Chipotle: Continued

Apparently this issue isn’t going away anytime soon and the ad is garnering attention from major Agricultural figures, as well as famed author Michael Pollan who tweeted this article today: Chipotle Article Read this!

And then read this:

Here are my thoughts as I read this article and the quotes that sparked my thoughts:

• “The agriculture industry hates it,” : Great! The agriculture industry hates the ad as much as me because they know how fake Chipotle is and want a better world for all!
• “In general, this romanticized view of agriculture is not going to be able to feed the world,” said Tom Super, spokesman for the National Chicken Council, of what the industry sees as Chipotle pushing its ideals on consumers,” : NO NO NO this isn’t good!
• “Chipotle’s latest video, in particular, has ruffled the feathers of the NCC, because it shows chickens being injected with what seem to be hormones even though those are not allowed in poultry production,” : How interesting… because I am pretty sure there are a lot of hormones used in poultry production in this country. Maybe their explicit legislature says no, but let’s all reflect on the fact that anything that is “industry normal” is considered okay for factory farmers, even if it blatantly breaks the previously established laws. So if factories are injecting hormones into their chickens, and this is static across the board- which it is, then nobody is allowed to stop them. Harrumph.
• “One of the most emotional moments of the video — a close-up showing the sad eyes of a cow in a crate — is also inaccurate, several groups pointed out. “There’s a reason why it’s done in a cartoon because you won’t find that in a meatpacking plant,” said Eric Mittenthal, spokesman for the American Meat Institute.” : This is a valid point, I had a similar reaction because the cow’s eyes are heart wrenching, but it’s true that real life cows do not express that kind of emotion in their eyes. However, this is a great tactic for inspiring change because although real life cows don’t express these emotions so clearly in their eyes, they are experiencing those feelings and we as consumers don’t acknowledge this truth.
• “The agriculture industry fears that Chipotle, more than just influencing consumer behavior, could ultimately help drive policy either by bolstering the grass-roots good-food movement or by having the ear of members of Congress.” : AHA! The ag industry admits that they don’t like happy animals and farmers and healthy consumers! Why, you ask? Because they don’t get as much money from “grass-roots good-food movements.” My blood is boiling.
• “Rep. Louise Slaughter (D-N.Y.) reintroduced a bill banning nontherapeutic uses of medically important antibiotics in food animal production earlier this year, but the proposal has yet to gain traction.” : 1) Can we all giggle at the irony that this person’s last name is Slaughter? 2) Shocking! I am floored! Nobody wants to support the ban of dangerous and unhealthy chemicals in our animal products?!
• ““But Chipotle plans to continue its advocacy through advertising and stay out of formal lobbying and contributing to campaigns, company spokesman Chris Arnold told POLITICO.“Our focus is on running restaurants, not dictating public policy,” he said.“What we’re trying to do with these kinds of communications is bring people in through entertainment and leave them learning something that they didn’t know about issues in food before, so the idea is to spark conversations.” ” : I have a lot to say about this chunk of words. Basically, what I am seeing is that Chipotle is chasing after change, but doesn’t actually want to put in the effort to see it through. Don’t they want to change public policy so everybody has better food? Isn’t that what they stand for? Real, good, honest, and responsible food? Maybe it’s because they want to be the only people producing this kind of product in the chain industry, because right now they have a monopoly on the “conscious eaters on the go” demographic. Maybe that’s me over thinking this whole thing. But I think it’s a point worth acknowledging and considering. In regards to that last statement, they certainly are sparking conversations.
• “But major ag groups think Chipotle is refusing to engage in the conversation it hoped to start.” : AH! We agree on something!
