Dr. Sue Maxam on Her #EverydayActivism Challenge

This month for CCAR’s Everyday Activism initiative, I have decided to become a vegetarian 5 days a week! This will speak to my passion for the ethical treatment of animals, my commitment to a more sustainable environment, and my desire to foods that are known to prevent cancer, heart disease, and other health ailments. A few facts that prompted my decision:

• Vegetarian diets are naturally lower in saturated fat, and cholesterol, and higher in plant nutrients than most meat-based diets.
• Vegetarians have been shown to have a 24% lower risk of dying of heart disease than non-vegetarians.
• Studies have shown that significant reduction in cancer risk among those who avoided meat (esp. those, like me, with hormone-based cancer), and as a cancer “thriver,” this is important to me!
• Non-organic meat and poultry tend to have contaminants such as hormones, herbicides, pesticides, and antibiotics. For this reason, the two days a week I have set aside to potentially eat meat, I will make sure they are free range and organic.
• Because livestock generate more greenhouse gases than all the trucks and cars in the world combined, single most important step an individual can take to reduce global warming is to adopt a vegetarian diet. And, as someone who is incredibly committed to our environment this was a big factor in my decision. (Even as a child, I was “hugging trees,” recycling, and making speeches in elementary school about the dangers of aerosol cans!)
• Animals on today’s factory farms have no legal protection from pain and cruelty that are routinely inflicted upon them. (Although more expensive, animals that are free range and organic tend NOT to be in this category, thankfully, so to me, it is worth the extra cost if we are to eat meat.)
• Several major studies have shown that vegetarians outlive meat eaters by six years, on average

Looking forward to this month’s challenge AND to participate in a campaign that allows me to “be the change!”

You too can take the #EverydayActivism challenge! For the month of April, students, staff, and faculty members are invited to commit to one personal action – either a daily habit or weekly action – to lessen their contributions to climate change or to have a positive environmental impact – and share their journey along the way. Learn more!