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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.

Thursday, May 08, 2008

Legalize It!

It's been a busy spring for me (hence my absence) and that means that while I wanted to write a nice "green" post for Earth Day, I was just too busy. So, I hope everyone did something nice for the planet Earth Day weekend. I was at Moscow Hempfest - amidst late April snow flurries - educating people about the misunderstood hemp plant and handing out PETA stickers all while selling my homemade hemp soap and jewelry. And although there are a million things I want to write about, I'm going to focus on one issue that's been important to me for some time: HEMP!

Hempfest 2008 Logo with Hemp FactsCannabis sativa (aka hemp) is a plant that humankind has a long history with over 10,000 years. It is only recently that this plant has been demonized and its use criminalized by US drug policy. Cannabis was widely prescribed for many ailments and hemp grown domestically and used for many products, namely rope and canvas, in the US prior to 1937. In 1937, caving into pressure from lobbying groups that felt that hemp threatened their products (ahem, DuPont) and a media fueled by racism, the Marijuana Tax Stamp Act was enacted, effectively making cannabis and hemp illegal. What was once a lucrative, sustainable cash crop became an illicit substance, and a drastic eradication program began.

The penalties have grown harsher (gee, thanks Nixon, Reagan and Bush) and prison sentences today for cannabis-related "crimes" are now often longer than those for rape and murder. Prisons are overpopulated due to the drug war's insistence on arresting non-violent drug offenders and throwing them in jail instead of helping them overcome addiction. Marijuana is listed as a Schedule I drug, alongside heroin and other drugs that have "no medical value." This is despite the fact that science has shown otherwise. Many states have passed legislation allowing doctors to recommend cannabis to their patients. It has been proven helpful for many ailments such as cancer, glaucoma, severe pain, menstrual cramps, nausea, and many more. In fact, in 1988, DEA Judge Francis Young stated that "...marijuana is one of the safest therapeutically active substances known to man." He recommended it be removed from the list of Schedule I drugs and rescheduled, which it was not. In the "land of the free," we're not even free to decide what we can put into our own bodies.

Hemp gets lumped in with marijuana (they're both cannabis sativa, but different strains), which is unfortunate, because hemp can't get you high, but it can certainly be used for a million other things. Hemp seeds are highly nutritious, providing all the essential fatty acids humans need. Pretty much all parts of the plant are useful for something, whether it's paper that's stronger and can be recycled more often than tree paper, strong and soft fabric, various plastics, building materials, paints/varnishes, rope, or bio-fuel. Since it has so many uses, is naturally pest and disease resistant, and easy to grow, it could help solve a lot of environmental problems and provide more sustainable alternatives for many products. This sustainable crop could honestly help save the world, and that is why the powers that be fear it so much and want it to remain illegal. The pharmaceutical, paper, lumber, cotton, agriculture, and petroleum industries all feel threatened by this versatile plant, even though industrial hemp could be a boon to our economy and especially to small farmers. Like most things in politics, it all comes down to money.

So, what can we do to end the war on cannabis and re-legalize this useful plant? First of all, as a society we need a massive hemp re-education. Through the years the lies about cannabis have been drilled into our brains, spreading reefer madness and creating hostility towards a plant that has never killed anyone in thousands of years of use. It starts with educating yourself and sharing your knowledge with family and friends. Hemp advocacy can be as fun as attending a Hempfest or as important as starting a local petition to make marijuana use arrests the lowest police priority in your city. Do some research and you're bound to find many resources, organizations, and activists to get you going.

There is currently a federal bill before Congress to re-legalize the cultivation of industrial hemp. This bill, the "Industrial Hemp Farming Act", H.R. 1009, has been introduced by Ron Paul (R-TX) and co-sponsored by a handful of other representatives. Ron Paul has also recently introduced the “Medical Marijuana Patient Protection Act”, H.R. 5842, which would bar the Federal Government from intervening in doctor/patient relationships that violate no state law. For more information on hemp advocacy and legislation, see VoteHemp.com.

And in my local news, Mendocino county, California, is soon to vote on Measure B, which plans to repeal Measure G, protecting medical marijuana users and allowing law enforcement to focus on real criminals. Measure B is intended to reduce the amount of large-scale commercial cannabis production in a county with some of the most lenient cannabis laws in the nation. However, it will remove protections that Measure G provides medical patients (which was voted into law by a large majority of the public) and be a huge step backwards in hemp legalization. I find it silly that those supporting Measure B think that changing the law is going to affect commercial growers who obviously don't care about the law in the first place - they're already breaking it, so why would changing the law even affect them? So, if you're a Mendo local, please VOTE NO ON MEASURE B on June 3, 2008, and keep Mendocino County a leader in the fight for legalization!

In the words of Peter Tosh, quite simply, LEGALIZE IT!