• “Both the U.S. Farmers & Ranchers Alliance and the Animal Agriculture Alliance, which represent the most powerful players in agriculture, reached out to Chipotle last week to express their disapproval of the company’s depiction of the food system. The groups have invited Ells to tour farms and have a public discussion about the video, but those offers have so far been turned down.” : Okay our agreement has ended. Chipotle didn’t produce an honest ad, but not for the reasons that big ag thinks.   I want Chipotle to take up their offer so I can hear about what they see, because the factory farming side of Chipotle’s ad is an accurate depiction.
• ““It’s a fabrication of how food is produced and fabrication that drives the sales for food they produce,” said Randy Krotz, executive director for the U.S. Farmers & Ranchers Alliance. “It doesn’t seem like they need to stoop to this kind of marketing campaign.” ” : Nope not a fabrication of how food is produced in this country. Sorry Randy. But it is a fabrication of Chipotle’s food production. So agreed and disagreed on this.
• ” “The underlying issues that are portrayed in the film are things like the overuse of antibiotics, the harsh crowding of animals, the extent to which food is processed are very real issues,” Arnold said.” : Arnold works for Chipotle and I’m not sure that “underlying issues” is the best way to define those things, because they seem pretty prominent to me.
• “ “I think it’s priceless that the food industry is upset by what they see as deceptive marketing, when their use of false imagery is rampant,” added Pollan, citing the fact that big meat companies often use images of small, idyllic farms with red barns and rolling hills to sell their products. “It’s the pot calling the kettle black.” ” : Michael Pollan nailed it. This sums up everything I have been saying so far. It’s hilarious for the big ag figures to be so angry by Chipotle’s significantly more accurate depiction of their industry than their own images they produce. They are constantly portraying food systems in this country as happy and healthy which is completely false. Big ag is only angry because this is the truth and they don’t want the truth reaching such a huge audience.
• “But the bitterness felt by the industry isn’t just tied to Chipotle’s latest advertisement. The company, which once counted McDonald’s Corp. as its largest investor, has been making enemies in the livestock and biotech industries with its highly publicized push against GMO ingredients and toward antibiotic-free meat.” : For these reasons I love Chipotle. If you aren’t making anybody angry then you aren’t standing up for anything. Again, it makes me laugh to enjoy how angry these big ag companies get at Chipotle for exposing their faults.
• “But with less than 2 percent of the U.S. population involved in food production and the world’s growing population to feed, the agriculture industry has argued that turning away from efficiency-boosting technology, like GMOs and synthetic hormones, will leave people hungry. It is stymying innovation, said Cathleen Enright, executive vice president for food and agriculture at The Biotechnology Industry Organization. “It’s unfortunate when marketing such as this is used, because it could jeopardize our common goal of feeding the world’s growing population.” ” : AHHHHH anger! Yep, let’s pump people full of more and more artificial hormones and dangerous chemicals because that will make them less hungry- maybe, but it will leave us all sick and ultimately less full than real foods. Big ag is turning away from a traditional farming system in favor of a disgusting system to try and feed the world. Local farming and food production is good for the local economy, good for the people eating it, and good for the farmers and animals involved in the production. Yes we can’t rely on this completely- yet. But shouldn’t we be working towards making that way of food production more sustainable and effective rather than moving in the direction towards completely unsustainable and unhealthy systems?
• ““What we would like to see that ‘The Scarecrow’ portrays is a system where [antibiotic- and GMO-free] is not the niche, where that is the system, and that’s what we would like to see. We understand that we’re not there yet. We understand that the food system isn’t there as a whole,” he said.” : So why not get involved in policy? If this is what you want? Again, I am doubting your motives here, because I am still convinced you are more committed to making a profit than making a better food system for the country and the world.

