Everyone knows my motto in life (and if you don't you're obviously a newbie to my blog so welcome!!).. "make decisions you can be proud of". My goal in life is to not live in ignorance but live with a purpose, however minor. My favorite example of this is going into the grocery store. Why do people buy what they buy? I personally would go into the grocery store and buy products that my mother had bought for years, no real discernment as to why.. What I've learned is that purchasing trends have POWER! It becomes a game to me.. How can I make better choices...
a. Choose Target over Wal-mart (don't get me started.. All I can say is Wal-mart has many many issues. Watch the documentary. I know time has passed and Wal-mart has had opportunity to make positive changes but when you have as many issues as Wal-mart has, it'll take decades. Morally I feel good with Target. A company who donates 5% of income to charity can't be bad. And they're full of green products..Plus news is that they're beating Wal-mart in the prices of products consumers buy most)
b. Buy compact fluorescant light bulb versus the regular brands.
c. Choose environmental friendly cleaning products.
d. Buy organic when I can.
Unfortunately the thing I've learned is that to be smart is also to be broke at times. Our economy is so screwed up and backwards that to make better choices for our health and environment usually causes us financial pain.
A few months ago my friend Raven and I were going on and on about Temple Grandin. How inspiring is her desire to be humane to animals. Ray says to me "we should become vegetarians". My response "I don't eat a lot of meat, chicken and fish mostly but my problem is I'm so lazy".. Break to a few weeks later when I check the mail and find an article discussing all the benefits of being a part-time Vegetarian. Got to love my SELF magazine.
Some highlights:
1. Lose weight!! Those who eat the most processed and red meat gained the most weight.
2. Helping the planet!! Having a plant based diet one day a week cuts more greenhouse gas emissions than buying all locally grown food.
3. Fend of cancer!! According to a Harvard study women who consumed animal fat in form of read meat and high-fat dairy had 24 percent higher risck of developing breast cancer.
4. To protect your heart!! Especially for women age 30 to 55 (according to a 26 year long study). Protect your heart by eating beans and nuts!
5. Save $$$$$ !!! Plant proteins are cheap!! Plus meat consumption costs the U.S. more than $190billion in health-related expenses (i.e. cancer and diabetes).
So now that I got the knowledge, gonna do my best to kick my lazy butt in gear. Mission: Meatless Mondays!!, who's in??
