Vegetarianism Revisited

I said I would return to this idea of ethical Vegetarianism, and so I am. As evidenced by my earlier posts, I have been conflicted over this idea. A longtime vegetarian, I had never seen the hypocrisy of the continued consumption of dairy and other animal product derivatives. That is, until I took this class. Once  aware of such hypocrisy, I made steps to cut dairy from diet. However, I then become aware of all the issues surrounding soy and became conflicted all over again. And then of course, there are the environmental concerns associated with shipping food products from long distances. In taking into consideration all these variant factors, I have developed the following formule for myself, as I make what I believe will turn into a transition from vegetarianism to veganism.

1) Buy locally

2) Eat colorfully! ie a wide array of different fruits and vegetables

3) Eat lots of whole grains, legumes, nuts, seeds and other nutrient-dense foods

4) Get a vegan cookbook and try out different recipes

5) Do not wear leather or fur

6) Do not buy cosmetics/hygienic products that have been tested on animals

6) Take B-12/Folic Acid supplement

7) Read about vegan nutrition, so as to ensure I am getting the proper nutrients in the right amounts

8) In the case of buying dairy products or any other sort of animal byproduct, by all means-make sure it is local and that the animals were treated humanely, in every sense of the word. While I am still slightly conflicted as to whether or not I am okay with raising animals humanely solely for their byproducts (eggs, milk, etc), I do think that this is a good step in the right direction. I thus feel good about my money going towards these sorts of places in which animals are treated humanely and raised not for meat, but for their byproducts.

Following all of the above statements should be a “whenever possible.” As this is a transitory phase, I recognize that I will most undoubtedly slip-up from time to time. However, I think it is important I not dwell on such slip-ups too much and instead, focus on the positive fact that I am making  dedicated effort to eating a diet that is both more animal and environmentally friendly.

Torres/Veganism

I found the most recent article by Torres to be quite interesting and relevant, as it directly addressed the sort of hypocrisy I feel in being a vegetarian (and not vegan) for ethical reasons. Though, I will readily admit-I am just not totally hung up on the idea of being vegan. It just seems so extreme. I feel a bit silly and selfish saying this-but there are so many milk-based products that I love-cheese, yogurt, ice cream to name a few. It’s difficult to imagine a life without them! And not only that, but there are so many other foods that contain small amounts of these products that are difficult to avoid.

I do think that buying cheese and such things at a farmer’s market is a good alternative-at least for the time being while I’m in this state of flux. Of course, the animals whose products are sold at the farmers market would still be being used-but this is not to say they are necessarily exploited. My hope would be that these animals are treated humanely and allowed to live out their natural course of life. I do think that if animals are treated in such an empathic manner, then there isn’t much wrong to be said about using their byproducts. I write that, but I feel somewhat hypocritical. It’s odd. I think something but then as soon as I type it out, it feels somehow wrong.There are just so many factors to be considered and I have not yet fully incorporated them into my code of ethics. Or maybe it’s just that I haven’t properly formed my code of ethics.

On a different note, I have been thinking more about my prior post regarding a vegetarian/vegan cooking class at UW and I have thought up a solution! I could teach it. I was thinking that perhaps it could be the topic for a CHID focus group! I never ever thought I would be one to teach a class, as I tend to be rather shy in class-but this is something I’m quite passionate so why not? I was thinking I could do it in the fall so that I may spend the summer trying out recpies and learning about vegan nutrition!

 

Peaceable Kingdom

I just finished watching Peaceable Kingdom. I wanted to write about it while it was still fresh in my mind-but the strange thing is, it really doesn’t feel all that fresh. Since leaving the classroom less than half hour ago, the film hasn’t consumed my thoughts. I don’t feel the heavy weight of sadness that I did after watching Earthlings. Perhaps cathartic would be good word to describe my present state-a far cry from how I felt while watching the film.

