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My Endometriosis Journey Part 2:

What is Endometriosis?

“Endometriosis (en-doe-me-tree-O-sis) is an often painful disorder in which tissue similar to the tissue that normally lines the inside of your uterus — the endometrium — grows outside your uterus. Endometriosis most commonly involves your ovaries, fallopian tubes and the tissue lining your pelvis.”

In my last blog post, we learned that I have Stage II, which we will go into more later. I want to outline everything that I know about this in order to raise awareness about it, because it is scarily common in women, and a lot of women may have it and don’t even know. (I will link all of the sources used at the bottom of this post, so you can check them out for yourself!)

Endometriosis affects 1 out of 10 women in childbearing age (2-10% of women). The cause of endometriosis is unknown, and there is currently no cure, although there is treatment. There are some theories as to why endometriosis happens:

1. one theory suggests that during menstruation, some of the tissue backs up through the fallopian tubes, into the abdomen, like a reverse menstruation, where it attaches and grows.

2. another theory suggests that endometrial tissue may travel and implant via blood or lymphatic channels, similar to the way cancer cells spread.

3. a third theory suggests that cells in any location may transform into endometrial cells.

This disease is also genetic, and can appear in families, which is true in my case. My grandmother, mother, aunt, and myself all have a form of this disease. 

Endometriosis can be found on the ovaries, the fallopian tubes, ligaments that support the uterus, the space between the uterus and the rectum, the space between the uterus and bladder, the outer surface of the uterus, and the lining of the pelvic cavity. Endometriosis has been found in every organ and anatomical structure in the body, but it is most commonly found in the places listed above. Because it can grow on every organ, this includes the kidneys, eyes, liver, pancreas, brain, bone, heart, skin, and nasal cavity if severe enough. 

The symptoms of endometriosis are as follows: pain, especially excessive menstrual cramps that may be felt in the abdomen or lower back, abnormal or heavy menstrual flow, infertility, painful urination during menstrual periods, painful bowel movements during menstrual periods, or other gastrointestinal problems such as diarrhea, constipation, or nausea. 

One important thing to note is that the pain that a woman experiences is NOT directly correlated to how severe the disease is. A women with Stage 4 endometriosis may experience no pain whatsoever, whereas a woman with Stage 1 may have inconsolable pain. 

There is an important connection to make between women who have endometriosis and those who struggle with infertility. Having endometriosis does not guarantee that you will be infertile, but it does increase your chances. 24-50 percent of women who experience infertility are found to have endometriosis. In these cases, surgery to remove it can restore fertility. In other cases ( a very small percentage) women remain infertile. 

Diagnosis begins with a gynecologist completing a physical examination, including a pelvic exam, but can ONLY be certain through a laparoscopic surgery. If the endometriosis is progressed enough, it can be diagnosed just by visually seeing it, but sometimes in stage 1, you may need a biopsy of tissue to determine. A laparoscopy is a minor surgical procedure where a thin tube with a camera is inserted into the abdomen through a small incision. 

It is important to note that it takes an average of 7 years. This is insane. Not a lot of women are going to persist through 7 years of doctors in order to get diagnosis, and surgery. It should not be this hard to get a diagnosis, which is why I am trying to raise awareness, because mine took 5 years. 

There are four stages of endometriosis, which I will go into further detail. The most common system used is the American Society for Reproductive Medicine Scale (ASRM). The Endometriosis Foundation of America has their own classification, but for my purposes, I will be combining the two in my explanation, because they are similar:

Stage 1 (peritoneal endometriosis): Minimal with few superficial implants. The membrane that lines the abdomen is infiltrated with endometriosis tissue.

Stage 2 (Ovarian Endometriosis): Mild with more and deeper implants. It is established within the ovaries, and these forms of ovarian cysts are of particular concern due to their risk of breaking and spreading endometriosis within the pelvic cavity.

Stage 3 (Deep Infiltrating Endometriosis I (DIE I)): Moderate with many deep implants. Small cysts on one or both ovaries. Presence of filmy adhesions. The first form of deep infiltrating endometriosis involves organs within the pelvic cavity. This can include the ovaries, rectum, uterus, and significantly distort the anatomy of the pelvic organs.

Stage 4 (Deep Infiltrating Endometriosis II (DIE II)): Severe with many deep implants. Large cysts on one or both ovaries and many dense adhesions. The other more extreme form of Deep Infiltrating Endometriosis involves organs both within and outside of the pelvic cavity. This can include bowels, appendix, diaphragm, heart and lungs, among others.

