Dan Piraro’s top 10 comeback lines.
Current mood: amused
Okay, so I stole this. Sue me. ... I mean, please don't sue me... It's in our best interest? Okay but seriously, I didn't write this, Dan Piraro did for the latest issue of the best magazine ever, VegNews. Go check it out now.
Author: Dan Piraro "C'mon get snappy" In October 2007's edition of Vegnews.
You: I'm vegan.
Them: where do you get your protein? Don't you feel weak?
You: I get my protein from plants, the same place elephants and gorillas get theirs. Ask them if THEY feel weak.
You: I'm a vegetarian.
Them: But you eat fish right?
You: Yes, because fish are plants. We know this because they process food through photosynthesis, are chock-full of chlorophyll, and use bees to reproduce. And doesn't a nice bouquet of dead fish in the middle of your dining room table really brighten up the room?
Them: I was vegan for a while, but I just couldn't do without barbecue. (Or cheese... bacon... hot dogs.)
You: I was a meat eater for a while, but I just couldn't live with a colon full of rotting flesh (Or... arteries full of dead animal goo... a heart encased in fat... three daily doses of cancer-causing free radicals... constipation... zits.)
Them: If you don't eat meat, what do you eat?
You: Since giving up the less than a dozen kinds of animals people typically eat, I am now restricted to the mere thousands of varieties of vegetables, fruits, nuts, grains, legumes, and roots in my local market. I deserve a medal.
Them: Fish have essential Omega-3 fatty acids. You can't live without those, can you?
You: I was worried about that, too, until I read a tell-all expose by a fish, which divulged the age=old secret of where they get their Omega-3s. From eating sea plants! Flax seed oil works, too.
Them: I'm vegetarian, except I eat fish. I'm a "pescatarian".
You: I'm faithful to my wife, except I occasionally will pay a prostitute for oral sex. I'm a "copulation-faithfularian."
You: I don't eat animals because it's cruel.
Them: Animals don't feel things the way we do.
You: Which is why they don't have flesh, bones, organs, hearts, brains, or nervous systems. Mercifully, they are made of the same stuff as a Nerf Ball and are incapable of suffering.
Them: But farm animals are bred to be eaten.
You: And not long ago African-Americans were bred to pick cotton, women were bred to serve their husbands, and children were bred to work in factories.
Them: But if we didn't eat animals, how would we feed all of the hungry people in the world?
You: Enough plants and water to feed more than a dozen people is fed to livestock to produce a single meal for one meat eating human. I'm no mathematician, but I'm guessing if we weren't feeding and breeding the worlds 55 billion farm animals, we'd solve the human hunger crisis in approximately four-and-a-half minutes. Not to mention that animal agriculture accounts for the majority of water and soil degradation, contributes more to global warming than all transportation combined, and is responsible for virtually all of the rainforest destruction on the planet. Farmed animals in the US alone create 86,000 pounds of excrement per second, and none of it goes through sewage treatment plants. The damage that commercial fishing has done to the oceans cannot even be accurately measured because it if hidden from view, but experts estimate that 40 to 70 percent of ocean life has been eliminated by commercial fishing in the last 100 years. And as much as 90 percent of large fish are gone, probably forever.
... Okay, that answer wasn't very snappy.
Them: But I don't think I could live without coconut shrimp!
You: At this point it might be best just to smack them with a zucchini and run. Don't worry. If you've been vegan for long, the average corpse-eating zombie won't be able to catch you.
Questions and Answers about Veganism
Current mood: chipper
Q&As regarding vegetarianism, taken from askcarla.com where you can also find answers to questions regarding animal testing, animal products, pets, etc. Here are some great examples of common questions/responses you might have as a meat eater or a new vegetarian, or just questions/respnonses you might encounter as a vegetarian.
Aren't humans natural carnivores?
While humans have eaten meat throughout history, there is significant evidence that we are better suited to a vegetarian diet. Carnivorous animals have long, curved fangs, claws, and a short digestive tract. Humans have flat, flexible nails, and our so-called "canine" teeth are minuscule compared to carnivores'. Human teeth are better suited to biting into vegetables, fruits, and grains than tearing through tough hides.
In addition, the health problems associated with meat consumption—a leading contributor to heart disease, cancer, stroke, diabetes, and obesity—should be an indication that we aren't "meant" to eat meat. In addition, humans are capable of making ethical decisions. We can get all the nutrients we need from plant sources, which means that billions of animals are unnecessarily slaughtered every year at the expense of our health and the environment.
