Eating what?

It is Plosk’s birthday this Thursday. He will turn thirty-one and I keep making fun of him as if he is old. I like when his birthday comes around. I find it more exciting then my “own but it’s stunted because he doesn’t care that much. He’s like me who just wants quiet and a friend or two on these specific days. I’m not yet sure what we’ll do but I know what I have for him and I’m thrilled to give it to him.

Starting in 7 days I will be working four days a week at my job. I have been given the title of Project Director for the club, and I will also be fundraising this summer for our Humane Ed program. Like at the gallery, when you work with so few people, you wear as many hats as possible. That is the only way one can be useful. They have to fill many positions. The ability to adapt is mandatory and I feel so happy that I’ve been able to do that with ease.

Now moving to such a different topic, I have thought more about my diet and what it would mean if I limited my dairy and egg consumption. It wouldn’t be like High School where I became vegan in a heartbeat, but instead to just choose alternatives if they are available. Perhaps in my own house to start eating less cheese and egg. I’ve been reading articles on people who transition and really, I am writing a “how to” for changing one’s diet. I know right now I don’t mean to stop altogether, like my boss who doesn’t eat dairy or egg outright, but also won’t dismiss a desert at a restaurant that happens to have dairy in it. I haven’t voiced this out loud yet perhaps because I’m still finding my moment. I also think it will be considered an extreme movement by people close to me. The funny part is, the reason I don’t eat meats is the same reason to become a vegan. Supporting the industry and the hell dairy cows and egg laying hens go through. Even to buy cage free/free range/pasture raised, some of those chickens are treated well. But then one may ask, what happens to all the male roosters? Well my friends, they are crushed or gassed or slaughtered in some way as baby chicks because they are useless for eggs and useless for meat. They have not been bred to be anything edible to a human so they are disposed of like an after thought. So even if I buy humane eggs, I’m still supporting the initial slaughter of 50% of the birds born. Then there are dairy cows who are sent to slaughter after they can no longer produce. I don’t drink milk really. I prefer soy milk and have since High School. But I do like ice cream. The problem with becoming a vegetarian or vegan is that it takes away certain social aspects of life. Plosk and I enjoy going to get ice cream together. Sure I can get a sorbet and I can buy vegan ice cream, but the point is it will change the way we interact. Now perhaps my transition doesn’t mean I will refuse to eat ice cream, but I will minimize my consumption. I’m good at drawing lines, but this will not only be a change for me but also for Plosk, and even though I know he’ll understand I think he’ll also mourn the loss of some of the activities we enjoy doing together. Like snacking on Big Dipper together last night.

In any case, that is a move I am slowly going to make. Like I said, I won’t rule out dairy and egg altogether, but it is no longer going to be a staple in my diet. Dairy and egg don’t repulse me like meat does, and perhaps one day if I have some of my own chickens I’ll eat eggs gladly, but for now, and with my new job, it’s hard to not think about what I’m eating as a moral problem. I gave up meat twelve years ago and I took crap for it. We’ll see how this slow transition goes. I’m going to get argued with and snapped at like I’m another extremist freak. Perhaps I am to them, but I sure don’t feel like one. I’m just following my own moral compass. And that’s never an easy trail to take.