Page 48 - Spring2012

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European brush under trees and enlarged meadows and therefore justified in proposing the theory that
explorers prairies. Burning broke down dry vegetation, prairies with their rich soil and abundant grasses
returning nutrients to the soil—everything grew are as much an artifact of human fire practices
assumed that better after a burn, the Indians told the white as of ungulate disturbance—burning created a

they had man. Burning under the oak trees eliminated in- habitat for elk, antelope and buffalo, for clearing
discovered an sects—without burning every year or two under land to support vast herds that further kept brush
the oaks, the acorns became infested with pests. at bay with the action of their hooves once man
untouched Burning encouraged straight suckers to come up had created the open lands for them.

wilderness that from bulrushes and small trees, supplying mate- The Indians saw their role as guardians of
just happened rial for basket making. Burning encouraged cer- Nature, agents for improving Nature’s appear-
tain useful species above others. Burning could ance and increasing her abundance; the plants
to resemble a be used to corral wildlife—masses of grass- and animals were their relatives, to be sup-
garden. hoppers moving ahead of controlled burns, for ported and cared for, just like human relatives.
example, provided nutritious and easily gathered By contrast, the Europeans viewed Nature as
morsels for the Indians. Above all, frequent small something outside—unpredictable and often
fires prevented the buildup of brush that could dangerous; Nature was there for exploitation
fuel the occasional catastrophic fire. Whereas or, in the case of naturalists like John Muir, to
controlled burning helped to preserve trees and be left “pristine” and untouched. Interestingly,
encouraged them to grow, uncontrolled fire could modern Indians often use the word “wilderness”
wipe out forests and therefore the food supply. as a negative label for land that humans have not
Californian Indians were not alone in taken care of for a long time, a land where dense
using fire to eliminate brush and encourage understory shrubbery or thickets of young trees
abundance—the practice is found in Africa and block visibility and movement. Indeed, this is
Australia, and it is safe to assume that it was exactly what happened in Yosemite Valley when
universal among Paleolithic cultures. We are the white man took over. The valley became filled

BEYOND BROCCOLI: CREATING A BIOLOGICALLY BALANCED DIET
WHEN A VEGETARIAN DIET DOESN'T WORK
by Susan Schenk, LAc, Awakenings Publications, 2011

It was only in the last year that I began to have some idea of how many former vegans and vegetarians are now
members of WAPF. Vegan diets can cause very adverse effects to brain function, among other body systems. Fortunately
numerous vegans and vegetarians pay attention to the problems developing with their health and come to realize that
WAPF has the solution to many of those problems. It is especially these individuals who have corrected their nutritional
deficiencies and restored their health who can be most articulate when explaining why they are no longer vegans.
As one such astute former vegan, author Susan Schenck is personally familiar with the symptoms that tend to afflict
vegans physically and mentally. She focuses in particular on the need for saturated fats, fat soluble vitamins, vitamin B ,
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the fatty acid DHA, and numerous other nutrients that vegans aren’t getting from their diet. She categorically debunks
all of the most popular myths surrounding veganism—such as the myth that we aren’t adapted to eat meat, the myth
that lowfat and low-cholesterol diets are more healthful, and the widely believed myth that vegans contract less cancer
and have a lower incidence of obesity than non-vegans.
Writing the iconoclastic Beyond Broccoli took some courage and character since Schenck had previously written a
bestseller extolling the raw vegan lifestyle. Having been something of a leader among vegans, she had connections with
other leaders. Many of them have privately admitted they had to cheat. The diet didn’t work for them either.
48 Wise Traditions SPRING 2012 SPRING 2012 Wise Traditions

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