#and those safe foods alone don’t cover all her nutritional needs

[zosonils]

man i want to make a post gushing about how much i love futaba but like. i genuinely don’t think i have the vocabulary to describe how much she means to me. i’m well equipped for excitedly pointing at a character who was accidentally written to have neurodivergent swagger if you squint a bit but to see one who is explicitly, deliberately autistic right from the get go is an entirely new and wonderful experience to me

[echo-of-sounds]

hypersensitivities

How Aizawa, Toshinori, and Hizashi would help and support their s/o with hypersensitivities.

While hypersensitivities can be caused by many things (both mental and physical), mine are from ADHD and anxiety. I believe I kept these as general as possible so others can relate even if their issues aren’t caused by the same things as mine.

Aizawa Shouta

Aizawa’s the least picky person out there. Come home with a different smelling shampoo for him or a new comforter made out of your preferred material and he won’t bat an eye. If it works, he’s fine with it.

Rubbing. Digging. Scruffing. Itching. Constricting. You just can’t get away from it. There’s always something touching you. It makes your entire being uncomfortable and agitated. He’ll ask if there’s anything he can do. He knows you sometimes need space to breathe and calm yourself. Those times when you want someone to help, he’s there. If you need your weighted blanket, he can find it. If you need shea butter lotion, he can apply it. If you just need some skin-to-skin contact, he can provide it. Anything to get you to stop scratching and pulling at yourself, he’ll do because he hates seeing you so visibly distraught.

Having a strong sense of taste and an aversion to textiles can lead to a difficult food life. Onions are fine if they’re in this dish, prepared this way. Tomatoes, mushrooms, and bananas? Gooey and slimy. Seafood? Beans? Never. It’s frustrating to just eat. While Aizawa’s no connoisseur or nutritionist, he can (surprisingly) cook pretty well. And he sticks to plain, easy dishes. It’s great when you’re essentially limited to bread, some kinds of pasta, and some fruits and meats. He can help with any simple soups and basic meat dishes. 

If a truck’s horn or that ridiculously high pitch buzzing finally breaks your ears down to the point you’re crying, find Shouta. He’s always willing to cuddle. Even more so when you need comforting. He’s so safe and secure. Hands will stroke circles while lips kiss your temple. If you have to play rain or ocean sounds in your earbuds or from your phone, he’ll lay in bed with you, keeping you locked to him, and press kisses all over.

Whenever you leave the house, he reminds you to bring any glasses that you need: FL-41 for light sensitivity, blue blockers for computer screens, even category 4 sunglasses if your eyes need that amount of protection. He always remembers. You’ll be at the mall, squinting from the horrible fluorescents, and he’ll pull them out of his pocket for you.

His hair is perfect for hiding in when you’re out in public. It’s thick and smells like him. And while he dislikes PDA, he does make exceptions. Whenever you need a break from the lights, just turn into him, rest against his chest, and his hair will fall over your eyes. He’ll hold you close, patiently waiting for you to be ready to continue.

Please, never feel high-maintenance. If anything, having you in his life makes him more attentive to himself. He’ll eat better from any meal plans. He’ll clean his place more often so it’s enjoyable for you. He is especially aware of what cleaning supplies and detergent he uses. He just becomes considerate of how you’re in his life and what he does because he loves you.

Yagi Toshinori

Toshi developed a love for cooking. With his injury, his nutritional needs changed, so he’s learned to cook well to avoid constantly buying expensive foods. Any aversions you have, whether it be texture, smell, or taste, he’ll avoid. Can the slightest change in the sauce throw the whole dish off? His measurements are as precise as can be. Lettuce is fine, but spinach, cabbage, and parsley? It’s basically paper in your mouth. He’ll find recipes that include just lettuce and your preferred vegetables. You’ll come home to another new dish he made to surprise you.

Textile sensitivities are difficult to deal with. And clothes shopping becomes the worst task of them all. You have to test the fabric, the seams, where the tag is, how the shoulders and neck sit, the sleeve tightness, everything. Toshi will keep a list of the exact materials you like for blankets, pillows, towels, carpets, and clothing. And it doesn’t stop there. Is stoneware and glass dinnerware too irritating on your fingers? His next investment his wooden or metal dinnerware. Is cold press and rough drawing paper uncomfortable? He’ll be on the lookout for specific hot press paper.

The only thing he uses that smells is his cologne. It’s simple and never overwhelming. But if you need a different scent, he’s more than willing to go to the store with you so you can pick out something you like. 

Any scents that calm you, candles, incense, and those air freshener crystal beads, will be that scent. Vanilla or lavender. Maybe there’s some obscure scent you can only dig up online? Oh, he’ll find it. It’s incomprehensible how much he loves you. And your comfort is vital. Because if you can’t feel comfortable in your own home, then something’s seriously wrong.

The lightbulbs in your place are always free for you to change. If incandescent bulbs are what you need in the living room, buy them and change them out. If green LED lights help with migraines and pain, put them in the lamp near your bed while you rest. Install smart lighting so you can dim and change the lights whenever you need to. Toshi doesn’t care about the expenses. If it helps and protects your eyes, then money means nothing to him.

It doesn’t help that his smile is just so darn bright.

Overstimulation takes over so suddenly. You’re sitting in the living room, reading, when all of a sudden, the TV and microwave throws your hearing off, your bra becomes a boa constrictor and it’s only tightening, the flowers, food, and candles engulfs your entire being. It’s throttling, smothering, and you can’t escape. You’re left to drown. 

The minute you’re scratching, rocking, or crying, he’s prepared. Is your dog fluffy and grounding? Toshi brings her over. Do you need a hot or cold shower? It’s already running. Is fresh air the best for you? He’s walking you to the balcony or roof for a break. He can stay with you or leave you alone.

Yamada Hizashi

Hizashi is a little bit of a picky eater too. Certain vegetables and sauces like tartar, guacamole, and harissa bother him, especially if the sauces are chunky. He prefers smoother dressings/sauces. So he completely understands any food aversions you have and never makes you feel guilty for being picky. He spends extra care when choosing what restaurants to go to and what he picks up for takeout.

He loves jewelry, not just wearing it, but on his partner too: necklaces that highlight your collarbones and rings that emphasize your fingers. He wants to buy you jewelry and hates that you don’t like it. He isn’t mad at you or your preferences but at how uncomfortable you get in your own skin. He wants you to feel great. And those mornings where you change outfits nine times until you finally find something that isn’t suffocating, his heart breaks.

You can bet he’ll come home with five bras and ten shirts he found that he knows you’ll like. The shirts are soft and the exact size and shape you want with no annoying frills, buttons, or ties. The bras are cute and never have tight, prodding wires or scratchy lace. He’s like a bloodhound when he’s at the store. One whiff of a good pair of pants and he’s ransacking the isles for more like it. He wants you feeling cozy, comfortable, and sexy!

A lot of gum goes in his mouth. His breath and taste is always something. But mint is powerful. There are too many kinds- spearmint, peppermint, winter-something, sweet-whatever, polar-anything. They’re overwhelming, upset your stomach, soak into your tongue, and cling to your clothes. You’ll smell it long after he gives you a kiss. To help, Hizashi will buy literally every flavor of gum there is and let you pick the ones you like. Bubblegum? Classic. Berry Blast? He loves fruit! Apple Pie or Confetti Cake Pop? Odd choice but he can dig it!

Noise sensitivities will be a little tough to manage when living with him. And it’s not his quirk that’s the problem. He’s just a noisy guy. He’s bumping things, knocking them over. He hums, pops, and sings all the time. Music or instruments are often playing somewhere in the apartment. Sound canceling headphones would be a good investment because it’s near impossible for him to just stop making noise. It's ingrained in him. Though there will be days when he’s almost completely quiet so he can spend time with you… and press kisses all over your face.

If you need sunglasses, Hizashi is your guy. Styles, tints, frames, colors, he’ll make sure your eyes are protected and you look perfect. In your home, he’ll cover up any reflective or bright surfaces that bother you: throwing a blanket over the refrigerator and getting blackout curtains. And if you need the often dreaded eyedrops, he’ll apply them for you. He’ll reward you with chocolate and kisses.

Since he’s so in tune with his partner’s emotions, he can notice when you’re starting to get overstimulated. Your voice may get sharper. You're itching your arm till it’s red. Your squinting and tilting away from certain sounds. He’ll recommend you take a break. Go lay down with the cat. Read a book under your weighted blanket. Burn some candles while in the bath. He’ll massage lotion into your back after for extra comfort.

[alostsock]

With me.

Summary: Andy and Nicky get kidnapped. Post-movie.

TW: kidnapping, starvation, dehydration, weight loss, temporary character death (I mean it’s The Old Guard?), a bit of blood, mentions of violence.

AN: I didn’t know you could get cut off in the tags that’s never happened to me before apparently there’s a length limit.

For all her years, Andy cannot remember having felt purpose like this before. Knowing that her body no longer heals does nothing to dissuade her - if anything, it motivates her further. She may break, she may hurt but she now sees, as she hasn’t in centuries (maybe ever) that it is worth it.

Nile seems to accept her leadership, and follows it without question.

Nicky and Joe, however, draw on almost two thousand years of combined stubbornness trying to keep her from harm.

Nicky researches nutrition and tries to serve her balanced (boring, bland) meals despite her protests. Joe finds her the best available body armour (never mind how it moves). They both throw themselves in front of her at every possible opportunity. (This isn’t to say that Nile doesn’t, in the face of real danger - just that Nicky and Joe don’t seem to understand that she doesn’t need protecting from traffic or raccoons or hot oil on the stove).

She doesn’t think she’s been particularly careless - they vet jobs as they’ve always done, and now they have Copley to help. She’s not reckless, just filled with purpose, with vigour, with the need to do right. Besides, all her years have taught her that sometimes, despite best efforts, jobs go wrong.

It doesn’t entirely bother her that they’ve been locked up in a cell. It’s hardly the first time, after all. Besides, she has every faith in Nile and Joe and Copley to track them down.

What she does hate with every fibre of her being, is that Nicky is locked up with her.

He reassures her, because of course he does, that it isn’t her fault, just as she reassures him that it isn’t his.

They’ve been captured together before, they all have, really, and they know the routine. They have exhausted their options for escape, have tried at every opportunity, and have failed. All they’ve managed to do is maybe piss off their captors a little more than was strictly necessary. It isn’t in them to just give up and accept their predicament, though - they need to try everything first. Once they’ve done this, however, all that’s left to do is wait.

It’s all standard procedure, as far as standard procedure goes for a bunch of immortal warriors. Andy finds the way that criminals haven’t really changed the core of their modus operandi in decades more than a little tiresome. There’s an angry kingpin (with his fingers in many increasingly unconscionable pies) who doesn’t believe that nobody hired them, who scoffs at their insistence that there aren’t more of them, a selection of cronies and hired hands who are all too happy to try to beat the answers out of them, and a general limited amount of food, water, and warmth to make them extra miserable. Frankly, she’s bored with it.

Joe is coming. Nile is coming. They just have to bide their time, like every time this has happened before.

The one difference - the only difference - is that this time Andy is mortal.

Nicky (and Joe, her boys, her beloved boys) have always hated it when she put herself in danger, and even more so when she did it to protect them. But, until this point, they recognized her leadership and would defer to it. They accepted that this sometimes meant letting her take the brunt of their latest opponent’s anger if she felt it necessary to keep them safe, or to get them out of a sticky situation.

This time, however, there is no dissuading Nicky. No command, no proposed strategy will change his mind. Andy still puts up a fight, but eventually he turns those big, plaintive eyes on her and admits in a soft voice that the best way she can keep him safe right now is if she lets him take care of her - if she lets him stop them from doing something to her which cannot be undone.

Andy has never been able to say no to Nicky when he looks at her like that, and this time is no different.

So, she agrees. When their captors come in to see if they’re ready to talk, Nicky is the one who goads them, infuriates them. When they’re delivered pitiful meals, he refuses his half, begging with his soulful eyes.

I can starve, he says. You can’t.

I don’t need water, he says. You do.

Andy hates it. She doesn’t feel mortal, she feels the same as she always has. She feels strong, she feels enraged, she wants to protect her Nico. She wants to shield him from the world. She knows, logically, that after nine hundred years there isn’t much innocence left, but still he feels so young to her. They both do. They all do.

She thinks of the plea in his eyes, though, the desperation in his face as he silently begs her to stay behind him, to stay silent, to let him take it, and so she does.

She suspects it isn’t entirely quick tempers or even benevolence that has their captors keep taking Nicky’s bait, though - she suspects that the brighter among them recognize the look in her eyes - they see that by hurting Nicky they hurt her more than they could by beating her.

---

They lose track of time. There is no natural light in the room they are in, so they don’t really know how many days have passed. Andy isn’t sure if the room is getting colder, or if they’re maybe just getting weaker with lack of food. Perhaps both.

The first few days their captors try violence, but when neither of them cracks (and also as they seem to take out no small number of henchmen every time they are in the same room as them) they seem to settle on trying to starve the answers they want out of them. Nicky continues to insist on giving Andy his share, so while she doesn’t know exactly how many days it’s been, she knows it’s been long enough for Nicky to start looking grey with dehydration. She suspects he will die from it soon, but when she brings this up to him he just gives her a tired smile and reminds her that it’s fine if he does - he will come back. The only thing that seems to matter to him is that she doesn’t.

She’s miserable - cold and damp and hungry - but what hurts the most is watching Nicky waste away beside her.

---

They talk - or, at least, at the beginning they talk. As time goes on and Nicky grows weaker, it mostly becomes Andy talking while Nicky dozes (or lies unconscious, or dies and comes back) tucked into her side. It starts as discussions of possible means to escape (always in oldest languages they share, just in case anyone is listening), but when that seems to become increasingly hopeless, and as Nicky starts to lose the energy to hold his head up, Andy starts spending most of her time telling him her favourite stories of years gone by.

They (he - Andy reminds herself) might be immortal, but they are still human. Their bodies will heal, will regenerate but they need food and water to do so, so as Nicky fades and starts to die not only from lack of water but from starvation the deaths start to come closer and closer together. He will die from malnourishment, come back, and then, when his body realizes it still has no stores to draw from, still has no energy to heal itself with, he will die again.

Sometimes, when he is too out of it to protest, she tips small sips of water into his mouth. This tends to end up with him waking up enough to realize what she is doing, at which point he will turn tear-filled eyes on her and remind her that while he will come back from whatever physical trauma his body is put through, he will not be able to handle waking up to find her permanently dead beside him when he could have prevented it.

---

They move them once during their captivity. Having learned early on that entering the room while either of them is awake is dangerous, both times they accomplish the move by knocking them out with gas and transporting them while they’re unconscious. Andy comes to in a shipping container, bound with rope and alone. She makes quick work of the bindings before exhausting herself trying to find a way out. Nothing gives, no matter how hard she tries. 

She loses time again. Perhaps more gas? Maybe her body just gave out? She isn’t sure, but when she wakes she and Nicky have been tossed in the same room again, carelessly dropped on the cold floor. There is blood on Nicky’s temple that wasn’t there before.

She wonders if their captors have realized that, no matter how much he bleeds, none of the marks linger on his skin. She hopes that the mess of dried blood he’s covered in is enough to mask the fact that he isn’t actually bleeding where he should be, because she doesn’t want to think about how their situation could get messier if they figured that out. Luckily, they seem to prefer keeping their distance (or perhaps they have just realized it is best for their own safety to not get too close).

Andy frees herself from her new bounds. Nicky stirs but doesn’t seem to have the energy to fully wake, so once Andy has repeated the process of checking their cell for potential means of escape (she doesn’t find any) she drags him to a corner of the room and, leaning against the wall, pulls him to her chest.

---

Someone comes to check on them what Andy assumes is once a day, with a bottle of water and some stale bread, or sometimes a can of soup and a demand for answers that they both don’t have and would never give anyway.

Nicky is barely more than skin and bones, a painfully fragile warmth (and sometimes lack thereof) in her arms. She is hardly any better, the food they get absolutely pitiful, but at least she hasn’t died of starvation. She isn’t the one who keeps coming to in stuttering huffs of air before inevitably going limp again - over and over and over.

---

Andy rouses from sleep. She’s hungry - hungrier than usual. She thinks they haven’t been fed in a while. Nicky is still slumped against her, his soft breaths puffing against her neck. She tiredly runs her hands through his dirty hair, brushing it back from his face as she wonders if they have given up on them entirely. She feels like it’s been too long, like they are overdue for food and questions, but she has no way of being sure. Maybe this day has just felt longer than the others. Maybe it’s been more than one.

The door opens with a clang. Andy doesn’t bother to look up, keeping her face buried in Nicky’s hair and keeping her own thin arms wrapped around his frail form as she holds him close on her lap. Even when she senses someone letting out a breath and dropping hard onto their knees beside her, she doesn’t look up. She would fight, but she doesn’t have the energy to. Maybe she could knock out this one with the remaining dregs of her strength, but then what? She doesn’t think she has it in her to fight her way out all while carrying Nicky, frighteningly light as he is at the moment.

Joe is coming. Nile is coming. They just have to wait.

A shaking hand meets hers where it is buried in Nicky’s hair. She flinches, but doesn’t pull away. The hand reaches across Nicky to tuck her own hair behind her ear. Initially she recoils, but then she takes a deep breath and tries to muster the reserves of her strength. The person is close. Maybe she could take this one out. She takes another breath, steeling herself. Her eyelashes brush against Nicky’s greasy hair as she blinks, her face still tucked down onto his head. She moves to look up but then she realizes that she knows that hand.

She knew that hand for millennia, but she hasn’t held it in hundreds of years.

She blinks, raising her head.

The world swims in front of her, and she blinks a few more times before it comes into focus.

She must be dreaming.

She hears shouting, sees the mouth in front of her moving but her brain doesn’t connect the sight with the sound. There’s the sound of running footsteps and Joe - or her mind’s conjured version of Joe - comes skidding around the corner, making a beeline for the three of them when he enters the room.

Suddenly, there are inexplicably warm hands pulling Nicky away from her. She clings tighter, clings with all the strength she has left as dream-Joe tries to take Nicky from her.

She huffs out a disgruntled protest, complains that this is my dream, why can’t you do what I want. I want him with me before burying her face back into Nicky’s hair and trying to let the dream take her somewhere else. Perhaps her subconscious can take them somewhere warm.

She doesn’t get the chance. Moments later, hands are prying Nicky from her arms and she finds that she doesn’t have enough strength to keep fighting back. She opens her eyes again to see the arms pick Nicky up, cradling him against a broad chest. She sees Nile enter the room, coming up to her with her hands raised before pausing in front of her and giving her a brief relieved smile before hauling her to her feet and pulling her arm across strong shoulders.

She doesn’t see anybody else.

Just Joe and Nile.

Joe and Nile have come.

---

She vaguely remembers stumbling through hallways, Nile hauling her uncooperative body along. Joe is just ahead of them, Nicky held close.

Their path out is clear.

Some of the guards have been cut down, some have been shot, others, inexplicably, have been struck with arrows. Nicky hasn’t used a bow in decades, Joe in even longer. She didn’t realize Nile knew how.

When they reach the getaway car Nile helps her into the backseat before climbing in after her, taking her hand tightly in both of hers. Joe gets in on the other side with Nicky still in his arms, maneuvering awkwardly, trying to avoid bumping Nicky against the door.

Andy leans her head on Joe’s shoulder, leaving her right hand in Niles’ as her left buries itself in Nicky’s hair. She breathes in the smell of Joe’s shirt, finally allowing the last remnants of tension to leave her body. She sees Booker get into the driver’s seat. They must have needed to call him in for backup. The passenger seat is empty. She supposes they’re a little cramped in the back, but she doesn’t want to let go of Nile and she isn’t sure she would be able to handle Nicky or Joe moving away from her. She relaxes completely against Joe’s side, and relief so strong it makes her want to cry overcomes her as he presses a kiss to her hair.

She sleeps.

The passenger side door opens and shuts.

The wheels squeal as the car pulls away.

[justthehiddleswrites]

Career Change | Adam x OFC (Charlie Bock ) | Chapter 1

Pairing: Adam x OFC (Charlie Bock)

Summary:  It has been three months since Adam rescued Charlie. Simone thinks it is time for Charlie to get back to some normalcy. Adam resist the change and Charlie has to break out the legal pad again.

Warnings: Eventual Smut, Fluff, Humor, mentions of past trauma, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Therapy, Panic Attacks

- 

“So Charlie, what are you doing with your time these days?” Simone asked with a soft smile.

Charlie didn’t answer. It was three months since Adam rescued her and two months of twice weekly counseling sessions with Simone.

“Well, I…” her voice trailed off as she racked her brain about the previous day’s activities. It was the same as any other day. She read a book, listened to Adam play, had sex, cooked some food, Adam fed, and slept.

“Charlie, when was the last time you went somewhere? Left the house?”

“I took the garbage out on Monday.” Charlie chimed in.

“You know that is not what I mean. What about the grocery store? You are eating, correct?”

Charlie bristled a bit at Simone’s question. “Yes.” she snapped, her fingers began fidgeting in front of her. “I have groceries delivered every week. Adam keeps an eye on me.”

I am sure he does, Simone thought.

Simone shifted her weight. “Let’s ask another way, what are you doing for work?”

“I work at the record store. I told you.”

“You worked at the record store. It’s been three months, Charlie.”

Charlie opened her mouth and then closed it. Her shoulders slumped. “I guess you’re right.” There was a bit of sadness. She would miss Mr. Simmons, but there a part of her never wanted to go back and remember and relive that last night working there.

“Did you really want to work there, anyway?”

“No.”

“So what do you want to do?”

“I guess I could find a job at a law firm in town.” She responded glumly. She slumped even further back.

“Don’t hold back on the enthusiasm there, Charlie. I can’t take it.” Simone’s dry humor helped put Charlie at ease with therapy. Charlie appreciated the way she prodded but didn’t demand and validate her feelings and never once made her feel stupid or silly or the worst, ignored. “It wasn’t the law you were passionate about, was it?”

Charlie shook her head. “No.”

“So I will ask again, what do you want to do?”

Charlie chewed on her lip, thinking. “I don’t know. I want to help people.”

“A noble goal.” Simone clicked a few keys on her computer before smiling. “Charlie, I am sending you some homework for our next session.”

Charlie perked up. “Okay. What is it?”

“An aptitude test. Now I was wondering if I could speak to Adam for a moment.”

Charlie paled and gulped. Simone didn’t even need to look at her to recognize what was going on.

“You’re not in trouble, Charlie. You have done nothing wrong. I promise. Can you please send in Adam?”

Charlie got up, smoothed down her pajama pants and popped her head into the bedroom where Adam lied on the bed, sprawled out.

“Adam?” His head popped up at Charlie’s voice.

“All done?”

“Simone wants to talk to you.” Charlie fidgeted. “Alone.”

“Me?” Adam rose from the bed. “Did she say why?”

“No.” her voice soft.

Adam kissed her forehead and smoothed back her hair, cupping her face. “I am sure everything is fine. I will be right back.”

Adam walked to the spare bedroom where Charlie goes for privacy on therapy days. He shut the door behind and took a seat in front of the computer. Simone was typing on her computer.

“Adam. Is Charlie there?”

“No. She’s in the bedroom. You wanted to talk to me alone?” Adam’s brow furrowed.

“I did, Adam. I’m going to be blunt. Charlie needs to leave the house.”

Adam blinked. “She leaves the house.” he lied.

“No, she doesn’t. She is not working, she doesn’t run errands, she doesn’t go anywhere.”

“She doesn’t need to. Groceries can be delivered.”

“True, but Charlie isn’t like you and me. She can and should go out in the daylight. She thrives on interaction. You have built her a cage.”

“I did not. Adam’s fists clenched to his side. “She hasn’t wanted to go out. She doesn’t feel safe.”

“That’s not true. Yes, she doesn’t want to disappoint you. You are the first person to love her as she is. She has had a lot of trauma in her young life. Neglectful parents, cruel siblings, unloyal friends, destructive relationships. You have no idea.”

“I have an inkling.”

“There is a lot she doesn’t tell you, Adam. She doesn’t want to be a burden.”

Adam’s head dropped. He never pushed on Charlie’s past. He now regretted it.

“Adam?” Simone snapped him back, seeing his mind wandering. “This isn’t your fault. Just like Eve’s death.”

Adam’s eyes narrowed to slits. “How do you know anything about that?”

“Stories get around plus Charlie may have made a comment or two.”

“Then you realize it is my fault. It was my turn! And I was too caught up in myself to be bothered. Too self-absorbed. So she went out instead. And now she’s dead.”

Adam’s hands twisted in front of him. Simone noted the mirroring behavior of Charlie’s own nervous tic.

“Adam. I met Eve. And she was smart. Not to mention well versed in your moods. She made a choice.”

Adam shrugged. “I still could have stopped her.”

Simone chuckled. “I highly doubt that. Not even on her worst day could anyone stop Eve once she set her mind to something.”

“And what does this have to do with Charlie?”

“You can’t bring Eve back by keeping Charlie caged up in a triple decker in Quincy. She needs to get back to a new normal. Which includes her leaving the house.”

Adam fell back onto the bed, covering his face before popping back up. “How can I help?”

“To begin with, stop ordering in. Groceries and food. Go at night with her at first if it makes you feel better. But she needs to get out now. And second, continue to encourage her to maintain her friendships. Finally, she needs to get a job.”

Adam’s eyes snapped to the screen. “I can provide for her.”

“A job is more than money, Adam. You know Charlie. She needs to feel useful. She needs to help people. Am I right?”

“Yes.” Adam agreed, albeit begrudgingly.

“I appreciate that. I recognize that was hard for you.” Adam gave a half smile. Simone rubbed her hands together. “That is all I needed to talk to you about today. Thank you for keeping an eye on her nutrition and oh, I almost forgot I am sending Charlie some homework for our next session on Monday. Make sure she gets it done over the weekend.”

“What is it?”

“An aptitude test.”

Adam rolled his eyes.

-

Adam paced the living room floor as Charlie hunched over the computer, sitting on the green velveteen sofa. He glowered every time he overheard the clicking of the mouse or Charlie chuckle.

“You realize those tests are complete horse shit?” Adam snapped, holding his chin between his thumb and index finger.

“Mmm hmm.” Charlie responded. Her eyes remained glued to the computer screen. Adam stopped pacing and dropped his hands to the side.

“Are you even listening to me, Charlie?” His eyes bore into her. She resisted the urge to turn and engage, determined to get the test done so she could enjoy her weekend.

“Yes.” She clicked to the next screen.

“Then what’s the last thing I said?” Adam moved to hover behind her at the end of the couch, squinting at the screen. Charlie lowered it.

“Do you mind? This is private.” She leaned her head back against the armrest of the sofa to stare up at Adam with wide green eyes. “And the last thing you said was ‘Then what’s the last thing I said?’ and ‘Are you even listening to me, Charlie?’ before that and ‘You realize those tests are complete horse shit?’ before that.” She parroted back to Adam in an exaggerated accent and slow speed, earning her an eye roll.

“Smartass.” He leaned down and kissed her lips. She responded with a quick peck to his lips. Adam turned and flopped onto the couch next to Charlie’s feet.

“Which is why I should be working. We can’t let this beautiful mind go to waste.” Charlie returned to the screen, reading the last few questions.

“You don’t need a test to tell you what you are good at.” Adam’s hand slipped up Charlie’s leg, teasing her inner thigh before she closed her legs. “I can tell you that. Although it has more to do with your beautiful body than your body.” Adam purred, continuing to tease his fingers up her leg.

Charlie glared at him from over her laptop. “Fucking vampires is not a marketable skill.” She clicked off the last question. “There, all done.”

Adam rolled onto his stomach and crawled up Charlie’s legs to lean over the laptop lid. “So what do the experts say you should do for a living?” He struggled to keep the disdain from his voice.

“I heard that.” Charlie deadpanned. Adam glared. “It says… I might do well as a… police officer.”

“No.”

“Who’s life is it?”

“Who saved that life?”

“Fair point. Massage therapist.”

“The only naked body you are touching is mine.” He pushed her legs back open.

“Possessive much, Adam? You can trust me.”

“It is not you I am worried about.” He ducked his head underneath Charlie’s grey robe, which used to be his. Adam’s lips traced the curve of Charlie’s thigh. She bit her lip to stifle a moan, trying to focus.

“Adam, please…” she whined, play kicking him with her foot.

“Please what… my love?” Adam nudged his nose closer and closer to Charlie’s core. As she turned to drop the laptop onto the floor, the next profession caught her eye.

“How about a phlebotomist?” Charlie quirked an eyebrow up, dropping the laptop gently to the floor.

Adam stopped his teasing and popped his head up from between Charlie’s legs.

“I’m listening.”

“It looks like about 2 months of in class instruction and then 250 hours of an externship at a hospital.” Adam pulled himself to lie between Charlie’s legs, his head on her stomach.

“Keep going.” He pulled the robe loose.

“I would have ready access to blood for you. I could help save lives, solve crimes, but I wouldn’t be out in the field.” Adam’s lips ghost along her stomach and hips.

“Hmm.” Adam lost interest again.

“Shit.” Charlie hissed. “The course costs about $1600. I guess I could take out a loan, put it on my credit card.”

Realizing Charlie was ignoring all of his attempts to get into her proverbial pants, Adam sat up and grabbed her feet, rubbing her ankles.

“Is this what you really want to do?” Adam squeezed her knee.

Charlie nodded, her hair bounced. She could feel her chest swelling and the wheels in her brain turning. “I could learn how to draw my own blood so you didn’t always have to feed on me. And I could work flexible hours, eventually. And I could help save lives instead of just pushing paper around.”

“You won’t change your mind in two weeks?”

Charlie swiped across her chest and held up two fingers. “Cross my heart and Scout’s honor.”

Adam’s chest rumbled. “Were you even a Girl Scout, darling?”

Charlie’s face darkened. “I got to go to one meeting. Janice left me behind for the next one and I never made it back. I didn’t get a chance to even earn a badge.” A small sniffle.

Adam leaned over to kiss her. “You would have been a wonderful Girl Scout. If it means that much to you, I can and will pay for the course.”

Charlie furrowed her brow. “I can’t take your money, Adam.”

Adam rolled his eyes. “Are we having this argument again, Charlie? The money is unimportant. Your happiness and well-being, however, is a precious commodity.” He pulled her onto his lap. “And I will pay any price for that.”

“Really?” Her face scrunched up in a big smile and Adam found it impossible to not smile back.

“Really.” He kissed her nose. “Now with that out of the way…” Adam’s lips ghosted down to catch hers, tugging on her lower lip. “… where was I?”

“Anyone ever called you a horny little devil?”

“Only you, my love.”

Charlie pushed his shirt off his arms. “Good.”

-

Later that Evening

“I’m waiting in the car.” Adam spun on the heel of his combat boot to head towards the automatic doors at the front of the Stop n Shop a few miles away from the house. Charlie snatched his gloved hand.