I started crying a few minutes in. It was the chicks being loosely thrown about on the conveyor belt that got to me. It was just so heartbreaking. And there were so many of them-all destined to the same cruel fate. It didn’t get much better from there on out. While there was footage of a sanctuary intermixed amongst the gruesome factory farm images, it did little to console me. I remember at the beginning when they showed the goat with the mangled feet who had been rescued. It was just so horrible seeing it like that, even though it was at the sanctuary, which just goes to show how affected I am by the power of the image. Just seeing the goat so horribly disfigured blinded me to the fact that it had the grand fortuity of being rescued and was living a far happier life. I am guessing that the sanctuary as well as the various farmers who had diverged were intended to act as messages of hope amongst the horror of factory farmings-but to be quite honest, I really did not feel all that hopeful in watching the film. I actually found myself getting very frustrated in being slammed with all the grisly footage that we were. Frequently shielding my eyes, I kept thinking to myself, “I already know how horrible this all is and am doing what I can to prevent it! I don’t want to see it anymore!” This is a rather minute detail, but the music got to me as well. It was just so sappy and cheesy, making it obvious that the intended effect was to produce a sympathetic response. People do not usually like being forced into thinking a certain way so I think that when films such as these try are so obvious in the response they are trying to elicit, it can be a bit of a turn-off.

I much preferred Food Inc. to this film. While it was most certainly biased, I feel that it did a far better job of presenting the issues in a more objective manner. Somehow, it was more relatable. And I liked that it exposed me to aspects of the food industry I was unaware of. I felt that the information I took from the film helped me to become a more informed consumer and thereby, more apt in my attempts to reduce animal welfare and environmental concerns. Peaceable Kindgdom lacked this sort of learned effect, making it all the more circumvent.

Vegetarianism

So, lately I haven’t been feeling all that well. I am usually just so full of energy but for whatever reason, it has been lacking in recent weeks. It’s a strange feeling, as I am often defined by my extreme energy levels. I feel like a  part of me is missing-I just don’t have the passion and zest for things that I usually have. Of course, I have been racking my brain-trying to figure out why I have been feeling this way and the most obvious sign is my change in diet. Since taking this class, I have become a flexi-vegan-that is, decreasing my meat and dairy intake as much as possible to the point that it balances with happiness and convenience. I’m not sure if that makes sense-it barely makes sense to me, but I’ll try and explain a bit more. The reason I have adopted this flexi-vegan lifestyle is for ethical reasons. I, in no way, wish to support the deplorable conditions that animals in the food industry are forced to endure. However, in the world we live in-it is somewhat difficult to be vegan-not to mention expensive. Herein arises the convenience factor. Obviously it is more convenient to be a meat/dairy-eater than it is a vegan.I also feel conflicted because it’s not just meat and dairy products that are the problem. Rather, they are subsets of the greater problem that is the food industry in its entirety. Soy products pose significant problems across the environmental and socio-economical spheres. I get so confused just thinking about it. For the past 8 years or so, I have been an on-off vegetarian. An infrequent meat eater, let’s say. It has mainly been during my travels abroad that I loosened by dietary restrictions. Though, since taking this class I have noticed the hypocrisy of this sort of diet. Sure, I am not eating that much meat-which is good-but what about dairy? Those animals are kept in horrible conditions as well-if not worse, as they are forced to endure them even longer. At least the animals raised for meat lead short and cruel lives. Those raised for certain byproducts, such as milk or eggs, live long and cruel lives. Part of me then wonders if it is not more ethically sound (in considering amount of suffering as the primary factor) to eat meat but not dairy, rather than the opposite as I have been doing. That is why I have since tried to limit my dairy consumption in addition to that of meat. It’s a confusing and at times disheartening predicament. Sometimes, I find myself getting too wrapped up in it-I feel so hopeless, like nothing I can do will put an end to the suffering of the world. Like, there is no escaping it and somehow every action I make contributes to the capitalistic system that rules our world and is at the heart of so many problems. Such sorrowful feelings tend to be followed by a “fuck it!” attitude, in which I tend to think that the fate of humans is not a happy ending and Mother Nature will overcome us all in the end and that anything I do now, is rather silly and frivolous and only delaying the inevitable. This is the existentialist within me. I could go on about this for quite awhile-but I’m just straying further from what I originally set out to write. Though, I would like to return to these ethical dilemmas relating to vegetarianism/veganism at the end of quarter to see if I have adopted a diet that better resolves all the cognitive dissonance within me.

What prompted this posting was an idea and that is a Vegetarian/Nutrition Cooking class, which stemmed from my not feeling well and attributing it to my recent change in diet. It got me thinking that I really don’t know anything about nutrition-beyond certain basics, but that I really should. I know that there is 3-credit Nutrition class taught at UW (not sure of the department) but I was just thinking-how cool would it be if UW offered a more specific nutrition class that just focused on vegetarianism and/or vegan-ism? One that perhaps included a cooking component as well? It would be enlightening to those who are already vegetarians/vegans but do not possess the adequate knowledge regarding nutrition/biological functioning. As well, it might act as the perfect gateway to those considering the switch or maybe even those who have never considered it.

Pigs 4 Peace

To be quite honest, visiting the Pigs for Peace sanctuary did not do much to change my existing views regarding pigs or animals in general. But I wasn’t really expecting it to either. Being aware of their high cognitive functioning, I have always held a special affinity for pigs and abstained from eating them, even as a young child. So seeing them clean, friendly, and pleasant-smelling was no surprise for me.

I was very happy to see them nonetheless. The whole time I was there, the thought that kept running through my head was, “This is how pigs should be living.” It just had the feeling of being right. I think because you could tell they were happy and they were as close to living in a natural habitat as they could be. I loved that they had so much room to roam about, including miles of woods. Little Maynard (I think that was his name) was so freaking cute! I loved how he just kept running around us, little tag wagging back and forth. Thinking about him I can’t help but smile as I type this.

I definitely plan to accompany you on future trips to the sanctuary to help out Judy. I cannot believe how much work she does on her own. It baffles me. In addition to the maintenance work, I would definitely love to help out with the educational center-whether as part of an informal internship or not-should it ever come back into being.

Kokomo

A picture of my roommates kitten, Kokomo, and I! Isn’t she so cute?!

Advice

I was thinking a bit more about our brief discussion yesterday regarding ways to make the class better and I think that a slightly lesser workload would definitely help to achieve this sort of effect. There have just been a few instances-namely in the beginning of the quarter-when the readings were a bit overwhelming. I’ve been able to get through them alright-but it’s because I have the time to do so. I’m not working and my other two classes are fairly easy. But there have been prior quarters when I have worked 20-30 hours/week and had two or three equally intensive classes-which I imagine is the case for many of the students in the class and happened to be the case for me last year. I was so stressed and sleep-deprived all the time, I felt like it negatively affected my performance in everything. Thus, in lessening the workload slightly, students would have a more concentrated effort and invested interest in the class, as their efforts would not be forced to be spread so thin. Rather than quickly skimming through 50+ pages–we would read critically and analytically 25 pages-which I feel would be more conducive to learning. As well, the stress of finishing assignments itself acts as a huge inhibitor in optimal student performance. Just knowing that there isn’t so much work to complete makes it less daunting and so easier to complete.

I think that assigning movies is a great idea! Not only is it a great learning tool-but the visual aspect of it exercises different parts of brain than those used during the act of reading-allowing for the accumulation of additional perspectives. Even if the information is the same, it is presented to us in a new way that allows for of a more integrated faculty for thinking.

Grassy Roofs!

As a follow-up to my prior post, I would like to share with you this photo taken in Iceland, as I feel like it encapsulates quite well the sort of unique relationship that exists between Icelanders and their environment-influenced by both their extremely low population density and being forced to live in the wake of frequently occurring natural disasters. It is a harmonious relationship between society and nature that I would love to experience firsthand. I know that I will eventually. If not this summer, then perhaps sometime in the near future when it is more feasible.

