How green is your diet?

Photo taken from here

Take this short test below.

These are my results: I’ve saved 420 animals thanks to my vegetarian diet.
If I stick to it, I will save over 15,680 more animals from dying and 184,800 pounds of CO2 emissions from polluting the Earth during my lifetime.



Happy earth day people! I know I know, earth day’s still tomorrow (at least in my time zone). For those of you who don’t know, according to our friend Wikipedia, Earth day is a day designed to inspire awareness and appreciation for the earth’s environment. It was founded by peace activist John McConnell in 1969 partly to generate awareness on overpopulation.

Anyway, if you’d like to celebrate earth day in your safe bubble, why not go vegan? For the day, for the week, for 3 weeks! Slowly adapt to 1 vegan meal a day, to 2 meals, to 3, to meriendas. Get ideas from here, here, and here.

These are the reasons why veganism = environmentalism without mentioning animal cruelty, as quoted in the UN Food and Agriculture Organization 2006 Report by Vegan Outreach.

1. The livestock sector is a major player in climate change, responsible for 18% of greenhouse gas emissions measured in CO2 equivalent. This is higher than emissions of transportation vehicles.
2. Livestock is responsible for 64% of anthropogenic ammonia emissions (read: POOP and URINE) which contribute to acid rain and acidification of ecosystems.
3. Livestock accounts for over 8% of global human water use, mostly for irrigation of feedcrops. It is probably the largest sectoral source of water pollution. The major sources of pollution are from animal wastes, antibiotics and hormones, chemicals from tanneries, fertilizers and pesticides, used for feedcrops, and sediments from eroded pastures.
4. 70% of previous forested land in the Amazon is occupied by pastures and feedcrops cover a large part of the remainder, all for livestock production.
5. The livestock industry is the leading player in the reduction of biodiversity since it is a major driver of deforestation, land degradation, pollution, climate change, overfishing, sedimentation of coastal areas and facilitation of invasions by alien species.

A vegan diet requires 300 gallons of water per day while a meat-eating diet requires more than 4,200 gallons of water per day, says this site.

A 2006 University of Chicago study found that a person switching from the average American diet to a vegan diet would reduce CO2 emissions by 1,485 kg per year.

Something to think about, guys :)

Baking = nature and art appreciation

How can one not appreciate the fine art of baking? The whole process from measuring out the dry ingredients to consuming the baked good is pure art. One cannot fully appreciate food if one doesn't know how it is made.

I can stare at ingredients in their original state all day. Or, photograph them all day. Take the humble flour (with other white powders such as baking soda, baking powder, and salt) and the intoxicating cocoa powder. The "rock formations" are something to marvel at. I also like staring at avalanches of powdered sugar.


Once sifted together, the powders look almost homogenous and are not clumpy. From rock formations they turn into powdery chocolate mountains.
Mixing them together, they form craggly rock formations again.

Mixing dry ingredients with the wet, the mixture resembles soft mounds of earth.

Handling your food is always ideal. Cookie batter almost feels like mud.

From deep earthy pebbles...


Into flattened rock...There go the cracks again.

Appreciation of the fissures on the cookie surface.

Baking = truly is, nature appreciation. The satisfaction I get from baking must be akin to what God felt when he created the earth, the plants, the animals, and man. Pure bliss.

Nature appreciation: La Mesa Eco Park

A bunch of coworkers and I participated in a company-sponsored tree planting activity in La Mesa Eco Park in Quezon City last February 7. La Mesa Eco Park houses a 700ha reservoir and 2000ha forest. The reservoir is Metro Manila's sole source of potable water and sadly the forest is the last remaining one of its size in Metro Manila. It's always nice to get away from the city (even though the park was in Quezon City) and see an actual forest. I stumbled across some interesting flora and fauna...

A mother duck and her little ones. A little googling and wikipedia-ing tells me that she is a Muscovy duck, aka Cairina moschata. She's not as regal looking as her Google lookalikes though (OMG someone actually cooked a muscovy duck and uploaded a photo in the image search! Beware). I'm sure she's had quite a hard knock's life.... It isn't easy being a duck in the Philippines.










Her babies are the cutest ever. She's one protective mama -- every time I'd try to get close to photograph her and the ducklings she would flap her wings and quack at me. She loved to nestle in the grass and observe her kids run around excitedly.

A kind human offers her and her kids some breakfast.















The fruit of the samak tree. People from Laoag City, Ilocos Norte commonly ferment the fruit, leaves, and bark with sugar cane to make vinegar and basi. What your eyes don't see...





























Yellow orchid. I think it is a Odontocidium. From this website: Odontocidium Tiger Crow 'Golden Girl' is an intergeneric hybrid consisting of Odontoglossum and Oncidium. It grows in a wide range of temperature conditions from warm to cool. The flower spikes emerge often twice per year and are colored in yellow and burgundy. The species behind the cross include Oncidium tigerinum, Onc. leucochilum, Odm. crispum, Odm. pescatorei, Odm. hallii, Odm. harryanum, and a host of odontoglossum hybrids.

I think it's so interesting to find out the scientific names of plants and animals, and learn more about them.

