The Plant Driven Life

Being a vegetarian for many years, I’ve often heard the phrase, “But humans are meant to eat meat,” irritably uttered in response to the disclosure of my meatless status. While it’s true that there are some challenges unique to a cruelty-free diet, there are also quite a few indications that humans are best suited to a plant-fueled lifestyle.

Whereas we have developed brains that are able to construct industrial slaughterhouses and fashion metal into knives, let’s first look inside our mouth, not our mind. Compare your teeth to that of your cat or dog. Who’s better suited for tearing flesh from bone? Some people’s diets reflect such a significant presence of meat and meat products, you’d think you would find six inch canines protruding between their lips. The fact is that the positioning, size and proximity of our teeth to one another are simply not designed for meat consumption.

What if you gave your dog or cat a bit of raw chicken? Would you fear it contracting salmonella or e. coli? No, because carnivorous animals have short and powerful digestive tracts which can expel waste from food sources in 12 hours. Humans have longer digestive systems that closer to that of herbivores, which is why we are susceptible to these types of food poisoning. Cooking food is not intrinsically natural, but necessary to consume certain meats.

Humans have often been compared to apes in terms of genetic makeup and physical characteristics. (And sometimes personality, but that’s a different story). A couple of years ago, a British reality-style television program examined the effects of an ape-like diet on nine volunteers over a period of about two weeks. The first week the “human apes” ate an over 2,000-calorie diet full of raw, nutritious, vegetarian fare of various vegetables, fruits and nuts, while meeting their daily nutritional requirements. Water was their only beverage. The second week added some fish to the mix. The results? The participants lost weight (an average of 9 pounds each), lowered their blood pressure about twenty points and lowered their cholesterol levels about 20%. Remember, this was only a two-week study that garnered such excellent results.

A more in-depth look at the structure of humans’ digestive system starting with our face to the end of the line appears here and gives you all the information you need to know about whether we are best suited for the herbivore, omnivore or carnivore category.

Thanks for reading!

Flesh for Fuel?

Many have been debating the value of alternative energy originating from the sun, wind, water or more unique sources such as manure or even kitchen grease.

The use of waste products for energy seems a no-brainer, as it fits quite snugly into the “reuse” and “recycle” portions of the Green Three R’s. But what of British retail corporation Tesco’s plan to utilize 5,000 tons of expired meat in biomass plants in order to be converted into electricity? The energy created from this maneuver is equivalent to powering 600 homes for the period of a year.

Any vegetarian watching a half-eaten steak being tossed into the garbage wishes the meat suffered a different fate than to rot in a landfill. But 5,000 tons? Recycling this refuse is one solution to the problem, but begs the question: What about preventing the overage to begin with? Tesco clearly missed the “reduce” segment of the green guidelines.

Tesco defends their decision, declaring it to be, in fact, a green enhancement to their company’s practices. Tesco lauds the use of meat for fuel, claiming their responsible leadership will help fight climate change. This logic seems analogous to making a feast for 10 people though you’re only feeding two, then throwing the leftovers on a compost heap and declaring yourself an environmentalist.

Tesco also stated that meat waste only accounts for less than 1 percent of their total waste, and is a “miniscule” portion of meat sold. This is comforting in that it isn’t a greater percentage, but those sympathetic to animal rights don’t discern between 10 chickens and 10 million chickens, just as many wouldn’t argue that “only 10 people were killed” by a murderer.

Non-profit organization Vegetarians International Voice for Animals (VIVA) have responded with disdain, revealing that 5,000 tons of wasted meat is equivalent to almost 3 million chickens. Is 3 million chickens for 600 homes an even trade? How much energy was initially required to raise the livestock?

The era of egregious waste has gone the way of interest-only mortgages and the hunt for weapons of mass destruction. Perhaps we should add a forth “R” to the trio – Reduce, Reuse, Recycle and Reason. Then Tesco would only be half right.

Burgers are Better with Ammonia

Before you bite into that burger, you might want to know that it has likely been treated with ammonia. Yes, the nasty smelling stuff you generally associate with killing germs is being used for exactly that when teamed with beef products.

Lean beef processor Beef Products Incorporated, or BPI, was featured in the film Food, Inc. A zealous representative eagerly shows how pulverized meat mixed with ammonia effectively kills the e coli present in the beef. The finished product vaguely resembles a beige sponge.

BPI’s website has a lovely 13-page essay entitled “Ammonia – Essential for Life”, which depicts ammonia as an almost benign substance.

In addition to ammonia, beef can also treated with carbon monoxide to keep the pinkish hue of the product for a longer period of time. Toward the end of untreated beef’s freshness period, it will naturally begin to dull. Conversely, after a shot of carbon monoxide, beef will retain an artificially fresh look long after the meat has passed the stage of edibility.

Cigarettes are the leading cause of preventable disease. Poor diet is the second.

Is ammonia really a part of a balanced diet?

BPI’s website asks, “Is this the only way you can get rid of e coli?” to which it answers itself, “No, although we believe it is the most effective was to ensure fresh meats are free of harmful bacteria prior to cooking.” It then references a rather long list of processing agents that tends to fill the reader with more concern than comfort. There is no reference made, however, to the diet given to cows before they even arrive at the plant, which, if changed from corn, could help alleviate this problem, along with the improvements to the conditions in which they live.

The Link Between Vegetarianism and Yoga

I began my yoga practice a couple of years ago and have found it a wonderful way to get in shape. Yoga combines physical fitness with spiritual development, thereby offering a full body and mind workout. The benefits of yoga can be brought “off the mat” as they say – and be incorporated into your life outside the practice.

But what’s it got to do with vegetarianism? A lot, for me. A considerable focus of yoga instructors’ narratives involves oneness between the student and nature – between the yogi and all living beings. The word “yoga” itself means “union with God”. A true, unconditional union must begin with compassion. I feel renewed enthusiasm when an instructor prompts me to connect to all other living beings on Earth, from ant to antelope or bee to buffalo. Satisfied that I don’t kill or eat them, this reminder brings a warm sensation in my heart where rote routine has settled in. The mindless rebuff of meat products is replaced by the passion I had to stop in the first place.

Logistically it makes more sense to practice yoga on a vegetarian stomach. Moving energy around your body is a lot easier without the toxins of carrion and sinew putrefying in your belly and bloodstream. The relaxed sense of purity instilled by a cruelty-free diet enhances the heat produced from the poses.

Of course, many of the poses are named after animals. The Downward-Facing Dog pose is the most commonly seen – but there’s also one for our pigeons, cobras, eagles, fish and others. These weren’t developed while eating animals, they were developed by watching them to learn what wisdom our creatures have to offer. Yoga encourages you to mimic animals, not conquer them.

New Milford’s yoga studio, Harmony Yoga in New Milford has a great selection of classes. If you can’t make it to the studio and would like to practice in the privacy of your own home, Yoga Today offers access to tons of online classes for $9.99 per month.

I find that a healthy, meatless diet is perfectly complemented by compassion-based spirituality and “right intention”. Yoga is the ideal side dish to a vegetarian lifestyle.