Kind Book Club: No Impact Man
This book is so inspiring and thought-provoking. It’s like a good novel - so well-written, so entertaining and engaging, I couldn’t stop reading it. It’s a must read for everyone in the world. Please, please read it…you will love it! It’s a new favorite of mine!
No Impact Man is a multimedia project by Colin Beavan. The documentary follows Beavan and his family through a full year as they try to live in the middle of Manhattan without leaving any impact on the environment. That means no electricity, public transportation, even toilet paper!
This challenging experiment seems to bring his family closer together. They really stretch themselves and challenge what they’re used to in order to become more eco-friendly. They eat locally and pretty veggie …. and some friendly notes to Colin are, if he stopped the dairy he wouldn’t need to blow his nose every morning (not to mention how unhealthy dairy is in other ways…see page 34 of The Kind Diet for more info on this).
And to the farmer who he says he loves his cows….it sounds nice for sure… but what happens to the cows when they’re no longer producing high quantities of milk? I’m sure he has to send them to slaughter. And what happens to the babies that the mama cows have? It is near impossible to produce milk and sell it with out getting rid of the calves. Otherwise there are too many cows to feed.
The reality is the calves usually ends up being sent to be veal. I would be curious if this farmer avoids that. At my local farmers market, there are people who raise goats and love them, but when I press them on these issues, it still turns out they eventually sell their goats to someone to use for clearing weeds or what have you, and there, they eventually become meat. So, it’s still an unhappy ending for a creature you say you love….just saying.
You can get the DVD here or on Netflix, and the book is available here.
Share your thoughts and questions about No Impact Man in the comments below, and we’ll discuss at the end of the month!
11 comments
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@angelito celeste: I fear you are oversimplying it. Do you subscribe to Free From Harm? Recently they posted an article about egregious treatment of dairy cows in India. You can read about the story here: http://freefromharm.org/animal-rights/can-india-really-afford-to-kill-cattle-anymore/
and I agree 100% with @Katiebeth: "Everyone likes the illusion of "happy meat" but in the end, it doesn't exist." -
I loved the documentary and I agree with what you say about dairy. In the end, people are allowed to eat dairy if they want but it is much healthier to avoid it. Everyone likes the illusion of "happy meat" but in the end, it doesn't exist. -
Only cows milk nourish the finer tissue of the brain up to 25 years old ( maybe vegan should access the effect on their children's brain),that is why the cow is consider our 2nd mother after our mother's milk dried up, it is recommended in ayurvedic medicine for many ailments. In India they have already figure out since ancient time how to care of the cow it they get old, since milk product is very important part of their religious culture. There are 200 million vegetarian in India,if the muslim or british didn't invade india there should be more.
The best option is to push dairy industry to take care of the cow humanely and naturally for people to patronize their products. Its a pious act as well, according to vedic principle. -
I really love love love this project! It is so inspiring and thought provoking. Every time I pick up "trash" items that can be re-used during trash day in our neighborhood I think about how proud Colin would be! I even got to hear one of his lectures and again it was great! Share the project with everyone you know!
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I saw the documentary after seeing the video preview on this site and ordered it immediately. Great idea and a great project to find out which green techniques work and which don't. Does anyone know if the book is exactly like the documentary or is there much more to read? Now that it's been mentioned as the book club pick, I may go out and try to find a used copy. This film inspired me to make my own farmers market sacks for little purchases like onions and potatoes. It beats having smaller items roll around in a big canvas carry-all!
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This is my ABSOLUTE FAVORITE movie of ALL TIME. I even follow his blog <3 I'm so glad you featured this. I also very much appreciate Forks Over Knives, Gasland, Food Inc., and Tapped :)
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Thanks for the book recommendation, this looks very interesting. I have to say that I am a bit disappointed about the dairy rant. Of course, you are completely right, however, I always think it is unfortunate when vegans choose to place themselves in the opposite corner to non-vegans who are trying just as hard to end cruel factory farming and to promote organic foods. Not everyone wants to be vegan or even vegetarian. These farmers are giving people the option to buy free range and pasture fed meat and dairy products, which I think is commendable because the factory farming methods would probably be more profitable for them.
Furthermore, this blog gives so many endorsements to earth balance buttery spread (an alternative to the evil real butter) which contains palm oil. And although I have not researched Juice Beauty products specifically, I know that most cosmetics contain ingredients derived from palm oil. The palm oil industry is responsible for clear cutting rainforest all over the world. Have you pressed these companies about their use of palm oil before taking their money and promoting their products? -
I watched the video and I it made me really think about how spoiled and wasteful we are as a society. We need more of these types of films and people writing about this subject and it makes not only for raising our awareness but for entertainment too. I think it is a really important for all of us to think "how can we have less of an impact on our environment and to work on how consumerism habits." We could all benefit from taking a few lesson from this No Impact Man and just commit to doing some things differently. That is what I took from the film and I will take the time to read the book as the condensed version is just an hour in a half of the highlights, reading is always more engaging.
Thanks Alicia for bringing this one to the book club. -
Totally agree with Marko. I was brought up by extrememly strict churchgoing parents who have in my adult life made me feel 'less than' for not attending, yet when questioned on the above commandment and similar others, they try and bend it to suit and as far as I am concerned it is pretty definitive! Too many people say they love animals but choose to ignore that they are patting some and eating others.
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I watched the movie on Netflix a few months ago and really liked it. It was full of inspiring ideas but also very real (his wife complaining that she wanted her coffee and that it was supposed to be "no impact man" not "No impact family". I'm going to get it on my kindle!
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My thoughts exactly. But, it also happen in the churches. Under their own admission of the 10 commandments it says, "Thou shalt not kill," and yet you can always find a them frying fish and having BBQ fund raisers. I have even seen a fund raiser that was auctioning a full paid "African Hunting Trip." Hypocrisy at it's best.
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