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posted by Megan | 10:40 AM | 1 comments | buzz on this post | stumble it | digg it

Tuesday, March 11, 2008

"Eco-friendly" Cars are Coming

VW hybrid dieselI've been watching the posts on gas2.0, a Green Options blog about the bio-fuel revolution, and I suddenly have the desire to get new wheels. Some companies, like ZAP and Hybrids Plus are working on converting hybrids to plug-in hybrids for gas mileage up to 120 miles per gallon. The ability to plug hybrids in is even closer to all-electric vehicles, which are also on the horizon. And volkswagen has just announced that it will be releasing a diesel-electric hybrid, which I'm very excited about, as I dream of volksvegan II. It gets nearly 70 mpg and it's about time someone took an efficient diesel engine and combined it with hybrid technology to make the best of both biofuels and hybrids.

But after looking at all these shiny "greener" cars, and their price tags, I can't help but feel like maybe car lust really isn't all that green, no matter what kind of cars we're talking about. The American Dream is heavily based on car culture, and many families have more cars than drivers in their households. I'm all about having more sustainable choices, and like to use them whenever possible, but along with new choices comes the dilemma of what to do with old cars that these new ones replace. Planned obsolescence has long been marketing gimmick used by the auto industry, making old models seem outdated just by rolling out the new ones. This leads to cars, and countless other products, being put to waste long before their useful lives are truly over. It also leads to cheaper products that aren't built to last as long as they should, and "replaceable" or "disposable" products that in previous generations were used for decades or longer. In reality, nothing is ever truly disposable. There is no such thing as "out of sight, out of mind" on this small planet. We can't escape our waste.

We rely on cars more than we realize, and I don't just mean to get around. The way our communities are planned and structured is based on roads and the cars that travel on them. Suburban sprawl is very much a car-centric problem. It's rare to be able to work, go to school, live, and eat all within a few blocks. Cities are compartmentalized into zones for industry, business, retail, and living. This is not how things used to be, it's evolved along with the automobile.

Unfortunately, living without a car can be difficult if not damn near impossible for many people. This is why I'm glad that there are more sustainable cars being developed. However, I think all too often car ownership is seen as a right, not a privilege, and one that is often abused. Reducing our fossil fuel usage and its disastrous effects is an important part of combatting climate change. But just switching to different cars is not going to solve the problem. We need to re-think our relationship with cars, our public transportation system, even the way our communities are designed. And we need to get over our obsession with shiny hunks of metal with wheels that guzzle petrochemicals and spew pollution.

Here are some ways we can start re-thinking our relationship with our cars and reduce our use of fossil fuels:



There are lots of little steps you can take to reduce your fossil fuel usage. After you've reduced the use of your car, you can consider upgrading to a greener model when it's time. Don't get rid of the car you have (unless it's a Hummer, then by all means, replace that evil thing and start reversing your karma) unless it is absolutely time to replace it, or unless you have more cars then you need. Make every effort to repair and maintain your car to keep it on the road longer. New cars take a lot of new materials and pollution to make, so buy used whenever possible. Consider getting a diesel (the engines are more efficient) so that you can run bio-diesel in, or a hybrid. Sadly, the dreamy diesel-electric hybrids are still a few years away, so we'll have to keep dreaming (and saving) for those.

These suggestions are based on the premise that reducing should come before re-using and recycling. If we reduce our demand for fossil fuels by using our cars less (and by using fewer cars), that will have a greater impact than simply changing the type of car we drive. Question yourself every time you reach for your keys: could I walk instead? Do I really need to make this trip now or could I combine it with another? Could I carpool? Do I even need to own my own car when I could share one? There are countless ways to reduce pollution and gas usage, all it takes is a little ingenuity and the courage to change the way we think and live. A small step in the right direction is certainly better than stubbornly doing nothing. Change is good!

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posted by Megan | 9:55 PM | 2 comments | buzz on this post | stumble it | digg it

Monday, February 11, 2008

Community Gardening and Local Food

It's been a while since I've posted, a lot has changed in the last month or so. I moved to the beautiful Mendocino Coast in Northern California and we're just settling in. So far I've been really impressed with the level of green consciousness here. There are quite a few organic and vegetarian restaurants, we actually get paid to recycle bottles (and we don't have to sort the recycling for curb-side pickup), and I've gotten involved with a great local non-profit group called Noyo Food Forest. My partner is taking a class on organic gardening from them, I am hoping to help them with some graphic design work, and they're starting a community garden near us that we are going to be a part of. We are really excited to be a part of the organization and get some organic veggies planted in the community garden. This area is certainly inspiring!

Being involved with Noyo Food Forest has been a great experience so far. They are an organization that began a learning garden next to the local high school where they teach classes on organic gardening, grow organic food for the high school cafeteria, and sell organic produce at farmer's markets in the summer. Their goal is to turn unused, empty fields in the area into thriving organic gardens that bring the community together.