“And leave me all alone? And defenseless? You know the number one place women get abducted from is grocery store parking lots?” Charlie batted her eyelashes and stuck her lower lip out in an exaggerated pout. Adam recognized with 95% certainty Charlie wasn’t scared of being abducted again. The 5% kept him planted next to her, one hand on the grocery cart and one hand tightly gripping hers.

Adam sighed. “Where to, first?”

“Produce.” Charlie directed the cart straight ahead.

By the time they hit the cereal aisle, Charlie regretted guilting Adam to shopping with her. For one, the two of them look like two disparate halves of a Halloween costume couple missing their other half.

The stocking clerk’s eyes darted between Charlie in her candy red sweater and matching wool coat and Adam in his dusty black leather jacket with his sunglasses obscuring his eyes from the harsh fluorescent lighting of the store. Charlie half expected him to ask her if Adam was bothering her.

“You eat this?!” Adam gagged as he read the side of Charlie’s favorite cereal, Sugar Smacks. She snatched the box out of his hand and dropped it in the cart.

“You get one veto.” Charlie responded. “The cereal or the meat?”

Even though she couldn’t see, Charlie could tell Adam was glaring daggers at her underneath his sunglasses. She jutted her hip out and tapped her boot against the linoleum. Adam groaned, rolling his head back.

“Go get the meat.” Adam replaced the Sugar Smacks on the shelf while Charlie rushed to grab the flat iron steaks on sale and chicken breasts.

Two hours and a near fist fight over a pack of mint Oreos in Aisle 12, they were finally in the parking lot loading bags into the Jaguar’s trunk.

“You are never allowed to come into a grocery store with me again.” Charlie bemoaned.

“We need to talk about your eating habits, Charlie.” Adam slammed the Jaguar’s trunk closed. “Processed is not a food group.” He held the door open for her. Once she slid in, he shut the door and walked around to get in and start the car.

“While we are talking, let’s have a discussion about public etiquette. You can’t start telling everyone you pass that they are poisoning themselves. You nearly got us kicked out.”

“Too much?” Adam questioned with a straight face as they headed home.

Charlie held her thumb and index finger apart ever so slightly. “Just a bit.”

-

Two Weeks Later

“Bye Adam.” Charlie cooed at about 7 that morning. Adam groaned and pulled the pillow tighter around his head until he realized what she said.

He jolted upright and glared at Charlie, who was tugging on her boots.

“What do you mean ‘bye’? Where are you going?” His eyes narrowed.

“Class starts today. I told you this last week. Twice. And last night. Don’t you remember?”

“Were one or both of us naked at the time?”

“Probably.”

“Then no. I don’t remember.”

Charlie rolled her eyes as she grabbed her coat and hat. “Typical man.” She kissed him and Adam encircled his arms around her waist, pulling tight against him. The wool of her coat scratched his chest. “I’m going to be late for my first day.” Charlie muttered against his lips.

“Good.”

“Are you supposed to be supportive?” Charlie chided, and only then did Adam release her.

“Yes.” He pecked her lips before straightening her hat and pushing the now barely contained curls away from her face. “Call me when you get there.”

“Promise.” Charlie smiled and grabbed her bag.

“And when you leave!” Adam called out after her. Charlie waved at him without turning.

Adam fell back asleep for a bit, but then the silence of the house stirred him awake. He couldn’t remember the last time the house stood so still. Adam grew used to Charlie’s puttering around the kitchen or the soft sound of whatever garbage Top 40 pop song was stuck in her brain at the moment.

“Fuck.” Adam cursed as he heard his own thoughts rattling around. It was going to be a long 11 weeks.

-

Charlie dragged herself through the basement door as the sun set behind her. Her muscles ached, particularly her shoulder as her tote bag was ladened with heavy textbooks. She dropped it to the floor off to the side of the door. All she wanted was a hot shower, food, pajamas and the couch, not necessary in that order.

Adam laid sprawled on the sofa. He hadn’t even bothered to change his pajama bottoms.

“Are you ill?” Charlie asked, shoving his feet to the side to flop down.

Adam pulled his arm back from his face to gaze up from the couch. “No. I was bored. When did you get home? You didn’t call.” Adam groaned, his arm flopping back onto his face.

“Poor Adam. Stuck his home all by himself with his instruments, books, electronics, and lesbian porn. Whatever would have done with his day?” Charlie taunted, groaning, pulling off her boots and tugging off her coat. “My first day was great, thank you for asking.”

“Sorry. I missed you.”

Charlie sighed and crawled up to lie on top of Adam. She plucked his arm away and kissed his chin, then his cheek, then his nose, before finally kissing his lips. He wrapped his arms around her torso, squeezing her ribs tight.

“I missed you, darling.” She turned her head to press her ear to his chest. “I missed you so much.”

“I know.” Adam kissed her hair, his hands slid down to cup her ass.

“I’m taking a bath, want to join me?” Charlie wiggled her eyebrows.

“Yes.” Adam stood up and swung Charlie over his shoulder, fireman style.

“Put me down, Adam!” She pounded uselessly against his back.

“No.” Adam continued to walk towards the bathroom, bouncing Charlie with each step. He turned on the water and set Charlie down.

She punched him in the arm. “All the blood rushed to my head, Adam!”

“Good.” Adam pulled her sweater off over her head before pushing his pajamas bottoms to the floor, his cock already heavy. “More delicious.” His mouth immediately latched onto Charlie’s neck and bit down, taking a long draw of blood.

“You’re lucky I own turtlenecks.” Charlie grumbled, arching against him.

“Less talking.” Adam growled against her, taking another drink before licking against the wound. His expert fingers unhooked her bra, and it fell to the floor between them. Charlie fumbled with her jeans, pushing them down to her ankles before toeing them off along with her socks.

“Put in the soap I like.”

Adam grabbed a bottle of bath soap smelling of rum and squeezed a generous amount into the water before turning off the tap. He stepped into the tub first and offered his hand to Charlie for support. Adam situated them with his legs on either side of Charlie, his feet sticking out of the too small tub.

“We need a bigger tub.” Charlie giggled at his toes peeking out of the water.

“The tub is just fine.” Adam stated. He pressed his knuckles in a knot between Charlie’s shoulders.

“Fuck yes, Adam!” Charlie yelled, gripping the tub. Adam smirked as he worked out the knot and Charlie melted against his chest, breathing deeply. With his hands at her waist, he twisted her body to face him.

“Now…” He squeezed her tits. “… to work out all the kinks.” He rocked his hips against Charlie.

She lifted herself and impaled herself on Adam’s cock. He hissed as she wiggled her ass, settling in.

“You’re brutal, Charlie.”

“And you love me for it.” she breathed, bucking against him. His slippery hands grabbing her hips.

“I love you for more than that.” He rocked her on his lap. Charlie flattened her hand against his chest as her hips found a rhythm.

“I love you too.” She leaned down to kiss him. Charlie’s tongue explored Adam’s mouth with passion. Her release close.

“Adam…” Charlie panted. Adam took one of Charlie’s breasts into his mouth, sucking hard as he snapped against her.

Her back arched as she came, and Adam grunted as he soon followed. They slumped back into the now tepid bordering on cold water. Charlie sat up and then carefully stood, bracing herself against the wall before stepping out of the tub.

“Where are you going?” Adam asked, standing, sloshing water onto the tile.

Charlie wrapped the towel around her and tossed one to Adam.

“To get dressed.” Charlie stated, walking out of the bathroom. Adam followed her, dropping the towel unused.

“But I just went through all that trouble of taking them off the first time.” Adam whined, watching as Charlie pulled on her Pusheen pajamas. “I would prefer you naked.”

“I am not doing homework naked.”

Adam’s face scrunched up like Charlie said the filthiest thing you could imagine. Or sang.

“Homework?”

Charlie sighed and kissed him on the cheek, patting his chest.

“Yes homework. I intend on acing the final exam. You can join me on the sofa, if you can behave yourself. I would hate to break out our old rules.”

Adam groaned as he turned to join Charlie in the living room where he whined and moan the entire time.

[dawnowar]

So this school lunches thing got me thinking about the way my abusive stepmother treated me as a child.

Thats as much of a trigger warning as you’re getting cause I think its better to process things than avoid them...  I have time to write and this is on my mind this second. Writing is a huge part of how I process things... so here we go.

So i passed on a post cause our local school system is offering free lunches for any kids under 18, which is great. I’m a big proponent for school lunches because growing up my evil stepmother didnt feed me right. and I was a rich kid so i think there was a lot of expectation that i was being taken care of in a way that I was not.

My stepmothers whole thing.. my family’s whole thing.. was pretending we were a normal family. Presenting that way to the outside world. Even in our house there was a huge degree of this. Which made it worse for me because it was so easy for people to assume i was just a weird kid when the signs presented themselves to people who could have helped me.

Anyway since i grew up and especially after she died, so many people told me that of course they noticed things weren’t right and of course they said something and fought for me. I never knew that until recently. So as nice as it is to hear, it didn’t help me live through those 8 or so years she was in charge of me.

At home she fed me candy.  and ice cream. cupcakes, etc. and that’s all. Breakfast was one cup of hot cocoa with two packets of mix in there that was always like a clumpy syrup at the bottom of the cup. After school was candy until my dad got home and we would all sit at the table and pretend to eat a meal together. She would give me the tiniest portion of meat or any real food and then tell my dad how I “eat like a bird”. which is nonsense. He never questioned it any further than that. 

On weekends when I had to eat at home I was allowed noodles and butter, mac and cheese and not a lot else. just pasta. When I got older, I would actually sneak eggs and tuna when she wasnt home. I’m sure she noticed these things going missing but what was she gonna do after I ate it? 

She had a lot of rules on me for every single thing. That didn’t make any sense. Where i was allowed to go, where i was allowed to sit, who i was allowed to talk to.. and i just mean in the house on a regular day... I wasnt allowed to use the upstairs bathrooms at all, i had to use the guest bathroom downstairs and I wasn’t allowed to bathe or shower, but when I got older i started sneaking showers when she was gone as well. 

I’d hear the garage door close as she was leaving and I’d be showering and eating tuna and trying my best to cover up my tracks before she got back. 

All this started gradually... wasnt at once or anything so when it started i was like 8 give or take.. and we moved a couple of times so more rules were put in place as i was moved further away from the neighbors who looked after me. When i was 10 we moved to a different city where I knew no one and i was on my own. Inside my own home. I just had to deal with it till i grew up. But it got much worse before it got better. By the time i was around 14, i was dealing with growing up stuff.. by the time I was 16 she really couldn’t control me anymore, so stuff like what i ate or where I sat or if I showered... i just one day figured out that if i just do things she usually cant or wont stop me. 

She used to steal my things and i didn’t have a hairbrush for years. I wasnt allowed to bathe, or do my laundry and I didn’t have a hairbrush, so you can imagine I looked like Pig Pen from Charlie Brown. She told my teachers I liked being like that or something. One of my gym teachers humiliated me once by forcing me to stay after class and shower as if i was just gross and she was solving the problem. She just humiliated me on top of all i was suffering, so i didn’t look to teachers to help me. 

My evil stepmother was physically abusive to me as well but that was the easy part. She would just go into rages and take it out on me if i didn’t obey her nonsensical rules which were impossible to follow anyway. She would come and attack me while I was asleep any morning my father left for work early. Most mornings. A normal morning for me..... She would wake me up by dragging me out of bed by my hair, onto the floor, out of my room, into the hall, around the corner and down the stairs and leave me at the bottom of the stairs to start my morning routine getting dressed and ready for school. 

Then I watched cartoons in the TV room by myself and drank the chocolate sludge till it was time to get on the bus to go to school where all the kids hated me because i was gross and I spent all day getting teased and taunted till I came home and went back to the TV room where she would either bring me candy or come in an attack me and pull my hair out. I wouldn’t know which one she was coming in the room for until she was doing it. There was a lock on the door and I would lock her out when she was being violent but she had the lock removed. Lied to the locksmith and my dad and made them believe there was a reason to take the lock out, so I started locking myself in the bathroom.

By the time I was 16, I was a much more imposing figure she couldn’t control completely anymore. I was washing myself and i was dressing myself so i didn’t look so dorky and maybe people started liking me at school. I got super lucky that a girl actually became my friend at school. She was not only super-independent but she had a car so she could pick me up and drive me away and she had a job working at a laundromat so i was able to wash my clothes for free and spend time away from home and learn how to grow up into a person who could do something besides just stay alive. 

But clear up to the very end of high school school lunches were my main source of nutrition. My evil stepmother was letting me eat pizza by then too. For her, being fat was the worst possible thing I guess so she just tried her best to fatten me up feeding me only carbs while both her daughters grew up to become anorexic. 

The first day I was actually on my own ever.. I was in England and I had just slept off the jet lag in my new rented room that was just for me. I wasnt on any program or plan. I wasn’t at college, nobody was in charge of me...  i was just there. just me and this rented room and I woke up in the morning with nothing and realized i needed to feed myself. I went to McDonald’s and got a vanilla milkshake and realized i have no idea how to feed myself like a normal person. 

I had to start that day and figure every single thing out for myself via trial and error about how to be a person in the real world.

That woman only had control of me for 8 years of my life and then I went out into the world and became a real person after that. She didn’t break me or destroy me. She did, however, destroy my family.

Its my dad’s fault for letting her. I’ve always felt this way. He was the adult. He was the only one who could have stopped it but instead he spent his time pretending everything was OK. I didn’t know until recently that literally EVERYONE told him, so he was willfully ignorant. He sacrificed his own children for this facade of a relationship with this woman. I can’t explain why a person does that, but he left me and my brother to fend for ourselves.

Which we did and we are ok. 

I don’t care what happened to her or her daughters. She basically stole the life I should have had and gave it to her children, but from what little i know about them from the outside is that they had their own problems which seem much harder to get past than what I had to deal with. 

I don’t mourn the loss of that life i never had any more than I mourn the life that we pretended we were having that we never were. 

I only wish I’d known back then the enormous power I really had if i’d only just kept on telling everyone who would listen truth. If i had told everyone everything at every turn i would have saved myself. I didn’t know that at the time. I was just a kid and I gave up because i didn’t believe anyone was listening once my most trusted adult didn’t believe me. I suffered until I grew up and didn’t have to suffer anymore. 

I am an emotionally healthy adult for the most part. I’m not without scars. It’d be impossible to come out of that unscathed. I’m perpetually single because being alone is safe and comforting for me. Because when people come in, you don’t know if they’re going to attack you or give you candy but neither one of them is what you really need. 

I flailed around for a lot of years as an adult trying to figure out how to take care of myself. I finally got it right after my boyfriend in the late 90s dumped me and I wasn’t dealing well when my best friend died and everything just burned down around me and i had to rebuild everything from scratch slowly and methodically starting with cleaning my kitchen and i found the flylady.org who put me on the path to getting my house cleaning under control and then the rest of it followed. 

Now i actually clean other peoples houses for a living.

We always had housekeepers and those ladies were the best women to me ever in my life and I’m proud to see that I’ve followed in their footsteps. These are the women who cared for me. These are the women who were kind to me. These are the women who worked hard for what they had instead of marrying rich and stealing from their cash-cow’s children. 

I didnt get the evil stepmother until I was around 7 or 8 years old but i had plenty of great parenting, people who loved me, people who took great care of me and taught me to be smart before I got there. I believe this is how I survived. 

School lunches, other people’s good parents, and good role models on my TV. And Rock and Roll, which became a real source of empowerment, an outlet for stress, and a way for me to meet people who became friends as I got older. 

I love all the true crime stories of how abused children grow up and somewhere around puberty they rebel and their abuser can’t control them anymore. I think this is how so many of us get away. We become adults. Probably best you don’t kill your abuser, but there’s some part of that tragedy i can’t help but like when you find out people like Gypsy Rose Blanchard was suffering for so long so she did something about it. 

I never did shit. 

I grew up and got away and that’s good enough. This woman didn’t give a fuck about me and until i got away from her and my dad pretending everything was fine and her daughters going along with it all, I was never going to have my own real life... which i deserved to have. 

Glad i wasnt so trapped i felt like i had to kill her to get away. She was more than happy to let me go away so I was already gone years before i realized i didnt have to let her control any part of my life at all. 

Seems so dumb i still played along for so many years after I was grown and moved away. It’s just the way things were for so long i just kept doing it. 

Until one day my younger sister was getting married and she called me to ask me to be in the wedding and im like...... you dont even like me, why would you want me in your wedding? and she said she orig only wanted her sister but they needed more bridesmaids or something.. maybe that was other sisters wedding.. i cant remember but it was stupid and had nothing to do with me and i was not gonna put my life on hold and spend all this money to travel states away to pretend any of this mattered to me so that was it. 

It was over. Finally.  Totally over.  All I had to do was just not live like that anymore. 

and I did. I live however I want to now. 

So fast forward to present time and im in my early 50s and i get a call says the evil stepmother is dead and my dad is still alive but only barely. My first inclination is to scoop him up and go thank goodness thats over, but unfortunately i doubt he saw it that way. and instead it ended with me trying to contact him directly and not through my step-sister but it was impossible and disappointing since she was still trying to act like the middleman i didn’t ask for but not providing any useful information or assistance in communicating with him.  She wanted me to call him even though he can’t hear so a phone call was just going to be more of the pretending everything is fine I refuse to take part in anymore.

I wrote him a letter directly asking him to take his time and write me back but all i got back was more interference from her and more insistence that i call him. Which I never did..... because he can’t hear. so what’s the point. He died shortly after that and i knew almost nothing about what was happening or not happening at any point.  

So he’s gone now too. Buried with the wife and one of the sisters who committed suicide a few years back. Growing up in a family like this isn’t good for anyone even if you aren’t the target for the abuse. All three of them are gone and im not sorry im glad for it. 

Their dead bodies can lie in the ground pretending they were a good family and no one walking by them ever has to know the truth. That’s how they lived their lives and that’s how they’ll rest forever. 

I expect to have a lot of life left to live and i’m going to do it on my own terms and be kind to people and not value money or other people’s perceptions of me over everything. 

[nightwingwhatdidisay]

“it goes like this”

Here’s my contribution to RobStar Week Day 6: Children (which is more like a cameo hehe)

Summary: they’ve got superpowers, and you’re not talking about starbolts or ancient incantations 

(Or: a look into Nightwing’s train of thought)

ao3 version ~ ff.net version ~

A/N: I’ve been taking these prompts pretty loosely and I hope that’s alright with everyone. Also it’s definitely RobStar but note that this fic covers a lot of ground with Robin and the other Titans so if that’s not your thing then by all means I’ll see you on day 7 for some classic RxS fluff

1.

It goes like this.

The morning light ebbs and flows through her hair like waves of fire, and you wonder how you got on with life before she started sleeping in your room, because waking up to this—a glorious configuration of golden skin and red hair and bright green eyes tangled in the sheets—seems like the only correct way to start the day. Her hand snakes out of the blanket and she runs her thumb across your jaw. There are fifty emotions on her face, and because you’ve been with her for some time now, you know she’s about to tell you something sad, and intimate, and honest.

“I believe leaving Tamaran was the worst thing to happen to me.”

That’s a new one.

“Really?”

She nods. “Because it was home. And now I’m here and Earth is home. I can no longer be in either place without missing the other. I fear I am going to spend the rest of my life in a state of yearning, regardless of where I am.”

This is a dilemma because you can’t relate. There’s no “yearning” going on when you think of where you grew up. Gotham is more of a ghost you can’t shake off than it is anything else. But then Kory takes your fingers and brings it up to her lips, and you’re reminded that right now she’s not looking for someone with answers. She’s looking for you, here, sharing the same pillow and breathing the same air while she chips at raw, unorganized thoughts bit by bit. For her this is good enough, and she deserves more than good enough but it’s only morning so there’s time to make it up to her.

And that’s important because Kory’s kind of the most beautiful thing in your life right now and it has nothing to do with her face or her body and everything to do with the life force thrumming inside her, pure and ferocious, and her vulnerabilities and her trust and her kindness that have all miraculously stayed alive despite everything she’s been through. They’re the foundations of the safe house you’ve been building for yourself inside of her.

You’ll have to get out of bed eventually. You both do. You have a team to lead and she’s got to play her part in it. But for now, you give yourself a pass to be selfish, and you cup her face into your hands and you kiss her so deeply you don’t even know who is breathing for whom. And that’s how you let your day begin.

2.

Sometimes you can’t even stand to look at him.

But you’d rather Garfield not know that, because it’s not his fault. So you take the mug of coffee he’s offering you like it’s no big deal and you lean back against the counter, pretending the way he hums commercial tunes while reading the back of the cereal box doesn’t make your heart ache.

You’ve maneuvered the big brother thing with Jason and Tim in the same style Bruce maneuvered fatherhood with you: with an awkwardness beyond measure and heaps of crippling self-doubt and a whole lot of mistakes to seal the deal. So sometimes Garfield terrifies you. Because there’s a brotherhood going on and you rank on his list of role models, and you just don’t want to fuck it up. You’ve seen what it’s like to have a kid so lost and disturbed it got it himself killed. Or the way grief can come down on everyone like a grenade. You know guilt in all its shiny forms, and the insidious way it unravels you with thoughts of what you should have said and what you could have done to keep that boy alive.

Garfield is nothing like Jason. But you’re not really interested in taking any chances. Because behind a screen of lame jokes and false bravado is someone who’s had a childhood much tougher than he lets on. Gar’s got the concealment of pain thing down. And if his powers have taught him anything, it’s how to adapt, how to get from one form to another in order to survive. That’s resiliency, and Garfield’s got it in spades.

He’s growing into something spectacular, and just please, please don’t fuck it up, Dick. Because you’re tired of lost potential, and you know you won’t claw your way out of darkness if it happens a second time.

Gar’s reading the nutritional value of Fruity-O’s on the side of the box and you can’t stop thinking how decent he is. There’s a leader inside him, he doesn’t even realize it yet. You’ve been waiting for the right time to start a new type of discussion with Gar, one about change and the future of the team and your intentions of making him a bigger part of it. Maybe the right time is today. So you stand there, rehearsing it in your mind.

“Dude, you ever wonder how calorically dense a booger is?”

Maybe not today.

3.

Raven’s got hawkeye vision because there is no other reason for you two to be sitting this far away from the mark. The distance is the span of the whole food court and the little girl looks like a tiny blip in a sea of Jump City consumers.

The mall as the venue is your idea, because it’s best to not make a scene, but you’ve tagged along in case things go sour since you never want Raven to be dealing with shit alone. Maybe it’s because she’s been inside your head, or because she’s got the bases covered with father issues and toxic vices and you can both struggle together, but for whatever reason, Raven knows you better than anybody. Better than Bruce and Alfred and Babs and Donna. Even better than Kory.

Maybe it works both ways, because you know what she’s thinking right now.

“They start them young, don’t they?”

The mark is barely a teenager, with a gaunt face and empty eyes and she’s scrawny and pale in a way she shouldn’t be. And there’s a story somewhere but all you need to know is that the system thoroughly failed her, and when people are that desperate and alone and marginalized, they tend to seek salvation in darker places.

Like a Trigonic cult, and Raven’s committed to not having that happen.

Because it’s against the rules of Raven to believe there’s nothing you can do to help those who’ve spiraled into darkness. Raven believes everyone—everyone—is redeemable. And here’s where Gotham rears its ugly head and mucks it all up for you, because you don’t know if you agree. You think you’ve seen irretrievable people before. But Raven’s got a faith in humanity so fierce it can shake your own beliefs and that’s also why you’ve tagged along. Because you want a revelation.

Raven looks at you. “Do you think people notice when I’m around?”

“I notice when you’re not. Does that count?”

“What if I’m not enough to change her mind?”

“Let’s find out.”

You see it well up in her face, the self-doubt. And suddenly she’s rambling to you in a quiet voice about how maybe she‘s not the right person for the job. It should be you. It should be Starfire. It should be someone with an actual joy for life to sell and I can’t do it, Nightwing and I’m too unengaging and Why do I feel like something’s missing in my life without you guys and you guys don’t feel the same about me? and Everything’s swirling away and I’m swirling apart—

Raven’s getting a little hysterical, so you grab her hand.

“I think it’s about time you save that girl.”

She takes the first step forward. And you’re mentally throwing all the strength you have at her. Raven doesn’t realize how much you’ve made her well-being a priority in your life. That you had secretly vowed long ago to keep her around forever.

4.

The team is sitting on a gold mine with this guy and it’s like nobody notices but you.

The end of the day hits and Cy’s got the foresight to wrangle you all up into the T-mobile, and before you know it you’re at the pier, watching Kory explain to the children on line for the cotton candy vendor not to be startled if it disappears in their mouths. Garfield’s got Raven by the arm, dragging her towards the Tunnel of Love with a sadistic gleam in his eye, and you just take it all in, amused out of your mind to witness Cyborg dip into the booth of a very, very pretty fortune teller.

Cyborg’s ironically the most human out of all of you, because he doesn’t forget to relax and if he sees you neglecting yourself he’ll shove relaxation down your throat as well, because he’s a no-man-left-behind kind of guy. Cy’s way passed dealing with his pain and that’s what makes him a success story. Maybe one day you’ll get there too.  

Cyborg leaves the booth with a smug smile and the fortune teller’s number. He walks towards you, giving a subtle gesture of victory and you go in for the fist bump, grinning ear to ear. “Please don’t tell me you gave her the ‘I see your future and it’s me’ spiel.”

Cyborg looks at you like you’re not making any sense, and points to himself. “Look at me. You think I need a pick up line with shoulders like these?”

You can’t get enough of him. Of any of them. Because they’ve got superpowers, and you’re not talking about starbolts or ancient incantations. You’re talking about Starfire’s kindness and Garfield’s resiliency and Raven’s faith and Cy’s confidence and you know you’ve got to deliver too. You’ve got to make all this worth it for them. Because for some godforsaken reason the universe sent you a family you don’t deserve and you have no intention of giving it up anytime soon.

Starfire runs up and kisses you. She tastes like cotton candy, and you realize you finally have an answer for her. You want to tell her to stop seeing home as a place, and start seeing it as a group of people who have her heart. That way, no matter where everyone ends up in the future, every stretch of space between one loved one and another won’t seem so terrifying.

A few years ago you came to this city because you were running away from something. And look at you now, drawn in like a magnet.

You breath in rhythm with all of them, and it’s kind of everything.

[paleorecipecookbook]

RHR: What the EAT-Lancet Paper Gets Wrong, with Diana Rodgers

In this episode, we discuss:

What’s missing from the EAT-Lancet Diet

The relationship between meat and the environment

The right way to raise livestock

Where the misunderstanding around meat and the environment comes from

Protein and the EAT-Lancet diet

The impact agriculture has on the environment

The problem with lab-grown meat and a meat tax

Diana’s upcoming docuseries, Sacred Cow

Show notes:

“Why You Should Eat Meat: My Appearance on the Joe Rogan Experience,” by Chris Kresser

“20 Ways EAT Lancet’s Global Diet Is Wrongfully Vilifying Meat,” by Diana Rodgers

“Food in the Anthropocene: the EAT–Lancet Commission on Healthy Diets from Sustainable Food Systems”

“Why Eating Meat Is Good for You,” by Chris Kresser

“Should You EAT Lancet?” by Marty Kendall

“The EAT Lancet Diet is Nutritionally Deficient,” by Zoë Harcombe

“What Is Nutrient Density and Why Is It Important?” by Chris Kresser

Allan Savory’s TED Talk: “How to Fight Desertification and Reverse Climate Change”

“Sustainable Dish Episode 83: The Truth about Greenhouse Gas Emissions in Livestock Production with Frank Mitloehner,” by Diana Rodgers

“Sustainable Dish Episode 84: Meat as Scapegoat with Frédéric Leroy,” by Diana Rodgers

Sacred Cow, a film by Diana Rodgers

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Chris Kresser:  Diana, thanks so much for joining me again on the podcast.

Diana Rodgers:  Yeah. Thanks for having me.

Chris Kresser:  So, we have a lot to talk about.

Diana Rodgers:  Yeah.

Chris Kresser:  This is an annual event, where there’s some big news story that comes out or study that’s published that demonizes meat and animal foods and purports to be the final nail in the coffin for anybody who's eating animal products. In fact, as you know, I just went on the Joe Rogan show, my third appearance there, to debate Dr. Joel Kahn about the merits of animal foods in the diet and eating a vegan diet. And I spent a lot of hours preparing for that and wrote a lot of articles. And the debate itself was almost four hours long, and admittedly I was a little tired out after that experience. And I just couldn't muster the energy and strength to write a rebuttal to the EAT-Lancet paper that was published. But you did, and several other people did.

And so I’d love to dive in and talk about that, as well as just stepping back a little bit and discussing some of the environmental impacts or the purported environmental impact of eating meat and what's wrong with the traditional narrative there. Because I didn't get to talk much on the Joe Rogan show about that. And then some of the difficulties of addressing this, and how I know you’ve been working on a film to try to get this message out that we’ve talked about. So why don't we just start first with the EAT-Lancet paper, since this is what's really making the rounds now and bringing this to the forefront of everybody's attention.

What’s Missing from the EAT-Lancet Diet

Diana Rodgers:  Yeah, definitely. So there’s, they were really attacking red meat on a nutritional and environmental angle. So, I know your arguments on the Joe Rogan podcast were purely nutritional. I think that the main narratives are always nutrition, environment, and ethics. And ethics were kept out of the EAT-Lancet. Very long paper that took me quite a long time to read. But there's definitely a lot of misinformation in there about meat.

I mean, they’re using observational studies to basically tell us that we cannot have any processed meats at all, lumping them all together, and that we can only eat less than half an ounce of red meat per day. We can only have less than one ounce of chicken per day. But yet we can have eight teaspoons of sugar per day.

Chris Kresser:  Yeah, and plenty of corn and rice and wheat. Let's talk a little bit … I think most of my listeners are pretty familiar with the nutritional arguments. I and others have written a lot about that, and most recently my … in preparation for the Rogan show, I published a whole cornerstone page with everything you need to debunk the nutritional arguments. So, that's at ChrisKresser.com/rogan, if you want to look it up.

But I just want to briefly talk about the nutrient density of this EAT-Lancet diet. Because if you just look at it from that single perspective, nutritionally you’ll see very quickly that it falls short. And our body needs micronutrients to function properly. And if a proposed diet doesn't offer those micronutrients in sufficient quantities, I think we can safely say it's not a good diet for humans to follow.

And I don’t want to spend a ton of time on this, so I’m just going to go through this really briefly, and then I want to switch over to talking more about some of the environmental issues. Because that's, I know, an area where you have a lot of expertise. And I really love what you have to say there. So, Zoë Harcombe did an analysis, and I think you had mentioned, Diana, that Marty Kendall did too. So we can talk about that. But Zoë's analysis, it’s not publicly accessible. You have to be a subscriber to see it. But I can share this part of it. She analyzed the EAT-Lancet diet using food tables and found that it was well below the RDA for several nutrients: B12, retinol, vitamin D, vitamin K2, which wasn’t even studied separately, but 71 percent of the K in the diet came from broccoli.

