Mobile blogging

Ok - apparently I'm not the most technologically advanced & I can't figure out the stupid mobile blogging thing!
So I'll re-blog on the normal site :)
I made a fantastic sweet & sour vegetable dish last night - a new recipe I found & it was delicious! Wasn't too difficult to make nor did it take too much time. However, I do need to sharpen up my skills with peeling & grating lol I'm not so great at them :)

I am finally getting a chance to write down a thought for the day :)

I saw this wonderful story of a fawn, golden retriever & woman who showed compassion. It's refreshing to hear things such as this - and to see the fawn & retriever interact was priceless.

And on that note..."man shares the capacity of love, fear, anger, hate & loyalty with all living creatures..."

Until next time...

Agribusiness-Backed Bill to Keep Hens in Cages Signed into Law

Agribusiness-Backed Bill to Keep Hens in Cages Signed into Law

Wow, can I just say the factory farming industry is absolutely beyond gross, but it portrays human greed to its fullest! It is absolutely amazing to me to see the depths at which one will go for the bottom line - & how do workers continue to eat that product or feed their family after having first hand experience with handling it. Now I know you can go into a psychological or economical debate about this but I think I'll steer clear of that topic for now.

In the past couple of days I have learned interesting & morbid information about this industry - Factory Farming & I had to ask myself "Why in the hell did I not know about this before I put that food in my body?"...it's not like I do not have a vast amount of information at my finger tips & the freedom to explore, but like most, I stayed ignorant to where my "meat" came from & how it got there. That big chicken breast did not just grow in the grocery store - but why did it never occur to me to dig deeper? And the answer to that question is...I'm lazy, I grew up on a "meat & potato" diet & never questioned my parents...and ok, as a kid I didn't care about nutrition (I'm still learning!) & I probably would have continued that way until a health concern appeared (like high cholesterol). Instead, I found myself reading "Skinny Bitch" while eating a chicken (I think - that was a while ago) dinner, not really knowing what I was getting into, and BAM! just like that - I cried at the dinner table & that's where my journey began.

But think about it...we research & compare best car prices/deals/models (Consumer Report) when it's time to buy a new car, or which diet would work the best, or whatever else you would research before you bought...why not food? Even if you continued to eat meat, wouldn't you want to know where it came from? Be an informed consumer? Well obviously one of the big excuses is "ignorance is bliss" - it's a lot to stomach. It's funny how I've been teased so much with my food choice & lifestyle of support vegan/vegetarianism, yet do I poke fun at those who choose to eat meat? NO But people are just so quick to judge (even when you have no idea what you're talking about) & it's different. Or, it's defended by the idea that this mass production is the only way to feed the population (meet demand)...hello? This industry creates an enormous amount of waste & there are still people in the states starving & let's not forget about the other countries! Why do we have starving people if there is enough food for all?

Enough of my rambling...here are a few things I've learned about this topic:

These establishments are referred to as Concentrated (or Confined) Animal Feeding Operations (CAFO's) & if defined by the EPA as "new & existing operations which stable or confine & feed or maintain for a total of 45 days or more in any 12-month period more than the number of animals specified" which they categorize. "There is no grass or other vegetation in the confinement area during the normal growing season". - Now that's a different picture than what those "happy cows live in California" commercials (or whatever is said).

Large CAFO's: 1,000 cattle (not include dairy), 700 dairy, 2,500 hogs over 55 lbs, or 125,000 chickens (only if a liquid manure system is not being used)

Liquid manure system: when the animal's urine/feces are mixed with water & held either under the facility or outside in huge open air lagoons...sound yummy? But where else would the waste go some may ask...it's ok to just dump it anywhere because my tax dollars will help fund the clean up - woohoo! And on top of that, this just leads to contamination of soil, crops, vegetation, etc. which only increases our chances of food borne-illnesses & other diseases.

Medium CAFO's: between 300 - 999 cattle, 200 - 699 dairy, 750 - 2,499 hogs over 55 lbs, & 37,500 - 124,999 chickens.

Seriously, think about it - do you really believe after looking at those numbers that all animals are killed with the least amount of suffering, cared for in clean & healthy environments? Be realistic: if that was the case, I would think there would be tons of farm animals everywhere...and let's not forget that this industry sees these living beings as a mere item for profit...nothing more. There could be 1 million plus chickens in one place (egg-laying)! I can't even picture that, but I do know that's a lot of chicken poop & very little room.

That's all for today :) until next time...

Happy Mother's Day!

In honor of this mother's day - I will be baking my mom a vegan blueberry crumb cake - yum! So delicious! Now, my parents are both meat & potato people (which I was raised on) & this is the one thing I have baked that they have absolutely thought was awesome - they have been troopers and have tried other dishes, but always wondering where the meat/main dish is :)

It's definitely a step - not that I want to force my opinions/beliefs on them or make them feel as if I'm "judging" them because that is not my intent. I was just stoked they actually wanted to try it - I was never a very good cook...needless to say, I'm not domesticated :)

Plus, I'm introducing them to new foods, compassionate alternatives - I believe as you live out your truth & approach all in a compassionate, open way tends to more effective than using force.

