and since much grain is grown on dry lands that have been leached of minerals from the over-use of pesticides and fertilizers, it's wreaking havoc on the land, causing erosion, depleting our aquifers, and leading to dust-bowl conditions.

Like many other industries in this corporate-controlled world, control of farmland is increasingly becoming concentrated in the hands of the few, putting small family farmers out of business as prices are driven down. To illustrate the waste that goes into raising meat, consider this fact: it takes 16 pounds of grain and soybeans to produce just one pound of beef in the US. We are truly the land of wasteful excess, and our meat habit is hurting not only ourselves but everyone in the world.

I'm only about 1/3 of the way through the book, and so far it does an excellent job of illustrating the problems caused by the food and agriculture industries as well as our dependence on meat in the world. Lappe also offers possible solutions to this problem, most of which stem from education. The more people that know how wasteful meat production is, the more people will second-guess their meat consumption. The less demand there is for meat, the less grain will be fed to livestock and the more can be exported as food for hungry people around the world. We can support local and organic small family farms, pressure our leaders to pass legislation that reduces exports for livestock and increases food aid, and perhaps more importantly, cut down on meat by adopting a plant-based diet. If not for your own health, if not for the planet's, then for the world's poor and hungry... go vegetarian!

The average American eats twice the protien that they need, most of which comes from meat. Plant-based proteins are just as assimilable as the protein in meat, especially when various plant-based proteins are combined. Not to mention, meat is highly acidic! An acidic body leads to cancer, so by cutting out meat you are creating a more alkaline environment in which cancer cannot grow. I've been learning a lot about the acidity and alkalinity of various foods lately. Seneca has been researching the raw diet, which is the healthiest possible human diet since cooking foods kills important enzymes and nutrients in our food. I will be sure to post some information about a raw diet as I find out more about it, as well as more from Lappe's book. I urge you to pick up a copy of Diet for a Small Planet and check it out for yourself. There are so many reasons to be vegetarian, and it's amazing that something as simple as changing your diet can affect the entire world. So let's change the world, one tummy at a time! :)

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Wednesday, June 15, 2005

Meat=Cancer, Go Veg!

I just read this report from BBC News, saying that eating red meat often is linked to bowel cancer. Well, duh! I'm sure some factory farm advocates will soon fund a study saying the opposite. It's unfortunate that people don't have more access to important health information such as this from their government, because so many lobbyists want Washington to downplay the dangers of things like factory farms, meat, and genetically modified food.

Seneca showed me this site recently. It's really very interesting. It examines human phisiology and evolution and discovers that a plant-based diet is the most natural and healthy human diet. We do not have the digestive system, teeth, or other traits that most carnivores have, and we are not evolved to eat as much meat as we do. If you need more convincing, check out Meet your Meat, a video showing what really happens to animals in factory farms. Beware, it's disturbing, disgusting, and if you have a soul at all, it will make you cry. It definitely reaffirmed my commitment to vegetarianism, and made both Seneca and I consider going vegan instead of eating organic dairy. It's disturbing knowing where your food came from these days...

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