Lace up and Walk : Cotswolds

A Little Food for Thought

Do you ever think about the food you eat. Where it comes from or how it's raised? I had never given it much thought. You go to the store and pick it up, pay for it, bring it home and enjoy. Even though we started this plant-based journey for our health the more I read and research I find I've learned more about how animals are treated than I really want to know.

I did some rough calculations and figure that I've bought at least 2000 gallons of milk in the last 25 years. I wish I'd known back then what I know now.

A cow must give birth in order to produce milk. In most commercial dairies the calves are taken away from the mother shortly after birth. I've seen videos of this happening and the mother can be heard crying for her baby. Some of these babies end up as veal.

In a natural setting a mother cow would produce about one gallon of milk a day to feed her baby. In order for the cow to produce larger quantities of milk they are often give growth hormones. The commercial dairy cow can then produce up to seven gallons of milk a day.

On our walk through the Cotwolds in the UK we got caught between the fence and the cows being driven back to the barn. I was slightly terrified because they are huge! My husband said we didn't have anything to worry about because the cows knew we were friendly and didn't drink their milk so they wouldn't bother us! And they didn't.

At least these cows were allowed to graze in the pasture for part of the day...

For more information of farm animals and their welfare click here to check out Compassion USA.

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Life Powered by Plants

"Now shall I walk or shall I ride?'Ride' Pleasure said, 'Walk', Joy replied."

This is probably one of my favorite quotes. Over the last few years that we've been actively walking together I've come to realize that it's only on foot that you can find the little nooks and crannies of an area. If you want to cover a lot of ground going by auto, plane, or train is the way to go. But to see what's around you up close and personal nothing beats a good walk.

Riding might be easier but the miles and the scenery will fly by and you very seldom get off the main road. By walking through an area you'll go places and see things that you'd never see in a car. You might even get to talk to the locals and meet people along the way finding joy in the journey. We spend way to much time closed up in our cars and home. Get out and take a walk!

When we travel we like to avoid the big cities and typical tourist traps. Recently we took a vacation to England and decided to act like the locals and go on ramble through the country-side. Over a ten day period during our walking holiday we covered a little over one hundred miles on foot. We got off the beaten path and away from the tourist areas and saw places that most visitors miss.

And it was all powered by our plant-based diet!

We started our walk for the day in Oxford. Walking along the Oxford Towpath and Canal we walked 15.5 miles to Woodstock.