Today is all about having a bit of fun!
Each Friday I like to post a cartoon or some other funny meme up on the Social Media pages.
So here are just some I’ve post over the past couple of months.
Have an awesome day!
So what do you think about the title?
Is Nicotine Good For You?
Bet you never thought the Healthy Vegan would come out with something like that did you? Well, sit tight, I’m about to tell you all about what I’ve just discovered.
Back in the 60’s when the tobacco companies were trying to stop the Surgeon General’s warning going onto the packets, they came up with some really ludicrous arguments including that smoking was good for you.
They claimed that smoking stopped Parkinson’s Disease something the was poohooed and totally dismissed as being a huge ploy on the part of the cigarette companies.
Now comes the weird part. Over 5 dozen studies since the 70s have indeed shown that tobacco smoking does in fact lower the chances of Parkinson’s Disease quite dramatically.
But don’t go thinking that I’m about to take up and start waving the flag for cigarettes – not at all. We all know that smoking is linked to lung disease and emphysema in fact 80 – 90% of lung cancers in the USA are caused by smoking.
Not only that, but there is a right toxic mix in the cigarette with over 7,000 chemicals are added to the tobacco!!!!
So the researchers decided to find out why and it seems that it is the actual nicotine in the tobacco plant that is the beneficial part. Tobacco comes from the Nightshade plant family and so does Bell peppers, tomatoes and potatoes.
Wouldn’t it be much nicer to introduce peppers into your diet – having them a bit more often? Let’s face it, you can’t go past a gorgeous red Bell pepper filled with a plant protein like lentils or quinoa and baked. Then pour over a nice tomato sauce add some gorgeous fresh dark greens like kale and spinach and you’ve got a bang up nutritious meal.
Honestly, I learn something new every day!
I heard today that France has passed a bill that there are to be cameras in all their slaughterhouses.
Which got me remembering all the other things that France has done. So I have made a list (as I do).
- They have introduced incentives to embed sustainability into French urban planning.
- They are encouraging alternatives to conventional means of transportation such as self-service bike rental stations and car-sharing. They are also encouraging the use and maintenance of hybrid and electric vehicles as well as the necessary infrastructure to power them.
- France became the 1st country to totally ban Neonicotinoids – the bee-killing component in pesticides. This measure goes above and beyond the E.U. ban put in place in 2013. The German company Bayer is not happy and, in fact, has a lawsuit pending against the E.U. Learn more It’s almost like France has put up its middle finger to Bayer.
- France is the first country to ban plastic cups and plates and utensils. French law will require all disposable tableware to be made from 50% biologically-sourced materials. read more. And on the subject of plastic, they have also banned the common plastic bag (that’s the smaller and thinner type used in supermarkets). They will still have plastic bags, but they must be reusable ones which should cut down the numbers.
You know those little plastic bags you put the veggies/fruit in? They’ve been phased out as of the start of this year (2017).
The law also currently plans to have domestically compostable bags which should replace plastic fruit and vegetable bags too. Did you know: An average plastic bag takes one second to make, is used for roughly 20 minutes and takes up to 400 years to degrade naturally. - Food – The have become the world’s first country to ban supermarket waste and compel large retailers to donate unsold food. Let’s face it – there are heaps of places that will take donated food, not just the homeless shelters – what about schools, orphanages, old folk homes.
- All the new buildings in commercial zones must now comply and have green roofs – that is to say, the rooftops must be partially covered in plants or solar panels by law.
- And now – the cameras in slaughterhouses. Although France’s history of animal welfare is lacking compared to other countries, at least this is a real start. It did come about by the release of hidden video footage as well as a fair amount of protesting. Read more
To top this off a coalition of 26 French animal protection associations have combined to make sure that animal welfare is on the political agenda for the next presidential and legislative elections.
Our animals and our planet need us to get behind countries that are actually doing something. Yes, we need the “something” to be way more than what’s being done, and way faster, but, being the realist I am, I’m grateful for small wins.
Speaking about the environment. The EU, those pesky bureaucrats in Brussels who care for the environment, are putting all countries under pressure to reduce the consumption of plastic bags. Wish the same could be said for here Down Under!!!
Looking back on 2016 … it wasn’t too bad a year and we did have some wins.
There were some wonderful moments for the animals such as a group of little ducklings were saved by awesome firemen after they fell down a grate. Mumma duck was sooooo thrilled to have her babies back. And, firemen rescued swans from freezing on ice, not just once, but three times.
However, I want to look back on some of the “wins” that didn’t necessarily make the “headlines” but will make life a little easier on those animals who are constantly abused – that is: animals used for human purposes. So here’s my top 12:
Let’s begin with a statistic I think shows why many people are turning to a plant based way of eating.
- 94% of Americans believe it’s important that animals used for food aren’t abused. The way the industry is with factory farming, this is a good sign that people are starting to become aware.
- In New Zealand battery cages are to be phased out by 2022, a great “win”. Unfortunately the egg industry managed to still have the cages by convincing the government to legalize the colony cage… still a cage, will be able to put more birds in – the campaign continues.
- Around the world many groceries, restaurants and even fast food outlets no longer support caged eggs. In New Zealand, McDonalds announced its switch to only free range eggs in all outlets in 2017. Many others committed to a particular date.
- In Australia the Woolworths supermarket chain went cage free and in N.Z. a campaign was launched for Countdown to do the same. Countdown is a subsidery of the above mentioned Woolworths.
- In North America the “Right to Farm” is a law that was brought in to deny nuisance lawsuits against farmers who use accepted and standard farming practices. Well, the U.S. Humane Society along with other organisations set out to expose this law for what it really is : allowing farmers to use reprehensible measures like extreme confinement, mutilation with painkillers etc. They were able to stop this Right to Farm measures from being introduced into some State legislatures. Still a lot of work to be done.
- The Blackfish Bill was passed banning SeaWorld and other corporations from imprisoning Orcas for profit. SeaWorld also announced that it would no longer have the Orca breeding program. I believe that the movie “Blackfish” has had a huge role in getting both these “wins”.
- France became the 1st country to totally ban Neonicotinoids – the bee-killing component in pesticides. This measure goes above and beyond the E.U. ban put in place in 2013. The German company Bayer is not happy and, in fact, has a lawsuit pending against the E.U. Learn more It’s almost like France has put up its middle finger to Bayer.
- And on the subject of bees, Canada is also trying to put in place a ban however, again Bayer has their lobbying hat on tight and the pressure is on. You can help by signing the petition: Save The Bees
Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus ended their elephant performances and took the elephants off the road in response to growing public concern over how the animals are treated.- The number of Tigers, Pandas and Manatees all increased quite substantially which, if this keeps going, these animals will be able to come off the endangered list.
- On another note – the environment … 40,000 New Zealanders, who opposed the secret giveaway of community water resources, celebrated when The Ashburton District Council backed out of negotiations with NZ Pure Blue – a deal that would have allowed the corporation to extract billions of litres of waters from the aquifers beneath the town. The message was loud and clear – the last thing the community needs is a bottled-water company sucking the town dry for profit, especially in a drought-prone region. Mind you, this applies everywhere – as is being witnessed currently in the U.S.A. with the town of Flint as well as the Dakota Pipe Line.
- This was a story that absolutely delighted me.
The Australian mining company, OceanaGold, had a contract to build a massive gold mine in Cabanas, a country in El Salvador. Now this would have used the last remaining water source, so the country of Cabanas refused to issue permits. OceanaGold filed a lawsuit against El Salavdor. However, because of worldwide people power, the lawsuit was dismissed. But wait, there’s a bit of icing on this cake – OceanaGold had to pay El Salvador compensation and cover their court costs.
Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus ended their elephant performances and took the elephants off the road in response to growing public concern over how the animals are treated.So I’ll end this post on that absolutely corker win… showing that the little guy can take on the giant.
You’ll be able to find lots of other stories on the internet, but these ones were either close to my heart, or a little different to the usual.
All my heartfelt thanks for supporting me with my journey this year. May your 2017 be blessed for you and your family and may we have many more “wins” so we can ease the suffering of the many animals who endure so much for us.
Once upon a time there was a sheep who was all alone.
Well, the story goes like this. While I was in the country (yes, I’m back in the city now), I would take a morning perambulation to survey the countryside around me and take in the beautiful refreshing air.
In the paddock that ran alongside the road, the sheep meandered, munching on grass, heads down as sheep do, until I walked past. Then it was heads jerked up, ears attuned and when I got too close it was off with a race to put a bit more distance between us.
But, at the top of the road where there were no sheep, there, on his/her lonesome was a single sheep just sitting, doing nothing, almost like he (we’ll call it he – saves on me having to type the letter “s”), was waiting for something – or maybe someone?
The first couple of mornings he bleated when he saw me and actually wandered over to the fence. However, I couldn’t get to him as there was a double fence line with quite a gap between, so I have no idea if I could have pat him as I would have liked to have done.
He was there every morning for a couple of weeks. Then just as quickly as he’d appeared – he was gone.
Now, I’m going to make up the story that he had been feeling a little depressed and had wanted some “time out”. Then, on feeling back to his old self again (maybe my visits helped), he’d gone back to join his mates in the flock. That is a far better image than him having been singled out to fatten up for the Christmas table.
Oh, and just so you know that I really was in the country …. I photo bombed the sheep and the chooks where I was staying.
At time of writing I had, in fact, left the country and was already ensconced in the first of the house-sits for 2017 … but I did have Christmas here.
Ciao
Fee
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