As most of the few people who may read this blog know, my main business is running a small graphic design firm. I’ve followed the same career path since I graduated college in 1991, each job getting me closer to this one. When I went to school, I didn’t know anything about getting a graphic design degree, it just was so perfectly aligned with what I liked to do- a useful and practical form of art and communication. Making money doing what I loved was a natural fit and I have never wanted to do anything else. The types of projects, variety of work and types of clients we have now are exactly what I enjoy most.
Despite all this, I felt there was something missing. A greater meaning to what I am contributing to the world (beyond selling wine if you can imagine). I believe I now know what I am meant to be doing, and how I should be using my time and skills.
I needed WDS to kick my butt and push me to break out of my comfort zone and take some risks. I know that I want to use illustration and design to communicate the issues and challenges that our food choices create for the environment, animals and our health. Most importantly, the future our children will face. Instead of making excuses, I will start somewhere. I’m posting 3 resolutions here to keep me accountable.
1. I’m creating a new website for this venture, and will launch it by September 1st, 2013.
2. I will start on August 1st illustrating concepts each day from a book I found especially meaningful. There may be some illustrations that will take several days. The most important thing is that I work on it every single day.
At the conference, there was a lot of talk about fear and doubt, and how to overcome it. What am I afraid of? At first I didn’t know. But, I think it is rooted in the fact that I don’t like confrontation, I don’t want to go against the grain. I definitely don’t want to come across as a smug evangelist. However, this means so much to me, and is about so much more than me, that I am going to have to move ahead regardless.
I’m admitting it, I care about being unpopular, causing discomfort, making people defensive. Possibly losing clients. I’m not a rebel, I don’t even have a tattoo or a piercing. (-;
Rather than take an all or nothing stance as to how we can make this world better, it would be better for more people to be taking whatever steps they can and move towards a more sustainable future, than a small percentage of people who follow every rule.
That brings me to the 3rd resolution. I’m going to start hosting meatless dinners at my house on a regular basis. I need to really plan how that will happen, but possibly I will have Meatless Sundays as a way to try different recipes and make it more appealing and social.
I hope you’ll continue to follow along, and knowing that, help me keep my motivation. I have bought my ticket to the next WDS to challenge myself to have my new project in full swing before July 2014.
I just returned from Seattle to see my family there. While I was there, we went to the Bite of Seattle. I was so disappointed at how difficult it was to find good veggie options. I would say 80% of the carts had a meat focus, 18% were desserts and drinks. The only true veggie carts I saw, was the roasted corn ones. Good, but hardly a whole meal. I am counting carts as meat-focused if for example, like the Yakisoba one- it features pork and chicken, as the main entrees and the only veg option is noodles only. Rather than a tofu and vegetable choice.
During my visit, I saw my very good friend (we’ve known each other almost 30 years!) who gave me the encouragement to keep posting, and keep talking about this. I do feel like this is an unpopular subject, and sometimes futile. However, I want to try to make a difference, and will do what I can to help a situation that each of us actually does have some control over. It’s just facing a reality that is different that what we are used to.
I know that change is coming, but it is disheartening to see how far the needle needs to shift. This article just came out a month ago from a popular British magazine. If this information is to believed, and I have never read anything that refutes this, this is extremely important.
Here are some key points I pulled out (bolded words are mine):
World hunger: We could eliminate the worst cases of world hunger with about 40 million tonnes of food. And it would be easy enough to find: nearly 20 times that amount of grain, 760 million tonnes, is fed to animals on factory farms every single year.
Environmentally devastating: The United Nations reports that the meat industry is “one of the top two or three most significant contributors to the most serious environmental problems, at every scale from local to global”.
Producing 1 calorie of animal protein requires more than 11 times as much fossil fuel as producing 1 calorie of plant protein.
It takes more than 2,400 gallons of water to produce 1 pound of meat, while growing 1 pound of wheat requires only 25 gallons.
Economically harmful: if we do not reduce greenhouse-gas emissions, it will take less than 40 years for climate change to cause up to a 20 per cent drop in the world’s gross domestic product.
Skyrocketing healthcare costs: …attributable in large part to the increase in human consumption of meat, eggs and dairy products.
Animal suffering: the meat, dairy and egg industries cause immense suffering to more than a billion animals every year in the UK alone.
—-
This doesn’t address the antibiotics concern, or the impact on the oceans, or the massive amounts of waste. There are so many articles like this, published by the United Nations, and unbiased sources. Theses are facts. It is NOT sustainable. We may make it through unscathed for the most part, but our children definitely will not.
Whether you eat meat or don’t eat meat, we have a lot in common. Rather than focus on what is right or wrong in choices to eat meat, let’s focus on a very harmful industry.
Factory farming is out of control. It is bad for local farmers, it is bad for consumers, bad for the environment, and of course it is bad for animals.
If you want to eat meat, you don’t want diseased animals who have been fed antibiotics their whole lives because of the conditions they are raised in, who have been treated in ways that people would go to jail for if they treated a family pet. Fact: 50% of all antibiotics manufactured in the US are poured directly into animal feeds. Our bodies will become resistant to treatment to these life-saving drugs. The profit goes to drug companies ($450 million a year) and the factory farms.
