“From the perspective of nutrition, performance, and environmental impact, a vegetarian diet is the sensible choice for the outdoor recreationist. It benefits you and the ecosystem. – Outdoor Herbivore
Outdoor Herbivore believes we should not trivialize what we consume. After all, food can heal our body just as it can destroy it.
For centuries, food has been refined to improve taste, environmental resilience, and medicinal properties.
Numerous plant varieties were cultivated to allow for a variety of taste preferences and nutrients. Humans came to understand which species were useful in preventing and curing diseases and ailments. Over time, plants adapted and flourished in the unique climate and soil environments they were grown in. The devoted efforts of cultivating, nurturing, and perfecting our food supply from generations past have led us to the abundance we enjoy today.
Organic agricultural practices waned as fast food, frozen dinners, and packaged foods replaced our daily meal choices. The only way to accommodate the increased demand for prepared food was to grow it efficiently. Industrial agriculture’s influence on the food supply ramped up to feed the hungry masses.
The most efficient method of growing food is to plant only a few handfuls of high-yielding plant varieties best suited for mechanical harvesting and processing. Here we learned that corn and soybean crops were the most efficient (cheap) transformers of sunlight, water, and chemical fertilizer into carbohydrate, fat, and protein macronutrients.
To encourage farmers to adopt the industrial agricultural approach, and focus their efforts on growing soy and corn, the US government stepped in with subsidies. Subsidizing corn and soy motivated manufacturers to use these foods in their products because it meant they could purchase these foods much cheaper. Thus, today the American diet mostly consists of processed corn and soybean ingredients.
Our health is declining as a result of this mono-cultured food supply, as humans are meant to consume compounds and elements from a variety of plant species.
The good news is that organic farming increases biodiversity at every level of the food chain – all the way from bacteria to mammals. Organic practices are not only friendly to the environment but are healthy too. Thankfully, organic farming is undergoing a resurgence as more people are becoming aware of the benefits. Outdoor Herbivore uses local, organic ingredients first and foremost.
We do NOT sell products containing meat ingredients because we do not want to participate in animal exploitation or environmental destruction. We recognize that there are more responsible alternatives to enjoy a meat-based diet and congratulate those that have made that choice; however, regardless of how the animal is raised – whether it be grazing freely on pasture or detained within a factory – we feel meat consumption presents too many dilemmas. There are just too many indicators that reveal a meat-based diet is not something we should practice or participate in. These were enough reasons for us to abstain from the meat industry. There are some facts below if you are interested in reading further about the devastating impacts of an industrialized meat-based diet.
The earth has so many amazing qualities. All life forms are interdependent to the environment for food. It seems appropriate that humans, highly developed in capability and intellect, be responsible for finding a healthy, respectful way to sustain all life forms on the planet. Factory farming is such a misuse of these qualities. I hope that education and critical thinking will evolve the human race towards a more compassionate lifestyle.
Food should not only be nourishing but appreciated as well. For this reason, Outdoor Herbivore’s products reflect a combination of culinary influences from all over the world.
Your choice of food impacts much more than your own health. It impacts the health of our environment too.
May you consume wisely,
Outdoor Herbivore
Sources:
1- (Food and Nutrition Board, Institute of Medicine. Dietary Reference Intakes for Energy, Carbohydrate, Fiber, Fat, Fatty Acids, Cholesterol, Protein, and Amino Acids. Washington, DC: National Academy Press, 2002.)
2 – http://www.vegsource.com/articles/factoids.htm
7 – http://www.fao.org/ag/againfo/themes/en/Environment.html/
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Nice Summary. Hope many more people adopt vegetarian for their own health and our planet.