So we know that there's probably very little K2 in the diet. Sodium, potassium, calcium, and iron. So that's a lot of the essential nutrients that we need, and in some cases it was providing less than 20 percent of the RDA of those nutrients. So, to me, that's pretty much case closed on that basis alone. And then we can look at all the other problems that observational studies on red meat and all of that entail. And I just think it’s … there’s really nothing to be alarmed about. This study doesn't add any new evidence that meat and animal products are harmful.

Diana Rodgers:  Not at all. And another thing she didn’t mention in her paper or her review is the conversion rate of some of the vitamins, like beta-carotene to vitamin A, and almost half the population can’t make that conversion easily. And so even though on paper it my show that the vitamin A was adequate, actually not.

Despite what the EAT-Lancet paper says, meat is still a healthy addition to your diet. Check out this episode of RHR for my discussion with Diana Rodgers about what a real healthy diet looks like. #nutrition #chriskresser #wellness 

Chris Kresser:  It’s the same with all of these other nutrients. I actually wrote an article. I addressed this in my article on nutrient density you can find at the ChrisKresser.com/Rogan link. Iron, 94 percent of the iron in the EAT-Lancet diet is from plant-based forms of iron. And we know that heme iron that you get from animal products orders a magnitude better absorbed than most plant forms of iron. And the same with calcium, that is better absorbed from, in most cases, from animal products. And virtually every other nutrient, zinc, long-chain omega-3 fats, only found in animal products. So it's really, yeah, that conversion and bioavailability piece is almost never addressed in these kinds of studies.

Diana Rodgers:  Right, and you also write a lot about B12 and how these plant-based B12 analogues actually increase your need for a real B12.

Chris Kresser:  Exactly. Yeah, so, really nothing to see here from a nutritional perspective. But part of why it's making such a big splash is in addition to the highly coordinated launch campaign that is driven by celebrity, very wealthy celebrity type of people who are behind this, is the argument that not only should we avoid red meat and animal products for these nutritional reasons, but they're destroying the planet. So let’s really dive into that and unpack that from the perspective of the paper. I think you wrote an article, something like 20 reasons or 20 points against this. So we don't have to go through all of those, but let’s cover the highlights.

The Relationship between Meat and the Environment

Diana Rodgers:  Yeah, well, I think the number one thing that people need to understand is that we can’t just assume that if we’re not raising animals that it will automatically free up land for more crops. So, agricultural land isn't interchangeable. Most of the agricultural land on the globe is not suited for cropping due to water availability. It’s too rocky, it’s too steep.

So, I think a lot of people, especially that haven’t traveled much, look around and just see the nice flat land and just assume that everywhere in the world is like that. I mean, picture Iceland, Norway, picture many parts of Africa, Mongolia. I mean, there’s just so many places that really will only support grazing animals and not wheat and corn and soy production. And so that’s a huge thing that we need to consider, and if we are to not graze animals on that land, not only will we lose that for food production, but the land will also desertify. Because we just don’t have those wild herds and the numbers that we used to any longer.

And ruminants are actually incredibly beneficial. Their impact on the land helps increase water holding capacity; their grazing actually stimulates new growth in a good way. So you can’t just have these fenced-off acres with nothing on it. You actually need grazing animals as part of healthy grassland ecosystems.

Chris Kresser:  Yeah, that's a point that is really misunderstood. I see a little bit more discussion about it certainly, at least in our realm. But I’m having kind of a hard time thinking of a mainstream article that really did justice to that point. Do you know of any?

Diana Rodgers:  Well, I've written a few blog posts on it and have talked a lot about it. I think Allan Savory does a really good job.

Chris Kresser:  Certainly.

Diana Rodgers:  Yeah, in his Savory Institute work that they've done and also his TED talk. But I think that's definitely the number one point that people need to understand. And it's funny because I am working on a book as well on this topic, and my publisher actually has published a ton of vegan books, and he was skeptical. And once he read my environmental argument and specifically wrapped his head around this very topic, I won him over.

Chris Kresser:  That’s amazing.

Diana Rodgers:  Yeah, people just, because we’re so divorced from nature, you and I have talked about this before just off-line, but that’s the number one problem is that people just have no idea how food is produced and what makes a healthy ecosystem. And a lot of the vegans will, the ones who do accept that not all land can be cropped, just want it turned over to be rewilded.

So let’s just crop everything we can possibly crop and then we’ll just rewild all the pastureland with deer or something cute. But then what are we going to do because we’ve eliminated all the predators? I mean even in the town I live in outside of Boston, we have a massive deer problem. And nobody wants hunting because they don’t want to see dead animals on their beautiful hikes around the conservation land here in my town. And if we eliminate the predators, we need to be responsible for how these populations of wild animals are managed. And so the other option, if we’re not going to hunt them, I suppose would be to bring back wolves. I don’t know how.

Chris Kresser:  I don't think that would go over well.

Diana Rodgers:  I don’t know how my waiting for the bus in my town with wolves swirling around at dawn will go over. So it quickly backs them into a very uncomfortable corner there.

Chris Kresser:  I think another thing that you point out that people don’t realize is that 90 percent of what cattle eat is, at least in a natural grazing state, not in a CAFO type of arrangement, is forage and plant leftovers that humans can’t eat.

Diana Rodgers:  Right, exactly. And even in, I mean, I’m not an advocate for feedlot beef, but I think one thing people don’t understand about even cattle that are raised on feedlots, or that are finished on feedlots rather, is that they’re not raised on feedlots.

Chris Kresser:  Right.

Diana Rodgers:  So 85 percent of the beef cattle in the US are actually grazing on land that can't be cropped. And even if they do end up on a feedlot, 90 percent of their total intake is non-edible food to humans. And so they're eating, for example, soybean cakes. But that’s left over from the soybean oil industry.

Chris Kresser:  Right.

Diana Rodgers:  They’re eating large amounts of distiller’s grains, lots of foods that would normally emit greenhouse gases and decompose anyway. Ranchers are also grazing cattle on spent wheat and cornfields. So you know that corn would just decompose and emit greenhouse gases either way. So why not run it through a ruminant gut and make protein out of it?

Chris Kresser:  And fertilizer, as you pointed out.

Diana Rodgers:  Exactly, exactly.

Chris Kresser:  Yeah. I mean, it’s so much more nuanced. This is a theme that will probably come up in our conversation a lot is, and I know Robb, Robb and I commiserate about it, and I know you do as well with him. But the vegan narrative is so simple in a lot of ways and it plays into a lot of assumptions, even if they’re wrong, that you don’t really have to explain it to people. It just, people have heard things over and over again. “Meat is bad for the environment, it’s bad for us, therefore eliminate meat from your diet and the food system, and everyone will be healthier.” That’s so easy to understand.

But as Robb has pointed out many times, the counterargument is nuanced and complex. And is not quite as simple to understand and requires that you actually pay attention to some of these finer points. And I think that is one of the challenges that we face in this struggle. But it’s not incomprehensible. I mean, if you just get a few of the simple points like this, it starts to become a lot easier to understand.

Diana Rodgers:  Definitely.  And now my point was … oh, I was going to say too that there's a lot, 50 percent of the carcass of a cow is not eaten but used for other industry uses. So we've got leather, we've got insulin, we’ve got footballs, we’ve got lots of medical applications, fertilizer. So eliminating all animals from our food system, there's a great study I think I sent you this morning that was published in PNAS about what would happen if we eliminated all animals from our food system.

So the greenhouse gas emissions would only decrease by about 2 1/2 percent. But our overall caloric intake would actually go way up, and our nutrient deficiencies would go up. So we already have a problem in our culture where we’re over-consuming calories and not getting enough nutrients. So we would just be making the problem worse for about a 2 percent emission reduction.

The Right Way to Raise Livestock

Chris Kresser:  And those numbers don’t assume any improvement in how cattle are managed, right?

Diana Rodgers:  Right. That was just typical cattle.

Chris Kresser:  Right. So if we actually made improvements in how cattle are managed, do you think there could be a net sequestration of carbon?

Diana Rodgers:  Oh, definitely. So there's been some research coming out of Michigan State showing the difference between continuous grazing and what they term “adaptive multi-paddock grazing,” which is similar to Allan Savory's method, so basically when you intensively graze an area and then move the cattle off quickly.

So, this is how, for example, herds in Africa naturally move because of predator pressure, so it's much worse for the land to have, let's say if you have a 10-acre field and have 100 cattle on that land for the whole summer, as opposed to tightly bunching and moving them frequently and allowing that land to rest. Because that's when carbon gets sequestered, in the regrowth phase of the grass. And so the grass is going through photosynthesis, it’s pulling down carbon and actually exuding carbon sugars to bacteria and to fungal networks that are then passing that grass nutrient. So the fungus is actually mining rocks and getting the minerals from that and feeding it to the grass, and that's how carbon is sequestered. And that process is most effective and actually is a net carbon gain when cattle are managed in this way.

So that's why I like to say “it's not the cow, it’s the how,” because there's just many different ways of raising cattle. Just like there are many different ways of growing broccoli. We can do it in a monocrop system, or we can do it in a more rotational system where we’re integrating it with other crops. And what we need is less monocrops because that's just not how healthy ecosystems work, and farmland is not natural. Like, when you fly over the United States, all those squares you’re looking down at, that's not nature, that's man doing that.

Chris Kresser:  Yeah. I know from your article, you did also a podcast with Frank Mitloehner—is that how you pronounce it? We’ll include a link to that in the show notes because I think people should listen to that. He’s an expert in greenhouse gas emissions and animal agriculture. And you guys talk a lot about what’s really going on there and why some of the typical numbers that are thrown around are not accurate. And if anyone’s interested in a deeper dive, I’d definitely recommend listening to that.

So, greenhouse gas from beef cattle represents, just as it's currently done with no improvements, like you just mentioned, is 2 percent of emissions. And by contrast, transportation is 27 percent. So, yet when I go to WeWork, which I have an office at—

Diana Rodgers:  Oh, gosh.

Chris Kresser:  You probably know this.

Diana Rodgers:  Oh, no.

Chris Kresser:  But some of my listeners might not know that WeWork is a company that has committed to this idea that eating a vegetarian diet will save the planet. And they, I think, so, I was there two days ago on Monday, and they have meatless Monday at WeWork, where they served veggie burgers in the main lounge. And then they print these cards that they post around there, around the office, that say, “If everyone was just a vegetarian for,” I can't remember, “one or two days a week, we would save 450 million pounds of carbon dioxide emissions.” And again, this goes back to the simplicity thing.

Most people get in the elevator, they see that and they're like, “Oh, wow, okay. I guess I should become a vegetarian.” So how does this continue? I mean, it’s not surprising that there’s a disconnect between actual science and what we see in the media. We know that from the nutrition world and everything else. But how do you think this got started? Was there a lot of misunderstanding initially which led to these numbers and then later science kind of brought more clarity? Or what do you think? How have we gotten here?

Diana Rodgers:  Well, I actually just released an amazing podcast on Tuesday of this week, so maybe you could link to that one too, with the guy from Brussels, Frédéric Leroy.

Chris Kresser:  I read some of his papers. You sent them to me awhile back before the Rogan debate.

Where the Misunderstanding around Meat and the Environment Comes From

Diana Rodgers:  Oh, he’s so fantastic. Yeah, so, his opinion is that meat is unfairly absorbing a lot of our worries about our health, our state of our health and the environment, because meat is so powerful and can absorb it. But it's unfairly the scapegoat for our stressors. So, everyone just, it's much easier for us to blame meat than it is to perhaps look at our transportation industry and be uncomfortable about that. I mean, the main funder of that EAT-Lancet paper has a private jet and transportation was never mentioned in the EAT-Lancet.

Chris Kresser:  I don’t know if this is accurate, but I read something about how just the jet trips for the reporter would have a bigger impact on the environment than the diet changes that they were talking about.

Diana Rodgers:  Exactly, exactly. And so, in Livestock’s Long Shadow, that's when a lot of this all started. The mass information about the emissions with cattle. And unfortunately, when they did that study, what they did was they looked at all the emissions, the full lifecycle of ruminant animals. They looked at production of the feed, all the transportation, all the emissions, everything. And when they compared that to transportation, they only looked at tailpipe exhaust. So they didn't even factor in transportation, for example, in the transportation numbers.

And so when you look at the global numbers at emissions of cattle versus transportation, you're looking at apples to oranges there. So you're looking at the full lifecycle of a beef animal compared to just the tailpipe emissions from transportation. So that's not fair. And also in other countries, the percentage is a little bit higher. But that's in places where maybe transportation plays a lesser role where there are less cars per cow. And so, their relative emissions may be higher. But that's again not taking into account the fact that cattle can actually sequester carbon and many, many other factors. And so the authors of Livestock’s Long Shadow did reduce their numbers, I think, from 18 to 14 percent and did admit that their numbers were still off because of the transportation. There are no global lifecycle papers on transportation.

But yet that 18 percent, I’ve heard even 50 percent. I don't even know where that number comes from, but that, the 50 percent is the number that's often cited by this group called Green Mondays and they are the ones that have worked with Berkeley to make all of the government meetings meatless on Mondays. That organization, I’ve looked into, and they’re actually funded by an organization out of Singapore that produces plant-based pork.

Chris Kresser:  Right.

Diana Rodgers:  And so there’s a lot, the environment and ethics and even the nutrition argument is very convenient for large food companies to profit, because processing means profit.

Chris Kresser:  Well, let’s talk a little bit about that, and since we’re on the topic, I do want to come back to some of the other ways that an animal-based food system or food system that includes animals can actually benefit biodiversity and things like that. So yeah, follow the money. We talk about that a lot on this show. I’m not a conspiracy theorist, but on the other hand, you'd be very naïve and misguided to assume that money doesn't play a big role in setting food policy and coming up with these laws. It always has.

Protein and the EAT-Lancet Diet

And it probably always will. And if you look at the EAT-Lancet diet, I think this is from Marty Kendall's analysis, you’ll find that 32 percent of calories come from rice, wheat, and corn, and 14 percent come from unsaturated oils. So these are highly processed foods.

Diana Rodgers:  Right.

Chris Kresser:  We’re not talking about corn on the cob.

Diana Rodgers:  Or wheat berries.

Chris Kresser:  Wheat berries. Or even, like, in some cases, just the whole-grain rice. We’re talking about highly processed corn and wheat and rice derivatives, and then highly processed industrial seed oils that comprise almost 50 percent of calories. And who does that benefit? This study was sponsored by a basically hit list A-team of—

Diana Rodgers:  Processed food companies.

Chris Kresser:  Global processed food companies—DuPont, PepsiCo, Dannon, Nestlé, Cargill, Kellogg's. So, like, food and agricultural companies that make their money by selling processed and refined foods. And so that's very revealing.

And then the other thing that Marty Kendall pointed out, which is directly tied to this, is that this diet, when you work out the macronutrient ratios, it ends up being low in protein and moderate in fat and carbohydrates. And there are really no foods in nature that fit that profile, or very few. You have breast milk and acorns, I think, are the two that he pointed out. And this is a recipe for, that macronutrient mix of low protein and then higher fat and carbohydrate is a recipe for highly palatable and rewarding food. So if you look at the foods that are on this list that fit that profile, there are things like chocolate milk, potato chips, French toast, waffles, ice cream, pancakes.

Diana Rodgers:  Kit-Kat.

Chris Kresser:  Yeah, biscuits, Kit-Kat, Twix, chocolate chip cookies, pie crust. I mean, are you kidding me? This is the macronutrient profile that we should be following? Oh, who does not benefit? All of the companies that make these processed foods. So it's really revealing when you look at it from that perspective.

Diana Rodgers:  I know. And I think it's really irresponsible to promote a diet that's about 10 percent in protein when we have, I mean, just in America, more than 50 percent of Americans are metabolically broken and really benefit from much higher protein levels.

Chris Kresser:  Increasing their protein. And we know that of all the macronutrients, protein is the one that has the biggest impact on satiety.

Diana Rodgers:  Exactly.

Chris Kresser:  Which it will reduce the likelihood that people overeat, which many Americans are doing.

Diana Rodgers:  Yeah.

Chris Kresser:  And any clinician or dietitian like yourself who's worked with people knows if they're struggling with weight, putting them on a higher-protein diet is probably the most important thing you can do. And there's even some, if you look at the studies on low-carb diets, I think probably one of the reasons, if not one of the main reasons, that they’re so effective is that they’re higher in protein.

Diana Rodgers:  Yeah, and I have to say too, so I actually have recently been following Marty Kendall's NutrientOptimiser diet personally, just as an experiment to try to maximize my micronutrients. And I eat really well. I live on a farm. I have a lot of education in nutrient density. I have access to all these foods. It's really hard to get all your micronutrients in the day. But it's really easy to feel satiated when you have a high percentage of animal protein in your diet. So whether that's oysters, which I know I can beat his leaderboard if I just eat a ton of oysters in one day.

Chris Kresser:  That’s right. That’s right.

Diana Rodgers:  But liver, and then just regular old animal protein. Filling the rest of your diet with colorful vegetables is the way to go. But it still, I still was low, actually, believe it or not, in iron, even with all the protein I’ve been consuming on this diet.

Chris Kresser:  Yeah, I’m always talking to my patients about a lot of, especially if they’re favoring like chicken and fish, and not eating shellfish or organ meats, is that some muscle meats are not that high in iron. So it’s organ meats and shellfish that are really the powerhouses from that perspective.

And this brings up another question about bioavailability, right? Because we’ve both talked about this a lot. It's not at all the case that protein from plant sources like legumes is going to be absorbed in the same way that protein is absorbed from animal foods like meat and eggs and fish and dairy products. There is something called the … there are various scoring systems that are used in the scientific literature to assess the bioavailability of protein. And no matter what scoring system you use, animal proteins come out ahead of plant proteins, and usually by a very large margin.

Diana Rodgers:  And, I mean, trying to get your protein from beans and rice, if you’re trying to do the combining in order to get the right profile of amino acids, you would, so I did the calculations. So in order to get the right amount, the same amount of protein you would get from a four-ounce steak, which is 181 calories, you’d need to eat 12 ounces of beans and a cup of rice. So that’s 638 calories and 122 grams of carbs. And you're still not getting the same beautiful profile of amino acids that you can get from this 181-calorie piece of steak.

Chris Kresser:  Right, which goes back to Marty Kendall's point where you’re basically, if you eat a low-protein diet, it’s going to be a much higher-calorie diet in most cases.

Diana Rodgers:  Yeah, and higher carb and just setting people down to the road towards metabolic disorder.

The Impact Agriculture Has on the Environment

Chris Kresser:  Yeah. So let’s go back now. I want to finish up talking about the impact of animals in the food system. Because I think there's still some other points that are worth going into here that a lot of people may not be familiar with. So one is, we talked about how not all land is suitable for grazing. But let’s talk about maybe the flipside of that is what happens when you use a lot of land for crops like corn and rice and soy and wheat?

Diana Rodgers:  Right, I mean a lot of, and most of this is not organically grown and using animals to graze in all of that. So the large majority of our monocrops are heavily sprayed with chemicals that leave a residue on the leaves that we’re ingesting. And also completely sterilize the soil and create runoff that then ends up in the Mississippi River and creating massive dead zones in the Gulf of Mexico.

So there are just so many problems with monocropping the way we’re doing it today. We have created an insect apocalypse. And so we’ve lost pollinators. We’re killing fish, which in turn then kills the animals that need to be eating the fish. And so we’re annihilating biodiversity both above and below ground. And so one teaspoon of soil has more microbes in it than all of the humans on earth. And when we spray it with things like Roundup, we’re completely killing all of that. And so we've destroyed just so much of our soil and so much of it is also just blowing away and running off.

So, I mean, the Dust Bowl was a good example of that, and we’re headed for another one right now. So according to the United Nations, we have about 60 harvests left, at the rate we’re going.

Chris Kresser:  This is alarming. This is like an emergency thing on the level that's part of climate change, of course, but also on the same level as potential for water shortages. People, I don't think, are … I mean, some people are aware of it, of course, but we’re talking about some very, very serious implications here.

Diana Rodgers:  And when the soil is compacted and we’re constantly just stripping away the biodiversity of the soil, when rain comes, it just washes all the topsoil away into rivers, and that's how we get these really cloudy rivers. Because rivers in general should be clear. And in a system where we have healthy ruminants managed in a proper way, the soil acts like a sponge and can actually hold a lot more water from rain, instead of allowing it to just wash off and take the topsoil with it. My husband is so into topsoil that even we have two border collies, and they sleep in our mudroom at night. And they come in, they’re black and white, but their white parts are really dirty-looking at the end of the day.

Chris Kresser:  Brown.

Diana Rodgers:  And in the morning they’re totally white and they leave massive amounts of soil on the ground. And I literally have to sweep it up and put it in the field because that’s how into topsoil he is.

Chris Kresser:  Well, yeah, and how precious it is too.

Diana Rodgers:  Exactly, exactly. And just nobody is looking at our farmland as a biological system. It’s been reduced to this reductionist chemical, let’s produce as many calories as possible, which is ruining our health and our land.

Chris Kresser:  Let’s talk a little bit also about how ruminants can improve biodiversity. I mean, we touched on that just briefly, but water is a big issue, and I know that cattle can improve water holding capacity of the land. And that has a whole bunch of downstream effects.

Diana Rodgers:  Yeah. And also too, even the worst-managed cattle on overgrazed grass is still a better system than monocrop grain. So you still, I mean, and even in a better system, you've got butterflies, you've got birds, you've got all kinds of life above ground and below ground that are teeming.

The whole goal, what people don't realize, is that we want as much life as possible. And our current system is actually making sure that we’re annihilating as much life as possible. So if we look at the extinction process that's been happening over the last 50 years, again, it's something completely alarming. I know Silent Spring came out and people were all up in arms. But the solution is not a vegetarian solution. So Diet for a Small Planet is outdated information, and what we need is more better cattle, not no cattle.

Chris Kresser:  It’s not the cow, it’s the how.

Diana Rodgers:  Exactly. And not only that too, another thing I brought up is what these rich white people in Sweden were not paying attention to is that livestock are really important to the majority of people living in poverty in the world in places where, what are you going to do in Kenya where it’s super arid and the Maasai have been herding cattle forever and ever? And we’re going to tell them that they need to go grow soybeans? With what seeds? Are they going to have to go buy them from Monsanto? Where are they going to get the water to irrigate? Where are they going to get the fertilizer if they can’t have animals? So I think it’s bordering on racist to have a grain-heavy diet as a global policy for the entire world.

Chris Kresser:  But we can just make more Cheetos.

Diana Rodgers:  Exactly, exactly.

Chris Kresser:  That’s probably the plan, part of the plan here. It’s really—

Diana Rodgers:  Well, to get them reliant on our aid. I mean, we’re already ruining Haiti with our rice that we’re giving to them. We’ve ruined their local economies, we’ve ruined their health. Now rice is a much higher percentage of their diet. Very few Haitians are actually growing their own food anymore. And it’s a really great way that we can control governments. I mean, that’s a whole other thing that we don’t have to get too much into. But it really makes me mad, the idea that we’re taking away people’s innate ability to be self-reliant.

Chris Kresser:  Not to mention the very clearly documented health impacts that are observed when traditional peoples adopt the Western food system.

Diana Rodgers:  Exactly, exactly. And I have an image on my post. So, the Canadian government decided that they knew best, advising a local Inuit population that they should be eating a Mediterranean diet. Which I think is just, I mean, this one image of this igloo showing all of their nutrient-dense traditional foods in the red category and bananas and oranges and orange juice in the green category. I mean that just sums up exactly how wrong we’ve gotten our dietary advice just in this one image.

Chris Kresser:  Absolutely. And if those poor kids start following that diet, they’re going to become morbidly obese.

Diana Rodgers:  Yeah.

Chris Kresser:  And this is seen. It’s been documented in so many different areas where traditional populations start to follow the government-sponsored diet, including Native Americans in the US.

Diana Rodgers:  Exactly.

Chris Kresser:  So, like the Pima, for example.

The Problem with Lab-Grown Meat and Meat Tax

Chris Kresser: So let's talk about some of the other proposals that are floating around that are based on this idea that meat is bad for us nutritionally and bad for the environment, which as I hope we’ve shown in this podcast, is misguided and others. But why not just make meat in a lab? Let’s say you accept that meat, animal protein is more bioavailable and so we do need meat, which some people seem to have accepted. But then why not just grow it in a lab and—

Diana Rodgers:  Reduce suffering.

Chris Kresser:  Yeah, reduce suffering and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. All of that. Yeah. And of course, make billions of dollars from the companies that are successful at doing that.

Diana Rodgers:  Yeah, and I think another thing.

Chris Kresser:  Nothing wrong with that per say, but yeah. There’s some financial motivation there perhaps.

Diana Rodgers:  Yeah. I’m so glad I don’t live where you live. I was actually just out there a couple days ago, and I’m, like, so happy that I’m not living there. Because that’s, like, the hotbed of all of this.

Chris Kresser:  Sure. You just have to be a hermit like me and live up on my hilltop.

Diana Rodgers:  And just go to WeWork and get mad at WeWork in the halls and elevators.

Chris Kresser:  Yep.

Diana Rodgers:  So, I mean, it’s really interesting, the lab meat thing, because I had a woman on my podcast about a year and a half ago who was a big vegan animal rights person telling me how great lab meat was. And I asked her if she knew how it was made, and she had no idea. But she was like, she’s like a really big deal animal rights activist and very vocal about how lab meat is a good solution. And interestingly, most vegans actually won't even accept it because you're using fetal bovine serum in order to make it, which is not “vegan” anyway.

But what folks aren’t realizing, number one, is that it relies on this horrible monocrop system, which is ruining our environment and a completely inefficient way of producing food on so many levels. But then the lifestyle assessments I've read are a lot based on projections because they haven't built the bioreactors yet. So they're making a lot of assumptions, but even the assumptions are so bad that the energy required in order to transform what they're using right now as the substrate.

So corn and soy, sometimes wheat, into protein, the amount of energy required for that is enormous. And when we have animals that can actually just do this on their own without having to be plugged into an outlet is really amazing. Plus, what they're not taking into consideration is the amount of antibiotics that they’ll need to prevent bacterial overgrowth because they’re growing these at just the perfect temperature for meat to grow. But of course that's also the perfect temperature for bacteria to grow as well.

Chris Kresser:  Everything else.

Diana Rodgers:  Cancerous cells, all these things. They had not figured out how to striate the meat with fats. There's a lot of input that we’re running out of that you need in order, there’s a lot of minerals that are being mined in war-torn countries that, actually the US military is, like, guarding these mines in order to get those raw materials in order to pump it into these cellular meat company facilities. So the whole system is energetically ridiculous, and it's not even causing less harm.

So that's my big argument, too, is that when you look at how many lives are lost from the loss of biodiversity, of taking a native ecosystem, plowing it up to make it into a cornfield, and then spraying it to make sure that nothing other than corn, not even mice or anything can grow there. The amount of life lost for that system versus one animal, one large ruminant animal. A cow can provide almost 500 pounds of meat. I just don't think the trade-offs are worth it at all from an ethical or environmental perspective.

Chris Kresser:  Yeah, another situation where the devil is in the details, right?

Diana Rodgers:  Yeah.

Chris Kresser:  Because on the fact of it, lab meat sounds, “Hey, why not?” Like, if we can do that and we can make it taste the same … But clearly including that woman that you interviewed on your podcast, that was kind of the level that she was approaching it on, without actually looking into the details. It sounds pretty good on the surface, so why not advocate it. But then when you look into it, you find it’s a little more complicated.

Diana Rodgers:  Yeah. I’ve been really loving The Wizard and the Prophet, Robb sent that over to me.

Chris Kresser:  I read that just recently.

Diana Rodgers:  Yeah, I think he told me.

Chris Kresser:  I sent it to Robb.

Diana Rodgers:  Yes, exactly, so I’m thanking you. I’m thanking you for the chain because I have my hands on it. And I’ve been not only reading the book, but then when I’m in my car or at the gym, I’m listening to it. So it’s really fantastic, and I think that that is at the crux of what we’re dealing with right now. Do we look at this, what some would call Luddite perspective of nature through Hoyt, or … I’m sorry. What was his name? Now I’m forgetting.

Chris Kresser:  Vogt.

Diana Rodgers:  Voight. Vogt.

Chris Kresser:  Vogt. Yeah, you want to say Voight because it’s usually an i in there, but it’s V-o-g-t, so it’s Vogt, yeah.

Diana Rodgers:  Or do we look at this more wizard tech solution? And that’s just where most people are right now.

Chris Kresser:  Yeah, that’s the dominant cultural paradigm is we’ve gone into wizardry, for sure.

Diana Rodgers:  Yeah, yes.

Chris Kresser:  No question about that. Back when Silent Spring was written, I think there was more, Vogt was more in vogue. There was a little bit more concern about the wizardry and the impact it would have. And now we are 100 percent in wizardry.

Diana Rodgers:  Yeah. And the problem is, everyone’s just sort of hoping that more rabbits will be pulled out of the hat. But we don't know for sure.

Chris Kresser:  Yeah, yeah. I highly recommend this book. This is Charles Mann, who wrote 1491 and 1493, which, if anyone has read those books about … it totally changed our view on how the New World was discovered and colonized and what was here when those people arrived. Which is much different than what was previously believed. He’s a fantastic writer and this is I think, one of the most compelling views on where we are as a society now and what our future might hold. So highly recommend it.

Getting back to the topic, I mean, that's obviously germane and relevant here, but I want to talk about a few other proposals that are being floated around here. Which are again, if you accept what we've talked about here and in other podcasts, are off base. But the meat tax. There’s been a lot of enthusiasm for this because there’s some research that, beverage tax, soda taxes have been effective in terms of reducing consumption. So this is now something that’s being seriously proposed in the EAT-Lancet. I think that’s part of the agenda of the EAT-Lancet paper and authors and reporters.

Diana Rodgers:  Yeah, and actually they released another paper just on Sunday night of this week that goes even more strongly into the meat tax. I think the goal is to make it basically impossible to eat meat moving forward. And effectively, I’ve looked at the models. There was a good paper that looked at what would happen, just kind of projected out, what might happen in this situation. And, actually, red meat consumption wouldn’t go down at all.

And it basically is just a poor tax is what this is. And when you look at, I actually took a picture. I had to run into a typical grocery store and pick something up one time, and I noticed the shopping cart of the person in front of me. And it was soda and donuts and whoopie pies and all stuff like that. But her deli meat and her bacon were actually the most nutrient-dense things in her cart.

Chris Kresser:  Yeah, so that would be encouraging even less healthy choices in people who are of limited economic means. And you mentioned this in the beginning about the private jet people who are founding this study, and you brought it up in your article. There really is a classist kind of thing that’s happening here that’s not part of the popular narrative. Because if we really wanted to reduce carbon footprint, you pointed out a meta-analysis that suggested that doing things like avoiding one round-trip transatlantic flight, more of a car-free lifestyle, having one less child in an industrialized nation would have by far bigger impact than reducing your consumption of beef.

