SUSTAINABILITY. Our generation’s responsibility.

Posted on 02/13/2014 by J. Morris Hicks

We created the unsustainable mess we’re in—Now we must FIX it.

Promoting health, hope and harmony on planet Earth

“Healthy Planet J. Morris Hicks” = hpjmh.com, the home page of my website.

And to FIX it, we must understand the absolute TRUTH about the most important things in our lives—things like our own health and the ability of our ecosystem to sustain the human species longterm.

In the past few months, I have become even more aware of how the organizations we trust—have failed us miserably. I have written for years about our medical schools (controlled by big Pharma), our nutrition schools (controlled by the food industry), and our USDA (controlled by the livestock industry).

But only recently have I become fully aware of just how badly we have been misled by a group of organizations that we trust most of all. That would be the many large environmental nonprofit organizations (NGOs) around the world. Hundreds of millions of people donate billions of their hard-earned dollars to these groups—trusting them to take care of our planet.

Yet NONE of those large NGOs are telling us exactly HOW our current way of life is grossly unsustainable. Simply speaking, they are not telling us the truth about the single largest driver of our environment’s most critical problems: global warming, water scarcity, soil erosion, deforestation, ocean dead zones, and species extinction.

Why don’t they tell us the truth? Surprisingly, some of them may not even be aware of the truth. The others know that it would hurt their fundraising if they urged their millions of members to drastically reduce (Or, God forbid, eliminate) the amount of meat, dairy, eggs and fish that they consume regularly.

One of my slides from my "Sustainability" speeches

One of my slides from my “Sustainability” speaches

So, I guess it’s up to the activists of the world  (like me, John Robbins, Richard Oppenlander, Will Tuttle and others) to broadcast the complete, absolute truth every chance we get. 

One chance that I get every day is on the home page of my website at hpjmh.com, where you will be greeted with the following information front and center. These five words may help you remember the FIVE letters of my website:

“Healthy-Planet-J.-Morris-Hicks“  = hpjmh.com

Our generation has created a grossly unsustainable mess and it’s our responsibility to FIX it before it’s too late—and we can’t FIX it if we don’t fully understand the primary causes. — J. Morris Hicks

SUSTAINABILITY is Topic #1 on this site. I write about it in my blogs, I talk about it in interviews and it is featured prominently in my public speaking. Check out this pdf of my upcoming third appearance at Holy Cross College in March. Food. Health. Planet. Our Future as a Species. (A fairly large file)

And now abideth these three: health, hope & harmony; but the greatest of these is harmony. — J. Morris Hicks

J. Morris Hicks. Promoting health, hope & harmony on planet Earth.

J. Morris Hicks. Promoting health, hope & harmony on planet Earth.

URGENCY. After researching since 2002, writing a book in 2010 and blogging since February of 2011, I draw your attention to five recent “big picture” articles that contain civilization-saving information that more of our leaders must grasp VERY SOON:

Handy 5-piece take-charge-of-your-health kit—from Amazon.com

Why should we be eating mostly plants? The “big picture” in 4 minutes.

Want to find out how healthy your family is eating? Take our free 4Leaf Survey. It takes 2 or 3 minutes and you can score it yourself. After taking the survey, please give me your feedback as it will be helpful in the development of our future 4Leaf app for smartphones. Send feedback to jmorrishicks@me.com

International. We’re now reaching people in over 100 countries. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter or get daily blog notices by “following” us in the top of the right-hand column. For occasional updates, join our periodic mailing list.

J. Morris Hicks, working daily to promote health, hope and harmony on planet Earth.

To order more of my favorite books—visit our online BookStore now

For help in your own quest to take charge of your health, visit our 4Leaf page and also enjoy some great recipes from Lisa’s 4Leaf Kitchen.

Got a question? Let me hear from you at jmorrishicks@me.com. Or give me a call on my cell at 917-399-9700.

—J. Morris Hicks, board member since 2012; click banner for more info:

Nutrition Certificate

Posted in Activism & Leadership, Sustainability | Tagged | 5 Comments

From Lisa’s 4Leaf Kitchen—Bulgur Loaf & Cashew Gravy

Posted on 02/07/2014 by J. Morris Hicks

Bulgur LoafWith February comes Comfort Food!

Printer-friendly one-page PDF

This loaf is delicious with mashed potatoes and the cashew gravy. It is the perfect comfort food for the cold season. The vegetables need to be finely chopped in a food processor. This recipe was inspired by one on the PCRM website and, after a few changes, it is our new favorite! 

