Money and privilege obviously make very comfortable bedfellows. But trying to buy your way to the front of the line and getting caught red-handed? Not so much! The response to ex-British Columbia Gaming Commission CEO Ron Baker and actress Ekaterian Baker trying to jump the COVID vaccine queue has been widespread condemnation. The wealthy couple made a precarious bet on their own futures by flying into a remote Yukon village, defying quarantine rules and committing identity fraud. They chose to disregard the risks their sense of entitlement imposed on others so it’s certainly appropriate to denounce their recklessness. But this trending news story is also somewhat deflective. The rich are gambling with our collective well-being all the time and getting away with it in plain sight.

It’s no secret that the wealthy use far more resources than the poor, consuming more per capita than the planet can sustain. Nor that economically disadvantaged communities and youth are being forced to pick up the tab as the well-to-do eat up our carbon budget (the maximum amount of cumulative emissions that can be added to the atmosphere without exceeding a 1.5 C temperature rise.) According to a report from Oxfam and the Stockholm Environment Institute published in Sept., 2020, “the richest 10 percent of the world’s population – those who earned $38,000 per year or more as of 2015 – were responsible for 52 percent of all carbon emissions accumulated between 1990 and 2015 (annual emissions grew by 60 percent over this 25 year period.) 

Highly affluent consumers are pied pipers for luxury living, driving consumption norms across the population (‘Nature Connections’ June, 2020). We may not count ourselves among them, but an awful lot of us could probably take greater responsibility for our own complicity with unfettered capitalism. By definition, luxury has nothing to do with need – it’s all about want. We might desire a vacation somewhere that requires air travel, for example, but obviously it’s not essential. Most of us ignoring the repercussions of our over-consumptive lifestyle choices (especially when they are commonplace) don’t see ourselves as high stakes gamblers leaving our debts to the next generation. But as author Gavin de Becker describes it, denial itself is a “save now, pay later scheme.” Just one Toronto-London return flight emits about two tons of carbon – twice the annual carbon footprint of the average person on Earth. 

How we treat other sentient beings is one of the most revealing indicators of just how far those of us with the privilege of choice are willing to stretch the fabric of our life support systems in pursuit of excess. For example, it’s very good news that most of us with adequate access to healthy plant-based nutrition options can cut our carbon footprints dramatically by eschewing animal products altogether as well as reduce the suffering of others. Yet many environmental organizations continue to shuffle the deck, trying to accommodate those simply reluctant to change by promoting so-called ‘better practices’ for niche market animal product production that only those with ‘disposable’ incomes can actually afford. Meanwhile, conventional global meat production continues to soar precisely because it remains associated with prestige.

Perhaps no enterprise more clearly represents both the allure and folly of decadence, however, than the fur fashion industry. Animal activists have been agitating for a very long time here in Canada to put an end to the cruel treatment of mink, fox and other animals exploited for their pelts, including those raised in confinement (several hundred to tens of thousands of animals per farm in BC). But Pandora’s Box has been opened. In fact, the Fur-Bearers (a British Columbia-based animal advocacy non-profit) warned of the potential for a pathogen spillover on mink farms here before it happened. The reality that new, more virulent strains have now evolved as a result of SARS-CoV-2 being passed back and forth between humans and mink should be a huge wake up call. Please visit www.thefurbearers.com to take action.

Most mainstream media seems reluctant to seriously address the link between our climate crisis and animal agribusiness, let alone the fact that some scientists are suggesting COVID-19 could just be a dress rehearsal for the public health crisis to come if we don’t learn from our mistakes and make major systemic changes. According to Dr. Jane Goodall, “We have brought this on ourselves because of our absolute disrespect for animals and the environment. Our disrespect for wild animals and our disrespect for farmed animals has created this situation where disease can spill over to infect human beings.” Given the growth in animal farming worldwide it’s not a matter of if, but just how soon another zoonotic disease will erupt, sparking the next global pandemic. Catastrophic weather events are only going to make handling that even harder. The bottom line is that none of us will be immune to worsening climate conditions but the poorest and most marginalized people will continue to be the hardest hit – with women remaining the most vulnerable in the aftermath of catastrophes. The majority world is not responsible for the mess we are in. It is really up to those of us who have the biggest carbon footprints to act, and to act now. 

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February is Heart Month in Canada. I’m featuring the beautiful beet as a novel addition to traditional hummus, in part because the colour of this dish is gorgeous! Also because beets contain a high concentration of nitrates which have a blood pressure-lowering effect. This may lead to a reduced risk of heart attacks, heart failure and stroke. Slainte! (to your health) 

Roasted Beet Hummus 

Ingredients:

• 2medium sized beets (roasted, cooled and peeled)1 clove garlic (chopped)
• 1 15 ounce can of garbanzo beans (rinsed and drained)
• 1/4 cup of tahini
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon chili powder

Instructions:

Cut beets into chunks and place in your food processor. Process until large pieces are broken down, then add your beans, tahini and garlic. Process again until smooth. With the machine running, carefully drizzle in the olive oil. Add your salt and spices and remove hummus to serving bowl. Cover, serve chilled and enjoy!

Ironically, cognitive bias is perhaps the most insidious overlord of all. It limits objectivity by filtering information through our own experiences and preferences, valuing only that which supports (rather than challenges) our pre-existing ideas about the world around us. It’s alarming to see distrust in authority unite both those who lean left and those who lean right in the propagation of misinformation. But it isn’t just the allure of elaborate rabbit holes (think QAnon) promising ‘proof’ of nefarious powers holding humanity hostage that both distracts from and impedes the necessary work of confronting entirely scrutable injustices. We need only examine the societal norms our individual lifestyle choices prop up on a daily basis to recognize the extent to which we harbor cognitive biases that are holding back progressive change.

The reality that ongoing ecosystem destruction and global meat consumption foreshadow future zoonotic disease pandemics is such an important case in point. Most of us continue to eat animals and/or their by-products, even though doing so is entirely unnecessary for those of us with the privilege of choice, and we’ve been warned that our collective survival depends upon rapidly reducing the kind of GHG emissions and biodiversity loss increased by supporting animal agriculture. Social psychologists tell us that it is human nature to gravitate towards ‘group think’. So whether that means upholding the status quo for our personal gratification, or uniting with others to expose what we perceive to be problematic activities (in either a rational or irrational way) we are bolstered by the experience of ‘consensus’ through community.

