Recently I began whipping up a pitcher full of green smoothies twice daily, and it made me realize what I was missing from raw foods. Some time back, I began the move toward being vegan, but I actually was terrible at making myself salads. Now I’m drinking my salad, a mean green smoothie made up of kale, celery, cucumber, and apple, along with the new additions of cilantro, parsley, mango, romaine lettuce, and sometimes avocado.
Going raw vegan is just one of the avenues for going green. People who are eating organic, local fruits and vegetables and avoiding meat consumption have a definite impact on the planet. In fact, many researchers think that what we choose to eat may have change the world more than any other choice we make. Every choice we make is a vote for something. For instance, do we vote for organic? Do we vote for the local farmer? Do we vote for pesticides free? If we choose to consume dairy products and meat, are they antibiotic free, hormone free, pesticide free?
But it isn’t just about what we eat. It is also about our environment and our health. Another part of the green movement is people speaking about their concerns regarding the higher rate of deadly asthma attacks in children due to air pollution or about toxic chemical exposures that many of us experience every day. It might be the breast cancer survivor who urges no BPA in baby bottles, water containers, and canned goods. Or the mother in the low-income neighborhood looking for low-VOC paint so that her child can breathe easier at night. Or the researcher seen on film sobbing after as she tries to save endangered sea turtles from a disaster, determined to ensure that these four species of sea turtles are not wiped off the face of the earth.
Last year about this time, a federal government official didn’t realize that being green was more about green jobs that had actually been non-green up until recently. She was amazed to learn that being green could be an entire way of life and way of being. All around her at this conference, people were talking about all kinds of green issues. While much of the emphasis was on jobs, there were also conferences on recycling, toxic chemical exposures, a recent oil spill, and so many other issues.
I created this blog spot to enter different issues regarding the green revolution, and I am making a commitment to blog at least once per day. And the first blog will be on raw vegans. Three years ago, I thought that finally going vegetarian would be brave and amazing. Even then, I was intrigued about the vegans who were so dedicated in their way of living, and I wanted to know more. Recently I learned that many vegans now want to be called plant-based, whole foods vegans to distinguish themselves from new vegans who eat mostly processed and prepackaged foods, pasta, and what is referred to as vegan junk food. Raw vegans, growing in numbers, are a group apart, and among them are the green smoothie lovers and juicers. The growing number of people who started out with green smoothies and soon moved from mostly cooked vegan meals to mostly or totally raw vegan diet is growing quickly. For some, it started a health reason or to lose weight. But for many, it has always been a way of life.
Compassion for animals is a major concern for most vegans, but there are many people who go on vegan diets because they can lose weight faster or are doing this out of health concerns, fully intending to return to their old ways later. There are some who will talk about the impact on the environment and others who are focused on the positive impact for their health.
This past year I heard that vegan was the new black, as in little black dress, and more recently, I saw a sweatshirt that read “raw vegan goddess.” So quickly the raw vegan movement has taken on and many in that movement are proudly proclaiming it. And those who are introduced to this movement learn that cooking destroys enzymes, that detoxing the body of toxins is a must, and the time it takes to prepare raw vegan dishes is definitely worth it. Many raw cooking books are out, not to mention raw vegan cooking classes. Working with live or raw food is in for more and more people.
The green movement is ever expanding and changing. And it is having an impact on the world.