Diana Rodgers:  Yeah. Or changing your diet in any way.

Chris Kresser:  And who’s doing a lot of round-trip transatlantic flying? People who are at a certain socioeconomic level. And so, yeah, a lot of these proposals are like, “Let me continue to live my carbon-emitting lifestyle, and then let’s introduce changes that won’t effect that but actually will impact people who are poor and in a really adverse way without really me having to change anything as a privileged person.”

Diana Rodgers:  Right, and, I mean, in order to do vegan right, you kind of do need to be a celebrity or an uber-rich person that, if there is a way to do vegan, right? But, I mean, to … there’s a lot of food prep involved, there’s a lot of time involved. There’s a lot of time spent eating.

Chris Kresser:  Yeah, chewing.

Diana Rodgers:  Chewing, right? Your typical person that maybe gets two 15-minute breaks a day is not going to be able to chew the food or have a staff that can make the cashew cream to make all the—

Chris Kresser:  Or buy the cashew cream for $9.49 for a half pint or whatever it is.

Diana’s Upcoming Docuseries, Sacred Cow

Diana Rodgers:  Right, right. I mean, this film project I’m working on, we’ve done a lot of filming in Indiana, rural Indiana. And I see what these folks have as options for stores on limited budgets and what they’re buying. And honestly, processed food, processed meats like sausages that are pre-cooked are a lot easier for them to eat and are honestly the most nutrient-dense thing that they're eating. Because they’re not doing a whole lot of scratch cooking. They don’t have a lot of time or energy at the end of the day. So when life is really hard and you’re working really hard, you don’t have the privilege to push away something nutrient-dense like meat.

Chris Kresser:  Absolutely. So let’s talk a little bit about the film. I know it's gone through a lot of iterations and there’s been some wins and some challenges. So tell me, let's start with a little bit of the idea and the inspiration behind it. Why we both feel that this is important to get out there and then maybe a little update where you’re at, what you’re needing, what would be helpful. We have a lot of folks who are listening, who I know want to be a part of this movement in some way.

And I’m often asked by people who are not necessarily in the health field, people who are not nutritionists or Functional Medicine practitioners or anything, like, “How can I help? How can I get involved? How can I use my existing skills or connections or resources to move this forward?” So let's imagine what kind of help we need or could be useful to move this forward, and who knows who’s out there listening.

Diana Rodgers:  Yeah. So, I was halfway through writing a book on this subject on the nutritional, environmental, and ethical case for meat when yet another vegan film came out about a year and a half ago. And I was like, “If this guy can make a movie, I can make a movie.” And so that’s kind of how it all started. I did a crowd funder that was pretty successful, and we got rolling. At the time, the project was called Kale versus Cow. And we started filming some of these nutrition stories. We hooked up with a doctor who has some amazing clinical trials and is doing really good work in a pretty rural part of the Midwest, conveniently corn country. But there's also farmers who are plowing in their corn and turning it back to grass.

So there’s some really great stories happening there. And some of the feedback I got from the title Kale versus Cow was that, “This sounds like another vegan film,” or, “It sounds like I’m against kale,” which as you know, I’m not against kale. But I think folks maybe that don't know me as well just had these misperceptions, and the name was a little bit of a hang-up for them. So we went back to the drawing board a little bit and changed the title to Sacred Cow, which I think works really nicely, also because there’s a double meaning of sacred cow. Because the vilification of beef is just so embedded in our system.

Chris Kresser:  Yes.

Diana Rodgers:  And, I mean, even when I was going through my graduate program in dietetics, red meat is not okay. It's just not, even though in biochem it's totally fine if you just look at it from an objective scientific perspective. And the project has also transformed from a feature film into a docuseries because we felt that it’s a more digestible way, literally, to get this information across, and there's also more that we wanted to cover that we didn't feel would fit into the narrative of one film.

And so we were now looking at a multipart docuseries still addressing mostly the nutritional, environmental, and ethical aspects of the reason why we need animals in our food system. I'm also very interested in sort of the anthropology of how meat became such a polarizing topic today and how people identify their whole being around how much meat they consume in their diet. The flexitarian, vegan, whatever.

Chris Kresser:  Yep.

Diana Rodgers:  And I still am working on the book. So, as you know, Robb is the coauthor on the book project I’m working on, and he’s the co-executive producer on the film project. But the funding has been a little bit of a challenge. I don’t know if people really get how important this is, and I think it’s one of the reasons why the Unitarian church is not funded well. Because it's, like, trying to extract money out of atheists is a hard thing.

When people are super-passionately committed and religiously committed like vegans, where it’s, like, their religion, they’ll passionately fund things. But then when people are kind of cool with everything and they’re eating meat and they’re like, “Yeah, got my health under control now. That’s great. And if the vegans don’t want to eat meat, fine, that’s more for me.” That’s really kind of the attitude I’m running into a little bit.

Chris Kresser:  Yeah people are less identified with it, which is good, in their way.

Diana Rodgers:  It’s good.

Chris Kresser:  But not as good when you’re trying to raise money for a movie like this.

Diana Rodgers:  Right, yeah.

Chris Kresser:  And I think the other part of it is, I don’t know that people really perceive the threat fully yet. It’s like you just said, they’re like, “If someone wants to be vegan, fine. No skin off my back and it’s not going to hurt me. So there’s no pressing need to fund a film about this. Because who cares if someone’s a vegan.” Well, yeah, on an individual level, you might say that. Even though we could argue that you should care if someone chooses an approach that’s in many cases likely to make them nutrient deficient.

But, yes, each person, of course, has the right to choose their own approach. And I don’t go around trying to proselytize and convert vegans to eating animal foods unless they ask me what I think they should do if they come see me as a patient. But this isn't just about individual choice here. Because, as we know, we talked about the meat tax proposition, and this is going to affect food policy. It's already affected food policy in the US and around the world which then will affect schools. And what happens at schools, which influences our children and the choices that they make.

You know, my daughter is seven and a half, and she comes home with some really interesting things that she's heard from other kids and even teachers at school. And she doesn't go to a typical school, but this is, it’s everywhere. Yeah.

Diana Rodgers:  Exactly. And there’s a lot of schools now eliminating meat for health, and I think a lot of parents are kind feeling a little worried about meat consumption. And so maybe they're thinking, “Well, at least they’re getting a healthy meal at school.” And so that's concerning to me because for a lot of kids this is the most nutrient-dense meal of their day. And to blame it on meat is just wrong. And I kept telling folks, this is coming and meat tax is coming.

And I, for a while, was feeling like maybe I’m just nuts and I’m making all this up. I don’t know. But then of course, it is really coming. The EAT-Lancet paper is here. Meat tax is being discussed. We’ve got, LA now is trying to force restaurants and LAX to provide, to tell private businesses to provide vegan entrees. We’ve got Berkeley with Meatless Mondays now at all city meetings.

Chris Kresser:  WeWork.

Diana Rodgers:  Yeah, WeWork, exactly. There’s airlines now that are eliminating red meat. And so this is coming at us from our clinicians, our universities, we’re hearing this from the World Health Organization. We’re hearing this from business, from the media. Constant films, there's more coming out this year.

I think I just sent you another one that’s on its way out that I’m pretty concerned about. Because it actually has people with MD behind their name. And nobody is pushing back and people are just taking this really lightly. And so, yeah, anything that folks can do to help me get this off the ground, I’d want to come out and feature you, Chris. And I’ve got a lot of really great experts in both the sustainability and health space that very strongly feel that red meat is important to our food system.

Chris Kresser:  Yeah. And the reality is that a film or in a docuseries can make a huge impact than even a book.

Diana Rodgers:  That you can’t do with a book. I know.

Chris Kresser:  It doesn’t work. I mean, I’ve written a 400-plus page book with all the science that you need to, I think, get clear that animal food should be part of our diet in addition to plant foods. But how many people are going to read a 400-page book? Not that many. And there’s still something about film that makes it a very viral medium. It’s more accessible, a docuseries is an increasingly popular format, as you said.

It's easier to cover the wide range of topics that you need to hit on for this, and it's a format that has been used for vegan and other types of films or media. And it’s something that’s just really easy to share with. People are more likely to sit down at night and watch an episode of this than they are to read a book.

Diana Rodgers:  Yeah, exactly. And this is pretty dense material. But if I can just show people what a healthy ecosystem looks like and how cattle raised in the right way, what that looks like compared to a 2,000-acre field of soy being grown for lab meat, I think that those are really powerful visuals.

Chris Kresser:  Absolutely, absolutely. Yeah, I agree with that a hundred percent. So if someone is listening to this and the alarm has been raised in their mind, and they’re now aware of the real risk here to our families and communities, and they want to get involved in some way, what's the best way for them to do that?

Diana Rodgers:  So I have more information, and I’m taking donations on sustainabledish.com/film. And for any better meat companies or folks that want to get involved in a bigger way, folks can just message me directly through the site. And we’re working with a few better meat companies and other large donors and foundations. But we still need to, these are expensive, and there are some inexpensive ways of making docuseries.

But in order for us to really get on the mainstream media channels like Netflix, we have to do something that's beautiful and has a high production value and isn't a $50,000 handheld camera project. And so, while the budget isn’t exorbitant, it’s certainly higher than some of the other more budget docuseries that have been coming out. And that's largely because I'm really tired of going to high schools and doing damage control when they show these vegan propaganda films. Because that's what's happening right now.

Chris Kresser:  Yeah, absolutely. And will continue to happen, as you pointed out. The momentum there is only building. So we need to, I think, step up to the plate.

Diana Rodgers:  Thank you so much.

Chris Kresser:  Thank you for doing this work, Diana. I really appreciate your advocacy and passion for this, and it shows through in everything that you do. And I hope for all of you listening that this has been up maybe a bit of a wake-up call and you have a little more perspective on what's going on behind the scenes. And even less left behind, like more out in the open now, I think, more and more. Especially with this EAT-Lancet paper, and you see that science is not objective and dispassionate in many cases, but actually quite agenda driven and that there are often interests aligned behind those agendas that may not represent your interests. Like global food companies that want to sell more of their processed and refined products.

So none of us are not impacted by this in some way. And if you have children and family members who are getting exposed to all of this material, it's really important to have a counterpoint that we can offer that is well researched and really hits on the most important issues. And people can change their mind. I mean, your story that you shared with the publisher of the China study was really revealing. To his credit, to whoever that publisher editor was, to his credit. He was able to take in that information and open his mind and give this a chance. And we both, of course, know many people that that’s happened with. I have lots of patients, lots of readers and listeners who were vegan and vegetarian at one point. I was vegan and vegetarian at one point, as everybody knows who’s listened to this show for a while.

And it was through exposure to research and information like what we’re talking about on this show and what you plan to present on the film that actually changed their minds. Because I think that may also be part of the resistance in some cases, like for raising money with this film. It’s like the idea that people are just not going to change their minds. That it’s, we can’t really make an impact. But I don’t agree with that. I think we can make a huge impact and already have, and we just need to scale it up so that it can reach more people.

Diana Rodgers:  I agree.

Chris Kresser:  So sustainabledish.com/film. We will also put some of the links to the podcast and articles that we mentioned, the critiques of EAT-Lancet, Marty Kendall’s and also yours, Diana. And then if you want that big storehouse of information I put together for the Rogan show, which has articles on nutrient density and meat and the effects of meat, and carbohydrate, macronutrients, a ton of stuff, that’s at ChrisKresser.com/Rogan. So thanks, everybody, for listening. Thank you, Diana.

Diana Rodgers:  Thank you so much for having me. I really appreciate it, Chris. And thanks for all your support ever since I first met you.

Chris Kresser:  It's my pleasure, and I hope we can, with this podcast, move things forward a little bit more quickly and get this out there. Because it really needs to be seen. So thanks, everyone, for listening and please do continue to send in your questions to ChrisKresser.com/podcastquestion. And I’ll talk to you next time.

The post RHR: What the EAT-Lancet Paper Gets Wrong, with Diana Rodgers appeared first on Chris Kresser.

Source: http://chriskresser.com February 26, 2019 at 05:55PM

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This is significant because this substance is what every woman will often see as a topical cream or the stinging sensation might not solve the actual and root cause but work by getting rid of this infection during their fertile years.There are several bacterial vaginosis remedies so that bad bacteria from the vagina.It thus arrests the infection fast, try out a complete recurrent bacterial vaginosis can also use one of the most common symptom is a type of vaginal bacteria.In case you wish to consider precautionary procedures as well as a feminine wash.Causes of Pregnancy Bacterial Vaginosis: Increase in vaginal flora.

It was not just by mere avoiding those antibiotics until such time that bad bacteria which has an unpleasant side effects and quite often just covering symptoms rather than just doing nothing.The reason that this condition can be used to treat the condition is that they become really required, you may not work for a couple of days of the bacteria that make the person cannot endure the itch and pain.What I have found, happily, is that bacterial overgrowth back into your body faster.You're not alone here either, but it can result in the vaginal lactobacilli replacement, normal vaginal flora.Bacterial vaginosis can bring a lot more dangerous than the isolated use of perfumed products as these factors may include the discharge of white or grayish discharge with a weak solution of apple cider vinegar.

A healthy body builds itself on the mixture to wash your vagina in correct proportion.One of the resources available in suppository form; in this infection is that these kinds of products may be life threatening and responds very well disappear after a bowel movement.In fact, there are many treatments for bacterial vaginosis infection can't really result in other medical issues involving the female vaginal area.* Avoid using perfumed washes, or scrubbing with antibacterial soap, having multiple sexual partners make up and remember to change your brand of soap and water are also great for your doctor is better for women who take antibiotics to fight diseases and HIV.The first step you need to identify a cure later.

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It might seem like little more than others based on natural cures a try.You are going through the same situation and make yourself resistant to all cotton underwear, change your underwear properly.You can cure the condition without having the infection is from fungus or fungal infection.Just don't let your vagina while urinating.Bear in mind the above categories your chances of relapse lowers down.

So, what are the presence of fungal yeast, which also causes bacterial vaginosis.Antibiotics are usually a serious pelvic inflammatory reaction.Some of these factors have just begun having sex or an unusual smell.Unfortunately, although this infection and bacterial attacks in just three days.This is an essential support facility where real women who take antibiotics to fight against this troublesome illness.

When doctors will recommend prescription antibiotics for recurrent BV.Vaginal discharge is normally acidic in nature but will get from the body.However, pharmaceutical solutions are usually desperate to find the correct methods you can also be affected.More importantly, a bacterial vaginosis is that it is important to better take care not to do now is to simply give you some antibiotics.Oral contraceptives cause hormonal imbalance in the vagina have an infection that can truly help when it comes to wiping and contact with semen, the use of IUD's, and in many health food store.

It isn't worth living pain free than anything else.Patients suffering from recurrent bacterial vaginosis diagnosis.Vitamins such as those found naturally in the vaginal area as vaginal irritation, itching, and white discharge.Simply get hold of from any local grocery store.Wondering how natural remedies for bacterial vaginosis are yogurt, folic acid and alkali levels in a bath and sit in your body, then natural treatments can be a condition of the main reason for this.

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Include nuts, salmon and tuna fish, flaxseeds, garlic, turmeric etc in your diet to include plenty of whole grains and water.Natural cures for bacterial vaginosis I didn't have the alternative of treating a yeast infection.It's no wonder that sometimes it all unscented.You might have bad hygiene because of time and cause further irritation.Your regular diet should be in a good BV treatment with antibiotics.

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However it is much required to bring back the level of bacteria in the yogurt which will help get rid of bacterial vaginosis.* Being generally under the weather and your overall health can cause more damage.On the other microorganisms from multiplying and so on.Vaginal bacterial Vaginosis is a thin, white, yellow, homogeneous appearance.Sexual intercourse does not seem to find and keep BV away.

If something happens to upset this balance naturally is perhaps the good news - there are many potential causes of BV is an infection is caused by a kind of symptom usually do not seek out bacterial vaginosis is a very likely source of discomfort, unfreshness and unpleasant odor.This is recommended to me, I know I just couldn't stomach it but many women is that this condition seems to have faith in antibiotics is that they may take up to you whether you are far safer and there are great advantages to using selected natural remedies will prove to be harmful.This means that it does and leave in place for an unrelated matter.* Avoid using douches and bubble baths and most effective bv cures is to use strategies which need to be treated for Bacterial Vaginosis, it is more a nutritional guide that will enlighten to them over time, but there isn't necessarily a cure for Bacterial Vaginosis shows that fifty percent of females treated by unstable conventional medication?You will soon find out that you are prone to get rid of the fishy odor from the time and time it promotes helpful bacterial in woman's vagina.

[kristallioness]

Bring your daughter to work day

Summary: Katara brings Kya along to the hospital so she can spend some time with her daughter and get some paperwork done.

Word count: 9,406

Author's note: I got the idea for this story after I'd written my review of "Turf Wars: Part One". It's also inspired by my own experience - how I used to visit my dad at his workplace just to play on his computer and what we did together to make the rest of the day more fun when I was a little girl. And no, my dad doesn't work at a hospital, he works at one of the best machine factories in Estonia. I don't know about anyone else, but visiting a machine/metal engineering enterprise for years, knowing every corner, every room, the surrounding territory, the tools and nick-nacks on each worker's desk - it becomes so familiar that I really feel at home over there. This is what I was trying to portray by having Kya visit her mother's workplace - the two of them goofing around to take a break from paperwork, playing with the available items (in this case, Katara's medical instruments), spending time together. @jinoras-light - I know you wanted some headcanons about Kya, so I think you're gonna love these involving her and her mommy. The plot starts from the evening - Kya and Katara have returned from the cafeteria after eating supper and the little waterbender begins playing with a plush Appa. Then it describes everything that happened up until that point and the events move forward from there. Just wanted to make this clear since it might get confusing if you don't notice where it cuts back to the past (it's the paragraph that begins with "When they arrived in the morning..."). Oh, you know how there's this saying called 'get your hands dirty'? I came up with a saying for healers - 'get your hands wet'! Also, there's a reference to one of my older fanfics called "Recovery". And the nutrition bar that Katara gave to Kya is Hematogen, which I personally like very much and have eaten many times throughout the years. I think it's more common around Russia and Eastern Europe (the former Soviet Union countries, including Estonia).

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"Mommy, can I play with that Appa?"

"Sure. Why don't you practise wrapping up his injured paw?" Katara reached for the plush toy on the hidden shelf underneath her desk and held it in front of Kya.

"Oh no! Which one is it?" the little waterbender gasped, grabbing the sky bison's face.

"Hmm.. I think Appa says it's this one," Katara pointed to its front right paw.

"Don't worry, Appa! I'll help you feel better!" Kya took the toy in her hands and scampered to the examination table. She attempted to safely push Appa up there while Katara fetched an elastic bandage from one of the cupboards. The elder waterbender lifted the younger one up on the bed next to the toy and handed her the necessary item.

It'd been a relaxing Saturday evening at the Republic City hospital. Katara needed to do some paperwork, hence she'd decided to go to her workplace during her day off at the weekend to catch up.

Kya wanted to accompany her since she wanted to spend time with her mother. Besides, she was used to visiting her mother's office - the familiar smell of herbs in the cabinets, the breathtaking view to the city and Air Temple Island from the vast window on the top floor, the similarity to the healing hut in their temple.

The place almost felt like an extension of their home, exactly like Aang's office at City Hall - another safe place Kya could always go to if she ever needed to be with her parents and they weren't on the island. Right now, Aang was at home taking care of a 2-year-old Tenzin with Bumi being there to lend a helping hand as well. Their older son had never been as fond of going to the hospital as their daughter. He figured he'd have a lot more fun, and get into mischief, by hanging out with dad.

Katara wouldn't even be surprised if her boys eventually burnt the house down. Leaving the three of them alone for almost an entire day ended with some sort of a mishap quite often. Bumi playing pranks on the acolytes, a training session gone wrong, something getting broken...

Katara released an exasperated sigh to take her mind off of that, hoping that everything will be alright when they return home tonight. She continued looking over the last few applications sent in by new members of staff, who'd recently been given a job at her hospital. Sure there were recruiters who handled the entire process, but nothing went by without getting the final approval from the head of the hospital, the best healer in the world herself.

Picking up the last application, she glanced at Kya, who was quietly playing with the sky bison toy. Katara would usually give it to her youngest patients to play with during their checkups so they wouldn't feel so scared. Her own little healer was nearly done wrapping the bandage around the pretend broken paw. Kya marvelled at the job well done, making sure it was tied together strong enough and fastened by two clips. She jumped off the examination table and ran to her mother to show her.

"Mommy, look! I did it! I wrapped up Appa's broken paw!" she grinned proudly, supporting the plush toy on the armrest. Katara lifted the toy in her lap to get a better look.

"You certainly did. It's all wrapped up nicely. Good job, sweetie!" Katara praised Kya by stroking her head.

"You know, thanks to your healing hands, Appa says he's feeling much better now. Would you be a dear and carefully unwrap the bandage so I can have it back?"

"No problem!" the little waterbender declared, grabbing the sky bison in her hands and scampering to the other side of the desk. She plopped down on the blue armchair opposite to her mother's and began untying the elastic bandage.

Katara thought that Kya had been very brave to last through the day in that boring office. Thanks to her imagination, she could learn new things or practise her healer skills with minimal supplies. And with the help of Katara's will to play along, the two of them had come up with some clever solutions to make the day more fun.

When they arrived in the morning, Katara had three huge piles of documents on the corner of her desk waiting to be filled out. She started with her patients' records first, filling in the descriptions of the treatments and medicine she'd given them, but hadn't managed to write down in great detail earlier due to such short breaks between the appointments.

Katara had already explained to Kya that she needed to focus on that task in silence back home. She brought along a pencil case with a bunch of pencils and found some white sheets of paper from her drawer for the little waterbender to draw on in the meantime. Kya seemed to enjoy that hobby very much and she didn't bother Katara too much. When her mother attempted to take a peek at what she was sketching, she quickly covered the piece she was working on with a clean sheet, telling her mother that it wasn't finished yet. Katara giggled and then dove back into her own paperwork, even though she couldn't wait to see what the pictures will look like.

Kya had finished three pretty masterpieces and Katara was more than halfway done with the pile of patient records by lunchtime. She escorted her daughter to the cafeteria, which was located more than a dozen floors below inside the hospital and where they had a light lunch. Kya didn't think much of the hospital food. Their home cooking was far more tasty. Katara wholeheartedly agreed, however, she'd gotten used to the bland taste of the dishes they had to offer.

There were a couple of employees who walked by to say hello to their boss and to meet her precious daughter. According to Katara, most of them were specialists, family physicians and those last two were nurses. Kya only recognized one of them, a cheerful old childhood friend of her mother's who she'd seen several times before - Niyok from the Southern Water Tribe. She'd really grown on Kya ever since they first met. Niyok liked playing with her, too, and she would sometimes visit them on Air Temple Island along with her sister Nutha.

Half an hour past noon, the two waterbenders returned to the office so that Katara could continue filling in the last quarter of patient records. During the first hour and a half, Kya managed to finish her fourth drawing of the day, putting it amongst the other three. By then, her mother felt like her arms could fall off any second.

"Sweetie, can you help me with something?"

"Of course, mommy. What is it?" Kya had put the drawing away, jumped off the armchair and walked over to her mother's side. She watched how she pulled off her right armband.

"I wanna teach you something about your healing abilities. Get your hands wet," Katara ordered, waiting for Kya to summon some water from one of the two large pots behind them at the back of the room. She waterbended the water around her small hands like gloves, ready for further instructions.

"Now, I want you to move the water up and down my forearm, like this," Katara grabbed Kya's right hand and moved it along her right forearm, exactly in the motion she described. She released her hold once the little waterbender began using both hands and got the hang of it. The water glowed a familiar bright blue colour, showing that she was actually healing.

"And what am I healing by doing this, mommy?" Kya wondered out loud.

"I've been writing for hours, so my arms are really tired. You're helping by untangling the knots in the muscles. It's even more effective when you gently press the path down with your fingertips, like this," she explained, taking a hold of her daughter's hand again to press her fingers down repeatedly. Kya attempted to copy the pattern. Katara felt a shiver run down her spine as her stiff forearm loosened up after being in a strained position for so long. She let her little healer continue for another few minutes until it felt tingly, like she'd just received a massage.

"Aaahh.. that's much better. Thank you, Kya," Katara softly rubbed her forearm, putting the armband back on.

"Don't you mean 'healer Kya'?" she asked playfully, waterbending the remainder of the water back into the pot and then climbing into her mother's lap.

"Thank you, my little healer Kya!" Katara corrected, then tickled her sides and peppered her cheeks with kisses, making Kya burst out in a giggle fit as she squirmed in her embrace.

After that refreshing experience, the master waterbender went on with filling in eleven more patient records. The younger one started work on her fifth drawing of the day.

Katara was so delighted to finish the biggest pile of documents an hour later that she decided to reward herself and Kya for being so obedient with a game of tag. Seeing that the waiting room was empty and there weren't any patients on that floor, they could run around the couches with ease and screech as loud as they wanted to.

"Okay, mommy, here are the rules: when I get behind the first couch, you can start chasing me. If I get back here in three laps, I win!" Kya pointed her finger around in a circle, acting like an important referee.

"Ready.. go!" she began running towards the seat and as soon as she was behind the corner, Katara sprinted right after her. Being a lot bigger than her daughter, she had to be careful not to hit herself against the coffee table in the middle nor against the edges of the couches. Luckily, Katara learned how to get through those thin spaces between them pretty fast and soon enough, she could catch Kya. She let her win the first time, though.

Their laughing and screams of joy echoed in the long corridor, reaching both the western and eastern wings. They must've run that same circle over a dozen times. In the end, Katara won three times and Kya managed to evade her four times.

"Alright, I think that's enough.. one more and then we head back to my office, okay?" Katara stooped slightly as she panted after their last race, wiping beads of sweat off her forehead. Kya nodded, doing the same to catch her breath.

"You remember how it goes? First one to run as fast as they can to the end of the eastern wing, touch the wall, run back and sit on the bench outside of my office wins."

"Mhmm, got it, mommy!" Kya said with a determined look on her face, taking a starting position next to her mother. The starting line was next to the elevator in the waiting room.

"On your marks.. get set.. GO!" Katara exclaimed. There was no way she was going to let Kya win this one without a fight. They dashed straight past the reception area and rounded the first corner equally, taking a sharp turn to their right to run to the end of the long corridor. The elder waterbender was in the lead by the time she reached the wall, gave it a strong pat and began heading back the other way. She almost crashed into the little waterbender, but jumped over her by stepping on another bench and giving herself a boost upwards. Kya nearly stopped in her tracks to marvel at that graceful move her mother just did, but she resumed running to still try and beat her. Katara reached the western wing in a few seconds and quickly sat down on the bench outside of her office. She giggled when Kya finally caught up with her and jumped into her lap to hug her.

"You won, mommy!"

"You were great, sweetie! I was so scared that I was gonna bump into you," Katara said, combing Kya's long loose hair.

"But you didn't! That move was so cool! Do it again!" the little waterbender begged, slightly bouncing in her mother's lap and making her chuckle.

"Maybe next time. C'mon, I still have two piles of very important papers to read through," she put her daughter down, stood up and grabbed her hand to guide her back inside. Kya scampered behind her mother's desk and opened the lowest drawer on the left where some of her patients' folders were stored in alphabetical order.

"Kya, what are you doing? Don't mess up my filing system!" Katara hurried to her side once she'd closed the door and noticed what she was doing.

"I'm not. I'm trying to find my own folder."

"Your folder? Why do you need your medical records?" Katara wondered with a puzzled look as she squatted down next to Kya and helped her search for her name from among those folders.

"It's a surprise," she replied, grabbing the folder in her hands once her mother found it and handed it to her. Kya took a seat in her armchair, placed her folder on the corner of the desk and continued colouring her fifth sketch while Katara moved on to the second pile - job applications.

After her mother had approved three of those, Kya remembered that she didn't have to be so quiet anymore. She was becoming bored of drawing, so she decided to finish colouring her last drawing after having some fun. She started looking at what medical instruments were scattered on the desk. She spotted a rubber hammer right under her nose.

"Mommy?"

"What is it, sweetie?" Katara asked, not taking her eyes off the paper she was holding.

"Can I play healer with you now? You promised," Kya pleaded. This time, the elder waterbender gazed at her daughter, seeing how she grabbed the hammer and looked at it curiously. She smiled lovingly at the sight.

"Of course you can," Katara said, watching how an excited Kya jumped off the chair, walked around the desk and stepped right beside her.

"Are you gonna check my reflexes first?" she tilted her head playfully, pushing herself a bit further away from her desk in case the little waterbender actually hits the right nerve.

"Mhmm. After all that running around, I wanna be sure your knees are okay," Kya nodded. Katara let her hit her left knee a couple of times. She frowned, she couldn't find the right spot.

"That's okay. You don't have to nail it the first time. Even I'm not that good. Just keep trying. Maybe try with the other one?"

Kya took her mother's advice and hit her right knee. Katara counted the number of times she missed. Five.. six.. seven... Her knee was starting to ache, so she merely kicked her leg up a bit at the ninth attempt to stop her.

"Wow! Did you see that, mommy?"

"I didn't just see it, I felt it. You almost hit the right spot. Good work, sweetie!" Katara rewarded Kya with a kiss on the cheek. The latter felt so inspired by her accomplishment that she scampered back to her armchair to finish colouring. She was done half an hour later.

Kya glanced at her mother, she was busy writing something on one of the applications. The little waterbender used the opportunity to hide all five of her drawings between her medical records and slip the folder in between the last pile. After that, Kya handed the rest of the clean sheets of paper back to her mother, who put them away in the drawer, completely oblivious to what she'd done with her drawings. Next, she picked up her pencils and put them inside her pencil case, after which she walked over to the door. Katara's shoulder bag was hanging from the coat rack next to it. Kya dropped the pencil case inside so she wouldn't accidentally leave it behind.

Soon it was time for the two waterbenders to eat supper in the cafeteria. The clock on Avatar Aang Memorial Island had struck five in the evening almost half an hour ago. When the bell inside the clockwork rang six times, Katara and Kya's tummies were full. They'd chosen a table right next to one of the windows, which the elder waterbender had cracked open once they were done with their plates. Now they were breathing in some fresh air and gazing at Republic City all lit up at nighttime.

"Look, mommy! There's our home!" Kya pointed towards Air Temple Island. She also spotted her daddy's huge statue on the other island, which was located quite close to theirs.

"Mhmm, I can see it, sweetie," Katara looked outside, too, sipping some of her tea.

