SHARAN

From the desk of Dr Nandita Shah

SHARAN stands for Sanctuary for Health and Reconnection to Animals and Nature for a good reason. When we are disconnected from nature, it's way more difficult to be healthy. Nature is a guiding force.

The world is going through turbulent times with climate change rearing its terrifying face almost everywhere. In some places, the repercussions are far more evident than in others. In Delhi, we had record levels of pollution. Most Indian cities are not far behind. Huge forest fires have burned through Australia charring millions of animals in their tracks. The US had its own share of forest fires last year. The Amazon and Indonesia were in flames too. Not all these forest fires are natural calamities. Unfortunately all too often the forests are seen as prime land for industries. The most notorious amongst these are the ‘animal agriculture’ industries. In order to produce grazing land for farming animals or for fuel ‘development’, millions of kilometres of forests are burnt down annually.

The forests are our only hope. Only forests can convert carbon dioxide into oxygen. Only forests can give us clean air, hold water. And forests are the homes of our last biodiversity. We can't afford to lose these. Greenwashing programs that tell us about re-afforestation are meaningless given the fact that forests take years to grow and need water. Our health, nay, our very lives depend on the forests and we are losing them quickly. We can all unite to stop this now!

This newsletter was compiled by SHARAN Head of Mumbai, Reyna K Rupani, She facilitates the Six Weeks to Health Gain & Weight Loss program and also conducts health talks for schools, groups, corporates and more.

Edited by Vasanti Sundaram, Bangalore who has also benefitted from the SHARAN programmes, and now spreads awareness of plant based lifestyle through her talks.