Remember, that the stage of the disease does not correlate with the amount of pain that the woman experiences.

*Personally I do not like that they use the acronym DIE in the classifications. OOF.

If a laparoscopic surgery does not succeed, a laparotomy (a more extensive surgery) can be used to remove as much of the tissue as possible without damaging healthy tissue. If this is not successful, many women use a hysterectomy to remove the uterus and possibly the ovaries to prevent tissue from growing back. 

A lot of treatment for endometriosis is pain management, and laparoscopic surgery to remove the disease. There is no official cure. 

If you think you have endometriosis, please reach out to your OBGYN, and if you are in the South Central Pennsylvania Region, please reach out to Dr. Harkins, he is an amazing doctor that has helped many women already, including myself. 

You are not alone. This disease affects all and everyone. Here are some celebrities with endometriosis: Amy Schumer, Tia Mowry-Hardrict, Lena Dunham, Chrissy Teigen, Mandy Moore, Julianne Hough, Halsey, Whoopi Goldberg, and Alaia Baldwin Aronow.

Sources:

https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/conditions-and-diseases/endometriosis 

http://nezhat.org/endometriosis-treatment/where-does-endometriosis-grow/#:~:text=Endometriosis%20has%20been%20found%20in,anatomical%20structure%20in%20the%20body.

https://www.advancedgynaecologymelbourne.com.au/endometriosis/stages

https://academic.oup.com/humrep/article/18/4/756/596537

https://www.everydayhealth.com/endometriosis/living-with/celebrities-who-speak-endometriosis/

Some great social media resources if you want to do your own research:

@/endohealthhub on Instagram

@/endometriosismemes on Instagram

@/endogirlgang on Instagram 

@/chronicallyillgoddess on Instagram

@/endohumour on Instagram 

@/the_endo_space on Instagram 

‘The Endo Space’ Group on Facebook

‘Endometriosis Support Group’ Group on Facebook

‘Undiagnosed Illness Support Group’ Group on Facebook

and if you are in South Central Pennsylvania, check out ‘Central PA Endometriosis Support Network’ Group on Facebook.

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My Endometriosis Story:

My story starts at 12 years old. Very young, but I remember having a horrible first year after getting my period. It was painful, and immobilizing. The doctors at the time knew my mother’s side also had painful periods and they mentioned that the first year can be wonky. So I waited. Two years later, I was still having horrible periods, so I went back to the doctor and got on birth control. That’s where I have been ever since. For the past 8 years, I’ve been suppressing my body, and still getting normal periods, even on birth control, which shows how bad it would be without it.

During my freshman year of college, I briefly got off of all medication, because I wanted to see if I could be “independent”. Aka I didn’t want to be dependent on medication just to live normally. This was a horrible idea. I’m not sure if this was the reason that my endometriosis symptoms first really made an appearance, but it doesn’t seem like a coincidence. As soon as I got off of my medication, I was reminded why I was on it to begin with. Horrible pain, and I even had to skip classes because I could barely move. I felt like I couldn’t do anything. I got back on the medicine, and my periods got better again, but I started to have these horrible flare ups of pain in my abdomen, not during my period. It would be anytime of the month, which didn’t make sense to me.

These random flare ups had my stomach rock solid, bloated, looking pregnant, and immobilized. I couldn’t even touch my stomach. I would be laying in bed, unable to move, and balling my eyes out. I had tried everything. I went to the OBGYN, because I KNEW it had something to do with my period, and my family’s history. I was told that it was most likely a GI issue. So I went to the gastroenterologist. They tried everything, and I thought I had IBS for a while, but I couldn’t accept that diagnosis. There had to be something more going on. I went back to my gastro and told her that I was still suffering. By then I was hopeless, and feeling very sad about my situation. The flare ups were being triggered my anxiety and I was constantly on edge. It was affecting my daily life and I had to call off or go home from work a few times because I couldn’t move. There was one instance where I couldn’t drive and I had to leave my car on campus, while Devin picked me up.

Fast forward to March 2021. My gastroenterologist schedules a colonoscopy, and I am anxiously waiting to see what they find. At this point, I had convinced myself that I was going to have a colostomy bag or something like that the rest of my life. A lot of my symptoms do correlate with GI, which is common for endometriosis. So I see why the doctors thought that. After my colonoscopy, I was given the news that they found nothing. NOTHING. I was perfectly fine besides some constipation.

