On my recent trip overseas, I had the opportunity to explore London, home to the 2012 Summer Olympics. There is a vast range of wealth in the city, and some of the richest people in the world live in London. One day, while watching the evening news at my hotel, I heard the most depressing statistic. Around one million children across the UK don't know where their next meal is coming from. Oh God, how could that be?
It is difficult to imagine there are hungry children lurking within this magnificent country with its lavish restaurants & opulent stores, dying of hunger. That's just one statistic and things are even more grim in other parts of the world. So today I would like to take a moment to talk about the connection between world hunger and becoming vegan.
There are many reasons why people choose to adopt a vegan diet, but one of the most profound, yet often overlooked reason is for the sake of the millions of people who starve to death each year.
Here, is how it works. In order to maintain the need for meat products, the world's limited resources are being squandered on animal farming. For example, the amount of land that it takes to feed just one meat-eater could sustain 20 vegetarians. Cattle and other livestock are devouring much of the grain produced on this planet. Overall, the grains and soybeans fed to American livestock each year could feed the more than 1.3 billion people who are going hungry. If just 20 percent of American meat-eaters adopted a vegetarian diet, there would be 24 million more tons of grain to feed to humans and enough to support the 60 million people who starve to death each year. This is what Albert Einstein said over 70 years ago.
“Nothing will benefit human health and increase chances for survival of life on Earth as much as the evolution to a vegetarian life”
On to food. After my long trip out of the country, my body really needed a detox. I don't believe in cleanses unless it involves a bounty of natural cleansing foods. I have been creating a lot of salads and snacks with natural cleansing properties. This simple salad of radishes, oranges, sprouts, red cabbage, and sunflower seeds dressed with a fat-burning apple cider vinegar and flaxseed oil is delicious and cleansing. The oranges contain nobiletin which helps fight obesity, diabetes and heart disease. The radishes help cleanse the liver and gallbladder. Red cabbage has anti-aging effects and is a terrific source of Vitamin C, which helps in antioxidation and is, therefore, involved in maintaining beautiful skin and delaying aging naturally. The outer leaves are rich in Vitamin E and another rich antioxidant. Topping your salad with digestible sprouts adds vitamins, minerals and enzymes and the sunflower seeds act as an astringent. Healthy, cleansing and delicious and simple to make. Vegan Day 441 – Wish me luck!
- 2 oz organic, unfiltered, good quality apple cider vinegar
- 1 oz fresh squeezed orange juice
- 1 tsp organic maple syrup (or more to taste - I like about a tbsp)
- 1 oz lemon juice
- 2 oz olive oil
- 1 tbsp flaxseed oil
- Freshly ground black pepper to taste
- ⅛ tsp sea salt
- 1 cup sliced radishes
- 6 tangerines or 2 oranges, peeled and segmented
- 3 cups organic green leaf lettuce
- 2 cup sliced red cabbage
- 1 cup alfalfa sprouts
- ¼ sunflower seeds or crushed pinenuts
- Whisk together all dressing ingredients.
- Combine salad ingredients and toss with dressing
- Garnish with sunflower seeds or crushed pine nuts