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup fine bulgur (medium can be used, but fine is best)
  • 1 1/2 cups boiling water
  • 2 Tbs. water
  • 1 small onion, finely chopped
  • 1 medium carrot, finely chopped
  • 2 celery stalks, finely chopped
  • 1 pound mushrooms, finely chopped
  • 1/2 cup finely chopped walnuts
  • 1/3 cup spelt or brown rice flour (any type of flour may be used here)
  • 1/2 tsp dried marjoram
  • 1/2 tsp garlic powder
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/4 tsp dried thyme
  • 1/4 tsp dried sage (optional)
  • 1/4 tsp black pepper
  • 3 Tbs ketchup or barbecue sauce
  • 1 Tbs reduced -sodium soy sauce or Bragg’s
  • 4 tsp dijon mustard
  • Vegetable oil spray

Directions:

  1. Place bulgur in a large bowl and pour 1 1/2 cups boiling water over it. Soak until bulgur is tender and most of water is absorbed, about 15 minutes.
  2. Heat 2 Tbs water or any liquid in a pan on medium heat and add onion, carrots, and celery for about 3 minutes, stirring.
  3. Stir in mushrooms and cook for about 5 minutes.
  4. Preheat oven to 350 F.
  5. Add vegetables, along with walnuts, flour, marjoram, thyme, garlic powder, salt, pepper, ketchup or barbecue sauce, soy sauce and mustard to the bulgur and stir.
  6. Spray loaf pan or casserole dish and pat mixture in.
  7. Bake uncovered for about 60 minutes.

Cashew Gravy Ingredients:4-LEAF_FORLIFE

  • 1 1/2 cups water
  • 2 Tbs soy sauce or Bragg’s
  • 2 Tbs raw cashews
  • 1 Tbs onion powder
  • 1/2 tsp garlic powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
  • 1/8 tsp black pepper
  • 4 teaspoons brown rice or spelt flour

 Gravy Directions:

  1. Directions:
  2. Combine all ingredients in a blender or vita mix and process until smooth.
  3. Transfer to a saucepan and bring to a simmer, stirring constantly until sauce thickens.
  4. Enjoy!

4Leaf Lisa VineyardFor a “printer-friendly” one-pager, ideal on your fridge with a magnet—Just click here for a PDF

Click here for the page containing all recipes.

Be sure to tell your friends about our easy-to-remember website at www.4leafprogram.com and if you like what you see here, you may wish to join our periodic mailing list.

Let me hear from you: lisa@4leafprogram.com

If you like what 4Leaf eating is doing for you and your family, you might enjoy visiting our new “4Leaf Gear” store. From the New England village of Holden, Massachusetts — Be well and have a great day.

If you’d like to order our book on Amazon,  visit our BookStore now. Also some great recipe books.

Posted in Recipes & meals | Tagged | 2 Comments

Cancer. Heart disease. Global warming. Water scarcity.

Posted on 02/06/2014 by J. Morris Hicks

What do they all have in common?

Pile of MoneyThree questions to ask the good folks at the charitable organizations you may be supporting:

  1. Why does the American Cancer Society not tell us about the leading cause of cancer and how you can prevent, slow, halt or reverse most cancers?
  2. Why does the American Heart Association not tell us how we can reverse heart disease in over 90% of the cases?
  3. Why do none of the large environmental organizations like The Sierra Club and Greenpeace tell us the leading cause of global warming and water scarcity?

Fact. The leading cause of cancer, heart disease, global warming and water scarcity is one and the same. It is our toxic western diet of some combination of meat, dairy, eggs and/or fish three meals a day. To back up this BOLD statement, I have provided a few short videos in this blog and have referenced over a dozen blogs at the end of this page.

Early detection continues to trump true prevention---the elimination of the cause.

Early detection continues to trump true prevention—the elimination of the cause.

It all boils down to money. There is no money to be made in making people healthy. But what about the environmental groups? They’re not in the business of making money; they’re in the business of protecting our environment, right? That’s what I used to think, too. Read on.

If you’re hearing this kind of news for the first time today, you probably won’t believe me. Fair enough; do your own homework and try to prove me wrong. But assuming that I am right; how could we possibly have any better news than that?

Why is that GOOD NEWS? Because the simple answer to ALL of these devastating problems can be summed up in two words: Whole Plants. Simply by switching to a whole food, plant-based diet—something every meat eater can do overnight if she so chooses—we can literally change the world. And the most important thing that we will do is preserve Mother Nature’s ability to sustain us as a species.

American Heart Association

American Heart Association

We can also eliminate most chronic diseases, slash the cost of healthcare, curb global warming, end water scarcity & world hunger, restore our oceans and reforest millions of acres now devoted to raising animals for our dinner tables. And for all you animal lovers, we’ll end the suffering of close to 100 billion animals (per year) that we have been led to believe that we actually “need” to eat in order to be healthy. NOT.

