Are You Sure That's Safe...?

Every day I see more and more people with ‘allergies’ and ‘food intolerances,’ often along with the statement(s), “I’ve never been like this before,” or, “It keeps getting worse.”

Makes me sad for people, seriously. I always want to obnoxiously interject: “Have you ever tried avoiding the hormones and/or pesticides and/or dangerous organisms and/or blood and/or pus and/or chemicals and/or antibiotic residue and/or genetically-modified frankenfoods and/or the poison air and/or contaminated water?”

Why can’t people see? I simply do not understand. The minimal research it takes to protect themselves and their family…???

1) GMOs have NOT been proven safe for consumption and almost every person in the USA eats them many times per day. There are other countries that have been smart enough to ban GMOs. Corporations like Monsanto (and many others) lie about biotechnology ‘feeding the world,’ when in fact it has been proven we can achieve greater crop yields with less water use and less soil degradation by way of conventional farming. The GMO crops are resistant to certain pesticides and therefore the crops are heavily sprayed with that pesticide, killing off surrounding life forms and important soil microbes. Pesticide-resistance to weeds is becoming a real issue and causes even more pesticide application. The pesticide run-off then goes into the water and we further drink the pesticides, along with the rest of the trace drugs in the water. In many cases, the crops THEMSELVES have been genetically modified to produce pesticides. The DNA of GMO crops have been altered and therefore their DNA is unlike anything on Earth that has EVER been grown or consumed. Many studies are demonstrating they are potentially very harmful to both human and nature. New laws enacted to hush people trying to tell the truth could have me arrested for even talking about this (yes, really - if they wanted to). Until we establish FACTS to the contrary, GMOs are NOT GRAS! (‘Generally Recognized as Safe,’ as the industry calls it – what that actually MEANS is that science has NEVER PROVEN them safe!!!). I REPEAT: These crops have NEVER been proven safe for consumption, or even to be on our skin (BT cotton, etc.).

2) Even non-GMO crops are victims of pesticide applications. Glyphosate and other toxic chemicals are on our food, for the most part - even if the food itself is not GMO - the food is likely covered, saturated, or packaged using chemicals and/or pesticides.

3) People were lied to when desperate utter survival turned into commercial profit. Animal products are not food for human except possibly in severe extremes, which no one reading this is dealing with. Humans flourish on a plant-based diet, disease often disappears or simply never manifests, and conclusive proof exists that a plant-based diet is what humans should follow if that human desires to be in alignment with a non-violent, peaceful, healthy, environmentally-friendly, love-one-another, respect other beings, and love-your-own-body kind of way. What we do to farm animals even on the ‘smallest and nicest’ farm is still not ‘pretty,’ and often the natural predacious species in the area are exterminated to protect farm animals. This leads to this ongoing imbalance and ‘overpopulation’ of other animals and leads to even more killing…a society based on killing and exterminating anything in its path, even if the ‘anything’ is an ‘anyONE.’

4) Farm subsidies from our government in the USA are shameful and if I were a parent I’d be PISSED off. Not only about the persistent misinformation about nutrition, but the crap they call food that they shove down your throat all the time (and people say vegans ‘shove their thoughts down their throat’ – REALLY? Ever watch TV?). They subsidize the foods that are unhealthy and are an utter disgrace of humanity and make it harder for the average family to buy foods that will keep their loved ones out of the hospital or doctor’s office or cemetery.

Everyone has an Uncle Joe who smoked 5 packs of cigarettes for 94 years and died at the ripe old age of 106 eating nothing but bacon and lard (!), and certainly a plant-based person could die at 40 from a heart attack – it could happen – but those are not the norms, odds, averages, or statistics. I have heard and researched a lot - the reality is NOT that…people are dropping dead like crazy, the drug companies are making BILLIONS off people being sick and keeping them sick, and ALL chronic diseases are on the rise, including what got me started on this – ‘allergies’ and ‘food intolerances.’

…I went ‘vegan’ for completely ethical reasons. I love all creatures on Earth and I am extremely happy to live my life trying to avoid harming or abusing them. But learning for so many years since that fateful day? I have analyzed all angles I could discover, the evidence, and the motivations (One must always look WHERE the study is coming from – most “pro-GMO” studies come FROM the biotech company themselves – that’s believable, eh?). Although I continue to consider any and all views presented - facts, science, love, non-violence, deep respect for Earth and nature, compassion, and morality keep me coming back to the exact same conclusion.

This is science and the reality. Regardless of what non-vegans or non-plant-based or GMO-apathetic people do, this is science (or, in some instances, the lack of science). These issues, especially ‘using’ animals, is NOT ‘personal choice,’ it is a moral decision. However, a true decision can only be made when someone takes the time to be educated on the issue. Just as most of us would not open our wallet and give money directly to an animal abuser, or chemical company making us sick, or an unethical industry; we should not give them money INDIRECTLY either (we give it to the store, the store gives it to them). Many people resist learning the details of these issues because they think it will turn their lives upside-down, they simply don’t know what else to eat, wear, or do. Additionally, they don’t really believe they are being violent or cruel or destructive (although they are), or, what I used to think, “It wouldn’t be legal to do that” (it is) or “It wouldn’t be legal to poison me)” (it is).

I used to eat burgers, I used to eat cheese, I used to wear leather - but the reality is I never been happier than I am now. I communicate with thousands of other vegans and generally that is a common statement (“never been happier”). Besides being sad that many loved ones are unwilling to see facts due to extreme fear of change and set-in traditionally accepted rituals, and besides the fact that vegans are acutely aware of ‘the screaming’ going on everywhere, and besides the fact that it breaks a vegan’s heart to know some people are just cruel and do not care, and besides the fact that vegans are aware their safe food options are in danger because people are letting chemical corporations take over the food industry, and besides the fact that we are aware people are currently destroying our ecosystem at a lightning-pace, most of us would say (and completely mean it), “We’ve never been happier.”

Don’t blame a vegan or any activist for being frustrated at times, or having normal human emotions. People need to blame themselves for giving activists something legitimate to be hollering about. Right now people are lucky enough to have a choice, a chance to stand up for what is right and just, and to give a crap about others…that opportunity may be diminished in the future.

Avoid animal products. Avoid GMO. Avoid any food that bacteria won’t eat (that infers it is heavily laden with preservatives and/or should not be considered as food). Avoid glyphosate and other chemicals. Eat organic. Insist on maintaining strict guidelines for how organic food is produced (they keep relaxing the organic laws, soon it will be just called “the same shit food as everyone else’s shit food”). When you can, grow your own food from organic heirloom seed varieties. Don’t be afraid of change, especially when it is for the betterment of all. And don’t be afraid of knowledge – it really IS power!

IT IS TIME TO WAKE UP.