That was a lot, but I think that Chipotle has accomplished its goal and launched a very important conversation about food that we should all be engaging in.

Let’s Talk About Chipotle

I recently had an interesting conversation surrounding my burrito at a meeting a couple of weeks ago. Because I was running from one place to another between classes I stopped at Chipotle for a burrito (let’s note that my weird eating habits define a burrito as “rice, veggies, salsa, and ‘just a little guacamole please'”). Somebody said to me, “it’s awesome how great Chipotle is. Their meat is all responsible and their veggies are all organic.” I thought for a moment about my response, which was initially more of a noise than actual words, “welllllllll actuallllyyyyy….” I began, hesitant to be too preachy or self righteous, “their meat isn’t all that responsible. And the actual origin of the rest of their ingredients isn’t all that transparent either.”

After some awkward and tense words exchanged between us I essentially agreed to disagree by saying that, “if you want to truly eat responsibly then it’s probably best to try to avoid eating from any fast food chains, but if you want to eat fast food responsibly then go to Chipotle.”

After that some people started talking about Chipotle’s new game, which I knew nothing of since I don’t watch channels that advertise Chipotle apparently. I didn’t think of this again until my friend Laura (queen of food knowledge) asked if I had seen the new Chipotle ad. As she explained to me what was in the short commercial I became interested and looked it up.

If you haven’t seen the video, here it is:

Here are some things that are fundamentally wrong with this: (shout out to Laura for a lot of these points!)

• Chipotle is suggesting that they are the solution to all of the food problems that our country has. They are saying “these terrible images represent all of the other food chains out there” and that “our processes and foods are the solution” when in reality Chipotle certainly represents a step in the right direction, but it definitely should not be where we stop progressing.
• They show sad animals. Then they show happy vegetables. These are two different systems and cannot be compared the way this does. This leads me as a consumer and viewer to say, “oh hey Chipotle- you’re admitting that your meat isn’t happy” because they don’t address that
• This video is just using happy music and cute pictures to convince people that they are good for the world. 90% of people who watch this are probably going to say “I am so going to Chipotle because they are sustainable and responsible and humane and better than all the other food! Their cows don’t look petrified before they die like the one in this video! I wish every restaurant was like Chipotle!” and this is an issue. We need more people to question advertisements, since in the end ads are just the company trying to gain revenue. Unfortunately most food distributors care more about making money than providing products that are good for the producers and consumers alike. Chipotle is certainly not exempt from this.

Here is an awesome video that has come out as a rebuttal to the ad: (thanks yet again to Laura for this!)

This video expresses everything that I am trying to, but with a cool video.

I am not saying stop eating at Chipotle (I’m not about to!), but I am encouraging you to be less trusting of corporations. Especially when they are selling you food! Chipotle represents progress and the idea that food could someday be both fast and fresh, but their current fare does not demonstrate the ideal amount of fresh that we as a society can achieve. So keep it up Chipotle, but stop pretending that you are something you aren’t and acknowledge your room for improvement.

Long time no see!

Since the last time I have written I have been doing my best to eat vegan. It has not been easy because I have been romping around in a land down under- that’s right- I’m in Australia for the summer!

Before I came here I did a quick internet search to uncover some facts about animal rights and factory farming in Australia. What I discovered was GREAT news! Two grocery stores, whose combined sales account for 60% of all grocery sales in the country, have both discontinued sales of any factory farmed pork or eggs! This is such a massive step in the right direction and just one of the many reasons I love this country!

I went on a road trip around the small towns of the southeast of Australia for the last two weeks and I had some deliciously amazing local, humane, and sustainable foods. At one restaurant, in Eden, NSW, I had a slice of veggie lasagna. Oh. My. Goodness. It was one of the most satisfying meals I have ever had. It’s been weeks since I had anything covered in gooey and melted cheese and the first bite I took of that lasagna was heaven on earth. How appropriate it happened in a town called Eden!

Unfortunately for me, if you have been avoiding dairy products for weeks and you eat a ton of cheese your stomach isn’t exactly going to be happy with you. Yikes. That is all I have to say on the internet about that…

In other happy news I had the freshest fish I will probably ever have the pleasure of encountering in the tiny

fishing town of Bermagui, NSW. A sign over the counter boasted thatm “all of our seafood comes from local and sustainable fisheries” and while we were sitting on the dock, looking out over the ocean, we watched a boat deliver fish into a truck which then pulled up to the restaurant. The fish had literally come from the water directly in front of me. I will probably never find seafood- or any animal food- that local again anytime soon. The fried fish and chips really hit the spot after not eating fish for ten months.

