Diet

Diet is an important component of any plan for a long and healthy life. The community follows an ovo-lacto vegetarian diet. Some people feel they cannot maintain good health with a vegetarian diet, having been brainwashed into believing they need animal products for adequate protein. This is a serious misunderstanding. The body can produce all the protein it requires given the amino acids it needs, which can all be obtained from grains, legumes and green vegetables. Our diet is designed to provide everything needed for good health.

A community goal is to eat food that we grow ourselves, and part of working toward that goal is to learn to gradually eliminate foods that cannot be grown in our ecosystem. However, in light of a growing food crisis with food shortages already appearing in some places, we have embarked on a program to store food and have a considerable supply on hand to feed a small group for an extended period as the gardens are expanded to produce more.

A couple books that exemplify our goals in food production:

Gaia's Garden: A Guide to Home-Scale Permaculture by Toby Hemenway

The Lost Language of Plants by Stephen Harrod Buhner

And for some interesting comments on food, here is an interview with author Michael Pollan.

Diet is a complex subject and a sensitive one. We try to work with new members as they adjust to our diet.