Angels, Dominion, Responsibility

For my Christian readers who share that God gave us dominion over plants and animals for food, so they don't buy into the whole vegan thing:

Psalm 8 (From the New International Version ©2010)

LORD, our Lord,
   how majestic is your name in all the earth!

 1You have set your glory
   in the heavens.
2 Through the praise of children and infants
   you have established a stronghold against your enemies,
   to silence the foe and the avenger.
3 When I consider your heavens,
   the work of your fingers,
   the moon and the stars,
   which you have set in place,
4 what is mankind that you are mindful of them,
   human beings that you care for them?[c]

 5 You have made them a little lower than the angels
   and crowned them with glory and honor.
6 You made them rulers over the works of your hands;
   you put everything under their feet:
7 all flocks and herds,
   and the animals of the wild,
8 the birds in the sky,
   and the fish in the sea,
   all that swim the paths of the seas.

 9 LORD, our Lord,
   how majestic is your name in all the earth!

“… made them rulers over the works of your hands.” Should you take this seriously? If you do, than the job comes with the responsibility to treat “everything under your feet” with respect; they are the ‘works of God.’ The bible doesn’t tell you to be vicious and cruel in the treatment of God’s creatures, nor to look away at the injustices perpetrated by others on your behalf. It says you are just “a little lower than the angel” and that you are “crowned with glory and honor.” How honorable is it to be nonchalant in your use of animal flesh that makes it to your kitchen through torture and cruelty? Your disregard of whether or not the animals you choose to eat were treated humanely is not glorious or honorable, it’s selfish and it’s easy. Look away and the horror isn’t really there. Don’t make the hard choices.

I’m not advocating that you not eat meat. I’m suggesting that you open your eyes to where your meat comes from and then make a choice to either eat meat that was allowed to live as it was intended to live or not eat meat. It takes work. It’s not easy. For me it was easier to just go without meat.

Maybe you can’t fathom a meatless world. I get that. Just do the work to make sure the animals you’re eating were treated properly. It’ll cost more. Maybe you can make up the difference by eating some meatless meals, or less meat at each meal. You decide. You’re the one that’s just a bit lower than an angel. 

Moving Forward

This baby, almost-but-not-quite-total vegan needs to move forward to totally vegan. I realize that I have to learn how to say, "No, thank you." when I'm with friends who have tried, but not quite hit the vegan mark. For me, that's difficult. It's also difficult for me to say no when the deed has already been done. If there's a casserole that has dairy or eggs in it, I usually eat some of it. I'd like to think that it's out of being polite, but that's not the whole truth. It also tastes good.

Which brings me to something that really bugs me about people. Upon hearing that I am a vegan, a lot of people ... a lot ... say, "Oh, I love my meat. I couldn't give up turkey at Thanksgiving, or my cheeseburgers, or my bacon and eggs, or my milk, or how in the world could I live without my cheese?" I tell them that I started slowly, with red meat first, then poultry, then dairy and eggs, and then seafood. I also confess that I still think about how good a cheeseburger would taste, but that when I actually think about biting into it, all desire drops away, but that it wasn't that way in the beginning. They don't hear it. They just don't hear it. All they are thinking at that point is that they will never give up their burger or turkey or bacon or cheese. You can't make them. Nobody can make them. Don't come any closer!!! Wow! 

First of all, do they think I hated the taste of fried chicken? Steak? Cheeseburgers? Ice Cream? Well, I DIDN'T DAMN IT!!! I loved fried chicken. It was probably my favorite food on the planet. Why do they think it didn't take stamina and resolve?? (As I said above, I still fight some things a full year later.) I hate that they judge my compassionate, healthful decision as having been easy for me because I didn't have as much 'like' to give up. ARGHHH!!!

So, no matter whether they see the videos (I'm convinced they close their eyes at the gory parts) or they read the books or articles about factory farming, they still casually march to the grocery store and buy their torture in a package, take it home, cook it up, and gorge. How can anyone do that? Once you know, how do you divest yourself of responsibility? Just curious.

Back to how I move forward. Clearly I'm not moving in circles that have the same ideals. So, for my New Year's resolution I'm going to step out of my comfort zone and actually go to the Vegetarian and Vegan Meetups in my area. I need to add some vegan and vegetarian friends to my social circle. I need friends who understand my choices and who can share vegan experiences. I'm not giving up the friends I love, just adding to the cirlce!

So, that's it! I followed through on last year's resolution. Made a mid-year resolution to work out and get healthy and followed through on that, so I am confident that I can follow through on this one too.

Happy New Year!!

"Awareness is bad for the meat business. Conscience is bad for the meat business. Sensitivity to life is bad for the meat business. DENIAL, however, the meat business finds indispensable." ~John Robbins, Diet for a New America

Comfort Food

I have found a less-than-healthy, but not unhealthy, delightfully-decadent comfort meal: Campbell's Tomato Soup made with almond milk and served with Farm to Market sourdough bread and Earth Balance vegan buttery spread. There isn't time to miss the Kraft processed American cheese food because you are dazzled by the deliciousness of the soup. Vegan Heaven!

This defines my problem, though: I am a wing-it eater. I eat what's convenient. I love spaghetti because I can make a ton of it, freeze it, and pull it out on a whim. The same goes for macaroni and cheese. Unfortunately I haven't found a vegan macaroni and cheese alternative. This tomato soup comes close to filling the void though. It's simple and can definitely be served up on a whim. Even without the sourdough, it's great with whatever bread is in the house.

My children and grandchildren thought I was a really good cook, and I was a good cook when it came to the standards. What I am not, is a creative cook. I don't really have that knack of knowing that if I add a touch of mustard to the dip, it will be perfection. And I certainly never got into the science of cooking. I didn't even know there was a science to cooking! That leaves me with coming up with an idea, checking it out online to see if it's been done, and if not then just giving it try. 

Through accident and serendipity I have found out that almond milk is a lot better than rice milk. I made a lovely, easy batch of scalloped potatoes using unsweetened almond milk. I was able to cut the fat in half by using half the butter (Earth Balance to the rescue!). It tasted great! (Another comfort food!)

So, two alternatives to my traditional comfort foods, and I have a plan for a third: Whole Foods has a house brand, ready-to-use, whole-wheat pizza crust that's delicious, but all of the vegan cheeses I've tried have been found lacking the correct texture and taste. So my question was, how can I add the taste/feel of cheese without adding bad taste or texture? I am going to create a thick roux using almond milk and Earth Balance, along with a couple of spices, and try spooning/drizzling it on top of the pizza sauce, and then top it with all my vegan pizza favorite toppings. I like diced onions, black olives, and Field Roast Italian Sausage. I know it won't have the texture of cheese, but I'd rather have a great taste and non-offensive texture than spend life without pizza.

It's pretty rare that what I try is inedible ... Maybe not great, or even something I'd make again, but at least edible. I'll let you know what category the pizza falls into!

Speaking of comfort foods, please read Jonathan Safran Foer's book, Eating Animals. It is his journey to discover the diet he wanted to feed his children. It's amazing. You can purchase it through Amazon by following my Amazon link.