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| Vegan Voices |
| P.O. Box 126 * Negaunee, MI 49866 * (906) 236-1279 * info@northernvegans.com |
| This page is designed to showcase various vegan writers. |
The Dandelion Prerogative
by Carrie Plummer
It was an early Spring that my husband and I were visiting family downstate
and staying with his parents. They had a large luscious green lawn with
dandelions sprouting everywhere! I was so excited to see them in full
bloom. It takes me back to my childhood. I ended up picking a plentiful
amount of dandelion leaves one day- their lawn of course was untreated
and away from roads, thus the greens were safe to eat. I added organic
tomatoes and onions to the mix, topped with my mother-in-law's
homemade balsamic vinegarette dressing and needless to say, it was a
hit! Eating something so fresh and nourishing that took no fossil fuels to
transport, no watering, no cultivating of any sort, is truly a gift from Mother
Earth.
European settlers brought the tenacious yellow flower to the New Land
because it was widely used as both food and medicine. Dandelions are
very high in vitamins and minerals like Vitamin A and have as much
Vitamin C by weight as grapefruits. In fact, the U.S. Department of
Agriculture says dandelions pack more nutritional punch than even
broccoli and spinach. You can make a coffee substitute, wine, and jelly out
of them. They stimulate and aid the liver in the elimination of toxins from
the blood and are used for breast tumors, cysts, fevers, kidney and gall
stones, P.M.S., menopause, hypoglycemia, recent onset diabetes, high
blood pressure, digestive disturbances, and hepatitis. They are also used
as a skin cleanser and help increase production of mother's milk! Oh, and
best of all - they're free!
Unfortunately, many of the inheritors of this potent flower are
unappreciative and, frankly, at war with it. A large green carpet with little to
no diversity has become the convention. People are spending time and
money routinely spraying poisons on their lawns. Many of the commonly
used pesticides (herbicides, insecticides, and fungicides) are suspected
human carcinogens. Air, water, and soil are being contaminated and in
the process, wildlife is disappearing and the friendly beneficial bacteria in
the soil are dying. What's most disturbing is that children are up to 6 times
more likely to get childhood leukemia or brain cancer when living in or near
homes where the lawns are treated with these indiscriminate chemicals.
(See Children's Health Environmental Coalition's website:
www.checnet.org and Pesticide Action Network: www.panna.org).
Perhaps more of us can begin to see dandelions, as well as other
so-called weeds, like clover and chickweed, as no longer eyesores but
rather a gift from our ancestors and Mother Earth. Are we sensitive enough
to learn from these survivors of our most deadly poisons? Many Native
American Indians believe "whenever possible eat raw and eat wild"- some
sage advice to us all. Wouldn't it be wonderful if neighbors came together
with their children and picked many of the edible wild plants that grew right
on eachother's properties and shared a magnificent salad together! What
a way to connect children to where food actually comes from
(understanding that vegetables and fruits don't miraculously appear at the
local grocery stores) as well as allowing them to be teamplayers in the
harvesting of the plants, and promoting healthy eating habits for the long
haul (studies have shown that children are more receptive to eating foods
that they normally would have rejected when they participate in the process
of growing, harvesting, preparing, or cooking of the foods).
Surprise your neighbor with a large delectable dandelion salad! The
leaves, roots, and flowers are all edible (they're less bitter in early Spring).
Be proud of your dandelions, enjoy your arriving wild visitors (the
pollinators), and take advantage of the incredible benefits these beautiful
"weeds" provide! So by all means - LET THEM GROW! (Great books: The
Wild Vegetarian Cookbook and Identifying and Harvesting Edible and
Medicinal Plants in Wild (And Not so Wild) Places both by Steve Brill
(vegan), and The Chemical-Free Lawn by Warren Schultz. See "Wildman"
Steve Brill's website: www.econetwork.net/~wildmansteve/body.html.
Click Here To Go Back to "Media & More"
by Carrie Plummer
It was an early Spring that my husband and I were visiting family downstate
and staying with his parents. They had a large luscious green lawn with
dandelions sprouting everywhere! I was so excited to see them in full
bloom. It takes me back to my childhood. I ended up picking a plentiful
amount of dandelion leaves one day- their lawn of course was untreated
and away from roads, thus the greens were safe to eat. I added organic
tomatoes and onions to the mix, topped with my mother-in-law's
homemade balsamic vinegarette dressing and needless to say, it was a
hit! Eating something so fresh and nourishing that took no fossil fuels to
transport, no watering, no cultivating of any sort, is truly a gift from Mother
Earth.
European settlers brought the tenacious yellow flower to the New Land
because it was widely used as both food and medicine. Dandelions are
very high in vitamins and minerals like Vitamin A and have as much
Vitamin C by weight as grapefruits. In fact, the U.S. Department of
Agriculture says dandelions pack more nutritional punch than even
broccoli and spinach. You can make a coffee substitute, wine, and jelly out
of them. They stimulate and aid the liver in the elimination of toxins from
the blood and are used for breast tumors, cysts, fevers, kidney and gall
stones, P.M.S., menopause, hypoglycemia, recent onset diabetes, high
blood pressure, digestive disturbances, and hepatitis. They are also used
as a skin cleanser and help increase production of mother's milk! Oh, and
best of all - they're free!
Unfortunately, many of the inheritors of this potent flower are
unappreciative and, frankly, at war with it. A large green carpet with little to
no diversity has become the convention. People are spending time and
money routinely spraying poisons on their lawns. Many of the commonly
used pesticides (herbicides, insecticides, and fungicides) are suspected
human carcinogens. Air, water, and soil are being contaminated and in
the process, wildlife is disappearing and the friendly beneficial bacteria in
the soil are dying. What's most disturbing is that children are up to 6 times
more likely to get childhood leukemia or brain cancer when living in or near
homes where the lawns are treated with these indiscriminate chemicals.
(See Children's Health Environmental Coalition's website:
www.checnet.org and Pesticide Action Network: www.panna.org).
Perhaps more of us can begin to see dandelions, as well as other
so-called weeds, like clover and chickweed, as no longer eyesores but
rather a gift from our ancestors and Mother Earth. Are we sensitive enough
to learn from these survivors of our most deadly poisons? Many Native
American Indians believe "whenever possible eat raw and eat wild"- some
sage advice to us all. Wouldn't it be wonderful if neighbors came together
with their children and picked many of the edible wild plants that grew right
on eachother's properties and shared a magnificent salad together! What
a way to connect children to where food actually comes from
(understanding that vegetables and fruits don't miraculously appear at the
local grocery stores) as well as allowing them to be teamplayers in the
harvesting of the plants, and promoting healthy eating habits for the long
haul (studies have shown that children are more receptive to eating foods
that they normally would have rejected when they participate in the process
of growing, harvesting, preparing, or cooking of the foods).
Surprise your neighbor with a large delectable dandelion salad! The
leaves, roots, and flowers are all edible (they're less bitter in early Spring).
Be proud of your dandelions, enjoy your arriving wild visitors (the
pollinators), and take advantage of the incredible benefits these beautiful
"weeds" provide! So by all means - LET THEM GROW! (Great books: The
Wild Vegetarian Cookbook and Identifying and Harvesting Edible and
Medicinal Plants in Wild (And Not so Wild) Places both by Steve Brill
(vegan), and The Chemical-Free Lawn by Warren Schultz. See "Wildman"
Steve Brill's website: www.econetwork.net/~wildmansteve/body.html.
Click Here To Go Back to "Media & More"