What Am I Doing?
No, it’s more like “what have I been doing?” I’ve been hiding my personal morals and ethics in order to appear more approachable. Vegans have a notorious reputation for being zealots. I feel I am different, though. I don’t want to convert you to veganism, or even being a vegetarian. All I want is for people to look at the impact on the environment that their food choices have. Personally, I’m not just looking at my food choices, I’m looking at all my choices now. These little revelations I’m getting only started after turning 36, and starting a new therapy. But I’m feeling very conscious of myself and my impact on the world. And it’s not just about the environment. Did you, about 90% of American adults are not eating enough vegetables [https://www.ers.usda.gov/amber-waves/2024/september/satisfying-fruit-and-vegetable-recommendations-possible-for-under-3-a-day-data-analysis-shows]? Did you know that Gen Z has a serious problem with fruit and veggie intake? There’s a link between the lack of vegetables and fruits in our diet and Type-2 Diabetes and Obesity. For the love of a long, healthy life (and no, don’t bring up the outliers who have only eaten steak and eggs and potatoes for the last 50 years and smoked a pack of Marlboro Red 100’s a day since he was 5yrs old, they’re few and far between and are exceptions, not the rule) please eat some kale and broccoli and mushrooms. Maybe some fresh berries, or at least some fruit yogurt? I’m begging you, take this carrot slathered in ranch. I don’t care what you do to it to make it tasty. Battering and frying broccoli won’t take away the nutrienta (in fact, tempura veggies are amazing! Sweet Potatoes are fantastic in the tempura style!)
I’ve slowly been leaning toward a more vegan life style. I started as a meat eater, cut back on red meat, then on pork, then on chicken, then on fish, and finally I am stuck with my fruits and vegetables and grains and legumes. I was already eating a lot of tofu and broccoli and mushrooms, plus rice (Jasmin, which is a long grain white rice, doesn’t have as many nutrients, but one of my next additions to our diet is to add wild rice to the mix with jasmine.) Because of this, I decided to just make the plunge into full veganism. It aligns with my morals and ethics on saving the environment and ensuring I lower my carbon footprint as much as possible. i=It helps me feel better about my choices because that could, in theory, be one more animal that isn’t suffering? Gimme this at least, please. I’m not just making this choice for my health, but for my hobbies and professional life as well. I’m looking at taking up knitting and crocheting, in order to make sustainable and durable dolls and toys for my future plans as well as nifty handmade clothes. In order to make that align with my ethics, I need to check the materials and sources of the products I buy. It’s the same with checking nutrition labels for the ingredients in your food. And it’s not just animal by-products that we have to avoid. It’s palm oil and other unsustainable ingredients that are difficult to get away from. And you know none of the labels are exact about the amounts of ingredients.
I am not morally better than anyone. I am not ethically better than anyone. I am as imperfect as everyone else, I make mistakes, and I have to live with the consequences. I’m hoping to lesson those consequences on the environment by making more conscious decisions and choices about what I consume.
xx
Daemon
