The Home Stretch

Well, here we are. Two weeks. Zero milk, eggs, meat, fish and gelatin. Even though this morning’s meal failed to live up to this brunchaholic’s high standards, I’ve got to admit that I might actually miss this experiment in living. I know how ridiculous that sounds. Thanksgiving’s creamy potatoes and pies will taste out of this world on Thursday. But I have relished this break from feeling guilty about the things I eat.  I don’t know if I would be able to keep myself to a strict, ethical diet once the constraints of this class project fall to the wayside, especially at home over winter break. Yet a part of me wants to keep this going in some capacity. Part of me needs to keep this going. Can I realistically ignore my own hypocrisy and eat animal products after the past couple of weeks have proven to me that eating vegan is completely possible? Can I accept or prevent my stomach from growling two or three times a day? It’s a matter of priorities I guess. Either way, I do not picture myself eating as many animal products in the near future as I once did. My home life in Minnesota would be difficult to bend to an all-out plant based diet. I mean, even after four years of vegetarianism my family continues to make meat for every family meal and ask me to eat side dishes or “make a veggie burger or something.” If my mom does announce a dish is vegetarian, my brothers do not want to eat it. If I were to be strictly vegan at home the added cost of buying extra tofu, nuts, vegetables, almond milk, egg substitutes, truckloads of hummus, vegan snacks and protein bars would likely frustrate my parents, who have five other children to accommodate (that’s right, five.) I may abstain from purchasing animal products on my own but eat vegetarian food if, say, I am eating dinner at a friend’s house or babysitting.

I am happily surprised to report that – to the best of my knowledge – I have not had any slip-ups. I have developed the habit of reading the ingredients list on everything. I think it annoys my friends a little. If someone casually offers the group a bite of their candy or something, I inevitably chirp, “hold on, is it vegan?” then snatch the bag and very slowly inspect the label. Everything food related takes a little more time. Trips to the C store or 7 eleven last forever. But for the most part, people have been very respectful. A number of them are even impressed by my ability to follow through on this. It all sounds a great deal more challenging than it actually is.

My collective action project focuses on animal agriculture, as well. Alli, Maeve, Teddy and I went to King Soopers last week and asked a butcher about where their meat comes from. He kindly talked to us for a long while but provided very little insight. We wanted to learn how the animals were housed, fed and slaughtered; he informed us that all of their meat comes from the United States, Canada or Mexico. He showed us an 800 number on a package of meat and said that we could get more information there. I found this really, really concerning. If the meat industry is ever to change for the better, consumers need to know where their products come from. Americans must make educated choices, however the companies peddling these products exhibit no transparency whatsoever. It frustrates me that current laws allow these meat giants to get away with shielding their practices from the public. If everyone knew what went on behind the curtain, the system would be different. We need more accountability and more education. Without those two factors we have little hope.