Are Plants and Bugs Running the Show?

Ok, first off, Tom (hubby), sent me this link to what seemed at first like an innocent little article on permaculture vs. agriculture. Well, I have to say, it is one of the most interesting ideas I've read! Here's the link:

http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/michael_pollan_gives_a_plant_s_eye_view.html

In nutshell, Michael Pollan brings a conversation to the forefront, based on his question one day while gardening: "what do I have in common with this bumblebee working next to me?" Michael was planting potatoes, the bee was pollenating an apple tree. However, he quickly points out that the evolution of the plants themselves have actually manipulated both we as the gardeners as well as the bee.

I highly recommend this article, and for that matter, www.ted.com is really a neat site with a lot of interesting thoughts you might want to pursue! Love this idea! It takes 18 minutes, so be sure you sit down ready for it! :)

On the Topic of 'Stuff'

About a year ago, a vocal student of mine (and friend!) told me about something her and her partner started doing that was making a big impact on their lives. They have been going through their house, item by item, holding each thing in their hands, and asking themselves 'Do I love this?'. If they can't answer 'yes', then off it goes to charity.

Now, my house has a lot of little things in it which I have collected over the years - candles, little decorative items, and of course, scads of kitchen tools and more. When I close my eyes for a second and feel my house, you know I can actually feel that 'clutter' and excess! So, I started doing their 'love' exercise, to see what would happen.

Wow. Let me just say that after 2 van loads (we're talking a FULL van too!) of stuff to a local charity, I am realizing how many items we have that our in excess of our needs, and even our wants! What's really funny is that we have been called 'minimalists' before, and still we were getting rid of bags and boxes of items, seemingly without end! And I can say that when a full bag of stuff was ready to go, and sat by the door, there was a certain lightening when it actually left the house - almost like it too was ready to go, and needed to go to the next person who maybe really did need it!

Of course, a house with less stuff is easier to clean, and easier to decorate! But not only that, I think sometimes our 'things' distract us from ourselves. With less stuff to look at or put in the 'I'll deal with it later' stack, I suddenly started focusing on more interesting things - gardening, cooking, spending time with my family, dreaming.

So, if you want to take a trip down this 'eliminating the excess' road with me, try the following!

1. Pick a room in your house to spend time in.
2. Pick up each item in your hand and ask yourself 'do I love this?'
3. When the answer is 'no', in the bag it goes.
4. When the answer is 'maybe', try putting it away for a month, and see if you miss it. In a month, go back to that room and repeat the exercise.
   
5. Once you are finished with that room, make sure that bag goes to charity immediately - don't let it sit in a corner or in a garage - you've said goodbye, and it needs to be a closed story.
6. Take your extra items to a thrift store benefiting your favourite local charity, Value Village, or even use 'freecycle' to put it up for grabs to someone else who might want it.
   

Good luck!!

Becoming Vegetarian

So a year ago, I had a vocal student who asked me a very interesting question: where is your life not in line with your values? It's a question that I thought I could answer easily, as the keystone to my life is living in accordance with my values, more and more each day. But I found myself answering, without thinking, with "I still eat meat, and I should be vegetarian".

Wow. Now don't get me wrong - I have toyed with the idea of becoming vegetarian for a number of years - you know, kind of like you toy with the idea of buying a Ferrari, or becoming the Prime Minister - as in 'something I'd like to do, but never will'. For me, I love the taste of meat! When I was a kid, my mom would cook anything you wanted for dinner on your birthday, and every year, she would buy me a t-bone steak (hey, what did I know about cuts?) mashed potatoes, and cooked carrots in butter. Yum - comfort food to its extreme!

And then sometime in University (over a decade ago!), I read half a book, called 'A Diet for A New America'. I say half, because I was so physically ill from the first half, that I couldn't read anymore. It talked about exactly what the meat industry is about, and the 'city person' in me wasn't ready to really consider that my meat was from *animals*. LOL - this sounds so obvious, but if you asked me to take a knife and slit the throat of a cow myself, so I could have some steak with my dinner, I couldn't do it! Hmm - it begs the question of 'have I gotten so far from the source of my food that I don't consider what it takes to put it on the table?' The obvious answer being YES. But, as I said, I LOVE steak. I do! So, I buried those uncomfortable feelings, and went back to the grill, somewhat less happily.