Yesterday I volunteered with a group from Noyo to prepare a vacant lot for the community garden, where we hope to have a small plot of organic veggies and herbs. We cleared the land, shoveled poop (not a glamorous job but a big part of organic gardening and it really wasn't that bad), and started sheet composting over the garden site. The spot is beautiful and gets plenty of sun, and the workday went well. I met new people involved with the organization and learned a lot about organic gardening and what it takes to start a community garden.

Noyo Food Forest got me very excited about organic gardening and eating locally. Community gardens are a wonderful thing. Not only do they allow people to grow their own food (especially people who can't a garden at home), they're a great way to meet new people, get outside to commune with nature, and reduce your carbon footprint. Since eating locally helps reduce fuel needed for food transportation, it's a win-win situation. Many towns have community gardens and/or CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) programs, so even if you can't garden in your backyard, there are still lots of options for getting locally-grown organic food. CSAs are a great way to support local farmers. They usually entail subscribing to the program, and local farmers will provide a box of seasonal produce each week during the season.

In a world where even our food choices are political and every choice we make has enormous consequences, it makes sense to simplify our eating habits. Going back to agriculture's roots by gardening at home or in a community garden, buying locally-grown produce, and eating organic are all ways to simplify your food consumption all while reducing pollution and emissions. Green living has never tasted so good!

If you've ever had a garden, you know that not only is gardening a great stress-reliever and a way to connect with your natural environment, but garden-fresh produce tastes simply amazing. In your own garden (or a community garden that you're involved in), you know what is put into the soil and the plants. You have more control over what you grow, so you can grow organically to be sure there aren't any nasty chemicals getting into your body. There are so many benefits to being involved in a community garden or having your own. Stay tuned for more updates on our involvement with Noyo Food Forest and our forays into organic gardening. I hope that community gardens continue to increase in popularity and spark a true food revolution!

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posted by Megan | 3:12 PM | 0 comments | buzz on this post | stumble it | digg it

Wednesday, November 28, 2007

Tough Times Ahead: Surviving Peak Oil

Our current way of life is completely dependent on cheap oil. Despite knowing that it is a finite resource, we continue to use it in large quantities for just about every aspect of our lives, especially in America. Petroleum does not just fuel our cars, it fuels our entire agricultural system (fertilizers and pesticides are made with oil and natural gas, not to mention the fuel needed to harvest and ship food around the world) and is our main source of energy. It is even a major ingredient in many of the products we use every day - such as plastics, pharmaceuticals, beauty products, and cleaning supplies. It's not money that makes the world go round, it's oil.

Our petroleum addiction comes at a high cost: not only in the increasing costs of finding and extracting oil, but in the long term environmental effects of its use as well as the political and social harm that comes from fighting over a dwindling resource. Even though we may not run out of oil completely for hundreds of years, it is becoming more and more difficult and expensive to find and produce. If you've been to a gas station lately, you've obviously noticed the rising cost of oil. It's certainly not getting any cheaper. But what happens when oil is more expensive to produce than it is worth on the market?

That's where peak oil comes in. Simply put, peak oil is the point at which, on a global scale, we extract the most oil from the earth that we ever have or ever will. It represents a halfway point in the earth's oil supply, not an end. The problem is that the second half of the oil that we have not yet extracted is more difficult to get to and more expensive as well. According to wikipedia:

Peak oil is the point or timeframe at which the maximum global petroleum production rate is reached, after which the rate of production enters its terminal decline. If global consumption is not mitigated before the peak, the availability of oil will drop and prices will rise, perhaps dramatically. M. King Hubbert first used the theory in 1956 to accurately predict that United States oil production would peak between 1965 and 1970. His model, now called Hubbert peak theory, has since been used to predict the peak petroleum production of many other countries, and has also proved useful in other limited-resource production-domains. According to the Hubbert model, the production rate of a limited resource will follow a roughly symmetrical bell-shaped curve based on the limits of exploitability and market pressures.

Since our current lifestyles are so dependent on oil, a decline in its availability (and a rise in the cost of getting the last half of it) will have dramatic effects on society. America got a glimpse of peak oil in the early 1970s during the oil crisis, when there were long lines at the gas pump and President Carter began urging Americans to curb their energy usage. But when that crisis blew over, it seemed as if Americans forgot it ever happened. Instead SUVs surged in popularity and oil and energy use rose even more. It's as if we're ignoring our impending doom, and doing nothing to prepare for the drastic changes that peak oil will bring.

Of course, society does not have to be doomed by peak oil, which many scientists say is coming soon, if it's not already here. Some major changes will need to be made, most notably in the way we think and the way we live. But we can survive if we focus on alternatives for our energy, transportation, and agricultural needs. One group dedicating their time and resources to finding a solution to peak oil and climate change is The Community Solution. This organization advocates "culture change, conservation and curtailment" to survive this crisis. The Community Solution states:

Through reductions in resource consumption, dramatic conservation and curtailment of energy use coupled with an increase in local community living we can survive peak oil and create a sustainable world in its wake.

