Legislative Lunch & Learn Held to Raise Awareness of the Benefits of a Plant-Based Diet
Speaker Dr. Donahue, Board Member Cathy Rash, Board Member Jane Pierantozzi, Senator Stephanie Hansen, Board Member Diane Callaway, Legislative Assistant to Senator Hansen, Anna Shields
At the invitation of Senator Stephanie Hansen, Plant Powered Delaware, a local non-profit organization, hosted a Lunch & Learn on Thursday, May 5th, at Legislative Hall. Attended by approximately 40 guests, which included state legislators and their teams, the educational event featured three discussion sessions with Delaware primary care and lifestyle medicine physician, Dr. David Donahue.
Dr. Donahue spoke on the benefits of a plant-based diet and its positive effects on our health (which can prevent and reverse some chronic diseases such as Type 2 Diabetes and heart disease) as well as our environment, stating, “It was great to meet the Delaware legislators and staffers who were in attendance. They had great questions and we explored a lot of health and nutrition topics of huge importance.”
Plant Powered Delaware is committed to raising awareness of the benefits of a plant-based diet. The Legislative Lunch & Learn offered the opportunity for attendees to learn of the myriad benefits of a plant-based diet, while enjoying lunch and dessert. Lunch was provided by DailyVeg (Pike Creek, DE) and dessert was donated by Cakes by Kim (Wilmington, DE).
Senator Hansen said of the educational event, "We know that there is a strong connection between the food we eat and our health, but the ability of our food to actually reverse some of our most chronic diseases is an important point not as universally known. When coupled with the tremendous influence a plant-based diet has on reducing our environmental footprint, it's clear that a more plant-based diet should be the new wave of the future."
The Standard American Diet is filled with meat, fish, dairy, eggs and highly processed foods that are full of cholesterol, hormones, sugar and fat, contributing to an epidemic of obesity and disease.
Two-thirds of Americans are either overweight or obese, one in ten suffer from diabetes, and one in four deaths are from heart disease.
According to the CDC, those with chronic diseases and certain medical conditions are more likely to experience severe illness or death if they are infected with COVID-19.
The Clean Water Act report, released March 17, 2022, lists DE among the worst in the nation of polluted waterways mainly due to runoff from industrial poultry farming.
The carbon footprint of someone that eats a plant-based diet is half that of someone who eats an animal-centered diet.
A meat-free diet can cut our water footprint in half. Studies show that a healthy meat-free diet reduces our water footprint by up to 55%. A single pound of beef takes an average of 1,800 gallons of water to produce.
The livestock industry is a top five emitter of pollution and greenhouse gasses, causing more carbon emissions than cars + trucks + trains + planes combined!
Factory farming is a relatively new development that has taken over the agriculture industry to lower costs and produce a large number of animals in small spaces, abusing both animals and farm workers in the process.
Founded in 2019 by a group intent on empowering fellow Delawareans, Plant Powered Delaware is on a mission to transform Delaware’s food system to one founded on health, compassion, justice and sustainability. Through education and advocacy to government, institutions, and individuals, they promote a plant-based diet to encourage individual health, to end the suffering of animals on factory farms, to reduce the devastating impact on the earth of raising animals for food, and to bring justice to underprivileged farm workers who are treated like commodities. With years of plant-based knowledge and experiences, Plant Powered Delaware focuses on education and support for individuals and businesses who desire to learn more about a plant-based way of life.
Contact Information: Jane Pierantozzi, Board Member | info@plantpowereddelaware.org | 302.507.2685