That's all for tonight, I'm pooped - a long day of shopping & spending time with my loved ones.

Until next time...

Out with the old, in with the new...Time to begin!

Ok - so I'm not that great with this whole blogging thing...but I want to get better, so...I have decided the best way for me to tackle this is to write a little bit each day, focusing on one subject. I guess the reason I have a hard time with this is because there is just SO MUCH information out there! So much for me to learn - it's like information overload! And because of my personality I tend to jump from point A to point Z without stopping to think about the "middle" steps I skipped over...by that point I'm completely overwhelmed, I get frustrated because I can't know everything just over night (yes, I put way too much pressure on myself - I always have) so then I just end up quitting. I sometimes think "wow, it's amazing what that person/organization is doing" or "why can I not know everything overnight?" (like that is a healthy/realistic idea...um no) and I then start to down myself because I'm 27 years old and I feel like I've accomplished nothing important or had an impact in such a big way as some of the people/organizations I admire...then I feel hopeless, which leads to quitting, so on and so on. It never hits me that "duh, these people do this for a living" or it took hard work, countless hours of studying/learning, time and patience (patience is not a virture of mine) for them to get where they are and be able to give back.

Now don't get me wrong...I know part of the reason is because I'm lazy...how can I explain? Being someone who has struggled with depression (not just the "seasonal" or occasional blues - I'm talking total deep depression which if you have never experienced it or been around someone who suffers from it, you never quite grasp the enormity of it) I allowed this "illness" consume me. It became my crutch...my safety zone...as weird as that may sound, it's a lot like "battered wife syndrome"...you keep going back because that's all you know (regardless if it is healthy or not) and you know how to cope, etc. I don't like change and I'm terrified of the unknown...these things definitely did not help me want to "change" out of the toxic environment I was creating for myself. Also, depression can create symptoms of chronic fatigue, muscle pain, loss of apetite, and basically complete loss of any aspiration. I'm also a very anxious person - I can over-think things, or make them more difficult that they need to be...and last but not least, I had zero self worth/self esteem. That fed into the depression and anxiety and played a part in why I am hard on myself or expect way to much of myself (in an unhealthy way) and became a people pleaser. These things create a vicous and ugly cycle that I did not fully understand or really knew how toxic these behaviors are until my divorce. It took me hitting rock bottom (literally losing my mind - got to love depression) and going through a traumatic event for me to open my eyes and take a moral inventory of myself.

So long story short, I acknowledge my excuse of laziness and lack of motivation and am working on them - part of my "re-inventing" myself and looking to God for the answers.

With all that being said, I think the best way for me to focus, soak in information and learn, and not feel overwhelmed to the point I think I might spontaneously combust, is to write a little bit each day: writing down my thoughts, opinions, random tid bits or interesting facts I came across, etc.

I also need a way for me to get things off my chest...it's hard being in cattle country...there is no one around who shares my interests or view points so I feel like I have no one to talk to...where I am from, there are generations of people who still live here in this small town...everybody knows everybody and knows everything that's going on...and good ole' country/southern folk are stuck in their ways (I'm not saying that's a horrible thing), beef and hunting are the norm, and unfortunately (disclaimer: this is my opinion and my intent is not to put anyone down, but a mere observation) if you have lived here all your life and have never gone out to the rest of the world, you end up a little closed minded and ignorant to other social movements etc. Had I not moved away when I did, I would probably have ended up that way...go to highschool, then go to the community college, get married and have babies. Needless to say, any of this "tree-hugger" crap is pretty much laughed at, disputed with "meat is good" or "you have to eat meat because it's good for you", or not even up for discussion. It would be nice to be able to discuss and share thoughts regardless if you're a "veggie" or "meat-eater" because that's how you learn...appreciate your beliefs even more or raises good questions that make you dig more into it, etc. I'm not here to force any personal/moral beliefs or preferences...to each their own. But at the same time, I want to live my "truth" and lead a more compassionate lifestyle...but I find it difficult to "flourish" if you are the only one in the whole town who thinks the way you do.

Now that I have rambled on in different tangents, I hope the string of thoughts make some sort of sense in my new "blogging" approach (which applies to more than that in my life-take one step at a time)....but since it's way past my bedtime (yes, I'm an old lady :) LOL I have to have at least 8 hours of beauty sleep to be able to function for work) tomorrow I will start with my 1st topic - overview of industrialized farming.

Until next time...

Life in cattle land

So, it's been quite sometime since my last blog. Life has been handing me a hand full to deal with and I am trying to make some huge adjustments in life - not just pursuing a more compassionate lifestyle. Because I had changed my blogspot location I feel it would only make sense to start at ground zero. It's been a rocky road not just for my transition into vegetarianism/veganism but also learning who I am and where I am going - what I do know is my truth that stands behind my decision to become vegan and support vegetarianism/veganism ideals, work and others who pour their effort into a more compassionate lifestyle. My simple truths are:

1. Speaking up for the little guy - I've always felt more of a connection and stronger sense of empathy for other beings than just "humans". Animals are part of our human exploitation without a choice where as we as humans have that choice.