At this point, I had joined an “undiagnosed illness” Facebook group. I posted all of my symptoms, and a lot of people in the comments said it sounded like Endometriosis. So I started to do my own research, and all of the symptoms aligned, especially the bloated and rock hard stomach (aka endo belly). I was finally starting to get answers, but I knew that even though I was confident in this, I was not a doctor. I needed to see a real one to get my diagnosis. Unfortunately, in order to get diagnosed with endometriosis, you have to have laparoscopic surgery, because it cannot be seen on ultrasounds or examinations.

I talked to my gastroenterologist about it being possible intestinal endometriosis (where the tissue grows on the intestines and affects the bowels), and I was advised to go back to the OBGYN. so I was back where I started.

My appointment did not go well. This doctor pushed aside my worries, and didn’t think that it was serious. He told me, “I don’t think there’s anything we can do for you.” And my heart broke. My stomach felt like bricks had fallen into it. I broke down and started crying in the appointment. After crying, the doctor decided to care. “I can give you some pain medicine to help.” And he left while I was still crying!!! This was the worst appointment I had ever had, but I did leave with two good things: 1) pain medicine & 2) motivation to find a doctor that would believe me.

I went back to Facebook. I joined some endometriosis support groups, and all of them kept saying to see Dr. Harkins. 90% of these posts were from his patients. He had outstanding reviews and everyone said how amazing he was, so I scheduled an appointment with him.

The moment I met Dr. Harkins, (August 2021) I felt like a ton of weight was lifted from my shoulders. This man truly has changed my life. He listened to my concerns and VALIDATED me. He told me that a lot of women come from Facebook, and it’s sad that doctors don’t know more about this condition. He told me he wanted to get me scheduled for a laparoscopic surgery, and he was confident that I had endometriosis. I left that office feeling on top of the world. I even cried tears of joy.

The next few months were a roller coaster. At first I was feeling awesome. I could make sense of what has been going on, and I started following more social media pages with endometriosis advice and awareness posts. I had to wait until December to get my surgery because I had to be off for at least two weeks to heal, and I was a full time student, so that wasn’t an option until then. I waited.

As time went on, and I got closer to surgery day, i started second guessing myself. It had been 4 months since I saw Dr. Harkins, and I hadn’t had a horrible flare up in a while, so I was starting to convince myself that I didn’t have endometriosis. I was thinking back to my colonoscopy, where they found nothing. What if they found nothing? What if I was wrong about this, and I was back to square one? I wasn’t anxious about the surgery at all, I was anxious that they wouldn’t find anything.

Dr Harkins put my mind at ease before surgery, and I did it.

I have Stage II Endometriosis.

I can finally say it, and it feels so good.

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HAPPY EARTH DAY! 🌎🌿💚

Here are some statistics about the environmental impacts of food and agriculture:

- 70% of global freshwater withdrawals are used for agriculture

- 78% of global ocean and freshwater pollution is caused by agriculture

- Livestock and fisheries account for 31% of food emissions

- CO2 emissions from most plant-based products are 10-50 times lower than most animal products

Here are some ways you can be more sustainable!

Food production is is responsible for 1/4 of the world's greenhouse gases, so changes in our diet and food choices have an impact on our carbon footprint.

- plant-based foods emit fewer greenhouse gases than meat and dairy, regardless of how they are produced

- plant-based protein sources have the lowest carbon footprint. This includes tofu, beans, peas, and nuts

- buy second-hand clothes instead of new!

- try to use as little plastic as possible.

- choose fair trade goods whenever possible (look at labels)

- use your voice to vote for people who will keep strong environmental policies in place

I have been vegetarian/pescetarian for almost 3 years now! Even if you can't commit fully, participating in meatless mondays, or even swapping meals once in a while that are meat-free will make a huge difference.

