Monthly Archives: September 2008
Reactions to Veganism
Since Jen and I have become vegan, we have been explaining our position and our reasoning to the people around us, and through our blogs, to the wider world, whatever that may be. What has been interesting to me is the gamut of reactions we have elicited from people. Those reactions have run the gamut from “right on, it’s about time” to “dude, what the $#%@ is wrong with you?”. I suppose that is to be expected, but some of the reactions have been particularly interesting. First off, our hunting, fishing, “they’re pretty and tasty” friends and relatives have been the most supportive, or should I say least perturbed, by our choice. I must admit that I didn’t see that one coming. The quarter I expected to get the most grief from has been the most supportive. I have yet to figure out why that is. Secondly, there were the predictable “you make me uncomfortable”, “I don’t want to think about where my steak comes from”, “why do you always have to rock the boat” reactions, but those… Read more
The Vegan Hundred
From BitterSweet via Bitchin Vegan Kitchen: News travels pretty fast in the blogosphere, and the latest craze that’s been showing up on food blogs far and wide has been The Omnivore’s Hundred, a list of 100 foods that all omnivores should eat at some point in their lives. Well, I like the idea, but obviously that sort of thing just doesn’t fly with me. Instead, I present to you my revised list, The Vegan’s Hundred instead! Everything here is either naturally free of animal products or can be veganized, and just like the original, these foods vary from the every day to extraordinary, delectable and disgusting. They’re simply all of the things that, in my opinion, any vegan foodie should definitely sink their teeth into at least once. Your mission, should you choose to accept it: 1) Copy this list into your own blog, including these instructions. 2) Bold all the items you’ve eaten. 3) Cross out any items that you would never consider eating. 4) Post a comment… Read more
Chavez “nationalizes”, we “rescue”. It’s okay to “loan” money to a bank for an 80% stake if you are a government. It’s not okay to buy a bank if you are a… Read more
Cows With Guns
I’ve always thought this was awesome: It’s even more awesome… Read more
“Very recent developments would suggest that producers are now losing. If producers are losing, others are also losing — everyone who has a stake in dairy, meat and poultry production… t’s not about animal welfare. It’s not about cages and stalls… It’s about raising animals for food, and the activists’ agenda is to end the practice. It will take decades, but they are the ones who are winning — piece by piece by piece.” — Agribusiness journal Feedstuffs editorial (April 2,… Read more
Perhaps I should consider moving to Salemi, Italy. I’m pretty good at remodeling at this… Read more
In The Gym
or the YMCA to be exact (it’s so much cheaper than a proper gym and has better amenities). Since becoming vegan, I’ve been possessed by an excess of energy and motivation, and that is, in large part, being channeled into whipping my self back into shape. I have not been kind to my body over the last decade or so. I have somehow (IT jobs, anyone?) gone from a daily bike-riding, mountain climbing, dance all night kind of guy to a sit in front of a screen, make excuses about how this is my natural body type, not go outside for days at a time kind of loser. Well, that has (thankfully) ended. Once I quit smoking, and then quit eating dead animals, I have been possessed of not only copious amounts of energy, but a new realization that there was nothing wrong with me that I couldn’t personally fix by simply getting up off the couch/out of the chair and going outside. However, I had lost almost all the capacity (muscle, lung, etc) I had before, so my attempts to simply go out and do… Read more
Vegan Living
As many (all?) of you know, I have gone vegan. I am not going to go into the ethical reasons for my decision here, since it has been explained much better elsewhere. Instead, I thought I’d write a bit about what I have discovered/learned/found out about my food and myself in the process. Much more enjoyable, no? 1) It’s really easy. Actually eating a vegan diet is pretty darn simple actually. The four vegan food groups are way simpler to deal with than the “food pyramid”. B12 (the only vitamin not present in a vegan diet) is easily gotten through cereal, fortified soy milk, etc) and so poses no real problem at all. 2) It’s amazing how much of what we eat (even for dedicated “foodies”) is the same dozen or so ingredients. Switching to a vegan diet forced me to find and try new foods, new ingredients that I might never have otherwise ever encountered (Manioc anyone). My kitchen is now a whirlwind of new ingredients coming in and landing on my plate. 3) I feel great…. Read more
American Lies
Every good American knows what makes America great, right? It’s our proud individual spirit, our willingness to go our own way and our love and passion for the sovereign dignity of the autonomous person – the sacred individual. You must be joking. Try it. Just try doing anything even the smallest bit outside of the mainstream and watch how fast the killer attack drones line up to put the boot in. Americans don’t like individuals – never have, never will. The only people Americans like is people just like them – shy, scared team-players who toe the line, don’t ask questions, don’t cause problems and buy lots of cheap Chinese-made junk. Americans like people who talk the talk (especially on Sunday mornings) but that don’t try to hard to walk the walk, because you know that walking the walk might point out that other people weren’t doing so. It’s okay to be a hypocrite in America, actually it’s required for social advancement. What is unpardonable (and will now or soon get you… Read more