Over the last few years, we watched many documentaries about plant-based food for health, animal welfare, factory farms, and where our food comes from:

• Cowspiracy
• What the Health,
• Forks Over Knives,
• Dominion,
• Eating Animals,
• Vegan Movie,
• Vegucated,
• Food Inc.,
• Okja,
• The Invisible Vegan,
• Eating You Alive,
• Food Choices,
• The End of Meat,
• Plant Pure Nation,
• Death on a Factory Farm,
• Got the facts on Milk?,
• Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead,
• Planeat.

Not to mention the great books we read such as: The China Study by Dr. T. Colin Campbell.

Still, the most watched and talked about documentary of all times is The Game Changers.

As a biologist, I love the science behind the facts. The different aspects governing food choices and its consequences to the environment and our health are fascinating – from the Meat Paradox to how our brains differentiate dogs and cows.

But at the end of the day: Sex sells! No judgement here.

Let’s talk about how whole food plant-based nutrition can improve sexual performance by increasing the number and duration of erections.

Let’s prescribe plant-based diets instead of Viagra for erectile disfunction.

Let’s spread the word on the scientific evidence showing that WFPB diets can prevent prostate cancer and increase the success of treatments for this disease affecting millions of men all over the world.

Let’s tell the “boys” that according to scientists, Watermelon is the Natural Viagra!

Yes, let’s sing the praises of all the athletes improving their performances by switching to a WFPB diet.

The Game Changers is inspiring and reminds us that Vegans are Sexy too. 😉

I’m looking forward to many new documentaries that will attract more and more people to a compassionate lifestyle where animals don’t have to die of non-natural causes.

 

 

 

 

 

We have the purists, we have the vegans, we have the plant-based, we have the vegan-once-a-week. Vegans for the animals, vegans for health, and vegans because it’s the latest trend.

It’s all good until peeps start to fight on social media. Offenses flying all over the place. Well, that doesn’t help the animals or the planet. It turns off even the most intelligent and well informed non-vegan for good.

Would you eat a vegan burger made on the same grill where non-vegan burgers are made? Would you wear the leather jacket you got before going vegan? Would you buy products from a company that also produces non-vegan articles? Would you buy cruelty-free cosmetics from stores that also sell beauty products tested in animals? Would you date a non-vegan? The list is long…

Do you prefer to be right or kind?

I admire the passion of the Purists but also feel the need to plant the animal welfare seed in each brain and heart that cross my path. My desire is to wake up your curiosity about how WFPB nutrition will exceptionally increase your well-being and the well-being of our planet Earth. I want to call your attention to the effects of global warming in your kids future. I chose to disseminate compassion for both animals and humans, not anger.

The aggressive behavior in social media might come from a place of ignorance and fear. It doesn’t need more fuel. It needs the same compassion we claim to have for animals.

We talk a lot about free speech, how about compassion for all, including humans?

The youngster who tweets: I want to go vegan, tell me how or I want to go vegan but I can’t, might be just looking for attention. You know what, maybe by giving this person a little attention, you might be giving the person exactly what she craves. She will remember you in the future and you’ve just planted the seed!

People remember how you make them feel way longer than what you say.

Veganism is about kindness and compassion for all animals. Please don’t forget humans are animals too. We are not plants or minerals…

Plant compassion and reap kindness towards animals. 

 

 

 

Suzie Amis Cameron founded the MUSE School CA, which mission statement is: “Inspiring and Preparing Young People to Live Consciously with Themselves, One Another, and the Planet.”

The school’s green campus is located in Calabasas, CA, it’s 100% plant-based, and received four Green Awards. The idea is brilliant and I would love to see how it works in person.

In an era where parents sign up for schools before the kids are even born, inundate the kids schedules with Mandarin classes and anything else to help their kids “succeed,” seeing a school where sustainability is its main foundation is a breath of fresh air.

Still, the school is not cheap and it’s located in a “fancy” neighborhood. I wonder how much this school model would impact low income areas.

Kids in low income neighborhood schools are taught how to survive and not how to thrive.

We all heard about the serious problems in low income public schools exhaustively but haven’t heard much about solutions. We read a lot about low teachers salaries, budget cuts, kids being trained to testing and not learning anything, and Arts disappearing from the syllabus. Why we treat our kids and teachers this way? Why the government funds wars and not education?

Here is an idea: Following the very successful wave of The Game Changers, why don’t we urge people like the Camerons and all the celebrities who support the plant-based movement to create sustainable, plant-based schools for low income kids?

Teaching real skills such as plant-based nutrition that improves exponentially our health would decrease immensely the costs of healthcare. People without access to health insurance end up in emergency rooms which cost millions more than preventive healthcare. Those kids can also be the ones who will create community gardens that will provide vegetables and fruits to whole neighborhoods.

Studies show that parents learn from their children, consequently each child in this new school model could influence her/his family and families would create healthier and thriving communities.

