Photo courtesy (above): Pixabay
As climate change seems to be on a steep rise, Boston Vegetarian Society President Evelyn Kimber has come up with a solution - change your diet.
"You know our planet is on fire, and a shift to a plant-based food system is absolutely necessary,” Kimber said.
Kimber has been president of the BVS since the early 1990s and has worked to educate the public about the importance of veganism and vegetarianism and how they relate to the environment.
Founded in 1988, the BVS is built by hundreds of volunteers who use their skills to support the organization’s activities. The group hosts events with guest speakers at several different vegan restaurants and does cooking demos of vegan dishes. The BVS’s largest event of the year, Boston Veg Food Fest, is free for all attendees.
The Boston Veg Food Fest hosted by the BVS at the Reggie Lewis Center in Roxbury. (Photo Courtesy BVS)
“We partner for events at restaurants so we try to provide a variety of events and cooking demos occasionally,” said Kimber. “I feel so blessed because I have this huge vegan community around me. We try to find education, outreach and social support.”
The Humane America Animal Foundation has claimed the world has bred a surplus of cattle and other livestock to be eaten because of the mass demand of meat and animal-based products. The animals then emit gaseous and solid waste that not only has contributed to global warming. According to Science Magazine, half of the water and grain supply in the world goes to livestock.
“Raising animals for meat, dairy and eggs contributes more to greenhouse gasses and climate change than the entire transportation sector combined,” Kimber said. “That means all cars, all trucks, all buses, all ships, all airplanes.”
That’s where a plant-based diet comes in.
“Plant foods are filled with nutrients that our bodies need to thrive,” she explained. “Not only plant proteins but… all kinds of things that contribute to our best health. Animal foods have many things that are a detriment to good health, like cholesterol saturated fat.”
A cart of fresh vegetables (Photo courtesy Adobe)
Veganism is changing the scope of food and how important it is to think about the environment. The BVS provides a community of other vegans and resources of vegan restaurants and businesses to support.