Peter Carter, MD – an expert reviewer for the IPCC ((Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change), also a founding director of CAPE (Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment) and the founder of the Climate Emergency Institute – knows how difficult it is to prompt people to think outside their comfort zones. No one likes to hear what he has repeatedly stated in no uncertain terms: if we don’t do everything within our power to address climate collapse, the not so distant future facing humanity will include widespread crop failures leading to mass starvation. But the flip side of this daunting reality check is what the scientist also referred to in a recent interview with Extinction Rebellion as ‘the COVID Lesson’. The fact that GHG emissions dropped substantially – and fast – when business as usual ground to a halt made clear that it is well within our power to effect change for the better, given the political will. Carter added that the “most effective, definitely effective, immediately effective” action so many of us can take is to go vegan. “In theory,” he says, “we can all do that. If we do that, emissions drop immediately.”

So what, pray tell, is stopping us?

Cognitive bias is doubling down to protect vested interests in the world of animal agribusiness. For example, when Alison Penfold, former chief executive of the Australian Livestock Exporters’ Council, warned producers this week that the industry’s social license is in serious jeopardy as climate campaigners expand their focus to include meat and dairy, she was met with defiance. Josie Angus, whose family runs 35,000 head of cattle in Central Queensland, insisted that ranching provides a necessary food source existing in “harmonious relationship” with native animal and plant species. Dismissing outside critiques that beg to differ, she says, “that gives us the greatest social license on the planet and we actually just need to keep letting people know that.”

There is plenty of confirmation bias echoing Angus around the world, satisfying those reluctant to give up their absolutely unnecessary habit of consuming animal products. The popular Netflix film, Kiss the Ground, is only the latest manifestation of a related myth – that it’s ‘not the cow, but the how’ when it comes to the very serious problem of ongoing livestock production. The idea that rotational grazing can actually make a positive impact by sequestering carbon on any beneficial scale has been thoroughly debunked by scientists, and yet it persists, even within the supposedly well-educated environmental community. Such greenwash is dangerous. Not only is it stalling the necessary abandonment of animal agribusiness in favour of re-wilding vast acreages and the reallocation of government subsidies better spent on far more sustainable and humane food production. It also provides the illusion of progress and therefore, an unrealistic sense of safety. As folks like Dr. Peter Carter, Greta Thunberg and yes, even Dr. Bonnie Henry are trying to help us understand, it’s not about their cognitive biases trumping ours. It’s about the science.

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Afterword:

This column has been written for The Island Word (a regional monthly published on Vancouver Island) approximately 10 x a year since 2012. One of the changes brought about by Covid 19, however, has been the editor’s decision to publish less frequently. Consequently, a number of readers have encouraged me to compile the Transition Kitchen archives into a hard copy recipe book, and continue the column as an online presence regardless of when the paper goes to print! What do you think? I’d love your feedback! email: fireweedbc@gmail.com

Now… let’s get baking! What better time to have fun decorating cookies to share and gift to family, friends and neighbours? Enjoy!

Fireweed’s Favorite Gingerbread Cookies

Ingredients (all organic is always best, IMO!):

• 1 ⅓ cups whole wheat flour
• ¾ cup unbleached all purpose flour
• ½ tbsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• ½ tbsp cinnamon
• 2 tsp ginger
• ½ tsp nutmeg
• ½ tsp cloves
• ½ cup coconut oil, room temperature
• ½ cup + 1 tbsp evaporated cane sugar
• ¼ cup water
• ¼ cup black strap molasses
• ¼ cup agave syrup
• ½ tsp vanilla

Instructions:

1. Combine flours, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and cloves.
2. In a separate bowl, or your food processor, cream together the coconut oil and the sugar for a couple of minutes. Add water, molasses, agave syrup and vanilla and mix thoroughly for about a minute.
3. Gradually add dry ingredients to wet, mixing to combine.
4. Wrap dough tightly in plastic bag and refrigerate for a couple of hours (overnight is great)
5. Let the dough sit at room temperature for 30 minutes to 1 hour before rolling.
6. Roll dough about 1/4 inch thick between pieces of parchment paper. Cut your cookies, gently removing excess dough to roll again. ently remove cookies with a spatula to place on a surface you can stick in the freezer for about 10 minutes before baking.
7. Preheat oven to 325F.
8. Bake for 8-10 minutes, until the cookies are lightly browned around the edges and barely firm in the center.
9. Impt. Let them cool a bit before using spatula to remove and place on wire cooling racks! Store in airtight containers if you like a soft, chewy cookie. For a firmer cookie, which can be much easier to handle when decorating, store them a bi of air ventilation. Have fun decorating!

     We know that earth has evolved over millennia as one living, breathing organism – from the Amazon Basin to Vancouver Island’s ancient rain forests. Perhaps we shouldn’t be surprised that as the very lungs of our planet collapse under the suffocating weight of capitalism, a novel coronavirus has emerged to threaten the most vulnerable among us with the inability to breathe at all.  All coronaviruses are respiratory syndromes – they attack the lungs.

            And all coronaviruses are zoonotic in origin. While logging and other forms of human encroachment on wildlife habitat around the world have been rapidly depleting biodiversity, scientists have been warning us that human exposure to the pathogens that occur naturally in other animals increases under such pressures. Species left undisturbed within their home ecosystems, like bats or pangolins, are not responsible for COVID-19. Nor are domesticated chickens and pigs linked to deadly strains of Avian Flu and Swine Flu fairly blamed for the misery caused by those diseases. We know that human interference and opportunistic exploitation of other animals deserve credit for setting the stage. Forced confinement puts incredible stress on any sentient being and, from wet markets to factory farms, weakened immune systems are breeding grounds for contagion. The reduced freedom of movement currently imposed upon our own species can hardly compare, but does give pause for thought. Isn’t it time we recognized the elevation of human interests over and above other animals’ as ultimately self-defeating?

     Our relationship with other animals is certainly confused. The killing of lone wolf Takaya, recently relocated after leaving his home of eight years on Discovery Island here in British Columbia, has sparked an outpouring of grief around the world. Like the outrage that followed the senseless slaughter of Cecil the lion in Africa by an American trophy hunter, the visceral response to Takaya’s death is a powerful reminder that our inherent capacity for empathy is not necessarily constrained by species. But the degree of care and concern we feel for others is certainly either suppressed or encouraged by cultural norms and shifting societal values.

     For example, conservation biologists now use the term ‘charismatic megafauna‘ to refer to larger animals afforded ‘symbolic value’ or widespread popular appeal, with the understanding that recognized individuals can help inspire greater awareness of the need to protect wilderness for all. Indeed, environmentalists are calling on everyone mourning the death of Takaya to take action against the government-sanctioned slaughter of other wolves in our Province (https://pacificwild.org/action).

     Most of us have yet to extend that kind of respect to animals commonly killed unnecessarily for food, least of all the cows, pigs, sheep, chickens and other farmed animals extracted long ago from the ecosystems in which they evolved in concert with myriad other species. Of course, it is also through learned prejudice that those animals we now welcome into our homes as life-long companions are spared the early death billions of others are deliberately condemned to. The discomfort we feel when prompted to question these discrepancies is commonly referred to as ‘cognitive dissonance’ and could very well be fundamental to human survival on our finite planet.