"We don't need a handful of people doing zero waste perfectly. We need millions of people doing it imperfectly." - Anne-Marie Bonneau

SOURCES:

https://ourworldindata.org/environmental-impacts-of-food?country=

https://www.biologicaldiversity.org/programs/population_and_sustainability/sustainability/live_more_sustainably.html

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My Grandfather's Journals Transcribed

"In January 22, 1990 we moved here from Moneroeville, PA. Vera had got a promotion in Pittsburgh, but we moved to York, PA. We started going to the church in York, PA. There building was on 150 South Manheim Street by Route 83. Their minister was doing what teh elders want more than what the Lord says to do in the Bible He had been there 7 plus years. He quit because he was tired of it all. He started going to Glen Rock, South of York and he lives South of York and has a small farm and his wife raises animals and is a school teacher. He became a deacon and preached some and took over his father-in-law's ice cream shop. The York Church started fighting with the elders over a man to hire. They hired the man but he didn't work out, the elders resigned and they appeared to be fighting. Vera and I, along with others started going to Route 230 Church of Christ. We went there for a few months there were things that didn't look right. They had no elders but had a group of men that acted like elders. They would listen to your word, wouldn't talk to other men, asked one of them preached and said that mother treasa was a Christian. How could she be a christian, she has never been baptised. Because she has done so much good work."

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My Grandfather's Journals Transcribed

"... will be 1/2 in our lives. No one fights for second place. With them first/second, there will be less fighting. As Christians, we are to be shining lights for people to see Jesus in us. We agreed that if we got married God and Jesus we will have to live with them being first and second, and we will live by their rules for our marriage and for life. They will be the head of us and our families forever. We will work for/with God and Jesus forever. Through Jesus' and God we will be..."

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My Grandfather's Journals Transcribed

"... honey because I want to. From that day, I figured I was had. I was thinking of asking Vera to marry me. I knew Vera had been raised in the Roman Catholic Church. I know she had been studying with our missionaries while she learned English, using the English Bible. She had already told me she had been baptised before she came to the USA. She told me by being baptised she had put on Christ and her sings were washed away/covered by the blood of Christ. She told me she was now a part of the Church of Christ. We continued talking about what marriage means. How we should treat each other etc. If we are Christians, God and Jesus have to be number one and two in our lives and if they are not, we are not true Christians. If we are true Christians, God and Jesus must be 1/2 in our lives."

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My Grandfather's Journals Transcribed

"Vera kept telling me the children adn the mother in Law kept hitting her and other things. I told her she ?did have to put up with that?. When she went to the USA embassy to see what she needed to do and get, she told him she wanted a visa for a year in the USA. He told her you may want to get a permanent visa. That way, if you want to stay longer, you will not have to go through all this again. She got a permanent one. I'm so glad she did. I talked to the elders about the way she was being treated. The elder Lawrence and white Janite Binnies provided Vera a place to live til she found another job. Vera found anotehr job. She found one in Germantown, PA. Outside of Philadelphia. The husband worked for the city of Philadelphia. Vera's job was about the same as she had in Coatsville. The wife didn't work outside of the house. They had two girls. I started picking her up and going out with her to church services, church things, singings, etc. Vera and I went to a song service with teh Binnies. Vera and I were in the back seat of the car. Vera started calling me honey. Mrs. Binnie said it's not honey, it's Ronnie. She did it a few times. Vera said to me, I know your name is Ronnie, I'm calling you..."

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My Grandfather's Journals Transcribed

*repeat from page 4* "They said I could let my dad help me. I excepted the job and with dad's working with me, we did a good job"

*new writing* "a woman from Brazil called the church office and asked if someone could pick her up at the bus station in West Chester and take her to the church services. The elders asked me to pick her up, I accepted. She told me her name was Vera L. Mattos. Born in Rio De Janeiro Brazil, on January 14, 1942. She told me that she had been studying with our missionaries to learn English. They used the English Bible during their studies with her. She came here to learn English in the USA and after a year she will go back home. Knowing English she could make top dollar, so she came here with a years contact with a couple in Coatsville, PA. She would be a nanny. The husband and wife were both doctors. They had 2 children and a mother-in-law. They all lived in the house, and now Vera will be too. She said she is planning to go back home at the end of the year. When I would go and pick her up every other sunday."

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My Grandfather's Journals Transcribed

This is just a repeat of the last page but written neatly.