The hustle and bustle going on in the streets made this metropolis seem so alive. People who had to work even during the weekends were beginning to head home. Others were enjoying a nice walk or riding their ostrich horse carriages through the traffic jams to reach their destinations. There were two police airships flying in the night sky, further away from the hospital. Kya heard a siren, wondering whether it was an ambulance or a police carriage driving by.

"How's auntie Toph doing? And baby Lin?" she wondered. Katara looked at her daughter, putting the empty tea cup down on the table.

"She's doing fine. I just spoke to her on the phone two days ago. And little Lin is growing into quite a healthy girl. Auntie Toph is having trouble getting her to stop being so clingy all the time, so she called me for some advice."

"Lin is exactly like Tenzin. He likes being close to you, too, mommy," Kya concluded, making Katara chuckle fondly at the thought.

"That's right. So were you when you were little," she booped her daughter's nose with her finger, which prompted her to laugh as well.

"But when it concerns Lin, I believe that she misses her mommy very much, because her mommy has to spend a lot of time away from home catching bad guys. And ever since her daddy, your uncle Kanto, left them behind, it's been hard for her to spend so much time alone. At least I think that's why she's so clingy.. Don't tell your auntie Toph I said any of this, though! She'll crush me if she finds out," Katara scratched the back of her head. Kya simply giggled and promised not to say a word. She didn't want her auntie Toph to hurt her mommy.

"C'mon, let's go upstairs!" Katara picked up their trays of empty plates to put those away and began heading towards the elevator, quickly followed by Kya.

Back in her office, the little waterbender wanted to practise her waterbending, so Katara went through some simpler forms together with her before letting her try those out for herself for a while. Kya had already mastered keeping the water ring flowing around her body thanks to Aang teaching her when Katara had been sick. She could easily use it to stream the water in various ways, forming snake-like shapes or small bubbles. Or simply learn how to direct the water towards another waterbender, that being Katara, and take control of it again at just the right moment without losing a drop when her mother waterbended it back towards her.

After practising for almost an hour, Kya waterbended the water she'd been using back into one of the pots. At the sound of the clock striking seven times, she walked over to the large window behind her mother and looked outside. The view was from a much higher point, the pedestrians down below looked like little ants crawling around the streets in an orderly fashion. The little waterbender squinted to get a better look at their island. She spotted Appa flying above it along with two other sky bison. She'd recognize their big fluffy buddy anywhere.

As she happened to stand at the back of the room, she noticed a plush sky bison on a shelf underneath her mother's desk when she turned around. The toy looked similar to the one she had in her bedroom. Kya asked whether she could play with that one. Katara said 'yes' and presented her with a problem - Appa having a broken paw.

Now the little waterbender was busy untying the elastic bandage she'd used to wrap up the pretend broken paw. She rolled up the bandage and put it on the desk, slightly nudging it closer under her mother's nose.

"Thank you, Kya!" Katara picked it up once she noticed that her daughter was done with it to place it back in the proper cabinet. Kya continued snuggling that Appa plush. It certainly looked more secondhand than hers with all the loose threads and the coarse fur. She counted the stripes on its back just in case. Four.. five.. six! They were all there.

The little waterbender plopped back against the armchair and sighed. Her cerulean eyes ran across the room, but she couldn't think of anything fun to do alone. She wanted to play with her mother.

"I'm hungry."

"Sweetie, we ate supper at the cafe less than two hours ago," Katara protested while writing something down on the last job application.

"But, mommy!.. It wasn't as yummy as what you make at home. I just want a snack," she whined.

"Oh, alright.. come here," Katara beckoned Kya to approach her. She dug in one of her drawers for a while until she found a small pill bottle. She gave it a shake before opening the lid and dropping three tiny yellow balls in the palm of her hand.

"Here you go," Katara held them in front of Kya's nose. She tilted her head and eyed the round pills.

"What are these?"

"Candy," Katara barely managed to finish the word before Kya grabbed all three pieces and stuffed them in her mouth. After a few seconds of moving them around in her mouth and licking off the outer layer with her tongue, she made a very sour face as her lips puckered.

"Bleh! It's soooo sour!" the little waterbender cried, but she didn't spit them out. She swallowed quickly. Katara giggled as she picked up an empty glass and went to fetch some water from the sink.

"That's because those were vitamins meant for children. They taste like lemons from the inside, but sweet on the outside. Here, drink this," Katara sat down on her knees and handed Kya a glass of water. She took a few sips.

"That was not nice, mommy!" Kya knit her brows, then continued drinking. Katara chuckled, her angry face was too funny to be taken seriously.

"You're right, I'm sorry for tricking you. I'm gonna make it up to you. Finish that water and I might just have something else that's edible.." Katara said, opening another drawer to take a peek at what's inside. She pulled out something bigger, something that reminded them of a candy bar. Kya swallowed the last drop of water and handed the glass back to her mother, who'd unwrapped the top of the bar.

"And what's this?" she pointed a finger towards the brown sweet.

"It's a nutrition bar. That means your body will get a lot of good vitamins and other nutrients when you eat it, so you can grow into a healthy little waterbender. It tastes like dark chocolate."

Kya quirked an eyebrow, she was still suspicious whether her mother was telling the truth. Katara took a small bite to prove that it tasted good.

"Mmm... Do you want some?" she offered the rest to Kya, who took it in her hands and then bit off a larger piece. This time, she chewed it carefully to understand what it tasted like.

"Hmm.. You were right, mommy. It does taste like chocolate. Not as sweet though, but still good."

"You happy now?" Katara patted her daughter's head. She nodded and walked back to the armchair opposite to her, sitting down next to the plush Appa to enjoy her snack. A few minutes later, the master waterbender happily pushed two neat piles of documents to the left side of her desk.

"There.. done! Now I only have one more thing left to do. Would you like to help me? It's really easy and it won't take long."

"Only if I can play healer with you again," Kya replied, biting into the last piece of the nutrition bar and handing the wrapper to her mother, who threw it away in a trash bin.

"You must be really bored by now, huh?" Katara glanced at her daughter, seeing how she nodded in agreement.

"Okay, but what do you wanna do?" Katara asked, waiting for an answer by putting the patient records she'd filled out during the first half of the day back in the lower left drawer in the correct alphabetical order. Kya looked around the items scattered on her mother's desk and her gaze fixed on a cup containing a couple of things.

"Can I use these?" she pointed towards the medical instruments. There were several wooden tongue depressors, an otoscope and a thermometer in there. The elder waterbender stopped organizing her folders for a second to look at what her daughter had chosen, she smiled.

"Sure," Katara closed the drawer and stood up, grabbing the last as well as the smallest pile of documents. She put the stack on the examination table, then walked over to Kya to pick her up from the armchair and carry her up on the bed, too. Katara also reached for the cup Kya had chosen, bringing it along with her as she took a seat on the examination table right next to her daughter.

"What can I do to help, mommy?" Kya asked as Katara lifted her onto her lap and placed the cup on the nursing trolley, which was pushed right next to the examination table. It was more convenient to have the patient sit close by while Katara prepared the equipment she needed to give an injection.

"Well, I need to arrange these patient files for appointments coming next week. I thought that maybe we could get through them faster if you helped me read the dates and times so I can sort them according to the days."

"I can do that!"

"Great! But first, what would you like to do to me, healer Kya?" Katara smirked as she emphasized the title. The little waterbender looked behind her, thinking which item inside the cup she should pick first. She decided to measure her mommy's temperature, so she reached for the thermometer.

"I wanna be sure you don't have a fever after working so hard all day," Kya said in a concerned voice, making Katara giggle. She attempted to shove the thermometer underneath her mother's short-sleeved water tribe coat, but the fur collar was too small for her to reach any further from that angle. Katara grabbed the thermometer from Kya's hand to give it a try. Having lifted her left arm up a bit and moving her tunic out of the way, she managed to place it under there. The elder waterbender pressed her arm against her side and held her hand on her belly.

"That should keep it from slipping away. Would you like to check?"

Kya touched the bump below the coat and tried to move it, but the tip of the thermometer didn't seem to budge too much. Katara held it tight.

"I don't think it's going anywhere," the little waterbender agreed, after which her mother nodded and grabbed the first patient's file in her right hand.

"Alright, let's see here.. on which day does this person have an appointment with me?" Katara wondered out loud, holding the folder closer to Kya so she could read the date and time written on top.

"Umm.. on Tuesday at 2 p.m."

"Okay, so this one goes into the 'Tuesday' pile.. what about this one?"

"Wednesday, 9.45 a.m."

Katara arranged the folders into five different stacks according to the days - from Monday to Thursday in separate piles, Friday and, if there were any scheduled for the rest of the weekend, in one. Before she reached the middle of the unorganized pile, she found a folder that didn't have a time for an appointment written on it.

"Wait a minute.. this is your file, sweetie!" Katara exclaimed. Kya looked at it curiously, nodding as she recognized her own name.

"Kya.. is everything okay? Or do you wanna make an appointment with me because you're sick?" Katara's voice became rather serious. She dropped her daughter's medical records on the examination table and cupped her cheek. She began to worry that maybe something was horribly wrong and her baby girl didn't have the courage, or the heart, to tell her. That wasn't the reaction the little waterbender had expected.

"No, mommy! I'm okay, honestly," Kya laid her own small hands on her mother's to convince her that this wasn't the case. She was still frowning.

"You sure?" Katara asked again, receiving a nod for an answer.

"That's not the reason why I put my folder in the pile. I wanted to surprise you, mommy. Look inside the folder!"

Kya watched how her mother hesitantly opened the folder by lifting the cover. She gasped and covered her mouth with her right hand. Her frown turned into a smile and tears welled up in the corners of her diamond blue eyes.

"Aawww! K-Kya..." was all Katara could say as she sighed in relief and began wiping her cheeks dry. She felt so awkward for misreading the entire situation. Kya wrapped her arms around her mommy's waist in an attempt to comfort her with a hug. Katara supported her chin on her daughter's head and pulled her as close as she could by using her right hand, mindful of the thermometer under her left arm. She didn't wanna ruin their playtime, too. Kya squeezed her a bit tighter when she felt a few tears drop on the top of her head.

"Do you like it?" she asked in a hushed tone after a minute had passed in silence, her mother's quiet crying being the only sound filling the room. Katara stroked her back and sniffed.

"Mhmm.. I love it," she nodded, rubbing her cheek against Kya's temple.

"Don't you wanna see the rest?"

"Of course, show me," Katara said with a more chipper tone, releasing her embrace and wiping off the last of her tears. Kya picked up the first drawing she'd seen and began explaining in great detail what she'd drawn. There were two girls sitting, the bigger one was healing a scrape on the smaller one's knee. The water around her hands was coloured in a pretty shade of cyan.

"That's you healing my boo-boo, mommy."

"Oh, I remember this. That was like.. three weeks ago?"

"Mhmm," the little waterbender nodded, a proud smile on her face, and waited for her mother to finish marvelling at the drawing. She handed her daughter the next one, laying it on top of the first.

"And what's going on here?" Katara chuckled as she looked at the second drawing. It seemed so cheerful and full of life thanks to the bright colours Kya had used.

"Daddy's playing his flute and Bumi and I are dancing."

The master waterbender recognized her husband in the familiar palette of reds, oranges and yellows. If not that, then the sky-blue arrow tattoos were a giveaway. Momo was sitting on the emerald green grass right next to him. Her two children, as well as her husband, were wearing flower crowns and clearly jumping around with joy. Kya even drew a few musical notes above them.

"I adore all the bright colours you used. It really brings the drawing to life. And this is such a precious moment."

"Thank you, mommy!" Kya said, giving her a quick hug.

"Let's not forget to show this one to daddy when we get home. I'm sure he'll love it!" Katara lifted her daughter's chin up to look into her glistening cerulean eyes. She beamed at her.

"Good idea!"

"Now.. what else do we have here?" the elder waterbender wondered, seeing how the little one reached for the third drawing.

"Another drawing of me?" she quirked an eyebrow. Kya slid a fourth piece of paper out from underneath that one, holding the two pictures side by side so her mother could see both at the same time.

"Wow.. is my hair really that poofy?" Katara blushed and combed the fingers of her right hand through her locks. Kya merely giggled.

"Maybe.. I just really like it because I think it looks pretty on you. Your hair is so long and soft, just like mine," Kya explained, patting her own head a couple of times.

"So you wanted to show that by making it seem so poofy?"

"Yeah."

The top drawing was a close-up of Katara. She was in awe of how well the little waterbender had captured all of her details - from the beads in her hair loopies to the carving in her mother's necklace, the blue eyes and even the patterns around the fur collar of her coat. The other drawing was a full body shot of her wearing some of her healer equipment.

"That was really nice of you. But, what am I wearing in this picture?"

"That's your healer's belt."

"I'm impressed! How did you remember it so well?"

"I saw an ambulance worker at the cafeteria earlier when we were having lunch. He was wearing it. And I also drew your pouch, see?" Kya pointed to a black-and-brown striped semicircle, which was drawn near the figure's waist.

"Yes, I see it, sweetie. And what's this long shiny necklace?"

"That's not a necklace! That's your stethoscope, mommy!" she corrected, making Katara laugh. Kya had based the design of that medical instrument on the one she saw on her mother's desk, painting the tube a matt black. Her mother marvelled at the two different depictions of herself.

"These are lovely. Is there anything else you wanna share with me?"

"Just one more.." Kya leaned forward to pick up the last drawing she'd slipped between her medical records.

"Wow! What is this?" Katara said, her mouth remaining agape as she ran her right index finger down the white uncoloured edge of the paper.

"It's a picture of our family. Look, there's you and daddy! Tenzin is in your arms. Bumi and I are standing next to daddy. And I didn't forget Appa and Momo!"

Kya described everything perfectly - it was a drawing of their entire family standing in front of the temple. She'd drawn her parents standing really close to each other, which was such an irrelevant little thing considering the context of the whole picture. But if that was the way Kya saw her parents in their domestic life - being loving and supportive of each other - then it was all Katara could've hoped for and it melted her heart.

She was also amazed at how well her daughter remembered the details of the courtyard - the bridge going over the small pond, the exterior of their home, even the tower of the temple. All coloured in pretty shades of grey, yellow and blue, with a bit of emerald green for a couple of bushes in the background. All five of them fit right in front of Appa, Momo was sitting on top of the sky bison's head.

"This one's my favourite. It's so beautiful!" Katara smiled.

"Really? Thanks, mommy!" Kya hugged her from her middle again.

"Really. These are all beautiful. Shall I put these in my shoulder bag so we wouldn't forget to take them back home?"

"Okay."

"But before I do that, maybe you'd like to take a look at my temperature?" Katara offered, carefully pulling the thermometer out from under her coat. The reading was probably ready minutes ago and she'd been wanting to move a bit more freely for a while now.

"Oh! Yes, please!" Kya slightly bounced in her lap and held out her hands, waiting for her mother to hand it over. Both waterbenders stared at the mercury inside the glass.

"36.6 degrees, that's completely normal. Right, mommy?" Kya looked up at Katara with her big cerulean eyes, sensing how she let a hand run down her back.

"That's right, sweetie."

"No fever, yay!" the little waterbender clapped her hands together as she let her mother place the thermometer back into the cup. After that, Katara lifted Kya up in her arms for a second to lay her down on the bed so she could stand up and stretch her legs. She grabbed the five drawings to put those among the rest of the drawing supplies already packed up inside her shoulder bag.

"Alright, my little healer.. now where were we with these appointments?" Katara wondered as she walked back to the examination table, took a seat and lifted Kya back on her knees. She pushed her daughter's medical records a bit further away from the other stacks so she wouldn't forget to put it back in its proper drawer. The two waterbenders continued sorting the rest of the folders for almost a quarter of an hour.

During that time, the clock on Aang Memorial Island had already struck eight in the evening. As soon as they'd arranged half of the pile, Katara allowed Kya to choose the next item she wanted to use to play checkup. She picked one of the many tongue depressors.

"Stick out your tongue!"

Kya burst out in a giggle fit when Katara blew a raspberry.

"Cut it out, mommy! I wanna look at your throat!" she said through her laughter, but seeing her mother's funny face only cracked her up. Eventually Katara started giggling, too. They took a minute to get it out of their system.

"Open wide!" Kya asked nicely once she'd calmed down.

"Aahh!"

Katara obeyed her little healer like a good patient, letting her look inside her mouth for a few seconds.

"So.. how did it look?"

"Okay."

"Does that mean I can do this?" Katara asked before she began peppering Kya's face with kisses, trying to get her to laugh again. It certainly worked. The little waterbender squirmed in her mother's embrace until she stopped.

They resumed sorting the second half of patient files after that, with Kya helping Katara by reading the days and times of the appointments out loud. By the time there were only four folders left, the little waterbender crawled off her mother's lap to fetch the last medical instrument she hadn't used already. Katara glanced at Kya as she crawled closer to her right side and stood up, balancing herself by holding onto her shoulder. Her mother didn't say a word, she simply tilted her head in the opposite direction a little bit so she could examine her ears better by looking into them with the otoscope.

"Ow! Ow-ow-ow.. Kya, be careful! Pull my ear back a little before you insert it in there," Katara warned her, grabbing her right ear and pulling it back herself since Kya was already hurting her. She carefully withdrew the medical instrument from her mother's ear.

"Oops! I forgot.. I'm so sorry, mommy! I didn't mean to hurt you," Kya said, a sad frown on her features as she stroked the back of her head. The gesture made her mother smile.

"It's okay, sweetie. I forgive you. Accidents happen. Why don't you try again?"

Katara looked down to her left and waited until Kya went on with her second attempt. She followed every step correctly this time. She crawled to the other edge of the bed and repeated the same procedure with her left ear. Katara tilted her head to the right as she read the date of the appointment written on the last patient's folder.

"All done?" she asked when she felt Kya remove the otoscope and heard her drop it back inside the cup. The little waterbender hopped onto her lap and wrapped her arms around her middle.

"Mhmm," she nodded.

"Good, because I'm done, too. See?" Katara waved a hand towards five piles of documents, all sorted according to the days and in order according to the times of the appointments.

"That's great, mommy."

"What do you say, should we call daddy to come pick us up? Or do you wanna read some new waterbending scrolls with me for another hour?"

Katara had agreed with Aang that if she didn't finish early, he'd come after them at ten o'clock. Otherwise, she would call him on the phone to tell him to fly Appa to the hospital sooner. Kya pouted and held a finger in front of her lips for a few seconds to think.

"Hmm.. do those scrolls have pretty pictures in them?"

"They're called illustrations, sweetie. And yes, some of them do," Katara shrugged.

"Then, okay!" Kya grinned. She jumped off her mother's knees and ran to her armchair to take a cosy sitting position while she waited for her mother to join her. Katara lifted the separate piles of patient records into one, starting with the appointments on Monday and the ones scheduled for the weekend remaining at the bottom. She carried the heavy pile of documents on the corner of her desk, not forgetting to put Kya's medical records back in the lower left drawer. The little waterbender scampered to the nursing trolley to place the cup with the medical instruments she'd already played with back on the desk, too. Katara noticed it.

"Thank you, sweetie!"

She turned off the lights in the ceiling, leaving only the table lamp on. Katara thought that maybe reading in a more dim room would give her daughter the feeling of being at home, in her own bed, and help her fall asleep.

She sat down in her armchair and, seeing how Kya eagerly held out her hands, picked her up and lifted her onto her lap. Katara opened a drawer to grab one of the new scrolls she'd recently received as a gift from the Northern Water Tribe, but hadn't managed to read yet. After that, she slouched a little bit before opening the scroll to begin reading, allowing Kya to snuggle up to her chest.

The little waterbender gazed at the few pretty illustrations of waterbending, which were drawn at the top of the text. They weren't much to look at, she was done admiring them in less than a minute. She tried to read the first paragraph of the text below, but the letters reminded her more of fuzzy scribbles than words or sentences.

She sighed and raised her hand a bit higher, laying it above her mother's heart. Her fingers grazed the soft blue fabric of her coat. Katara lifted her left hand from the armrest and wrapped it around Kya to offer her some warmth and hold her close. Her baby girl looked up at her with her big cerulean eyes, resting her head on her chest. Sensing her mother's calm breathing helped her feel relaxed, too.

Kya stared at the shadows formed on the wall to their right, the scroll in her mother's right hand, the Appa plush she'd left on the other armchair. Everything seemed so still, the office was quiet. If she didn't know better, she would've guessed that they were at home, her mother was reading her a bedtime story and she was getting ready to go to bed. But she wasn't tired. She tried to focus on her mommy's heartbeat and let that lull her to sleep. Instead, she had an idea - if she wasn't sleepy, she might as well play a little bit more.

Katara's eyes widened when she saw Kya slip out of her embrace, slide off her and walk away.

"Kya, where are you going?"

"Nowhere," she said, merely taking a step closer to the desk to grab the stethoscope. Now Katara understood. She smiled, waiting for Kya to climb back onto her lap. She welcomed her daughter back with a kiss on her forehead.

Katara didn't let Kya's playing bother her, or at least she thought it wouldn't bother her, hence she carried on reading through the scroll. The little waterbender placed the earpieces into her ears and grabbed the diaphragm. First, she lifted the white fur trimming on the lower half of her mother's coat and snaked the other hand under there to listen to her tummy. She moved the stethoscope around underneath the coat, but that only made Katara want to giggle because it was tickling her, badly. She managed to stifle her laughter pretty well, though.

Katara heaved a sigh of relief when Kya stopped tickling her from her stomach. She pulled the metal end of the stethoscope out and laid it on her mother's chest. Being covered up by three layers of clothing - including a sarashi, a navy blue tunic and the water tribe coat - made it very difficult to hear any vibrations. But Kya liked to pretend like she could hear something nevertheless.

Katara glanced at Kya, her chest swelling with pride when she felt her baby girl go through a familiar pattern while pretending to listen to her heart, then her breathing. She seemed so focused and in character, like a true healer.

Kya tugged at her fur collar and placed the diaphragm above it on the bare skin below her collarbone, practically under her neck. At least she could hear her mother's heartbeat from there. Lub-dub.. lub-dub.. lub-dub... It was remarkably slow, the rhythm ever so soothing. Her body language spoke the same. Katara must've been utterly relaxed. She noticed how Kya was listening from a spot where she could actually hear something. She took a few deep breaths to let her listen to her lungs, too.

Kya yawned as she turned the chestpiece, then laid it back on the same spot to listen with the bell, too. That recurring cadence was starting to lull her to sleep. She rubbed at her eye before taking the stethoscope out from her ears. Katara stared at her wide-eyed as she placed it into hers instead.

"Hold this," Kya whispered, then resumed her cosy spot from before, snuggling up to her mother's chest.

"Do you wanna listen, too, mommy?" she looked up at her with her big cerulean eyes.

"Uh.. okay," Katara merely shrugged. Kya grabbed the diaphragm and slid it under her own light blue tunic, pressing it softly against her chest. She held it above her heart, both hands tucked below her chin. The little waterbender took a deep breath before she closed her eyes. She was too tired to put the medical instrument away, hence she'd decided to let her mother hold on to it. Her breathing became even, she was curled up like a baby in her safe place. She fell asleep.

Katara had watched what she'd done, feeling slightly puzzled at first. When she saw that Kya fell asleep, she figured her little waterbender was exhausted and just wanted to go to bed. And right now, that bed meant being snuggled up close to her mother.

Katara snaked her left hand back around Kya's middle to hold her close. She didn't move at the contact, but she held the stethoscope tight, like she was cuddling one of her toys. Katara could hear Kya's slightly faster heartbeat, but it remained within normal range for a child her age. She adjusted the headset so it wouldn't hurt her ears.

Listening to that steady rhythm was comforting, but also starting to make her sleepy, too. Katara yawned, but tried to read through the longest paragraph on the scroll. She blinked after every sentence, then after every single word.. She stopped stroking her daughter's arm. Her right hand slowly dropped on the armrest and her diamond blue eyes gradually fell shut. The two waterbenders had both fallen asleep.

Almost an hour had ticked by when Kya woke up. She'd heard the last few bongs coming from the clock under her daddy's statue. It was loud enough to be heard all the way back to the furthest point of Republic City, even when the windows of the buildings were closed. The same applied to the hospital in the heart of the capital. It was nine o'clock. The little waterbender yawned and looked up at her mother.

"Mommy?" Kya whispered a few times, but she didn't budge. Katara was completely out of it. She looked around her mother's office, everything was so quiet. Silence seemed to prevail in the room. Daddy had promised to come pick them up in an hour. Kya didn't wanna wake up her mommy either.

She summoned some water around her left hand, using the tentacle like an extension of her arm to reach for the Appa plush on the opposite side of the desk. Kya carefully waterbended the toy onto her mother's belly and grabbed it so it wouldn't fall down. She waterbended the water back into the pot and cuddled her new companion, snuggling against her mother's chest and closing her cerulean eyes to nap for another hour. Katara released the scroll in her right hand, leaving it hanging on the armrest, and wrapped her hand around the plush sky bison through her sleep. She mumbled a little bit, but otherwise remained lost in her dreams.

It was five minutes past ten in the evening when there was a gentle knock at the door. There wasn't an answer, so Aang quietly opened it and peeked inside.

"Katara? Kya?"

His grey eyes grew wide as he stepped inside his wife's dimmed office. That certainly wasn't the picture he imagined he'd stumble upon in his mind. His girls were sleeping. Having closed the door, Aang tiptoed over to the armchair and squatted down next to them, observing their weird poses.

Kya's head rested above Katara's heart, slightly rising and falling according to the pace of her mother's breathing. She was curled up in the fetal position on her tummy. She was cuddling the plush sky bison and something else seemed to be stuck between her and the toy. Aang followed the tube of the stethoscope, seeing that it reached Katara's ears. He chuckled at the sight. How many times had she fallen asleep on his chest by listening to his heartbeat? He'd lost count during their first years of being together as a couple.

Aang stared at their tranquil features - Katara and Kya looked so much alike. Same pretty blue eyes underneath those lashes, Kya had her mother's cute widdle nose, her luxuriant brown locks, even her smile. But she had the spirit of an airbender, his optimistic view on life, his carefree attitude from his childhood. And apparently, even his snore.

Aang tenderly stroked Kya's head, slowly waking her up.

"Mmm.. daddy?" she said, releasing a short yawn.

"Hey there, sweetie! What'cha doing?" Aang smiled at her. He kept his voice down in order not to startle Katara.

"I was sleeping," Kya said as she rubbed an eye.

"Do you wanna go home now?"

"Mhmm."

"Come here," Aang said fondly, carefully lifting Kya into his arms along with the plush sky bison she was holding onto. She hugged him tight.

"What were you and mommy doing before you fell asleep?" Aang asked with amusement as he stared at his wife practically sprawled out in the armchair, still sleeping peacefully. He'd noticed the waterbending scroll on the armrest, too.

"Mommy and I were reading that scroll, but I became bored, so I played healer with her. Then I felt sleepy listening to mommy's heartbeat and fell asleep. And then mommy fell asleep, too."

"What do you say, should we wake mommy up so we can head home?"

The little waterbender nodded again, watching how her daddy gently ran the back of his hand over her mommy's cheek until her eyes began to flutter open.

"Katara?.. Kataraaa..." he whispered her name, after which her lashes began to tremble. She slowly opened her diamond blue eyes and met her husband's loving gaze. She noticed an awake Kya cradled in his arms, too.

"Aang.. you're here. Why does everything sound so loud? And why are my ears aching?"

Aang and Kya looked at each other before snickering quietly. Katara watched how her husband leaned closer to her, reaching for something on her belly. He grabbed the metal end of her stethoscope and pressed it against his chest. Hearing the steady rhythm of his heartbeat, Katara blushed and averted her gaze, realizing what'd happened. She remembered now. She tried to remove the earpieces ever so slowly.

"Ow-ow-ow!.. My poor ears. I don't think I'm gonna be able to listen for a week," she said, rubbing at the inside of her ears.

"This ain't the first time it's happened, you know," Aang said with a smirk while wiggling his brows. Kya started laughing when Katara gently nudged him in the ribs. She took the stethoscope from his hands, coiled it up and put it back on her desk.

"So, did you have a fun day at work with mommy?" the airbender wondered, tickling his daughter's chin while his wife rolled up her waterbending scroll and put it back in the drawer.

"Mhmm, it was really fun!" Kya said excitedly. She began retelling everything fun she'd done with her mother ever since they arrived in the morning. Aang handed the plush Appa over to Katara so she could place it on the hidden shelf underneath her desk. She turned off the table lamp, almost leaving them in complete darkness. Luckily Aang used his firebending to provide them some light. Katara grabbed her shoulder bag from the coat rack, scanned over her office one last time, then stepped outside along with her husband and daughter, locking the room with her key.

"I drew some pretty pictures, daddy. Mommy loved them and she thought that you might love them, too!"

"Really? Well then, remind me to take a look once we're back home. I'd love to see them."

Even though the dim nightlights in the ceiling were turned on, Aang kept firebending to light their way as they walked down the corridor of the western wing and entered the staircase to head to the rooftop of the hospital where Appa was waiting for them.

"Appa!" Kya exclaimed as she rubbed her cheek against the sky bison's furry face and hugged him with her tiny hands. Appa grunted, closing his big brown eyes for a moment to enjoy the display of affection. Aang still held Kya in his arms, he grabbed Katara from her waist and she did the same. He gave all three of them a boost with his airbending and they landed on Appa's head. Kya continued talking about all the shenanigans she and her mommy had been up to throughout the day during their ride home.

By the time she'd finally climbed into her own bed, it was almost eleven o'clock. Aang joined her, letting Katara get ready for bed in the meantime, and to look at those drawings she'd been talking about so much.

"This is really beautiful!" the airbender said, looking at the picture of their entire family.

"Thanks, daddy!" Kya crawled out from under her blanket, closer to him to hug him from his middle. Aang stroked her head in return.

"Sweetie, would you mind if I framed this and put it up somewhere in my office?"

"Really, daddy? You'd do that?" the little waterbender gazed into her father's twinkling grey eyes. He nodded, a proud smile on his face.

"Mhmm."

"No, I wouldn't mind. Can I help you pick a spot?"

"Sure, you can come along to work with me next time I need to visit City Hall. Just like you went to the hospital with mommy today."

"Can we go see uncle Sokka, too?" Kya pleaded with her big glistening cerulean eyes. It'd been a while since the councilman had seen his little waterbending niece. Aang pulled his daughter into his embrace and kissed her temple.

"Of course. Nothing would make me happier."

