The word “sustainable” is a catch-all phrase much like the word “green” and “natural” is used to get people to buy certain products or to think they are making a wise choice in their lifestyle habits.

The above video is long, but it is VERY eye-opening about what are the REAL causes of environmental destruction and how each one of us is contributing to it.

There are very simple  changes you can make to reverse this trend. While the movie “Inconvenient Truth” by Al Gore highlights the importance of cutting down on driving polluting cars,  that is far from the whole story. This video goes into our water sources, land use and so many other resources that go towards raising animals for food. Including fish. If you love  snorkeling or the ocean, this video is very important to watch. The information you see in this video is NOT what you will find in mainstream media.

We need new “ag systems” and plant-based farms using permaculture principles. Renewable energy is definitely part of the equation, but our farming practices are the biggest contributor to environmental degradation. Big business has done a great job in keeping you in the dark about just how destructive their practices are.

I live in Idaho and I can tell you that some of the richest people in this state are the farmers. And the vast majority here are dairy farmers or grow food such as the alfalfa mentioned in the video for food for the dairy cows.

The farmer’s markets here are, to put it bluntly, pathetic. I went to three “farmer’s markets” last weekend and two of the biggest had a small percentage of actual produce stalls; all the stalls were either clothing, art, junk foods like pretzels, pizza, hot dogs, coffee and ice cream and the few produce stalls there were were anemic at best. It was embarrassing. Really. They shouldn’t be calling these farmers markets because hardly any farms were represented.

Grass-fed has been touted as more sustainable and this also is addressed in this video. Water and land usage is still not as efficient and  habitat loss through cutting down forests to use as grazing pasture makes it far from good for the environment. Food forests  create ecosystems for all species while providing food for humans that is truly renewable food since trees are perennials that don’t need to be cultivated each year: you plant them once and they keep producing year after year with very little human effort. Trees keep the climate cool, they provide shade and are the lungs of the planet  providing oxygen to the atmosphere and removing carbon dioxide.

Take the time to get informed and then plant a fruit tree and go plant-based. Not just on Mondays but on ALL days. Not only will your body thank you, but you will be lightening the load of your footprint on this planet.