Why Whole-Food Plant-Based Matters.
There is a reason why I try to avoid using the term vegan on here. As someone that does not like being put in boxes, I let people put me in the vegan box a lot of the time, but if I really had the time and energy to explain myself, I am a sustainable and responsible eater. That means that in most cases I am not eating animals but when I know that it is properly sourced and grown in a way that is good for the planet, I will indulge. If I can’t make an informed decision, I will choose to eat what I know has the least impact: vegetables and fruit. I avoid the term vegan is because the majority of the world associated vegans negatively. Whether it is because a lot of us are too dogmatic about it, too strict with it, and too elitist about it. At the end of the day, if we are trying to convert more people to this dietary lifestyle for the good of the planet, we need to stop being ash-holes to the everyday person.
That’s why I use the term whole-food plant-based (WFPB). It’s a thing if you want to google it. Going vegetarian is so convenient these days. Even just ten years ago, the only vegetarian thing on most menus was french fries. Now we have meat-alternatives in regular restaurants, so you can eat with your mates but even better, there are so many vegan and vegetarian restaurants everywhere. Chefs and food bloggers are coming up with ingenious ways to use all different types of mushrooms, jackfruit, beans and banana blossoms are being used in recipes for pulled “pork”, “tuna” salad, and curries that you do not need to replace your food intake with a processed meat alternative. WFPB has been proven to be the healthiest diet when it is balanced and unprocessed. So when you chose to eat lower on the food chain, you are doing your health a massive favour and you are actively choosing to avoid the horrific industrial farming practices and protecting our planet from land destruction for farms and by the farms.
This is a quick summary of things from a selection of websites for more details:
When you ChooseWFPB, you are choosing to:
End the destruction of land
End poisoning our soil and destroying our land
Give the men and women a chance at a healthier life
Support smaller local farms, in most cases
Invest in a better and fairer future for yourself and your children
Economic gain when you Choose WFPB
When you eat WFPB, you are investing in your health. Whole organic food is medicine. We are only starting to quantify the damage non-organic foods are doing to our health
When you eat WFPB, it is cheaper than eating meat
When you eat WFPB, you spend more time at home cooking, which saves you a lot of money