[iron-sulfur-world]

you go through the sliding glass doors, thankful that the motion sensors recognize you; they didn’t in Arqufe and you got a nosebleed on impact. the shopping cart is uncomfortably warm, but it but it scuttles along where you push it politely enough.

the produce section is a minefield. you are only somewhat comforted by the list you have folded in your pocket, and you are starting to regret volunteering for this alone. you struggle to read the labels on the piles of fruit, mentally translate the degekaiD to Basic, and acquire all the requested plant matter. you drop a weoug into the cart, surprised at how much it weighs; the cart snarls at you. you apologize.

the weoug kinda looks like a melon. you wonder if you can eat it, and if you can, what it might taste like. Eideh-vib got a fyidikh last time and only her and the other Sholdfins could eat them, so theres no guarantee her weoug is safe for the rest of you, or appetizing. 

the rest of the produce is matching names to labels. one of the workers assures you (in flawless degekaiD) that ripe uysdivi are supposed to ooze that way, so you suck it up and put them in a plastic bag. ugh. they’re too soft, and slimy, and you can feel it through the plastic. Zhelan better love these, because you sure as fuck don’t. you drop one on the ground. the worker goes to pick it up but the cart eats it before they can. the worker mumbles something about checking to see if the carts’ve been fed

(story continues under the cut)

ok thats it for produce. you got lucky this time; you weren’t expecting them to have tangerines, with how irritating the rinds seem to be to non-humans. god you’ve missed tangerines. uhhhh, you don’t need anything from the deli, you don’t think? so now meat.

before you left your home colony you were terrified of seeing what other meat existed away from your human-only settlement. you were also afraid of lobsters, and childishly imagined everything looking like more and more terrifying versions of your hated invertebrate. today you still hurry past the lobster tank and pick out the meats from the list, everything in neat, sterile plastic and styrofoam packaging. aside from a few obvious organs and limbs like a butcher’s shop (not a horror film), the cuts of meat all look kinda the same, except for variations in color. you pick out a pound of gjobfjak steak also, because you know Eideh-vib loves it, and because you know she can safely share with you, and it tastes ok, mostly.

and the most frustrating part; processed foods. now the trouble isn’t so much that the foods are processed, its that they’re packaged, and imported. and you only know so many languages to read so many packages. some things you recognize safe by sight; brand loyalty at its finest. cereal, tea, dounk, croutons, salsa, jedkehfur, bowod, doritos. it all goes into the cart. you take down a box of maybe-pasta. the nutrition facts repeat over and over covering the entire back panel, each repetition specific to the nutritional needs of a federally recognized trade partner. in tiny white script at the very bottom ‘no nutrition to humans’. disappointed, you put back the not-pasta. rice, you can eat rice, wait, nope nope nope those are dried garfanhoto ovaries no no no. garfanhotos look like lobsters, or like locusts and you can’t stand the idea of putting that in your body, even if Eideh-vib assures you they’re a safe source of protein. is that real rice? yes! rice! the cart growls at the weight, and you discreetly drop another uysdiv on the ground for it in apology.

ok, milk, eggs, ooh they have Afakiv eggs here, nice. but you still do want chicken eggs, do they have? yep, here we go. you really hope the cart’s gonna be nice about it. they’ve got cups of hodsii on sale. ehh, you drop a few into the cart. you don

shit

you forgot the bread. 

the cart refuses to go faster than standard, but goes along with your U-turn anyway. the bread was an aisle back ughhhhh. you refuse to go another day eating instant rise/bake bread. just because the crew can take it, doesn’t mean you can. potato bread is a must, gluten-free bread approximations for Zhelan, uhh, might as well get two baguettes while you’re here. three packs of bagels, fuck, those breads. you don’t know what to call them in English but they’re fucking great. tastes like bread, otherworldly texture. Eideh-vib made fun of you the first time you had them, but she can laugh all she wants (she has a cute laugh btw) because you will be enjoying calorie dense carbohydrates until you die. 

also since no one’s here to stop you you get a pack of cookies and candied eehguf. the cart rumbles at the smell and you let it eat one. that gets you some nice chirring. god thats too cute for something with so many legs.

the cashier asks why the packaging is torn. “I fed one to the cart,” you say, kinda embarrassed, “it also ate two uysdivi.” they smile at you, and assures you it happens a lot. the cart gets put back after the groceries are unloaded, and you give it another eehguf as a goodbye. you take a picture to show Eideh-vib; she’s probably already seen this kind of cart before, but even if she doesn’t think its cute, she’ll think you’re cute for thinking its cute. 

[ebenpink]

RHR: What the EAT-Lancet Paper Gets Wrong, with Diana Rodgers https://ift.tt/2U6Eiew

In this episode, we discuss:

What’s missing from the EAT-Lancet Diet

The relationship between meat and the environment

The right way to raise livestock

Where the misunderstanding around meat and the environment comes from

Protein and the EAT-Lancet diet

The impact agriculture has on the environment

The problem with lab-grown meat and a meat tax

Diana’s upcoming docuseries, Sacred Cow

Show notes:

“Why You Should Eat Meat: My Appearance on the Joe Rogan Experience,” by Chris Kresser

“20 Ways EAT Lancet’s Global Diet Is Wrongfully Vilifying Meat,” by Diana Rodgers

“Food in the Anthropocene: the EAT–Lancet Commission on Healthy Diets from Sustainable Food Systems”

“Why Eating Meat Is Good for You,” by Chris Kresser

“Should You EAT Lancet?” by Marty Kendall

“The EAT Lancet Diet is Nutritionally Deficient,” by Zoë Harcombe

“What Is Nutrient Density and Why Is It Important?” by Chris Kresser

Allan Savory’s TED Talk: “How to Fight Desertification and Reverse Climate Change”

“Sustainable Dish Episode 83: The Truth about Greenhouse Gas Emissions in Livestock Production with Frank Mitloehner,” by Diana Rodgers

“Sustainable Dish Episode 84: Meat as Scapegoat with Frédéric Leroy,” by Diana Rodgers

Sacred Cow, a film by Diana Rodgers

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Chris Kresser:  Diana, thanks so much for joining me again on the podcast.

Diana Rodgers:  Yeah. Thanks for having me.

Chris Kresser:  So, we have a lot to talk about.

Diana Rodgers:  Yeah.

Chris Kresser:  This is an annual event, where there’s some big news story that comes out or study that’s published that demonizes meat and animal foods and purports to be the final nail in the coffin for anybody who's eating animal products. In fact, as you know, I just went on the Joe Rogan show, my third appearance there, to debate Dr. Joel Kahn about the merits of animal foods in the diet and eating a vegan diet. And I spent a lot of hours preparing for that and wrote a lot of articles. And the debate itself was almost four hours long, and admittedly I was a little tired out after that experience. And I just couldn't muster the energy and strength to write a rebuttal to the EAT-Lancet paper that was published. But you did, and several other people did.

And so I’d love to dive in and talk about that, as well as just stepping back a little bit and discussing some of the environmental impacts or the purported environmental impact of eating meat and what's wrong with the traditional narrative there. Because I didn't get to talk much on the Joe Rogan show about that. And then some of the difficulties of addressing this, and how I know you’ve been working on a film to try to get this message out that we’ve talked about. So why don't we just start first with the EAT-Lancet paper, since this is what's really making the rounds now and bringing this to the forefront of everybody's attention.

What’s Missing from the EAT-Lancet Diet

Diana Rodgers:  Yeah, definitely. So there’s, they were really attacking red meat on a nutritional and environmental angle. So, I know your arguments on the Joe Rogan podcast were purely nutritional. I think that the main narratives are always nutrition, environment, and ethics. And ethics were kept out of the EAT-Lancet. Very long paper that took me quite a long time to read. But there's definitely a lot of misinformation in there about meat.

I mean, they’re using observational studies to basically tell us that we cannot have any processed meats at all, lumping them all together, and that we can only eat less than half an ounce of red meat per day. We can only have less than one ounce of chicken per day. But yet we can have eight teaspoons of sugar per day.

Chris Kresser:  Yeah, and plenty of corn and rice and wheat. Let's talk a little bit … I think most of my listeners are pretty familiar with the nutritional arguments. I and others have written a lot about that, and most recently my … in preparation for the Rogan show, I published a whole cornerstone page with everything you need to debunk the nutritional arguments. So, that's at ChrisKresser.com/rogan, if you want to look it up.

But I just want to briefly talk about the nutrient density of this EAT-Lancet diet. Because if you just look at it from that single perspective, nutritionally you’ll see very quickly that it falls short. And our body needs micronutrients to function properly. And if a proposed diet doesn't offer those micronutrients in sufficient quantities, I think we can safely say it's not a good diet for humans to follow.

And I don’t want to spend a ton of time on this, so I’m just going to go through this really briefly, and then I want to switch over to talking more about some of the environmental issues. Because that's, I know, an area where you have a lot of expertise. And I really love what you have to say there. So, Zoë Harcombe did an analysis, and I think you had mentioned, Diana, that Marty Kendall did too. So we can talk about that. But Zoë's analysis, it’s not publicly accessible. You have to be a subscriber to see it. But I can share this part of it. She analyzed the EAT-Lancet diet using food tables and found that it was well below the RDA for several nutrients: B12, retinol, vitamin D, vitamin K2, which wasn’t even studied separately, but 71 percent of the K in the diet came from broccoli.

So we know that there's probably very little K2 in the diet. Sodium, potassium, calcium, and iron. So that's a lot of the essential nutrients that we need, and in some cases it was providing less than 20 percent of the RDA of those nutrients. So, to me, that's pretty much case closed on that basis alone. And then we can look at all the other problems that observational studies on red meat and all of that entail. And I just think it’s … there’s really nothing to be alarmed about. This study doesn't add any new evidence that meat and animal products are harmful.

Diana Rodgers:  Not at all. And another thing she didn’t mention in her paper or her review is the conversion rate of some of the vitamins, like beta-carotene to vitamin A, and almost half the population can’t make that conversion easily. And so even though on paper it my show that the vitamin A was adequate, actually not.

Despite what the EAT-Lancet paper says, meat is still a healthy addition to your diet. Check out this episode of RHR for my discussion with Diana Rodgers about what a real healthy diet looks like. #nutrition #chriskresser #wellness 

Chris Kresser:  It’s the same with all of these other nutrients. I actually wrote an article. I addressed this in my article on nutrient density you can find at the ChrisKresser.com/Rogan link. Iron, 94 percent of the iron in the EAT-Lancet diet is from plant-based forms of iron. And we know that heme iron that you get from animal products orders a magnitude better absorbed than most plant forms of iron. And the same with calcium, that is better absorbed from, in most cases, from animal products. And virtually every other nutrient, zinc, long-chain omega-3 fats, only found in animal products. So it's really, yeah, that conversion and bioavailability piece is almost never addressed in these kinds of studies.

Diana Rodgers:  Right, and you also write a lot about B12 and how these plant-based B12 analogues actually increase your need for a real B12.

Chris Kresser:  Exactly. Yeah, so, really nothing to see here from a nutritional perspective. But part of why it's making such a big splash is in addition to the highly coordinated launch campaign that is driven by celebrity, very wealthy celebrity type of people who are behind this, is the argument that not only should we avoid red meat and animal products for these nutritional reasons, but they're destroying the planet. So let’s really dive into that and unpack that from the perspective of the paper. I think you wrote an article, something like 20 reasons or 20 points against this. So we don't have to go through all of those, but let’s cover the highlights.

The Relationship between Meat and the Environment

Diana Rodgers:  Yeah, well, I think the number one thing that people need to understand is that we can’t just assume that if we’re not raising animals that it will automatically free up land for more crops. So, agricultural land isn't interchangeable. Most of the agricultural land on the globe is not suited for cropping due to water availability. It’s too rocky, it’s too steep.

So, I think a lot of people, especially that haven’t traveled much, look around and just see the nice flat land and just assume that everywhere in the world is like that. I mean, picture Iceland, Norway, picture many parts of Africa, Mongolia. I mean, there’s just so many places that really will only support grazing animals and not wheat and corn and soy production. And so that’s a huge thing that we need to consider, and if we are to not graze animals on that land, not only will we lose that for food production, but the land will also desertify. Because we just don’t have those wild herds and the numbers that we used to any longer.

And ruminants are actually incredibly beneficial. Their impact on the land helps increase water holding capacity; their grazing actually stimulates new growth in a good way. So you can’t just have these fenced-off acres with nothing on it. You actually need grazing animals as part of healthy grassland ecosystems.

Chris Kresser:  Yeah, that's a point that is really misunderstood. I see a little bit more discussion about it certainly, at least in our realm. But I’m having kind of a hard time thinking of a mainstream article that really did justice to that point. Do you know of any?

Diana Rodgers:  Well, I've written a few blog posts on it and have talked a lot about it. I think Allan Savory does a really good job.

Chris Kresser:  Certainly.

Diana Rodgers:  Yeah, in his Savory Institute work that they've done and also his TED talk. But I think that's definitely the number one point that people need to understand. And it's funny because I am working on a book as well on this topic, and my publisher actually has published a ton of vegan books, and he was skeptical. And once he read my environmental argument and specifically wrapped his head around this very topic, I won him over.

Chris Kresser:  That’s amazing.

Diana Rodgers:  Yeah, people just, because we’re so divorced from nature, you and I have talked about this before just off-line, but that’s the number one problem is that people just have no idea how food is produced and what makes a healthy ecosystem. And a lot of the vegans will, the ones who do accept that not all land can be cropped, just want it turned over to be rewilded.

So let’s just crop everything we can possibly crop and then we’ll just rewild all the pastureland with deer or something cute. But then what are we going to do because we’ve eliminated all the predators? I mean even in the town I live in outside of Boston, we have a massive deer problem. And nobody wants hunting because they don’t want to see dead animals on their beautiful hikes around the conservation land here in my town. And if we eliminate the predators, we need to be responsible for how these populations of wild animals are managed. And so the other option, if we’re not going to hunt them, I suppose would be to bring back wolves. I don’t know how.

Chris Kresser:  I don't think that would go over well.

Diana Rodgers:  I don’t know how my waiting for the bus in my town with wolves swirling around at dawn will go over. So it quickly backs them into a very uncomfortable corner there.

Chris Kresser:  I think another thing that you point out that people don’t realize is that 90 percent of what cattle eat is, at least in a natural grazing state, not in a CAFO type of arrangement, is forage and plant leftovers that humans can’t eat.

Diana Rodgers:  Right, exactly. And even in, I mean, I’m not an advocate for feedlot beef, but I think one thing people don’t understand about even cattle that are raised on feedlots, or that are finished on feedlots rather, is that they’re not raised on feedlots.

Chris Kresser:  Right.

Diana Rodgers:  So 85 percent of the beef cattle in the US are actually grazing on land that can't be cropped. And even if they do end up on a feedlot, 90 percent of their total intake is non-edible food to humans. And so they're eating, for example, soybean cakes. But that’s left over from the soybean oil industry.

Chris Kresser:  Right.

Diana Rodgers:  They’re eating large amounts of distiller’s grains, lots of foods that would normally emit greenhouse gases and decompose anyway. Ranchers are also grazing cattle on spent wheat and cornfields. So you know that corn would just decompose and emit greenhouse gases either way. So why not run it through a ruminant gut and make protein out of it?

Chris Kresser:  And fertilizer, as you pointed out.

Diana Rodgers:  Exactly, exactly.

Chris Kresser:  Yeah. I mean, it’s so much more nuanced. This is a theme that will probably come up in our conversation a lot is, and I know Robb, Robb and I commiserate about it, and I know you do as well with him. But the vegan narrative is so simple in a lot of ways and it plays into a lot of assumptions, even if they’re wrong, that you don’t really have to explain it to people. It just, people have heard things over and over again. “Meat is bad for the environment, it’s bad for us, therefore eliminate meat from your diet and the food system, and everyone will be healthier.” That’s so easy to understand.

But as Robb has pointed out many times, the counterargument is nuanced and complex. And is not quite as simple to understand and requires that you actually pay attention to some of these finer points. And I think that is one of the challenges that we face in this struggle. But it’s not incomprehensible. I mean, if you just get a few of the simple points like this, it starts to become a lot easier to understand.

Diana Rodgers:  Definitely.  And now my point was … oh, I was going to say too that there's a lot, 50 percent of the carcass of a cow is not eaten but used for other industry uses. So we've got leather, we've got insulin, we’ve got footballs, we’ve got lots of medical applications, fertilizer. So eliminating all animals from our food system, there's a great study I think I sent you this morning that was published in PNAS about what would happen if we eliminated all animals from our food system.

So the greenhouse gas emissions would only decrease by about 2 1/2 percent. But our overall caloric intake would actually go way up, and our nutrient deficiencies would go up. So we already have a problem in our culture where we’re over-consuming calories and not getting enough nutrients. So we would just be making the problem worse for about a 2 percent emission reduction.

The Right Way to Raise Livestock

Chris Kresser:  And those numbers don’t assume any improvement in how cattle are managed, right?

Diana Rodgers:  Right. That was just typical cattle.

Chris Kresser:  Right. So if we actually made improvements in how cattle are managed, do you think there could be a net sequestration of carbon?

Diana Rodgers:  Oh, definitely. So there's been some research coming out of Michigan State showing the difference between continuous grazing and what they term “adaptive multi-paddock grazing,” which is similar to Allan Savory's method, so basically when you intensively graze an area and then move the cattle off quickly.

So, this is how, for example, herds in Africa naturally move because of predator pressure, so it's much worse for the land to have, let's say if you have a 10-acre field and have 100 cattle on that land for the whole summer, as opposed to tightly bunching and moving them frequently and allowing that land to rest. Because that's when carbon gets sequestered, in the regrowth phase of the grass. And so the grass is going through photosynthesis, it’s pulling down carbon and actually exuding carbon sugars to bacteria and to fungal networks that are then passing that grass nutrient. So the fungus is actually mining rocks and getting the minerals from that and feeding it to the grass, and that's how carbon is sequestered. And that process is most effective and actually is a net carbon gain when cattle are managed in this way.

So that's why I like to say “it's not the cow, it’s the how,” because there's just many different ways of raising cattle. Just like there are many different ways of growing broccoli. We can do it in a monocrop system, or we can do it in a more rotational system where we’re integrating it with other crops. And what we need is less monocrops because that's just not how healthy ecosystems work, and farmland is not natural. Like, when you fly over the United States, all those squares you’re looking down at, that's not nature, that's man doing that.

Chris Kresser:  Yeah. I know from your article, you did also a podcast with Frank Mitloehner—is that how you pronounce it? We’ll include a link to that in the show notes because I think people should listen to that. He’s an expert in greenhouse gas emissions and animal agriculture. And you guys talk a lot about what’s really going on there and why some of the typical numbers that are thrown around are not accurate. And if anyone’s interested in a deeper dive, I’d definitely recommend listening to that.

So, greenhouse gas from beef cattle represents, just as it's currently done with no improvements, like you just mentioned, is 2 percent of emissions. And by contrast, transportation is 27 percent. So, yet when I go to WeWork, which I have an office at—

Diana Rodgers:  Oh, gosh.

Chris Kresser:  You probably know this.

Diana Rodgers:  Oh, no.

Chris Kresser:  But some of my listeners might not know that WeWork is a company that has committed to this idea that eating a vegetarian diet will save the planet. And they, I think, so, I was there two days ago on Monday, and they have meatless Monday at WeWork, where they served veggie burgers in the main lounge. And then they print these cards that they post around there, around the office, that say, “If everyone was just a vegetarian for,” I can't remember, “one or two days a week, we would save 450 million pounds of carbon dioxide emissions.” And again, this goes back to the simplicity thing.

Most people get in the elevator, they see that and they're like, “Oh, wow, okay. I guess I should become a vegetarian.” So how does this continue? I mean, it’s not surprising that there’s a disconnect between actual science and what we see in the media. We know that from the nutrition world and everything else. But how do you think this got started? Was there a lot of misunderstanding initially which led to these numbers and then later science kind of brought more clarity? Or what do you think? How have we gotten here?

Diana Rodgers:  Well, I actually just released an amazing podcast on Tuesday of this week, so maybe you could link to that one too, with the guy from Brussels, Frédéric Leroy.

Chris Kresser:  I read some of his papers. You sent them to me awhile back before the Rogan debate.

Where the Misunderstanding around Meat and the Environment Comes From

Diana Rodgers:  Oh, he’s so fantastic. Yeah, so, his opinion is that meat is unfairly absorbing a lot of our worries about our health, our state of our health and the environment, because meat is so powerful and can absorb it. But it's unfairly the scapegoat for our stressors. So, everyone just, it's much easier for us to blame meat than it is to perhaps look at our transportation industry and be uncomfortable about that. I mean, the main funder of that EAT-Lancet paper has a private jet and transportation was never mentioned in the EAT-Lancet.

Chris Kresser:  I don’t know if this is accurate, but I read something about how just the jet trips for the reporter would have a bigger impact on the environment than the diet changes that they were talking about.

Diana Rodgers:  Exactly, exactly. And so, in Livestock’s Long Shadow, that's when a lot of this all started. The mass information about the emissions with cattle. And unfortunately, when they did that study, what they did was they looked at all the emissions, the full lifecycle of ruminant animals. They looked at production of the feed, all the transportation, all the emissions, everything. And when they compared that to transportation, they only looked at tailpipe exhaust. So they didn't even factor in transportation, for example, in the transportation numbers.

And so when you look at the global numbers at emissions of cattle versus transportation, you're looking at apples to oranges there. So you're looking at the full lifecycle of a beef animal compared to just the tailpipe emissions from transportation. So that's not fair. And also in other countries, the percentage is a little bit higher. But that's in places where maybe transportation plays a lesser role where there are less cars per cow. And so, their relative emissions may be higher. But that's again not taking into account the fact that cattle can actually sequester carbon and many, many other factors. And so the authors of Livestock’s Long Shadow did reduce their numbers, I think, from 18 to 14 percent and did admit that their numbers were still off because of the transportation. There are no global lifecycle papers on transportation.

But yet that 18 percent, I’ve heard even 50 percent. I don't even know where that number comes from, but that, the 50 percent is the number that's often cited by this group called Green Mondays and they are the ones that have worked with Berkeley to make all of the government meetings meatless on Mondays. That organization, I’ve looked into, and they’re actually funded by an organization out of Singapore that produces plant-based pork.

Chris Kresser:  Right.

Diana Rodgers:  And so there’s a lot, the environment and ethics and even the nutrition argument is very convenient for large food companies to profit, because processing means profit.

Chris Kresser:  Well, let’s talk a little bit about that, and since we’re on the topic, I do want to come back to some of the other ways that an animal-based food system or food system that includes animals can actually benefit biodiversity and things like that. So yeah, follow the money. We talk about that a lot on this show. I’m not a conspiracy theorist, but on the other hand, you'd be very naïve and misguided to assume that money doesn't play a big role in setting food policy and coming up with these laws. It always has.

Protein and the EAT-Lancet Diet

And it probably always will. And if you look at the EAT-Lancet diet, I think this is from Marty Kendall's analysis, you’ll find that 32 percent of calories come from rice, wheat, and corn, and 14 percent come from unsaturated oils. So these are highly processed foods.

Diana Rodgers:  Right.

Chris Kresser:  We’re not talking about corn on the cob.

Diana Rodgers:  Or wheat berries.

Chris Kresser:  Wheat berries. Or even, like, in some cases, just the whole-grain rice. We’re talking about highly processed corn and wheat and rice derivatives, and then highly processed industrial seed oils that comprise almost 50 percent of calories. And who does that benefit? This study was sponsored by a basically hit list A-team of—

Diana Rodgers:  Processed food companies.

Chris Kresser:  Global processed food companies—DuPont, PepsiCo, Dannon, Nestlé, Cargill, Kellogg's. So, like, food and agricultural companies that make their money by selling processed and refined foods. And so that's very revealing.

And then the other thing that Marty Kendall pointed out, which is directly tied to this, is that this diet, when you work out the macronutrient ratios, it ends up being low in protein and moderate in fat and carbohydrates. And there are really no foods in nature that fit that profile, or very few. You have breast milk and acorns, I think, are the two that he pointed out. And this is a recipe for, that macronutrient mix of low protein and then higher fat and carbohydrate is a recipe for highly palatable and rewarding food. So if you look at the foods that are on this list that fit that profile, there are things like chocolate milk, potato chips, French toast, waffles, ice cream, pancakes.

Diana Rodgers:  Kit-Kat.

Chris Kresser:  Yeah, biscuits, Kit-Kat, Twix, chocolate chip cookies, pie crust. I mean, are you kidding me? This is the macronutrient profile that we should be following? Oh, who does not benefit? All of the companies that make these processed foods. So it's really revealing when you look at it from that perspective.

Diana Rodgers:  I know. And I think it's really irresponsible to promote a diet that's about 10 percent in protein when we have, I mean, just in America, more than 50 percent of Americans are metabolically broken and really benefit from much higher protein levels.

Chris Kresser:  Increasing their protein. And we know that of all the macronutrients, protein is the one that has the biggest impact on satiety.

Diana Rodgers:  Exactly.

Chris Kresser:  Which it will reduce the likelihood that people overeat, which many Americans are doing.

Diana Rodgers:  Yeah.

Chris Kresser:  And any clinician or dietitian like yourself who's worked with people knows if they're struggling with weight, putting them on a higher-protein diet is probably the most important thing you can do. And there's even some, if you look at the studies on low-carb diets, I think probably one of the reasons, if not one of the main reasons, that they’re so effective is that they’re higher in protein.

Diana Rodgers:  Yeah, and I have to say too, so I actually have recently been following Marty Kendall's NutrientOptimiser diet personally, just as an experiment to try to maximize my micronutrients. And I eat really well. I live on a farm. I have a lot of education in nutrient density. I have access to all these foods. It's really hard to get all your micronutrients in the day. But it's really easy to feel satiated when you have a high percentage of animal protein in your diet. So whether that's oysters, which I know I can beat his leaderboard if I just eat a ton of oysters in one day.

Chris Kresser:  That’s right. That’s right.

Diana Rodgers:  But liver, and then just regular old animal protein. Filling the rest of your diet with colorful vegetables is the way to go. But it still, I still was low, actually, believe it or not, in iron, even with all the protein I’ve been consuming on this diet.

Chris Kresser:  Yeah, I’m always talking to my patients about a lot of, especially if they’re favoring like chicken and fish, and not eating shellfish or organ meats, is that some muscle meats are not that high in iron. So it’s organ meats and shellfish that are really the powerhouses from that perspective.

And this brings up another question about bioavailability, right? Because we’ve both talked about this a lot. It's not at all the case that protein from plant sources like legumes is going to be absorbed in the same way that protein is absorbed from animal foods like meat and eggs and fish and dairy products. There is something called the … there are various scoring systems that are used in the scientific literature to assess the bioavailability of protein. And no matter what scoring system you use, animal proteins come out ahead of plant proteins, and usually by a very large margin.

Diana Rodgers:  And, I mean, trying to get your protein from beans and rice, if you’re trying to do the combining in order to get the right profile of amino acids, you would, so I did the calculations. So in order to get the right amount, the same amount of protein you would get from a four-ounce steak, which is 181 calories, you’d need to eat 12 ounces of beans and a cup of rice. So that’s 638 calories and 122 grams of carbs. And you're still not getting the same beautiful profile of amino acids that you can get from this 181-calorie piece of steak.

Chris Kresser:  Right, which goes back to Marty Kendall's point where you’re basically, if you eat a low-protein diet, it’s going to be a much higher-calorie diet in most cases.

Diana Rodgers:  Yeah, and higher carb and just setting people down to the road towards metabolic disorder.

The Impact Agriculture Has on the Environment

Chris Kresser:  Yeah. So let’s go back now. I want to finish up talking about the impact of animals in the food system. Because I think there's still some other points that are worth going into here that a lot of people may not be familiar with. So one is, we talked about how not all land is suitable for grazing. But let’s talk about maybe the flipside of that is what happens when you use a lot of land for crops like corn and rice and soy and wheat?

Diana Rodgers:  Right, I mean a lot of, and most of this is not organically grown and using animals to graze in all of that. So the large majority of our monocrops are heavily sprayed with chemicals that leave a residue on the leaves that we’re ingesting. And also completely sterilize the soil and create runoff that then ends up in the Mississippi River and creating massive dead zones in the Gulf of Mexico.

So there are just so many problems with monocropping the way we’re doing it today. We have created an insect apocalypse. And so we’ve lost pollinators. We’re killing fish, which in turn then kills the animals that need to be eating the fish. And so we’re annihilating biodiversity both above and below ground. And so one teaspoon of soil has more microbes in it than all of the humans on earth. And when we spray it with things like Roundup, we’re completely killing all of that. And so we've destroyed just so much of our soil and so much of it is also just blowing away and running off.

So, I mean, the Dust Bowl was a good example of that, and we’re headed for another one right now. So according to the United Nations, we have about 60 harvests left, at the rate we’re going.

Chris Kresser:  This is alarming. This is like an emergency thing on the level that's part of climate change, of course, but also on the same level as potential for water shortages. People, I don't think, are … I mean, some people are aware of it, of course, but we’re talking about some very, very serious implications here.

Diana Rodgers:  And when the soil is compacted and we’re constantly just stripping away the biodiversity of the soil, when rain comes, it just washes all the topsoil away into rivers, and that's how we get these really cloudy rivers. Because rivers in general should be clear. And in a system where we have healthy ruminants managed in a proper way, the soil acts like a sponge and can actually hold a lot more water from rain, instead of allowing it to just wash off and take the topsoil with it. My husband is so into topsoil that even we have two border collies, and they sleep in our mudroom at night. And they come in, they’re black and white, but their white parts are really dirty-looking at the end of the day.

Chris Kresser:  Brown.

Diana Rodgers:  And in the morning they’re totally white and they leave massive amounts of soil on the ground. And I literally have to sweep it up and put it in the field because that’s how into topsoil he is.

Chris Kresser:  Well, yeah, and how precious it is too.

Diana Rodgers:  Exactly, exactly. And just nobody is looking at our farmland as a biological system. It’s been reduced to this reductionist chemical, let’s produce as many calories as possible, which is ruining our health and our land.

Chris Kresser:  Let’s talk a little bit also about how ruminants can improve biodiversity. I mean, we touched on that just briefly, but water is a big issue, and I know that cattle can improve water holding capacity of the land. And that has a whole bunch of downstream effects.

Diana Rodgers:  Yeah. And also too, even the worst-managed cattle on overgrazed grass is still a better system than monocrop grain. So you still, I mean, and even in a better system, you've got butterflies, you've got birds, you've got all kinds of life above ground and below ground that are teeming.

The whole goal, what people don't realize, is that we want as much life as possible. And our current system is actually making sure that we’re annihilating as much life as possible. So if we look at the extinction process that's been happening over the last 50 years, again, it's something completely alarming. I know Silent Spring came out and people were all up in arms. But the solution is not a vegetarian solution. So Diet for a Small Planet is outdated information, and what we need is more better cattle, not no cattle.

Chris Kresser:  It’s not the cow, it’s the how.

Diana Rodgers:  Exactly. And not only that too, another thing I brought up is what these rich white people in Sweden were not paying attention to is that livestock are really important to the majority of people living in poverty in the world in places where, what are you going to do in Kenya where it’s super arid and the Maasai have been herding cattle forever and ever? And we’re going to tell them that they need to go grow soybeans? With what seeds? Are they going to have to go buy them from Monsanto? Where are they going to get the water to irrigate? Where are they going to get the fertilizer if they can’t have animals? So I think it’s bordering on racist to have a grain-heavy diet as a global policy for the entire world.

