It’s true. Going veg can help save our planet. And, boy, does she need our help.

For those who still think grocery stores purchase their meats from the neighborhood farms, think again. First, there are few of those farms left. Second, most of those quaint farms with the red barns are now acres of treeless land with windowless, colorless, aluminum behemoths that emit waste in amounts never before seen on our planet.

Like any other corporate giant, it’s the bottom line that matters. So it makes sense that these titans would want to cram in as much product as possible, meaning chickens and pigs are forced to live their lives in spaces too small to even turn around. They live (and often die) in waste, their own and that of other animals. Can you imagine the smells? They live with that, too. Animals who are hurt or sick are not tended to- it’s more cost effective to let them suffer, or die, than to pay for vet care.

What happens to all that waste? Of course it is washed away into our water systems. All this waste creates dead zones, like the ones in Chesapeake Bay and the Gulf of Mexico.

Do you think these animals might pass a little gas? We have one stomach- cows have four. Hmmm….
All that methane has to go somewhere, and this gas is being linked to the warming of the atmosphere, perhaps even more than CO2.

And I love how we moms are blamed for giving our children too many antibiotics, when the meat “farmers” are feeding their cattle antiobiotics like it was part of the animal food pyramid. (Might that be where the drug resistance is coming from?)

Scientists and other world leaders are now understanding the connection between our food choices and global warming. A 2006 United Nations report found that the meat industry produces more greenhouse gases than all the SUVs, Hummers, cars, trucks, planes, and ships in the world combined.

The thought of going veg tomorrow can be terrifying to some people, so don’t think like that. Think about having spaghetti tomorrow night- without the meatballs- but with a fabulous sauce. How about some black bean burgers or some excellent vegetarian chili the night after that?

Even going veg a few days a week has the potential to save thousands of four-legged lives and oodles of natural resources, like water and oil. If you can do two days, try three, then four.

In my ideal world, everyone becomes vegetarian next week. People are healthier, the global warming trend is reversed, and world violence almost disappears. Am I naive? I would LOVE to find out!

Like many of you, I have spring fever. The rainy weekends have been a real bummer, but because of them I appreciate the sunny days even more.

I’ve spent those warm, spring days working in my yard. It’s too early to plant, so I rake my lawn and put down corn gluten. My son rolls down our hill only feet away and I love that I don’t have to dress him up in a hazmat suit to play outside our home. Our lawn is organic, and because of what I’ve learned about lawn chemicals in the past few years, I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Unfortunately, we have been led to believe that our lawns have to look like green carpets. Those are not real lawns. Only carpets should look like carpets.

Dandelions and clover used to be revered; today we pluck those guys like rotted teeth. Ironically, the man who invented one of the first pesticides later apologized that his product killed clover as well. He never meant that to happen.

The chemicals used in lawn pesticides and herbicides exist because of war. The chemical companies have all these left over chemicals after a war, so why not put them into lawn and other household products? For example, 2,4-D, a popular herbicide, was a chemical component of Agent Orange, used during the Vietnam War. Because banning this component would not be cost-effective to growers and other users, the government continues to allow its use.

Below are a few more reasons to go organic:

*When your lawn is chemical-based, you need to water more frequently. In the U.S., we apply about 10,000 gallons of water every summer. Most communities- and countries around the world- are now struggling to keep up with water demand.

Fortunately, we are learning more about the links to chemicals and our health. And we are learning that you can have a fabulous-looking lawn without using those chemicals, making your home a safer place for you, your children and your pets.

For more information about the dangers of lawn chemicals, and how to grow an organic lawn, be sure to check out two of my favorites sites- SafeLawns.org and Beyond Pesticides