A Delicious Life

Last week I did a speech about Earth Day and why you should care about it. I wrote it based on this post - and here’s the video of my speech:

I hope this inspires you to take action. Let me know what you think of it.

Earth Day 2008 - What did you do that was green?

Many people wonder why they should even think about going green. Here are a few reasons why you might consider it: (more…)

Some links around the web of interesting articles, sites to add to your delicious life:

Eating Chinese bitter melon might help people with Type 2 diabetics.

Al Gore was on 60 Minutes Sunday night talking about his latest Global Warming campaign. Join his campaign here.

Scientists are studying whether meditation has a tangible affect on the brain. Also, read how meditating could save your life.

No deer penis allowed: certain Traditional Chinese Medicine herbal remedies are banned from use by Chinese Olympians amid stricter doping rules.

This disturbing report came out a couple of days ago: traces of prescription drugs have been found in the drinking water supply of 28 cities. That includes New York, which has always claimed to have exceptional water. I’m disappointed and now concerned about drinking out of my own tap. I’m considering getting a reverse osmosis filter - I hear that this is the only way to get all of the impurities out of your water.

Articles about the story:

CNN
Yahoo!
Slashdot
Gothamist

Interesting article in the New York Times Magazine called Man Bites Insect - I’m sure you could guess what this is about.

I don’t find the idea of eating bugs repulsive. I ate chapolines in Mexico - they tasted a little like dried anchovies, salty and crunchy but not unpleasant. And it’s true that eating insects would be much more sustainable than our current habit of eating the flesh of larger animal.

What would you do? Would you eat insects?

I had to post something about this New York Times article about meat consumption that I read today. I’m not a vegetarian, but I do try to be conscientious about my meat consumption. Knowing where conventional meat comes from, and how it is raised, I avoid it as much as I possibly can. I have been nearly vegetarian before, and it felt pretty good. I definitely noticed a difference in my energy levels and moods once I got off the conventional meat.

I have considered giving it up all together, but not for the reasons that many people go vegetarian or vegan. My reasons have been in line with the arguments this article brings up - all of the environmental impacts of raising meat that make it an unsustainable habit.

Everyone wonders, where can I get protein if not from animal sources? There are plenty of foods that have protein in them - after all, if a cow is living a natural life, is it eating other cows? No, it eats grass.

You, too, can get protein from vegetables like leafy greens. And beans, grains, nuts, seeds, algae, and even fruit. All of these foods have some protein in them. In fact, many people in the world have lived for centuries solely on vegetarian sources of protein.

If you are a hardcore meat eater, I would suggest you try an experiment in vegetarianism to see if it works for you - try it out for two weeks, and see how you feel.  Maybe you’ll like it. Maybe it won’t work so well for you. Maybe you’ll decide that while you’ll still eat some meat, you won’t consume as much as you used to. Either way, if everyone stopped for a couple of weeks, the environment would thank you for your kindness.

I have been thinking a lot about the Buddhist Five Mindfulness Trainings that I learned when I was sitting regularly with the Rock Blossom Sangha. In particular, I’ve been thinking about the fifth one, which is stated as such:

The Fifth Training: Aware of the suffering caused by unmindful consumption, I vow to cultivate good health, both physical and mental, for myself, my family, and my society by practicing mindful eating, drinking and consuming. I vow to ingest only items that preserve peace, well being, and joy in my body, in my consciousness, and in the collective body and consciousness of my family and society. I am determined not to use alcohol or any other intoxicant or to ingest foods or other items that contain toxins, such as certain TV programs, magazines, books, films and conversations. I am aware that to damage my body and my consciousness with these poisons is to betray my ancestors, my parents, my society and future generations. I will work to transform violence, fear, anger and confusion in myself and in society by practicing a diet for myself and for society. I understand that a proper diet is crucial for self transformation and the transformation of society.

When I don’t read the news or websites that focus on gossip, I feel better - happier and lighter. There are a lot of publications out there that are less than helpful - that seem to only exist to feed into fear or greed or envy.

We don’t need to live with these kinds of emotions, feeding them on a daily basis. You will get a sense of calm and peace when you start to abstain from media that poison your thinking and distort your views.

Since much of it is driven by advertising anyway, it’s not pure reporting - there’s always an angle to make the story more intriguing and really sell it so you’ll buy more. I know some people who do not tune into any media - if they really need to know something, they hear about it from neighbors, friends, and family. And most of them seem pretty content.

Just because it’s cold out doesn’t mean you need to stay holed up until the frost. The fresh air can be exhilirating and will wake you up from winter doldrums. Doing something active like ice skating, building a snowman or going snowshoeing or cross country skiing (if there is any snow to play in)  are all fun ways to get active and enjoy the cold weather. Bundle up and get out there for a while - and bring some friends with you to join the winter celebration.

I’m tempted to try this 100-mile diet - eating locally. But it will probably have to wait until next spring or summer before I experiment with it. The selection in winter is just a little too limited, and I don’t want to be only chewing on roots all winter long.