Page 26 - Living Aloha Magazine January February 2017 Issue

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these farms will get in order to to their food mixture that is mostly in the form of chicken
meet the demand and viola! poop (Yum!). Grass fed animals may absorb some of the
The birth of factory farms will vitamin from the soil. Yet, even people who consume
begin once again. Simply these animal products may have a B12 deficiency. This is
reducing our consumption due to the complex digestive process and assimilation of
of animal products might the vitamin if ingested through food. If a person has even
not necessarily solve the a little bit of inflammation anywhere along the digestive
ecological problem. We need process of this vitamin, it may not get absorbed. It is so
a more drastic shift away from much simpler and cleaner to take a B12 supplement than
these products in order to begin to absorb it, again, second hand, from animal products.
addressing it, as depicted by the 2006 environmental Yes, there are many variables to the contradictive
report put forth by the United Nations. We are now on the information available to us on the subject. No, a plant-
verge of 2017, more than a decade after this report was based diet does not solve our world’s problems but it sure
produced and we are still dinking around with this problem reduces them immensely. Choosing our food today by
as opposed to assertively addressing it. what our ancestors ate ten to hundreds of thousands years
As far as human health is concerned, there are many well ago is a bit futile. Evolution is still at work now. So let me
researched studies which directly link animal products with rephrase the original question. Rather than asking ourselves
common human ailments such as heart disease, type 2 if animals should still be our food today, let’s ask this. In
diabetes and cancer of the colon, breast, prostate and uterus. a world abundant with plant based protein, specifically
Isn’t it ironic that the animals we kill today are slowly killing us amino acids, when it is no longer necessary to kill animals
back? This is an interesting and important point that I would for survival when in fact, killing these animals is killing us
love to address in further articles. Not to say that plant based slowly and destroying the planet rapidly, is it still to our
eaters don’t get sick, they do, but much less. benefit to do so? Is it time to evolve away
There is a lot of misinformation out there about the from these existential practices and into
nutritional values of animal products compared to their a healthier planet?
plant based counterparts. Everything which is found in
animals (iron, calcium protein and yes, even the highly
praised collagen sold to you now as “superfood” in the daniel adar is an Argentinian born vegan, now living
form of ground up bones from animals) is available in on Maui. he is an author, activist and a facilitator for
plants. The only vitamin that is no longer readily available emotional balance.
in plants is B12. I feel the need to elaborate on this further
because B12 is a very important player in our overall health.
B12 is produced by archaea and bacteria found in soil,
animal fecal matter and some ocean plants. We used to get Miri chamdi is a massage therapist of 15 years.
plenty of this important vitamin when we gathered food she also counsels on plant based nutrition and
directly from the soil. Our soil now is mostly deprived of this stress management techniques. she is in the process
bacteria due to herbicides, pesticides and over washing of publishing two books and is an active advocate
fruits and vegetables. Animals in factory farms no longer for animals. her motto in life is “live like someone left
receive this vitamin from the soil and therefore it is added the gate open”.

26 VEGAN ALOHA Living Aloha | JANUARY–FEBRUARY 2017