The Most Ecologically Positive Diet:
How Raw Food Eating Can Regenerate the Earth
by Don Weaver
“Lack of heart, lack of generosity, is the real disease of our world.”
–Bernard Moitessier
A serious condition of human-environment imbalance existed when “Earth Day” 1970 began, because most of four billion people were using up Earth’s gifts unwisely, lacking understanding of our interconnected planetary life-support systems. Thirty-three years of ecological education since then leaves us no honest claim to ignorance of our profound effect on the Biosphere, yet a majority of our now 6.3 billion-member family perpetuate wasteful and destructive “lifestyles.” Is this rational? Enlightened? Natural to our species, Homo sapiens, which translates as “wise Man”? No!
Before we push irreversibly beyond Earth’s ecological capacity to support us and 10-30 million other species, let’s explore what we can do to transform practices and reverse trends now killing us and the Earth.
The moral, environmental, and health arguments for adopting vegetarian and vegan diets have been convincingly made in books like John Robbins’ Diet For A New America, The Food Revolution, and Howard Lyman’s Mad Cowboy: plain truth from the cattle rancher who won’t eat meat. Yet these valuable books have not explored how raw (uncooked) vegan diets can enable a further leap forward for those seeking to minimize harm and maximize benefit to the Earth. Books on raw and eco-conscious eating are proliferating, many pointing out important and inspirational facts on the raw diet-healthier environment connection. While a comprehensive book may be needed, let’s briefly review some primary human-ecological problems, summarizing how eating a raw organic vegan diet can swiftly, holistically reverse and solve the problems!
1) Soil Depletion/Malnutrition/Famine: We can view this as one mega-problem, perhaps our worst, caused by 11,000 years of natural soil mineral and organic matter depletion, vastly accelerated by rapacious chemical forcing and fertility-mining practices of “modern” agribusiness. A raw organic vegan diet revolutionizes demand for what is produced and how! When farmers remineralize soils with mixed rock powder and plant-derived compost, and avoid byproducts of animal enslavement and slaughterhouses, truly regenerative, abundant, healthful veganiculture can thrive. Imagine the diversity of gardens, farms, fruitful orchards, and forests replacing the ugly, depleted lands we’ve created. This beautiful process of regeneration and re-fruition is appearing now due to our caring “demand” for it.
2) Human Health Degeneration/Insanity/Violence/War/Extinction?: The worsening cancer epidemic, with 1 of every 2.15 people in America expected to harvest a crop of cancer in their lifetime – in contrast to Nature’s offer of perfect health – should inspire us to sow the healthiest seeds possible in every aspect of living. Cancer tops a long list of interconnected physical, mental, and spiritual diseases “plaguing” humankind and revealing the extent of our degeneration. Simply observing most people and the daily “news” also reveals it. A raw organic vegan diet – most wisely as part of a complete system of “health by healthful living” or Natural Hygiene – can supply all essential nutrients as grown from fertile, mineralized soils, free of the toxic products of animal-based chemical agribusiness and cooking. It can virtually eliminate all disease – starting now – by removing the primary causes of body toxicity and deficiency.
3) Deforestation/Desertification: Primary causes are clearing land for animal raising, obtaining cooking fuel, and dying soils. A raw vegan diet ends the demand, encouraging reforestation and orchard plantings by Nature and “wise Man.” Remineralizing the future orchards and forests is crucial, as is remineralizing the existing acidified, impoverished late-interglacial forests whose accelerated dying from insect and disease epidemics, climate extremes, and forest fires are transferring vast amounts of carbon from land to atmosphere.
4) Air Pollution/CO2 Buildup/Climate Change/Famine: Soil remineralization and reforestation reverses the CO2 flow from soil and plant life! A raw vegan diet hugely reduces energy expenditure, hence CO2 emission, cutting out demand for cooking, most refrigeration, most packaging and, when we generously create fertile abundance in bioregions everywhere, most long-distance shipping of food, fiber, and fuel. Highly preferable to ruining global climate, whether by “global warming” or the next glacial period, possibly underway!
5) Fossil Fuel/Nuclear Energy Addiction: Soil remineralization, key to successful raw veganiculture, can enable us to grow the biomass/alcohol fuels to meet the saner, reduced demands of a raw, vegan, health- and peace-oriented culture. We can swiftly wean ourselves from these addictions to ecologically-obsolete energy forms. Up to 2000 farmers per week have been going out of business in the U.S. over the past 25 years, while over a billion dollars per week is spent on oil imports. I call this a national and global tragedy in need of transformation.
6) Toxic Waste: A committed, eco-conscious raw vegan lifestyle can minimize it now, end its generation soon. As for existing toxic wastes (and human sewage which is now usually toxic), it is being demonstrated that microbial decomposition and detoxification of them is possible, practical, and necessary. Here again the generous feeding of mixed rock dust and organic matter to the microbes will help them proliferate and do their foundational work.
7) Animal Exploitation/Killing: We can minimize it quickly, potentially end it entirely as worldwide compassion and “the Balance of Nature” is restored. To continue needlessly enslaving and killing billions of our fellow creatures each year must surely be intolerable to the conscience of our large-brained species so capable of wisdom and compassion. It is up to me … and you?
“It is not because things are difficult that we do not dare,
it is because we do not dare that they are difficult.”
–Seneca
Don Weaver, a gardener-ecologist-writer-educator in the Bay Area,
is on the writing staff of Living Nutrition magazine and has enjoyed
100% raw foods since 1977. He is currently inviting the world to read the
free online books by him and John Hamaker at: www.remineralize.org.
Don is also helping create new Earth Regeneration gardens, orchards,
farms, centers, and communities worldwide. Contact Don via
earthdon@yahoo.com or POB 620478, Woodside CA 94062
By permission of author