A Kind Life: Eat Plants, Buy Less, Slow Down―and Save the Planet

A Kind Life: Eat Plants, Buy Less, Slow Down―and Save the Planet

" A Kind Life takes readers on a personal journey, laying a pathway of how to live more kindly on the earth"—Keegan Kuhn, co-director of Cowspiracy What does it mean to live a kind life? In this inspiring book, a mother-of-two provides a blueprint for how she and her family adopted a sustainable, plant-based lifestyle, sharing the eye-opening facts that convinced her they needed to make a change. Carina Wohlleben grew up at nature’s doorstep, in a mountain lodge surrounded by forests and fields where her family grew vegetables and raised animals. Her father, the forester and bestselling author of The Hidden Life of Trees , taught her about the value of wilderness and the importance of preserving nature for everyone. But it wasn’t until she was a new mom that she had an epiphany about how her own daily habits were connected to the ecological crisis we are facing and the importance of living sustainably. After learning that we can reduce our environmental footprint by 25 percent simply by forgoing animal products, she transformed her life, adopting a vegan diet, rethinking all her travel and consumption choices, and rediscovering her connection to nature. Carina writes candidly about the challenges of making this transition as well as the health benefits she and her family noticed after cutting out animal products. She also addresses issues such as unsustainable agriculture and forestry practices, the environmental impact of our transportation and shopping choices, and how slowing down and making do with less is not only better for the planet but improves our own sense of belonging in nature. Carina's account of balancing motherhood with environmental choices is interspersed with profiles of young people around the world who are making a difference. This book is a must-read for anyone who is considering a change, and anyone who believes it’s not too late to save the planet. "A fantastic read for sustainability-minded people on a mission to improve how they impact the environment and their health." — Library Journal , STARRED review “An inspiring story of a journey to a kinder lifestyle. Thanks to Carina Wohlleben for this invaluable advice on how we should endeavour to live for the sake of people, animals and the planet.” —Philip Lymbery, Global Chief Executive of Compassion in World Farming and author of Sixty Harvests Left: How to reach a nature-friendly future "Carina Wohlleben's A Kind Life takes the common-sense step of applying ethics and reason to our daily actions. Those who make the mistake of eating animals will discover, in the author's gentle, clear prose, that there is nothing remotely ethical or reasonable about that health-destroying habit. That is why they should read this book." —Glen Merzer, author, Food Is Climate and Own Your Health , podcast host “ A Kind Life is not just a well-written and engaging book, it’s a blueprint for humanity, for if everyone who read A Kind Life book acted on its sage advice, the world would be a much better place.” —Gene Stone, author/co-author of Forks Over Knives , How Not to Die , Living the Farm Sanctuary Life , Animalkind , Eat for the Planet "A Kind Life takes readers on a personal journey, laying a pathway of how to live more kindly on the earth" —Keegan Kuhn, co-director of Cowspiracy "Every aspect of our lives is touched by the breadth and depth of our moral circle. Wohlleben shares a thoughtful, compelling, and deeply personal meditation on what it means to live kindly towards the planet, its inhabitants, our friends and family, and ourselves." —Jacy Reese Anthis, author of The End of Animal Farming and co-founder of the Sentience Institute Carina Wohlleben is a scientific advisor and partner at the Wohlleben Forest Academy. She has studied geography as well as nature conservation and landscape ecology. A trained vegan nutritionist, she also offers vegan cooking courses and nutrition advice. She lives with her husband and their two children in the Sauerland region of German. 1. My Journey to a Vegan Diet For much of my life, I ate meat, milk products, and eggs, just like most other people do today. It’s estimated that over 85 percent of the world’s population include meat in their diet, and this number is expected to rise as poorer countries raise their standard of living.1 Like most people, I grew up consuming a wide range of animal products. They were simply part of my daily diet, which included milk on my morning oatmeal and slices of mortadella in the sandwiches in my school lunch box. (The first thing I did was to pick all the pistachios out of the processed meat.) Even as a child, I understood what it meant to eat meat: an animal had to die. Despite being aware of the connection, I found it easy to suppress the images that briefly flashed through my mind. When I was six weeks old, my father accepted a job as a community forester, and my parents moved from a tiny rented basement apart