How the environment reacts to what we eat, how we grow it and what we waste

There's a lot of debate about how our choices and actions have an impact on the environment. It effects everyone in one way or another and because, our motivations are different, reaching a solution that all parties will be happy with, is a hard task. The video below sums up how our dietary choices, the way we meet this demand, and how we deal with waste, impacts on the environment.

A few points to look out  for as you watch the video:-

1. How much of the greenhouse emissions are caused by dairy and meat? 
2. How much of the greenhouse emissions are caused by aviation?
3. What is the one of the primary causes of water table pollution in the U.S.?
4. Which method of fishing is described as not harming the environment?

More about this film...

The entire film lasts 30 minutes. It explores the benefits of being vegan. Some of these are: -

• an exciting lifestyle
• eating delicious food
• consuming healthy food
• tackling the ethics behind making this shift
• global challenges that we face now and in the future.

It was produced by The Vegan Society.

Will you make the connection and become part of the solution?

A global shift towards a vegan diet is vital to save the world from hunger, fuel poverty and the worst impacts of climate change, a UN report said today. As the global population surges towards a predicted 9.1 billion people by 2050, western tastes for diets rich in meat and dairy products are unsustainable, says the report from United Nations Environment Programme's (UNEP) international panel of sustainable resource management. It says: "Impacts from agriculture are expected to increase substantially due to population growth increasing consumption of animal products. Unlike fossil fuels, it is difficult to look for alternatives: people have to eat. A substantial reduction of impacts would only be possible with a substantial worldwide diet change, away from animal products."

Source - The Guardian

Recipe: Tofu, Pak Choi, Wild Rocket, Plum Tomatoes and Cauliflower within 20 minutes

This meal took less than 20 minutes and the result was a healthy dinner, which was full of flavour.

This recipe serves 2.

Ingredients

• 200g Pak Choi
• 1/2 a small cauliflower
• 1/2 a packet of Taifun Organic Smoked Tofu with almonds and sesame seeds
• Olive oil
• About 20g of Wild Rocket
• 10 Cherry/plum tomatoes
• Salt
• Pepper

Method

1. Put enough water in a pan so that only half of the Pak Choi is immersed in water - I love Pak Choi so I used a fair bit
2. Boil it with the lid on and it should be done within 3 - 5 minutes - I drink the water after it's cooled so that no nutrients are wasted
3. Repeat this with some chopped cauliflower - again, cut the amount to suit you
4. Whilst it's boiling, take some Tofu and grill it or cook it in a frying pan with a few drops of oil
5. I took it off the heat after a few minutes, so it was semi crunchy and semi soft
6. Wash some rocket and create a bed of leaves on the plate - I love rocket so I used a lot
7. Wash some cherry/plum tomatoes and place them on the bed of rocket
8. Add the vegetables and tofu
9. Season with salt and pepper

How can we enjoy a more diverse range of fruits and nuts without the problems of pest and disease?

Like many others, I believed that we can only enjoy a more diverse range of fruits and nuts by importing them in to the country. I hadn't really thought about the problems of pest and disease, because my thought stopped at 'we couldn't grow them here.' This video explains that the usage of land has become monotonous and we are being forced to import items which we could grow ourselves!

Some of the positive impacts caused by going plant-based would be:-

• more diversity of fruit, nuts and shrubs
• there would be LESS pest and disease problems
• more tree habitats
• a positive effect on climate change

What other points did you grasp from this video?

More about this film...

The entire film lasts 30 minutes. It explores the benefits of being vegan. Some of these are: -

• an exciting lifestyle
• eating delicious food
• consuming healthy food
• tackling the ethics behind making this shift
• global challenges that we face now and in the future.

It was produced by The Vegan Society.

Will you make the connection and become part of the solution?

"The single greatest lesson the garden teaches is that our relationship to the planet need not be zero-sum, and that as long as the sun still shines and people still can plan and plant, think and do, we can, if we bother to try, find ways to provide for ourselves without diminishing the world." Michael Pollan

Recipe: A quick cooling dessert within 5 minutes

The bonus to this dessert is it includes fresh fruit. Thus giving it a 'healthy' aspect! 

This recipe serves 2.

Ingredients for a vegan cooling dessert

• 4 scoops of Vanilla Swedish Glace
• 2 handfuls of fruit - we used raspberries but you could use other fruits, such as, strawberries, pineapple and blueberries

How to make a vegan cooling dessert

1. Put some scoops of vegan ice cream in a bowl
2. Put the fruit in a small blender
3. Blend the fruit
4. Pour the blended fruit over the ice cream
5. Serve and enjoy

An MP explains why we can't continue to sustain a Western style diet

I don't know why I was surprised to hear a Member of Parliament saying that we can't sustain a Western style diet outright and on record. The truth does not and should not be dependant on the source of it! This video is under 1.5 minutes long and it compares the effects of a Western style diet and a plant-based one.