Study Abroad

Yesterday, I completed my application for a study abroad program taking place in Iceland this summer. Sponsored by the CHID department, it is very much interdisciplinary-based and combines many divergent fields of inquiry in an effort to provide a careful examination of the relationship that exists between society and nature. However, as much as I would love to go, I do not find it to be particularly feasible as it is quite expensive. Not only would I be spending money, but I wouldn’t be making any either so it’s a bit of a double whammy. I feel rather pragmatic saying that, which is a word one cannot often associate with my line of thinking, as I have the tendency to associate practicality as a superfluous barrier that often discourages people from following their passions and depriving them of their happiness. Though, even though I am erring on the pragmatic side in what will likely be my decision not to go, I am okay with it. The alternative of staying in Seattle and working does not seem all that dire in comparison when I think of all fun things that I can do. I’ll be surrounded by friends. I won’t have the stress of school. I’ll be able to make a dent in my list of books to read. It will be sunnier here than in Iceland. I’ll be able to go to the frequent shows and festivals that occur throughout the summer. I won’t be so financially-stressed. I can examine the relationship between nature and society here: the northwest provides a wonderful backdrop to do so. I can volunteer at sanctuaries And I can still curb that anxious desire to get up and leave by traveling around the US and going to all the cities I love-Portland, San Francisco, San Diego, New York! I get excited just writing about all this! As well, while reading that book by Freya Mathews which I mentioned in a prior post, Reinhabiting Reality: Towards a Recovery of Culture, I came across a wonderful quote which most definitely helped to ease my distress over the improbability of my going to Iceland. She wrote, “Grace is associated with beauty, particularly beauty of movement. To be endowed with physical grace is to move freely and fluidly, without striving or strain, following the path of least resistance” (22). I loved it, as I felt that I could accurately apply this analysis of grace to my own situation regarding Iceland. Being that I do not possess the financial means to go, the path of least resistance would be to just remain in Seattle and make the most of the time here.

I mainly submitted the application as a form of self-preservation-to qualm the 2% of me that still really wanted to go and thinks that if accepted, will find a way to do so. As well, I had written my personal statement for the program a few months ago-when I was jittery with excitement, stricken by the fantastical,  near-surreal beauty of the country. Though that initial fascination has since ebbed,  I still wanted to be somehow recompensated for my efforts by having the director of the program read what I written. It sounds a bit silly, I know. I feel like I was just going through the motions, knowing that even in the case of acceptance, I would very likely not be going. But whatever! It’s over and and done with. And it worked. The simple act of submission-isolated from any sort of incentive- most certainly helped to ease the dreamer within me, the pervasive ‘what if’ that wonders ‘well, maybe I could find a way to go..”

In the case you are wondering how this relates to class, (a very justifiable wonder indeed as the link is not so readily apparent) it stems from the re-birth of passion it has elicited within me that includes both animals and the environment. I no longer see the two as being distinct entities-but rather as intrinsic composites, each composing a respective part of the unique, multifaceted whole that is the universe. Gaia, as some like to refer to it. Thus, while this particular study abroad program is oriented more towards the environment, it is intrinsically tied into the field of animal studies by way of inherent connection.

Wise

For whatever reason, I have had a most difficult time getting through Wise’s An American Trilogy.  Perhaps because much of the information is familiar and lacks the novelty factor, which has been present in many of our previous readings. Or maybe it’s just the way the information is presented-loaded with statistics and facts, it’s not the most interesting or pleasurable thing to read.  I find my eyes skimming over the words, not really taking any information in. I prefer writings which are a bit more abstract and theoretical.   Of course, this sort of amotivation could just be stemming from a case mid-quarteritis-which generally tends to afflict me around this time of year and is characterized by an infusion of desire to go somewhere, anywhere-to escape the pervasive nature of everydayness. As much as I love my life here in Seattle, I am forever frequented by this urge to just get up and leave. Restlessness, they call it. A byproduct of my inability to focus, I would say.