In this new green sustainable plant-based school model, kids would learn about compassion for animals and kindness. Vegetable gardens would teach kids about cooperation and make them feel proud and productive. The combination of compassion, cooperation, and productivity is a great step towards preventing violence in schools.

There is no magical solution but there are new viable ideas that can produce enormous positive changes in the lives of the ones who need the most – if we all work together.

Let’s stop talking about how kids are the future and start acting like kids are the future, because they are!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My BFF Katia asked me the other day what’s in my New Year’s resolution list and I answered: Nothing! Why the heck I’m going to make a list to get at the end of the year with an unfulfilled list that will make me feel like a failure?

Then, mulling about why we fail while watching the crazy wars between carnists and vegans on Twitter, I was thinking about the people who really inspire me, why they inspire me, and what I can do in order to be more like them.

Well, the first one who came to mind was James Aspey. He is extremely articulate and he can debate for hours, never losing his cool. His lectures are moving. His arguments are based on science and he has this aura of profound kindness. Not to mention how Hot he is. But hotness aside, he looks extremely healthy.

So, here we go:

How to become more articulate?

Read more and compile lots of scientific data. Take notes.

How to debate better?

Practice, practice, practice. Get out of the shell, dare a little more, don’t be shy. Listen in order to understand and not to reply!

How to keep my cool when everybody else is at war?

Keep the focus on the message, the big picture and what we want to achieve in order to help all animals.

How to look hot, ops I mean, Healthy?

Eat more whole plant-based foods and less junk vegan food. That’s a tough one since I absolutely love the vegan chocolate cake of a certain grocery store… And walk more!

So, here is my New Year’s resolution list! Totally achievable!

What’s in your list?

Happy Holidays!

 

They must be hungry all the time! Yes, they are HAngry!

Well, for starters, I’m not always angry. I mellowed substantially the last few years or should I say, after adopting a plant-based lifestyle… I consider myself a pretty happy person. My friends tell me I’m very funny and I laugh a lot at the silliest of things. Not hungry or hangry at all because I love to eat and I eat a lot. Not the skinny type of vegan, way more of a voluptuous shape here!

But occasionally, I’ll start getting angry so I need to stop, take a deep breath or several, and remind myself of the wise words my dear friend Lallo told me: “Everyone is doing the best they can with whatever resources they have at the moment.” Then I breathe a little or a lot more and go for a walk around the block with my dog.

That said: You know how you feel when people say the Earth is flat? Or that Climate Change is a hoax?  Well, my friends, that’s kind of how I feel when people say it’s ok to kill pigs for bacon, separate calves  from their moms for milk, inject chickens with tons of hormones for bigger chicken breasts on their plates, force feed geese and ducks for foie gras, grind male chicks alive because they don’t produce eggs, cut the fins of sharks for soups, “humanely” kill cows for the steak at dinner, and so much more in terms of animal cruelty.

Yes, it took me many years to become vegan. I was vegetarian for ages but an ignorant one. That’s when I get very angry at myself – why it took me so long?

We can see when people are coming from a place of lack of knowledge. There is a massive “disconnect” between what people see on their plates and where the steak comes from. We can work with that. There are a few studies published about the Meat Paradox. 

Then, when we start talking about how animal agriculture works and people say: milk is good for the bones and all the stuff that has been debunked by science, things start to get ugly. Not being the most articulate cookie in the jar or good at debates, I will suggest books and documentaries in hope that information will fill the void and bring the light in.

But the one thing I have to remind myself over and over again is the old saying: We catch more flies with honey than with vinegar. (Thanks to my old boss Lisa, who taught me this very precious life lesson.)

Not all vegans are hangry and most of us come from a place of compassion for all living things. We might look angry but we have an endless source of love in our hearts.

Love all creatures, pretty please…

We all agree that images of animals suffering in slaughterhouses, dairy farms, religious rituals, and so on are very disturbing, right? But how can we bring this issue to light and seek solutions if these images are not shared?

I try different approaches since people react differently to stimuli. In FB, I tend to share plant-based recipes, new vegan products, beautiful pictures of wild animals, vegan celebrities, and cute pet videos. On Twitter, I share all the ugly, disturbing, and horrific images of animal suffering. In person, I bring the most decadent mouth watering vegan chocolate cake to the office birthday party.

You see? I believe the vegan philosophy is a Buddhist lesson on Patience and Ethics. Patience because we have to deal with the weirdest stuff, from “I can’t live without cheese,” as if cheese equals air, to “vegans are very unhealthy,” as if all vegans will die in a week of malnutrition. Ethics because our Egos tell us we are superior to sentient animal beings and we have the “right” to kill them to provide our taste buds a fleeting moment of “pleasure.”

Laughing hard is my response when friends post memes making fun of vegans on my FB wall. I still enjoy a meal with friends who eat meat, I just don’t touch the carcasses and try to think happy thoughts in order not to start crying on the table. Funny, side note: Peeps invite me less and less to eat out … Admiration grows for that friend who selects a vegan option when eating out with me, even when I say, it’s ok for you to eat meat. I don’t want to curtail anyone’s freedom of choice the same way I don’t want people to do the same to me.