I am still continuing to try to eat as vegan as possible which involves a lot of tofu, tons of hummus- no joke thousands of pounds- and a lot A LOT of spinach with every meal. It’s harder being abroad because I want to try things when it’s a “when in Rome” situation. We visited multiple cheese factories, for instance, and I wish I had tried some of the cheese.

That is all for now, but I will be sure to post again more regularly! Cheers!

All Aboard the Struggle Bus

I have been as bad at posting as I have been about cutting out non-local animal products. What did I snack on today? MILK CHOCOLATE BEARS. Oopsies. I RIDE THE STRUGGLE BUS ALL DAY.  I have been making constant excuses for my infringements on my new rules. “I’m busy” “Just this once” “IT’S SO YUMMY” But it’s time that I cut the crap. I need to bite the bullet (the humane, sustainable, and local bullet of course) and just stick to my new diet plan.

My goal was to be fully integrated by the end of this semester. I have about three weeks and I think it’s doable. I’ve made some small changes. Ordering soy milk in my coffee, trying not to buy cheese/ice cream/pizza but let’s be honest, cutting out food that I not only enjoy, but LOVE isn’t easy. Comfort food is just that: comforting. What will I eat now when I just need an ooey gooey bowl of mac and cheese? HUMMUS? Not exactly an equal swapping in my book.

I have been aggressively perusing the world wide web for some new recipes to try out, hopefully some of then can satisfy my cravings.

In addition to my flexicarnilactaovalocavore diet being healthy for the planet and animals it is really healthy for me. Minimizing animal products is very good for your health. Countless studies prove it as do my energetic and lean vegan friends. So I am also motivated by improving my own health.

I had one of my oops-i-am-actually-crazy moments this week when I sent an email to Vermont Creamery asking about the treatment of their goats that provide the milk to make their (DELICIOUS) cheese. Some rumors have reached me about goats and their cheese producing and how they are never abused, but I was skeptical so I did a very minimal amount of digging and discovered that female goats are made to give birth a lot to produce more milk and male babies are often immediately killed because it is not very cost effective to raise an animal that will produce very little meat and no milk. NOT COOL GOAT FARMERS! So I wanted to check out my brand of goat cheese. They responded quickly and thoroughly, explaining that they do not control the farms who provide their milk, but they are working on being 100% certified humane (a label I need to research for legitimacy and standards and such for my grocery shopping knowledge). I haven’t quite decided if I will continue to support them until they are certified humane or if I will find a truly local and one farm operation to buy goat cheese from.

THIS IS ALL SUCH A PROCESS.

Also, slightly delayed, but happy earth day to everybody! 

 

Don’t worry, I’m not a hippie

First of all, I have a question: is it hippy or hippie? What is the correct spelling? Is there a correct spelling…?

Second: while eating dinner with a lovely group of friends tonight somebody expressed to me that I am “slowly becoming a hippie.” [Brendan.. you know who you are] And also that, “I wouldn’t be surprised if you had dreads next semester.” Alright guys. Calm down. I am here to reassure everybody that I am not, I REPEAT NOT becoming a hippy. Yes I have developed some strong opinions and I am still wearing birkenstocks on mid-December, but those are not legitimate reasons to panic. I am specifically addressing my parents now: I will not start smoking weed constantly and talking about I just want to get in touch with nature and go live in the Redwood Forests. Everything will be alright.

And everybody who is worried about me becoming a pretentious diner, please watch this and laugh with me at how ridiculous and funny people who act like this are. I will NEVER act like this. The one time I asked where the chicken came from caused a huge issue and I felt like a pretentious ass hole and will never ever EVER ask again at a restaurant.

Forks Over Knives

As the title of this post suggests, I’m going to be talking about the documentary Forks Over Knives (which I will now refer to as FOK because I am lazy). FOK discusses the various benefits of going on a “whole foods, plant based” diet. Essentially, there has been incredibly extensive research done on how being a vegan affects your health and this movie sums it all up quite simply. As the cover suggest, this movie really could save somebody’s life. 