Chris Kresser:  But we can just make more Cheetos.

Diana Rodgers:  Exactly, exactly.

Chris Kresser:  That’s probably the plan, part of the plan here. It’s really—

Diana Rodgers:  Well, to get them reliant on our aid. I mean, we’re already ruining Haiti with our rice that we’re giving to them. We’ve ruined their local economies, we’ve ruined their health. Now rice is a much higher percentage of their diet. Very few Haitians are actually growing their own food anymore. And it’s a really great way that we can control governments. I mean, that’s a whole other thing that we don’t have to get too much into. But it really makes me mad, the idea that we’re taking away people’s innate ability to be self-reliant.

Chris Kresser:  Not to mention the very clearly documented health impacts that are observed when traditional peoples adopt the Western food system.

Diana Rodgers:  Exactly, exactly. And I have an image on my post. So, the Canadian government decided that they knew best, advising a local Inuit population that they should be eating a Mediterranean diet. Which I think is just, I mean, this one image of this igloo showing all of their nutrient-dense traditional foods in the red category and bananas and oranges and orange juice in the green category. I mean that just sums up exactly how wrong we’ve gotten our dietary advice just in this one image.

Chris Kresser:  Absolutely. And if those poor kids start following that diet, they’re going to become morbidly obese.

Diana Rodgers:  Yeah.

Chris Kresser:  And this is seen. It’s been documented in so many different areas where traditional populations start to follow the government-sponsored diet, including Native Americans in the US.

Diana Rodgers:  Exactly.

Chris Kresser:  So, like the Pima, for example.

The Problem with Lab-Grown Meat and Meat Tax

Chris Kresser: So let's talk about some of the other proposals that are floating around that are based on this idea that meat is bad for us nutritionally and bad for the environment, which as I hope we’ve shown in this podcast, is misguided and others. But why not just make meat in a lab? Let’s say you accept that meat, animal protein is more bioavailable and so we do need meat, which some people seem to have accepted. But then why not just grow it in a lab and—

Diana Rodgers:  Reduce suffering.

Chris Kresser:  Yeah, reduce suffering and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. All of that. Yeah. And of course, make billions of dollars from the companies that are successful at doing that.

Diana Rodgers:  Yeah, and I think another thing.

Chris Kresser:  Nothing wrong with that per say, but yeah. There’s some financial motivation there perhaps.

Diana Rodgers:  Yeah. I’m so glad I don’t live where you live. I was actually just out there a couple days ago, and I’m, like, so happy that I’m not living there. Because that’s, like, the hotbed of all of this.

Chris Kresser:  Sure. You just have to be a hermit like me and live up on my hilltop.

Diana Rodgers:  And just go to WeWork and get mad at WeWork in the halls and elevators.

Chris Kresser:  Yep.

Diana Rodgers:  So, I mean, it’s really interesting, the lab meat thing, because I had a woman on my podcast about a year and a half ago who was a big vegan animal rights person telling me how great lab meat was. And I asked her if she knew how it was made, and she had no idea. But she was like, she’s like a really big deal animal rights activist and very vocal about how lab meat is a good solution. And interestingly, most vegans actually won't even accept it because you're using fetal bovine serum in order to make it, which is not “vegan” anyway.

But what folks aren’t realizing, number one, is that it relies on this horrible monocrop system, which is ruining our environment and a completely inefficient way of producing food on so many levels. But then the lifestyle assessments I've read are a lot based on projections because they haven't built the bioreactors yet. So they're making a lot of assumptions, but even the assumptions are so bad that the energy required in order to transform what they're using right now as the substrate.

So corn and soy, sometimes wheat, into protein, the amount of energy required for that is enormous. And when we have animals that can actually just do this on their own without having to be plugged into an outlet is really amazing. Plus, what they're not taking into consideration is the amount of antibiotics that they’ll need to prevent bacterial overgrowth because they’re growing these at just the perfect temperature for meat to grow. But of course that's also the perfect temperature for bacteria to grow as well.

Chris Kresser:  Everything else.

Diana Rodgers:  Cancerous cells, all these things. They had not figured out how to striate the meat with fats. There's a lot of input that we’re running out of that you need in order, there’s a lot of minerals that are being mined in war-torn countries that, actually the US military is, like, guarding these mines in order to get those raw materials in order to pump it into these cellular meat company facilities. So the whole system is energetically ridiculous, and it's not even causing less harm.

So that's my big argument, too, is that when you look at how many lives are lost from the loss of biodiversity, of taking a native ecosystem, plowing it up to make it into a cornfield, and then spraying it to make sure that nothing other than corn, not even mice or anything can grow there. The amount of life lost for that system versus one animal, one large ruminant animal. A cow can provide almost 500 pounds of meat. I just don't think the trade-offs are worth it at all from an ethical or environmental perspective.

Chris Kresser:  Yeah, another situation where the devil is in the details, right?

Diana Rodgers:  Yeah.

Chris Kresser:  Because on the fact of it, lab meat sounds, “Hey, why not?” Like, if we can do that and we can make it taste the same … But clearly including that woman that you interviewed on your podcast, that was kind of the level that she was approaching it on, without actually looking into the details. It sounds pretty good on the surface, so why not advocate it. But then when you look into it, you find it’s a little more complicated.

Diana Rodgers:  Yeah. I’ve been really loving The Wizard and the Prophet, Robb sent that over to me.

Chris Kresser:  I read that just recently.

Diana Rodgers:  Yeah, I think he told me.

Chris Kresser:  I sent it to Robb.

Diana Rodgers:  Yes, exactly, so I’m thanking you. I’m thanking you for the chain because I have my hands on it. And I’ve been not only reading the book, but then when I’m in my car or at the gym, I’m listening to it. So it’s really fantastic, and I think that that is at the crux of what we’re dealing with right now. Do we look at this, what some would call Luddite perspective of nature through Hoyt, or … I’m sorry. What was his name? Now I’m forgetting.

Chris Kresser:  Vogt.

Diana Rodgers:  Voight. Vogt.

Chris Kresser:  Vogt. Yeah, you want to say Voight because it’s usually an i in there, but it’s V-o-g-t, so it’s Vogt, yeah.

Diana Rodgers:  Or do we look at this more wizard tech solution? And that’s just where most people are right now.

Chris Kresser:  Yeah, that’s the dominant cultural paradigm is we’ve gone into wizardry, for sure.

Diana Rodgers:  Yeah, yes.

Chris Kresser:  No question about that. Back when Silent Spring was written, I think there was more, Vogt was more in vogue. There was a little bit more concern about the wizardry and the impact it would have. And now we are 100 percent in wizardry.

Diana Rodgers:  Yeah. And the problem is, everyone’s just sort of hoping that more rabbits will be pulled out of the hat. But we don't know for sure.

Chris Kresser:  Yeah, yeah. I highly recommend this book. This is Charles Mann, who wrote 1491 and 1493, which, if anyone has read those books about … it totally changed our view on how the New World was discovered and colonized and what was here when those people arrived. Which is much different than what was previously believed. He’s a fantastic writer and this is I think, one of the most compelling views on where we are as a society now and what our future might hold. So highly recommend it.

Getting back to the topic, I mean, that's obviously germane and relevant here, but I want to talk about a few other proposals that are being floated around here. Which are again, if you accept what we've talked about here and in other podcasts, are off base. But the meat tax. There’s been a lot of enthusiasm for this because there’s some research that, beverage tax, soda taxes have been effective in terms of reducing consumption. So this is now something that’s being seriously proposed in the EAT-Lancet. I think that’s part of the agenda of the EAT-Lancet paper and authors and reporters.

Diana Rodgers:  Yeah, and actually they released another paper just on Sunday night of this week that goes even more strongly into the meat tax. I think the goal is to make it basically impossible to eat meat moving forward. And effectively, I’ve looked at the models. There was a good paper that looked at what would happen, just kind of projected out, what might happen in this situation. And, actually, red meat consumption wouldn’t go down at all.

And it basically is just a poor tax is what this is. And when you look at, I actually took a picture. I had to run into a typical grocery store and pick something up one time, and I noticed the shopping cart of the person in front of me. And it was soda and donuts and whoopie pies and all stuff like that. But her deli meat and her bacon were actually the most nutrient-dense things in her cart.

Chris Kresser:  Yeah, so that would be encouraging even less healthy choices in people who are of limited economic means. And you mentioned this in the beginning about the private jet people who are founding this study, and you brought it up in your article. There really is a classist kind of thing that’s happening here that’s not part of the popular narrative. Because if we really wanted to reduce carbon footprint, you pointed out a meta-analysis that suggested that doing things like avoiding one round-trip transatlantic flight, more of a car-free lifestyle, having one less child in an industrialized nation would have by far bigger impact than reducing your consumption of beef.

Diana Rodgers:  Yeah. Or changing your diet in any way.

Chris Kresser:  And who’s doing a lot of round-trip transatlantic flying? People who are at a certain socioeconomic level. And so, yeah, a lot of these proposals are like, “Let me continue to live my carbon-emitting lifestyle, and then let’s introduce changes that won’t effect that but actually will impact people who are poor and in a really adverse way without really me having to change anything as a privileged person.”

Diana Rodgers:  Right, and, I mean, in order to do vegan right, you kind of do need to be a celebrity or an uber-rich person that, if there is a way to do vegan, right? But, I mean, to … there’s a lot of food prep involved, there’s a lot of time involved. There’s a lot of time spent eating.

Chris Kresser:  Yeah, chewing.

Diana Rodgers:  Chewing, right? Your typical person that maybe gets two 15-minute breaks a day is not going to be able to chew the food or have a staff that can make the cashew cream to make all the—

Chris Kresser:  Or buy the cashew cream for $9.49 for a half pint or whatever it is.

Diana’s Upcoming Docuseries, Sacred Cow

Diana Rodgers:  Right, right. I mean, this film project I’m working on, we’ve done a lot of filming in Indiana, rural Indiana. And I see what these folks have as options for stores on limited budgets and what they’re buying. And honestly, processed food, processed meats like sausages that are pre-cooked are a lot easier for them to eat and are honestly the most nutrient-dense thing that they're eating. Because they’re not doing a whole lot of scratch cooking. They don’t have a lot of time or energy at the end of the day. So when life is really hard and you’re working really hard, you don’t have the privilege to push away something nutrient-dense like meat.

Chris Kresser:  Absolutely. So let’s talk a little bit about the film. I know it's gone through a lot of iterations and there’s been some wins and some challenges. So tell me, let's start with a little bit of the idea and the inspiration behind it. Why we both feel that this is important to get out there and then maybe a little update where you’re at, what you’re needing, what would be helpful. We have a lot of folks who are listening, who I know want to be a part of this movement in some way.

And I’m often asked by people who are not necessarily in the health field, people who are not nutritionists or Functional Medicine practitioners or anything, like, “How can I help? How can I get involved? How can I use my existing skills or connections or resources to move this forward?” So let's imagine what kind of help we need or could be useful to move this forward, and who knows who’s out there listening.

Diana Rodgers:  Yeah. So, I was halfway through writing a book on this subject on the nutritional, environmental, and ethical case for meat when yet another vegan film came out about a year and a half ago. And I was like, “If this guy can make a movie, I can make a movie.” And so that’s kind of how it all started. I did a crowd funder that was pretty successful, and we got rolling. At the time, the project was called Kale versus Cow. And we started filming some of these nutrition stories. We hooked up with a doctor who has some amazing clinical trials and is doing really good work in a pretty rural part of the Midwest, conveniently corn country. But there's also farmers who are plowing in their corn and turning it back to grass.

So there’s some really great stories happening there. And some of the feedback I got from the title Kale versus Cow was that, “This sounds like another vegan film,” or, “It sounds like I’m against kale,” which as you know, I’m not against kale. But I think folks maybe that don't know me as well just had these misperceptions, and the name was a little bit of a hang-up for them. So we went back to the drawing board a little bit and changed the title to Sacred Cow, which I think works really nicely, also because there’s a double meaning of sacred cow. Because the vilification of beef is just so embedded in our system.

Chris Kresser:  Yes.

Diana Rodgers:  And, I mean, even when I was going through my graduate program in dietetics, red meat is not okay. It's just not, even though in biochem it's totally fine if you just look at it from an objective scientific perspective. And the project has also transformed from a feature film into a docuseries because we felt that it’s a more digestible way, literally, to get this information across, and there's also more that we wanted to cover that we didn't feel would fit into the narrative of one film.

And so we were now looking at a multipart docuseries still addressing mostly the nutritional, environmental, and ethical aspects of the reason why we need animals in our food system. I'm also very interested in sort of the anthropology of how meat became such a polarizing topic today and how people identify their whole being around how much meat they consume in their diet. The flexitarian, vegan, whatever.

Chris Kresser:  Yep.

Diana Rodgers:  And I still am working on the book. So, as you know, Robb is the coauthor on the book project I��m working on, and he’s the co-executive producer on the film project. But the funding has been a little bit of a challenge. I don’t know if people really get how important this is, and I think it’s one of the reasons why the Unitarian church is not funded well. Because it's, like, trying to extract money out of atheists is a hard thing.

When people are super-passionately committed and religiously committed like vegans, where it’s, like, their religion, they’ll passionately fund things. But then when people are kind of cool with everything and they’re eating meat and they’re like, “Yeah, got my health under control now. That’s great. And if the vegans don’t want to eat meat, fine, that’s more for me.” That’s really kind of the attitude I’m running into a little bit.

Chris Kresser:  Yeah people are less identified with it, which is good, in their way.

Diana Rodgers:  It’s good.

Chris Kresser:  But not as good when you’re trying to raise money for a movie like this.

Diana Rodgers:  Right, yeah.

Chris Kresser:  And I think the other part of it is, I don’t know that people really perceive the threat fully yet. It’s like you just said, they’re like, “If someone wants to be vegan, fine. No skin off my back and it’s not going to hurt me. So there’s no pressing need to fund a film about this. Because who cares if someone’s a vegan.” Well, yeah, on an individual level, you might say that. Even though we could argue that you should care if someone chooses an approach that’s in many cases likely to make them nutrient deficient.

But, yes, each person, of course, has the right to choose their own approach. And I don’t go around trying to proselytize and convert vegans to eating animal foods unless they ask me what I think they should do if they come see me as a patient. But this isn't just about individual choice here. Because, as we know, we talked about the meat tax proposition, and this is going to affect food policy. It's already affected food policy in the US and around the world which then will affect schools. And what happens at schools, which influences our children and the choices that they make.

You know, my daughter is seven and a half, and she comes home with some really interesting things that she's heard from other kids and even teachers at school. And she doesn't go to a typical school, but this is, it’s everywhere. Yeah.

Diana Rodgers:  Exactly. And there’s a lot of schools now eliminating meat for health, and I think a lot of parents are kind feeling a little worried about meat consumption. And so maybe they're thinking, “Well, at least they’re getting a healthy meal at school.” And so that's concerning to me because for a lot of kids this is the most nutrient-dense meal of their day. And to blame it on meat is just wrong. And I kept telling folks, this is coming and meat tax is coming.

And I, for a while, was feeling like maybe I’m just nuts and I’m making all this up. I don’t know. But then of course, it is really coming. The EAT-Lancet paper is here. Meat tax is being discussed. We’ve got, LA now is trying to force restaurants and LAX to provide, to tell private businesses to provide vegan entrees. We’ve got Berkeley with Meatless Mondays now at all city meetings.

Chris Kresser:  WeWork.

Diana Rodgers:  Yeah, WeWork, exactly. There’s airlines now that are eliminating red meat. And so this is coming at us from our clinicians, our universities, we’re hearing this from the World Health Organization. We’re hearing this from business, from the media. Constant films, there's more coming out this year.

I think I just sent you another one that’s on its way out that I’m pretty concerned about. Because it actually has people with MD behind their name. And nobody is pushing back and people are just taking this really lightly. And so, yeah, anything that folks can do to help me get this off the ground, I’d want to come out and feature you, Chris. And I’ve got a lot of really great experts in both the sustainability and health space that very strongly feel that red meat is important to our food system.

Chris Kresser:  Yeah. And the reality is that a film or in a docuseries can make a huge impact than even a book.

Diana Rodgers:  That you can’t do with a book. I know.

Chris Kresser:  It doesn’t work. I mean, I’ve written a 400-plus page book with all the science that you need to, I think, get clear that animal food should be part of our diet in addition to plant foods. But how many people are going to read a 400-page book? Not that many. And there’s still something about film that makes it a very viral medium. It’s more accessible, a docuseries is an increasingly popular format, as you said.

It's easier to cover the wide range of topics that you need to hit on for this, and it's a format that has been used for vegan and other types of films or media. And it’s something that’s just really easy to share with. People are more likely to sit down at night and watch an episode of this than they are to read a book.

Diana Rodgers:  Yeah, exactly. And this is pretty dense material. But if I can just show people what a healthy ecosystem looks like and how cattle raised in the right way, what that looks like compared to a 2,000-acre field of soy being grown for lab meat, I think that those are really powerful visuals.

Chris Kresser:  Absolutely, absolutely. Yeah, I agree with that a hundred percent. So if someone is listening to this and the alarm has been raised in their mind, and they’re now aware of the real risk here to our families and communities, and they want to get involved in some way, what's the best way for them to do that?

Diana Rodgers:  So I have more information, and I’m taking donations on sustainabledish.com/film. And for any better meat companies or folks that want to get involved in a bigger way, folks can just message me directly through the site. And we’re working with a few better meat companies and other large donors and foundations. But we still need to, these are expensive, and there are some inexpensive ways of making docuseries.

But in order for us to really get on the mainstream media channels like Netflix, we have to do something that's beautiful and has a high production value and isn't a $50,000 handheld camera project. And so, while the budget isn’t exorbitant, it’s certainly higher than some of the other more budget docuseries that have been coming out. And that's largely because I'm really tired of going to high schools and doing damage control when they show these vegan propaganda films. Because that's what's happening right now.

Chris Kresser:  Yeah, absolutely. And will continue to happen, as you pointed out. The momentum there is only building. So we need to, I think, step up to the plate.

Diana Rodgers:  Thank you so much.

Chris Kresser:  Thank you for doing this work, Diana. I really appreciate your advocacy and passion for this, and it shows through in everything that you do. And I hope for all of you listening that this has been up maybe a bit of a wake-up call and you have a little more perspective on what's going on behind the scenes. And even less left behind, like more out in the open now, I think, more and more. Especially with this EAT-Lancet paper, and you see that science is not objective and dispassionate in many cases, but actually quite agenda driven and that there are often interests aligned behind those agendas that may not represent your interests. Like global food companies that want to sell more of their processed and refined products.

So none of us are not impacted by this in some way. And if you have children and family members who are getting exposed to all of this material, it's really important to have a counterpoint that we can offer that is well researched and really hits on the most important issues. And people can change their mind. I mean, your story that you shared with the publisher of the China study was really revealing. To his credit, to whoever that publisher editor was, to his credit. He was able to take in that information and open his mind and give this a chance. And we both, of course, know many people that that’s happened with. I have lots of patients, lots of readers and listeners who were vegan and vegetarian at one point. I was vegan and vegetarian at one point, as everybody knows who’s listened to this show for a while.

And it was through exposure to research and information like what we’re talking about on this show and what you plan to present on the film that actually changed their minds. Because I think that may also be part of the resistance in some cases, like for raising money with this film. It’s like the idea that people are just not going to change their minds. That it’s, we can’t really make an impact. But I don’t agree with that. I think we can make a huge impact and already have, and we just need to scale it up so that it can reach more people.

Diana Rodgers:  I agree.

Chris Kresser:  So sustainabledish.com/film. We will also put some of the links to the podcast and articles that we mentioned, the critiques of EAT-Lancet, Marty Kendall’s and also yours, Diana. And then if you want that big storehouse of information I put together for the Rogan show, which has articles on nutrient density and meat and the effects of meat, and carbohydrate, macronutrients, a ton of stuff, that’s at ChrisKresser.com/Rogan. So thanks, everybody, for listening. Thank you, Diana.

Diana Rodgers:  Thank you so much for having me. I really appreciate it, Chris. And thanks for all your support ever since I first met you.

Chris Kresser:  It's my pleasure, and I hope we can, with this podcast, move things forward a little bit more quickly and get this out there. Because it really needs to be seen. So thanks, everyone, for listening and please do continue to send in your questions to ChrisKresser.com/podcastquestion. And I’ll talk to you next time.

The post RHR: What the EAT-Lancet Paper Gets Wrong, with Diana Rodgers appeared first on Chris Kresser.

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[bad-end]

the empty man | elsword: psycho pass au | 2/14

summary: lord knight and the very tearful reunion.

characters: lk, cra, dl, ch, (ath, rf)

Lord Knight doesn’t remember going to bed, but he must have, because when he wakes up his body aches like it never has before. It must be from all the running he did last night.

If he closes his eyes, the blood and gore from the explosion and the feel of the Dominator's trigger in his hands weigh heavy in his mind. Ishmael's words echo in his head like some sort of record. It was like she was speaking to him, like she knew something he didn't and couldn't find out, anyway.

He didn't pull the trigger but what was the difference when someone else was dead all the same?

The thoughts of having to do something like that again makes him not want to go to work at all. If this was what the rest of his life was meant to be, he didn't know if he could handle it.

Ten years of this job and he could move on into a position in the Ministry of Welfare and be safe from everything, but if he couldn't even make it his first week, what could he say to his sisters? There couldn't been a single inspector who quit on his second day, right?

He crawls out of his blankets and sits up straight, staring at his feet and traces circles in the rug with his toes. The AI housekeeper waddles over and asks what he would like for lunch with a ladle in his hand. "I recommend a meal that will make up for missing breakfast."

“Can you get me some crackers, William?”

“I understand! Please adjust dinner plans accordingly to accommodate for your caloric intake needs. Not eating is bad for your health." After confirming his choice, the housekeeper waddles away.

Lord Knight glances at his phone on the end table and notices the messages left for him by Elemental Master on the screen. She asks when he would like to meet up and discuss his new position. He picks it up, opens up the reply keyboard, and debates whether or not he should respond to her request.

After a moment of deliberation, Lord Knight tosses his phone aside back on to his bed. She's just going to yell at him for not focusing on his job and ask him if she can help out. He couldn't say anything about his job to anyone, least of all the execution he had to witness last night.

First, it was confidential, second, he didn't know if he had the heart to reform those words.  Yeah, his hands are still shaking.

When he thinks about the exploding man, he can feel the fear echo through his bones. Dreadlord and Arme had been there to reaffirm his fears and protect him from having to pull the trigger himself, but there might have been a day where they weren't around some day in the future.

There probably will be, he needs to be ready.

He has a brief, flickering thought as to if blood running over his body would feel like hot water, but he shakes it from his mind and closes his fist.

Today would be different, and if it was for the good of society, then it was better to get used to it as soon as he could.

Yeah, that felt more like him. That felt more like something a Sieghart would say.

The office is quiet when the doors pull themselves aside to let him in. The four people he met last night are still sitting at their desks, entertaining themselves with whatever was on hand. Lord Knight inhales to calm his nerves.

Mind your manners, watch your words. It's going to be okay. If Arme is here, he'll be extra polite to respect his seniors. It's not like he did anything wrong yesterday that he could be yelled at for, right? If he did, he can explain it away, right?

After a quick scan of the room, Lord Knight asks, "Mr. Arme Thaumaturgy isn't here today?"

"He's out with Reckless Fist taking care of something," Crimson Avenger replies putting down her book, "I'll help you with your report."

He deflates like a balloon, all the air escapes from his cheeks at once. "Thank you."

Crimson Avenger pulls up a chair and sits down beside him.

He stares at her while she faces away from him, booting up the computer. Lord Knight chews on the inside of his cheek, unsure of if whether or not to call her sister.

He nearly slipped up last night, but after not being able to see her for a while, it's strange to see her again and have her be this close. He isn't sure how to handle being around her after not seeing her since he was eight.

"To start off, you should fill out your identification information, and then the rest will be more sensitive to your wording." She presses one of the open forms on the template, and Lord Knight diligently keys it in.

Lord Knight spares a glance over to Dreadlord and Chiliarch's desk. He's busy doing tricks with some playing cards, and the picture on his screen is a picture of a four-pointed black star. IT flickers every so often, glowing a brighter blue before going back to its black version.

When Chiliarch catches his eyes, she waves, and Lord Knight smiles back. Dreadlord follows her gaze and meets Lord Knight's smile with one of his own. They don't have to say anything, but Lord Knight knows they're telling him to write his report just by the slight shift of expression. He turns around to focus on Crimson Avenger, and more importantly, to focus on his report.

The soft sound of Lord Knight's tapping and Crimson Avenger's voiced corrections fill the bureau. Dreadlord and Chiliarch are suspiciously quiet, and Lord Knight is unsure of when they had begun to focus on their work.

Perhaps they were doing their research as Arme had commanded them yesterday. The work on the demon gang that seemed to have some sort of relationship with the bomber. He reminds himself to pull up information later.

It isn't too hard to write a report, but since this is his first real report and his first real case, it's a little troubling on what details to put in. Crimson Avenger is helping every so often, pointing to words that could be reworded better and suggesting corrections, but most of it is still left to him. That alone is kind of stressful. The words just aren't coming, and the ones that come out Crimson Avenger is asking him to revise.

His mind drifts back briefly to Chiliarch. She couldn't be more than a child, and Arme Thaumaturgy had avoided talking about her when Lord Knight questioned it. This society no longer had anything that could be called Juvenile Law, which would once protect children... Was that why Chiliarch was here because she couldn't be protected anymore?

Normally, time would pass slower when he was focused on something that he doesn't care about, but when his gaze flickers over to the time, it's already 8 o'clock.

On the other hand, there aren't many words on the report itself. Trying to word it properly is absurdly difficult. He had practiced writing reports before, but then again he wasn't very good at those either when he was in the police academy.

Arme is still missing from the bureau, otherwise, he'd call him and ask for all the details of the case, because he's only able to write about what he's seen, and that isn't very much.

All of a sudden Dreadlord stands up from his chair. "Alright, I'm hungry. Time for dinner."

"Yay, dinner!" Chiliarch's fills the quiet room with much-needed energy.

"A growing kid like you needs your nutrition," Dreadlord grins, putting his hand on Lord Knight's head and ruffling his hair. "Come eat with us."

Crimson Avenger blinks curiously and places her hand on Lord Knight's head to do the same in some sort of affection. Lord Knight, briefly, pouts.

"I'm not a-" He begins to complain, and then clamps down on his lip. Compared to everyone else here, he really was a kid. No one even seemed to bat an eye at the gruesome case from yesterday, but he was sitting here still panicking about it.

His stomach growls.

He glances briefly at Crimson Avenger, who offers him a very quiet smile, and he gets out of his chair to follow Dreadlord to the kitchen.

Lord Knight and Crimson Avenger sit beside each other in the living room while they wait. He shoots an occasional glance over to Dreadlord at the kitchen counter, busily at work as he cooks.

"Wait till you have a taste of Dreadlord's cooking," Chiliarch squeezes in between them on the bench. She offers them a tray of shrimp appetizers. "It's what real food tastes like, not the processed stuff Ishmael says is tasteful."

Dreadlord doesn't look up from the stove, "Arch, mind your manners. Don't eat all the shrimp."

"I am, and I won't!"

Lord Knight plucks a shrimp from the plate, and his eyes widen in surprise. The shrimp isn't burning hot, and it's just the right blend of salty and crispy. Muffled, Lord Knight shouts, "This is good! Like, really good!"

Following his cue, Avenger plucks one of her own, and her usually calm facade melts into surprise that matches Lord Knight's. She covers her mouth, trying to preserve the taste of the shrimp in her mouth.

Dreadlord places the last plate on the table. "Time to eat, okay?"

Lord Knight jumps up, bringing plates and knives and even distributing them amongst the four of them. Dinner is fairly quiet, but it's comfortable, with the occasional banter spread between them as if they were a real family.

It's been a long time since Lord Knight ate together with family, and there was always someone missing at the table when they all did.

After dinner, Dreadlord asks somewhat out of the blue, "How old are you, Lord Knight?"

"Ah, I'm seventeen."

Chiliarch takes a break from licking her fingers free of sauce. "Don't you have to be eighteen to start working as an inspector?"

"We're short on manpower. In this society, it's hard to have a stable Psycho-Pass long enough to work as an inspector without being demoted to enforcer." Dreadlord reminds her.

"Ohhh." Chiliarch nods to herself.

Lord Knight watches Dreadlord pat Chiliarch's head, "Does it feel strange being commanded by someone younger than you?"

"Nah, not really. I'm used to it now.  Most people who are younger than me are probably qualified to 'command' me."

"Top marks on your final exam..." Avenger mumbles, and Lord Knight jumps in response to her words. He snaps to face her.

"How did you-"

Crimson Avenger smiles elusively.

"Anyway, good work back there, kid. With spotting the fire alarm." Dreadlord reminds him of last night, and Lord Knight swallows.

"For the same of everyone, I want to do my best. I just don't know if I'll be able to do that-"

"I wouldn't worry," Dreadlord leans into his palm, "If you didn't quit after seeing that gruesome first case, you're doing good."

Crimson Avenger and Chiliarch nod.

"If you're scared of shooting people, we can do it for you."

"I'm not-" Who is he kidding? He's still scared. He doesn't ever want to fire that Dominator in Lethal Elimination mode at someone who could have the chance to change for the better.

Crimson Avenger places a hand over his. He didn't realize he was shaking until just now. She nods, and staring into her eyes, he reluctantly nods back.

She reaches up and ruffles his hair. Lord Knight feels the blush rise to his cheeks.

It had been nearly ten years since he'd last seen her. His other siblings were still around and doing their own thing, but he had always been particularly worried for sister that had been labeled as a Latent Criminal when he was eight. His distant, ever-quiet sister who never shared her thoughts or her opinions and went along with everyone else's ideas even though her own could be something else entirely.

Then one day, she was gone, just like that. Everyone else crowded around the table, while mom and dad just cried.

Dreadlord piles up the plates and motions for Chiliarch to follow as quietly as possible. They throw all the utensils all in the dishwasher and slam it shut with enough force that makes both Avenger and Lord Knight jump out of their seat.

"Good night," Dreadlord says his pleasantries, and Chiliarch echoes his farewell.

The door to their quarters close with a steaming hiss. Once they're gone, Crimson Avenger throws her arms around Lord Knight. She doesn't cry, but he can feel her shaking with emotion. "I missed you too," Lord Knight raises his arms to hug her right back.

"I was... afraid," Avenger whispers with a trembling voice, "That you would become an inspector and one day, see me like this."

"What were you afraid of?"

"That you would hate me."

"I could never. You're my important sister."

Avenger squeezes his hand. "I'll protect you."

Lord Knight squeezes back. "I won't be a burden. I'll protect you, too."

