As we said on the Homepage, we’re nobody special, just an ordinary family, trying to weave our way through life without face-planting too many times! As parents, we are probably most concerned about how things will turn out for our children and for future generations. For this and many reasons, we aim to do be as kind as possible to the planet and every living thing on it – not just the ones we love…
Just for information, wasps (including the black and yellow variety which people are afraid of) are really beneficial, in ways you may not expect, so please treat them with kindness and respect! Read about wasps here:
So, how did we end up here, writing a book and setting up this website? Well, let’s start with us; we are Sharon and Stephen, a couple who met and married nearly twenty years ago. Whilst we’re not carbon copies (for those who even know what that is! ), we have some shared values, particularly when it comes to our views on how we should treat the world we live in/upon. We both love nature, be it plants or animals, and we recognized early on that, as a species, we don’t always treat our planet with the care and respect that it needs or deserves. After all, the Earth, and every living thing on it, is our life support system and we forget that at our peril!Let’s be honest, we aren’t saints; we still drive cars, buy clothes,
buy food and go on holiday.
Sometimes we eat out
– we simply do what most people do.
However, we have over the years, our awareness of our personal impact on the planet has increased and with it our desire to ‘tread more lightly’ upon it. Having had two children has only served to intensify that ‘desire’ and transform it into a need. As a result, whilst we’ve not necessarily altered what we do, we have changed how we do it – we take more time, do more research and make more careful and deliberate choices.Sometimes it can be frustrating when we want to source more locally but can’t find a maker/supplier; these are the times when we make the harder decision to change the plan, or scrap it altogether and look for an alternative.
When it comes to the rôle food plays in the wellbeing of the Earth, this was a lesson which ironically started with ill health… In 2014, Sharon was diagnosed with Psoriatic Arthritis (a form of Rheumatoid Arthritis or RA) and despite it being horrific, she now says that it was the best thing which could have happened to her; find out why in ‘The Rainbow Cure’.Sharon could clearly see the likely trajectory of the arthritis – more drugs and less mobility…
– so we started to explore potential causes and treatments. During this search, as our knowledge expanded, it soon became evident that food plays a pivotal rôle in the development and progression of chronic disease. What also became crystal clear is that food choices are inextricably linked to the health of the planet too. For example, that quarter pound burger has quite the footprint – it costs around 12kg CO2 and about 2300L water! For a gentle introduction of the environmental consequences of our food choices see our ‘Food’ section here:
Trying to be a bit more ‘Earth-Friendly’ is an ever evolving process, with the odd defeat here and there, but generally more victories; we wish you all the best on your journey and genuinely hope that we can help you along the way. Good luck – to us all!
