Eye Opener

Cornelia Guest is one of my favorite people. She's lovely. She cares deeply about animals. She designs beautiful handbags using no animal products. She even bakes cookies (again using no animal products). And she's on the board of the New York Humane Society! A portion of her cookie sales go to support the humane society. And they are SO GOOD!!

Cornelia Guest's Eye Opener

"A little over ten years ago I noticed that my dogs were getting strange diseases. Breathing problems, cancers, lumps and bumps that I don’t remember them having when I was growing up. I decided to stop using any pesticides or poisons anywhere in my home. At first it wasn’t easy but we just went back to basics. I asked around and with a little research (I love to collect books) I found some great old fashioned cleaning methods.

Then my mother got cancer and I really started to read… The China Study — a real eye opener– Dr Dean Ornish, Dr Neal Barnard, Kathy Freston, Skinny Bitch: all talked about how a plant based diet helps fend off and reverse disease. Then I read Gene Baures Farm Sanctuary. It is one of the most beautiful and inspiring books I have ever read. I guess on some level I always knew that factory farms were pretty horrible, but I learned that the suffering and torture these animals go through to be our food is just disgusting and not something I wanted to be a part of. I am not an expert on any of this but I am constantly overwhelmed, like most, about how to be green, organic… the list is endless. So I have chosen to educate myself and live in a way that is conscious to all two and four legged beings, and our amazing planet.

Just a few weeks ago the NY Times Sunday front page had an article about a beautiful young girl who is now paralyzed. Why? She ate a hamburger and got E Coli. The article spoke about the horrors of factory farms and how a hamburger is made and the process of processing meat. Read it, and I promise not only will it make you want to vomit but you will look at a hamburger very differently. Then a few days later, the Times had another great article on ” Atrazine” a weed killer that the EPA has now decided might be a little more dangerous to humans than they thought!! Thank you New York Times!!!

I have been eating a plant based diet for about 2 years now and have never felt better or been healthier. Knowing that step by step, I am learning to be responsible to our planet and all its wondrous creatures. It is just one step, and I intend to do a lot more!!!!"