After All The Feasting, Let's Eat Simply

By Anne Lim,

After feasting (from Christmas to CNY), we who have been so blessed must need now to give our bodies a rest! For the sake of our health, for the sake of our planet.

Research has shown that as adults, we do not need so much protein unless we return to hunting for our meat as our ancestors did. Excess protein consumption has also been linked to cancer and many degenerative diseases.

The food not only nourishes and gives us pleasure, it connects us with the Earth. We are fed by the produce of soil, water, air, all of which make up the larger environment, our greater community.

Before this food that we choose to eat reaches our table, it would have gone through processes which involve planting, harvesting, rearing, packaging, storage, transportation, etc. - all of which require energy as well as waste disposal.

Since we can get fresh fruits and vegetables of all kinds all year round, we do not have a clear sense of the value of nature's gifts to us.

If we truly value the connection we have with Mother Earth through these gifts, we would accept without hesitation our responsibility as caretakers of the Earth. WE would pray pray hard for the grace of gratitude each time we sit down to eat.

Are we willing to make a conscious choice to make a change in some of our eating habits and to give up some of the conveniences of life that we have become so attached to?

How about reducing the need for plastic and polystyrene disposables and switching to the good old tiffin carrier for takeaways?

With the approach of Lent, it would help us to rein in that appetite for rich foood. Let us then respond with a return to simplicity. The good news is that what is good for the planet is also good for our health.

So can we live simply so that others may simply live? Each day is a new day. To live more lightly, let's eat less meat, waste not, eat more fruit and vegetables and avoid or eat less processed foods.