How You Can Feel Empowered During Crazy Times
There are so many big issues out of our control such as war, senseless shootings, pandemics, etc. and we often feel helpless.
And while we don’t have direct power to impact everything, like politics and wars and epidemics, we have more power than we think.
We can vote. We can demonstrate. We can wear masks.
But there’s more.
We are also empowered by our food choices.
Eating plant-based or being totally vegan has inherent merits. The most commonly discussed merits are: Our health, the health of our planet, and of course the innocent animals that we aren’t eating. (There are equally important social and spiritual merits but those are topics for another day.)
It may not seem like such a big deal, but most of us do have control over what we choose to eat. (Granted, many people in the US and around the world do not have many food options. But for much of western society, we do have choice.)
Our choices can impact how we feel as well as the situation, and that is empowering.
The Power of a Plant-Based Lifestyle to Take Charge of Our Health
Choosing plant-based products over animal-based products gives us much more power over our health than we ever realized. After studying plant-based nutrition at Cornell, and from the books and films I’ve read and watched, I’m more than convinced that eating plant-based is the healthiest option. And eating whole food plant-based takes it all up a big notch. (If you want some suggested books and films to learn more, email me and I will give you a few to get started.)
I feel empowered knowing that I’m energizing my body with nutritious fuel.
The Power of Choosing Plant-Based for Our Earth
We’ve been hearing about climate change for years. Animal agriculture is one of the largest contributors to global warming and yet it’s not even part of the Paris Agreement. (The Plant-
Based Treaty, created as a companion to the Paris Agreement has been endorsed by dozens of cities, businesses, organizations and politicians around the world.) Doesn’t it feel like dealing with climate change is all up to big corporations and government to do something about it? For the most part it is. But that makes us feel powerless.
We are interdependent beings. We rely on a healthy earth, all of her plants and trees, each other, the animals and creatures that walk the earth, the ones that fly above it, swim in our oceans and more.
Many people are choosing cars with better gas mileage, or even electric cars. We turn off lights in our home and turn off the water while brushing our teeth. When we do this collectively, it has impact.
As we each awaken to the importance of choosing a plant-based lifestyle that does not harm our environment, we awaken to our individual and collective power. Knowing how powerful these changes can be, how can we not?
The Power of Compassion from Choosing a Plant-Based Lifestyle
For a long time I declared myself an animal lover because I was a champion for companion animals. One day it clicked that as long as I was consuming animal products, I was only a companion animal lover. Since I would like to think of myself as aligned with my values, I knew it was time to stop eating animals.
Billions of animals are slaughtered each year and 25 million land animals are slaughtered in the United States EVERY DAY.
By choosing a plant-based lifestyle, we are not exploiting other souls. I can sleep at night knowing that I didn’t knowingly abuse an animal for my consumption. My heart continues to break for the animals that aren’t so lucky.
The more people that choose to eat plants instead of animals, the more we can make a difference. The plant-based sector is the fastest growing sector in the supermarket so there is no shortage of options.
Just like each vote matters, all of our choices matter. Our food choices and spending habits matter to our health the earth and the animals.
I also have a lot of compassion for people who are concerned about their health and the planet and who do love animals, but who aren’t yet ready to go fully plant-based. It was not that long ago that I was one of those people.
If that sounds like you, stick around What’s Plant-Based Cooking Good Looking? We want to make eating plant-based as easy as possible so that you too can feel empowered by your choices.
Fun Fact: Do you remember The Scarsdale Diet? It was originally published in 1978. Well, my mom was a nurse and worked for the doctor who wrote the book. (She even got a thank you in the acknowledgments!) You can be sure that there was a lot of grapefruit and melba toast eating going on in my house back then. 
I really enjoyed Vegan Toastmasters, joined, and (oopsie) once again, didn’t last too long in the club because the meeting times conflicted with my kids’ activities.
amazing vegan restaurant called