VegBlogger - a vegan / vegetarian blog

World Vegetarian Day and Vegetarian Awareness Month

Post written by VegBlogger. Follow me on Twitter.

October is a special month for vegetarian and vegans around the world. October 1st is considered to be World Vegetarian Day. Plus, it kicks off the start of what is Vegetarian Awareness Month. So what does that mean to you? If you are a vegetarian you probably already know about it and may even have some activities planned. If you are not, this may be something new that you haven't heard of  yet. Great! That is the purpose of the month-long celebration.

Vegetarians may want to take the time this month to do something to help promote vegetarianism. As we all know, there are many good reasons to be vegetarian, but most people are not yet aware of them. The more they learn about all the good it does for the animals, planet and their own body, the more they may consider eating vegetarian meals. So take the time this month to get the word out. You can do this in a number of ways, such as posting a message and/or link on your Facebook page about it, hosting a vegetarian potluck, talking about it with friends and family, or even writing a short letter to the editor to get the message out to your community.

For those who are not yet vegetarians, take the time to learn something new this month about vegetarianism. And make it a goal to eat less meat this month. You will be doing a lot of good all the way around and you never know, you may even stick to it later on, or at least reduce your meat consumption for good.

You may want to consider checking out Meatless Mondays, as well as the North American Vegetarian Society. If you are looking for some vegetarian recipes, try VegCooking.com.

October marks another vegetarian event - it is the month I went vegetarian! So this October marks my 14th year as a vegetarian. I'm looking forward to the next 14!

Why it's Time to Bag the Plastic Bag

Post written by VegBlogger. Follow me on Twitter.

Why it's Time to Bag the Plastic Bag

Are you still using plastic bags at the grocery store? If so, there has been no better time than now to dump them and start carrying your own reusable bags. There are some cities, stories and even entire countries that have already banned the plastic bags from being used. Why? Because they require a lot of resources to create, are harmful to the environment, and are rarely ever recycled. In fact, it's estimated that not even one percent of all the plastic bags used in America are recycled. The problem? Americans use around 100 billion each year!

Along with the environmental damage that the plastic bags cause during production (using oil, gas and other petrochemical additives to create), once discarded they often make their way into the oceans where they harm the ecosystem. Each year sea life are injured and killed from plastic bags. Sea turtles, for example, often mistake them for jelly fish and eat them, only to die from doing so.

Sure, the chemical companies that create them would have you believe they are great, but that's because they make loads of money from producing them each year. Check out this sales pitch for them, where they try to convince readers they are environmentally responsible by comparing them to paper bags (rather than people using re-usable ones).

Invest in about six reusable bags and keep them in your car. Use them for all your shopping needs and skip the bags even when you forget (this may get challenge, but meet it!). Often times the baggers at store are so "bag happy" that they want to double and triple bag everything, even things that have a handle and don't need a bag!

If by any chance you still end up with a few bags here and there be sure to recycle them by taking them back to stores, where they have bins for doing so. And don't opt for paper bags instead, that's also harmful to the environment and should be avoided.

 

 

5 Reasons to Go Vegetarian

Post written by VegBlogger. Follow me on Twitter.

5 Reasons to Go Vegetarian

1. Do it for the animals. People often eat animals, ordering it by names other than what it really is, and putting it out of their mind that they are actually eating animal flesh. Many of these same people call themselves animal lovers. You can't be an animal lover and eat them. Eating animals contributes to a horrific meat production system. Animals are treated horribly, suffer greatly and lose their lives for people to eat a meal (when there are plenty of vegetarian options to choose from).

2. Do it for the environment. The process of raising animals is extremely inefficient and harmful to the planet. Raising animals for food purposes requires vast amounts of water and grain, which could be used in a more efficient manner. Additionally, the factory farms end up with tons of feces that they have to try to find something to do with. While they store a lot of it in big poop pools as I like to refer to them, they often burst and leak, contaminating nearby bodies of water, harming ecosystems and killing fish.

3. Do it for your health. The number one killer in America is heart disease. High cholesterol is at the root of eating animals. While your body makes cholesterol and heredity may play a small factor, the vast majority of high cholesterol problems (which often lead to strokes and heart attacks) come from the over-consumption of animal products. Meat is not healthy. There has even been studies linking meat, especially processed varieties, to cancer. Your body needs fiber, something that meat is completely devoid of. Your body needs fruits, vegetables and whole grains.

4. Do it to for world hunger. As mentioned above, raising animals for meat purposes is inefficient. Estimates are that it takes around 16 pounds of grain to produce 1 pound of beef. That 16 pounds of grain could feed a lot more people around the world than the 1 pound of beef. Each day there are thousands of people that go hungry and even die from lack of food. It seems quite ridiculous to support such an inefficient food production system that is leaving millions of people to die of hunger, while others over-consume in the form of second-hand nutrients (rather than eating the grain, people eat the cow that eats the grain).

5. Do it for peace. I really believe that peace begins with what is on your plate. If you are eating meat, which is by and large the product of a violent industry, you are not eating in a peaceful manner. We have the ability to make choices that can lead to the least amount of harm and we should do it whenever possible. Eating a more peaceful vegetarian diet puts you closer to nature, so you are appreciating it, rather than harming and destroying it.

Every time you make a purchase you are literally voting with your dollar. Buy meat and you are voting in favor of the cruelties of the industry. Are you comfortable with the vote you are making?