2. Supporting alternatives to the norm - just because it has always been done a certain way doesn't mean it's necessarily right or the only way to do them. We can thrive on a plant based diet just as much as a meat based diet. By using my dollars to speak for me, I would like to support the alternatives that are out there to provide for myself.

3. To make a stand with Animal Welfare and stop the neglect, abuse and exploitation of the fellow beings we share this earth with

4. To help inspire others to seek alternatives and become more open-minded to the world we actually live in

Those are the general truths that are the foundation of my choice - my awakening hit me like a brick out of no where. In 2009 I picked up "Skinny Bitch" not knowing really what I was about to open my eyes to. When I first decided to read this book, I had the impression it was going to be some cheesy chick lit type "diet book" and nothing more. I remember sitting at my kitchen table eating a steak dinner as I perused the pages - and there it was. Rory Freedman , without hesitation, began to talk about the meat industry. It brought me to tears and that was the last time I ate a steak. From there I found one of the most inspiring and influential people in my journey that I would like to give credit to in my journey to the compassionate lifestyle - Colleen Patrick - Goudreau from Compassionate Cooks. Her podcast, Food for Thought, has been educational, emotional and most of all inspiring to me. Because of her effort and work I found encouragement and a sense of relief that I knew I had found something in me that has long been waiting to get out in the open. For the first time I knew what I was interested in, the love of animals and the connection I felt made sense and motivation to do something.

During this time of eye opening experience I also became interested and very well aware of my environmental imprint which I also wanted to do something about. I feel that being eco-friendly and vegetarianism/veganism go hand in hand so throughout my blogs I may discuss both topics intermittent as they both are important aspects of who I am and want I want to accomplish. My belief of being "green" and "eco-friendly" is not only the typical things you may think of such as recycling, but it also incorporates taking responsibility in the welfare of not only the earth, but everything living on it. For instance, because of my stance on animal welfarism I would not go out and purchase a brand new fur coat - thus, a decrease in the fur market, one less scenario of animal abuse (hunting, killing solely based on exploiting the fur of the particular animal) and less work to send over to a "sweat shop" in China to create this unnecessary piece of clothing that would only fulfill a selfish want.

It's been a rough start for me in my new path and many bumps in the road that have knocked me back a few steps or even a block or two. I have just finished or horrendous divorce in which my ex-husband took everything. I lost my job due to the abuse I endured and my last option of survival was to move back to my hometown of cattle country. Also being in a small town, the selection of stores and the items in the stores are not the greatest...many food items I ate prior to the move were convenient for me to purchase at my local grocery store. My health has also deteriorated (which is slowly but surely improving) for many reasons that I just don't have the energy or brain power to invest in basically learning a whole new way of cooking and eating as I used to. So now I'm basically back at square one but with a few more obstacles in the way than before. Before I did not have to worry about the cost or having the will power to get up and experiment and learn new things. Now, because of circumstances and the last year of hell - my brain and will power have been squashed to nothing and it's a slow process of building back up. What I have had to realize is that being vegan or vegetarian is not about being perfect and those who say it is are missing the bigger picture and the cause they are fighting for has been clouded by their own personal perception of themselves and how they want to be viewed. It's not about me - it's about the animals and how they feel and the situations they are put in. We live in a flawed world; no one will ever be perfect; reality of what an individual is able to give must always be put in perspective; "Don't do nothing, because you can't do everything" - CPG

Example: Before my "awakening" I was a huge fashionista. I have Bachelor's degree in Fashion Merchandising so needless to say I didn't put in a whole lot of thought about where my leather came from as long as it was Kate Spade or Marc Jacobs. Afterwards, I made the personal choice of not purchasing items that used animal by-products...but I'm not going to go out and purchase a whole new wardrobe because of past purchases. Not only is that not economically feasible for me, it is also wasteful and "un-green". It would create an uneccessary carbon footprint to the mall (because I didn't really need anything) and wasteful with a finite resource (one in which I have very little now - dollars).

Every little bit helps. If you were a meat eater who ate a burger 7 days a week and cut down to only 5 days a week for a year, that's a HUGE decrease in the market for meat. That makes an imprint in how many cows may go to slaughter that year just because you cut back your consumption of burgers. Now is that perfect? No. But it's better than nothing. Point being, people will always consume meat - it's not right or wrong to do so. My point is, because as consumers we can speak loudly with our dollars, why keep supporting factory farming and the industrialization of animals (or exploitation) that play a huge factor in the treatment of animals, continuation of exploiting pain, condoning putting the publics' health at risk and the decline on the environmental side all for the sake of the bottom line?

Until next time...