Never in human history have people eaten as many animal products as we do now. Today, rich and poor can afford to eat these products, largely as a result of the cost-cutting methods used to raise "food" animals. Present-day factory farms inflict massive, large-scale suffering of a magnitude never before seen in agricultural practices. In addition, the human population is larger today than ever before. Billions of people eating meat means that billions of tons of water and grain are being diverted from the world's poor people and fed to the livestock of the rich; the resultant billions of pounds of manure are destroying our topsoil, drinking water, and ozone layer. In addition, today we not only have medical evidence of the health benefits of a plant-based diet, we also have many easily accessible products, such as tofu, tempeh, nondairy milk, yogurt, cheese, and ice cream, and many other healthful and delicious products that make the switch to a vegan diet easy and delicious.
Don't humans have to eat meat and dairy to stay healthy?
No! There is no nutritional need for humans to eat any animal products; all of our dietary needs, even as infants and children, are best supplied by an animal-free diet.
Cows' milk is suited to the nutritional needs of calves, who, unlike human babies, will double their weight in 47 days (as opposed to 180 days for humans), grow four stomachs, and weigh 1,100-1,200 pounds within two years. Cow's milk contains about three times as much protein as human milk and almost 50 percent more fat.
The consumption of animal products has been conclusively linked to heart disease, cancer, diabetes, arthritis, and osteoporosis. Cholesterol (found only in animal products) and animal fat clog arteries, leading to heart attacks and strokes. The rate of many cancers—including colon, breast, cervical, uterine, ovarian, prostate, and lung—is highest in regions where meat consumption is high and lowest where meat-eating is uncommon. A study of more than 25,000 people found that vegetarians have a much lower risk of getting diabetes than meat-eaters. A South African study found not a single case of rheumatoid arthritis in a community of 800 people who ate no meat or dairy products.
There is no physical reason for humans to eat animal products. Cutting animal products from your diet is healthier for you, the animals, and the environment. Learn more about the health benefits of a plant-based diet at PCRM.org.
Both the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the American Dietetic Association have endorsed vegetarian diets. Studies have shown that vegetarians have stronger immune systems than meat-eaters and that meat-eaters are almost twice as likely to die of heart disease, 60 percent more likely to die of cancer, and 30 percent more likely to die of other diseases. Consumption of meat and dairy products has been conclusively linked with diabetes, arthritis, osteoporosis, clogged arteries, obesity, asthma, and impotence.
What's wrong with drinking milk? Don't dairy cows need to be milked?
In order for a cow to produce milk, she must have a calf. "Dairy" cows are impregnated every year in order to keep up a steady supply of milk. In the natural order of things, the cow's calf would drink her milk (eliminating her need to milked by humans). But dairy cows' babies are taken away within a day or two of birth so that humans can have the milk that nature intended for their calves. Female dairy calves may be slaughtered immediately or raised to be future dairy cows. Male dairy calves are confined for 16 weeks to tiny veal crates too small for them even to turn around in so that their flesh, sold as veal, will be atrophied and nonmuscular. Then these weak, 4-month-old youngsters are sent to the slaughterhouse.
The current high demand for dairy products requires that cows be pushed far beyond their natural physical limits, genetically engineered and fed growth hormones in order to produce huge quantities of milk. Even the few farmers who choose not to raise animals intensively must both eliminate the calf (who would otherwise drink the milk) and send the mother to an early death when her milk production wanes. Learn more at MilkSucks.com.
Why shouldn't people drink milk and eat dairy products? Cows don't need to be killed to produce milk, right?
At least 5 million cows raised for milk in the United States live on factory farms under conditions that cause them tremendous suffering. They do not graze contentedly in fields; they live in cramped, concrete-floored milking pens where they are milked by machines that often cause cuts and injuries that would not occur if people did the milking.
In addition, while many consumers have heard about the cruelty of the veal industry, most people don't know that the dairy and veal industries are inextricably linked. Cows, like humans, only give milk after they've had a baby. Thus, in the eyes of the farmer, the cows' offspring are simply a byproduct of this milk-production cycle. Perhaps the greatest pain suffered by cows in the dairy industry is the repeated loss of their young, which is quite traumatic to these extremely maternal animals. Female calves may join the ranks of the milk producers, but the males are generally taken from their mothers within 24 hours of birth and sold at auction either for the notorious veal industry or to beef producers.
