by Mark Reinfeld, June 20,2011

In the immense interconnectedness of life and the challenges we face as a people, where can we begin in our quest to attain balance – balance in our our selves, our community, and the world family? I suggest that we first explore those aspects of life that unite us in our common humanity. What is it that we will discover? If we traverse the vast corners of the globe, we will find that all humans consume food.

Eating food is the most essential universal activity that sustains life. It is the fundamental ritual that allows us to engage in all other social activities. The kitchen forms a central role in all cultures around the globe.

I suggest that if we can bring harmony into how we grow food and feed ourselves it will have a huge ripple effect on society. It will flow into the economic, political, social and medical aspects of our lives. It will affect how we relate to each other, the planet and other life forms. How is it that we can we bring harmony into this core component of life? Through non-violence.

“Nonviolence is the answer to the crucial political and moral questions of our time; the need for mankind to overcome oppression and violence without resorting to oppression and violence. Mankind must evolve for all human conflict a method which rejects revenge, aggression, and retaliation. The foundation of such a method is love.” – Martin Luther King Jr.

If we look at most of the social challenges we face, violence in its many forms is the culprit. Violence between people, violence between countries, violence between species, is what creates most of the great injustices of this world.

Those of us who are frustrated with the violence we see in the world, should first look at the blood that is on our hands. If we heed the words of Martin Luther King and bring the principle of nonviolence into all aspects of our lives, we would overcome so many challenges that we face. Yet how do we open the doors to a nonviolent life?  With the key of compassion.

Eating plant based foods is also perhaps the single most effective action we can take to preserve our environment and the earth’s limited resources. Please see my other article, Earth Day Every Day: Going Green with Plant-based Cuisine, to learn about the many environmental benefits of including more plant based foods in our lifestyle.

Click to read the original article at http://onegreenplanet.org…

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Popular Vegan and Raw Food Cookbooks

Please check out our vegan cookbooks by best selling author Mark Reinfeld:

• The 30 Minute Vegan's Taste Of Europe
• The 30 Minute Vegan's Taste Of The East
• The 30 Minute Vegan
• The Idiot's Guide To Eating Raw
• Vegan Fusion World Cuisine

Vegan chef and author Mark Reinfeld offers a variety of best selling vegan cookbooks. He specializes in vegan, vegetarian, raw food and gluten free plant-based diets. He offers a series of vegan cooking classes, including 2 day workshops, teacher trainings, 5 and 10 day immersions, as well as retreats, tours and vacations in both America and Europe. He further offers vegan fusion cuisine recipe development and consulting. To receive the latest news please sign up for his Newsletter and RSS Feeds, or contact Mark directly.