WAV Comment – Is this not a really beautiful picture ?

Max Murphy, seen here at age 5, is an 8-year-old animal rights activist from Ontario, Canada. He has been raised vegan and has attended protests against the fur industry and marine parks. “There is no difference between a dog, cow, pig or cat. They are all living animals,” he said. (Julie O’Neill)

Click here to see – It’s only meatless meals for some kids who have a passion for animals – The Washington Post

It’s only meatless meals for some kids who have a passion for animals

Adopting a vegetarian or vegan diet also benefits the health of people and the planet.

There is a good chance that you have at least one vegan or vegetarian friend. It’s the kid who refuses to eat hot dogs at birthday parties because they are typically made from a cow or pig.

But you might wonder what a vegan is and how they are different from a vegetarian. A vegetarian doesn’t eat meat, including beef or seafood. A vegan doesn’t eat meat or any food that comes from animals, such as eggs, cheese and milk. Both may also not wear animal skins, such as fur, leather or wool.

Lone ‘veggie’ in the family

It’s becoming more common for kids to become vegetarian or vegan even when the rest of their family is not.

When Annie Kay from Ontario, Canada, learned that meat comes from animals, she watched several animal rights documentaries. She felt guilty each time she ate meat, so she stopped.

“I just knew it was wrong to eat animals. Their life is just as important as ours; it’s not fair that we eat them,” the 13-year-old said.

A vegetarian for more than a year, she has inspired several friends to try to stop eating meat. But Annie is the lone “veggie” in her family.

“My parents eat meat,” she said. “They put animals in sandwiches, and it makes me feel kind of disgusted.”

Annie’s parents support her decision, however, and make her separate meals.

A healthy choice

Many doctors say that it’s healthy to follow a plant-based diet and that by not eating animals or animal products, you help protect yourself from illness.

The Mayo Clinic, one of the best cancer and heart-care hospitals in the United States, says a vegetarian diet helps reduce the risk of heart disease, diabetes and some cancers. But it can take more meal planning to make sure you, a growing kid, get enough protein, calcium and vitamins such as D and B12. You and your parents should ask your doctor for advice.

Not eating meat or dairy also helps the planet’s health. A vegan diet helps fight climate change by reducing greenhouse gases (such as methane from cow burps). It also helps keep pesticides (used to grow animal feed) and animal waste out of the water, and reduces the need to cut down trees for animal grazing.

Nitrous oxide, often called laughing gas, makes a serious impact on the Earth

Becoming an activist

Max Murphy, who was raised vegan from birth, is an animal activist. The 8-year-old from Ontario has attended protests against the fur industry and marine parks and volunteered at animal rescues around the world. Max volunteers at an animal shelter near his home and helps his mom foster dogs they have rescued from other countries.

Max feeds, socializes and sometimes grooms the foster dogs.

“I have grown up with dogs,” he said. “We get new ones, and then they get adopted.”

Max loves all animals equally.

“There is no difference between a dog, cow, pig or cat. They are all living animals,” he said. “Dogs might have fur and be fancy and cute, but really pigs are the same. They are all the same.”

Max is also determined to find a way to stop pollution.

“Greenhouse gases are going to get too bad from factory farming and gas cars, machines and factories,” he said. “We might not be able to live on this planet if things don’t change.”

Try it

1. Meatless Mondays is a global movement encouraging people around the world to not eat meat one day a week for their health and the planet. It’s a fun way to start your veggie journey. Try these vegan proteins instead of meat: beans, chickpeas, lentils, nuts, quinoa and tofu.

2. Try dairy milk alternatives: oat, rice, soy, coconut or almond. Have you tasted chocolate coconut ice cream or cashew cheese?

3. Not all vegan foods, such as Oreos and soda, are healthy. Doctors recommend eating plenty of vegetables, fruit, whole-grain foods, plant-based-protein food and drinking plenty of water.

4. Watch kid activist and Youth Climate Save spokesperson Genesis Butler’s TED Talk on her experience as a vegan. bit.ly/2LKU53T.

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It’s only meatless meals for some kids who have a passion for animals – The Washington Post

Beef Is ‘Killing The Planet’, Reads Major News Outlet

‘If you want to make a simple change to your diet to protect the environment, there’s nothing you can do that comes anywhere close to forgoing beef’

Beef production in the US is harmful to the environment. And, it should be replaced more often with plant-based alternatives, an opinion piece in the Los Angeles Times read.

The journalist informed the news outlet’s readership of 1.3 million that switching to a more plant-based diet would make a ‘meaningful contribution’ to climate change.

Plant-based popularity

The article quoted research professor Gidon Eshel, who claimed more consumers are accepting plant-based alternatives.

This is in line with growing concerns for the environment, he said.

Eshel added: “If you want to make a simple change to your diet to protect the environment, there’s nothing you can do that comes anywhere close to forgoing beef.”

Americans are big beef consumers and that’s ‘not going to change any time soon’, the article continued. But, now that consumers bear witness to the climate crisis there is a ‘new urgency’ across the country.

Animal agriculture

The animal agriculture industry ‘appears to be trying to obfuscate’ the environmental impact of beef production, the article added.

A study backed by the US animal agriculture industry claimed otherwise. In it, consumers preferred animal produce over plant-based in economic terms.

The industry was ‘giving consumers permission to avoid dietary changes’. They do this by perceiving eating meat as not as serious as ‘pesky tree huggers might be saying’, the article claimed.

However, the article also included quotes from another researcher who claimed animal agriculture is not ‘the climate villain’ that most people think.

Other studies prove overwhelming evidence that animal agriculture is one of the leading producers of annual greenhouse gas emissions.

Climate change

“I won’t be a card-carrying vegan anytime soon.

“But, if replacing one burger a month with a plant-based alternative is all it takes to make a meaningful contribution to fighting climate change, yeah, I can do that.

“Besides, the way plant-based meat products have been steadily improving, it probably won’t be long before we can’t tell the difference anyhow”, the article concluded.

Beef Is ‘Killing The Planet’, Reads Major News Outlet | Plant Based News

WAV Comment – There is a lot more to plant based now – good for the environment; you, animals and your health.:

Over A Third Of Brits Now Avoid Animal Products After Watching David Attenborough’s Latest Film & Other Eco Docs

App development and digital product company, 3 SIDED CUBE recently conducted a survey with over 2,000 people to provide insights into the public’s opinions and motivations with respect to sustainability and the data found that six in 10 Brits are thinking of switching to sustainability due to David Attenborough and over a third of Brits are avoiding animal products due to his recent film ‘A Life On Our Planet‘ as well as other documentaries like James The Game Changers, famously backed by James Cameron and Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Premiering on Netflix late last year, the WWF and Silverback Films co-produced documentary presents an important message from nonagenarian broadcaster and natural historian Attenborough that humans must make drastic changes to their diets in order to save the planet. 

In the trailer for ‘A Life On Our Planet’, Attenborough explains that the films aims to raise awareness among people about the rate at which global warming is happening and press upon the message that the time to act is now. “I had the most extraordinary life. It’s only now I appreciate how extraordinary. The living world is a unique and spectacular marvel. Yet, the way we humans live on earth is sending it into a decline. Human needs have overrun the world.”

Findings from the survey show that Attenborough is right at the top (59%) when it comes to encouraging consumers to be sustainable and shift to a plant-based diet. Over half of British consumers (51%) also feel pressure from wider society and four in 10 (40%) give young Swedish environmental activist Greta Thunberg credit for helping them switch to sustainable choices in their personal life.

Apart from Attenborough’s A Life On Our Planet documentary, data found that the 2018 documentary film about the benefits of plant-based eating for athletes, The Game Changersbacked by James Cameron and Arnold Schwarzenegger was also responsible for people in the U.K. to avoid animal products.

According to a report by the WWF, stopping animal meat consumption by 50% would not only reduce carbon emissions but also save 12,000 species per year as well as 1.72 million square miles of land. 

A majority of Brits (77%) understand the importance of changing their lifestyle to become greener with 73% of consumers agreeing that businesses too have a responsibility to minimize their environmental impact and 64% urging the government to frame a new legislationthat will ensure thatbusinesses give details about their environmental footprint on the products they’re offering.

In an interview with Plant Based News, 3 SIDED CUBE managing director Richard Strachan mentioned that with influential figures coming ahead to talk about sustainability, the general public is motivated to follow in their footsteps. “Thanks to influential public figures such as David Attenborough and Greta Thunberg, Brits are taking the climate crisis much more seriously now. Now is the time to come together and tackle the crisis wholeheartedly. It is not just up to governments; it is up to businesses and consumers as well.”

Data from the poll further found that 61% would like an app to help them make more sustainable buying decisions and 50% call for an app to calculate and understand their personal carbon footprint with more than half of respondents agreeing that technology can be vital for living a sustainable life.

Discussing how this new data will help them in the Ignite program, Strachan added: “These findings show a clear case for the use of technology, specifically apps, to boost sustainable behaviour change and environmental protection initiatives. The technological tools to help consumers be greener are available to us, we just need to start developing and using them as soon as possible. This is why we have launched Ignite. Through this technology, we can empower consumers, businesses and NGOs to help protect ecosystems, be smarter with energy usage, and reduce our carbon footprints. The Ignite program is wholly dedicated to bringing organisations together on these issues and making these apps a reality.”

Attenborough also released another documentary, Extinction: The Factsthat talks about mass biodiversity loss and the consequences that the world will face as a result. Over the course of the one-hour program, Attenborough takes viewers on a journey through scenes of destruction due to activities conducted by humans on Earth.

Another noteworthy mention in a list of sustainable films to watch is Craig Leeson’s documentary A Plastic Ocean and his upcoming The Last Glaciers, and you can check out his interview here where he shares his journey from writing to filmmaking as well as throwing light on the world’s most pressing issues and what can be done to protect the planet, and ultimately, save humankind. 

If you’re looking for an app to track your personal carbon footprint, you can check out Singapore-based startup Capture that has created an app that helps users keep track of their climate footprint from their everyday transportation choices, and offsetting their impact through forestry planting projects across the globe. 

And if you need an easier way to buy plant-based alternative products, check out this new mobile app FoodForage, which is developed to help vegans and individuals looking to buy plant-based alternative products and offers a feature where you can share your findings with the community.

Over A Third Of Brits Now Avoid Animal Products After Watching David Attenborough’s Latest Film & Other Eco Docs (greenqueen.com.hk)