world vegetarian day

I had grand thoughts of writing something special today, on World Vegetarian Day - the first day of this grand month of October that's actually the Vegetarian Awareness Month (which ends on November 1st that's the World Vegan Day) -

about how utterly ungraspable I think it is that the vast majority of humans on this one earth still selfishly doesn't care one iota of the pain and suffering that lies behind their plates of carnivore food.

And that all the heartbreaking food waste each day makes it even more painful, the millions of lifes that has been wasted just to become just that, waste.

That a plant based diet is good not only for other earthlings, your own health, but also for the planet and environment, everything is intricately linked. Truly.

That most people really really need to start making conscious choices of what they put on their plate, in their mouths and bodies. For real.

That visiting slaughterhouses should be obligatory for school classes - yes really. It's time to stop pussyfooting around this issue. If you're willing to put dead pieces of flesh in your mouth you're of course able to look the animals in the eye while they die for that flesh, right? Right.

Yes, I am angry, disgusted and sad about human behaviour towards fellow beings, getting angrier, more disgusted and sadder by the day, week, month, year. There's a sense of humans getting more and more stupified, overindulgent and less compassionate. When with all the information everywhere for anyone - unless you're living in a cave or a totalitarian country - it should be the other way around.

This year I've found that I'm less and less inclined to socialize over food with people that eat meat. Because to be honest, it disgust me to bits, and yes I do lose my appetite and good mood having to have to stare at such bloody plates while eating.

I also feel I really really need to get to know more vegetarians irl, not only online, it's just such an immense relief to NOT have to ask, explain whatever, being in a meat free zone, just being. Having vegetarianism being the new normal. Kind bliss.

And why am I not vegan you might ask. The answer, at this time in life, is simply that I find that so many vegan options are a) heavily processed, b) have lots of additives and c) not uncommonly contain palmoil components. Plus I am not the least bit interested in eating vegan food that have been made to taste and look like meat, that have mock-meat names and so forth. Since that is obviously THE thing I don't want to put in my mouth and body.

I have drastically cut down my dairy intake since spring, I've only used kind eggs since last winter - the no egg substitute wasn't a hit, it made for a strange tang imo - but there's always more things you can do to live a kind/er life. At this time in life I chose to keep a small amount of dairy in my eating habits - I chose the life of the orangutang (palm oil issue) over the cow/calf one might bluntly say. It may not be an easy choice, but at least it is a conscious one - with organic butter and vegetarian cheese, feta and halloumi and possibly a bit of cream (rarely).

When I'm eating out I may not question every single ingredient in everything I order, but I try to keep my choices simple and reasonably defendable. But I can do better. Of course I can. I am so glad I've found that one of the Swedish coffee chains serve a mean soy latte, thus I can treat myself to a latte now and then still, without having the drawback of dairy in it.

Yes I had grand thoughts of writing a longer blog post today - sadly I know, they are far and few between these days... - and actually it does look like I've accomplished that. It may not be a perky, upbeat, fun post, but it is indeed a heartfelt one, something I'm utterly passionate about, an issue I rack my brain with each and every day.

And somehow, I think such a post is utterly befitting on a day like this, not only the first day of my birthday month, but also a fine month of vegetarian awareness. Which today happened to coincide with Meatless Monday. I hope you've had such a day, a meatless one, a fine and vegetarian one.

And may each and every meal
from now on be a very conscious and compassionate one. 
Please have a heart ~