Dietary Water & Beverages Intake

Dietary Recommendations and Implementation: Water

In addition to foods containing water, the average adult needs about two quarts of water every day. Water intake must be increased even more for active people and those in hot environments.

Beverages other than water are a part of many diets. These beverages can have an effect on good health.

Coffee, tea, soft drinks, and alcoholic beverages are often substituted for water in the diet. Coffee (with caffeine) consumption has been associated with modest increases in blood cholesterol and in some people can cause symptoms such as irregular heartbeat. Tea has not been shown to have similar effects, though this may be because test drinkers typically consume less volume than coffee drinkers. Both beverages contain caffeine as do many soft drinks, though drip coffee typically contains two to three times the caffeine of a typical cola drink.

Excessive consumption of alcoholic beverages can have negative health implications because the alcohol often replaces many of the ten "key nutrients." Excessive alcohol consumption is associated with the increased risk of heart disease, high blood pressure, stroke, and osteoporosis. Long-term, excessive alcoholic beverage consumption leads to cirrhosis of the liver, and the increased risk of hepatitis and cancer. Alcohol consumption during pregnancy can result in low birth weight, fetal alcoholism, and other damage to the fetus.

Dietary Recommendation and Implementation: Beverages

Servings of coffee, tea, and soft drinks should not be considered as substitutes for water and/or other beverages or foods such as low-fat milk, fruit juices, or foods rich in calcium, which provide sources of key nutrients.

Daily servings of beverages containing caffeine should be limited to three or less.

For good health, alcohol consumption is not recommended, but for those who drink them, a limit of one ounce of alcohol per day is recommended (one ounce equals two beers, small wine drinks or average size cocktails).

Dietary Consideration: Vitamins & Minerals

Dietary Recommendations: Vitamins

Vitamins in the amounts equal to the RDAs should be included in the diet each day.

Dietary Implementation: Vitamins

A diet containing the food servings recommended for carbohydrates, proteins, and fats will more than meet the RDA standards.

Extra servings of green and yellow vegetables, citrus and other fruits, and other nonanimal food sources high in fiber, vitamins, and minerals is a wise substitute for high-fat foods.

Those who eat a sound diet as described in this chapter do not need a vitamin supplement. Those who insist on taking a daily vitamin supplement are advised not to take daily amounts larger than the RDA and only after following the guidelines for dietary supplements suggested later in this concept.

Adequate mineral intake is necessary for good health, but excessive mineral intake is NOT necessary and can be harmful to health.

Like vitamins, minerals have no calories and provide no energy for the body. They are important in regulating various bodily functions. Two of the ten key nutrients, calcium and iron, are minerals. Calcium is important to bone, muscle, nerve, and blood development and function. Iron is necessary for the blood to carry adequate oxygen. Other important minerals are phosphorus, which builds teeth and bones; sodium, which regulates water in the body; zinc, which aids in the healing process; and potassium, which is necessary for proper muscle function.

RDAs for minerals are established to determine the amounts of each necessary for healthy day-to-day functioning. Recently the National Research Council made slight adjustments in the RDAs. There is evidence that lower than recommended daily intake of calcium is associated with a higher than normal incidence of bone fractures among adults. However, the value of an intake of calcium greater than the RDA in the prevention of osteoporosis has yet to be clearly established. There is limited evidence of an association between high calcium intake and high blood pressure. A few long-term studies have suggested that high calcium intake is associated with a lower incidence of colon cancer, but to date the evidence is considered preliminary and inconclusive. Fluoride is a mineral often added to water supplies. There is clear evidence that fluoridation of public water systems reduces the incidence of dental caries.

Salt is another dietary mineral. There is strong evidence that excess table salt (sodium chloride) is associated with high blood pressure. People who consume excess salt have an increase in blood pressure with age that is much greater than for those who do not consume excess amounts of salt. Further, once high blood pressure develops it cannot be fully reversed by salt restriction though reduction in salt in the diet is effective in some reduction in blood pressure. Adults over fifty-five and blacks are especially susceptible to hypertension. Intake of adequate potassium in the diet combined with low sodium intake seems to be important in the prevention of hypertension. Excess salt from consumption of salt-cured foods has been associated with some gastrointestinal problems.

Dietary Recommendations: Minerals

Minerals in amounts equal to the RDAs should be taken in the diet each day.

While a dietary supplement of calcium is not recommended, it is especially important for women, adolescents, and anyone who restricts calorie intake to make careful food choices to assure adequate calcium in the diet.