Here are some points that leaped out at me:-

• WithOUT the predicted growth population of 2.3 billion we'd need 3 Earth sized planets to sustain ourselves if everyone adopted a Western diet.
• A vegan diet only needs 1/3 of the water and land in comparison to that needed to maintain an animal based diet.
• Farmers will not be displaced and out of work as a result of people shifting to a vegan diet.

More about this film...

The entire film lasts 30 minutes. It explores the benefits of being vegan. Some of these are: -

• an exciting lifestyle
• eating delicious food
• consuming healthy food
• tackling the ethics behind making this shift
• global challenges that we face now and in the future.

It was produced by The Vegan Society.

Will you make the connection and become part of the solution?

“This civilization is the impact of the world's consumption behavior.” Toba Beta

Recipe: Udon noodles with delicious vegetables within 20 minutes

This dish was delicious!
I usually make this so that there's more veg than noodles.

This recipe serves 2.

Ingredients

•    1/2 teaspoon of sesame oil
•    2 aniseed stars
•    2 fresh chillies – chopped
•    2 pak choi – separate the leaves
•    150g of mange tout - kept whole
•    175g of baby corn – cut into thirds
•    1 carrot – cut along the carrot making 3 cm strips
•    1/4 of a small bunch of broccoli – chopped into bite-size pieces
•    2 tablespoons of soy sauce
•    1 (150g) packet of straight to wok udon noodles

Method 

1.    Heat the sesame oil in a wok
2.    When it’s hot, add the chillies and aniseed star
3.    After 30 seconds, add the carrot, pak choi, baby corn, mange tout and broccoli
4.    Put the lid on the pan and let it cook on a high heat for a about 3 minutes
5.    Add the soy sauce and mix
6.    Cook for 1 minute and then add the noodles
7.    Mix again, put the lid on the pan and cook on a high heat, for 1 minute
8.    Serve in a bowl if you would like the food to remain hot for longer, otherwise serve it in a plate

Serving suggestions

Toast some sesame seeds and as add a garnish before serving.
Toast some cashew nuts and as add a garnish before serving.

Does the NHS recommend a vegan diet AND can you follow a vegan diet if you're pregnant?

Pregnancy

As for being pregnant; this is a precious and often emotional period of time for mums-to-be, so I wouldn't feel comfortable telling anyone that they should be vegan whilst being pregnant. BUT this is only because I haven't done it myself! Thus how could I say it with conviction? This video has solved that for me; because there's a healthy mum-to-be who talks about how great she feels being vegan during her pregnancy, as well as, how she feels after the birth of the baby.

Vegan pregnancy

The video covers 2 main things. You'll meet someone who's worked for the NHS for over 15 years who recommends a vegan diet to those who have health issues and you'll hear from a mum who was vegan whilst she was pregnant.

Whilst watching the video, can you spot any information that helps you answer the following questions?

1. Which three conditions do vegans suffer from LESS?

2. Do vegans need to worry about Calcium or B12 intake?

3. Is Vitamin D something that only vegans need?

4. Can mums-to-be remain on a vegan diet without putting their unborn child/children at risk?

5. What about infants? Will they get what they need on a vegan diet?

6. Does being vegan help babies suffer less?

More about this film...

The entire film lasts 30 minutes. It explores the benefits of being vegan. Some of these are: -

• an exciting lifestyle

• eating delicious food

• consuming healthy food

• tackling the ethics behind making this shift

• global challenges that we face now and in the future.

It was produced by The Vegan Society. Will you make the connection and become part of the solution?

"I think and speak clearer since I cut the dairy out. I can breathe better and perform at a better rate, and my voice is clearer. I can explore different things with my voice that I couldn't do because of my meat and dairy ingestion." Common (hip-hop musician)

Related content

A nutritionist's guide to going vegan 
Meet the family doctor who went vegan
FAQs about going vegan
How to enjoy a healthy vegan pregnancy
Generation V: Advice on raising vegan children
Top 8 questions asked of vegan parents and how to answer them
Which vegan milk or vegan baby formula is right for my child?

Recipe: Cheese on toast with pesto within 10 minutes

Here's another quick recipe for something warm, quick, filling and tasty.

This recipe serves 2.