     This pandemic will not be our last. We also know that global animal agribusiness contributes significantly to GHG emissions right alongside fossil fuels. And that continuing to warm the planet will only provide more frequent opportunities for dangerous diseases to emerge as the seasonal cycles and migratory patterns of wild species adapt. Learned indifference to the suffering of other animals has gotten us into this mess, and only widening our circle of compassion will get us out of it. Adequate protection of our mutual life support systems will surely depend upon rejecting objectification and commodification (fundamental to capitalism) in favour of a ‘new’ biocentric world view – one in which the value of individual animal lives, in addition to the ecosystems in which they are intended to thrive, are no longer reduced to their perceived usefulness and economic status in the marketplace. Challenging the systemic violence exacerbating climate collapse requires the same level of commitment necessary to flatten the curve of COVID-19. We know that what is good for animals is good for us. It’s time to open the cages, close the slaughterhouses and work towards equity and liberation for all.

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The Transition Kitchen is all about inspiring animal-friendly, climate-conscious food choices. There are few spring pleasures more enjoyable than fresh garden peas, but you can use frozen ones in this tasty recipe too. Bon appetit!

Pea & Pesto Spinach Salad         

Ingredients

1/2 lb. baby spinach (227 g)

1.5 cups green peas

3 T. raw sunflower seeds, shelled

one roasted red pepper, skin removed

optional: roasted zucchini rounds

Fresh Pesto Dressing:

1.5 cups of fresh basil leaves, stems removed, packed (about 70 g)

1/4 cup olive oil

3 T. raw sunflower seeds, shelled

2 – 3 T. fresh lemon juice

1 T. nutritional yeast flakes

1 clove garlic

1/2 tsp. salt

1/8 tsp. black pepper

Directions

1) Oven roast a red pepper at 425 F. until it begins to partially blacken. Remove to a covered dish or paper bag to sweat. If you do this well in advance of making the salad, remove skin and seeds from the cooled pepper, cut into strips and refrigerate until needed 2) Toast all 6 T. of raw, shelled sunflower seeds in a very lightly oiled pan over medium-low heat. Stir with a wooden spoon to avoid burning until golden brown. Add 3 T. to your food processor and set the rest aside for garnishing. 3) If you are using frozen peas, defrost by adding to a bowl of warm water. 4) To make the pesto dressing, add basil leaves, olive oil, yeast flakes, 2 T. lemon juice, garlic clove and seasonings to the seeds already in your food processor. Blend until smooth, drizzling in another T. of lemon juice if needed to thin consistency. 5) If using thawed peas, strain them and lightly pat dry on a kitchen towel to remove excess water. 6) Place spinach in a large bowl and toss with dressing. Add peas and lightly toss again. Transfer to serving bowl or plates. 7) Lay strips of red pepper (and/or zucchini rounds) on top of greens and sprinkle with seed garnish. Serve immediately!

For article links and additional food for thought, please scroll down for other articles. ❤ 

     Bearing witness to a murmuration – the spectacular phenomenon of countless birds soaring together as one, dipping and diving in perfect unison – is an awe-inspiring experience. Profoundly under-appreciated is the fact that such remarkable animation also mirrors both the ‘group-mind’ and shimmering beauty of schools of fish. Huge nets are about to be dropped into our coastal waters to haul up millions of herring, and yet the act of tossing a similar trap up into the sky to bring down a flock of birds would surely be condemned as abhorrent. At least in today’s world.

     At the time of first settler contact there were an estimated 3-5 billion passenger pigeons in North America. Tree limbs would break under the weight of perching flocks, so abundant in flight that they filled the sky for hours on end and even days, blotting out the sun. Once a summertime resident in parts of Canada, the last wild passenger pigeon in this country was recorded in 1902 in Ontario. The death of Martha, a passenger pigeon at the Cincinnati Zoo in Ohio, on Sept. 1^St, 1914 marked the official extinction of a species that may have once been the most numerous bird on earth. Concentrating in great numbers has been a successful survival strategy for many species, until humans came along with the capacity for mass slaughter. After the arrival of settlers on this continent, passenger pigeons were maligned as crop destroying pests and relentlessly exploited as cheap food. They were not only trapped en masse with nets, but clubbed, shot, torched (the gruesome list goes on). According to the Audubon Society, however, two technological developments set in motion the species’ ultimate annihilation over the course of just a few short decades: the expansion of the telegraph and the railroad. These enabled a commercial pigeon industry to boom, fuelled by professional sportsmen who could track and swiftly communicate the birds’ whereabouts. Together with amateurs these skilled hunters literally “out-flocked their quarry with brute force.”

     As I write, spotter planes flying over Lambert Channel are tracking the herring that have returned to these shores to reproduce over millennia. Mammoth sea lions roll through the surf, while hungry eagles and seabirds of all kinds continue to gather for the primordial spring feast that this entire ecosystem depends upon. Islanders may be lucky enough to spot orcas, even humpback whales. On a sunny day, once the herring have spawned, the milky water will appear turquoise blue. This spectacle is always magnificent to behold, but the arrival of fishing vessels determined to make a killing at the expense of so many other species is not a welcome sight. It is widely feared that the refusal of government authorities to meet demands for a closure on this herring roe fishery could result in a population collapse with devastating consequences (the majority of other historic runs on our coast have been so badly assaulted that they can no longer support commercial fisheries at all.) One common factor in serial fisheries disasters, wrote journalist Stephen Hume last year, “is that regulators were convinced harvests were sustainable—until they suddenly weren’t.” It is the opinion of Stanley Temple, a professor emeritus of conservation at the University of Wisconsin, that passenger pigeons might have even survived their commercial slaughter if hunters weren’t also disrupting their nesting grounds. The double whammy, as he describes it, was the demographic nightmare of overkill and impaired reproduction. “If you’re killing a species far faster than they can reproduce, the end is a mathematical certainty.”

     According to renowned marine biologist and pioneering oceanographer Sylvia Earle, we have ample evidence that large-scale extraction of wildlife has very narrow limits. She no longer eats fish of any kind, and instead advocates for thinking of them first and foremost as wildlife. “I have come to understand the value of fish alive in the ocean”, she explains, “just as we’ve come to understand the value of birds alive to keep the planet functioning in our favour. Imagine a world without birds. Imagine a world without fish. The oxygen that replenishes every breath you take comes from an ocean that is filled with life. It has developed over hundreds of millions of years. It has taken only a few decades [for humans] to disrupt and break those connections. The children of today will be really cross with us if we fail to act on what we know now.”

