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VEGETARIAN SUMMERFEST 2014 LESSONS LEARNED ★ 40th Anniversary Celebration ★. What I learned about the vegan lifestyle and…. Nutrition and Health Environmental Impact Ethics and Animal Rights. Nutrition and Health Sessions. Conquering Food Cravings Dina Aronson, MS, RD
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VEGETARIAN SUMMERFEST 2014LESSONS LEARNED ★ 40th Anniversary Celebration★
What I learned about the vegan lifestyle and… • Nutrition and Health • Environmental Impact • Ethics and Animal Rights
Nutrition and Health Sessions • Conquering Food Cravings • Dina Aronson, MS, RD • Nutrition: A Forgotten Medical Science • T. Colin Campbell, PhD • Vegan and Vegetarian Diets and Disease Risk • Brenda Davis, RD • The Autoimmune Epidemic • Wes Youngberg, DrPH
Nutrition and Health Sessions • A New HealthCare Delivery Model • Baxter Montgomery, MD • The Pillars of Health • John Pierre • Cardiovascular Counterattack • Brenda Davis • Exciting Successes for Healthy School Foods • Amie Hamlin
Nutrition and Health Sessions • Ten Tenets to Optimal Health • JulieannaHever, MS, RD • Combating Common Diseases with Plants • Michael Greger, MD • New Reasons to Go Dairy-Free • Mark Rifkin, RD • Movement: It’s What’s for Dinner • Stephen Esser, MD
Nutrition and Health Sessions • Vitamin D and Health • Wes Youngberg, DrPH • Tackling Diabetes • Neal Barnard, MD • The Psychology of Joyful and Sustainable Diet Improvement • Howard Jacobson, PhD • Including Wild Edibles in Our Diet • George Eisman, RD
Nutrition and Health Sessions • Gut Health and Probiotics • Jill Nussinow, RD • What Vegans Need to Know About Gluten • Joann Farb • The Latest in Nutrition 2014 • Michael Greger, MD • Stress, Emotions, Food, Adrenals, Caffeine, and Blood Sugar • Wes Youngberg, Dr.PH
Nutrition and Health Summary • Protein consumption is over-emphasized • Funding for nutrition research accounts for only 3-4% of medical research • WHO: Diet and lifestyle responsible for 70% of deaths in US and 63% worldwide; recommends shift to plant-based diet • Lifestyle trumps genes (Ornish): 5-10% genes and 90-95% lifestyle/diet
Nutrition and Health Summary • Blue Zones – people live to be 90+ in good health; common factor – plant based diet, especially legumes • Harvard (2012 study): One daily serving of meat increases mortality 13-20% • Levine (2014 study): Animal protein intake >20% of calories = 74% increase in mortality and 4X increase in cancer death; no effect for high plant-protein diet
Nutrition and Health Summary • Institute of Medicine (2010 study): PBD associated with significantly lower risk of stroke and heart disease • Oxford (2013 study): Followed 45,000 people for 12 years; PBD eaters were 32% less likely to develop CVD; 28% less likely when BMI factored in • Adventist Health Study: 73,000 people; Heart disease 55% lower among vegans; 24% lower among vegetarians
Nutrition and Health Summary • Inflammation: CRP levels 0.58 in vegans; 0.75 in endurance athletes • Plaque: Carotid arteries of vegans healthier than omnivore runners (average 30 miles a week for 15 years) • Couch potato vegans are healthier than athletes! • …but why not do both
Nutrition and Health Summary • Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn – new 2014 study: PBD more effective for reversing heart disease than any medication • World Cancer Research Fund recommendations: • PBD • 5 daily servings of non-starchy fruits and veg • Eat legumes daily • Findings: Vegans’ cancer risk 20% lower; vegetarians 11% lower
Nutrition and Health Summary • Diabetes • Harvard (2013 study): Increase of 0.5 serving of meat daily = 48% increase in diabetes • Diabetes risk for vegans is 62% reduced • Rate of diabetes among vegans = 2.9% • Diabetes is primarily a food-based disease – not genetics • PCRM Study: participants ate unlimited amounts of vegan food and no exercise – lost an average of 12 pounds in 6 weeks.
Nutrition and Health Summary • Amount of neurotoxins we get from sprayed fruits and vegetables is far less than the amount in meats (even organic) • Toxins in animal products are strongly associated with neuro-degeneration (Alzheimer’s Disease and other forms of dementia) • Processed meats – highest category for inflammatory foods • High meat consumers have 21X the risk of neurological disorders (including MS)
Nutrition and Health Summary • There is only one chronic illness – and that is poor nutrition • Chronic illnesses are essentially food-borne illnesses • The public and healthcare professionals are misled about nutrition – even dieticians are trained to perpetuate meat and cheese myths • 70-85% of fats in fish are the unhealthy kind (omega 3)
Nutrition and Health Summary • What you remove from your diet is more important than what you add. • Can’t undo the bad effects of eating animal products by eating more fruits and vegetables. • Bad food is a thief in your body. • Myth: Everything in moderation • Dr. Baxter’s clinic: After 4 weeks of PBD, significant improvement at cellular level
Nutrition and Health Summary • 16 totally vegan schools in NYC • New federal laws and regulations related to school lunches: soy products count as protein; water must be served with all meals • Food is the most powerful control you have over your entire life. • The healthier you eat, the better food tastes • Eat the rainbow (minimum 7 servings fruits and vegetables) and 1.5 cups legumes daily
Nutrition and Health Summary • Choose whole food sources instead of processed oils (olives, avocadoes…even greens have healthy fat!) • Commit to 3 weeks to remove all refined sugars. Use whole food sweeteners (dates) • Multiple sclerosis caused largely by consumption of animal fat; most effective MS treatment by far is PBD; MS and RA shown to be reversible on PBD • Legume consumption is most significant predictor of longevity.
Nutrition and Health Summary • 90% of heart disease… • 90% of diabetes… • 60% of cancer… • …can be prevented with PBD • Milk = opiate of the masses; cheese has concentrated amounts of morphine • Dairy products block beneficial effects of phytochemicals; Ca from milk not absorbed; trigger for arthritis
Nutrition and Health Summary • 21 days is enough for your taste to change • Use transition foods (veggie burgers, etc.) • Be careful about adding too much gluten – 60% of Americans carry gene to become gluten sensitive (untreated gluten sensitivity can develop into other AI diseases – Lupus, diabetes, osteoporosis) but gluten does not cause nearly as much inflammation as animal products do. • $60 billion = cost of healthcare attributed to meat and dairy eating • Vegan athletes: Carl Lewis, Serena Williams, Patrick Baboumian (World’s Strongest Man)
Environmental Impact Sessions • Cowspiracy: Film Screening • Keegan Kuhn, Film Director and Howard Lyman • Vegetarian Responses to Climate Change • Lee Hall, JD • Toxins and Environmental Triggers • Michael Stepaniak
Environmental Impact Summary • Our meat addiction is destroying the planet. • “The only way to save the human species is to eliminate animal agriculture” – Howard Lyman • 1 acre of rainforest is destroyed each second to make room for cattle industry
Environmental Impact Summary • Animal agriculture is the largest user of water (2000 gallons to produce a pound of beef vs 43 gallons to produce a pound of beans) • Perspective: average water use for showers in US is 4000 gallons per year • Animal agriculture is responsible for largest amount of greenhouse gas production / climate change • 16 pounds of grain to produce 1 pound of beef
Ethics and Animal Rights Sessions • Winning Compassion for Farmed Animals • Jenny Brown • What Really Matters • Joann Farb • Vegan on the Hot Seat • Rae Sikora and Marla Rose • Relationships Workshop • Anne Dinshah
Ethics and Animal Rights Sessions • Animal Intelligence • Rae Sikora • After Meat: What Would Happen if Humans Suddenly Stopped Eating Animals? • Jonathan Balcomb, PhD • Dynamic Harmlessness for Today’s World • Anne Dinshah • What Animals Teach Us and Why It Matters: Life-Altering Lessons from Farmed Animals • Kathy Stevens
Ethics and Animal Rights Sessions • My Journey in the Movement • Howard Lyman • Liberating the Language of Animal Abuse • Karen Davis, PhD • How to Produce Your Perfect Vegan Event • Marla Rose and John Beske • Vegan Beyond Your Plate: Vegan Ethics • Rae Sikora • Taking the Brilliance Home • Victoria Moran
Ethics and Animal Rights Summary • “The disaster of animal agriculture is the fundamental challenge facing humanity.” – Joann Farb • Arguments for animal exploitation similar to arguments for slavery; The Dreaded Comparison – by Marjorie Spiegel – compares animal slavery to human slavery • Our culture teaches us it is okay to eat animals • Animals on organic farms suffer as much as those on traditional farms (not allowed to treat with antibiotics, etc.)
Ethics and Animal Rights Summary • Veganism is the solution to world hunger • 800 million people could be fed with the plant food fed to farmed animals. • When children are exposed to animal cruelty and exploitation, they become desensitized and less compassionate towards humans and other animals
Ethics and Animal Rights Summary • Farm Animal Rights Movement – founded by Alex Hershaft, Holocaust survivor • There is no such thing as compassionate exploitation or compassionate slavery. • Spiritual aspect of veganism • “When our animal consciousness wakes up, we become vegan” – Harold Brown
Websites • http://www.vegetariansummerfest.org/details.htm • www.plantpeacedaily.org • www.nutritionfacts.org • www.pcrm.org • http://www.tugg.com/events/105113
Documentaries • Peaceable Kingdom • Speciesism • Cowspiracy • Earthlings • The Ghosts in Our Machine
Books • The China Study • The Mad Cowboy • Animal Liberation • Eating Animals • Animals Matter • Creatures of the Same God
Signs of Change • Meat and dairy consumption declining • We are making a difference; it took 50 years for policy to catch up with science on cigarettes; the science for veganism is solid; public opinion is changing; industry and policy will follow
Signs of Change • Our cultural indoctrination is constantly unraveling; we are awakening to our inner truth about animal rights • We are recognizing and honoring animals as fellow sentient beings; a cow is a loving mother who grieves when her baby is taken away and killed. Animals are individuals with feelings, societies, families, a sense of self, and a desire to live
Building Bridges • Invite friends to Tallahassee premier of Cowspiracy documentary, August 21, 6:30 pm at AMC Theatre (tickets by advance purchase – we need to reserve 62 more tickets in order for this to happen!!) http://www.tugg.com/events/105113 • Attend the Orlando Vegetarian Conference • Plan and support a Tallahassee VegFest!! • Start a Vegan book study/documentary group to learn and share in the movement Find joyful ways to spread the message and infuse our community with love and compassion