And they offer an example of a society that has had to face severe shortages in oil and lived to tell about it: Cuba. In 1991, the Soviet Union fell, and since the US placed a trade embargo on Cuba, a Soviet ally, their supply of petroleum was abruptly halted. Energy shortages and famine spread, but luckily Cubans have since figured out a way to get by on less energy and less petroleum. They returned to organic farming, creating small-scale local farms all over the island and in every empty plot of land in urban areas. They turned to bikes and public transit for transportation and alternative and more sustainable forms of energy production. Food production, education, and industry became much more localized. Cuban communities began to thrive, taking care of each other and supporting themselves. What happened in Cuba offers a glimpse of what a post-peak oil society might look like, if we learn to consume less, help each other, and return to more traditional and ecological ways of farming and living.

You can watch The Community Solution's documentary "How to Survive Peak Oil: The Cuba Model" as a six part series on YouTube. It shouldn't be surprising to anyone that reducing our energy consumption and finding alternatives to our petroleum addiction lead to a more sustainable way of life. This is what Cuba has done, and although their journey is still evolving, the rest of the world may soon be adjusting to peak oil's effects.

Let's hope that we can learn to live as sustainable, efficient, localized communities as the peak oil crisis approaches. The days of cheap oil will soon be over, but that doesn't mean that society will end. I believe we will learn from the "oil age" that we can't rely on finite resources or short-term solutions. If we're going to be in it for the long haul, we're going to have to work together, with each other and with the earth. We will have to learn to work with nature and not against it, and this learning process begins with a new way of thinking and seeing the world. Let's start now!

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posted by Megan | 4:17 PM | 0 comments | buzz on this post | stumble it | digg it

Tuesday, November 20, 2007

'Tis the Season

As the holiday season approaches, it's obvious the corporate consumerist machine is hard at work distilling desire in young and old alike. Christmas decorations and ads begin popping up before Halloween has passed, and each year they seem to come earlier and earlier. Their message: buy, buy, buy. As a result, many Americans end up deeper and deeper in debt, especially this time of year.

This is why time of year gives me a headache. Christmas means a lot to my family, and my mom always asks for a wish list, which I reluctantly put together although each year I feel more and more like the last thing I need is more stuff. Gift giving is part of our family tradition, and I do think gifts during the holidays are a great way to show friends and family how much you love and appreciate them. So it's always a dilemma at holiday time: to buy (supporting a system I don't agree with) or not to buy (possibly making myself look like scrooge).

Luckily, there are alternatives to buying into the corporate consumer holiday game. Instead of buying gifts from big box stores or corporations that get rich at the expense of people and the environment, the discerning holiday shopper can buy gifts from locally owned stores, local artisans, shops that focus on sustainability, or co-ops carrying fair trade and organic products. There are more and more choices for conscious consumers every day.

Other options include homemade gifts (although these take some time and preparation), home baked organic goodies, or "coupons" for services you can give to loved ones (such as a massage or yard work). I have given my homemade hemp soap, massage oil, or gemstone jewelry as gifts on several occasions, and food is always a good choice for someone that seems to have everything. I have also donated money to non-profit organizations in my gift recipient's name, a gift that can be very meaningful especially if the cause is something they are passionate about.

As "Black Friday" approaches and millions of people flock to the malls and the big box stores, I hope to stay at home and think up alternative gift ideas for everyone on my list. Black Friday has come to mean "Buy Nothing Day" (one of my favorite Adbusters campaigns) to me. It's certainly a perfect day to boycott consumerism. I hope you can resist the sales this Friday and start creating a more meaningful and less wasteful holiday season for you and yours.

On a related note, I must recommend a very delicious and completely cruelty-free centerpiece to your Thansgiving meal: TOFURKY! It has been my holiday staple for several years, and is entirely vegan despite its very convincing turkey taste. Give the turkeys something to be thankful for this year and try leaving them off your plate. (A hint from my kitchen: Tofurky is very easy to make if you follow the directions, but I recommend basting liberally and often with olive oil, soy sauce, and herbs for a juicy, delicious Tofurky even your meat-eating relatives will enjoy).

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posted by Megan | 9:03 PM | 2 comments | buzz on this post | stumble it | digg it

Monday, October 08, 2007

The Importance of Water

Grizzly FallsAs I travel, I have been thinking a lot about water. It's hard not to think about it when I regularly have to worry about keeping our water jugs full of pure drinking water. This summer we visited water sources such as the Columbia Ice Field, a huge field of ice with several glaciers feeding major rivers that carry fresh water from the heart of the Canadian Rockies to the Arctic, Atlantic, and Pacific Oceans. We also visited Glacier National Park, where glaciers are receding at such an alarming rate that I've read the park's namesakes may disappear entirely within my lifetime.