Apparently eating a plants based diet can reverse diseases such as cancer, heart disease, and diabetes. Two doctors, Dr. Campbell and Dr. Esselstyn, have devoted their lives to this research and have had incredible results.

After reading Eating Animals I was aware that animal based foods can have a very negative impact on health because of the way that they are produced in our country. When I see a piece of chicken now I see it as being riddled with bacteria and chemicals that are harmful to our bodies. I had no idea that the meat itself, not the additives from the factory farming industry, had such a profoundly bad impact on our health.

FOK really brought to light some of the atrocities occurring in the food industry, outside of the mistreatment of animals and workers. Dr. Barnard explained that the USDA determines every 5 years what the healthy American diet should look like. Out of the 11 members of the committee who makes this decision 6 of them had financial connections to the food industry. As Dr. Barnard said, “it has nothing to do with the health of the children, it has all to do with the financial health of the big agribusiness entities.” THIS IS UNACCEPTABLE.

How is this even allowed to happen?! I get SO MAD thinking about it. The people drawing the food pyramid (or square or circle or whatever it is these days) are MAKING MONEY by putting their stock shares on the picture.

This documentary was refreshing because it offers concrete evidence for why a vegan diet is healthy for humans and didn’t just discuss animal rights. In fact, it was hardly even touched upon in this video. I think maybe once or twice throughout FOK there were references to the abuse and poor life quality that farmed animals experience.

After viewing this I am highly considering being a real vegetarian and not just a flexicarnilocavore. Although, despite the gravy mishap, I have not had any meat since this began over two months ago, so it wouldn’t have any change on my current diet. It would, however, remove the “nugget at the end of the tunnel” that I have been dreaming about for weeks. The information I learned while watching this documentary has given me a lot to think about. And like my decision to begin my boycott of factory farmed meat I don’t think I will come to a consensus about a journey into vegetarianism/veganism for a while.

FOK made me realize how much I want all of the people I care about to eat less animal products. Not only does it resonate with my beliefs about the factory farming industry to cut out meat, but it would make them all healthier. Family and friends, I know you are reading this. Watch this movie and think about how much good could come of even a small change in your diet! Or just take my word for it and do it… Because I said so.

The FOK site is really great for further exploration about the concepts in the movie. However, when I started checking it out I was really unhappy with how commercialized the “Forks Over Knives” name has become. There was a testimonial from Dr. Oz. I’m sorry Oz but I don’t look to you for legitimate medical advice. I’m inclined to be skeptical about anything that is endorsed by hugely mainstream celebrities because they’re usually not in it for any genuine reasons (usually money is involved). I googled “forks over knives criticism” and came up with a lot of people mostly just attacking vegans for being pretentious and thinking they are better than everybody else. I found one article that talked about how Dr. Campbell and Dr. Esselstyn were “old jokers” and asked if a farm in the midwest was producing old men who think they know everything about diets. Very legitimate statements, clearly.

Regardless of your opinion of the mainstream vegan, it’s important to be open minded. As Dr. Campbell said of his own biases before his research began, “I had to criticize, self reflect, look at my biases very carefully, and it changed my views.” Maybe if you allow yourself to be open to change, you will have your views changed as well. I did.

2 Months!

Today marks the end of the full second month of my flexicarnilocavorism. Thats about 60 days, so about 180 meals. So- let’s say that in my 19 and a half years I’ve had 21,325 meals. Only 0.8% of my meals have been (officially) meat free. That’s hardly any at all.

BUT IT FEELS LIKE SO MANY MORE THAN THAT.

I have to admit, Thanksgiving was not easy. I may have dipped my finger into the gravy for a taste. It tasted like…. heaven. Like magic. Like the best thing I’ve ever eaten in my entire life. This little infringement, this sneaky affair with the enemy, was a mistake. Because ten minutes later I was seated directly in front of the gravy boat with a plate of mashed potatoes. Naked mashed potatoes. BEGGING FOR THE GRAVY. Fortunately for me, my loved ones could sense my weakness. Emily, one of the greatest friends in the entire world, noticed the intense stare down I was having with the gravy. She could see the wheels turning in my head.