Within 60 days, the cow will be impregnated again. For about seven months of her next nine-month pregnancy, the cow will continue to be milked for the fluid meant for her older calf—and this cycle is repeated until her milk production wanes, at which time she is sent to slaughter, most likely to be ground up into fast-food burgers. Calves will continue to suffer as long as there is a market for dairy products. To learn more, please visit MilkSucks.com.
It's OK to eat eggs because chickens lay them naturally. The eggs we buy in the supermarket are sterile and not unborn fetuses, right? What's so bad about eating eggs?
Chickens don't need to be killed for their eggs, right? While both male and female chickens can be raised for meat, only females can produce eggs, so about 280 million male chicks per year are disposed of by being shoved into plastic bags and left to suffocate. They cannot be raised profitably as "broilers" or "fryers" because they have not been engineered to produce a lot of muscle.
Conditions at egg factory farms are atrocious. Cage floors are of wire mesh so waste falls from the upper tiers onto the chickens below. A single cage, roughly 16 by 18 inches, holds five to six hens, each with a wingspan of 32 inches. Hens bred to be super layers experience so much stress that their accelerated laying span lasts only a year and a half—two years at most—compared with the 15 to 20 years that hens produce eggs under natural conditions. Hens today lay about twice as many eggs per year as hens laid several decades ago, before factory farming, and their tired bodies pay the price.
The cruelty of egg production lies in the treatment of the "laying" hens themselves, who are perhaps the most abused of all factory-farmed animals. Up to five hens are packed into each cage the size of a filing cabinet drawer. The cages are stacked many tiers high; feces from the cages above fall onto the chickens below. Hens become lame and develop osteoporosis from forced immobility and calcium lost to produce egg shells. Some birds' feet grow around the wire cage floors; they starve to death because they are unable to reach the food trough. At just 2 years of age, most hens are "spent" and sent to the slaughterhouse. Egg-laying hatcheries have no use for male chicks so they suffocate, decapitate, crush, or grind them up alive.
Don't vegetarians have difficulty getting enough protein?
By contrast, too much protein is the major cause of osteoporosis and contributes to kidney failure and other diseases of affluence. Learn more at GoVeg.com.
A wealth of evidence shows that vegans need not worry about getting enough protein; if you eat a reasonably varied diet and sufficient calories, you will undoubtedly get enough protein. The average person who eats animal products eats about double the protein that his or her body needs, and there is medical evidence to show that eating too much protein can lead to serious health problems. In addition, unlike animal products, vegan foods have absolutely no cholesterol and hardly any saturated fat.
If I stop consuming dairy products, won't that put me at greater risk for osteoporosis?
High-protein foods, such as meat, eggs, and dairy products, produce poisonous byproducts when they are broken down so the body buffers the toxins with calcium before they are eliminated. This leaches calcium from the body, including from the bones, resulting in a loss that cancels out the dietary intake of calcium from animal products. In countries where dairy products are not generally consumed, there is less osteoporosis than in the United States, where dairy consumption is among the highest in the world. The Harvard Nurses' Health Study followed 78,000 women for 12 years and found that milk did not protect them against bone fractures. In fact, those who drank three glasses of milk per day had more fractures than those who rarely drank milk. To learn more, please visit PCRM.org. Also, an excellent discussion of dietary links to osteoporosis can be found in Dr. John McDougall's The McDougall Plan and in Dr. Neal Barnard's The Power of Your Plate.
Vegan options are more expensive than their nonvegetarian counterparts. Can I afford to go vegan?
Vegan specialty foods, like prepared veggie burgers, etc., are sometimes more expensive than their nonvegan counterparts, but fortunately, they aren't the only options. Prepared food will always be more expensive than food you make yourself, so buying the ingredients and making them at home will typically save you money. Veggie staples such as pasta, rice, tofu, and beans are much cheaper than meat. The money you save from not buying meat can go toward paying just a little extra for nondairy milk and other staples, like fruits and vegetables. Another suggestion is to buy food in bulk, either at the store, over the Internet, or through catalogs. You can find many vegan mail-order catalogs listed in the classified section in the back of Vegetarian Times magazine.