Fast forward 10 years down the road (ok, a bit more), and my vocal student asks me that question. Well, that night, I sat and thought to myself, 'do I *need* meat? Why am I so addicted to it that I can't break free? I went to Chapters (a book store), and picked up a couple of books on it, and decided to research a bit - I mean, I wasn't committing to ANYTHING - I was just looking.

So, I bought this book, called "Becoming Vegetarian" by Vesanto Melina. And opened the first chapter. Oh my gosh. There was no going back. While my empathy for animals wasn't quite enough to push me over, nor was all the guilt trips I had in my soul/yoga magazines, the *hard facts* of the environmental effects of raising meat was. Not only that, but my husband read it as well, and without a second thought jumped onto the vege train. I have pulled some of the major concepts of that book, and put them at the end of this email, for you to 'digest' at your leisure.

We are happily vegetarian as a family now - all 4 of us (a 2 year old, a 5 year old and us). We have eaten the BEST FOOD of our lives, and haven't looked back! Now, when our friends invite us over for dinner, we are like Buddha, and we accept the food offered and are grateful for it (i.e. we eat meat and enjoy it). But what comes into our house by our own hands is meat free. We're not vegan yet, but may become so in the future - baby steps for now.

I can say that I am happier, I feel healthier, and I can finally say I am fully living in line with my values! YAY! So now, I want to share some of the incredible resources I have found on vegetarianism:

Becoming Vegetarian, by Vesanto Melina. This is the book to read FIRST when you are considering making the leap. It talks yes, about the environment, etc, and all the reasons we all know it is better to be vegetarian, but more importantly it also addressess the nutritional concerns about becoming vegetarian in an open, frank, honest way. Specifically, getting enough B12 and Omega 3 in your diet - here I had thought the concern was protein and iron, but it's actually pretty easy to get that in your diet! This book actually teaches you *exactly* what nutrients your food has (both meat and vegetarian options), and what your body needs. Definately a resource for your shelf!

Cranks Fast Food by Nadine Abensur. WOW, this has to be the best cookbook, hands down, that I have EVER had. Not only that, but it is all vegetarian! I have made almost every recipe in this book, and I think there was only one that wasn't something where we were looking at each other with amazed eyes saying 'oh my gosh, can you believe this is so good???!' This is a must have for ANYONE who enjoys cooking, and the best thing about it is that all the recipes are designed to be completed in 30 minutes or less, but are still fresh, flavourful and delish - no shortcuts! MUST HAVE! I recommend this book if you want to 'try' vegetarianism (after you have read 'Becoming Vegetarian') - just to dip your toe in the water. It's a small book, and inexpensive, and a great way to test the waters.

Vegatarian Cooking for Everyone by Deborah Madison. 1,400 recipes+ in this book, and seriously, we've tried a lot of them, and they are all fantastic! I can't believe the success rate of what we make from this book. I now go here *before* I go to my old standby of 'Martha Stewart' or 'Better Homes'. They are dusty now, and THIS is my cooking bible. If you decide to GO Vegetarian (after trying Cranks and reading Becoming Vegetarian), this is your first book to own. Think of it as your Betty Crocker standby.

Happy Cow Website: HappyCow's vegetarian restaurants guide is a global, searchable vegetarian dining guide and directory of natural health food stores, including nutrition & health tips, vegan recipes, raw foods, travel, veganism and other vegetarian issues. We used this on our trip to Germany and France in '08 to find good restaurants that served vegetarian food, and it was invaluable!

Grist Website and Email List - This is a phenominal resource - they have the unique ability to combine humour with real issues, and they really lay out the 'real' issues underneath our day to day life. Their byline: " Grist: it's gloom and doom with a sense of humor. So laugh now -- or the planet gets it."

David Suzuki Foundation Environmental Blog/Newsletter: Since 1990, the David Suzuki Foundation has worked to find ways for society to live in balance with the natural world that sustains us. Focusing on four program areas – oceans and sustainable fishing, climate change and clean energy, sustainability, and the Nature Challenge - the Foundation uses science and education to promote solutions that conserve nature and help achieve sustainability within a generation. They are SO on top of issues, and if you sign up for their list, they will email you the minute you can act, and tell you how!

The Reasons We Went Vegetarian, from 'Becoming Vegetarian':

1. Health of our Family
• Vegetarians are leaner than nonvegetarians, which translates to better overall health.
  
  
• Reduced risk of chronic disease (heart disease, hypertension, type 2 diabetes, and certain forms of cancer - all of which are present in our families).
  
  
• Vegetarians live 7-9 years longer than non-vegetarians, and are healthier in their senior years
  
  
• Lower risk for contracting food-borne disease (E. coli, salmonella, listeria, campylobacter, and other food-borne pathogens)
  
  
• Lower intakes of environmental contaminants (heavy metals, DDT, PCBs and other environmental contaminants) - generally reduced in vegetarians as these substances accumulate as we move up the food chain.
  
  
• Improved nutritional intakes relative to current nutrition recommendations - when compared with non-vege diets, vegetarian diets provide a balance of protein, carbohydrate and fat that is closer to current recommendations. Plant-based diets are also lower in saturated fat, cholesterol, animal protein, and possibly trans-fatty acides, and higher in viatmins C and E, carotenoids, folate, fibre, magnesium and phytochemicals.
  
  
2. It Promotes Reverence for Life

• Every year, 10 billion animals are slaughtered for food. Hello - 10 billion!!! That doesn't even include fish!
  
  
• Food animals are raised inhumanely - overcrowding, confinement, isolation, and brutality become commonplace. I can't even go into the specifics, as it makes me sick.
  
  
• Food animals are transported to slaughter in apalling conditions - often going without food or water for extended periods of time. As a result, millions (millions!) die each year en route to slaughter!
  
  
• Food animals are slaughtered inhumanely - there are laws which require them to be rendered unconscious before being killed, but violations are rampant, due to 'the need for speed'. 'nuff said - can't go there either.
  
  
• Animals have rights. Funny that none of us can picture killing our pets, but we can so easily kill our food animals. Food animals feel pain just like we do - and fear. Dr. Albert Schweitzer has an amazing quote:
  
  
• "The thinking man must oppose all cruel customers no matter how deeply rooted in tradition and surrounded by a halo. When we have a choice, we must avoid bringing torment and injury into the life of another, even the lowliest creature; to do so is to renounce our manhood and shoulder a guilt which nothing justifies."

3. It Protects the Environment (the biggest one for us)

• It assists in the preservation of water resources. It is estimated that almost 50% of all water consumed in the US is used for the raising of livestock. On average, it takes about 100 times more water to produce a pound of beef than a pound of wheat. It takes less water to produce the food that a vegan needs for one year, than to produce the food that a meat eater needs for a month!
  
  
• It helps prevents water pollution. Agriculture is the biggest polluter of America's water systems. It is responsible for 70% of waterway pollution, its damage exceeding that of sewage treatment plants, urban storm sewers and pollution from contaminants in the air. The major offenders are livestock-feeding operations. Manure which can't reach distant farmlands all too often ends up poisoning rivers, causing severe oxygen depletion, and devastating fish populations. Furthermore, waste from North America's 9 billion chickens and 150 million other farmed animals is permeated with hormones that propel the bird 'from egg to fryer in 39 days'.
  
  
• It helps preserve the planet's most valuable ecosystems. Tropical rain forest are ecological treasures, housing 1/2 the world's plant and animal species. According to the Rainforest Action Network, 2/3 of the rain forests in Central America have have been cleared primarily for the purpose of raising cheap beef to stock American fast-food establishments. They estimate that for every fast-food burger made from rain forest beef, 16.75 square metres (55 square feet) of tropical rain forest has been cleared. With the trees go 20-30 different plant species, 100 different insect species, plus dozens of birds, mammals, and reptile species.
  
  
• It provides powerful protection against desertification. Overgrazing is considered the leading cause of desertification worldwide. In the Western US, 70% of the entire landmass is used for grazing livestock. When land is overgrazed, the soil is compacted, decreasing its ability to absorb water. When heavy rains fall, the topsoil is carried away. 6" of topsoil are needed to grow healthy crops. It takes approximately 3,000 years for nature to produce this amount of topsoil. Every 28 years in the US, 1 inch of topsoil is lost as the result of current intensive farming practices. At this rate, it is estimated that there is as few as 45 years of farmable soil left on the planet.
  
  
• It may help protect against catastrophic environmental changes. Intensive animal agriculture is a significant factor in global warming, increasing all major global warming gases: CO2, Methane, nitrous oxides and chloroflourocarbons. CO2 emmisions come largely from fossil fuels. Raising livestock requires huge amount of fossil fuels - for transporting feed, heating shelters (often large buildings) and transporting animals to slaughter and the products to meat-packing plants and stores. According to Worldwatch Institute, 15-20% of all methane emissions come directly from livestock. In addition, the chemical fertilizers used to produce food for grain-fed animals are important contributors to nitrous oxides. Finally, the increased refrigeration necessary to preserve animal products releases chloroflourocarbons into the atmosphere.
  
  
• It reduces consumption of the earth's dwindling resources. It is estimated that if every inhabitant on this planet used as many resources to produce his/her food as each American does, we would need 3 planet earths to sustain the current population. And, that's just where we're heading. Tragically, more and more of the world's resources are used for raising livestock to feed the wealthy, while one in every 6 people go hungry daily. Today, our plane is home to nearly 1 billion pigs, 1.3 billion cows, 1.8 billion sheep and goats, and 13.5 billion chickens - more than 2 chickens for each man, woman and child. We have altered vast ecosystems and devoted massive resources to support this inefficient way of eating. The world's cattle alone consume a quantity of food equal to the caloric needs of 8.7 billion people - more than the entire human population on earth.
  

Sourdough Bread

Ok, so one of the things I vowed to do over the last year, and for the most part have successfully done, is make bread for my family almost daily. Pretty easy - most often I just toss the ingredients in the bread machine, and a few hours later a loaf of bread magically appears! Gotta love technology (especially the lower electricity used in making the bread in THAT device, as opposed to my big oven).

I also have experimented with making my own hamburger buns, english muffins, bagels and more, and yes, I've gotten fantastic results, and it was not too difficult! Remember, I'm of the generation where I somehow grew up thinking that if it didn't come in a bag at the grocery store, you couldn't make it at home. Weird, as my mother canned, made homemade bread and more!

So, while lots of beautiful, yummy loaves have magically appeared from my oven and bread machine, at quite a reduced cost from the grocery store model, there is one bread which seems to elude me - Sourdough. I mean, I have a starter in my fridge, I faithfully refresh it every few days, and it even SMELLS like sourdough. But alas, it resembles something more like a hockey puck, and depending on what I've done to damage it, it doesn't even always taste like bread, let alone sourdough. :/

The first loaf smelled SO yummy, and even tasted yummy, as long as you could get past the fact that it was also gummy, and had NO gas inside whatsoever. Like a big lump of tasty clay. Well, it was my first.

My second and third batch didn't rise when it should have, so in desperation I added yeast (bye bye sour dough flavour), and then I got gassy (air pockets galore) flat clay hockey pucks.

I'll keep you posted on my 'sourdough saga', and hope you cross your fingers for me!

The Laundry Line

I know lots of my peers remember growing up with laundry lines of some sort or another, and running between the lines of clothes drying in the wind. I remember the feel of running between the sheet lines, and feeling the slightly damp cloth try to grab me on the way through. I had forgotten, however, the fragrance that came with that smell.

My husband and I finally decided to ask our neighbours if we could use the old reel on a pole that they have in the back - it looks as if our house used it years ago, as the reel was pointing our way anyway, and since they weren't using it, we thought it would be good to have someone use it! They agreed, and away to Rona we went, picking up a laundry line kit, and various assortments of pins.