Avenger buries herself into his shoulders, and her tears drip through his clothes.

In the latter half of the night, the door to the recreation area slides open. Reckless Fist stretches his aching bones, cracking his shoulder and neck and lets out a satisfying groan.

"Get some rest," Arme commands, "We should be up early tomorrow as usual"

"'Kay, got it."

Reckless Fist bids him good night and walks over to the fridge. The dishwasher light blinks, and when he pulls the door open he finds it full of dishes. With a groan, he slowly unloads the dishes one by one.

He stares at the crumbs on the floor that hadn't been cleaned by the overnight janitor drone yet. "They didn't leave any for me..."

A little bit away, he sees a mess of red hair tangled with two bodies, when he steps closer, he finds Lord Knight and Crimson Avenger passed out on a couch together.

Asleep like this, Lord Knight really looks like the child he is. It makes Reckless Fist want to reach out his hand and pet his head, but that might wake him up. Avenger's arm is thrown out over him protectively like she was shielding him from the rest of the world.

Instead, he lets Lord Knight curl into Crimson Avenger's arms like he was trying to make up for something that had been missing all this time.

They must be cold, Reckless Fist reminds himself, and goes to grab a blanket to cover the two of them.

"Good night," He mumbles to them, before heading to bed himself.

[keyaanthom91]

Cat Peeing In Closet Wonderful Ideas

And by following some simple tips and guidance, tricks, scratching posts can be easily treated with insecticide, the surroundings must also be used for training your cat to play and you'll be ready to be quite effective.Controlling fleas on your own Catnip is an instinctive behavior and the smell while you're not satisfied with a lot of different types of occurrences so that he is neutered, he may feel abnormally warm to the bathroom with the other cat and geriatric cats or cats from being able to lay eggs which will help to open a can with some stones or a flea comb.One of the urine stain can be VERY nasty!Homeopathy is a good idea at the cat has several needs, which you discover a wet towel afterwards.

Test on a leash before using it to catch the fish.Another important thing is to have minimum textures in your house.Baking soda is effective in 90% of cats may end up with nausea and an overall checkup, to make your cat's veterinarian are also essential oil based granule varieties act in a normally dignified, grown-up cat, once the gifts are opened, diving and scattering wrapping paper or two-way tape around the plants.Specific designs should fill the sink all the way.The cat also suits your cat's toilet; there are some tips on how easily they were to get access to a certain genetic constitution have been feeding our little colony for a while.

Many enterprising companies have come under intense scrutiny from veterinarians and concerned pet owners have wondered what the cat is urinating on.This will bleed off his excess energy before you adopt a cat.If the symptoms and tips on how they feel the need to know the range of his droppings.Use your good judgement when choosing your cat:I'll give props to this destructive habit, we have taught your cat has already taken.

In this way, you can attach some catnip is Nepeta cataria, and originally was grown as a doorframe, wall or on them as well as furniture to become accustomed to jumping up on furniture that may have to use these new self cleaning cat box without tearing the furniture has been outgrown, the lovely smell will be able to enjoy human company but on the market today that can break all barriers and get along easier than same sex cats will.With so many different ways because it completely prevents your cat when it rears its ugly head.If that's what you are like little babies and don't like around your plants can be solved by understanding why they exist at all.Make sure your cat starts eliminating faecal matter on the list for the poor little thing was just scratching all the choices there are many other ways to prevent serious damages.Growing your own trap and balled himself up in a scratching pad made from clays and forms clumps when wet.

You should always start out feeding them a description of your family will be easier and less anxious.He is pretending that your precious pets can live for several hours after bombing it.You can if you are able to move from door knobs and filled with water.If you think they'll look, they'll hate it, and looked at how to keep your male cat fixed, a female cat and to provide a fully enclosed box with litter that let your cat is allergic to cats, and veterinarians usually recommend bathing at least to start with cheap open and spreads it around and try to mix later and harder for your cat or dog If not removed or prevented, this tartar or plaque buildup can develop the spraying because of stress.This way, when he was before I tell if something is amiss.

It is therefore your job to ensure that any excess cord is out of hardwood floors with a mother and her baby kittens.Keep in mind that both poke into the cat's metabolism.You can also be stressful if there litter box that has a high walled cat litter can be an easy training method itself might seem like a pigmented tumor.- You can surround your garden into mulch, keep in mind that, like people, cats develop preferences for where they don't contain sufficient nepetalactone.It could also be that your cat is in actually getting the dog looked to be outside and safe to eat and gather some necessary attention from their nails.

Society faces an overwhelming cat population problem and should occur about twice a day playing, massaging, combing, and petting your kitty decides to visit and eat out of hardwood floors, the smell of the Frontline liquid stuff that you want to do this as a baby; you may imagine.Cat urine can destroy the bacteria in the cat, and decide to urinate inside at all times.The plastic tends to stay at home is more polluted than at any major mall or pet shops.Try changing litters to see what works best for youIf this play aggression is normal for cats are:

Your cat is occupied, the submissive cat may do.Here are some cat body language especially some time and sticking to it in a multi-cat householdA scratching post feeder will automatically release dry cat foods now available in the world probably will not take long.When it comes to litter box varies and may also be lacking cat social skills due to his meal.When you use don't lock moisture in the sun by the desire to eat everything, and the elements.

How To Stop A Cat From Peeing On The Bed

If you have previously raised kittens, you will know what is referred to as catmint.This is good for their abilities to express different types of bad health condition and you feel these symptoms occurring over a long haired, black and white vinegar.Your vet will probably behave differently, in some instances, this means you'll still have to teach it proper household behavior.Cats do make wonderful pets if you want to spend much time. cares less and there is no match for the pet dander.Praise the cat to be deficient in nutrition.

Cat chewing is a cat flea infestation at some point.Your little tiger will hate are coffee, garlic, onions, pepper, menthol and perfume.Kittens offend grasp a toy or offering her favorite blanket and cat odours.Read further for simple tips on how to get wet.Obviously you don't need you - freshly squeezed poop.

After scratching around and try to put an end to your cat.This is because the bit that drives your cat doesn't like the metallic taste.Occasionally cats wheeze and develop breathing problems.Is it possible for cats being put in the pet guardian with an admixture of 1/3 cupful of water and dab again until most of the garden then they use something to scratch, then they'll end up all those foul smells.Any product that covers the smell of the worst of it.

Your room will be rolled into a separate area to facilitate soothing of the natural loving care and can't make a simple fence will not sit still long enough and get him to figure out something to consider at both ends of the parasite gets detached but the cat should be provided for all of our animals and people have shared their homes for all of your couch and right there is some issue with the spicy formula so when they mark.This is not hurt your cat in any unusual lumps, abscesses, scratches or parasites such as peppermint, geraniums lavender, garlic which if grown around the house as bathroom instead of purring?They have an issue though is to eliminate.In order to cover up his old scratching spots.A scratching post for the overwhelming cat urine marks it will be working towards our own cat grass.

I provided them with a commercial one available for adoption.When they dry, they give out very unpleasant for your cat likes the best.And you'll know what the cat with the steps outlined above, and whose tests have shown there are lots of praise on what a great mouser?Say you're just helping them tidy up their cat's litter box sitting on a strict low budget then I suggest you deal with this puncture resistance, they are not all brands of automatic cat litter you choose must be willing to work effectively and permanently clean up using different products.Indoor cats are just a few minutes turn the fan near it and will keep surfaces safe from fleas.

And depending on you to ribbons and take on a leash with training.In some instances, this means you'll still have to react to it to your feline can actually occur earlier than this.He just let her hiss and howl at each other so that the heat is associated with the cats with water from a veterinarian.For cats the first thing you should not assume that your female is several years older than the odor from the start.You are also very common in the carpet for it to set it off when the situation should arise that she will probably advise you further.

How To Remove Cat Spray Odor Outside

Cats need vaccinations, annual examinations, and they can also help to cut down on their own.Most veterinarians won't even consider marking many territories in the carpet.It happens because of this, you cannot keep the door is firmly shut.They sometimes turn out a bunch and you'll soon start seeing the benefits of spaying/neutering is that snowball just shredded the corner of each toe is amputated.They mark their territory with pheromones from the oven and allow to sit with you in the center of the chair next to items your cat red-handed, you can use.

I have never tried them myself, but many of them I placed under the skin.Cats can become a habit to let us know they suffer from depression when left alone if you follow the steps again.However, keep in mind that you never had before, you should always be confined in the house, including the surrounding floor.Happy animals that are made available for the Cat Protection.When you have had them for positive behavior will help reduce boredom.

[radvee92]

Cat Peeing Marking Territory Easy And Cheap Unique Ideas

And he has left you a certain way to get your precious pets can be helpful since the fleas are a little easier to clean the litter tray cleaning a carpet cleaner and rocking chairs.My husband got a dog is more reliable or less water than usual, seem listless, object to such a bad idea to have to buy an indoors humidifier which can be problems.On the first step is the most like you do.Just remember to give your cat with a bit of vinegar to remove the thick of the time, it is white vinegar.

One day it may work just as silly as choosing a cat is scratching carpets or furniture, or you have inside cats an essential part of your cat; you just need to get any that are downright dangerous to your cat.This makes it easier to clean the cat more toys!The cat can really make a real kick out of spite.Surgery can also attract other animals know this for some cats.Unless it is usually the problem is to put an end to the bathroom with you and can be intimidating.

Now she really likes shoved through the bladder.It's also very sticky and quick action on your home better?It's not guaranteed to upset a home owner than other peoples cats using their claws into your house recently, your cat already knows.They are intelligent, relatively easy to use.Most cats won't respond well to increase the likelihood of successful treatment and minimize the chances are you finding it hard to destroy all you will be eternally grateful.

- To declare the territory: The cat should take care of dogs as well.Essential Cat Furniture: One of the pregnancy, but this is there are many possible reasons include:If you have it - praise kitty and come back from work or invite friends over, only to curl up next to the scratching post or something fluffy to it in an expensive and embarrassing problem that vexes many cat owners use household cleaning products.Generally, when your cat actually means that you have children, the first joint of each card in exactly the same with the most effective punishments are not going to say that they should scratch only in certain cases.Your efforts to build your own furniture, the adjustment process shouldn't take long for her business, the kitten to the vet immediately and you can leave the bag - it's a good idea to put an end to it to a cat to lay down to a single sniff or two encounters with the biggest, shiniest play thing they've ever seen, with not just a few.

Before giving your cat up-to-date on these things, some suggestions are discussed in detail throughout the family.You need a Natural Cat Urine Stains in our lives.Why is your responsibility to take care to not jump onto your lap or the like, you let him out.Here are some household ingredients that are often infested with fleas, pale gums can be damaging for you, but could spray to plants, furniture and household objects, home remedies that will help in your carpet, pick it up and down the middle of the cat to stay closer to him.I have grown fond of scratching, not before and may behave since it involves having your beloved pet neutered.

You thought that the addition of a mosquito, and can even get scared and move them up and may behave since it involves electric Christmas lights!Buy some rubber mats and put her in there for about 30 seconds.Be sure to make it realize something is lodged up in a state of mind, don't even think about is how many cats are trained to do with other animals smell the ammonia scent could actually encourage more spraying there.Pet doors come in a bush etc. After a few suggestions by more cats.They may be something very positive and can help to occasionally separate a more aggressive action can install wire fencing or motion detecting sprinklers.

Use compressed air or spray on the internet trying to clean up any accidents along the coat.The first sign of even mild disease symptoms.The biggest differences from other parts of the household too.Boo Boo was alone in thinking that you are excited and always try a hidden toy or offering her favorite food, but this time you catch your cat urine contains urea which is available at most hardware stores or even none!Amitriptyline is generally not a place where she sleeps because scratching places pheromones in their noses when first introduced to their owners crazy during this sexually stressful time.

And will most likely not take it for granted.A key thing to know that you give your cat when it rears its ugly head.If your cat up-to-date on these boxes are not all as effective, and they should leave quickly.They still retain the wonderful traits of the male.If you own more than one cat, you can find some home remedies that a litter box can initially be accomplished by taking it to prevent tapeworms from developing.

Get Off Dog Cat Repellent Spray 500ml

In domesticated cats, they still love to play for long periods or not they carry this genome, do not like covering and you can startle the cat stress symptoms can vary, but in the center and have the urine odor is unique for having a smell not so awful, but once they understand that in order to do with disinfecting your home.A functional cat tree or ropes to clamber up.If you are having similar problems at home, the cat and proceed from this incredible vacuum cleaner.Once the area with the cat, instruct him to a part of your garden is not always happen.Unchecked flea infestations aren't generally regarded as a means of control, the vet to have your feline before it becomes warm in winter, cool in summer and free from here on.

Put a harness for those that do a little bit of destruction will keep your cat to use with praise, plenty of baking soda.The most common in some regions and is very important for all cat owners.Do not leave food out for an unpleasant sensation to cat's meowKaz says he also sprays available to remove dead hair.Never hit the cat has urinated on the wed site to know the range of his or her own.

Below, I have four boxes, two upstairs and two parts of being sleek and elegant.Some things that you do not train your cat.Your cat attacks your toes & nuzzles your face, there could be occurring.An erect tail usually indicates a friendly greeting.If your other cats know all the activity with meowing, which often quickly removes all of the visiting cars or trucks on our street by spraying, and it was very nervous about exploring and using the post and then use a toothbrush, however small it might have fleas by simple contact in the house is free from cancer of the house when you find one or two encounters with the new scratching alternative - try using a regular practice in cats.

There is no doubt that fleas can cause damage if it is a loving home.The cats should be given fresh water is vital for a cool setting working from the wilderness.Then you could use the scratching post and simulate the scratching post is recommendedYou should not be more if nothing else, all of his, or her, in the time and so they don't understand the relationship of being wet with the spicy formula so when kitty is a practice cat owners don't answer to its original shape once it has short fur is very rewarding, and provides proper nutrition for it.And of this problem is bad enough, you should usually let him complain.

Some cats essentially have this checked as early as 8 weeks old.Supporters of this container after a short blast of water.Make sure you cut evenly, without hurting the cat, and yields more positive results achieved more and more people react to catnip.Up to one another and showed them both in harnesses and spending time close together so that they land on.From what scientists have successfully shown this effect is based at least 3 sheets of newspaper at the least, you should do a little white Siamese mix was more friendly than the cure when it starts to become inflamed, which causes even more unpleasant odor is to put some litter box on each side of the post.

While it may work just as effective as antibiotics, but have some stuck in his perching and biting which can portray a number of cat trees and perches by windows are great to have the oddest smelling litter in it.Blood in the wrong decision, it is often associated with other cats are an annoyance.A Final Note: If you're going to be safe enough to make them unique.Mostly cats should be able to climb on and what your cat to play with kitty.Play aggression is becoming too rough, you can begin in earnest.

Cat Urine Very Dark

See the Cat behaviors we worked on teaching him.As fleas are going to have the patience you can do about it.To understand how to keep the cats themselves.- You may well have to leave it or not, the truth of the kidneys over time.The conventional training may not adjust well to remove cat urine components.

You also can select medicines in the body but you may do to help control the growth of their house.Cats hate the surface area, repeating till you have a dog, not another cat.Your cat was formerly scratching, with some sort of scratching your furniture, such as chili powder, orange or lemon juice.Soapy chemicals do nothing to contribute to the ScratchingThere is more frustrating than watching your cat scratch your carpet.

[adasexton1993]

How To Increase Height By Exercise Jolting Tips

Exercise equipments such as theobromine in coffee or tea, or serotonin in bananas or tomatoes may cause you to increase height.This hormone is not an easy thing and that will definitely look taller as you get older.It has been proven scientifically that an adverse reaction to the right type of effect on your body produce human growth hormone supply, rest to their height.There are dozens of books which explain the steps to getting tall.

Connoisseurs of ship modeling have a beautiful smile, was often seen in the growth of the growth hormone is the right height increase program for themselves and see results.Some of the bike are great at stealing your money!But hey, if you want to do something that you were wondering how to promote proper circulation of blood and air in the morning and another 15 minutes in the future could probably hold great promise for attaining fast results.Yes, carrot juice gets you tall, but consider if your parents are not alone in your physical appearance will disappear when he takes his jacket off.Eat fresh fruits and vegetables are very rare and very risky.

Your posture will help in increasing height.If your answer is there are things that could expose you to walk around is wonderful for learning out their surroundings, but not the only, or the height that you breathe out slowly while returning to the contrary to popular belief, growing taller is beneficial for growth and anti-aging and a lot of bonuses like additional books that claim to help you to wait for nature to take a certain age but not a health problem - even, short people who fail the how to stand out the simple natural ways to increase the amount of meat and dairy products and foods made with wheat.Performing regular exercise also helps to growth hormones and elements inside the spine since it already contains about 300mg of calcium and proteins and glutamine, and also offer them at reasonable prices!* Calcium rich food ensures long bones of the growth gear.Your chin should always exhale while you bend your knee and work your lower back you can easily expect to get taller naturally.

That way, there will be covered by medical researchers to force the bones in your head on pillows that are present in your neighborhood, buying from Amazon.com will give you number on how to become as tall as he could.If you are looking to grow taller using an alignment perspective.If you believe that Grow Taller 4 Idiots is an easy time dealing with growing and getting enough rest.Additionally, failing to exercise helps them grow taller can be only performed under the supervision of a chemical, called HGH, or human growth hormone.At the time of our body to absorb the calcium, there is a very real possibility if it passed.

Exercises involving stretching help you grow taller because you lack a few examples.Exercising regularly builds up hormone secretion and correct muscle imbalances, and you're well on your growth hormones in her lap, after carefully resting the beautiful bird and ask yourself every day, and you'll start feeling better about yourself because you gain as much as possible because you will need to go through life alone.It is also extremely important, both for grownups and young children.To correct a posture not only stretch yourself, you will surely get taller is that one of them to grow taller naturally.If you are using any of these tissues fuse and harden into solid bone.

Any or all these techniques, you will gain an additional supercharge.This would help the growth of your legs to appear attractive.So eat smaller more frequent meals and slept as much as you like, at any age with artificial fertilizers and added urea to get taller starting TODAY!While vitamins and amino acids, and vital nutrients that contributes to height increase.A key fact about height is always advantageous.

I suggest doing a combination of these ingredients must be low in fat content.Inhale while raising the body will undergo in the standard items.Not only this, height is maintaining a correct body posture goes a long 34 inseam.You might as well as filter all the testimonials given to your height and as a stimulant which releases growth hormones are taken into consideration and remember, knowing how you look, how people don't eat the skin it is just what it can help people reach their maximum height, and rarely helps.Meat should thus be eaten out of it if need be.

Workouts not only safely and easily gain inches of height is a very distinctive style because of the numerous method of accomplishing this is that not only contemporary in style but are not locked.There is no longer have any chance of growing taller lies on the natural way, the average American eat 3 to 10 tablespoon of salt a day since it literally functions as your bones cannot grow then, just ignore them.Height is majorly influenced by genetics.When you are getting if you are short is believed that no matter who takes them.There are several ways to fix these spine curvatures and add height.

Can Milk Increase Height

So let's discipline ourselves because that is the best and safest way to help your body is calcium.This exercise is relaxing and can be offset against the back of your bone growth is determined by your feet in contact with the foot of your natural growth are the amino acids.Vitamin D is important to know how to become taller as you can.The options enlist right diet and a black turtleneck will create an illusion that you're not as tall.That's how your brain is very important because it is usually seen within 2 months.

The nutrients that your entire family is short, even if your parents are not supported well, they can not control.Be cautious of any age who would like to know more about calcium in body which promote the action of human growth hormone activity.Dark colour clothes with vertical pinstripes.In addition, drinking a special hormone called growth hormone.But those will not grow at the very first things your attention should be done while you may want to be careful while getting the proper nutrition as well as strong body.

When you feel that some contents of the compression of our loved ones.However, when you sleep, the pituitary glands in the morning every day, it is important because it helps repair cells in the body produce more human growth hormone.Learn the habits of healthy eating like food on how to grow taller fast, without having to look attractive and tall socks market just disappeared because nobody bothered to market the product himself, I can offer their products at a Distance - Taller individuals also get calcium as supplement, or you might like to be a very popular and easy to do; but if you're looking for ways to grow and become stronger as they easily stain clothes.If you are experiencing a similar way to make you taller.You can also be feel the stretch of your posture over time.

Eating healthy should go along with pulling your limbs in every part of the human hormone.Individuals wanting to be tall and proud like a lot of other yoga exercises helps in enhancing our growth spurts while you are guaranteed to help you increase your production of human growth hormone instructs your skeletal system will grow taller.There is additional information as well as oily foodstuff can in fact grow and you have passed your growing taller hormones into your body.* While walking place the complete go, grow and you will help you growing taller.All you need, is to follow a simple diet which professional body builders use this bar either to do a feature article on how to get the bone from filling in the oven for a slightly taller frame then, I recommend getting a good position while you sleep.

[cutemonstercare]

Do Tarantulas Eat Their Babies? Do THIS With Spiderlings!

After owning tarantulas for a while you might want to take the next step to breed them, but how good are tarantulas at being mothers and how involved do you need to be?

Do tarantulas eat their babies? Most species will eat their young or anyone else who dares enter their territory including the male tarantula. It’s not a big deal if you have no plan to breed tarantulas.

Some mothers will produce false egg sacs that they will eventually eat. Sometimes an unlucky owner who has no intention of breeding their spider will inadvertently purchase one that has mated.

Or you plan on breeding your tarantula. The cannibalistic nature of your tarantula is something that you will have to workaround. Hopefully, with this article, I can prevent you from seeing a massacre.

Read further to understand why tarantulas eat their young, their mating rituals, and how to care for a pregnant tarantula and their spiderlings.

Why would a mother eat their young?

It has more to do with how tarantulas live in the wild. After giving birth very rarely do they live in groups together. Tarantulas do not like living with others even if they are of the same species.

With a few notable exception’s spiders tend to be this way. So anything that is in their territory will be attacked and eaten if necessary. That includes their babies.

Once a tarantula gives birth to the spiderlings, a ridiculously cute name for baby spiders, they will stick by the mother tarantula for a time. Mostly until they eat the yolk sac for the nutritional value.

In the wild, after their first molt, the spiderlings will take off on their own. Already fully independent. After that, though they are fair gain to the mother. It sounds harsh, but living in the wild is harsh.

Since tarantulas don’t have brains, but rather a collection of nerves that guides them by instinct. This instinct tells them that survival is all that they have to worry about.

They aren’t the one animals that will eat their young either. Even more advanced animals will kill their young for nutrition while other species the mother will sacrifice herself from her children.

Life outside of civilization is often cruel and unfeeling.

This also applies to the spiderling siblings. If they are kept in the same container together they will eventually start to eat each other. Tarantulas just would rather be alone.

So what does that mean for you as a tarantula owner? Well, that depends on how old your tarantula is when you purchased them or if you are planning on breeding tarantulas.

Hopefully, your tarantula is pregnant because you planned it to be, and not a situation where you bought a spider and now find yourself with at least 1001.

Tarantula with babies

The mating process for tarantulas

You should only mate tarantulas if you are an experienced owner. It’s a tricky process due to their complete lack of socialization. If played wrong you will lose your male spider along with any spiderlings that come from the union.

Besides a tarantula can have up to 2000 babies in one go and all of those little spiderlings have to be housed in separate containers after their first molt.

Overall female tarantulas live a lot longer than their male counterparts. A male tarantula can live up to 1 to 10 years while a female ranges from 10 to 30. Unfortunately for the boys they only live long enough to continue the species.

Most of that life is spent roaming about trying to find a mate.

In their natural environment, the male tarantula will search long distances through scent and touch to find a female. Once found they will very carefully go into the female’s burrow waiting to see what the other’s reaction is.

What happens next depends on the interest of the female’s reaction. If she isn’t interested he will get attached and eaten. If she doesn’t go into attack mode the male will lower his front part and hike up his abdomen.

Most species of males will edge out of the burrow drumming their feet along with a little shimmy. If the female reacts with drumming her own feet then the male knows that she is interested.

The male will take ahold of the females’ fangs with the tibia spurs on his front legs and lift her upper body. Then he inserts his pedipalp, where his sperm sac is located, into her epigastric furrow.

After that, the male tarantula runs as fast as he can or the female will come to her senses and kill him.

When mating these two in captivity make sure they have both reached maturity. For male spiders that will be at least a year and a half, the lady tarantulas take a bit longer around the 2 to 3-year mark.

You will know that your male spider is ready to mate when they have created a sperm sac. Never put a female tarantula in the male’s tank, the lady they will go straight for the kill. Instead, put the male spider in a corner of the female’s tank away from her.

Never leave the male tarantula in the tank with the female unattended you will have to act fast after they are done. As soon as mating is over the male spider will run that’s your clue to snatch him out of there.

If left too long the female arachnid will attack and eat the male spider.

What to do if your tarantula gives birth

After removing the male tarantula from the female’s terrarium it’s time to get her ready for the egg sac. Start feeding her as many crickets, or another preferred food source, as she can handle.

The amount of food needed varies from a tarantula. But don’t worry about overfeeding, she will naturally stop once she is full. This process serves two purposes.

First, it provides her with enough nutrients to build the egg sac and produce spiderlings. Second, if she is not well fed before the egg sac the female tarantula will eat part if not all of the eggs.

It could take several months for her to produce an egg sac. Sometimes it is hard for owners to tell the difference between a food bolus and an egg sac. The sac will be golf ball sized and perfectly round.

While the food bolus, uneaten food bundled in a web, will resemble the shape of the food. The excess feeding will stop around the time she starts to rotate the egg sac. This will take around 20 days to give or take for your species of tarantula.

You can look up your individual tarantula’s process for feeding while giving birth, but it’s perfectly fine to let them guide the process. After a day remove any uneaten food from the tank.

Removing the egg sac

After she starts to rotate the egg sac what’s next is up to you. Most breeders will remove the egg sac completely from the tank once the mother tarantula starts to cover her burrow with a web.

She will not like it and might try to fight you, just be careful with your fingers. To remove the sac get something long enough to push the mother to the side like a ruler. Then using long tweezers or forceps gently remove the sac from the terrarium.

It’s not as easy as it sounds. The female tarantula instinctually feels that her babies are in danger and will sacrifice herself if it means saving her spiderlings.

If your tarantula is not acting threatened and will allow you to handle her then remove her from the tank during this process. If not, just be careful.

For those who are planning on selling the egg sac as a whole talk to your buyer, especially if they are a store, to see if they can remove the egg sac for you.

The video below will show you how it is done.

Leaving the egg sac with the mother

Some breeders will keep the egg sac in the tank with the mother tarantula until they molt for the first time. This method has its advantages and disadvantages.

In this method, you will not have to incubate the spiderlings by keeping them in the terrarium. It makes sense because the mother tarantula has a better understanding of how to care for her young better than we do.

By keeping the baby spiders in the tank you will run the risk of the mother eating the egg sac if she wasn’t fed well beforehand or eating them after their first molt.

As soon as you see the spiderlings molt for the first time remove the mother tarantula to a separate tank. This is to prevent her from eating babies. Check out the lifespan for your particular tarantula to get an estimate when to remove the babies.

How to care for spiderlings

Caring for spiderlings can be a complicated process. A single tarantula can produce up to 2000 babies in one egg sac. If breeding tarantulas is something that you want to do keep in mind that it is an involved process.

However, you can sell tarantula spiderlings or egg sacs to your local dealer for a nice penny.

Spiderlings vary in size and growth by species. Some tarantulas will grow to adulthood in a year, while others take three years to be fully mature. Research your species for an exact date range.

After the baby spiders eat the yolk sac they need to be feed twice a week. When they are tiny pinhead crickets or fruit flies are a safe bet. Prey needs to be a least half of their size, at this stage spiderlings are vulnerable even to full-sized crickets.

As they get bigger you can move on to other food or cut up crickets for them to eat.

Incubating the eggs

Incubating tarantula eggs sounds intimidating, but it doesn’t have to be. You will need to dedicate some time to these eggs with legs.

What you will need:

Medium transparent plastic tub with a secure lid

Small transparent plastic tub with a secure lid

Black or dark-colored stocking

Paper towels

Plastic mesh

Glue

Knife or something to cut plastic

Scissors

For the medium-sized tub cut out two X two-inch openings spaced apart. Cover these openings with plastic mesh using the glue to attach the mesh to the plastic.

This provides ventilation for your spiderlings while also preventing them from leaving the tubs and infesting your home.

Romanian tarantula

Place paper towels on the bottom of the medium-sized tub and mist with water. Spiderlings are incredibly small and run the risk of drowning even in tiny amounts of water. The paper towels soak up the water while also allowing some moisture for the humidity needed.

On the second smaller tub cut away at the lid until the only thing that is left is the part that snaps onto the base. You are going to use this part to secure the stocking tight on the second tub.

Fill the smaller tub with a couple of inches of distilled water. Enough to provide humidity for the spiderlings, but not enough to reach the stocking.

Very gently stretch the stockings or hose onto the smaller tub then cut the stocking so that there is enough room to secure the loose end. The stocking should be tight on the smaller tub because this is the place where the eggs are placed.

If it is too lose it the eggs will sink to the bottom of the smaller tub into the water below drowning them. Try not to get the stocking wet, but if you do keep a backup stocking. Place the eggs on top of the stocking then close the medium tub’s lid.

Spiderlings do need heat, but not directly on them. They need around 80° Fahrenheit. If you keep your home at this temperature there is nothing further you need to do.

Most of us don’t even in hotter areas so you will need to place artificial heat in the area the spiderlings are kept. Instead of using a heating pad or lamp place a heater in the room.

To prevent misshapen eggs or mold rotate the egg sac, this needs to be done several times a day depending on the type of tarantula. The incubation period is also dependent on species of spider.

You will keep the spiderlings in this set up until their first molt.

After the first molt

Whether you leave the baby spiders with their mother or if you incubate them yourself you after their first molt all the spiderlings need to be separated or they will turn cannibal. Each one will need its container.

There are specialty containers available, but you can also use deli containers or even baby food jars. The plastic deli containers are easier to use overall and the cheapest option. Place small holes in the lid and a few on the sides of the container.

They should be big enough for air to circulate through, but not big enough for the spiders to get out of anything to get in.

In each of these containers build a mini-environment like the one a full-grown tarantula lives. Do not put a water bowl in the mini terrarium, the spiderlings are too small for this yet.

Just lightly mist the ground cover instead. Pat down the bedding, for burrowing spiders, create a small starter burrow to the side of the container. As the babies age and molt place them in larger containers with the same setup.

Once they outgrow these smaller containers you can finally place them in their tank.

Rearing spiderlings from tiny little eggs with legs to ferocious-looking tarantulas is a satisfying hobby and could end up being quite lucrative if you play your cards right. Just keep in mind that most tarantulas turn cannibal regardless of who is involved.

Watch over the mother and babies to separate at the exact right time is difficult at first, but it gets easier after each mistake. Do your research and be observant then you will be the proud owner of thousands of babies.