First, let’s take a look at cancer. As a board member of his Center for Nutrition Studies, I have seen Dr. T. Colin Campbell lecture on cancer prevention many times, most recently on 1-24-14 in Princeton, NJ. Here is a ten-minute excerpt of a similar 2013 lecture.

Now for the environmental concerns. With a mission of caring for our planet, how could the world’s top “environmentalists” possibly not be telling us the complete truth about the single leading cause of  global warming, water scarcity, deforestation, soil erosion, ocean acidity and many more? In the 2014 movie trailer for Cowspiracy, Michael Pollan succinctly explains why in a recent video (See below):

GreenPeace and the Sierra Club, with millions of supporters, are just two of the large groups not telling us the truth about the environmental impacts of our food choices.

GreenPeace and the Sierra Club, with millions of supporters, are just two of the large groups not telling us the truth about the environmental impacts of our food choices.

I think they “focus grouped” it and it’s a political loser. They’re membership organizations you know; they’re looking to maximize the number of people making contributions. And if they get identified as being “anti-meat,” it will hurt with their fundraising.

Quite simply, the most affluent two billion people in the world (those who eat most of the meat & dairy)—it’s like they’re all “sleepwalking off of a cliff,” says James Cameron.

And despite the civilization-ending consequences of not taking decisive action now, none of our environmental, scientific or political leaders have chosen to awaken the sleepwalking public. The following is the 90-second trailer of a documentary that may not ever be seen by very many people.

Why is that? MONEY

Still not convinced? Browse through a few of my recent blogs. I have been told that they are among the best I have ever written. Maybe that’s because I have focused on the single most important topic in the history of humankind—the longterm sustainability of our civilization and ultimately, our future as a species.

Links to a few of my earlier blogs on sustainability. Some people object to my use of the term “infestation of planet Earth” to describe humankind in the last two blogs. After you grasp the damage we have inflicted on our ecosystem in just the past fifty years (a mini-blink in geological time), you are likely to agree with my use of that term. Actually, I think it was Mark Twain who used it first.

  1. 1-25-14. NOTHING is more important than SUSTAINABILITY! Has links to another 14 related blogs at the end.
  2. 1-28-14 Titanic Sets Sail Once More—A different ending A fable that illustrates the consequences of not telling people the truth about the most important issues.
  3. 2-5-14. If you have children, you may want to read this one first. Solitude of the cemetery; a place for soul-searching
  4. 2-3-14 Global Depletion. The Big Picture. The Solution. A beautiful and powerful documentary along with a powerful one-hour read.
  5. 2-4-14 dedicated to the memory of Dr. Robert Goodland. Food Choices. The primary cause of global warming?
  6. What’s FOOD got to do with cancer?
  7. How many people do you know that have heart disease? (4-27-13)
  8. Eating for health or sustainability? Why not BOTH?
  9. The CERTAINTY of global warming and water scarcity…
  10. “Humans: the real threat to life on Earth.”
  11. Sustainability and Food Choices. Is anyone listening?
  12. The TERRIFYING repercussions of our DEMAND for meat
  13. Bill Clinton connects “sustainability” and food choices.
  14. Saving civilization is not a spectator sport!
  15. S.O.S. (Saving Our Species) — An urgently needed PLAN
  16. Are humans the “infestation” of planet Earth?
  17. “Infestation” IS the best word—if it gets your attention

Handy 5-piece take-charge-of-your-health kit—from Amazon.com

Why should we be eating mostly plants? The “big picture” in 4 minutes.

Want to find out how healthy your family is eating? Take our free 4Leaf Survey. It takes 2 or 3 minutes and you can score it yourself. After taking the survey, please give me your feedback as it will be helpful in the development of our future 4Leaf app for smartphones. Send feedback to jmorrishicks@me.com

International. We’re now reaching people in over 100 countries. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter or get daily blog notices by “following” us in the top of the right-hand column. For occasional updates, join our periodic mailing list.

J. Morris Hicks, working daily to promote health, hope and harmony on planet Earth.

To order more of my favorite books—visit our online BookStore now

For help in your own quest to take charge of your health, visit our 4Leaf page and also enjoy some great recipes from Lisa’s 4Leaf Kitchen.

Got a question? Let me hear from you at jmorrishicks@me.com. Or give me a call on my cell at 917-399-9700.

SHARE and rate this post below.

—J. Morris Hicks, board member since 2012; click banner for more info:

Nutrition Certificate

Posted in Activism & Leadership, Cancer, Environment, Sustainability | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments