Forks Over Knives

So I just finished reading the book Forks Over Knives and I thought I'd share some excerpts from the book.  I found the book to be very informative and inspiring.  My favorite part about the book are the delicious recipes which I will be sure to add to my recipe tab. 

The primary focus of Forks Over Knives is whole foods, plant-based nutrition.  This means avoiding all animal products, refined foods and staying away from artificial foods with chemical additives.

"One quarter of what you eat keeps you alive. The other three quarters keep your doctor alive." - Egyptian Proverb

"The normal food of man is vegetable." - Charles Darwin

A plant-based whole foods diet will help to prevent heart disease, stroke, cancer, diabetes, Alzheimer's Disease, and many other medical conditions.  It is far better to rely on food (your fork) than surgery (the surgeon's knife)....Forks Over Knives

So when thinking of the environment, the author put together some alarming statistics:

According to a 2006 University of Chicago study, the average American diet derives 47% of its calories from animal products.  This amounts to a carbon "footprint" (impact) of 2.52 tons of CO2 emissions per year. 

If the average American meat eater were to reduce his or her intake of animal produce to 25% of total calories, it would reduce his or her foot print by approximately 1 ton!!

If every American simply reduced chicken consumption by one meal per week, the CO2 savings would be equivalent to removing 500,000 cars from the road.

If the entire U.S. population were to adopt a plant-based diet for just ONE day, the nation would conserve the following resources:

• 100 billion gallons of drinking water
• 1.5 billion pounds of crops
• 70 million gallons of gasoline
• 33 tons of antibiotics

Meanwhile, the following environmental damage would be prevented:

• 1.2 million tons of CO2 greenhouse emissions
• 3 million tons of soil erosion
• 4.5 million tons of animal waste
• 7 tons of ammonia emissions

Worldwide, farm animals consume 756 million tons of grain.  This is enough to provide the 1.4 billion people living in poverty with approximately three pounds of grain per day.

"Nothing will benefit human health and increase chances for survival of life on Earth as much as the evolution to a vegetarian diet." - Albert Einstein

So I am not saying you have to become vegan to do good for the Earth but I think going meatless a few times per week will not only benefit your health, but will also benefit our environment.  I do suggest you read or watch the documentary, which I believe is an instant download on Netflix, Forks Over Knives.

Reference: Forks Over Knives