Salt should be limited in the diet to no more than 4 grams per day, even less would be desirable (3 grams). Three grams equals one teaspoon of table salt.

Dietary Implementation: Minerals

A diet containing the food servings recommended for carbohydrates, proteins, and fats will more than meet the RDA standards.

Extra servings of green and yellow vegetables, citrus and other fruits, and other nonanimal source of foods high in fiber, vitamins, and minerals are recommended as a substitute for high-fat foods.

People who eat a sound diet as described in this chapter do not need a mineral supplement. Those who insist on taking a daily mineral supplement are advised not to take daily amounts larger than the RDA and only after following the guidelines for dietary supplements suggested later in this concept.

Water is a critical component in the healthy diet.

Though water is not on the list of the ten "key nutrients" because it contains no calories, provides no energy, and typically provides none of the ten key nutrients, it is very important to health and survival. Water is a major component of most of the foods you eat, and more than half of all body tissues are comprised of it. Regular water intake maintains water balance and is critical to many important bodily functions.

Dietary Carbohydrates & Protein

Dietary Implementation: Carbohydrates

Consume at least five servings of vegetables and/or fruits each day. Servings of green and yellow vegetables as well as citrus fruits are

recommended. A serving of vegetables equals approximately one-half cup. A serving of fruit equals one medium-size piece.

Consume at least six servings of complex carbohydrates such as breads, cereals, and/or legumes. A serving of legumes or cereal equals approximately one-half cup. A serving of bread is one slice, or one roll or muffin.

Limit intake of desserts, baked goods, and other
foods high in simple sugars or empty calories.

Dietary fiber supplements other than in the form of food (such as oat bran) are not recommended unless prescribed for medical reasons.

Protein is the basic building block for the body, but dietary protein constitutes a relatively small amount of daily calorie intake.

It is said that proteins are the building blocks of yourbody because all body cells are made of protein. Proteins are formed from twenty-two different amino acids.More than 100 proteins are made up of these amino acids. Fourteen of these amino acids are made in your own body, but Tight essential amino acids are not. You must consume foods that contain these eight essential amino acids if your body is to function properly. Certain foods, called "complete proteins," contain all eight essential amino acids. Examples of complete proteins are meat, dairy products, and fish. Incomplete proteins contain some, but not all, of the essential amino acids. Examples of incomplete proteins are beans, nuts, and rice.

Experts agree that there are no known benefits and some possible risks to consuming diets exceptionally high in animal protein. Certain cancers and coronary heart disease risk have been associated with high dietary intake of animal protein. Researchers are not certain whether the increased risk of contracting these diseases due to a high intake of animal protein is because of the protein itself or the fact that diets high in animal protein are also high in fat. There is evidence that excessive protein intake can lead to urinary calcium loss, which can be dangerous, especially for women.

Some scientists are concerned that restriction of animal protein might result in lower than necessary dietary intake of essential nutrients such as iron, especially for women and children. If the recommendations suggested in this section are followed, this should not be a problem. It is not our intent to suggest that animal protein should not be part of the normal diet, rather that consumption of animal protein be restricted somewhat, especially when the fat content is high.

Dietary Recommendation: Protein

Protein in the diet should account for 15 percent or less of the total calories consumed.

Protein in the diet should exceed the RDA of .8 grams per kilogram (2.2 pounds) of a person's desirable weight. This is about 36 grams for a 100- pound person.

Protein in the diet should NOT exceed twice the RDA (1.6 grams per kilogram of a person's desirable weight).

Vegetarians or those who severely limit the intake of animal products must be especially careful to eat combinations of foods that assure adequate intake of essential amino acids.

Dietary Implementation: Protein

Consume at least two servings of lean meat, fish, poultry, and dairy products (especially those low in fat content) or adequate combinations of foods such as beans, nuts, and rice in the diet.

Dietary supplements of protein such as tablets and powders are NOT recommended.

Adequate vitamin intake is necessary to good health, but excessive vitamin intake is NOT necessary and can be harmful to good health.

Vitamins do not provide energy since they do not contain calories. Nevertheless, five of the ten "key nutrients" shown in table 20.1 are vitamins—vitamins A, B1, B2, C, and niacin. They are needed for growth and the repair of body cells. Certain vitamins, B and C, are called "water soluble" because they dissolve in the blood and excess quantities are carried from the body in the urine. Your body cannot store these water-soluble vitamins. They must be replaced daily.