In addition, consider your health: Fresh, organic fruits and vegetables may cost more than some junk foods, but isn't your health worth the extra couple of bucks? If you're still not sure, given the health benefits of a vegan diet, you'll likely save hundreds or thousands of dollars on health care, which will more than make up for the extra cost of soy milk.
How does eating meat harm the environment?
When land is used to raise animals instead of crops, precious water and soil are lost, trees are cut down to make land for grazing or factory-farm sheds, and untreated animal waste pollutes rivers and streams. In fact, it has such a devastating effect on all aspects of our environment that the Union of Concerned Scientists lists meat-eating as the second-biggest environmental hazard facing the Earth. (Number one is fossil-fuel vehicles). No wonder, when you consider facts like these:
In the West, our problem is that we get too much protein, not too little. Most Americans get about seven times as much protein as they need. You can get enough protein from whole wheat bread, oatmeal, beans, corn, peas, mushrooms, or broccoli—almost every food contains protein. Junk food aside, it's almost impossible for vegans to eat as many calories as we need for good health without getting enough protein.
* Cows must consume 16 pounds of vegetation in order to convert them into 1 pound of flesh. Raising animals for food consumes more than half of all water used in the U.S. It takes 2,500 gallons of water to produce a pound of meat, but only 25 gallons to produce a pound of wheat. A totally vegetarian diet requires 300 gallons of water per day, while a meat-eating diet requires more than 4,000 gallons of water per day.
* Producing just one hamburger uses enough fossil fuel to drive a small car 20 miles. Of all raw materials and fossil fuels used in the U.S., more than one-third are used to raise animals for food.
* A typical pig factory generates the same amount of raw waste as a city of 12,000 people. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, raising animals for food is the number one source of water pollution.
* Of all agricultural land in the U.S., 87 percent is used to raise animals for food. That's 45 percent of the total land mass in the U.S. About 260 million acres of U.S. forest have been cleared to create cropland to produce feed for animals raised for food. The meat industry is directly responsible for 85 percent of all soil erosion in the U.S.
* More than 80 percent of the corn we grow and more than 95 percent of the oats are fed to livestock. The world''s cattle alone consume a quantity of food equal to the caloric needs of 8.7 billion people—more than the entire human population on Earth. According to the Worldwatch Institute, "Roughly 2 of every 5 tons of grain produced in the world is fed to livestock, poultry, or fish; decreasing consumption of these products, especially of beef, could free up massive quantities of grain and reduce pressure on land."
Is commercial fishing bad for the environment?
Many commercial fishing vessels practice bottom-trawling in order to catch sea animals who live near, on, or under the sea floor, such as flounder, cod, grouper, shrimp, and scallops. Scientists say that the destruction caused by bottom-trawling is similar to that caused by clear-cutting old forests, only on a far greater scale. For example, the area of seabed trawled each year is roughly the size of the 48 contiguous states: 150 times greater than the area of forest cut! Elliot Norse, president of the Marine Conservation Biology Institute, says, "Scientists find that bottom-trawling is the largest disturbance to the world's sea floor and possibly the largest human-caused disturbance to the biosphere." For more information, please visit FishingHurts.com.
What about fish in the wild caught by commercial fishers?
Today's commercial fishers use vast trawlers the size of football fields. These huge nets, sometimes miles long, stretch across the ocean, swallowing up everything in their path and killing countless animals in addition to those they are intended to catch. Factory trawlers are emptying the oceans of sea life at an alarming pace. Thirteen of the 17 major global fisheries are depleted or in serious decline. The other four are "overexploited" or "fully exploited." I'll never forget one fisher who operated a small fishing boat in Washington state. She said to me of an otter who had died in her net that day, "Anything stupid enough to get in my net deserves to die." Nearly one-third of all species of fish have declined in population in the last 15 years, and many species may be wiped out in the next decade. The decline in fish populations is leading to increasing conflicts between fishers and the wildlife who eat fish. Some fishers intentionally kill or maim seals, birds, and marine mammals whom they perceive as a threat to their catch. Some species are in decline as a result of overfishing. The number of Steller's sea lions in the Bering Sea has declined by 80 percent since the 1950s. An estimated 100,000 seals, whales, and porpoises and a million birds every year become entangled in nets and drown. Because dolphins habitually swim with schools of tuna, the tuna fishing industry even today "accidentally" drowns at least 20,000 of these intelligent mammals annually. Critically endangered sea turtles have been killed incidentally by the thousands by shrimp trawlers. Eating one fish results in the deaths of many.
My biggest problem with commercial fishing is all the unintended animals who are caught, killed, and thrown away. That's not an issue when fish are aquafarmed, though, is it?
Fish-eating birds are drawn to open aquaculture ponds as a source of food. Rather than using nonlethal measures to keep birds from eating the fish, such as netting the ponds, many aquafarmers simply kill the birds. The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS), which issues the permits allowing the birds to be killed, has no method in place to ensure that aquafarmers obey the permit limits for numbers and species of birds killed.
When the National Audubon Society investigated aquaculture sites, they found massive burial pits of dead birds—far more than USFWS permits allowed. Nevertheless, distinguishing between intended and unintended victims is arbitrary; animas don't suffer any less because they get eaten.
Is aquaculture bad for the environment?
Fish farms, or "aquafarms," discharge waste, pesticides, and other chemicals directly into ecologically fragile coastal waters, destroying local ecosystems. And aquaculture farms that raise fish directly in fenced-in areas of natural waters kill off thriving natural habitats by overloading them far beyond their capacity. Waste from the excessive number of fish can cause huge blankets of green slime on the water's surface, depleting oxygen and killing much of the life in the water. In Brazil, destruction caused by aquaculture changed the local climate so much that some aquaculture operations have been forced to shut down. Raising 1 ton of fish takes 8 tons of water. Intensive shrimp production takes up to 10 times more water. According to the journal Science, a 2-acre salmon farm produces as much waste as a town of 10,000 people. Salmon farms in British Columbia were found to be producing as much waste as a city of half a million people. And while aquafarmers like to tout aquaculture as an alternative to depleting wild fish populations, many of the fish species they farm are predators, like salmon and shrimp, and are fed ocean fish. It takes 5 pounds of ocean fish to produce 1 pound of farmed fish. For more information, please visit FishingHurts.com.
The only meat I still eat is fish. Can fish feel pain?
Research has shown that indeed they can. According to Dr. Donald Bloom, animal welfare advisor to the British government, "Anatomically, physiologically, and biologically, the pain system in fish is virtually the same as in birds and mammals." Fish have fully developed brains and nervous systems and very sensitive mouths. Fish use their tongues and mouths as humans might use their hands—to catch or gather food, build nests, and even hide their offspring from danger. Fish also experience fear. An Australian study found that when fish are chased, confined, or otherwise threatened, they react as humans do to stress: with increased heart and breathing rates and a burst of adrenalin.
If everyone switches to vegetables and grains, will there be enough to eat?
Yes. We feed so much grain to animals in order to fatten them up for consumption that if we all became vegetarians, we could produce enough food to feed the entire world. In the U.S., animals are fed more than 80 percent of the corn we grow and more than 95 percent of the oats. The world's cattle alone consume a quantity of food equal to the caloric needs of 8.7 billion people—more than the entire human population on Earth. Click here for more on meat and the environment.
Why blame me? I didn't kill the animal.
No, but you hired the killer. Whenever you purchase meat, that means the killing was done for you and you paid for it.
Vegetarianism is a personal choice. Why are you trying to force it on everyone else?
From a moral standpoint, actions that harm others are not matters of personal choice. Murder, child abuse, and cruelty to animals are all immoral. Our society now encourages meat-eating and the cruelty of factory farming, but history teaches that society also once encouraged slavery, child labor, and many other practices now universally recognized as wrong.
Was Jesus really a vegetarian?
Many biblical scholars believe that Jesus was a vegetarian. Jesus' message is one of love and compassion, and there is nothing loving or compassionate about factory farms and slaughterhouses, where billions of animals live miserable lives and die violent, bloody deaths. Jesus mandates kindness, mercy, compassion, and love for all God's creation. He would be appalled by the suffering that we inflict on animals just to indulge our acquired taste for their flesh.
We all have a choice. When we sit down to eat, we can add to the level of violence, misery, and death in the world, or we can respect God's creation with a vegetarian diet. For more information, please visit JesusVeg.com.
Why should we worry about animals when there are so many problems involving humans?
There are very serious problems in the world that deserve our attention; but these issues do not diminish the urgency of our cause or any other. Fortunately, pro-animal activities have great power to better the human condition as well.
