Environment and Vegetarian Diet

'The human appetite for animal flesh is a driving force behind virtually every major category of environmental damage now threatening the human future: deforestation, erosion, fresh water scarcity, air and water pollution, climate change, biodiversity loss, social injustice, the destabilisation of communities and the spread of disease,' the Worldwatch Institute has warned.

See full article on http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2008/sep/07/food.meat

Country House Montali, Vegetarian Paradise!

We have just had the most fantastic holiday ever at Country House Montali, a vegetarian paradise in Umbria. The setting, pictured left, is stunning. Close to Lake Trasimeno, Perugia and Assisi there are many beautiful and interesting places to visit just a short trip from here.

The food is heavenly! Imaginitive and extremely tasty 4 course dinners that we will never forget. We came home with a copy of the proprietors book 'The Vegeterranean' and have started experimenting with their recipes already.

Our stay was luxurious, the swiming pool divine. The proprietors, Alberto Musacchio and Malu Simoes and their team of chefs and staff did us proud. We can't wait to return and would highly recommend this holiday to anyone, especially us vegetarians who are usually disappointed with holiday food. This is the place we have been looking for, this is heaven.

Fuel in relation to plant and vegetable protein

I thought I would share this interesting article from the Guardian. It gives many good economic and environmental arguements for considering a vegetarian lifestyle. Here is an extract:

"A University of Chicago study argued that the average meat eater in the US produces about 1.5 tonnes of CO[squared] more than a vegetarian per year. That's because animals are hungry and the grain they eat takes energy, usually fossil fuels, to produce. It takes 2.2 calories of fossil fuel energy to produce a single calorie of plant protein, according to researchers at Cornell University. And lots of that plant protein is required to make animal protein. For chicken, the ratio of energy in to protein out is 4:1. For pork it's 17:1. For lamb, 50:1. For beef, 54:1."

For the full article see:
http://lifeandhealth.guardian.co.uk/food/story/0,,2286172,00.html#article_continue

Vegan diet and Arthritis

I've come across anecdotal information to support the theory that a vegetarian/vegan diet helps arthritis sufferers before, so I was very interested to read the following news report on this subject: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/7301188.stm