Other vitamins—A, D, E, and K—are called "fat soluble" because they dissolve in fat rather than in the watery fluids of the body. Excess dietary fat-soluble vitamins in the diet are stored in fat cells in the body. Excessive intake of vitamins, particularly fat soluble vitamins, can cause health problems such as liver damage as the body stores excessive amounts. Even excessive amounts of water-soluble vitamins can be toxic when taken in very large doses.

Consuming foods containing the minimum RDA of each of the vitamins is essential to the prevention of disease and the maintenance of good health. Recently, the National Research Council revised the RDAs for vitamins, lowering the amounts for B vitamins and setting a standard for vitamin K, which previously did not have a standard listed.

Though the National Research Council reduced some of the RDA amounts, it also has recommended the consumption of foods high in carotinoid and retinoid because these foods are associated with the reduced risk of some forms of cancer. Carotinoid- and retinoid-rich foods contain high amounts of vitamin A. Diets high in vitamin C (citrus fruits and vegetables) are also associated with a lower risk of cancer. There is limited evidence associating other vitamins—vitamin E, folacin, riboflavin, and vitamin B12-with cancer-restricting capabilities. The apparent discrepancy in the National Research Council actions (lowering RDA amounts of vitamins vs. recommending foods high in vitamins to decrease the risk of cancer) is the result of the fact that RDAs are intended to prevent deficiencies and insure health today while recommendations for increases in vitamin-rich foods to help reduce the risk of cancer are based on decreasing long-term disease risk.

One Man's Memories Part 2

"Fifty years ago much of the rolling prairie grasslands remained intact, impossible to irrigate because of the topography. Today only the steepest of hills and gullies remain untouched, thanks to the advent of the pivot irrigation sprinklers crawling over the mostly barren landscape where woodlands and native prairie used to be. It is true a few wildlife species have achieved some benefit from modern farming technology and the abundance of grain. Migrating waterfowl and cranes feed on the grain left from the harvest that fuels their migration to the far north. And with most predators, like coyotes and cougars, having been killed off, wild turkeys and white-tailed deer have become more prevalent. However, many species have been devastated. Formerly abundant, cottontails, prairie chickens, and sharp-tailed grouse have nearly disappeared. In the alfalfa field where I counted 123 jackrabbits as a child one summer night, I haven't seen a jackrabbit in more than thirty years.

"My fondest childhood memories were those summers spent on Ned Martin's place east of Maxwell, Nebraska, and on the Schneider farm near the Platte River where we still have our cabin. The Martins, although they grew some crops, liked the idea of being more rancher than farmer. They ran cattle in the short native prairie grasses of the Nebraska Sandhills. Back then the morning sounds of early spring were enriched by the crisp, sharp calls ofmeadowlarks and song sparrows. The prairie-scented air, which was always cool, made one breathe deeply. Leaving their leks, or dancing grounds, flocks of low-flying prairie chickens and sharp-tailed grouse flew over the valleys in search of morning feed.

"The sight of cattle in those days, spread out over the vast grassland, seemed healthy and good. From time to time cowboys herded the cattle to greener pastures and in winter moved them to areas where they would be fed from haystacks of prairie grass or alfalfa. Their meat was lean and flavorful. Ned Martin showed me the right way to cook a steak, from beef he had raised. Under a large cast-iron frying pan Ned turned the propane burner on high, took a twenty-ounce hand-cut sirloin from the refrigerator, heavily salted it on both sides, flopped it into the pan, counted to five, flipped it over and after another five seconds it was ready to eat. I was impressed.

"It's been nearly three weeks since I was on my stomach eye-to-eye with the herd of corn-fed Nebraska prime. The sign read 'No Trespassing—Bio Secure Area.' I didn't know if the sign was for my protection or the cattle's. I was careful not to trespass an inch past the fence. Here in the Heartland it is not just loss of habitat that is responsible for species decline but the amount of chemical fertilizer and herbicide and pesticide poisons put on the fields to create bumper yields of corn. The same corn that feeds the cattle in the feedlots. Industrialized farming has forced many family farms to go the way of the jackrabbits. Ned, too, is gone, but I shall never forget his respect for animals and the land on which he raised them."

One Man's Memories Part 1

By photographer Tom Mangelsen, who grew up on the prairies of Nebraska.

"From a twelve-year-old's perspective, Ned Martin was a giant of a man, over six feet tall with bright blue eyes; always in overalls and a sweat-stained and wrinkled straw cowboy hat covering his balding head. The hat seemed almost as permanent as his smile.

"In the corner of his mouth there was always a toothpick, ready for the next steak I suppose. Nearly everything we ate was raised on Ned's ranch, mostly hogs, chickens,and cattle. Ned was a proud and gentle soul who cared about his livestock. He often named his favorite animals. They were more to him than just another dollar or another pork chop. The chickens ran free. The henhouse had kerosene lamps that provided a measure of warmth on colder nights. The barn was full of horses and milk cows. Mostly, Ned's animals had space; they had a life beyond being fattened for the market. Ned also loved having wildlife around his place. He left brushy hedgerows and woodlots for pheasants, rabbits, and deer. Red-tailed hawks sat in the cottonwoods. He saw no need to have the tidiest ranch in the neighborhood and most of Ned's neighbors felt the same way. There was plenty of room for both wildlife and livestock.

The scene in front of me now is a far cry from what I remember. Wading knee-deep in a quagmire of olive brown excrement and mud, the herd inches forward. They stretch their necks toward the prone stranger's camera lens, nostrils flaring, with curious black liquid eyes nearly the size of baseballs. For the first time in my life I have come face-to-face with all those hamburgers and T-bones I have eaten and suddenly feel ill. The feedlot is huge, a mile square. The closest cattle are Black Angus, but beyond them are several thousand white-faced Herefords, some standing on the drier mounds that have been pushed up into small hills by bulldozers, the majority wading in the muck. Earlier in March it had rained and snowed for days and I imagine the scene—far more miserable. Fortunately it has been warm and windy the past week. Even with the wind at my back, the acrid smell is barely tolerable. Wet and mildewed, the grain next to the feedlot had been ground up with cornstalks into a silage mash smelling of molasses. Not a woodlot or brushy hedgerow is in sight, and only an occasional cottonwood. This feedlot is one of the largest of a dozen or so in the area, a few miles west of Grand Island, Nebraska, bordering the old ordinance plant where bombs and munitions were stored during World War II. This location was chosen because it is in the center of America, far from any shore.

"So how did it happen, this scene before me of cattle knee-deep in their own waste? Grain storage elevators overflowing and mountains of government-subsidized surplus corn piled on the ground?

Put our Harvest on Hope: Hope in People

It is important that we talk, often and enthusiastically, about the positive developments that are going on around the world. For one thing, it does seem that more and more people have woken up to what has happened to our food, have begun to comprehend the almost unbelievable mess we have made. And so people are starting to protest. To protest against the insults being perpetrated, in the name of progress, against people, animals, and the environment, and the unsustainable demands that are being made on our children's future, the future of our planet. Some of these protesters took on awesome tasks: like Percy Schmeiser, who took on Monsanto; and the two New York teenagers Jazlyn Bradley and Ashley Pelman who stood up to McDonald's. Of course, there are countless cases when people have fought against injustice and lost. Robert Kennedy won his case against the pork barons, only to have the rug snatched from under his feet when the legislation was subsequently changed to allow them to continue polluting. But every time a stand is made there are more people who hear aboutwhat is going on. More people who can work in their own way to make a difference.

I find hope in the people who join forces to buy farmland to save it from development and those who pull genetically modified crops out of the ground. Others organize and operate the farmers markets and cooperatives. Some are involved in the Slow Food movement, and many restaurateurs, such as Alice Waters of Chez Panisse and Tod Murphy of the Farmers Diner, are changing the world one plate at a time. It seldom makes front-page headlines when a company opens an organic food line, when a restaurant chain commissions its produce from a local organic farmer, or a household decides to join a Community Sponsored Agriculture group, a CSA, yet these are the actions that bring me hope, for they are already making change in the world.

There is hope, also, in the resilience of nature, her ability to repair the wounds we have inflicted. TACARE, the Jane Goodall Institute's program to improve the lives of the villagers living around the Gombe National Park, is a perfect example, for innovative techniques have restored life and productivity to land that had been overfarmed and abandoned, most of the topsoil washed away. It is harder, and takes a very long time and very hard work, to rescue land that has been polluted by years of chemical poisons, but it can be done.

And there is hope in the growing number of people who care, and do something about it. The wonderful mother- daughter team, Frances Moore Lappé and Anna Lappé, in their book, Hope's Edge, describe "a new social mentality" that has been developed in Belo Horizonte, the fourth largest city in Brazil. There was a time when one fifth of the children there were malnourished and poverty was rampant. Then, in 1993, Belo became "the only city in the capitalist world that has decided to make food security a right of citizenship" (my italics).

The city improved the way the food market worked. It provided all the students in the city's schools four nutritious meals per day, with ingredients mostly from local farmers. The city set up produce stands for some forty local farmers. It owns and operates the Restaurante Popular, which serves 6,000 meals a day at less than half the market price. This is all made possible by the twenty-six warehouse-sized stores that sell local produce at fixed prices—often half the price of nearby grocers. These stores are on government-owned prime urban real estate rented out to entrepreneurs at rock- bottom prices—the government reserves the right to setthe price, and the vendors must make weekend deliveries to the poor.

There is a Green Basket program that links hospitals, restaurants, and big food buyers to local, organic growers.

There is a local food council that helps to form partnerships with church and labor groups, and advises the government on ways of improving the food system. The entire program consumes only 1 percent of the city's budget and it is reckoned to be extremely cost-effective—the children do better in school with the opportunity of being productive citizenswhen they leave, and the entire population of the city is far healthier.

Indeed, the human brain, this organ—the spongy mass of gooey cells we all house in our skulls—is capable of the most wondrous technologies. Unfortunately, when there is a disconnect between mind and heart, technology can be— and has been and is being—used for evil purposes. Unless our intellect is bonded closely with our feelings of love andcompassion, although we may still be very clever, we shall not be wise.

Fortunately, my constant traveling gives me many opportunities to meet many of the wise, such as Dr. HugoHubacec and Dr. Peter Kromer, who came to see me in Vienna in the spring of 2005 to explain their remarkable technology. "SIPIN Technology" can revolutionize farming inarid conditions and greatly reduce hunger. Because no sophisticated machinery is involved it can be used easily by the local villagers.

SIPIN is a water-absorbent, natural silicate powder that is adjusted to the local conditions and used in combination with local soils. It is applied in the area around the plant's roots, and covered with local earth or sand. Over time SIPIN turns into amorphous clay minerals and stable, natural clay-soil compounds. These show high water absorption. After treating the roots of one plant, others can be planted in the same place without further applications for at least three years. It is possible to save up to 75 percent of the water otherwise used to sustain the crops, which, in a dry area, can save lives. By using SIPIN, the available water resources can nourish three to four times more people. "We do not want SIPIN to be marketed by one of the big corporations," Dr. Hubacec told me. "This is just to help people." It was an exciting meeting and we plan to work together to take this remarkable technology to places where it is so desperately needed.

Put our Harvest on Hope: Harvest for Hope

"If you lose hope, somehow you lose the vitality that keeps life moving, you lose that courage to be, that quality that helps you go on in spite of it all. And so today I still havea dream."

We live in troubling times. The giant corporations control much of the world's food, as well as the patents on our seeds. Billions of farm animals live in conditions of utmost deprivation and misery. Humans and animals are increasingly becoming poisoned from the chemicals that have been lavishly sprinkled over fields, crops, and food produce and that have contaminated the earth's water, soil, and air. Disease-causing bacteria are 'building up resistance to the antibiotics that are routinely administered to livestock in factory farms. Genetically modified organisms, GMOs, have escaped into the environment and who knows what that will mean? Billions of tons of fossil fuel are used to transport our food from one end of the planet to the other—and often back again—contributing significantly to the changes in global climate. And the soil of our planet is being not only poisoned but swept away by the wind from areas cleared for agriculture. Monoculture crops subsidized by governments provide fuel for the manufacture of hamburgers and T-bone steaks. Thousands of children die of obesity and its attendant ills in the West, while millions more die of starvation in the developing word. Family farms are going out of business and asphalt and concrete is spread over more and more good arable land. Water is becoming terrifyingly scarce as well as polluted.

I learned more and more about the unethical conduct of some of the largest multinational corporations. They are so powerful, and they can break down those who oppose their will with lawsuits that only they can afford. Many corporations contribute large amounts to the campaigns of politicians: They are repaid by support for their programs. Money and power are falling into the hands of fewer and fewer people on the global stage.

In 2005 the United Nations issued a rather daunting "Millennium Report." After a five-year study, a team of international scientists came to a sobering agreement: Unless we stop the pollution and degradation caused by industrial farming and seriously address overfishing and global warming, we will literally run out of enough resources to feed everyone by the year 2050. The scientists used the analogy of people overspending their bank accounts. Meaning, to put it bluntly, that if governments and industries continue to allow and actually subsidize farming methods that destroy our planet's resources, for the sake of immediate profit, we shall eat everything edible to the point of human population collapse—and we shall take many other species with us.

