Rastafarian Ital Vegan Diet works with Mother Earth and Human Beings

Vegan diet can have the biggest environmental impact on planet earth

Many problems facing humans and the planet

There are many problems facing the 6.5 billion people on Earth for example environmental degradation, which includes climate change due to global warming, increasing desertification, logging of old growth forests and reduction in biodiversity, pollution of land and water sources, and genetic manipulation and ownership of plant material. People are worried about rising sea levels and erratic extremes of weather. The ocean is being polluted with plastic and commercial fishing gear is killing sea life. If the ocean dies we die. Commercial fishing is killing whales, dolphins and sharks and these are all vital to ocean health.Choosing not to eat fish is very important to stop commercial fishing.

Reduction in consumption of animal based foods and a vegan diet can help

There is a lot of concern about these matters however one very major factor hardly gets any press at all. This factor is related to the dietary choices of people who include flesh (including aquatic animals), dairy products and eggs in their diet. The livestock industries are a major source of environmental degradation. We are being told many ways we can help save the planet, but who is crying out loudly that people cut down on eating animal based foods.

Production of domestic livestock using too many resources

A recent report from the United Nation’s, Food and Agricultural Organisation, entitled Livestocks Long Shadow, states that there are more greenhouse gas equivalents given off by the worlds domestic livestock than the entire world fleet of motorised transport (cars, trucks, buses, trains, planes and ships etc). The livestock industry uses 70% of agricultural land for grazing and for growing crops to feed animals. Thats 30% of the land surface of this planet! To satisfy the worlds hunger for livestock products forests are being destroyed at alarming rates, and desertification is spreading We also face increased risk of disease spread (eg SARS) where livestock can act as vectors for some diseases. Livestock production also uses huge amounts of the fresh water reserves on the planet, much of that to grow crops to feed these animals There are many other negative factors relating to the livestock industry which are all threatening the natural ecosystems on which all life on the planet depends.

Humans are designed to be herbivores

Humans do not need to eat animal products. We are physiologically and biochemically adapted to be plant eaters. That is indisputable. There is a growing realisation, supported by a great number of clinical and epidemiological studies, that most of the diseases of death and debility in our society are caused by ingestion of animal material. Chief among these are cardio-vascular disease, diabetes, various cancers and Alzheimers. There is also a long list of minor diseases caused by ingestion of animal products including angina, kidneystones, gallstones, osteoporosis, arthritis, various skin conditions, a hot of auto-immune diseases, cataracts and macular degeneration.
The China Study by Prof T. Colin Campbell encapsulates all this and explains why we are not being forcefully told of the dangers of ingesting animal matter. The China Study contains information on the ideal diet for humans which is a balanced, wholefoods, plant-based diet. It is not a special diet, some would recognise as vegan, it is the way it should be, just as organic food is not special but the natural state of food.

So, in this crazy business as usual world full of ignorance and apathy it is heart warming that dedicated bands of people are working quietly in the background to ensure that a great variety of food plants capable of being grown over a great range of climates and soil conditions, exist.

Maintaining bio-diversity in food crops is more important than ever

Commercial agriculture runs on a very narrow gene pool of plant cultivars to satisfy mechanical farming, transport, visual display and shelf like criteria demanded by the conglomerates who increasingly control world food supply through supermarket chains. Nature runs on a broad gene pool and is sustainable without our interference. Therefore we must assure that a broad range of edible plants displaying much genetic variety is maintained to ensure our food future in this rapidly changing world.

Raising animals uses too much land and resources

With 6.5 billion mouths to feed, and projected numbers to 9 billion in most of our lifetimes, land shortages are a real problem. Livestock are very poor converters of plant food to flesh, dairy and eggs. They can take twenty or so times the amount of area (and much more water) to grow than the same amount of highly nutritious plant food. Livestock products lack fibre and the great array of phytochemicals supplied by eating plants, mainly raw. These plant chemicals include hundreds of antioxidants and enzymes amongst others, and even though their exact action in our bodies is not known for many of these chemicals, we certainly know they promote optimal health. People may say that they have every right to ingest animal matter, but this choice greatly impinges on the rights of others to have a healthy planet on which to live.

The China Study

The China Study by Prof T. Colin Campbell encapsulates all this and explains why we are not being forcefully told of the dangers of ingesting animal matter. The China Study contains information on the ideal diet for humans which is a balanced, wholefoods, plant-based diet. It is not a special diet, some would recognise as vegan, it is the way it should be, just as organic food is not special but the natural state of food.

Rastafarians and their ital diet

Rasta have long time been into their vegan ital food, or natural food. This is special food never touching chemicals, and is fresh, not in cans. This food is cooked, but served in the rawest form possible; without salts, preservatives, or condiments. Many Rastas are therefore vegetarians. Those who do eat meant are forbidden to eat pig (otherwise known as the seven devils) because they are the scavengers of the earth. Fish with scale is a staple I-tal food, however, not crabs, lobster, and shrimp, for these are the scavengers of the sea. The fish they eat must be small and have scale, not more than twelve inches long. Drinking preferences rest with anything that is herbal, such as tea. Liquor, milk, coffee, and soft drinks are viewed as unnatural.

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