Moni Dew

Moni Dew wrote:wow! You guys are really knowledgeable! I've been concerned lately about the aluminum issue because of reports that nearly all rice is heavily contaminated with it. I have severe celiac disease so I tend to eat a lot of rice.. I also drink way too much tea, where aluminum deoderant, etc. Any ideas on a natural way to pull it out of your body safely?

whoops! I made a mistake here! Rice is reportedly contaminated with arsenic, not aluminum... but either way - how to safely pull contaminants out of the body is the question. sorry - celiac brain is sometimes fuzzy.

wow! You guys are really knowledgeable! I've been concerned lately about the aluminum issue because of reports that nearly all rice is heavily contaminated with it. I have severe celiac disease so I tend to eat a lot of rice.. I also drink way too much tea, where aluminum deoderant, etc. Any ideas on a natural way to pull it out of your body safely?

I spent my carrier studying human nutrition, naturopathy, and natural healing. I didn't find any factual errors at all. Just doctors finally admitting what nature knew all along. In any case, the film is a great introduction to how badly human biochemistry responds to animal foods and processed foods, even if it doesn't get really clear on why every disease reverses in response to whole plant foods. I know why, from my own studies, but most people get bogged down in the details, so I think they leave it at a basic outline for that reason. I still recommend the film highly because I find most people will not convert to veganism unless they are in a life or death situation. Then they do it for selfish reasons - to save their own lives. Compassion for animals doesn't seem to occur to anyone who still has a gut-full of dead ones. :shrugs: Maybe it's just my experiences with people. But, as I have said elsewhere, I live in a very backward thinking part of the country, so I don't get a lot of exposure to forward thinking people. I could be guilty of my own prejudices.

damn, and here I was hoping this was a conversation of the browncoat variety. guess I'll have to just look elsewhere in the 'verse for one...

Ivon Carter wrote:I want to change my diet, but Im not sure will I make it. Did you have a difficulties at the start?

Ivon, I would start with the documentary called Forks over Knives. The documentary is free if you already have a NetFlix account. Otherwise, it's totally worth renting, or buying it from Amazon or a bookstore.
It will teach you the healthiest vegan diet on the planet, and arm you with all the reasons why you should. The people who put the documentary together are about a dozen medical doctors armed to the teeth with facts and decades of research. You'll be able to stand your ground forever on the support of their cookbooks, videos, facebook groups, "approved" list of other's cookbooks, etc.

Cynthia Hobbs wrote:Hi there Jeanine, nice to meet you!
I'm a vegan, have been for quite some time now, I'm a permaculture newbie. I've noticed that veganism/vegetarianism is somewhat frowned upon by some permaculturists. I find this odd because I am a vegan because I think there is something wrong with the way we currently produce food, and this very same idea has lead me to permaculture. I think that animals raised in a true permaculture environment is a huge improvement from the kind of industrialised mainstream animal raising, and I am very happy for meat eaters to do this. But if I do end up implementing permaculture myself I can't see myself changing my vegan ways because it would still interfere with my personal beliefs of how animals ought to be treated. I would be happy to encourgae wild animals into my garden and utilise their manure, but not keep animals to intentionally cause their deaths ultimately, I believe animals have a right to exist in their own right and live a life that nature intended them to live. I DO agree with the permaculture idea of nature being a system and animals being a part of that system, but I don't necessarily believe that farming animals of is a natural process. Hope I'm making sense here, it's a bit hard to explain!

I like that you don't consider the starlings a pest as many people would. I agree with you that a mutually benefial relationship with animals is ok, I don't think animals animals have to be eaten, you could just encourage wild life or some people have animals as pets. I know that there would be a calorie loss by not eating them, but that value could be made up by the joy of their company and using their manure long term?

I am also a recipe freak!! Can't get enough lol

Hi, all. I haven't been here in quite a while, primarily because there was not a lot of support for vegan permaculture. But, for some odd reason, I checked back here today and found they had added a vegan forum. Well, that was just my ticket, so now I'm adding my two cents to the conversation.

I find myself in complete agreement with Cynthia, here. I feel certain that permaculture can be done successfully without (intentional) animal imputs, in fact I have both seen it and done it. I too welcome animals into my garden. They are their as part of the balance of nature. I do not feel the need to sustain them, they are perfectly capable of sustaining themselves without my assistance. Neither do I feel the need to "employ" or exploit them. I just share the earth with them. If some here feel differently, they are certainly free to believe as they desire.

I too, am a whole-foods vegan, although for health reasons, I must abstain from gluten containing grains. I also avoid anything GMO related, for health purposes. Yet, while my veganism may have started as a way to improve my selfish/egotistical health, it rapidly unfolded into a whole new dynamic; my relationship with nature as a whole, and animals in particular. I spiritually grew, from an "all about me" mentality consuming anything I damn well pleased because no one else mattered, to a person who desperately wanted to share the earth in equality and fairness, to stop bringing harm to my fellow creatures and live in harmony with the entire natural dynamic. It has become abundantly clear to me that the massive scale of industrialized meat production is destroying the planet, the economy, our health, not to mention our relationship with all the other life forms with whom we share a very tiny blue ball. Others may shy away from the word "vegan," thinking it implies some sort of lunatic fringe imagery. I embrace the term! All the way down to my eco-friendly, vegan shoes! LOL!