Fortunately, the report indicated that the situation is not utterly hopeless. Not, that is, if we take steps immediately to reduce fossil fuel emissions; bring to an end government and consumer support for industrial agriculture, including animal factory farms and fisheries that harm the planet; and start subsidizing and supporting more sensible and sustainable ways to feed human beings. "Take immediate steps"—that is addressed to each one of us.

There has never been a time when it is more crucial for us to carefully consider where our food is coming from and how it was grown, raised, and harvested—so that we can make informed efforts to purchase the right things. For our choices will affect not only our own health but also the environment and animal welfare. And, too, our choices will affect small family farms. I have told the stories of several farmers who have returned to more traditional farming methods, working—usually very hard indeed—to have their produce branded organic and to become once more wise stewards of the land. It is desperately important that we support them by buying their produce whenever possible. And persuading our friends to do the same.

CHANGING THE WORLD: ONE PURCHASE, ONE MEAL, ONE BITE AT A TIME

As marketing people tend to do, they have identified a strong force on the consumer landscape—people who value a lifestyle of health and sustainability and are willing to pay for products that support their beliefs. This group, they say, has adopted a Lifestyles of Health and Sustainability LOHAS. It's estimated that 68 million Americans, about a third of the adult population, qualify as LOHAS. Without realizing it, these people have become the most influential 7 force in the recent food revolution. And they have numerous allies, including farmers who want to create a more healthy and sustainable land, public health officials concerned about toxins and antibiotics in food products, environmentalists who are concerned about pollution from factory farming, consumer rights groups wanting more accurate labeling of food sources on food packaging, and union activists who want safe working conditions for their members who run the risk of massive exposure to toxic pesticides and chemical fertilizers.

Yes, collectively we, the people, are the force that can lead to change. Every time we go shopping for food, every time we chose a meal in a restaurant, our choices—what we buy—will make a difference—not only for our own health and our own peace of mind, but also for the future of the planet. Fortunately more and more people are beginning to realize this. Every time an individual makes such a change in his or her lifestyle the number of people eating ethically and healthily increases—by one.

This philosophy—that every individual matters and every individual makes a difference every day—is at the heart of the Jane Goodall Institute's Roots & Shoots global program for youth. The name is symbolic: Roots make a firm foundation and Shoots seem tiny but to reach the sun they can break through a brick wall. Imagine the brick wall as all the problems we humans have inflicted on the planet. The message is one of hope: Thousands of young people— and there are some 7,500 groups established in more than ninety countries—are breaking through all manner of brick walls to make the world a better place.

In several African countries there are Roots & Shoots groups maintaining tree nurseries and distributing seedlings to schools that are otherwise surrounded by compacted, sunbaked earth. As the trees grow, cared for by the students, grasses can survive in the shade below them. And, encouraged by the greening of the schoolyards, Roots & Shoots groups are growing fruit trees and vegetables to improve their diet. Refugee groups are also growing vegetables, and some keep chickens for their eggs.

There are so many projects and many of them concern food and farming. Students are composting, making organic vegetable plots. Two groups (one in the U.K. and one in Belgium) rescued hens from battery farms, and studied how they grew back their feathers and adjusted to freedom. They are campaigning (always without violence) against the use of synthetic chemicals in food; the feeding of hormones and antibiotics, as prophylaxis, to livestock; the use of pesticides, herbicides, and chemical fertilizers on farmland; the use of nonbiodegradable containers in school lunch boxes. They are writing letters to legislators, raising money for all manner of causes. And they are influencingtheir parents.

Roots & Shoots groups are thus joined with all of us who are trying to change the world. In fact, many predict that in the years to come, activists will have a greater impact through consumer choices and the culture of economics than through legislative lobbying or lawsuits.

EATING TO VOTE

Remember, every food purchase is a vote. We might be tempted, as individuals, to think that our small actions don't really matter, that one meal can't make a difference. But each meal, each bite of food, has a rich history as to how and where it grew or was raised, how it was harvested. Our purchases, our votes, will determine the way ahead. And thousands upon thousands of votes are needed in favor of the kind of farming practices that will restore health to our

planet.

Our world can no longer afford the heedless consumption of the Western world that is now spreading its greedy tentacles around the globe. The price, most of which must be paid by our children, is too great. Only by acting together, by refusing to buy food that has been secretly laced with poisons and pain, can we make a stand against the corporate power that is circling our planet. So let us join hands. Let us speak out for the voiceless and the poor. Let us assert our right, as citizens of free democracies, to take back into our hands the production of our food. Let us, together, sow seeds for a better harvest—a harvest for hope.