Now, in Vancouver, especially East Vancouver, you see laundry lines hanging out the backs of most of the houses. Perhaps because this is how it is in Europe (China too?), and we have so many of us recently immigrated. I don't know, but I do know that I am used to seeing laundry waving in the backyards of my neighbours, and was just a product of 'my generation' in thinking dryers were the only way to go. Suffice to say that with the latest earth developments in global warming, we have been going back to our roots, and this is one of the ways!

So, back to the clothes line. Ok, so we hung it up. Both of us grew up with clothes lines, although the kind I used was the kind in a box that you pulled out when you needed it, with 4-5 lines in it, and the kind Tom used was the kind we have now - on a reel, a single line looped over. Neither of us had been involved in the hanging of it, so we didn't know much.

First off - it was WAY easier than we thought it would be! Less than a 30 minute project in fact. well, except for the first mishap, which was that I accidentally tangled the spool of cord, and spent about 15 minutes UNtangling it. Not as much fun as we had hoped.

Second, we made a small error, (the package came with no instructions), and put the tightening clamp on the TOP side of the reel. Later, when my clip that kept the lines closer together got to the middle of the line, it knocked all my freshly hung clothes onto the newly laid dirt below (we're leveling and reseeding our lawn below). Hmm. ok - lesson learned (and noted NO where): Put the tightener on the BOTTOM line, and when you start to hang laundry, start with the tightener, and hang next to it, sending it off in front of you. .

Ok, that done, I happily used the advice of all the blogs and websites I visited, and hung my laundry the following ways, to great success:

1. Tops are hung from the bottom, bottoms are hung from the top. (i.e. shirts upside down, pants from the waist).
   
   
2. Hang colours inside out to keep from fading.
   
   
3. Hang towels and sheets in half, and then clip the corners onto the line. Then clip only the back side in the middle, leaving the 'windside' free - this makes a lovely billowing effect, that dries it really nicely too.
   
   
4. Hang socks with one clip connecting only the back side of the sock (so the air gets in faster). I tried hanging the sock over the line - it dries too slowly. I also tries clipping both sides of the ankle, and it left that part wet too.
   
   
5. Hang rags over the line, with one clip in the middle only - they seem to dry fast enough (maybe because they have a looser weave than socks?)
   
   
6. Don't be afraid of the rain or clouds. You don't need the sun to dry your clothes. We're in the Pacific Northwest, and even though it was cloudy and a little drizzly all day the past few days, the clothes on the line still dried within a few hours. Never underestimate the power of a little breeze! If it rains, the clothes on the line will get an extra rinse cycle for free! YAY!
   
   
7. Hang your shirts on the hanger, and you might not even have to iron them! Also, it takes up less space on the line. Oh, and it's faster and easier to remove!
   
   
8. Keep a small drying rack inside your laundry area for your 'unmentionables' - underwear, bras, you know - those items. Or, just keep them inside your fence. No one really wants to look at what they can't normally see on you - or if they do, you might want to be nervous! The last thing you need is a panties stalker!
   
   
9. Run your towels/jeans in the dryer for about 10 minutes, when they are almost dry on the line - this makes them fluffy and soft, and you are still saving a ton of energy.
   
   
10. For fluffy clothes, I usually put them into the dryer when I take them out of the washer, and dry them as long as it takes me to load the next load of laundry. it warms them up, fluffs them, and makes it easier to grab them to put them on the line. I'm still saving lots of energy, but it basically acts like a fabric softener, and I still get the fluffiness.
    

I'll add tips to this as I learn them! Good luck if you try it!

My Small Part

I'm just starting up this blog now, as I know that my family has been changing how we live dramatically over the past year, and I wish that someone had a concise site that really illustrated some of the 'best practices' they had gone through and the best resources they found.

We are a normal, urban family, living in a city of 2+ million people, and are striving to make less of an impact on the world every day. I'm going to chronicle some of those changes, and philosophies on this site. I hope you find it worthwhile!