Earth Day Reflections

It's always Earth Day at Vibrant Market. It’s beautiful to come together as a collective and honor the planet, but we believe in doing our part everyday through all of the choices we make. That’s the products we use and don't use, the clothes we buy, the food we eat, and so much more. In these and other decisions, we educate our community so that they will hopefully join us in doing the same.

Though this international crisis has hurt so many financially and physically, with all hardship there are silver linings and lessons to be learned. Right now, one of those is that more people than ever are seeking out health and learning that their immune system is dependent on their everyday health choices. People who never may have cared about what vitamins and minerals are in the foods they eat, or how supplementing can support their immune system, or even that certain inflammatory foods can cause negative outcomes on their immune function are now paying attention and doing research. People are cooking many more home cooked meals instead of going out to eat, therefore getting cleaner, more nutrient dense foods while connecting with their families. These habits might not stick for everyone, the knowledge will still be there. Any reflection at all is growth. Attention has been brought to the unfortunate vulnerability of those with chronic and many preventable diseases. One can think and hope this will create a snowball effect in the decisions people make on their health and buying decisions; as Dr. Mark Hyman says, you vote with your fork.

Another upside to this trying time is that the earth has gotten a slight chance to heal and breath. In China, levels of Nitrogen Dioxide in the air were down as much as 30% in January, while total air pollution has dropped 25%. Smog has cleared in Nairobi, allowing more citizens to see Mount Kenya, 85 miles away. People in Punjab, India were able to see the Himalayas for the first time in three decades. LA has cleaner air quality than it has in years. Interestingly, on this note, a study from Harvard University found that people exposed to more air pollution had a higher death risk from COVID-19 due to lung health. What is not clear is if they took into account the population density in correlation with air pollution. At any rate, here we are. On Earth, with less pollution.

With these positive thoughts in mind, when this is all said and done… and people are back to work… and the economy recovers: what choices can we make everyday:

• so that our bodies are in a healthy, balanced, clean state to fight infection?
• so we can give the earth a chance to breathe?