NB / disclaimer:
The La Mesa website says it has a "butterfly trail and hatchery" -- I didn't get a chance to visit this place. Oh and La Mesa has horseback riding = not vegan! It has a pond and boating lagoon -- I honestly have no idea if it's manmade or not and whether it has natural fish (versus fish bought from some Cartimar vendor). And, I have no idea if the duck was endemic to that area (or again, bought from Cartimar as a baby in a paper bag).

Vegan on a Desert Island

Being vegan in Manila can be a small challenge, but not unbeatable. A handful of restaurants have vegan food; there's always a yaya to prep the tofu and cook the beans; one can easily whip up a meal in the most basic of kitchens. In addition, grocery stores are at our fingertips for fresh produce.

Not so on a remote island in the Philippines. I spent Holy Week in Tingloy Island, a 45 minute banca ride from Bauan Port in Batangas. Batangas may seem city-ish enough for some but let me tell you, Tingloy Island most certainly is not. I don't mean to talk mean about one of the most beautiful islands I've been to, but I'm gonna be honest with you. It's just one of the many islands that are still pretty rural. Sporadic electricity. No cars. A handful of bicycles and motorcycles. Not all houses have fridges. Definitely no grocery stores.

The only stores around are sari-sari stores which sell pre-packaged food in small quantities - junk food, packaged baked goods, soft drinks, and small cans of processed meat and fish. The only fresh produce you'll find would be root crops (camote, camoteng kahoy, gabi) and the occasional eggplant, kalabasa, onion, garlic, and tomato. Most homes have a small garden plot in which coconut trees, papaya trees, and banana plants grow. Batanguenos in Tingloy usually have de lata meat (corned beef, meat loaf, etc.) with rice and egg in the morning together with a cuppa Nescafe coffee. For snacks, there's the junk food or pre-packed cookies / cupcakes from the store. For lunch and dinner, there's freshly caught seafood, sometimes fried, with rice.

I had to bring with me my own box of food. For those who think it's such a hassle to be vegan on an island, let me tell you, this was necessary even for the 10 omnivore girls I was with. The contents of the box was tricky to plan. The food had to be able to last a whole week with no refrigeration in the humid tropical heat. I had to bring fruits and vegetables. The food had to be low-maintenance in cooking -- I had 15-30 minutes of cooking time. And, the food had to be in individual servings so as not to leave extra that would have had to be refrigerated.

What I packed:

• Cereal - Kashi Go Lean
• Homemade granola - easier to make than you think
• Individual boxes of soy milk
• Roasted peanuts
• Canned chickpeas (the only local canned beans in the country)
• Dried lentils
• Individual sachets of tomato sauce
• Garlic and onions
• Low-maintenance veggies: carrots and camote / sweet potatoes
• Fruits: bananas, oranges, and apples
• Dried basil leaves and ground cumin
• Bottle of vegetable oil
• Green tea

• 1 plastic container - to store food for the trek
• Small colander
• Chopping board
• Knife for chopping
• Peeler
• Can opener - unnecessary as the house we stayed in had one already

Luckily, the other group of girls brought with them a tub of peanut butter and some bread. Other food they brought that I was able to eat: Oreos, spaghetti noodles, and bananas.

Breakfast was usually: a banana, a few tablespoonfuls of peanut butter, a handful of granola, and a cuppa green tea. One morning there was suman. Another morning, when we ran out of bananas, I made a fantastic sandwich: 2 slices of whole-wheat bread, peanut butter, and a couple of (thin) slices of apple. Yum!

We usually had lunch away from home so I had to bring my own lunch.

Day 1: I had a sandwich which I brought from Manila - whole-wheat pita bread, slices of seitan / fake meat, roast eggplant, and bell pepper slices with a pesto and balsamic vinegar dressing

Day 2: cereal with soymilk and peanuts

Day 3: cereal with soymilk again

Day 4: food by Nanay Mely - rice with cabbage and tomatoes and atchara

Day 5: food given to us by Nanay Carmen - rice with a sour soupy salad of cabbage, tomatoes, and kalabasa

Day 6: same as Day 5

Day 7: spent in Manila

Merienda / mid-afternoon snack was usually an apple with a handful of peanuts and the occasional bread.

While lunch wasn't the best meal of the day for me, I made it up with my dinner as I had access to a small kitchen. While the omnivores ate well for lunch, I have to say that I ate better for dinner.

Day 1: sandwich from Manila

Day 2: Mexican chili - chickpeas, tomato sauce, garlic and onions, cumin, chili sauce

Day 3: Italian lentil stew - lentils, tomato sauce, garlic and onions, basil

Day 4: Moroccan chickpeas - chickpeas, onions, cumin - with spaghetti

Day 5: no dinner as I was stuffed on merienda of cereal, apple, and peanut butter on fruit salad

Day 6: Thai curry - chickpeas, eggplant, tomatoes (bought from the sari sari store), garlic, fresh coconut milk (from one of the coconut trees in the yard), fresh tamarind pulp (from tamarind pods foraged during one of the hikes), chili sauce

Day 7: spent in Manila

The great thing about knowing how to cook your own food is sharing it with others, even though they may be suspicious of vegan food. For the vegans out there, don't be scared to go to a remote island! Always prepare before hand and bring the food you need.

For the omnivore girls I spent Holy Week with -- I hope I got you thinking about the animals and about how going veg can still be delicious.