Water of course is the source of all life and something that makes our planet unique. We are mostly water, after all. Visiting bodies of water like Crater Lake in Oregon and the Pacific Coast in California after seeing the glacial sources of it have reminded me how sacred and essential fresh water is, and how much I take it for granted. In the future, wars won't be fought over oil, but water. As global warming continues to change our lives and our planet, our great reserves of water will melt, and fresh water will become a scarce resource. Already water battles are being fought in the third world, where access to fresh water is limited, especially for the poor. And yet you can see it encased in plastic in machines all over America, a basic need and human right being sold and marketed like any other commodity.

Water is becoming an increasingly important issue, with many environmental and human rights implications. Like oil, it is a resource that is easily hogged by affluent nations and taken for granted by most people. When we need water, we just turn on a faucet, but it's not so easy to obtain fresh potable water in the slums of India or the desert villages of Africa. Meanwhile commercial farms gobble up water while polluting aquifers with pesticides and fertilizer residue, endangering the very lives of future generations. With our water resources dwindling, we’ll have to figure out new ways to feed ourselves and ensure that everyone has fresh water to drink. We'll have to answer some tough questions: Who owns the earth's fresh water? Who decides how to divvy it up? How can we justify watering our lawns when there are people who can't even get water to drink?

Thinking about water is, of course, not enough. I am increasingly trying to be more conscious about the water I use, conserving as much as possible. We'll all have to start conserving and paying more attention to how we use this precious resource as time goes on. Some ways to conserve water are:


Feel free to share your suggestions for conserving water by commenting! :)

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posted by Megan | 1:55 PM | 2 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

Friday, August 10, 2007

Some Reflections From My Volksvegan Adventure...

As you can probably tell, I haven't been getting regular internet access lately. As I travel around in the "volksvegan" with my partner and our pooch, I have had some great experiences and gotten a much needed break from civilization.

Beautiful BlueOur journey took us through Canada's Rocky Mountains and quite a few National Parks. The Rockies are beautiful and still rather pristine, although the footprints of humankind (huge golf courses, ski resorts, mining and lumber operations) are prevalent. We went to Kootenay, Banff, Jasper, Yoho, Glacier, and Mount Revelstroke National Parks. The best part was the chance to backpack through wilderness, see beautiful scenery and wildlife, and reconnect with the natural world.

The torrent of tourists we saw flooding the parks is evidence of humankind's need to connect with and experience nature. It's odd that people can have so much reverence for the glaciers, lakes, mountains, and wildlife protected in parks, but so little regard for the what's best for these places. We were disappointed by some of the scars left on the earth as we visited the parks. Parks Canada sets up backcountry campgrounds that minimize the impact caused to the natural landscape, but we were shocked at how some people tried to build extra fire rings, left trash, and eroded the trails with packs of horses. Well, we were also shocked by the price of the backcountry permits, but let's not talk about that...

Athabasca GlacierOne of the most enjoyable parts of my Canadian visit was seeing so many glaciers, icefields and pristine lakes. The glacier-carved mountains and lakes show the power and magnitude of ice and snow. I visited the Columbia Icefield's Athabasca Glacier and marveled at the sheer magnitude of the place, but I was saddened to see how quickly it was disappearing.

The Canadian Government is definitely not in denial about climate change, which I was happy to see. Signs around the Columbia Icefield explained how not all of the glacial melting is part of a natural cycle, global warming caused by humans is melting the glaciers faster than ever. The signs even mentioned ways people could help reduce their global warming impact and protect important glaciers and icefields that provide fresh water to so many people. The Columbia Icefield feeds many glaciers and is a triple continental divide, sending fresh glacier water to the Pacific, Atlantic, and the Arctic Oceans.

It was amazing to see such an important and precious place and walk upon a melting glacier. It reminded me how important it is to protect the delicate balance of nature and live in symbiotic harmony with the earth that sustains us. So, crowds of dumb tourists aside, I enjoyed my Canadian Rocky Mountains experience and continue my "volksvegan adventure" refreshed and enlightened by it.

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posted by Megan | 11:38 AM | 0 comments | buzz on this post | stumble it | digg it

Tuesday, May 22, 2007

Dreaming of a Sustainable Summer Road Trip

Well, I've posted about it on my life blog, our volksvegan adventure blog, and I pretty much can't shut up about it. So I might as well mention it here too. We're hittin' the road for the summer!

Scenes from Bus WindowThe best part of the trip, of course, is that we are traveling in a moving experiment in sustainable travel, our "volksvegan" bus that runs on waste vegetable oil and bio-diesel. I'm very excited about this trip and will be blogging from the road as often as I can. We may even document our trip on video and make a documentary. We're visiting sustainable communities and towns we're interested in moving to in the Northwest on our trip, and doing a lot of backpacking and basking in nature along the way.

We took the bus on a test run to the Okanogan Family Faire Volunteer Summit this past weekend, and you can read about that little adventure on Our Volksvegan Adventure, which I will be updating frequently on our trip. You can see some pictures of the process of converting our bus in this flickr photo set.

We hope to leave in mid-June, so there's just a few more weeks of planning and working out the volksvegan's kinks before we embark on a quest for greener travel and free fuel. Stay tuned!

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posted by Megan | 3:56 PM | 0 comments | buzz on this post | stumble it | digg it

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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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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Saturday, February 03, 2007

Global Warming: We Frickin' Told You So

Well, the moment of truth has arrived, the debate on Global Warming is over. This week in Paris will be remembered as a turning point for human understanding and the environement. According to a TIME article:

[The] Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the U.N. body of leading researchers charged with analyzing climate science and producing the final word on what is happening - and will happen - to our planet. IPCC scientists now say that it is "very likely" that global warming is chiefly driven by the buildup of carbon dioxide (CO2) and other greenhouse gases caused by human activity, and that dangerous levels of warming and sea rise are on the way.


Here's a good video of news coverage on the topic as well.

All I can think to say is, "we told you so." America can no longer be in denial, and in fact Bush has even come around to admitting that something must be done about it. In his State of the Union Address, as I mentioned in a previous post, he promoted increasing efficiency and reducing our dependence on foreign oil by promoting alternative energy. I'm a bit stunned but very glad that the tide is finally turning and people are finally waking up to reality. And now, it's time to get things moving and start changing things around here!

Several movements have been springing up throughout the climate change "debate," which has been going on for decades. Some that I've been watching are StopGlobalWarming.org, which has begun a virtual march against global warming. Of course, Al Gore's An Inconvenient Truth raised awareness of the severity of the problem, and he is actually being nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize for his work on global warming through his film. Another site promoting change is called Step it Up, where more than 500 places have registered to hold a day of action on April 14, 2007, demanding change. They're saying "Step it Up Congress! Cut carbon 80% by 2050."

It's definitely time for some drastic measures to be taken. I hope everyone is ready for a dramatic lifestyle change and I hope this is just the beginning of a massive change in consciousness on this planet. Let's hope so. Our future is at stake.

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Thursday, January 25, 2007

I'll believe it when I see it....

Image from Reuters/Jason Reed It was hard to get through, but I listened to the State of the Union Address the other day. Ok, so I kinda got bored and started making dinner halfway through, but I tried to listen. Luckily the full text of the speech is available online, in case anyone missed it. It sounded a lot like last year's in certain respects, except that Bush got very excited (or pretended to be anyway) about saying 'Madam Speaker' over and over again. (Well, having Nancy Pelosi as our Speaker of the House is pretty damn exciting I guess!)

Anyway, I was impressed that Bush gave some face time to domestic and social issues before diving into discussions of the war on terror (at which point he continued to confuse the nation by blurring the lines between 9/11 and Iraq, as usual). I'm not sure how much of what he said will come true, or how the speech affected his approval rating *snicker*... but he actually wants to reduce our dependence on foreign oil (didn't he say this last year, too?) and reduce our use of gasoline by improving efficiency standards and promoting alternative energy. Unfortunately, Bush seems to think that "clean energy" means coal, which is about the opposite of clean. Not only does coal require strip mining which dramatically alters the natural landscape, but burning coal dumps all kinds of pollutants into our air. It's pretty far from the clean energy Bush claims it is, and I think we should focus on more environmentally conscious energy sources (such as geothermal, solar, wind, and, on a small scale, hydroelectric). But perhaps coal and nuclear energy (both technologies I don't think are good ideas in the long run) will need to be part of our diverse energy mix until the technology is ready for cleaner, greener forms of energy production to take over.

Here are Bush's comments on energy and the environment from the State of the Union Address:

It is in our vital interest to diversify America's energy supply - and the way forward is through technology. We must continue changing the way America generates electric power - by even greater use of clean coal technology ... solar and wind energy ... and clean, safe nuclear power. We need to press on with battery research for plug-in and hybrid vehicles, and expand the use of clean diesel vehicles and biodiesel fuel. We must continue investing in new methods of producing ethanol - using everything from wood chips, to grasses, to agricultural wastes.

We have made a lot of progress, thanks to good policies in Washington and the strong response of the market. Now even more dramatic advances are within reach. Tonight, I ask Congress to join me in pursuing a great goal. Let us build on the work we have done and reduce gasoline usage in the United States by 20 percent in the next 10 years - thereby cutting our total imports by the equivalent of 3/4 of all the oil we now import from the Middle East.

To reach this goal, we must increase the supply of alternative fuels, by setting a mandatory Fuels Standard to require 35 billion gallons of renewable and alternative fuels in 2017 - this is nearly 5 times the current target. At the same time, we need to reform and modernize fuel economy standards for cars the way we did for light trucks - and conserve up to 8.5 billion more gallons of gasoline by 2017.