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My Grandfather's Journals Transcribed

"After working with some of the people at the church I started reading my Bible more. I started to realize that I was not a christian, I was not baptized into christ for the forgiveness of my sins. The Bible says we must hear God's word, the Bible, believe it, repent of our sins, confess them, be baptized into christ, where my sins are covered, forgiven by Jesus' blood (Shade on the cross). I was baptized on June 15, 1958. I was working with the elders around the church. They said for me to let my dad help me. I excepted the job with dad working with me, we did a good job building and ground. The elders asked me to take charge of the building ground etc." * Go to page 5 is written and the rest is scribbled out*

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My Grandfather's Journals Transcribed

"...where she is. After a few questions, she is the baby from Chester County Hospital in West Chester. I need some information. She told us the operation was done and all is well. "They had operated on her and didn't know who she was or if she had any insurance." she told us. She was 18 hours old when she was operated on. She took us to see her and we should go home take care Wilda. She is fine. We went home. Don't remember how long it was before they called us and said you have to come and pick up Darlene and take her home. There is a sickness going through the hospital and if she gets it, she could die from it. We got in the car and took off to the hospital, picked her up, and came home. She weighed 4 pounds 7 oz. Mom and I didn't get much sleep, rest, etc. the next couple of months. Darlene was not allowed to be left alone, cry, etc. When mom was getting some sleep, I had to watch her. I feed her, hold her, etc. When I sleep, mom took care of her. It was good for me in some ways because of me helping my mom with Darlene. I learned a lot and was a great help to my wife with our children."

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My Grandfather's Journal Transcribed

"The doctor came and asked dad to come with him. He told dad the baby was in trouble. We are not sure what it is or what to do. We have a group of doctors looking into it. We should know soon. Don't let Wilda see the baby, because if the baby dies, and Wilda has seen her, it will be harder for her to get over the loss. The doctor took off, he came back in a couple of hours. He had the x-ray of the baby and showed dad where there should have been a diaphragm between the lungs and the intestines, but there wasn't any. The doctors here at Cbester County Hospital can't fix it, but the doctors in Philadelphia Children's Hospital can. Dad said Do what you have to. She was taken by ambulance to Philadelphia. They put her onand off she went. We got mom and got in the car and drove to the hospital. We went to the front desk and told them we are here to see Darlene Bedwell. She looked through the records and came back and said, we have no record of a Darlene Bedwell being brought here. She said come with me and find out..."

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My Grandfather's Journal Transcribed

"I was born on June 6, 1943, to Horace Victor Wilmen and Wilda Wade Bedwell. They two other sons - Horace Wade (January 26, 1936) and Daniel Ogeen (March 3, 1939. They were living in Baltimore Mayland. At age 4, we moved to Springfield, Deleware county, Pennsylvania. When I was 12 years old, we moved to West Chester, PA. After a while we started going to the West Chester Church of Christ. We were settling in and things were looking good for me. I was 14. Things were going good for me in school. I noted that mom and dad were getting on each other a lot. I couldn't figure out what was wrong. I was trying to stay out of it, but I seemed to be getting deeper into it. After a little while, dad took me aside and told me what was wrong. Please don't tell wade and Dan or anyone else. Your mother is pregnant, her blood pressure is high, sometimes very high, and a few other things and to top it out, she is 42 years old. With all of this, she may not be able to carry the baby full term (9 months) they both could end up dying. The doctor will have to be watching both of them. Well, on July 14, 1958, my sister Darlene Enet was born. Mom had some problems, but the doctors were...."

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June 8, 2020

Today was my first day back at work. I was so genuinely happy to be back! I was so excited to see how the kids have grow and how the day would evolve. I knew it was going to be flexible because honestly everyone was still getting used to it. A few things were obviously different.

I wore a mask most of the day besides my break and lunch. It was hot in the afternoon but the morning was cool and shady. I know that’s just a minor setback in comparison to how much healthcare workers have been doing, so it kept me motivated.

Nap time was a little tough. Some were confused about the lack of blankets and pillows. But we ended up using their own sweatshirts and some of the stuffed animals as pillows.

We had a great lunch picnic outside and it was so fun!

Almost no behavior problems the entire day! Literally I gift this to the fact that all of them were so excited to see each other and I was too!

Things were great and the kids transitioned back in so well. Only one of them had separation anxiety and it was toward the end of the day. We just made sure she was having fun and reassured her that her mom would be coming to get her when she is done with her job.

I think my coworkers and I did everything we could to prepare for this day. I am so thankful for the slow opening so that we can all transition back into this life. I’m trying to keep conversations positive and if something does come up, I’ll explain using a calm voice. I want to make sure the kids feel as normal as they can. I’m so grateful to be back at work and I know the kids are happy too. They were so excited and it made my heart flutter to see the reunion. Although not everyone is back yet, it’s going to be a slow journey.

