Jane Austen, Processed Food & Green-Living
Hey guys! I’ve run across quite a few links I have to share with you (which would explain my hodge-podge blog-title, no?) 
Are you vegan and eating like crap? Don’t worry, you’re not alone. A recent piece in the Los Angeles Times titled, “Pantry Raid: Being Vegan Doesn’t Necessarily Mean Being Healthy” (click here), basically argued what we already know — lifestyle labels like “omnivore,” “vegetarian,” and “vegan” are umbrella terms and in no way indicate the healthiness of a person. We all know plenty of omnivores AND vegans who live off processed junk. Two good things I will take from this piece: 1) the reminder to make the time to plan meals in advance and to stock up on healthy staples. If you need a reminder of why to limit your intake of processed foods, even vegans ones, click here (and, speaking of vegan processed foods, chat about the worst-tasting ones here — Looks like Daiya’s got some haters, yo!); and 2) the reminder of how important it is to empower yourself with knowledge and respectfully disagree with “experts,” if need be. If you read the article, you might’ve noticed how the nutritional subject-matter-expert quoted immediately sparked concerns of protein- and calcium-deficiencies. While these are legitimate concerns for the couple in question, I know that, in general, this is the first place many non-vegetarian dietitians go when they meet their dietary counterparts — “*gasp* you NEED milk!” mixed in with twenty consecutive uses of “protein.” Yea…
Another write-up I found interesting was this one titled, “Steak or Veggie Burger: Which is Greener” on the site Mother Jones. Of course, I always enjoy the comments section more than the article itself (people are crazy, if ya know what I mean). The best thing I gleaned from this article — the impetus to reflect on the limits of “green-ness” as a consumer. Because let’s face it, yes, we could argue until the cows come home (or don’t *dun dun dun*) about whether eating processed meat versus eating processed non-meat is more environmentally-friendly, or even possible for sustainability purposes, on a world-wide scale. The fact of the matter is that as long as we’re a big-time for-profit consumerist culture, we’re simply arguing over shades of green; and while those shades matter, to some degree, we’ve got to look at the bigger picture, ya’ll. Consume less, buy less from Big Food Co. (you know that Kellogg owns Kashi, etc. – vegetarian and vegan products don’t necessarily come from mom-and-pop operations). Buying less processed food in general (I’m not saying don’t buy any), and focusing on buying what’s local (in season), is going to make more of an impact than arguing about whether cows fed grass actually fart more than their slop-fed counterparts. That’s my opinion. And it’s also me preaching to myself and wondering how I’m going to fit in my “ooh! look at all the vegan Costco finds” post I had in mind for later next week without being a big hypocrite lol
In fun news, I nearly fainted from nerdom when I saw this trailer spoof for a Fight Club movie set in Austen’s time with her protagonists. If you couldn’t tell by my Jane-Austen-related posts here and here, I, um, love Jane Austen. But don’t let my love for the Regency period overshadow my love for all things Chuck Palahniuk. You’ve got to check this out!
And more fun stuff, check out this online gallery of food-related propaganda posters from WWI and WWII via the Smithsonian Institute here. It’s so interesting to remember how world-wars affected food supply and how food scarcity affected the zeitgeist — certainly not something I can relate to personally.
If you’re looking for something fun to do this Friday (besides seeing Dinner with Schmucks which the boyf and I can’t wait to see!), check out this dessert-centered event in L.A.
$35 bucks and you get to taste-test lots of delicious desserts, wines and cheeses, including vegan desserts from BabyCakes NYC, and more! More info. here.
Anyone care to opine on his/her of processed-food consumption or whether they think there is a definite “more green” line between a beef or veggie burger? Anyone love Austen and Palahniuk, too? Wanna see Dinner with Schmucks?
<3,
The Cranky One
Tags: chuck palahniuk, jane austen, processed foods, vegan events
4 People have left comments on this post
Hello Cranky One
I enjoy reading your posts very much, and even though I am not in a vegetarian place right now, it’s still important to me to try and reduce waste, buy less processed crap and support farming practices that are sustainable. Anyway, I joined a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) group out here in the DC metro area and my roommates and I share it every week. For a little more than you might pay at the store, you get farm fresh veggies that change with the season. This week, we got zucchini, cucumbers, eggplant, corn, tomatoes, onions, shallots, cabbage, kale, peaches, plums, green bell peppers and a few other items. It requires some discipline (you have to go pick up your share ever week early Saturday morning and you have to plan your meals to make sure you can eat all you’ve already paid for) but the health benefits are well worth it! PLUS, the food just tastes better. I’d encourage people to check it out.
Also, since March I’ve lost 25 lbs and am training for my first Triathlon at the end of September. It’s amazing what’s possible with some discipline, encouraging friends, and good goals.
Believe it or not, you’ve been a part of it, too!!
Thanks for all the great links!
Food politics. Fun.
Having been vegan and veggie (now raising animals for meat), I tend to follow the local is best model of thinking. Near as many forests get deforested for soy crops and palm oil (both staples in a ton of processed stuff, particularly vegan supplements and fake meat) as do for cattle. There are pros and cons for both, to be sure, but I think that what makes sense is the concept of food sovereignty – that regions and towns start taking responsibility for producing their own food, on a more localized and smaller scale, and that this will take care of the many human rights and environmental abuses that are unfortunately synonymous with the food system as it stands.
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