threads

I have these random threads that keep going on in the back of my head which suddenly show up out of nowhere. Hubbs cleaned up the living room and kitchen over the weekend. Everything is all cleaned, no clutter and good. Monday, we are driving to somewhere and I suddenly ask, where is the cheesecloth that was drying on the chair? hubbs.. what cloth? Me: ok another one probably thrown away during the cleaning. :)  

Holidays

Lol, you knew a holiday rant post was coming right.

Holidays are just not fun really. But anywho. I would like for everyone to read this PSA.

By not being cognizant of other people around you, their needs and requirements and not making an effort towards being inclusive. (it obviously needs a step or 2 out of the comfort zone), what one is teaching their kids is that clique behavior, callousness, and self serving behavior is a-ok to learn and continue to do.

Nuff said.

Be inclusive for a change, be nice, be sweet. I mean seriously, I do not want to dread holiday gatherings. Be my friend this year?

Oh well, a ton of other things to think about and do something about.

Say Nothing at All

Lets make today a Compliment/praise day. Take the response that you were going to say, write or express (at work, elsewhere, somewhere online), if it is mean, judgy, preachy or negative, chuck it. Say nothing at all. or if you do have to say/express, say something positive, encouraging or just a nice thank you for being you. :)

Why? Because people are getting more and more unabashed about expressing the first thing that comes to their mind on the web. There is a level of anonymity and being able to not put any rules on yourself when speaking anonymously to strangers, that seems to be bringing out the worst is us.

How? More cases of bullying and cyber bullying, more mean spirited exchanges, more name calling, and other things. all of which you would never do if you were face to face with the person.

This affects everyone at some point in life. it is detrimental to happiness, to sharing, community and support systems.

and lately it has been detrimental to the vegan movement.

Why?

Because everyone on the web seems to know the stories of anyone being discussed and loves to offer an opinion. Its like everyone is a celebrity online, whose lives, choices, and everything else can be dissected and commented upon. Even the celebrities for that matter should not have to deal with it.

Because, one small group based on empathy and compassion keeps calling out other small groups instead of offering support.

Vegan-ism is based on empathy, compassion and reducing suffering of all animals. The whole concept and way of living is based on empathy and compassion, and should also extent to the non animal humans.
Then why all the bashing in the Vegan community.
Most of the yelling happens because of the concept of "more vegan than thou". I am more vegan that you because "fill in the blank". which is ridiculous. We are all on the vegan journey and we are all on it together. some might be just starting off, some might be in coach number 1 and some coach 100, but we are all on the same train.

Accepting Disability - post 1

What I Cannot do/WICND : Stand and talk for more than a few minutes. Talking to someone needs looking at a moving face. With the standing still already a big issue, this doesn't work out at all.
What I Can Do/WICD : Stand for an hour or longer in the kitchen and cook, move around, cook multiple things, write it down, take pictures, and also talk. This I have developed over the past years with practice. From being able to stand for just 10 minutes at a time to now.

WICND : watch most action movies or go to a theater
WICD : watch hindi movies coz they are usually light, and use stable camera work.


WICND : walk more than 2 blocks on flat concrete ground
WICD : walk 4 blocks on grass or slight elevation or climb stairs

WICND : go out and eat in a restaurant, because most do not have sofa type seatin and usually have too much noise
WICD : go out and eat in some few restaurants or go out for coffee that do have sofas

WICND : read anything farther than 4 feet. it's basically like trying to read things which have 10 shadow images.
WICD : read on the machine. I do need new glasses to help though.

WICND : fly out for a vacation to a beachy town
WICD : drive out to a beach in the PNW

sucks, but thats life. I can do a lot more than what I could do one year back. :)

Why a Sustainable Plant Based Diet?

This year saw a trend in big money investors like Microsoft's Bill Gates, Twitter Co-founders and Google co-founder Sergey Brin all investing plant based fake meat/eggs companies. 

Why We Must Shift to Sustainable Plant-Based Eating

These investors recognize that the planet cannot sustain its current level of industrialized animal farming. There’s a big problem with our reliance on meat, dairy and eggs, and it’s only going to get worse.

If you’re an animal lover, you already despise the grinding, horrifying cruelty of today’s factory farms. Gone are the bucolic, rolling pasture lands dotted with roaming farm animals that our grandparents remember. Farmers just can’t meet the staggering worldwide demand for meat, eggs and dairy by doing business that way anymore.

To make raising livestock profitable, chickens are caged together so tightly they can’t spread their wings or walk around – ever. Pigs are jammed into gestation crates they cannot turn around in, their teeth and tails cut off without anesthetic to keep them from chewing at one another out of madness or boredom. Cattle are kept constantly impregnated so their milk will never stop flowing, while their newborn calves are carted off to become veal.

If the plight of farmed animals isn’t enough to turn you plant-based, have you taken a close look at the effects of today’s farming practices on the environment? The statistics are sobering:

• 76 percent of all U.S. farmland is used only to graze livestock. That’s 614 million acres of pasture, 157 million acres of public land and 127 million acres of forest.
• In addition to the above, if you also factor in the land used to grow feed for animals, a staggering 97 percent of U.S. agricultural land is devoted to sustaining livestock and poultry.
• Animals raised for food create 89,000 pounds of manure per second, causing extensive groundwater pollution.
• 30 percent of the entire land surface of the Earth is used by livestock.
• 70 percent of Amazon deforestation is directly due to clearing land to provide livestock grazing area.
• 33 percent of the world’s arable land is used to produce feed only for livestock.
• More than 70 percent of the crops we grow in the U.S. are produced just to feed meat-producing livestock.
• 70 percent of available water is used for growing crops, most of which feed livestock, not people.
• It takes 13 pounds of grain to produce one pound of meat.
• 
  

Despite all of the above, worldwide meat production will explode from 229 million tons in 2001 to 465 million tons by 2050, while global milk output will increase from 580 million tons in 2001 to 1043 million tons by 2050.

“There will not be enough water available on current croplands to produce food for the expected 9 billion population in 2050 if we follow current trends and changes towards diets common in western nations,” according to a report issued in 2012 by Stockholm International Water Institute.

Our current system simply won’t enable us to feed 9 billion people a the current rate at which we consume meat, eggs and dairy. Crunch the numbers and it becomes disturbingly clear that something must change – soon.

That’s why smart, high dollar investors are eyeing companies which understand this coming crisis and are offering solutions. They’re out in front, paving the way for a plant-based future. 

Read more: http://www.care2.com/causes/the-skyrocketing-business-of-vegan-food-aims-to-save-the-world.html#ixzz2ph9QOCYp