As vegetarians, we advocate eating lower on the food chain, which not only would save 9 billion innocent animals from slaughter each year, but also would save humans from a diet known to cause heart disease, cancer, and obesity. Instead of feeding grain to livestock, a plant-based diet makes 16 times more grain available to hungry people. Eliminating intensive factory farming of animals would save precious water and topsoil; in addition, without the ozone-damaging nitrates resulting from billions of pounds of manure, our air would be cleaner and we would take a giant step toward fighting global warming. In this way, animals, humans, and the environment are interconnected—we all stand to gain by not harming animals.
See the end of this post for great Vegan Food Blogs!!!
How can you start?
It's easy to plan vegan diets that easily meet nutrient needs. Grains, beans, and vegetables are rich in protein and iron. Green leafy vegetables, beans, lentils, nuts, and dried fruits are excellent sources of calcium. Vitamin D is normally made in the body when sun shines on the skin. Those who have regular sun exposure do not normally need to get vitamin D in foods. The only foods that contain significant amounts of vitamin D are those that are fortified with it, such as commercial breakfast cereals, supplemental dairy products or soymilk, and multivitamins. Vitamin B12 is plentiful in some traditional Asian foods such as miso and tempeh. However, in the world of modern processing, the vitamin is not found in plant foods to any reliable extent. Although vitamin B12 deficiency is uncommon, strict vegans should be sure to include a source of this vitamin in their diet. Many commercial cereals are fortified with vitamin B12, as are many soy products, including some brands of soymilk. Multivitamins are also a good option.
The switch to a vegan diet is easier than you might think. Most people, whether vegans or meat-eaters, typically use a limited variety of recipes; the average family eats only eight or nine different dinners repeatedly. You can use a simple, three-step method to come up with nine vegan dinner menus that you enjoy and can prepare easily.
First, think of three vegan meals that you already enjoy. Common ones are vegetable stir-fry, vegetable soup, or pasta primavera. Second, think of three recipes that you prepare regularly that can easily be adapted to a vegan dish. For example, a favorite chili recipe can be made with all of the same ingredients; just replace the meat with beans or texturized vegetable protein. Substitute bean burritos (using canned refried beans) instead of beef burritos. Many soups, stews, and casseroles also can be made into vegan dishes with a few simple changes. Finally, check out some vegan cookbooks from the library and experiment with the recipes for a week or so until you find three that are delicious and easy to make. Just like that, with minimal changes to your menus, you will have nine vegan dinners.
After that, coming up with vegan options for breakfast and lunch is easy. Try muffins with fruit spread, cholesterol-free French toast, or cereal for breakfasts. Sandwiches, with spreads like hummus or white bean pate with lemon and garlic, pasta salads, or even dinner leftovers make great lunches.
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Extra Tips:
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Convenience foods cut cooking time. Natural foods stores stock a huge array of instant soups and main-dish convenience items. Regular supermarkets also carry many fast vegan foods. Many canned soups, such as minestrone or black bean, are vegan. Flavored rice mixes, like curried rice or Rice-a-Roni, can be stretched into an entre with a can of beans. Or try baked beans, refried beans, sloppy joe sauce, and meatless spaghetti sauce.
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Ask for it! Even restaurants that don't offer vegan entrees can usually whip up a meatless pasta or vegetable plate if you ask. If attending a catered affair, catch the waiter before you are served and ask him or her to remove the chicken breast from your plate and slip on an extra baked potato. Airlines offer vegan meals if you ask in advance; ask your travel agent to order you one, or call the airline reservations number.
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Order your next pizza without cheese but with a mountain of vegetable toppings.
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Find vegan cookbooks at your local library or bookstore and have fun experimenting with new foods and recipes.
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The best bets for finding vegan food when dining out are international restaurants. Italian, Chinese, Mexican, and Indian restaurants all offer a wide variety of vegan dishes.
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Texturized vegetable protein (TVP) is fat-free, has a texture like ground beef, and is wonderful in tacos, chili, and sloppy joes. Look for it in natural foods stores.
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Summer barbecues are healthy and fun with meatless hot dogs and burgers. Or, for a real change of pace, grill thick slices of marinated vegetables like eggplant, zucchini, or tomatoes.
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Check out ethnic groceries for special vegan foods. Middle-Eastern delis offer stuffed grape leaves, falafel, and eggplant spreads. Italian markets are a wonderful place to find hearty homemade breads, sun-dried tomatoes, and fresh pasta. Indian and Asian markets offer many vegan delicacies, also.