Please visit Pacific Wild, Conservancy Hornby Island or the Association of Denman Island Marine Stewards on line to find out how you can get involved in helping protect west coast herring and our marine environment.

                                             ………………………….

Green Goddess Dressing

Parsley is one of the first plants flourishing in west-coast gardens at this time of the year, and well worth incorporating into our daily fare. An incredibly versatile herb, it is rich in antioxidants, supports bone health, has anti-bacterial properties, contains cancer-fighting compounds and so much more! Parsley is particularly rich in vitamins A, C, and K. I allow it to self seed in the garden, so always have a plentiful supply. Of course the leaves can be either dried or used fresh in all manner of soups, salads, marinades and sauces. A great way to punch up the nutrients in your morning smoothie is to toss in a handful of fresh parsley. The following salad dressing is one of my favourites – delicious, and addictive!

Ingredients:

1 Cup fresh parsley, packed (twist off the stems)

1/4 Cup nutritional yeast flakes

1/4 Cup water

1/4 Cup olive oil

2 T. tahini

2 T. apple cider vinegar

1 T. white vinegar

1 T. miso paste

1 T. tamari

1 T. lemon juice

1 tsp. maple syrup (or a bit more, to taste)

1 garlic clove, crushed

Directions:

Place all of your ingredients in a high speed blender, and blend on high until smooth. Enjoy!

EVENT NOTICE: Join Denman Islander’s on March 8th, IWD for our next Climate Action Community Vegan Potluck! Full details HERE.

 

 

    It’s notable that wild apex predators are rarely seen in places densely populated by our own species. Biologists have discovered that around the world these animals are actually evolving to travel more frequently at night in order to avoid us. When a large grey wolf loped through downtown Victoria, BC, recently in broad daylight, one unsuspecting observer actually whistled from across the street. But within a matter of hours it had become widespread knowledge that this was no ordinary canid on the lam. After eight years as the lone wolf of Discovery Island, ‘Takaya’ had once again braved a long distance swim in the cold, choppy waters of the Salish Sea. Was he in search of food, or perhaps a potential mate? We can only be certain that navigating an urban environment was the next challenging leg of a dangerous journey.

     Survival to date for the approximately 70 pound male has depended not only on incredible strength and adaptability but on the mercy of humans. Named after the Coast Salish word for ‘wolf’, Takaya is venerated by the Songhees First Nation who share Discovery Island and considered his arrival there culturally significant. And thanks to conservation photographer Cheryl Alexander’s dedicated documentation of the normally elusive animal, Takaya’s story has inspired awe and appreciation over fear in the imagination of the general public. Perhaps it is for these reasons that the BC Conservation Officer Service, which doesn’t usually relocate apex predators, made an exception with Takaya. After being successfully tracked, tranquilized in a James Bay back yard and assessed to be in good health, he was released in a far more suitable Vancouver Island wilderness location. There are no guarantees, however, that this highly intelligent individual will remain lucky enough to avoid territorial ranchers, trappers, or other hunters who disrupt the key role wolves play in ecosystem health under the BC government’s dubious ‘wolf management’ program.

     The dominant narrative insists that most wild animals only ‘belong’ on the other side of our often arbitrary, self-serving boundaries. And yet, it is human encroachment into the dwindling natural environment that forces problematic encounters. For example, the introduction of farmed animals into ecosystems where they really don’t belong displaces indigenous fauna, playing a leading role in biodiversity loss around the world right alongside logging and mining operations. “Roads in forest habitats (and others) are the equivalent of open wounds in a human body,” an activist friend in Slovenia recently mused metaphorically about habitat fragmentation. “A single one is enough to start a deadly infection,” he added. There are many similarities between the pressures on large carnivores in bio-diverse Slovenia, I have learned, and here on the west coast of Canada.

     Looking into the possible origins of the current coronavirus epidemic, I was reminded of the fact that many deadly human diseases actually originate with the stress that our species has inflicted upon other animals by holding them captive, denying them the freedom to keep their distance from us, and from one another. We know that forced confinement induces suffering, which in turn leads to weakened immune systems. This is as clear on factory farms (ie, concentrated poultry operations such as those in the Vancouver lower mainland that have experienced highly contagious avian flu) as it is in the ‘wet’ markets of places like Wuhan, China where live ‘exotic’ animals share crowded space with domesticated ones. The word ‘wet’ in this context indicates that vendors slaughter animals in front of customers, effectively aerosolizing the environment. Such sites are breeding grounds for pathogens that may jump the species barrier and create potentially lethal infections in humans also.

     The ultimate irony is that ongoing obsession with eating animals in the 21st century is based far less on need than on capital gains and mythical social constructs. Is it not the epitome of hypocrisy to condemn the culinary choices of wealthy Asian men who boast prestigious access through the exotic meat trade to everything from horse penis to wolf flesh, while it remains acceptable for their western counterparts to frame masculine strength and sexual prowess as dependent on the flesh of cows occupying land where wild horses and apex predators like Takaya now face extermination?

     According to the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, livestock accounts for a whopping 60% of all mammals on earth today, with wild species having dwindled to a mere 4%. For a growing number of environmentalists with the privilege of choice, eschewing all animal products is an integral part of political resistance to ecocide.

 

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Chinese cuisine includes lots of 100% plant-based dishes, and this signature delicacy of northeast China combines potatoes, eggplants and peppers in a mouth-watering stir fry. Delicious served over rice or with noodles!

Di San Xian

(roughly translates to ‘three earthly bounties’ or ‘three treasures from the ground’)

Ingredients:

3 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed

2 scallions, chopped

1.5 T. cornstarch

3 T. water

2 cups long chinese or globe eggplant cut into bite-sized pieces

1 very large potato, peeled, cut into bite-sized

1/2 a red pepper and 1/2 a green pepper (or yellow for addiional color), cut into bite-sized pieces

4 T. oil

1 T. Shaoxing Wine (you can substitue pale dry sherry, or even white wine, if you like)

2 T. light soy sauce

1/2 tsp. sugar

1/4 tsp. white pepper

1/2 tsp. sesame oil

salt to taste

Instructions:

Mix cornstarch with water and set aside. Prepare garlic and scallions. Pat dry all washed veggies before cutting. Heat oil in wok or skillet over medium heat. Lightly brown potatoes first (for about 8 mins., or until cooked through, stirring to avoid sticking). Add bell peppers and stir-fry for another minute. Transfer everything to a dish and set aside. With oil left in wok add eggplant and brown slightly until cooked through. Transfer to a dish. Add garlic to medium hot pan with a bit more oil as necessary and cook for a few seconds before adding all the veggies again followed by the wine, soy sauce, sugar, white pepper, sesame oil and scallions. Stir cornstarch and water slurry again (it can separate while sitting), add to pan and toss all ingredients, coating well with the sauce. Enjoy!