My unspoken attempts to rationalize and justify dumping the entire contents of the gravy boat onto my potatoes hung between us silently. “No. You’re gonna be mad at yourself.” That’s all she had to say. And I realized that it wasn’t worth it. The delicious taste of homemade turkey gravy wasn’t worth it. What if I said that every time I went to the store or a restaurant- “it’s just this once, it doesn’t make that big of a difference and plus it tastes SO good.” The “just this once”s would accumulate into many and then I wouldn’t really stand for anything.

The 40 or so seconds I spent seriously contemplating eating the gravy was the hardest moment I have faced since I stopped eating meat. And yes, it tasted SO. DAMN. GOOD. But I have to stick to this. If I don’t follow through with what I believe in then what kind of person am I?

In splendid news: 2 days ago another one of the greatest friends in the world, Catie, decided to become a vegetarian too! This is the kind of impact I hope every single person can make, because if every vegetarian has one friend join them then eventually the original person’s impact will have rippled out to change the lives of not only people, but hopefully of animals too. Thank you Catie for making me feel like I could actually change the world.

 

NUGGET NEED FULFILLED

Ode to Nuggets: A Haiku

I bought impostors

And baked them in the oven

tastes like perfection

Last night I got home from school. This means several wonderful things: 1) I am home with my family and dog and friends, 2) I have access to a kitchen, 3) My dad helped me hang my hammock in my room and now I never have to sleep in a bed again [while home].

Back to number 2. I went to the store and made a beeline for the fake meat and to my delight discovered some fake nuggets just waiting for me to take them home and nom on them! I had to wait until today to bake them, but I JUST finished eating them and oh my goodness they are SO DELICIOUS. For the first time in 8 weeks my need for nuggets has been fulfilled. My hunger has been satiated. My thirst has been quenched. And just when life couldn’t possibly get better it did because I HAVE MORE IN THE FREEZER FOR LATER!

Next mission: bacon that tastes like bacon.. i.e. time to find a happy farm near me that sells real bacon!

Happy almost Thanksgiving everybody! I hope all your [nugget?] dreams come true.

Be The Change

“Be the change you want to see in the world”

Gandhi said that.

And seriously, if you’re looking to feel motivated to make a difference, who better than Gandhi? He was physically abused for standing up for what he believed in. I don’t really count having constant bacon dreams as being on the same level as getting beat for participating in a peaceful protest.

Since making the change to flexicarnilocavorism I feel really good about myself. For the first time I feel like I make a difference in the world every single day. Every time I choose my lunch in the dining hall or order a salad with “no chicken please” I am making the tiniest dent in the meat consumption of America.

Emphasis on tiniest.

But it’s a good feeling nonetheless. And I love it. I’ve never made such a big change in my life because I believe in something so strongly. That being said, I was recently given an assignment to create a blog advocating for something I believe in. WELL HOT DIGGITY DOG I already have one. How convenient! You know you’re studying the right major when your homework is something that you did for fun already.

But rather than use this blog, which isn’t exactly what the assignment called for, I created a new one that’s less colloquial and more specific. READ IT. READ IT RIGHT HERE. IT’S SUPER FUN.  Well, fun might not be the word since my goal is to guilt people into joining me. Which sounds bad, but it’s really a good thing. The only way to make people realize why the should boycott factory farms is by feeling guilty for supporting them in the first place.

Since I’ve recently realized that my chances to eat non factory farmed meat will be few and far between I’ve decided to start experimenting with fake meat. Tonight I tried vegetarian bacon for the first time. Look at the box. Looks good right? IT’S A LIE.

The “bacon” didn’t look anything like this. I threw away the entire first pan because I burned it, but couldn’t figure out how I burned it without even cooking it first. I thought the strips would get bumpy like the picture, resembling actual bacon. In reality when they are finished they just look like this

YUMMY. RIGHT? NOPE.