And now I'm going to run off and hide, because I'm pretty sure someone's going to shout my down for saying all of this! Lol!

I live in Tulsa county and saw this article on my facebook page. Needless to say, I was more than a little outraged and incensed. Not to mention, terrified. I have a rather large-ish backyard garden (kept the front and sides discrete, just in case). Still, I can't help but wonder, am I next???

This is just outrageous! What is the matter with this town's leadership?! We have local farmer's markets (several) and buy local programs, but home gardening for one's own use is frowned upon? WHY?!! Who was she hurting? No one.

I don't know. I'm at the end of my rope with this.

Fascinating topic! Thanks for all the input, everyone!

As for me, my 5 are going to be radically different from "normal" people - (do those exist?) - because of a genetic condition. I have a medical diagnosis that necessitates a very narrow diet. I must eat for healing, eat for nutrition, not for pleasure. Obviously that means I will never be able to eat with another human being again because people eat to socialize and experience pleasure. They are not necessarily considering the nutritional content of the food, or the biological appropriateness to human anatomy. But my experience has taught me a lot about nutrition over the years; about what people can and should eat based on human anatomy, physiology, and biochemistry. Nope, I'm not a doctor. Just living with a very tricky issue that requires I never deviate from a "perfect" (can I use that word?) diet. Here are my 5:

1) artificial/chemical ANYTHING - if it doesn't exist in nature, I don't eat it! Artificial flavors, colors, preservatives; chemical pesticides, herbicides, additives; GMO's, etc. Your body only digests food, it's not designed to be a chemical treatment plant.

2) processed ANYTHING - if it doesn't exist in nature in that form, I don't eat it! The usual suspects - flours, sugars, fats& oils, etc. If it spent any time in a factory, receiving more than just a wash and a wrapper, it's been processed. Your body only recognizes food in its original form. (I must also be gluten-free due to an entirely unrelated genetic disorder from my "biggie". Gluten intolerance has increased 400% in the ten years since a chemical form of folate has been added by government regulation. The chemical form of folate has a backbone of glutamic acid chain, thus increasing the level of gluten within the flour well in excess of its natural level.)

3) ANYTHING that is not from plants - if it doesn't grow in the ground, I don't eat it! This includes salt, meat, fish, dairy products, etc. Human digestive tracts are not equipped to handle anything not plant-based. (I can hear you screaming at me now.) I may not like it. You may not like it. Because my body only works when I eat the way it's designed, and I notice the difference immediately. "Normal" people get away with so much more before they feel the damage. I can't cheat without ending up in the hospital. A toxic overload of acidity and ammonia occur when you follow an animal protein diet. It might take a "normal" person 40-50 years to feel those effects, but they are doing damage the entire time. Your digestive tract is only designed to process plants.

4) Anything excessively heated/burned/charcoal, etc. If it's burned beyond recognition, guess what, your body won't recognize it! Heat caused chemical changes to occur, most of which your body does not know how to process. Every living thing in nature eats a diet both biologically appropriate for its species, and entirely raw. It's not because they lack opposable thumbs and can't lift a pot handle. It's because raw food contains enzymes which assist in digestion. If you cook the living hell out of something, create chemicals within it that didn't exist in the first place, or remove nutrients that were originally there but now are not, then you have substantively changed that food from a true food to a non food/chemical. Yes, you can gently heat, warm, etc. Just don't char, burn, caramelize, etc.

5) Anything not given or received in love! Love is the most healing force in the universe! We all need it! Receive each meal in humble gratitude for your existence. Share/give a meal to another in the same way. Live in peace with all beings everywhere. Co-exist; cooperate; share; speak in peace, kindness, and gentleness to all. This is love. This is healing. This is grace.

Peace to all who dwell "here".

I am also in the opposite situation - I want a permaculture lifestyle, he doesn't. But we mutually agree on our love of nature. He's a hiker, and loves photographing nature. He understands what I want, he just doesn't want to do the work. I'm okay with that! I'll do the work - I just want to give up my large suburban home and find a small cabin in nature to work my permaculture garden around.

I also would love to do a passive solar home - but that seems out of the question for the time being. He's not sold on that concept. I think we may have to go with propane. I hate the thought of being dependent upon a petroleum product. But he doesn't think solar panels or wind turbines are cost effective yet (no matter how many times I try to get him to understand that they are getting better every day.) And the idea of orienting a house so that the sun does all the work - leaving us with very little to have to supply - has yet to sink in. We might have to baby step our way there.

But we, too, are stuck on each other in spite of our differences, 32 years, 4 adult kids, 6 grandkids. We're in it for the long haul now. We'll do it together - somehow.

Find your common ground with your mate and start from there... and be patient... exceedingly patient... LOL!