I know it will be so worth it and we will come back as better educators! ❤️

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today in my preschool classroom, we did such a fun activity! Yesterday we introduced the topic of gardens and flowers by creating our very own flowers with construction paper, tissue paper, and a bunch of other fun materials. Today, my co-teacher and I wanted to do something fun that also related back to the nature and garden theme. I saw this idea on Pinterest and thought I would give it a go! I bought bagged Lima beans from the store and soaked them in a bowl for about an hour before the activity. I then, read a book called “seeds, sun, soil” to introduce the topic of seeds and how they can grow to make all sorts of different food! The kids obviously guessed what we were doing because the book talked about many different seeds. So we helped them back to the tables and let them soak their paper towel in the water bowl and put it into the bag. I let them put their own seeds in as well so they got to feel the seed and see how it looked before it grew. We then hung all of the bags up on the window so we can watch how they sprout! It was such a fun activity and I will link where I got all of the directions from: https://pin.it/72ggmebf7zxufn

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Update on being a Vegetarian!

Since, my last post, I’ve been doing well. I would also like to point out that, I am not entirely vegetarian, I consider myself pescatarian since I still eat fish and eggs. But, I am very happy with how everything is going. It’s been a little over six months and I don’t think I will ever go back to eating meat!

Some things I have learned along the way that have really helped me get through it:

1. There are so many options now for vegetarian people! You just need to know where to look. Giant food stores has an isle completely for Eco-friendly foods, and I have found a lot of stuff there that are ‘meat impostors’. They have soy nuggets, veggie burgers, fake ground beef, fake turkey, fake bacon... you name it. I have been eating a lot of soy nuggets for protein as well as my share of veggie burgers. I have tried the Impossible burger and a black bean burger. Both are great. I also have found that Whole Foods has more options than Giant for vegan and vegetarian people, but I don’t like to shop there often because it does come with a bigger price tag. Some restaurants that I have found that have good options: Arooga’s (A LOT of options), Pita Pit(falafel as protein), Mod Pizza (salad+pizza), Five Guys (veggie burger), and so many others.

2. Being a vegetarian isn’t just about helping animals. Through this time that I have been vegetarian, everyone’s first question, is why? Why am I vegetarian. Of course, this answer is long. No, I am not sorry for the animals. To an extent, of course, but that’s not the reason why. If I wasn’t vegetarian, I would be chowing down on some chicken nuggets as we speak, but it’s more having to do with the fact that being a meat-eater consumes a lot of resources and actually has harmful affects to the planet. Not a lot of people know this. 

To produce one kilogram of beef, the process takes 15,415 liters of water. Meat production actually uses 70% of the water consumption used today. Not human consumption... meat production. I didn’t know this when I started vegetarianism, but it made up my mind as to whether or not I wanted to keep doing it. It isn’t just meat, it is also some of the other things we consume, such as almonds. To produce 1 almond, it takes 1.1 gallons of water. Just think about how many almonds it takes to make a carton of milk. Livestock emissions from cows, manure, and pigs, make up 15% of greenhouse gases. Out of this 15%, beef and dairy make up 65%. 

The average meat also travels 1,200 kilometers before you eat it. That means that emissions from cars are also being used. Shopping locally can help reduce this. Of course, this is a small percent of how much emissions are actually produced, but if everyone started to do this, it would make a good impact. 

I hope that this post made you think about how much meat you consume, and or if you don’t want to cut it out, where you’re getting it from. Everyone can help our Earth and you should. If you’re curious about how much emissions you are putting into the environment with the way you live, visit https://www.footprintcalculator.org/ and take the test to see where you stand.

We cannot ignore what is happening to our planet. No matter what your political or religious stance is, we have to help change the direction that we are headed, not only for ourselves, but for our future generations.

Sources for this post:

https://www.theguardian.com/news/2018/may/07/true-cost-of-eating-meat-environment-health-animal-welfare

https://www.paesta.psu.edu/podcast/how-much-water-does-it-really-take-grow-almonds-paesta-podcast-series-episode-43

https://ourworld.unu.edu/en/eating-less-meat-essential-to-curb-climate-change-says-report

https://davidsuzuki.org/queen-of-green/food-climate-change/

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Be teachable. You’re not always right.