Wednesday, September 6, 2017

Life With Impatient Ideals

Spouse and I had dabbled in vegetarian/vegan/whole plant foods for about 25 years.

Then I'd go vegetarian and vegan, spouse would either eat what I made or when we went out, he would usually order an animal flesh meal. I also falter occasionally.

It's one thing to know that there are no animal rights laws in the food or clothing industry, but another thing to actually let that waterfall crush you; either by trying to avoid taking advantage of animals, or to tell yourself "the system has been place for a hundred years, it will never change".

It's hard to avoid all products that take advantage of animals or animal parts. The best you can do is start by reading labels to avoid gelatin, casein, bone char-bleached, et cetera. No one should be harassed by not trying harder. Everything is a case-by-case situation, it is hard to decide which food item does less damage to animals, environment,  and people.

It's also tough when labels are wrong. I have a non-dairy creamer which states clearly on the bottom of the ingredients list "contains dairy". So don't beat yourself up, it happens and you are at least making a conscious effort.

Don't advertise your choice, whether you eat meat or plants- no one cares, and there is always an argument for both sides,  just do your thing. There are plenty of things you can veganise for guests. A host can always put other delectable items out for the taking, people will usually try it before they ask what they just ate; or they will ask, wrinkle their nose at the foreign food (tofu, seitan), and if you make it delicious, it will change their perception.

I have found I do a lot more cooking, and it is best if you can cook extra for meal prep; but I also eat more variety since I get bored with the minimal choices of vegetables and protein substitutes at my local grocery.

These next step is to grow our own vegetables. I've been trying to move further away from refrigerated items unless it is cold water and other drinks.

Things I hope to grow to reduce the need refrigeration (some produce needs to be fridged since it spends ripening time in travel):
lettuces
spinach
cabbage
broccoli
brussels sprouts
bell peppers
squash varieties
radish
tomato
...

Also like and may attempt to grow
potatoes
onions
beans
peas
...