Ingredients for vegan cheese on toast with pesto

• 4 slices of brown bread - I use Hovis because I know it doesn't have any non-vegan ingredients
• About 10 strips of sliced vegan cheese - I used Cheezly Pepperjack style
• 2 large tomatoes
• 2 fresh chillies
• Salt
• Pepper
• Vegan pesto

How to make vegan cheese on toast with pesto

1. Put some slices of bread under the grill for a few minutes
2. When they're a little cooked i.e. not anywhere near fully toasted, spread the pesto on the toast
3. After about 30 seconds, add the of cheese
4. Chop the tomatoes and add it to the toast when the cheese has begun to melt
5. Add the chopped chillies when the tomatoes have cooked a little
6. Add salt and pepper to taste

Meet a vegan fire-fighter, runner & Marathon winner

Most things, are exposed to accurate and inaccurate commonly held beliefs, misrepresentations, myths and assumptions. Following a plant-based diet it not excluded from this.

Some of the myths, assumptions and common beliefs about vegans

• Vegan food is healthy
• Vegans are healthy
• Vegans look pale and undernourished
• Vegans can't grow their nails
• Vegans don't get what they need through their diet and must take supplements
• Vegans don't have the stamina to do physical activities that others do

Vegan myths debunked

• You can get unhealthy vegan food
• Not all vegans are healthy
• There is a term called junk food vegan, so that wouldn't be healthy
• I don't know any vegan who looks pale and undernourished
• I like long nails and they grow just fine
• I know of many people who take supplements and they are not exclusive to those who follow a vegan diet
• I know people who follow a vegan diet and don't take any supplements and they are happy and healthy
• The myth about stamina is addressed in the clip below

This footage shows that there's no cap on what vegans can do! Do you know many people who can do the 5 things shown below AND more? Well...Fiona Oakes has done and continues to do all of these and more! :)

1. A fire-fighter
2. On call 24/7
3. Runner
4. Marathon winner
5. Ran 22 marathons

More about this film...

The entire film lasts 30 minutes. It explores the benefits of being vegan. Some of these are: -

• an exciting lifestyle
• eating delicious food
• consuming healthy food
• tackling the ethics behind making this shift
• global challenges that we face now and in the future.

It was produced by The Vegan Society.

Will you make the connection and become part of the solution?

“People eat meat and think they will become as strong as an ox, forgetting that the ox eats grass." Pino Caruso

Recipe: Pizza on toast within 10 minutes

Fancy something warm, quick, filling and tasty? How about this cheese on toast with a few extra ingredients?

This recipe serves 2.

Ingredients for vegan cheese on toast

• 4 slices of brown bread - I use Hovis because I know it doesn't have any non-vegan ingredients
• About 10 strips of sliced vegan cheese - I used Cheezly Pepperjack style
• 2 large tomatoes
• 2 fresh chillies
• Salt
• Pepper

How to make vegan cheese on toast

1. Put the bread under the grill for a few minutes 
2. When they're a little cooked i.e. not anywhere near fully toasted, add the cheese
3. Chop the tomatoes and add when the cheese has begun to melt
4. Scatter the chopped chillies when the tomatoes have cooked a little
5. Add salt and pepper to taste

Proof that vegans can eat a WIDE range of interesting foods in MANY cuisines

I've heard people talk about the commonly held belief that vegetarians have a boring diet. I've heard them say that the mainstream view is, vegetarian meals are based on rice and chick peas. I've even read posts about it! I'm not sure why, but I haven't been part of such a conversation before, so I only know of it happening through others. Now, you can imagine the thoughts that arise about a vegan diet! When I've told people that I follow a vegan diet, I've often been asked 'What can you eat?' and I must admit; I've been pants at answering that, because I was so astonished that they thought I was so limited in what I can eat. I love food and if I had to eat the same things over and over again, I would not be very happy! This video says it better than I could, so have a watch. :) If you're up for it, keep these questions in mind as you watch the video.

1. Do vegans deny themselves pleasurable experiences when eating?

2. Can vegans only eat a few cuisines?

3. Would vegetarians or meat eaters ever find vegan food interesting?

The Head Chef of Saf briefly discusses his transformation to adopting a plant-based diet overnight. He mentions the benefits and says that he'd never go back!

More about this film...

The entire film lasts 30 minutes. It explores the benefits of being vegan. Some of these are: -

• an exciting lifestyle

• eating delicious food

• consuming healthy food

• tackling the ethics behind making this shift

• global challenges that we face now and in the future.

It was produced by The Vegan Society.

Will you make the connection and become part of the solution?

"I've found without question that the best way to lead others to a more plant-based diet is by example - to lead with your fork, not your mouth." Bernie Wilke