Achieving these ambitious goals will dramatically reduce our dependence on foreign oil, but will not eliminate it. So as we continue to diversify our fuel supply, we must also step up domestic oil production in environmentally sensitive ways. And to further protect America against severe disruptions to our oil supply, I ask Congress to double the current capacity of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve.


Well, Mr. President, I'll believe it when I see it. Hopefully having a Democratic majority in Congress will help ensure that some strides are taken to curb global warming and improve clean and renewable energy technologies. In the meantime, perhaps we should focus on convincing Americans to use less energy (especially gasoline) and get back to a simpler, greener lifestyle.

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Saturday, January 20, 2007

Congress Finally Gives a Hoot!

For possibly the first time since Bush took office, the government actually did something to help the environment instead of Big Oil. The CLEAN Act (Clean Long-Term Energy Alternative for the Nation Act of 2007) was passed this week. The bill reduces subsidies, closes tax loopholes, and collects royalties from Big Oil. Royalties collected will then be used to promote renewable and clean energy. It seems that the recent shift in power in Congress has led to the environment being more of a priority. Well, it's about damn time! :)

I learned of this news from a post on Green Options, a new green lifestyle blog. Author Michael dEstries reports that this shift to green energy can be a boost to our economy and reduce our dependence on foreign oil (all while reducing the use of fossil fuels, which is always a good thing). dEstries says:

In an independent study, investments in alternative energy will potentially create 3.3 million new jobs to the nation's economy, while stimulating $1.4 trillion dollars in new GDP. If anything, people are simply shocked to see attention paid to domestic policy, something that's been in short supply while at war overseas.

Good news for the environment and all of us that are fighting for it! :)

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Wednesday, January 10, 2007

The Amazon and Idaho's Wolves: In Crisis

Image from National Geographic


I read a very informative article in National Geographic about the Amazon rainforest that unplug readers may want to check out. The Amazon, one of the most bio-diverse places left on the planet and an important tipping point of global warming, is in peril. According to the article, by Scott Wallace, "During the past 40 years, close to 20% of the Amazon rain forest has been cut down - more than in all the previous 450 years since European colonization began." Greedy land-grabbers, large multi-national corporations, and weak protection enforcement have all contributed to the attacks on this fragile ecosystem. The article looks at the Amazon from many varied viewpoints, from poor and indigenous people living on the land, to the "King of Soy" - the largest producer of soy in the world, who operates in the Amazon. Soy is one of the Amazon region's largest exports (along with timber, which is often cut illegaly). Corn, cotton, and beef are also raised on Amazon land, much of which is exported to the US and Europe.

The destruction of the Amazon should not be news to anyone, but it is still continuing, and still largely ignored. In a recent Adbusters magazine article, I read that the logging of the Amazon has reached a tipping point. The article, by Jerry Toth, mentions that "30% of the Amazon rainforest has been wiped out or partially deforested. Scientists now predict that once the forest loss hits a critical threshold of 40%, the Amazon will slip into an irreversible, self-perpetuating cycle of deforestation and drought... whereupon the world's largest jungle will convert itself into the likeness of a desert." One reason this happens is because the Amazon produces half its own rainfall from the moisture it releases into the atmosphere. As the forest is cut down, less and less moisture is released and less rain falls, creating a dangerous cycle. Depressing news, indeed. Reading about the Amazon has raised many questions in my mind, such as which companies operate in the Amazon, and if the tofu I eat on occasion could have been made from soybeans grown on land that should be rainforest.

Ecosystems are delicate, and as they continue to get more and more polluted, thinned out, and destroyed, we'll continue to see more negative side effects, such as more carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, more global warming, and the destruction of more species.

Another issue I've been concerned about lately, and one that's a bit closer to home for me, are the wolves here in Idaho. Idaho is planning to remove wolves from the Endangered Species Act after their controvesial reintroduction into Idaho wilderness and subsequent increase in numbers. There are many ranchers and hunters in this state that are vehemently opposed to wolves being protected. If wolves are de-listed, the state is poised to kill up to 75% of the wolves living in the Lolo district of the Clearwater National Forest (which is one of the areas I enjoy backpacking and wildlife-watching in). As a wildlife proponent and someone who does not believe in raising animals for food or hunting, I've gotta say I disagree with the ranchers and hunters. Maybe I'm a bit biased because my dog Juneau is a close relative of wolves, but I think the wolves deserve to stay in what little wilderness is left, and they need our protection to keep from dying off and upsetting the fragile balance of the area's ecosystems.

Defenders of Wildlife has a campaign on this issue and I have submitted a letter to the US Fish & Wildlife Service asking that wolves continue to be protected. I hope you'll do the same. Friends of the Clearwater is another oranization concerned with protecting wildlife that I support. They are a local organization based here in Moscow, and there is plenty of information, event listings, and even a satellite photo of clearcuts in the Clearwater river area on their site.

The natural world is in crisis, these issues are just two of many examples. It's hard not to feel overwhelmed when I hear such terrible news, but it's important to remember that one person CAN make a difference, and that change has got to start somewhere. Keep on fighting the good fight! :)

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Monday, January 08, 2007

Living Your Ideals

Well, it's 2007. And as usual, I have a whole list of New Year's Resolutions. Who knows how many I'll actually keep, but my resolutions (and my goals, in general) over the past few years have a bit of a pattern: I want to live my ideals. I want to walk the walk, not just talk the talk. It's a constant struggle, especially because I have pretty high aspirations and I tend to dream big. In 2005, my boyfriend and I started eating organic food whenever possible, and have been shopping at the Farmer's Market and the Co-op ever since. This was also about the time he went vegetarian (after I had been veg for over 6 months), another milestone in lining up our lives with our beliefs & ethics. In 2006, our goal was to get a car we could convert to run on waste vegetable oil, a carbon-neutral way to power your car (from a renewable source). We got our diesel volkswagen vanagon and ordered a Greasecar kit, and now collect waste oil, filter it, and run our van on it. It's a work in progress of course (as any VW is).

In the spirit of bringing change in the new year, I've come up with a list of possible New Year's Resolutions that can bring your lifestyle in line with progressive ethics and sustainability. There's lots of things you can do to lessen your negative impact on the earth, and lead to a more positive impact on everything around you.

Get Informed by dedicating more time to reading up on local and world news (preferably from independent media sources) and researching issues you are concerned about. Then, put your knowledge to use by doing something about it!

Simplify your life and reduce the amount of waste you produce. There's many ways to do this, including going through your home & donating unused items to charity, repairing and maintaining the things you already have instead of replacing them, re-using containers, and simply buying less stuff. Another great way to add time to your day is to stop watching TV (I don't miss it, you won't either).

Support Causes you believe in whether it be volunteering for a local animal shelter or donating money to a charity organization. Use your skills to help organizations you support, or even get a job with one!

Change Your Lifestyle one bit at a time until you're living your ideals. Start changing your life and changing the world every day. This could mean dropping things like meat, high fructose corn syrup, or overly-processed foods from your diet. Or it could mean carpooling, walking, or riding your bike to school or work instead of driving a car. You chould start reading labels and buying sweatshop and cruelty free items. Simple changes can have huge effects!

Switch Your Lights to energy-saving bulbs (a la An Inconvenient Truth. Also switch your appliances when they wear out with energy-efficent models (look for the Energy Star logo, or come up with your own standards).

Speak Out and get more involved in issues you care about. Whether it's passing out leaflets, participating in a peace demonstration, or volunteering for a local non-profit, you can help change minds & support your community.

Be Picky when you must buy something. Look for products that use recycled or renewable materials, that are manufactured in green factories (or at least not in sweatshops), or that are Fair Trade Certified or Certified Organic. And whenever possible, but locally grown/made products from the people that produce them: you'll be helping your local economy and supporting small businesses & farms.

There are probably a million more small things you could do to turn your life into a manifestation of your ideals. These are just a few I've done or am working on. Please leave a comment if you have other suggestions to add to this list! :)

Happy New Year!

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Friday, December 08, 2006

Consumerism Season and a few links

Adbusters Buy Nothing ChristmasThe holiday madness has begun: advertising is pumped out, the malls are crowded, and people are maxing out their credit cards left & right. It's the season of spending, shopping, and generally going overboard while corporations rake in the profits. Meanwhile, there are people at organizations like Adbusters that are calling for the opposite, a Buy Nothing Christmas involving simply opting out of consumer culture and creating a new meaning for the holidays. Their efforts begin on Black Friday, dubbed "Buy Nothing Day" - a stark contrast to the busiest shopping day of the year.

I've been trying to simplify the holidays a bit the last few years, and I often give gifts of charity donations or home-made goodies. But consumerism can be hard to avoid, especially in my family. So I'm trying to make my gift dollars count by shopping locally and supporting activist organizations and sustainable companies. I've already put in an order on the PETA Catalog (there are great gifts for pets, vegetarians, animal lovers, and you can sponsor an animal in need in someone's name for a truly meaningful gift). I also came across a post on Sustainable Shopping on the blog of a fellow designer. Check out some of her very useful insights on sustainable living at SmallFailures.com.

Money is power, and how we spend our money, especially in the commercially-driven holiday season, sends a message. I advocate putting your money where your mouth is and supporting causes, organizations, and companies you believe in as you shop for holiday gifts. Other ideas include starting new holiday traditions that are less wasteful or commercial, like a recycled gift exchange or volunteering at a soup kitchen with the family on Christmas Eve. You can make homemade gifts (I'm making herbal soaps & oils, necklaces, and vegan holiday treats this year). Let's put more meaning into the season and a little less padding in the pockets of the greedy & already fortunate. Gifts of spirit, thoughtfulness, and compassion mean a lot more than any material or manufactured gift!

Just a little food for thought during the holiday season...

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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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