The 1st Middle East Vegetarian (MEVEG) Congress, Part 6 of a Multi-part Series

“‘Life After People.’ For those of you who haven't, this documentary explains what happens to planet Earth when humans perish. They had the view of experts, how the planet actually restores itself when humans leave the planet. And we are moving fast toward this. I think one of the ideas of the producer of this documentary is to awaken people. It’s to let us know that you're moving towards this. If you don't do anything about it, you’ll be there soon. Because according to calculations, we need one and a half planets to sustain the current rate of resources we’re consuming, based on US standards.”

“So, it’s best that we consume food as unprocessed as possible. Because the more processed the food is, the less the nutrients. The body will be craving for nutrients. So, you find many of us eat because of the craving to eat, because the body is starving of nutrients.” “We eat even more empty calories. So it's very common that this happens, and we set up a cycle of overeating. So, the point is that the diet we choose drains the planet’s resources.”

“This is an example: it’s when you see the black spots here, that's the best time to eat the fruit because according to that study, according to this Belgium study, it is when the fruit is at its peak ripeness that the antioxidant level is highest. You find it’s also most tasty, it's sweetest, it’s when the fruit drops from the tree. It is when the fruit is meant to be eaten. It is when the fruit becomes accessible to humans. That’s nature’s design. That is the language of love, the language of harmony. That's the way it’s supposed to be.”

“I just want to remind you that I think it's important that we think that the diet is not just our stomach; it’s also about the planet. We’re all connected and it's good to return the kindness of the Earth.” “So what I do is I buy the fruits unripe, let it sit in my kitchen until it is ripe. I do that. And I try to buy fruits, like bananas, for example. I try to buy the local ones, not the imported ones, because I'm told that there’s a lot of pesticide sprayed for the exported ones.”