 

 

 

 

It was the typo from hell for the advertising department of our bi-weekly regional newspaper. But thanks to social media, “pictures with Satan” swiftly took on a life of its own, inadvertently spreading seasonal cheer across the land. Included as part of the Comox Valley Record’s promo for an annual Christmas parade, the amusing misprint ended up attracting both international attention and a motley crew of secret Satans to downtown Courtenay! Several of these colourful characters upstaged traditional Santa by hoofing it along the parade route on Dec. 1st for photo ops of their own.

One rouged rogue carried a sign falsely claiming that “hell has frozen over.” The mayors of Courtenay, Comox and Cumberland were all documented posing with Satan, so here’s hoping these politicians won’t need reminding that the devil is never to be trusted. The North Pole, according to Kris Kringle (and scientists at the Arctic Institute), continues to experience alarming rates of sea ice melt. And what happens in the Arctic definitely doesn’t stay in the Arctic!

It’s not as if we can’t all use a little comic relief. But as COP 25 deliberations heat up in Spain this week, it bears noting that our regional mayors represent communities that have already acknowledged the climate crisis. It’s hard to imagine how anyone could deny that Australia – where the Climate Emergency Declaration Movement began in 2016 – hasn’t experienced hell on earth over the past year alone with widespread infernos and soaring temperatures breaking previous records. Why we aren’t all responding far more pro-actively is the burning question.

Another “angry summer” is predicted to begin in Australia soon, with the threat of 50 degrees Celsius days looming large. More and more folks down under are concerned that their federal government has no credible climate policy in place. The continent has already lost almost 40 percent of its limited forest cover, and just as animal agribusiness is a leading cause of deforestation in the Amazon, the livestock sector is also the number one driver of land-clearing in Australia. And so a vicious circle of fire, meat markets, catastrophic biodiversity loss and rising GHG emissions continues – hastening the disappearance of vital carbon sinks our own species will also perish without. The burgeoning vegan movement is now well-rooted in Australia, and animal advocates are also angry. It isn’t only the plight of koalas and flying foxes (both species at risk of extinction) that concerns them. It is also the methane-emitting, farmed animals subjected to well-documented abuse in Australian slaughterhouses, and the egregious suffering wrought by drought on free-ranging livestock in the Australian outback. Unfortunately, Prime Minister Scott Morrison isn’t keen on critiques that challenge his country’s primary industry, preferring instead to label animal rights activists as “un-Australian green criminals”. Meanwhile, BC firefighters were recently deployed to Sydney in response to a request from Morrison for assistance in New South Wales. More Canadian firefighters are expected to follow them over the months ahead. We’re all connected.

Younger Australian environmentalists exposed to films like “Dominion” (2018), which shines an unforgiving light into the dark corners of animal agribusiness in Australia, are going to keep challenging the status quo. 16 year old student activist Sienna Stephens of YEA (Youth Environmental Action) here in the Comox Valley, credits the eye-opening American documentary “Cowspiracy” (2014) with inspiring her own shift to a fully plant-based diet, and with encouraging her friends to make changes also. When asked why she thinks so many others with the privilege of choice have yet to act on the link between climate change and the power of our collective food choices, she told me, “I think people are more comfortable staying in the dark than opening their eyes and being faced with the truth and having to make a change.” Sienna’s vegan peer, Greta Thunberg, would clearly agree. Now at COP 25 in Madrid the Swedish climate activist has lamented that in spite of the international plea from young people who have joined school strikes around the world for over a year now, “they have achieved nothing” because inaction from those with the power to make a difference is still the norm and GHG emissions continue to rise. “Some people are afraid to change”, Greta went on to say.  “They try so desperately to silence us.”

I was pleased to learn that Sienna has felt supported by her family in her own quest to reduce her ecological footprint in part by going vegan for the environment. With a deeper understanding now about the processes involved in animal-based food production her decision has evolved into an ethical stand for animals, also. All of us with the privilege of choice have an opportunity to begin 2020 with renewed commitment to the well-being of our planet and the myriad species with whom we share it!

Fireweed’s Mushroom Seitan (emphasis on the second syllable!)

There are many 100% plant-based alternatives to conventional animal products on the market today, but why not experiment in your own kitchen? This tasty wheat meat, for example, is not difficult to make and is always a satisfying main course served with mushroom gravy, roast veggies and cranberry sauce as part of a holiday feast! There will be some available to sample at Denman Island’s annual Winter Solstice Vegan Community Potluck celebration on Sat., Dec. 21st. Come join us if you can for a delicious 100% plant-based feast! Click HERE for full details. ❤

Ingredients: 

2 Cups Vital Wheat Gluten (to start…add a bit more if you need to!)

1.5 blocks`of medium firm organic tofu

6 medium-sized crimini mushrooms

3/4 C. nutritional yeast flakes

1 whole clove crushed garlic, divided in half

1 T. olive oil

1 T. granulated onion

2 T. ‘poultry’ seasoning (mixed herbs)

2 T. organic vegetable paste bouillon

1/3rd C. Braggs liquid amino acids

a pinch of fresh ground pepper

Directions:

Press water out of tofu as much as possible, add to food processor with 1/2 the garlic, just 1/2 C. of the yeast, the granulated onion, 1 T. bouillon paste, 1 T. poultry seasoning, 1 T. Braggs, and all of the mushrooms (roughly chopped). Pulse until well-mixed, scraping down sides of the container with a spatula. Blend until smooth, taste, and correct seasonings. Add oil and blend again. Transfer mixture to a large bowl, and gently fold in gluten flour until fully combined. Turn out on to a non-stick surface and knead for one minute. If you find the mixture a bit sticky, sprinkle on a bit more vital wheat gluten powder and knead some more. Divide with a sharp knife into four or five pieces, and mold into lozenge shapes approx. one inch thick. Add five cups of water to large pot. Turn on high heat. Add the rest of your garlic, Braggs, nutritional yeast, 1 T. of the bouillon paste, 1 T. herbs and bring to a boil. Drop individual loafs into boiling broth, cover pot and reduce to a simmer for approximately 40-50 minutes. Flip seitan occasionally, adding more water half way through to avoid sticking. Remove pieces from pot carefully with tongs, and place on a lightly oiled cooking sheet to bake in a 350 degree oven for approx. 5 minutes on each side. Leaving it in a little longer will firm up your seitan, but you don’t want to dry it out! (This recipe makes a lot, by the way. It freezes well!) Cool slightly before slicing. Retain left over broth for thickening and flavoring mushroom gravy. Bon appetit 🙂
PS Try slicing this seitan thinly for use in sandwiches, too, with mustard and dairy free mayo!

 

Community Vegan Climate Action Potluck: details HERE!

 

        The news that massive crowds are assembling around the world to demand action on our climate emergency is indeed heartening. “We’ve reached the tipping point!” an optimistic fellow islander informed me the other day.

       My partner and I had just returned from the Fridays for Future climate strike and march in Vancouver where Greta Thunberg and other courageous young people spoke truth to power alongside First Nations elders. The spirit of that impassioned gathering was definitely uplifting, but sharing solidarity with others in the face of ongoing injustice is bittersweet. Personal testimonials were a reminder to the thousands bearing witness that indigenous land and water protectors continue to be treated like criminals by the colonial interests still holding court in this province (and far beyond). The experience of seeing Thunberg and Severn Suzuki together asking us to unite behind the science felt surreal. After all, it has been nearly 3 decades since Severn, daughter of renowned scientist Dr. David Suzuki, delivered a powerful speech of her own as a child to the United Nations that reverberated around the world – long before Greta was born. The tipping point towards greater care and protection of our planet had seemed nigh way back then. And yet, so little has changed for the better that 15 youths from across this country who also joined Greta and Severn on the steps of the Vancouver Art Gallery on Oct. 25th, have launched a lawsuit against the federal government of Canada claiming that its ongoing contributions to climate change are tantamount to negligence. Legal representatives will argue, in part, that the rights of these children to life, liberty and security of person under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms are being violated.

        If we are to avoid the undesirable tipping point that would push us past a 1.5 C temperature rise within the decade, it is clearly not enough to gather in great numbers and march through the streets, as important as it is that we continue doing so. We must hold to account those who are ignoring the science, and demand the kind of climate emergency leadership that Canada’s dysfunctional First Past the Post (FPTP) electoral system has failed to deliver, by all non-violent means available to us.

        One growing shift in public con-sciousness that was evident in the wide variety of message-bearing placards carried by climate strike marchers through the streets of Vancouver concerns the environmental impacts of animal agriculture. Young people like Greta Thunberg who have identified veganism as a significant way those of us with the privilege of choice can help reduce GHG emissions are inspiring others to follow suit. By coincidence, my partner and I found ourselves sitting next to a member of the Sustainabiliteens, one of the organizing bodies of the Fridays for Future Climate Strike, at a Vancouver vegan restaurant later the same day. Now a university student, Carissa confirmed that the environmental impacts of our dietary choices are definitely on the radar of climate activists in her circle. Saj Starcevich, one of the plaintiffs in the federal court case, introduced herself at the rally as a 13 year old indigenous vegan activist from Treaty Six territory in Manitoba. Recognizing that climate change doesn’t only affect humans but negatively impacts all species, Saj has told reporters that it was her animal activism that led to her getting involved in climate activism. “I just felt they were so interconnected,” she said, “so why not do both? One affects the other.”

        Adults, it seems, have a harder time connecting the dots when it comes to accepting that climate change is real, and then following up with concrete actions. But according to a 2018 study published in the journal ‘Science’ on the power of committed minorities to help shift conventional thinking, the percentage of total population needed to reach the critical mass necessary to reverse a major viewpoint is just 25 – 30 percent. On the down side this does mean that populations can be easily co-opted by those with a selfish agenda. And if a minority group stays stuck at 24 percent, then their success in terms of affecting the larger population is the same as if they were at zero! According to a critique in Atlantic magazine, the implication of the study’s findings is that “activist groups will be unsuccessful until suddenly, they’re not.” In other words, we can be very, very close to a true tipping point and just not know it. As Greta and her fellow student strikers have shown, our individual commitments to a cause may hold far more power than we realize!

                                                        ……….

November is World Vegan Month – celebrated internationally as a time to recognize how far the vegan movement has come, and to highlight how accessible and beneficial a vegan lifestyle is. This traditional Middle Eastern side dish is easy to prepare, delicious and fibre-full! Serve with toasted pita wedges or raw veggies like carrot sticks and cucumber rounds. Enjoy!

Baba Ganoush

Ingredients:

2 lbs. Italian eggplants

2 medium cloves garlic, minced

2 T. lemon juice, more if necessary

1/4 C. tahini

1/3 C. extra-virgin olive oil

2 T. chopped parsley

2/3 tsp. salt, to taste                                    

1/4 tsp. ground cumin

pinch of smoked paprika and/or sesame seeds, for garnish

Directions:
Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Line baking sheet with parchment paper. Split eggplants down the middle, rub with oil and place cut sides down. Roast until tender (approx. 35-40 minutes…longer for larger eggplants). Set aside to cool. Gently scoop flesh into a bowl, removing unwanted seeds and leaving skins behind. Add eggplant, lemon juice and garlic to a food processor or simply stir together vigorously. Add tahini and mix again. Slowly drizzle in olive oil, continuing to mix until your baba ganoush is pale and creamy. Stir in cumin and half the parsley. Season to taste with more salt and/or lemon juice. Top with smoked paprika, sesame seeds and additional parsley. Bon appetit!

 

“I want a future! All I want is a future!” the young protestor cried out as police physically removed her from the logging road. The place was Clayoquot Sound, BC, and the year was 1993. It would be another ten years before Greta Thunberg’s birth, and a quarter of a century before her Fridays for Future movement would galvanize a whole new generation. As I watched the scene unfold in the documentary “Fury for the Sound” again recently, I was reminded of all the young Gretas (and their allies) who stood up to be counted in what was then the largest act of civil disobedience in Canadian history. That struggle – to protect some of the last remaining intact temperate rainforests on the planet – continues today, even as forests in BC no longer store carbon, but emit it.

I was moved by a photo of Dr. David Suzuki gently shaking Greta’s hand at the Sept. 27^th climate strike in Montreal. His daughter, climate activist Severn Suzuki, had made an impassioned presentation of her own to the United Nations 27 years earlier. The elder environmental activist joined us at Clayoquot Summer in support of the blockades, having already declared the 1990s “The Turn Around Decade.”

We certainly had the science to unite behind back then. In late ’92 the first World Scientists’ Warning to Humanity, signed by about 1,700 of the world’s scientists, and a majority of the Nobel Prize laureates in the sciences, began in no uncertain terms: “Human beings and the natural world are on a collision course.” And the women’s movement provided a useful framework for recognizing the patriarchal underpinnings of planetary destruction. A lesser known fact about the 1993 activists’ base camp in Clayoquot Sound (set up in a clearcut) was that it was influenced by an ecofeminist perspective that recognized violence against indigenous peoples, other women and marginalized communities, animals and ecosystems as intersecting oppressions. Not only did it offer non-violence training for people of all ages ready to put their own bodies on the frontline for environmental justice, but the camp kitchen deliberately served animal product-free meals all summer long to thousands of activists who arrived from around the world. It was a communal effort, and we were very well fed!

Nearly thirty years later, one apropos sign at our three thousand strong student-led Comox Valley climate strike read: “I can’t believe I’m still protesting this sh*t!” While Greta is being lauded for her bold leadership around climate action, and admired for her commitment to traveling only by the most ecologically responsible means available to her, her choice to embrace veganism for both animals and the environment is rarely noted in the media. It seems that how we feed ourselves is still a topic considered as deeply personal as any other form of bodily autonomy, in spite of the reality that animal agribusiness contributes as much or more GHG emissions globally than all transportation combined.

Although it’s very good news that those of us with the privilege of choice can also greatly reduce animal suffering and even benefit our own health by shifting to a 100% plant-based diet, when mainstream journalists do acknowledge these connections, the tone is frequently apologetic. It’s as if we should pat ourselves on the back for practising Meat Free Mondays, and not worry about the other six days of the week we’re still contributing unnecessarily to extremely serious problems. Greta is ahead of the curve (and as her newly vegan dad has said, it is indeed a very steep curve downwards that we need to encourage to stay below a 1.5 C temperature rise.) So it comes as no surprise when climate collapse deniers, determined to discredit Thunberg’s efforts, are also prone to exclaiming that they have no intentions of ever giving up meat or any other animal products. The sense of entitlement that comes with believing animals and the rest of the natural world exist first and foremost to satiate our socially conditioned appetites is predicated upon a disconnect deeply ingrained over centuries by the dogma of human centrism and its direct offshoot, capitalism.

Perhaps it is Greta’s unfettered refusal, even inability, to ‘compartmentalize’ the issues that has so many of us utterly captivated by her clarity. But one needn’t have an extraordinary ‘super power’ to see how personal choices and system change are linked. We need only see the world through a lens that recognizes all life on earth as connected and interdependent, and act on our conscience to defend it every way we can. There are, thankfully, countless other young activists equally deserving of our attention and support who understand that this is not an ‘either/or’ situation. They too, are leading the way forward. ‘The power of one,’ has always preceded the collective might of mass resistance to business as usual.

……………………..

Amazing Brussel Sprouts (with thanks to Pat McGilvray for the inspiration)

Ingredients:
2 Tbsp olive oil
3 cups fresh Brussels sprouts, sliced in half
1 onion, chopped
2 Tbsp sesame seeds
1/2 tsp coarse sea salt

Instructions:
Heat a heavy skillet (cast iron, if you’ve got one) over medium-high heat, add sesame seeds and toast for about 3-5 minutes, or until golden brown and fragrant. Don’t walk away and leave them…keep stirring with a spatula to prevent them from burning. Remove from pan and set aside.

Add 1 Tbsp olive oil and onions to hot pan and cook until caramelized – soft and nicely browned around the edges. Remove onions and set aside. Add 1 Tbsp olive oil to hot pan and add Brussels sprouts, placing them face down. Cook for 5-7 minutes, and when Brussels sprouts are beautifully caramelized, turn over and cook for an additional 5-7 minutes. Add onions back to pan to heat up, stirring to mix with Brussels sprouts.

Season with toasted sesame seeds and coarse sea salt. These baby cabbages make a delicious accompaniment to baked yams, or other fall favourite veggies. Enjoy!

 

     The scent of fall is always bittersweet. But here on the west coast of Canada this year, it comes with immense relief that our skies have remained relatively smoke-free – so far. What has been impossible to avoid, however, is awareness that the ‘lungs of our planet’ in the southern hemisphere are being devoured by raging infernos. In the Amazon and surrounding ecosystems, the stench of death hangs heavy in the air.

     Over 1,500 species of birds, 500 species of mammals and 550 species of reptiles have nowhere to flee. According to a recent article in the UK Guardian highlighting the disaster in eastern Bolivia, all of the firefighters there have been witness to terrified and burned animals. Luis Andres Rocahas, fire chief for Manacas, told reporters how incredibly difficult it has been for his crews to cope psychologically with the unprecedented devastation of wildlife. “My companions and I would cry, we felt so powerless,” he said. “It’s the worst tragedy we’ve ever seen here.”

     Deforestation for the purpose of grazing cattle and growing soy beans as food for livestock was recognized as a leading cause of ecosystem destruction – and GHG emissions – well before the recent increase in fires that have alarmed the world. But it has become much harder to ignore the fact that international demand for beef and for soy as fodder is directly responsible for widespread habitat loss with global consequences. When the president of Bolivia attended an event at the end of August marking the very first shipment of beef destined for China, angry demonstrators chanted, “Behind every fallen tree there’s a laughing cattle rancher.”

     Wherever cows and other livestock occupy land as introduced species, indigenous flora and fauna are displaced and/or destroyed. When primary forests that have not evolved with fire are burned to the ground, whole communities of plants and animals, including countless unknown species, die out. Without fauna, such rainforests (along with the carbon storage, clean air and clean water they provide) would cease to exist. As Amazon conservationist Paul Rosolie explains it, “the animals are carrying seeds, pollinating flowers, moving things around – everything is interconnected, and the animals have created the forests that have allowed us to live on this planet.” According to a report from the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) released earlier this year, a million species are currently under threat of extinction worldwide. The science is clear that biodiversity loss and climate change are mutually reinforcing phenomena, so we either commit to solving both, or we solve neither.

     While protecting nature in the first place is obviously the best strategy, halting deforestation is a daunting task. Despite public opposition, for example, our own provincial govt. continues to liquidate old growth at a rate three times faster than loggers are leveling the Amazon, with no legislation in place to protect the 1,807 species at risk of extinction right here in B.C.! The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has estimated that we would need to “plant 1 billion hectares of forest by 2050 to keep the globe from warming a full 1.5 degrees C over pre-industrial levels.” Ethiopia, Australia, Ireland, Holland, India, Armenia, New Zealand and China, among other countries, have already planted or are committed to planting millions of trees. We must all play a part, including on an individual basis. Fall is a great time to plan ahead for future food security and plant fruit and nut trees here in our coastal communities. And there are many NGOs we can support. I highly recommend A Well Fed World’s “Food Trees for Climate and Hunger” initiative, and Sadhana Forest, operating on three continents.

     Individual actions help spur societal change, but our climate and biodiversity emergencies are going to require massive disruptions to business as usual in order to spark scalable system change. To that end, a coalition of vegan groups and campaigners in the UK plan to mobilize thousands of their members next month and blockade the largest meat market there for two weeks! The goals of Animal Rebellion include highlighting the role animal agriculture and fishing industries play in the climate crisis, encouraging the shift to a plant-based food system in order to avert climate breakdown and mass extinction and ensure justice for farmed animals. Veganic agro-ecology (agriculture incorporating the cultivation and conservation of trees, sans livestock), multi-leveled community food forests, or natural regeneration/rewilding of the landscape can all be advanced by freeing the land of carbon intensive livestock. If you do nothing to a piece of land in a temperate climate, biologists tell us, it will become a forest. The forces of nature are always actively moving the land towards a balanced, sustainable and resilient ecosystem. Meanwhile, Canada subsidizes animal agriculture like it subsidizes fossil fuels  – to the tune of billions of dollars a year. This has to change. We could and should be helping farmers transition to sustainable plant-based food production, just as we should be advancing employment in the alternative energy sector instead of propping up pipelines.

                                                     ……………………….

ROAST POTATOES & PUMPKIN SRIRACHA AIOLI

Cooler evenings are inspiring a bit of spice in this kitchen lately. Punch up your roast potatoes and/or other favourite root vegetables with this easy pumpkin Sriracha aioli! (credit to Jenn Laughlin)

– 1.5 lbs small bagged organic golden potatoes

– 2 T olive oil

– salt, pepper, and paprika, to taste

– 2 T fresh chopped parsley to garnish (optional)

Ingredients (B): Pumpkin Sriracha Aioli

– 2-4 T organic pumpkin puree (you can always buy a can and freeze the rest for later use in a pumpkin mousse or pie)

– 2-4 T quality mayo (I use homemade vegan mayo or organic Vegannaise)

– 2 T Sriracha or to taste (Simply Natural Organic is great)

– 1-2 tsp organic lemon juice

– pinch of salt

– dash of paprika

Instructions

Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees F, cut cleaned potatoes in half. Toss with oil, salt and pepper. Spread on sheet pan and roast for 40-60 minutes, flipping periodically for crispier potatoes. Whisk sauce together in small bowl. Toss your fresh roast spuds with parsley, and dip away. Enjoy!

 

 

 

“I want you to act as if our house is on fire. Because it is.”

The clarion call of 16 year old Greta Thunberg continues to inspire youth and adults alike through one of the most important environmental movements of our time. On June 7^th, Greta and the student initiative she founded just last year were honored with Amnesty International’s Ambassador of Conscience Award. “Every young person taking part in Fridays for Future,” Secretary General Kumi Naidoo declared, “embodies what it means to act on your conscience. They remind us that we are more powerful than we know and that we all have a role to play in protecting human rights against climate catastrophe.”

Even as ‘authorities’ escalate the repression of climate protestors in some quarters, there can be no turning back. The Extinction Rebellion activists recently pepper sprayed in Paris while peacefully occupying a bridge over the River Seine, for example, understood that the time has come to put their bodies on the line in order to encourage the actions necessary to avert full-on global meltdown. The record breaking temperature they were also forced to endure that day was a sweltering 45.9 degrees C. In neighboring Spain, a wildfire suspected of being caused by the spontaneous combustion of chicken manure was already raging, and at present time has consumed over 15,000 acres. There is no denying the fact that extreme high temperatures combined with dry conditions are increasing wildfire ignition and spread here in BC as well. Even the BC Cattlemen’s Association has encouraged ranchers to remove the metal shoes from horses in tinder dry terrain, to avoid the risk of striking a spark. Meanwhile, France, Canada, the UK and Ireland have already declared a climate emergency but continue to support the fossil fuel industry collectively to the tune of billions of dollars. Animal agribusiness, another leading cause of global GHG emissions (as well as habitat destruction, biodiversity loss, water use, pesticide use, and other pollution), remains widely ignored in climate discussions while also continuing to be propped up by massive subsidies.

Of course it is the increasing frequency of extreme weather events of all kinds that indicate how serious our situation is. We are learning to expect the unexpected. A few days before Guadalajara, Mexico was forced to dig itself out from under that freak summer ice storm, a tornado in Saskatchewan uprooted trees, flipped over trailers and pummeled campers with hail the size of tennis balls. In Oregon, unexpected hail did serious damage on a friend’s veganic farm. The stock-free growing techniques this woman employs are admirably climate conscious. But Mother Nature plays no favorites. The massive migrant crisis happening further south in the USA, for example, is driven in no small part by hunger following crop failure. Drought has destroyed staples like maize in El Salvador and other countries in the region for over five years in a row.

Since 2012, coffee plants grown all across Central America have been ravaged by leaf rust – a fungus that normally dies when temperatures drop down in the evening (warming nights have allowed it to thrive.) This has affected 70% of coffee farms in Honduras, leading to wide scale unemployment. Last year, reports the UK Guardian, the World Bank estimated that warming temperatures and extreme weather will force an estimated 3.9 million climate migrants to flee Central America alone over the next three decades.

It is incredibly unjust that those least responsible for climate breakdown – human and non-human alike – are the first to suffer its consequences. With no more time for ‘baby steps’, it seems incumbent upon all of us with the privilege of choice to cease our

unsustainable behaviors and demand the kind of bold system changes necessary for our collective survival. Switching to an environmentally conscious animal-free diet, as Greta Thunberg has made a point of doing, is one of the most immediate ways many of us can reduce our carbon footprints and respond pro-actively to the equally enormous problem of biodiversity loss worldwide. It isn’t moderate changes to our buying habits that will preserve our precious blue green planet. Rejecting human-centrism is critical to any livable future.

…………….

Couscous Summer Pilaf

(with thanks to Susan Voison)

Ingredients

– 1 1/2 cups whole grain couscous (sub brown rice if you are gluten-free)

– 1 heaping cup cucumber, quartered and thinly sliced

– 1 large stalk celery, strings removed and diced

– 2 scallions, minced

– 1/4 cup minced fresh dill, or more, to taste

– 10 to 12 basil leaves, thinly sliced, or more, to taste

– 4 medium firm, ripe apricots or 3 medium firm, ripe nectarines, pitted and diced

– 1 heaping cup halved cherry or grape tomatoes (red or yellow, or a combination)

– 1 medium firm, ripe avocado, peeled and diced

– 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil (or less if you’d like a lower fat dish)

– 2 to 3 tablespoons lemon juice, or more, to taste

– Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

– Mixed baby greens, as needed

– 1/4 cup toasted pine nuts or 1/3 cup toasted slivered almonds

Instructions

1. Bring 5 cups of water to a boil in a medium saucepan. Add the couscous and cook at a rapid simmer for about 8 minutes, or until al dente. Drain and rinse with cool water until the couscous is at room temperature.
2. In a mixing bowl, combine the couscous with the remaining ingredients, except for the last two. Toss well to combine.
3. Line a large serving platter with some greens. Mound the salad over them, letting some of the greens show along the edge. Sprinkle the top with the toasted nuts. Serve at once or cover with a light cloth and refrigerate until needed. Enjoy!