The good news: they tasted similar to bacon. The bad news: eating this sad substitute just increased my desire for [real] bacon to an all new high. It was a tease. Hopefully when I’m home for Thanksgiving I will find a farm that sells bacon (and nuggets DUH) so I can feel satisfied for a few more weeks.

Last night I tried the Morning Star chicken patties. I approve. It was like eating a giant nugget. And there’s nothing I don’t enjoy about a giant nugget. I could tell it wasn’t really chicken, but it was close enough to satisfy my need for nuggets.

Well, Thanksgiving is almost upon us. The day when practically all of America eats Turkey. My family will be traveling to relatives nearby to partake in a grand feast. I will be bringing some form of Morning Star fake meat (I bet you know which kind I won’t be bringing… ahem… BACON) and pigging out on potatoes and veggies all day. I’m mostly working on bracing myself for the 80 conversations I will have with extended family members wondering why I’m not eating turkey and then criticizing and questioning my decision to stop eating meat- oh but only factory farmed meat? Why? How come? Who made you decide this? Where will you get meat? What do your parents think? Are you judging me? Will you ever eat meat again? Would you like some turk- oh, that’s right.

But luckily for me I have an answer for everything, especially these questions. I’m ready for them. What I’m not ready for is having to pass over the stuffing, gravy, and turkey on the big day… But I know I can do it. Because Gandhi did “it.” And everybody before me who has ever made a sacrifice, no matter how big or how small, for something they believe in.

Exceeding Expectations

On October 2nd I lay awake in my bed and made a decision. I will stop eating meat.

This is a daunting decision to make, but I told myself it would only be for one month. Well, the one month mark has come and gone and over the past 4 weeks my flexicarnilocavorism has become significantly more about the journey and less about the end result. [IT’S NOT ABOUT WHAT’S WAITING ON THE OTHER SIDE! IT’S THE CLIMB. Hi Miley] At this point, I don’t ever see an end point. I don’t know how I could ever go back to eating meat from factory farms after everything I have learned. My decision to eat meat from local and responsible farms feels like a future present to myself; you can’t eat meat- yet. But someday soon you will taste those delicious nuggets and bacon again. This is what keeps me going when I’m eating a grilled cheese and my friend sits next to me eating fresh, delicious smelling chicken tenders. The memory of those chicken tenders alone makes me sad.

BUT NOT AS SAD AS SAD PIGGIES.

Even when I’m feeling discouraged because I can’t find something I want for dinner in the dining hall I have to remind myself that I’m making an easy sacrifice compared to the horrible lives the animals live and then awful conditions the factory farm workers have to endure. This is bigger than myself.

Lately I have encountered an awkward social reaction to my vegetarianism. When I meet somebody and my newfound dietary habits come out they tend to immediately either go on the offense or the defense. Rarely do people say oh wow that’s great and then just let it go. It’s either, “but you’re not really making a huge difference by yourself. nobody is ever going to convince the whole world to stop eating meat. where would we get protein??” or “I COULD NEVER GIVE UP MEAT OKAY???? OKAY?!?!? I’M SORRY!!” both of these reactions leave me feeling attacked. The former is rude and I never know what to say so I usually just smile on the outside and scowl on the inside. The latter is confusing, because I’m not going to try and convince everybody who I meet to join me, and I never get in their face for their eating habits.

Before I started this journey I used to meet a vegetarian and react in a similar way, because I felt like they were judging me. But now I feel like I’m being judged on the other side as well. PEOPLE! STOP JUDGING EVERYBODY! Why can’t everybody just be accepting of other people’s decisions? At the Boston Vegetarian Festival I spoke at length with a women with Mercy for Animals. She is a vegan and has been for many years. When I said I still planned to eat meat, from specific farms, and she didn’t judge me. She congratulated me for choosing to change at all and told me everybody goes on a different journey. Our conversation made me feel accepted by a community of people who don’t agree with what I do, but respect me and my choices.

And now a giggle to end this rant about how much people frustrate me. Hipster hungry hungry hippos..