Still, I give The China Study book to anyone who demonstrates the slightest curiosity about plant-based nutrition.

Different strokes to different folks:

To the vain drop dead (no pun intended) gorgeous woman who devours Vogue and wears the latest in high fashion with Manolo’s sky high heels, I describe how a plant-based diet will make their skin glow, consequently making her look much younger plus how much weight she might lose if she follows a WFPB approach.

To the smoking hot surfers, I urge them to watch The Game Changers on Netflix and talk about how world renown surfers, Formula 1 champions, body builders, and football players are becoming much stronger by switching to a plant-based diet.

To the engineer at my Tech job in Silicon Valley, I talk about all the scientific studies, papers, and books oh how a WFPB diet can prevent and even cure so many killing diseases, such as heart failure, diabetes, high blood pressure, erectile disfunction, skin conditions, allergies, and so many more.

To the “Stud” at the bar, I talk about how WFPB diet will improve sexual prowess and performance, increasing frequency and duration of erections, as well as preventing erectile disfunction and prostate cancer in the future 😉

To the celebrity worshiper, I list all the Hollywood celebs who are vegans, from Natalie Portman to Joaquin Phoenix.

Still, my heart guides me with kindness for all creatures great and small and my brain tells me: In the case of animal suffering, Ignorance is Not a Bliss.

What is your take on the sharing horrific images?

 

Last night, I watched “The Game Changers” and loved it. It was refreshing to see a different approach to the whole plant-based nutrition for a change. Most documentaries about veganism, factory farms, and global warming are depressing. They make the world seem so bleak that it seems that there is no way out. People say that one person will not make a difference. It’s such an enormous catastrophic issue: the future of out planet and humankind.

Caring people give up before even trying. That’s when a movie like “The Game Changers” come to hopefully inspire and motivate us. If a change in diet can change my body, improve my performance and make my penis work much better, then I’ll try it.

I’ve watched most of the documentaries about factory farms, where our food come from, animal cruelty, plant-based diets and I find them very interesting and insightful. Still, when I talk to people about them, people say they don’t have time to watch it, those documentaries are too radical, they can’t stand watching animals suffer, those movies have an “agenda,” farmers need to eat too, and so on.

On the other hand, when I tell people that I saw this documentary about amazing and good looking elite, high performance athletes, people get interested and start asking where they can watch it. If I mention the penis experiment, everybody wants to hear all the details!

On a day where big data is all the rage, good looks, high performance and sexual prowess rank way higher than scientific data.

Is this discouraging to the the plant-based movement? Certainly. But maybe we should take it as a hint and make the most of it with what tickles people’s minds.

Where do you find your inspiration?

https://freefromharm.org/common-justifications-for-eating-animals/its-natural/

My significant other is not a vegan. If there is the opposite of vegan, that’s what he is. He loves hot dogs, refined sugars, empty carbs, and lots of meat. I’m always searching the web for tips on how to deal with a non-vegan partner. There is no simple answer.

He refuses to watch documentaries about factory farms, animal cruelty, and plant based nutrition with me. He doesn’t read the articles about the benefits of a whole food plant-based diet I send him. It seems to be a lost cause.

Recently, he developed some pretty serious health issues that can be resolved with a plant-based diet. Even though I’m not very friendly with the whole cooking shtick, I started to make our meals. The only catch is that he doesn’t get to select the menu. Guess who is happily surprised on how delicious plant based dishes are?

I’m betting on a quick improvement of his health to finally convince him that being vegan can be a great pleasure for the palate and a huge benefit for his general well being.

Wish me luck!

Cooking is not my thing. I’ve never learned how to and until becoming vegan a cheese sandwich would do it for me.

After becoming vegan, I was lucky enough that between Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods, there is plenty of ready to eat options available. Now, my significant other is having some health issues that a whole food plant-based diet would resolve or at least minimize a lot. He is not vegan and his food choices are very poor with lots of refined carbs, almost no veggies and lots of meat. Since I’m between jobs, I decided to start making our meals so he won’t have the option of selecting the menu – tough vegan love!

This morning, we had tofu with turmeric and other spices with carrots. It was surprisingly delicious. For lunch, I made this sandwich in the picture above, with TJ’s high protein veggie burger, avocado, lettuce, and tomato. My significant other said it was very tasty and I’m in love with this new TJ’s high protein veggie burger. This evening, I’ll probably make a big batch of soup with sweet potatoes, chickpeas, zucchini, carrots, corn, veggie broth and spices.

Everything is simple and still I get surprised about how appetizing whole foods are. We get so hooked on the chemicals in processed foods that we forget how the good ol’ stuff that comes from the ground and not from a box tastes so much better.

It’s amazing how many vegan recipes and how-to cooking videos are in the web. I’m a big fan of the Bosh guys. Their videos make my mouth water and the recipes I’ve tried are to die for. Maybe one of these days I’ll get into cooking for real. Who knows?