Green Options » vegetarianism http://greenoptions.com/tag/vegetarianism Posts tagged 'vegetarianism' Sat, 04 Oct 2008 12:00:58 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.5.1 en The Charlottesville Vegetarian Festival and the Power of Green Festivals http://sustainablog.org/2008/10/04/the-charlottesville-vegetarian-festival-and-the-power-of-green-festivals/ http://sustainablog.org/2008/10/04/the-charlottesville-vegetarian-festival-and-the-power-of-green-festivals/#comments Sat, 04 Oct 2008 12:00:58 +0000 Justin Van Kleeck http://sustainablog.org/2008/10/04/the-charlottesville-vegetarian-festival-and-the-power-of-green-festivals/ A few days ago, I went to the 12th annual Charlottesville Vegetarian Festival with a good friend (who is also the founder and Executive Director of GreenRight, a new environmental/social-justice nonprofit). Coordinated by the group Voices for Animals and run entirely by volunteers, the event brings together people of all stripes and shades from throughout central Virginia for a smorgasbord of green goodies.

After just a few moments at the Festival, you will be able to understand why it usually draws in about 6,000 visitors, making it one of the largest vegetarian festivals in the United States. In modest Lee Park in downtown Charlottesville, and spilling over into surrounding parking lots, local natural foods stores, organizations of all sorts, restaurants, and other vendors provide an unbelievable variety of goods, information, and entertainment. Add to that live music and animal adoptions, plus free samples and fun activities like face painting, and you can easily spend the entire day with other folks who are interested in livingly compassionately towards animals and the planet.

Just to give you a snapshot: Walk up to the table of the Alliance for Community Choice in Transportation and take part in a poll of transportation methods used by attendees. Depending on your mode of locomotion (biking, driving alone, carpooling, etc.), you will get a colored rock that you then put in a clear tube. As the piles grow and the tubes fill, everyone can see which transportation methods are most popular–though the most popular may not be the most sustainable as well.

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]]> http://sustainablog.org/2008/10/04/the-charlottesville-vegetarian-festival-and-the-power-of-green-festivals/feed/ So You Compost, Drive a Hybrid, Wear Recycled Boots and Eat a Lot of Hummus, But Are You Green Enough? http://sustainablog.org/2008/08/19/so-you-compost-drive-a-hybrid-wear-recycled-boots-and-eat-a-lot-of-hummus-but-are-you-green-enough/ http://sustainablog.org/2008/08/19/so-you-compost-drive-a-hybrid-wear-recycled-boots-and-eat-a-lot-of-hummus-but-are-you-green-enough/#comments Tue, 19 Aug 2008 16:02:35 +0000 Aaron Szymanski http://sustainablog.org/2008/08/19/so-you-compost-drive-a-hybrid-wear-recycled-boots-and-eat-a-lot-of-hummus-but-are-you-green-enough/ This is a guest post by Aaron Szymanski, President of Evo Design, an award-winning industrial design firm housed in a refurbished water treatment plant in Watertown, CT.

Green questionsThe good thing about the economy sucking cheese right now is that it’s given me some free time to catch up on my reading. I moderate a discussion forum called “The Green Room” and  while catching up on what people are sniping about I came across an interesting thread that included many questions.

The primary question being, What are we really supposed to do to be more green? My contribution to the group was that I believed people wanted to do the right thing but that it was truly unclear to them exactly what is better.

For example, after reading E the Environmental magazine’s recent issue, I felt ultimately that we should all be vegetarians. I’m not a die-hard meat lover but I’ve read enough credible writing that lead me to believe that it’s impossible for the earth to produce enough veggies to do this. Meanwhile, pondering the question, I still eat Slim Jims and summer sausage.

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]]> http://sustainablog.org/2008/08/19/so-you-compost-drive-a-hybrid-wear-recycled-boots-and-eat-a-lot-of-hummus-but-are-you-green-enough/feed/ The Hidden Giant #1: “Food” — Vegetarianism http://planetsave.com/blog/2008/07/06/the-hidden-giant-1-food-vegetarianism/ http://planetsave.com/blog/2008/07/06/the-hidden-giant-1-food-vegetarianism/#comments Sun, 06 Jul 2008 18:53:47 +0000 Zachary Shahan http://planetsave.com/blog/2008/07/06/the-hidden-giant-1-food-vegetarianism/ It is one of the least discussed issues when we discuss solutions to the environmental crisis. It is not whether or not the food is organic or sprayed with synthetic chemicals, or whether or not it is grown locally. The underdiscussed issue is the importance of a vegetarian diet for addressing critical environmental issues.

As Albert Einstein said, “Nothing will benefit human health and increase chances of survival for life on earth as much as the evolution to a vegetarian diet.”

The big issue today is global climate change. It is likely to dwarf any environmental issues we faced in the past. As reported by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization:

[T]he livestock sector is a major stressor on many ecosystems and on the planet as a whole. Globally it is one of the largest sources of greenhouse gases…. It currently amounts to about 18 percent of the global warming effect — an even larger contribution than the transportation sector worldwide.

This is a critical issue. This is more critical than our power plants, our industries, the energy efficiency of our homes and appliances, or even transportation.

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]]> http://planetsave.com/blog/2008/07/06/the-hidden-giant-1-food-vegetarianism/feed/ Eat Your Meat but Don’t Have a Cow http://cleantechnica.com/2008/04/28/eat-your-meat-but-dont-have-a-cow/ http://cleantechnica.com/2008/04/28/eat-your-meat-but-dont-have-a-cow/#comments Mon, 28 Apr 2008 01:05:01 +0000 Michelle Bennett http://cleantechnica.com/2008/04/28/eat-your-meat-but-dont-have-a-cow/ …manFor years I’ve been reading about the benefits of a vegetarian lifestyle. Beef production creates more CO2 than autos, factory farm conditions are unhealthy and awful, and veggies are healthier too! But let me be frank: I really really really like bacon. I can cut down on my meat intake, no problem! I only eat it with friends and relatives. But say good bye to succulent chicken breast, or slow-cooked BBQ ribs… forever? Well there’s only so much a girl can do, my friends.

So I suppose it’s not surprising that some people are looking for meat alternatives, and I’m not talking about Tofurkey. I’m talking about real meat, but minus the animal.

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]]> http://cleantechnica.com/2008/04/28/eat-your-meat-but-dont-have-a-cow/feed/ Wildlife: Should We Eat Them? http://ecoworldly.com/2008/03/19/wildlife-should-we-eat-them/ http://ecoworldly.com/2008/03/19/wildlife-should-we-eat-them/#comments Wed, 19 Mar 2008 20:39:23 +0000 Mark Seall http://ecoworldly.com/2008/03/19/wildlife-should-we-eat-them/ A few hours ago I sat down to write my piece for our EcoWorldly Wildlife Week. I have to admit that I know little about animals. I live in a city – I can’t even remember the last time I saw a real animal. I do remember my insurance salesman mentioning that I should buy an additional car insurance against an animal called a Martin, which has a habit of chewing through pipes in the engine, but other that that I’m clueless. With this confession in mind I make limited apology for the fact that this post may sway off topic.

Having waited all week for a relevant wildlife related idea to pop into my head, I ventured onto Google to look for information on local Swiss animals. I was surprised to learn that the chief animal topic in Switzerland does not relate to rare alpine species becoming endangered due to de-glaciation, or to urban foxes, or squirrels, or other wild animals, or to any thing else I might have guessed, but is principally related to the fair treatment of animals used in meat production.

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