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The simplest dishes are often the most satisfying. Brown rice, gently seasoned with herbs and lemon and sprinkled with chopped nuts or sunflower seeds, is a perfect dish.
* Add variety to your diet with ease by preparing familiar foods in interesting new ways. Cook rice in a mixture of water and apple juice. Toss broccoli with raisins, sprinkle sunflower seeds or chopped almonds on vegetables. Simmer carrots, turnips, cabbage, or parsnips in orange juice. When traveling, pack plenty of vegan snacks like instant soups, fresh fruit, raw vegetables, trail mix, granola bars, and homemade oatmeal cookies. Fill a cooler with sandwiches and individual containers of juice and soymilk.
"Most folks I know have a preferred candidate - Hillary, Obama, Edwards or Gore. But the crazy thing is, they will turn right around and say, "you know who I really want to vote for? Kucninch."
I have those same feelings - I love Kucinich and think he would make the best President. His values most closely resemble my own. Why not vote for him?
Irrational fear. Total fear that the Republicans will lie about Kucinich and Fred Thompson will win the election. Wait, the GOP is gonna lie anyway, no matter what, so why the fear?
One thing I finally noticed about Kucinich during the AFL-CIO debate was how Kucinich always made more points during his alloted time than other candidates. I have been thinking about this and found the answer when I was reading the transcript. Kucinich doesn't equivocate. He doesn't dance around an issue - he goes straight for the explanation and since his past is not littered with idiotic support of bad bills, HE has nothing to fear, so why do I?
Yes, why do I fear? Do I think Hillary can win? No. I think she loses the election, the second she is nominated. Isn't THAT something to fear? Do we think Fred Thompson, Gingrich or whatever other ass-wipe the GOP nominates will give a shit about universal healthcare, the environment or peace? Nope, it will be a straight continuation of 8 years of BushCo. Isn't my fear displaced?
Who is the strongest Democrat in Congress? Kucinich.
What Congressman never LOST their spine in the politically crushing days after 9-11? Kucinich.
Who knows how to answer a direct question asked by We The People? Kucinich.
I think something changed for Kucinich during the AFL-CIO debate - I can't put my finger on it, but something changed. Maybe it was his eagerness to address We The People with truth, honesty and integrity? Maybe it was just the other candidates equivocating on whatever nonsense answer their staff prepared for them months ago?
Maybe it was because the other candidates showed fear and Kucinich didn't. He never flinched.
That is leadership as I see it. And from this point forward I will NOT fear to support Kucinich.
He is just like me. My values are the same as his. If I was in Congress, I would vote like he does. I no longer fear. I refuse to allow the GOP to manipulate me into supporting lesser candidates.
Pictures from my archaeological field school in Honduras this June:
Left out the archaeology ones and the ten zillion ones I have of the sites like Copan and the museums and stuff. The last few are not mine, but stolen from various facebook friends' albums.
.. The drive in from the airport the first day. I was totally blown away by the mountains.
.. The is on the drive to the site from Cofradia, the town we stayed in.
.. My favorite picture. Me (holding up Mariella) and a lot of the Palos Blancos little girls. Mariella is the one that gave me the necklace (mentioned in earlier posts).
.. Lisa and Rachel (and someone else, I can't tell) playing soccer with the kids at the 'field' across the dirt road from where us undergraduate students were staying.
.. They played soccer as much as they could. I've never played before, so I just took pretty pictures.
.. This little girl was so adorable.
.. On the drive to go to the Pulhapanzak waterfall.
.. We picked up random hitchhikers at the area where the road to the waterfall was closed due to construction. THey ended up being a peace corps guy and his brother who was visiting him. Nice guys.
.. This is where the undergraduate students stayed. This is my, Erendira's, and Kim's room. The beds are made of 2x4s, cement blocks, and cotton padding, and are about as comfortable as would be expected. The curtains were funny because they didn't actually fit the windows, and construction workers were in our yard (working on a second house on the property) at all hours of the day. I think I wanted curtains more than anything.
Well if I could tame all of my desires. Wait out the weather, That howls in my brain. Because it seems, That it's always changing, The wind's indecision, The sorrowful Rain.
aroused
amused
chipper
cheerful
busy
blah
