VegFamily News

PenPoints September 1, 2007

Creating Positive Change

The other day a close friend and I were discussing change and the world at large. During our conversation he shared that because his life was fairly comfortable, he did not go to great lengths to affect change on a large scale. He added that most people do not feel personally affected by the greater challenges that the world faces, and that because of this are not really motivated to inspire mainstream changes in society.

I think that his feelings summed it up quite well,"My life is comfortable."

Perhaps not for him but for many, the lack of time and a hurried schedule contribute also to not getting involved with the country's or world's pressing issues such as hunger, war, poverty, and GMO's. Who has time these days?

Going deeper, I think that the reason most people do not get involved in affecting change on a larger scale is due to not knowing. Not knowing the ramifications of our daily choices and of the choices being made in the world at large, and most importantly the power that we have through our actions to create positive change.

We can also realize that we as a large community do have time to contribute to change. We all have a few minutes each day to call our senators and representatives. We all have time to write a few letters or post a few flyers.

One good way to get more connected with our own actions is to simplify our lives in general. I think one of the most beneficial things that we can do for society is to cut down on what we consume, maintain and buy. Simplify. Support a CSA instead of a gigantic super market. Grow a garden. Teach children to garden. Go local (see this month's article Eat Local) know who and what type of business you are supporting when you make purchases. Do the items that you buy help to create the world that you dream of?

It is one thing to know about these things and another to try them out. I have learned that life is usually busy. If I wait until I have free time to do these things, I will never get them done. Yet if I begin pulling in a few new practices into my life, my life will begin to take on a new shape. If new activities are meant to stay, old ones that are not needed will fall away.

In regard to creating change beyond our personal life, we can support sincere organizations that are affecting change, share education with others, write letters to the editor, write articles. Find ways to get good information out there. Sure, some people will not understand at all. Some people may even ridicule you. Yet ultimately, any time you share information that helps the world, there will be some people that will understand and these will be some of the most magical moments of your life. The best thing is to not wait until you realize that you are being personally affected. We are all being affected on a daily basis by decisions that we do not even realize. Some are positive and some not so positive. We can begin to have more influence on the outcome of these daily decisions. The key is we as individuals must keep on learning and sharing and we as communities must be willing to listen and act together proactively. With directed, consistent action, we can affect positive change and continue to support a world that we believe in.

Do these actions really do anything? History has shown that united positive action has been effective. Just think—isn't it unbelievable that a relatively short time ago women and African Americans could not even vote? On some levels, society has made very big improvements. We must remember these small and large victories and realize that united, we can make a difference.

Alerts:

1.The EPA has continued to allow the toxic chemical chloripyrifos to be used for agricultural purposes even though it has been found to cause ,"...dizziness, vomiting, convulsions, numbness in the limbs, loss of intellectual functioning and death." On July 31st many advocacy groups filed a lawsuit against the EPA because of this negligence. Show support to end the use of this dangerous pesticide. Contact the California Department of Pesticide Regulations (CDPR).

2. Follow the lead of New York! Ask your congress to decrease pesticide use in public places. Recently advocacy groups from all over the state of New York proposed that Governor Spitzer sign an executive order to phase out all toxic chemical used on public land, replacing them with healthier alternatives. Contact Jay Feldman at Beyond Pesticides for helpful suggestions in how to do this. jfeldman@beyondpesticides.org, 202-543-5450.

3. We are just one month away from the California almond harvest. As I mentioned last month, all almonds, including organic have been required to be pasteurized, unless sold direct at a farm stand. This may seem benign, but this process does affect the nutritional content of the nuts. Worse yet, conventional almonds will be sprayed with propylene oxide, a gene disrupter and possible carcinogen. In addition almonds will remain labeled as raw. Unfortunately the public did not seem to know that there was a public comment period on this subject. Please contact the USDA asking to reopen public opinion on this subject. Please consider notifying local health establishments and co-ops with this news. For more information see: http://cornucopia.org/sda-and-agribusiness-conspire-to-mislead-consumers/.

And the good news

1. Kudos to the Organic Center. This inspiring organization's mission statement is, "To generate credible, peer reviewed scientific information and communicate the verifiable benefits of organic farming and products to society." Their website is packed with good, science based documentation that shares very thorough information regarding the benefits of organic food.

2. Going local is easy with the website Local Harvest. Simply type in your zip code and see where you can get the freshest and most vital food.

3. Few telephone companies compare to Earth Tones, owned and operated by a group of non-profit agencies. Earth Tones donates 100% of their profits to help the environment and has done so since 1993. Going even further, Earth Tones sends out bills on recycled paper, recycles old telephones. The earth friendly company even sends out green alerts, helping their customers be even more aware.

Progressive Media
The Next Industrial Revolution is an inspiring film that documents the work of architect William McDonough and chemist Dr. Michael Braungart. The beauty of this film is how solution oriented it is, while at the same time being very practical and successful. Because of this combination, McDonough was even able to help such business giants as Nike and Ford create more sustainable and eco-friendly work models.

Penelope Sullivan holds a Bachelors in Holistic Nutrition and is a Certified Family Herbalist through the School of Natural Healing. She is currently completing their Master Herbalist course.

Sponsors: