The wrong reason to do something. Not that I have anything against Alex Baldwin, 30 Rock is a hilarious show. But I don't take my social cues, dietary restrictions, or much of anything from him. But he is a vegetarian, and in my new "Vegetarian Starter Kit" (a 25 page pamphlet that Pamela Anderson sent me upon personal request on her answering machine. In case you want, she asked me not to give out her number, but it's 1-888-834-3663. Why she has a toll free number, don't ask me) Alec gives me an inspiring message:
"Every time we sit down to eat, we make a choice: Please choose vegetarianism. Do it for... animals. Do it for the environment and do it for your health."
Nice words Mr. Baldwin. In fact the whole first two pages are filled with other celebs that are also vegetarians, and I think PETA wants you to see their faces more than they think you will be convinced by their words. Celebrities like Sir Paul McCartney, Tobey Maguire, Casey Affleck, Natalie Portman, Common, Russel Simmons, Joaquin Phoenix, Clint Eastwood, and the Dalai Lama. Compelling reasons to go vegetarian, aren't they. Oh, I forgot to include their short messages about why they are vegetarian? I'll write it next time, but I think the names speak for themselves.
I know celebrities are cool, but they are just the wrong people to listen to for dietary choices. No one loves a preachy celeb as much as I do, but lets leave them to tell us about fashion choices, global warming, and AIDS. Well at least fashion choices. Or.. what movies to see, they can have that.
Jokes aside, this guide is alright. On the next pages it has info about how to get the protein, iron, and vitamin B12 you miss out on from cutting meat. There is information about the ills of dairy and some good substitutes. A story on raising vegan kids, and a doctor's opinion on weight loss from vegetarianism. Then PETA acts a bit more like PETA and runs a series called "Meet Your Meat." Hey! They stole our pun... Anyway, they show pictures of chickens and cows and pigs and fish being exploited and miss treated. Paul McCartney makes a pitch for the environment (the best reason by far!....err I mean they are all good.) and then there are more tips on switching. The final pages include some recipes that look pretty yummy. All in all its actual pretty helpful even though it is so skimpy. I will definitely hang onto it for the future when I decide to go 100% vegetarian. Well, maybe. Comment and let me know if I should! Hehe, we are getting pretty shameless asking for comments. But we just want to know you are reading!
Anyway, a few more days until the big day. I am excited to eat the turkey (a turducken is a turkey stuffed with a duck stuffed with a chicken - a John Madden creation. Every vegetarian's worst nightmare. I can just imagine an Alicia Silverstone-Madden Thanksgiving). Then I think I'll try just doing chicken and fish. We'll see how that goes. Don't think I'll blog about it so you'll have to aks me in person.
Has anyone tried a veggie burger yet?
Monday, November 19, 2007
Sunday, November 18, 2007
Breasts
Remember when Devin claimed to have cheated, but was actually lying? Well, his story about mycoprotein was so intriguing to me that I had to go check it out. While I was at the grocery store I stopped by the frozen vegetarian section and looked for some fake meat made out of fungus. Sure enough, there was the little Quorn section, down on the bottom. I grabbed some of the nuggets on Devin’s recommendation and also a box of breasts. Mmmm…fungus breasts. I have to say Devin was right, that stuff is amazing. Such convincing faux chicken I have never eaten before. I cooked it in some Italian dressing and put it on a salad of ‘baby greens’, dried cranberries, slivered almonds, croutons, shaved parmesan, sunflower seeds and tomatoes. Tabitha could it eat it too because there is no soy in it! She made a barbecue cheddar fungus sandwich. I tried a bite, and it was quite good as well.
This is only the most recent of my meat substitute experiences, which are rapidly accumulating to an impressive family of vegetarian meals. I met my aunt and cousin in Lansing the other night where I was treated to a delightful Italian dinner. I ordered the eggplant parmesan. I have previously been afraid of eggplant because it so big and dark and purple. It looks like the grumpy bouncer at the vegetable club, but also probably bitter and toxic. Turns out it is none of those things. At least when it is sliced thin and fried in breading and cheese. I thought I was eating regular chicken parmesan. Amazing. Then last night I was going to the ballet with four girls (I am a pimp) and we got some dinner at a bar. My fellow vegetarian Grace was with and we were a little nervous that they would not have anything for us. What we ended up doing was getting the chicken portabella sandwich without the chicken. That was even better than when I ate portabella’s plain.
Between eggplant, faux chicken and portabellas I feel well equipped to eat vegetarian. I have realized that even when I can eat meat again, I will probably be a little less excited about it. I will be relieved to be able to accept meat samples in stores and not pass by delicious burger and steak opportunities, but I will probably look for the alternatives in restaurants before relying on the typical meat option, and I will buy less meat for my home. Tabitha told me at lunch today that the Quorn breasts revive her hope in vegetarianism as somebody who is allergic to soy. So it seems this vegetarian thing is finally working out. I am glad to see such profound results before the time is up. Four weeks has been enough time to force me into a new paradigm. Success.
This morning at church, before I realized one could purchase breasts formed from fungus, we encountered quite the humorous and timely Bible passage. The sermon was on value systems and how they often get confused. How trouble arises when we confuse our personal preferences or cultural constructs for absolute truths, especially when dealing with other people. The passage we focused on was from Romans 14. The funny part was Romans 14:2 “One man’s faith allows him to eat everything, but another man, whose faith is weak, eats only vegetables.” Weak faith? Thanks a lot Paul, way to judge me right off the bat. I guess I can never be a vegetarian again.
Posted by Alex B at 3:31PM 6 comments….Just kidding, this is not the end of the entry. Although, note the number 6 there, I would like to see that for real someday.
Seriously though, Paul was not judging vegetarians. The passage ends like this:
“Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in your brother's way. As one who is in the Lord Jesus, I am fully convinced that no food is unclean in itself. But if anyone regards something as unclean, then for him it is unclean. If your brother is distressed because of what you eat, you are no longer acting in love. Do not by your eating destroy your brother for whom Christ died. Do not allow what you consider good to be spoken of as evil. For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit […] Do not destroy the work of God for the sake of food. All food is clean, but it is wrong for a man to eat anything that causes someone else to stumble. It is better not to eat meat or drink wine or to do anything else that will cause your brother to fall.”
There is a lot of back-story to these things since they were written to some people who were clearly having big debates about food, but I think you pull out the relevant themes without all the background info. So what started out as funny ended up being rather profound and surprisingly relevant to what we have discussed here in our blog over the last few weeks. Not only themes of be accepting of other diets and personal food morals, but also the idea that what you eat has bigger ramifications. You can “destroy the work of God” not only by bickering and hating people who eat meat or don’t eat meat, but also by eating so thoughtlessly that you participate in the destruction of creation. What you eat is your choice, but an important one.
So enjoy what you eat today, whether it be real breasts or fungus sculpted into breasts, and Devin and I will not be judging you.
This is only the most recent of my meat substitute experiences, which are rapidly accumulating to an impressive family of vegetarian meals. I met my aunt and cousin in Lansing the other night where I was treated to a delightful Italian dinner. I ordered the eggplant parmesan. I have previously been afraid of eggplant because it so big and dark and purple. It looks like the grumpy bouncer at the vegetable club, but also probably bitter and toxic. Turns out it is none of those things. At least when it is sliced thin and fried in breading and cheese. I thought I was eating regular chicken parmesan. Amazing. Then last night I was going to the ballet with four girls (I am a pimp) and we got some dinner at a bar. My fellow vegetarian Grace was with and we were a little nervous that they would not have anything for us. What we ended up doing was getting the chicken portabella sandwich without the chicken. That was even better than when I ate portabella’s plain.
Between eggplant, faux chicken and portabellas I feel well equipped to eat vegetarian. I have realized that even when I can eat meat again, I will probably be a little less excited about it. I will be relieved to be able to accept meat samples in stores and not pass by delicious burger and steak opportunities, but I will probably look for the alternatives in restaurants before relying on the typical meat option, and I will buy less meat for my home. Tabitha told me at lunch today that the Quorn breasts revive her hope in vegetarianism as somebody who is allergic to soy. So it seems this vegetarian thing is finally working out. I am glad to see such profound results before the time is up. Four weeks has been enough time to force me into a new paradigm. Success.
This morning at church, before I realized one could purchase breasts formed from fungus, we encountered quite the humorous and timely Bible passage. The sermon was on value systems and how they often get confused. How trouble arises when we confuse our personal preferences or cultural constructs for absolute truths, especially when dealing with other people. The passage we focused on was from Romans 14. The funny part was Romans 14:2 “One man’s faith allows him to eat everything, but another man, whose faith is weak, eats only vegetables.” Weak faith? Thanks a lot Paul, way to judge me right off the bat. I guess I can never be a vegetarian again.
Posted by Alex B at 3:31PM 6 comments….Just kidding, this is not the end of the entry. Although, note the number 6 there, I would like to see that for real someday.
Seriously though, Paul was not judging vegetarians. The passage ends like this:
“Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in your brother's way. As one who is in the Lord Jesus, I am fully convinced that no food is unclean in itself. But if anyone regards something as unclean, then for him it is unclean. If your brother is distressed because of what you eat, you are no longer acting in love. Do not by your eating destroy your brother for whom Christ died. Do not allow what you consider good to be spoken of as evil. For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit […] Do not destroy the work of God for the sake of food. All food is clean, but it is wrong for a man to eat anything that causes someone else to stumble. It is better not to eat meat or drink wine or to do anything else that will cause your brother to fall.”
There is a lot of back-story to these things since they were written to some people who were clearly having big debates about food, but I think you pull out the relevant themes without all the background info. So what started out as funny ended up being rather profound and surprisingly relevant to what we have discussed here in our blog over the last few weeks. Not only themes of be accepting of other diets and personal food morals, but also the idea that what you eat has bigger ramifications. You can “destroy the work of God” not only by bickering and hating people who eat meat or don’t eat meat, but also by eating so thoughtlessly that you participate in the destruction of creation. What you eat is your choice, but an important one.
So enjoy what you eat today, whether it be real breasts or fungus sculpted into breasts, and Devin and I will not be judging you.
Saturday, November 17, 2007
Countdown
So we are just about four days away from the official end of our month long vegetarian experiment (however the blog will live on! well at least we'll write about Thanksgiving and a few days later... and because we figure there will be such a high demand for the continuation of our musings on food and life, there's a chance we'll shift locations and topics and keep blogging). When I think back on the last three weeks, I don't even realize that I didn't eat meat any of those days. It's so normal not to eat meat at this point. It's weird to think about eating it again. That doesn't mean I don't want it. Just yesterday in the GSU with my friend Juan we were walking into the food purchasing area when someone walked by me with mandarin and orange chicken from Panda Express... I have to say I felt physically weak after seeing and smelling it. It really caught me off guard. It was like something I hadn't thought about in weeks (the cravings and missing of meat stopped pretty soon after we started this) suddenly hit me like a ton of bricks (which evidently weighs the same as a ton of feathers! who knew?!). I was knocked back and my knees buckled a bit, and I exclaimed in agony. People around me asked me if I was ok. One kid ran to my aid and I think one student actually ran off to call someone for help. I had fallen completely to the ground, so I picked myself up off the disgusting floor in front of the burger place, gave a slight, quick, embarrassed wave to the crowd that I was ok (every single person in a 50 person radius was staring at me) and then slunk into the food area, very embarrassed. I proceeded to the pizza line, ashamed, and discouraged that this was the only line open to me, as all other options featured meat prominently. When we walked back to our seats I felt the eyes on me, and heard one kid say "what is wrong with him? why did he fall? hasn't he ever seen meat before??" I gave him a smirk but he just looked down. You ever get the feeling that when you enter a room everyone's talking about you? Try feeling that way a hundred times. I got out of there as fast as I could, and tried to resume my day.
Now those of you who read my notes from Ecuador, especially the one from the Jungle, know that I like to embellish a bit and stretch the truth... None of the above story is true, except the fact that I did actually feel physically affected by smelling the meat. Beyond that there was no embarrassment. Sorry for any confusion or concern for my well being.
Nonetheless, I miss chicken. I understand how hard that must have been for Alex smelling those three types of meats sizzling together in a dance fusion of oil and heat.
Even though I miss my favorite bird, I do have to say that when it comes time to choose from a menu, I actually do see the meat options and think that they are wrong, or completely off limits. At a restaurant last night with a friend I picked through the very small menu to find two options for me - and I actually didn't mind being limited at all. I could either get an apple-brie sandwich (consequently what my friend ordered.. never heard of an apple sangwich - she said it was good though) or a black bean burger with cheddar. Guess what I got! I love black beans, err, I mean "beetles in purplesauce." The burger was de-licious. And I think that I would, after this experiment, still order that burger over a real one. I actually prefer it. It's better for you too. But its just delicious regardless. I think I can give up red meat even after this. I don't miss it at all.
In the past few blog posts Alex and I have been challenging you the readers to make a change in your life, even if temporary, for empathy or the greater good or whatever. This challenge I propose will be much less ambitious, and thus probably more practical. Next time you go to a burger place (only for those who are not already vegetarians of our readers) find the veggie burger option and get it. I guarantee you won't be disappointed (guarantee not binding, and by that I mean I don't guarantee it, but strongly think you won't be disappointed). You will hopefully find what I've found, that they are actually preferable to a real burger. If you love it so much why don't you marry it? - is what I'll say to you when you discover how great they are. Then to me you'll say "grow up, what are you 5?" I'll probably feel bad and admit to having the maturity level of a 5 year old. But, if you do love them, make the switch, and get them every time. Just think about the difference something that small can make! I established in the very first post of this blog that 1 pound of beef uses more water than showering for 4 months! If you substitute just your burgers for veggie burgers each time, you would save SO much water - enough to up the frequency of your showers from once every four months to a bit more frequent (seriously, you stink.. this is for the good of everyone, and not for environmental reasons). If you do try this, please let me know what you think, either post a comment here about your experience, or write me a message. I will be curious to see how it goes for y'all. I await your comments!
Now those of you who read my notes from Ecuador, especially the one from the Jungle, know that I like to embellish a bit and stretch the truth... None of the above story is true, except the fact that I did actually feel physically affected by smelling the meat. Beyond that there was no embarrassment. Sorry for any confusion or concern for my well being.
Nonetheless, I miss chicken. I understand how hard that must have been for Alex smelling those three types of meats sizzling together in a dance fusion of oil and heat.
Even though I miss my favorite bird, I do have to say that when it comes time to choose from a menu, I actually do see the meat options and think that they are wrong, or completely off limits. At a restaurant last night with a friend I picked through the very small menu to find two options for me - and I actually didn't mind being limited at all. I could either get an apple-brie sandwich (consequently what my friend ordered.. never heard of an apple sangwich - she said it was good though) or a black bean burger with cheddar. Guess what I got! I love black beans, err, I mean "beetles in purplesauce." The burger was de-licious. And I think that I would, after this experiment, still order that burger over a real one. I actually prefer it. It's better for you too. But its just delicious regardless. I think I can give up red meat even after this. I don't miss it at all.
In the past few blog posts Alex and I have been challenging you the readers to make a change in your life, even if temporary, for empathy or the greater good or whatever. This challenge I propose will be much less ambitious, and thus probably more practical. Next time you go to a burger place (only for those who are not already vegetarians of our readers) find the veggie burger option and get it. I guarantee you won't be disappointed (guarantee not binding, and by that I mean I don't guarantee it, but strongly think you won't be disappointed). You will hopefully find what I've found, that they are actually preferable to a real burger. If you love it so much why don't you marry it? - is what I'll say to you when you discover how great they are. Then to me you'll say "grow up, what are you 5?" I'll probably feel bad and admit to having the maturity level of a 5 year old. But, if you do love them, make the switch, and get them every time. Just think about the difference something that small can make! I established in the very first post of this blog that 1 pound of beef uses more water than showering for 4 months! If you substitute just your burgers for veggie burgers each time, you would save SO much water - enough to up the frequency of your showers from once every four months to a bit more frequent (seriously, you stink.. this is for the good of everyone, and not for environmental reasons). If you do try this, please let me know what you think, either post a comment here about your experience, or write me a message. I will be curious to see how it goes for y'all. I await your comments!
Friday, November 16, 2007
Two Meals
Today I had two very different meal experiences. I am sure they would not have been all that different if not for me being a vegetarian. Special, but not all that different. I say it's about time I had some thoroughly unique days through all of this. And they have come to me not a day too soon, since there is less than one week left to this. These two interesting meals were total opposites as well, so it is beautiful in a literary sense that they would meet in the same day.
For lunch today my housemate Kyle, who is an avid cuisine explorer, invited me to to get some Thai food at a small local Thai place. I remember a few weeks ago somebody told me I should check out Thai places while vegetarian because thay have lots of good stuff for me. I thought at the time that they were just lying to plug their favorite ethnic cuisine, but I have been corrected. I was nervous heading into the restaurant, expecting mostly chicken dishes, but the menu blew me away. Really, the whole thing was vegetarian if you wanted it to be. They had special vegetarian section on the back, but it was so unnecessary because every item on the menu was broken down into five sub-categories: chicken, beef, pork, tofu and vegetable. That's right, any menu item could have contained tofu if I had wanted. And the egg-drop soup had tofu in it without me even having to ask. Amazing. I felt like I was being catered to with my special needs, but it was just how the place always is apparently. So I got some vegetable fried rice. Good stuff.
Between lunch and dinner I had a small adventure involving a tattoo parlor, genital piercings and some organic, vegan body wash. But that story is really not all that interesting.
For dinner some friends invited Tabitha and me over to make us dinner. I forgot that they might need to be reminded/told for the first time that I don't eat meat. Oops. The girl buying the food and planning the meal is an exceptionally thoughtful person and one of her thoughts today was "Hmmm, two boys will be eating this meal, I should get EXTRA meat, even though I normally don't make meaty things." Very thoughtful indeed, but even more ironic. So while I watched them wrap enormous chicken breasts in slices of ham and fry up bacon to chop into a vegetable dish, I looked forward to some improvised burritos and squash. My meal was great in the end, but it was pretty hard to watch three, count'em THREE, delicious meats be woven into a meal in front of me and not even have a taste. I made sure to clarify I was not ungrateful for the meal they prepared for me, because I felt pretty bad.
Ooo, one last story. My friend Tyler told me he was in an even more difficult situation (not for him because he is not a vegetarian, but for me if I had been in his place). He was doing yard work for an old couple. Like, really old. And they called him in for lunch. Very sweet of them. So as he sat down at the small table in the strange new house with two total strangers, the old woman wobbled over to the table and handed him a plate of ham sandwiches and asked if he would prefer chicken or beef soup. Oh man. If I had been there, I may have had to secretly eat some meat just to avoid being a pain in their butts. Especially since I am told she was hard of hearing and would probably have needed me to yell my rejection of her hospotality across the table quite loudly. I guess I just won't rake any old ladies' yards this next week.
For lunch today my housemate Kyle, who is an avid cuisine explorer, invited me to to get some Thai food at a small local Thai place. I remember a few weeks ago somebody told me I should check out Thai places while vegetarian because thay have lots of good stuff for me. I thought at the time that they were just lying to plug their favorite ethnic cuisine, but I have been corrected. I was nervous heading into the restaurant, expecting mostly chicken dishes, but the menu blew me away. Really, the whole thing was vegetarian if you wanted it to be. They had special vegetarian section on the back, but it was so unnecessary because every item on the menu was broken down into five sub-categories: chicken, beef, pork, tofu and vegetable. That's right, any menu item could have contained tofu if I had wanted. And the egg-drop soup had tofu in it without me even having to ask. Amazing. I felt like I was being catered to with my special needs, but it was just how the place always is apparently. So I got some vegetable fried rice. Good stuff.
Between lunch and dinner I had a small adventure involving a tattoo parlor, genital piercings and some organic, vegan body wash. But that story is really not all that interesting.
For dinner some friends invited Tabitha and me over to make us dinner. I forgot that they might need to be reminded/told for the first time that I don't eat meat. Oops. The girl buying the food and planning the meal is an exceptionally thoughtful person and one of her thoughts today was "Hmmm, two boys will be eating this meal, I should get EXTRA meat, even though I normally don't make meaty things." Very thoughtful indeed, but even more ironic. So while I watched them wrap enormous chicken breasts in slices of ham and fry up bacon to chop into a vegetable dish, I looked forward to some improvised burritos and squash. My meal was great in the end, but it was pretty hard to watch three, count'em THREE, delicious meats be woven into a meal in front of me and not even have a taste. I made sure to clarify I was not ungrateful for the meal they prepared for me, because I felt pretty bad.
Ooo, one last story. My friend Tyler told me he was in an even more difficult situation (not for him because he is not a vegetarian, but for me if I had been in his place). He was doing yard work for an old couple. Like, really old. And they called him in for lunch. Very sweet of them. So as he sat down at the small table in the strange new house with two total strangers, the old woman wobbled over to the table and handed him a plate of ham sandwiches and asked if he would prefer chicken or beef soup. Oh man. If I had been there, I may have had to secretly eat some meat just to avoid being a pain in their butts. Especially since I am told she was hard of hearing and would probably have needed me to yell my rejection of her hospotality across the table quite loudly. I guess I just won't rake any old ladies' yards this next week.
Thursday, November 15, 2007
Empathy
I think one of the most beneficial aspects of this little experiment we've designed is not the reduced impact each of us will have over the course of it, but rather the empathy we will gain. I am reminded of the common phrase, that if you really want to understand someone, you must walk a mile in his or her shoes. (A slightly lesser known, yet equally effective expression that elaborates on the first is "If you don't stop to consider how turkeys think about the world, how will you ever walk a mile in another man's shoes?" - credited to a certain blogger you and I know). I don't think whoever came up with this expression was advocating the stealing of other people's shoes and subsequent mile walks. All that would really give you is a perspective on how comfortable his shoes were, and maybe athlete's foot. But it represents the idea of getting into someone's head, or really understanding their situation, where they came from, to know why they feel the way they do. We are all products of our upbringings. Events that happened in my childhood affect me, just as they affect you, the reader (however they are different events, unless we lived identical childhoods, which is possible, in which case we don't need to swap shoes, it'll save us some trouble).
Empathy is what we all need a bit more of in this country and in our lives. Now before I continue I want to be clear and admit that I know many of you already value empathy, and I may not be saying anything new or revolutionary, and I certainly don't feel like I am tackling a topic with such breadth and complexity as Alex has in his recent posts (which I commend him on. Oh, you liked them too? That's nice to hear. Hey, I know someone who'd like to hear that too! This is a shameless plug for comments...). However, empathy is essential. I will also take this opportunity for another shameless plug for a website with no ties to me whatsoever, I just happened to stumble upon it, I swear......... www.empathysymbol.com. That's the first real website I have mentioned.
So where am I going with this? I think many people fear vegetarianism, and think that the only people who do it are crazy animal huggers (there are laws against that you know..) or left-wing eco-nazis or people from some other fringe movement. We relegate them to minority status, which they have intrinsically by being vastly outnumbered by meat eaters (~3% in this country), but we treat them like they are misguided for their decision. Well I am not saying that you have to live as a vegetarian to understand their plight, I think I have gained some insight I wouldn't have had otherwise. And I think some of the best experiences I have had with this whole process is not the foods I eat or the lack of meat, but the conversations I have had with other vegetarians. Telling my story and sharing it with them, then hearing their personal story of their personal choice. Many people choose the life of a vegetarian for reasons far different than I would ever have, like animal rights issues (not that I think animals don't have rights, but I am far less concerned with that than I am with Mama Earth.) But instead of casting these people aside and making fun of them for caring about animals, taunting them (I am reminded of a bill our wonderful governor in the great state of Minnesota signed that would have done something to promote animal cruelty, in which he stated that he planned to sign it while enjoying a nice steak and fish dinner... that's cruel), or in general not listening to their cries, we need to understand their reasoning, even if we don't agree with it.
Like I just stated, I don't feel moved by the animal rights movement. I wear a leather jacket, still eat eggs and drink milk, and plan on eating chicken in the future. But I respect that different life experiences have lead some of my fellow men or women to fight the injustices that they see. If I don't respect that, at least on some level, how can I expect them, or anyone else for that matter, to respect me when I stand up for an injustice I see? Would they not be justified in calling me a crazy nut job who shares the viewpoint of just 3% of the population? Why are you wasting your time, they could say to me, it's never going to make a difference. In fact, the environmental movement gets a lot of that. Well, the civil rights movement started in the minority as well, as we are only about 13% African-American in this country; the women's rights movement in the minority (yes I know half of people are women, but you get the idea); the call to end slavery in the minority; the fight for gays rights still remains in the minority, however fast it may be growing. Respect for the minority opinion is something that we hold true as Americans. Our government, our constitution, was deemed revolutionary for the very reason that the minority party has a say. It's something we take for granted in this country, but many other nations do not have that built in respect for the little guy. And we have this system because of a respect for empathy. The founding fathers knew that it sucks to be in the minority and have your opinions be squashed. They also realized that the minority opinion still represents a large part of the country, and in a representative government one should strive for 100% representation. Lastly, they realized that things may shift, and when that other party takes the majority away from you, you sure as heck hope they treat you well. But if you didn't treat them well, they have no motivation to do anything but return the "favor."
My point is - I think we need a bit of empathy. In all aspects of our lives. But in respect to vegetarianism, I think we need to understand that there are those who find reason for making such a drastic and counter-to-the-norm decision, and even if we do not understand fully what their reasoning is, or do not share their viewpoint, we need to respect it, and maybe add a few more options on the menu, make alternative choices in the supermarket a bit more accessible, and in general not type these people as fringe. Who knows, the day may come (and I hope it does for my Mama's sake, Mama Earth that is) when we ALL eat less meat and want more options and support systems for making the transition. Or at least the day may come when you decide that you are ready for the change. Wouldn't you feel worse about making the change to something you once denounced?
I like that this experience will become part of my life as a story. I will be so thankful to be able to recount this experience, and tell people I gave up meat for a month. They may not be too impressed, they may have done it before or may say they don't think it would be too hard. But I can still say I did it. I know what its like. I hope that we can all find little ways to challenge ourselves to see through someone else's eyes. It doesn't have to be a grandeur experiment with a blog. But I hope that I, and you the reader too, can find ways to challenge our norms, break out of the shells of our lives, and experience what someone else has. I think after that we'd all have a bit more respect for each other.
Empathy is what we all need a bit more of in this country and in our lives. Now before I continue I want to be clear and admit that I know many of you already value empathy, and I may not be saying anything new or revolutionary, and I certainly don't feel like I am tackling a topic with such breadth and complexity as Alex has in his recent posts (which I commend him on. Oh, you liked them too? That's nice to hear. Hey, I know someone who'd like to hear that too! This is a shameless plug for comments...). However, empathy is essential. I will also take this opportunity for another shameless plug for a website with no ties to me whatsoever, I just happened to stumble upon it, I swear......... www.empathysymbol.com. That's the first real website I have mentioned.
So where am I going with this? I think many people fear vegetarianism, and think that the only people who do it are crazy animal huggers (there are laws against that you know..) or left-wing eco-nazis or people from some other fringe movement. We relegate them to minority status, which they have intrinsically by being vastly outnumbered by meat eaters (~3% in this country), but we treat them like they are misguided for their decision. Well I am not saying that you have to live as a vegetarian to understand their plight, I think I have gained some insight I wouldn't have had otherwise. And I think some of the best experiences I have had with this whole process is not the foods I eat or the lack of meat, but the conversations I have had with other vegetarians. Telling my story and sharing it with them, then hearing their personal story of their personal choice. Many people choose the life of a vegetarian for reasons far different than I would ever have, like animal rights issues (not that I think animals don't have rights, but I am far less concerned with that than I am with Mama Earth.) But instead of casting these people aside and making fun of them for caring about animals, taunting them (I am reminded of a bill our wonderful governor in the great state of Minnesota signed that would have done something to promote animal cruelty, in which he stated that he planned to sign it while enjoying a nice steak and fish dinner... that's cruel), or in general not listening to their cries, we need to understand their reasoning, even if we don't agree with it.
Like I just stated, I don't feel moved by the animal rights movement. I wear a leather jacket, still eat eggs and drink milk, and plan on eating chicken in the future. But I respect that different life experiences have lead some of my fellow men or women to fight the injustices that they see. If I don't respect that, at least on some level, how can I expect them, or anyone else for that matter, to respect me when I stand up for an injustice I see? Would they not be justified in calling me a crazy nut job who shares the viewpoint of just 3% of the population? Why are you wasting your time, they could say to me, it's never going to make a difference. In fact, the environmental movement gets a lot of that. Well, the civil rights movement started in the minority as well, as we are only about 13% African-American in this country; the women's rights movement in the minority (yes I know half of people are women, but you get the idea); the call to end slavery in the minority; the fight for gays rights still remains in the minority, however fast it may be growing. Respect for the minority opinion is something that we hold true as Americans. Our government, our constitution, was deemed revolutionary for the very reason that the minority party has a say. It's something we take for granted in this country, but many other nations do not have that built in respect for the little guy. And we have this system because of a respect for empathy. The founding fathers knew that it sucks to be in the minority and have your opinions be squashed. They also realized that the minority opinion still represents a large part of the country, and in a representative government one should strive for 100% representation. Lastly, they realized that things may shift, and when that other party takes the majority away from you, you sure as heck hope they treat you well. But if you didn't treat them well, they have no motivation to do anything but return the "favor."
My point is - I think we need a bit of empathy. In all aspects of our lives. But in respect to vegetarianism, I think we need to understand that there are those who find reason for making such a drastic and counter-to-the-norm decision, and even if we do not understand fully what their reasoning is, or do not share their viewpoint, we need to respect it, and maybe add a few more options on the menu, make alternative choices in the supermarket a bit more accessible, and in general not type these people as fringe. Who knows, the day may come (and I hope it does for my Mama's sake, Mama Earth that is) when we ALL eat less meat and want more options and support systems for making the transition. Or at least the day may come when you decide that you are ready for the change. Wouldn't you feel worse about making the change to something you once denounced?
I like that this experience will become part of my life as a story. I will be so thankful to be able to recount this experience, and tell people I gave up meat for a month. They may not be too impressed, they may have done it before or may say they don't think it would be too hard. But I can still say I did it. I know what its like. I hope that we can all find little ways to challenge ourselves to see through someone else's eyes. It doesn't have to be a grandeur experiment with a blog. But I hope that I, and you the reader too, can find ways to challenge our norms, break out of the shells of our lives, and experience what someone else has. I think after that we'd all have a bit more respect for each other.
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
A Fall Story
Writing something every other day that you know other people will read changes the way you think. Since I can write about anything I want to, I find myself trying to turn everything interesting I ever see or hear into something to blog about. For instance, I was biking to school the other morning and I was struck by the way the sun was lighting up all the colorful leaves. I think the leaves staggered their changing times this fall so that the color has lasted an unusually long time. I have also noticed that the colors you see change drastically depending on what sort of lighting there is at that time of day, or with those particular weather conditions. The result has been a very long time full of a very wide variety of colors, and in conclusion I am overwhelmed with it all. In a good way. So as I biked to school through the bright yellows, reds and pinks(?) I looked at the thick frost on the grass and distinct shafts of light in the frozen air cut by bare branches and thought how I definitely need to write about the aesthetics of fall in next blog entry. Alas, such things have little to nothing to do with vegetarianism, so they will never make it to you the reader. *sigh*
But not everything I hear and see is totally irrelevant, or quite as whimsical. In church this last Sunday we had the humorous author Donald Miller speak. He was highly amusing, and I recommend reading and listening to him. (Yes, I actually read a portion of one of his books, as rare as that may be) What he spoke about, to be brief, was the concept of your life being your story. While I will not go into the details, as glorious as they are, he ended up challenging us all to live our lives in a way that would be worth telling about later. To conduct ourselves the way a hero in a movie would conduct themselves and put our very lives on the line for something that mattered. He quoted a book by some famous story guru who asserts that our society is losing the concept of a good story as a result of blurring lines of morality in our society. This was the perfect setup for me to frame this vegetarian experiment in a lofty context and praise Devin and myself.
This seems like a silly game to give up meat for somewhat intangible reasons, and only temporarily at that. The benefits of it are too abstract for most people to think anything more of it than that it is weird. But then again, we do have a reason for doing it. We have chosen our objectives, articulated our aspirations and gone about achieving them. We named our villains (waste, unsustainability, greed, complacency…) and we have our plan of action to confront them. Devin and I are writing a short story with our lives this fall. Quite literally with this blog, but also in the bigger picture of our lives. When we look back on the fall of 2007 in years to come, we will have a story to tell. Not only a story of what we did during these four weeks, but a back-story to the values and habits we will carry with us because of this experience. We could have kept living the exact same lives we were before, simply being aware of what was happening in the world around us. But when we make the move from comfortable awareness to uncomfortable action, we do something worthwhile that will pay off in ways we can’t even plan on.
How is that for self-praise and exaggerated glorification? Not bad. But there is some truth to it all as well. Indeed, the story we are writing here is not an epic. It’s quite tame actually. But at least we are writing, and we can be proud of that. So when you congratulate us on doing something cool, but chuckle and say you could never do it, ask yourself why that is. Is it because you don’t know why you should, or because you do know why but you are too comfortable to change? And I am not just talking about meat now. How often do we know what is required of us, but put it aside to be dealt with later, or by somebody else? Probably every day in some small way or another. But we are capable of accomplishing great things and bringing about real change when we decide the comfortable life of the observer is not for us. As Donald Miller put it on Sunday, if you were to die today, what dreams would die with you? What would the world lose because you are gone? I am trying to build a respectable answer to that question, and maybe I this will all be a small part of it someday.
(You can hear exactly what Donald Miller said if you go to iTunes and search for the Mars Hill Bible Church Podcast)
But not everything I hear and see is totally irrelevant, or quite as whimsical. In church this last Sunday we had the humorous author Donald Miller speak. He was highly amusing, and I recommend reading and listening to him. (Yes, I actually read a portion of one of his books, as rare as that may be) What he spoke about, to be brief, was the concept of your life being your story. While I will not go into the details, as glorious as they are, he ended up challenging us all to live our lives in a way that would be worth telling about later. To conduct ourselves the way a hero in a movie would conduct themselves and put our very lives on the line for something that mattered. He quoted a book by some famous story guru who asserts that our society is losing the concept of a good story as a result of blurring lines of morality in our society. This was the perfect setup for me to frame this vegetarian experiment in a lofty context and praise Devin and myself.
This seems like a silly game to give up meat for somewhat intangible reasons, and only temporarily at that. The benefits of it are too abstract for most people to think anything more of it than that it is weird. But then again, we do have a reason for doing it. We have chosen our objectives, articulated our aspirations and gone about achieving them. We named our villains (waste, unsustainability, greed, complacency…) and we have our plan of action to confront them. Devin and I are writing a short story with our lives this fall. Quite literally with this blog, but also in the bigger picture of our lives. When we look back on the fall of 2007 in years to come, we will have a story to tell. Not only a story of what we did during these four weeks, but a back-story to the values and habits we will carry with us because of this experience. We could have kept living the exact same lives we were before, simply being aware of what was happening in the world around us. But when we make the move from comfortable awareness to uncomfortable action, we do something worthwhile that will pay off in ways we can’t even plan on.
How is that for self-praise and exaggerated glorification? Not bad. But there is some truth to it all as well. Indeed, the story we are writing here is not an epic. It’s quite tame actually. But at least we are writing, and we can be proud of that. So when you congratulate us on doing something cool, but chuckle and say you could never do it, ask yourself why that is. Is it because you don’t know why you should, or because you do know why but you are too comfortable to change? And I am not just talking about meat now. How often do we know what is required of us, but put it aside to be dealt with later, or by somebody else? Probably every day in some small way or another. But we are capable of accomplishing great things and bringing about real change when we decide the comfortable life of the observer is not for us. As Donald Miller put it on Sunday, if you were to die today, what dreams would die with you? What would the world lose because you are gone? I am trying to build a respectable answer to that question, and maybe I this will all be a small part of it someday.
(You can hear exactly what Donald Miller said if you go to iTunes and search for the Mars Hill Bible Church Podcast)
Tuesday, November 13, 2007
I Cheated
At least it tasted like I did. I'm sorry if the title scared any of you, for I did not actually cheat on my vegetarian diet, but boy did it seem like it. Let me tell you why. A few days ago, my vegetarian friend Alex (different Alex, sorry Alex.. which Alex am I talking about now? You'll never know!) asked me what I had been eating. She asked if I would cook a recipe if she gave it to me, because she rightly assumed that I have been eating a lot of carbs. I realized just how bad it was with that comment. My pasta and chicken has become pasta. My rice and chicken has become rice. My chicken has become nothing.
Fearing another night of rice and vegetables, I decided to take a trip to Shaw's to find me some good fake meat. Last night I was reading a website I found (I will plug it later, don't worry) and they had links to all these different imitation meat products - chicken nuggets, hamburgers, hot dogs, bacon! It was all there. So, alas, I was inspired to find some good substitutions and avoid carb overload.
I found my imitation of choice - some fake chicken nuggets. However, I was confused. On the package it said "Meatless and Soy Free!" No meat. No soy?? What is it? (Oh I think they've found that air can be a good source of protein... I bet its just breaded bags of air with chicken fragrances. Sweet.) I read the back, perplexed. I had to figure out what is actually in it. Turns out it wasn't air, but rather something called Mycoprotein. For those of you who speak Latin (which is all of you, I don't know why I am bothering to translate) you know that Myco means fungi. Like Mycorhizae, the fungi in symbiotic relationship with most roots. Duh, now it makes sense. So basically these weren't chicken nuggets at all - they were fungi-nuggets. I was skeptical - and my roommates recoiled in horror.
So I fried up the suspiciously chicken looking nuggets in my George Foreman Lean Mean Fat Grilling Machine™. In seconds they were ready! (I really recommend the George Foreman Lean Mean Fat Grilling Machine™. Though I don't know why they call it the George Foreman Lean Mean Fat Grilling Machine™? It doesn't grill fat - it grills food. They should call it the George Foreman Lean Mean Food Grilling Machine™. Just a thought™)(Read the tee-ems). I cut one in half and it looked suspiciously like chicken. It tasted suspiciously like chicken (I am suspiciously still suspicious). Maybe its just because I haven't had chicken in 2 and a half weeks, but I really seemed like I ate chicken tonight. At least, you can see why it felt like I had meat tonight.
I suggest that everyone who is vegetarian go out and get these. And I suggest that everyone who isn't vegetarian but agrees that meat is harmful; get these. You won't know the difference. The brand name is Quorn. Look 'em up.
On to the website I was reading last night. The site is www.tryveg.com, and it seems to have some good info and resources if you are considering going vegetarian. I have read just a little bit, but it has been helpful. The article I read last night was on kids going vegetarian. The article said that 3% of adults are vegetarian. That's suspiciously low (or surprisingly, whatever). I guess that's why so few veg options show up on most menus in restaurants. It also said that 2% of kids are vegetarian, up from 1%. Thats almost double! (It is you moron, where'd you learn math?) Now, being homeschooled, I learned a great deal, and if I wanted to go vegetarian it would have been easy because I was at home all day and could just say, Mom, no meat! (I wasn't homeschooled...) At public schools, it's gotta be tough. I know if you didn't eat meat at my high school, you would have been eating a LOT of cheese. Mostly in pizza form, or stuffed breadstick form, or pizza boat form, or pizza roll form, or pretzel and cheese, or grilled cheese. Sounds like a balanced diet to me, but some kids may want more. I think meat is important for growing kids. I know you can do without it when you are a young, growing person if you have the right tools, preferably someone cooking for you who knows what they are doing. But in general, I think meat is good for kids growing up. Maybe not in the quantities that some enjoy it, but still on a regular basis. It's not that I want meat to be banished forever from the plates of billions worldwide.
I would love it if we could figure out a way to make meat less wasteful. Make meat "sustainable." That will be the day. Instead of slapping a USDA Organic sticker on foods to make people feel better, I think it'd be great if we could focus on sustainability, and slap USDA Sustainable stickers on the best foods out there. I know sustainability is not an easy thing to calculate, and I understand why that hasn't happened. But if we have more of a system-wide outlook - what does the cow or chicken eat, where does the grain and corn come from, how much water does it take to grow that, what kind of pesticides, if any, are being used, how much is the farmer being paid for the meat, is his land being raped of its resources and be unable to produce in five years, how much fossil fuels are used to grow the food and then to transport that meat from the farm to the butcher to the packaging plant to the freezer section to your house. Wow that's a lot to consider. But it can be done. We are pretty smart, as a species. We can figure it out. We just need some resolve. One day I'd like to find a pack of boneless chicken breast in the freezer section that says more than just Organic or even Cage-Free or Free-Range (which I have been hearing in some circles is a load of crap anyway... more on that later), but Sustainable as well. Then we can resume our normal diets without guilt. Who knows if this is possible, but maybe we should try. Until then, I cheated (just kidding, the title is irrelevant at this point. But it fit in the beginning I swear). USDA Sustainable.
Fearing another night of rice and vegetables, I decided to take a trip to Shaw's to find me some good fake meat. Last night I was reading a website I found (I will plug it later, don't worry) and they had links to all these different imitation meat products - chicken nuggets, hamburgers, hot dogs, bacon! It was all there. So, alas, I was inspired to find some good substitutions and avoid carb overload.
I found my imitation of choice - some fake chicken nuggets. However, I was confused. On the package it said "Meatless and Soy Free!" No meat. No soy?? What is it? (Oh I think they've found that air can be a good source of protein... I bet its just breaded bags of air with chicken fragrances. Sweet.) I read the back, perplexed. I had to figure out what is actually in it. Turns out it wasn't air, but rather something called Mycoprotein. For those of you who speak Latin (which is all of you, I don't know why I am bothering to translate) you know that Myco means fungi. Like Mycorhizae, the fungi in symbiotic relationship with most roots. Duh, now it makes sense. So basically these weren't chicken nuggets at all - they were fungi-nuggets. I was skeptical - and my roommates recoiled in horror.
So I fried up the suspiciously chicken looking nuggets in my George Foreman Lean Mean Fat Grilling Machine™. In seconds they were ready! (I really recommend the George Foreman Lean Mean Fat Grilling Machine™. Though I don't know why they call it the George Foreman Lean Mean Fat Grilling Machine™? It doesn't grill fat - it grills food. They should call it the George Foreman Lean Mean Food Grilling Machine™. Just a thought™)(Read the tee-ems). I cut one in half and it looked suspiciously like chicken. It tasted suspiciously like chicken (I am suspiciously still suspicious). Maybe its just because I haven't had chicken in 2 and a half weeks, but I really seemed like I ate chicken tonight. At least, you can see why it felt like I had meat tonight.
I suggest that everyone who is vegetarian go out and get these. And I suggest that everyone who isn't vegetarian but agrees that meat is harmful; get these. You won't know the difference. The brand name is Quorn. Look 'em up.
On to the website I was reading last night. The site is www.tryveg.com, and it seems to have some good info and resources if you are considering going vegetarian. I have read just a little bit, but it has been helpful. The article I read last night was on kids going vegetarian. The article said that 3% of adults are vegetarian. That's suspiciously low (or surprisingly, whatever). I guess that's why so few veg options show up on most menus in restaurants. It also said that 2% of kids are vegetarian, up from 1%. Thats almost double! (It is you moron, where'd you learn math?) Now, being homeschooled, I learned a great deal, and if I wanted to go vegetarian it would have been easy because I was at home all day and could just say, Mom, no meat! (I wasn't homeschooled...) At public schools, it's gotta be tough. I know if you didn't eat meat at my high school, you would have been eating a LOT of cheese. Mostly in pizza form, or stuffed breadstick form, or pizza boat form, or pizza roll form, or pretzel and cheese, or grilled cheese. Sounds like a balanced diet to me, but some kids may want more. I think meat is important for growing kids. I know you can do without it when you are a young, growing person if you have the right tools, preferably someone cooking for you who knows what they are doing. But in general, I think meat is good for kids growing up. Maybe not in the quantities that some enjoy it, but still on a regular basis. It's not that I want meat to be banished forever from the plates of billions worldwide.
I would love it if we could figure out a way to make meat less wasteful. Make meat "sustainable." That will be the day. Instead of slapping a USDA Organic sticker on foods to make people feel better, I think it'd be great if we could focus on sustainability, and slap USDA Sustainable stickers on the best foods out there. I know sustainability is not an easy thing to calculate, and I understand why that hasn't happened. But if we have more of a system-wide outlook - what does the cow or chicken eat, where does the grain and corn come from, how much water does it take to grow that, what kind of pesticides, if any, are being used, how much is the farmer being paid for the meat, is his land being raped of its resources and be unable to produce in five years, how much fossil fuels are used to grow the food and then to transport that meat from the farm to the butcher to the packaging plant to the freezer section to your house. Wow that's a lot to consider. But it can be done. We are pretty smart, as a species. We can figure it out. We just need some resolve. One day I'd like to find a pack of boneless chicken breast in the freezer section that says more than just Organic or even Cage-Free or Free-Range (which I have been hearing in some circles is a load of crap anyway... more on that later), but Sustainable as well. Then we can resume our normal diets without guilt. Who knows if this is possible, but maybe we should try. Until then, I cheated (just kidding, the title is irrelevant at this point. But it fit in the beginning I swear). USDA Sustainable.
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