Drive

It is the eve of my mom's surgery and I'm sitting in a tranquil park near our new house- green meadow dotted with white flowers, in full view of the Flat Irons as they change their faces every second to the beat of shifting clouds, an impending storm.

But I'm sitting in the sun, blue blanket radiating below me.

Just finished The China Study, an extremely convincing book telling me what I don't want to hear about my diet: become vegan. Take that last step away from animal products altogether. The book uses entirely health based reasoning backed by heavy, scientific evidence from prominent researchers around the world and shows how not consuming animal protein, but plants instead, prevents and treats cancer, heart disease, diabetes, autoimmune diseases (including Multiple Sclerosis and Alzheimer's), obesity, etc. It shows, boldface, the impact industry has on food education and therefore food choice... in schools, hospitals, WIC education, food labeling, the holy food pyramid. It gives the exact names of people responsible for these choices and their financial ties. It reveals how little nutritional education is given to doctors. It's very thorough.

I want to send it to everyone I love and beg them to read it. Beg them to change their diet for just one month. I want to see how it affect my sister's arthritis and my friends who are on revolving, failing diet plans. I want the strength to try it myself, but outside of this cleanse, am unsure I could make another diet switch (more later).

But I don't think they'd read it. Why? Because they don't want to hear the message and make the change. Why are we so attached to our food? Defensive of our cheese? Angry when shown evidence to improve? Are our tongues that strong?

In Madagascar, they are having a huge problem with deforestation, destruction of an extremely rare, diverse environment housing literally millions of species of plants and animals, undiscovered rainforest cures, oxygen releasing beauty. Some of it is for logging. But the majority? Charcoal. For cooking. Other fuels are available and subsidized to be cheaper, like propane. I asked several Malagasy why they don't use this instead.

"Nous ne sommes pas habitues"
We're not used to it.

Simple as that. They prefer the taste of charcoal cooked food over the presrvation of irreplaceable forest.

Does that sound illogical to you?

Does it sound familiar?

I don't want to make the change either. I hated just giving up soy milk and it's phytoestrogens (my boobs are shrinking and my moods aren't as stable). But in the face of such evidence, what else is to be done?

Why I don't want to make the change:

1) Social stigma of being a vegan. Vegan = snob.
2) Narrowing of food choices when eating out. I hardly notice it at home, but it would knock out a great deal of wonderful foods, like Mexican.
3) Judgement from others that it's tied to anorexia
4) Increased tension with family over food. Vegetarianism was bad enough.

It's mostly social, really. (Social is the reason I eat fish, honestly. It simplifies a lot of meals with friends and family). Taste plays little role except for cheese and occasional ice cream.

I guess it'll all just start privately, moderately, making my own choices. The book shows that 10% animal protein intake makes the statistical cut off point between health and demise. So I guess the social scene can remain unchanged for a while, sneaking in vegan choices when they are available.

As far as sharing it and pushing the info, I sadly lack the drive. Why? A new mystery to untangle...

(Ah beautiful- underlined in red all down this page, vegan isn't even a word my Mac dictionary recognizes. Now THAT is funny.)