As you may already know, Down to Earth is the only all-vegetarian natural foods grocery chain in the country. Most stores carry meat for the profits, but Down to Earth has never sold one meat product since we opened 20 years ago. Why? Because we care about your health, the health of the environment, and the health of all those sweet, animals who are ground up by the millions every year. Even if you're not yet tuned into some of the more ethical reasons for going vegetarian, everyone can appreciate that eating meat simply isn't good for our health. (It's interesting that doing things that are good for others are almost always good for you, while doing things that hurt others usually hurts you in turn - i.e., "what goes around comes around.")

Well, here's another little tidbit illustrating the simple, but profound truth that eating animals for food -- which certainly isn't good for animals -- also isn't good for us. CNN.com reported this week, "Meat linked with cancer in U.S. Study" (12/20/01.) A study of Nebraska residents found that the people who ate the most meat had 3.6 times the risk of esophageal cancer and double the risk of stomach cancer when compared to people who ate far less meat and more whole grains, fruits and vegetables.

Of course, if you're already a vegetarian (or close to one), this is probably old news to you. Hundreds of studies, included the landmark China-Oxford Cornell study, have found that vegetarian diets are by far the healthiest on the planet. So if you want to stay healthy, be happy, and live in harmony on this magnificent planet, then shop vegetarian! It's fun, it's easy, and it's a caring, compassionate lifestyle.