If the idea of being vegetarian, or vegan is way too extreme for you, start by cutting back on your meat intake. If you can try not adding meat to dishes, using vegetable broth instead of chicken or beef broth, and try the veggie sausages or meat substitutes in meals.
I’ll post more soon, just know that we ALL really can be on the same page with factory farming.
In February 2012 I decided to try a month of eating a plant-based diet. More than a year has gone by, and I am more committed to this than ever. But I have been silent lately. I think I have been feeling like whatever I am doing is not enough. And an effort to balance something that is so important to me, with understanding that I cannot influence anyone else truly.
Despite being silent lately, I do have ideas and plans. I’ve discovered what I really want to do in life. I want to use my art: design and illustration to help make people aware of the impact we are causing to the earth by our food choices. I know that this is the most important thing I will ever do. I want my children to know that I tried to help when they are faced with a future very different from what we hoped.
Sorry to sound so ominous, but sometimes the truth and the facts of the harm we are doing to the earth is so muffled with the cravings of sushi and the opening of new restaurants completely focused on meat, that it is hard to fathom.
Only when we are too far to recover, will we be forced to take the steps needed. I’m not saying this lightly. Our planet simply cannot sustain our appetites. Our oceans are turning acidic. A huge amount (18-30% depending on study) of green house gases are caused by the animals we are raising for food. These are choices. I can recite more facts- but everyone just tunes out. Or says how much they like bacon.
And that is why, I hope that I can illustrate these concepts in a way that will be more interesting and compelling in some way. I believe in this. What started out as an experiment, has become something much more.
I appreciate all of you who have continued to read my thoughts, especially if you do not agree. Thank you.
What a terribly sad week this has been. There was a shooting at our local mall that killed two people (and the shooter), and then following right on it’s heels- a school shooting in Conneticut that killed 20 innocent children, and 6 brave teachers trying in vain to protect them. I’m buying gifts, going to work, loving my children, but I can’t stop thinking about all the families who have been affected by these tragedies.
I’m afraid this will lead to people wanting to rush out and buy more guns out of fear and to try to protect themselves. I’m sorry to say, that won’t work. If someone wants to kill you, I promise you can be killed. It is possible that sometimes you can use a weapon in self-defense, but how many of us are prepared at any moment of the day against someone with a plan, automatic weapons and body armor? Do we want to live in fear, armed and constantly on guard?
These young children really touched a nerve in me. I don’t want us all to move on and forget that their lives were brutally taken from them because we allow automatic and semi-automatic weapons to be purchased by just about anybody. Yes, there are problems with mental illness that need to be addressed, but without the weapons, that shooter could not have killed so many, so quickly. His mother bought the guns to protect herself, and they were used against her.
I want those Sandy Hook families to know that their children’s deaths meant something to this nation. That we care enough to change what we are doing.
I know I can’t change anything by myself, but if we all keep pressure on making an amendment to the constitution that will PROTECT our citizens, we can do what other countries have done, and make it more difficult for this type of massacre to happen again.
I haven’t been to church in many years. My mother is Jewish, and I couldn’t accept that if you don’t believe in Jesus you would not be saved, since this would condemn half my family to hell. And if I believed only the Jews were the chosen ones, then what about the good, kind Muslims and Hindus I had met? I believe that all religions are actually worshipping the same God. And that in the name of religion, or people claiming to be doing God’s will, atrocities have been committed. These horrific events that happen are not God’s will. I can’t fathom this cruelty, and I just hope that those who have suffered have found light.
Let’s bring love, compassion and peace into the future- not more hate, violence and guns.
Though my soul may set in darkness,
it will rise in perfect light.
I have loved the stars too fondly
to be fearful of the night. — Sarah Williams
I’m going to write some thoughts on each of the main reasons why people would avoid eating meat: animals, the environment, our health.
There are other reasons, surely, but these are most common.
The animals are the touchiest of the topics. They bring out the vitriol in the comments on online articles, and in person. I don’t think you have to be an animal lover, or a vegetarian to have compassion for other living creatures. Whether a cow is destined to be turned into hamburger or compelled to make milk, it seems like at the very minimum we could reduce their suffering in making these sacrifices.
I doubt there is an argument that I haven’t read (or heard) about why we should eat meat that can outweigh the indisputable environmental impact we are causing just so we can eat more meat than is even healthy for us. I haven’t even been able to convince some of my closest family members to look at real footage from factory farms. I think we all know it is bad, but we don’t really want to know how awful because that will make our lives more difficult.
If you are hoping your meat was from animals that didn’t suffer terribly, consider that 99% of the meat we buy is from factory farms. The problems with factory farms deserve their own post. Just because something TASTES good, does that overwhelm all other reasons for making hard choices?
Yes, we CAN eat animals, but does that mean causing extreme suffering is acceptable? As humans, we need to show humanity. We have all the power. And they can’t speak.
I never realized before how deeply meat is embedded into our culture. Once you decide to eat less meat, or go vegetarian or vegan, it is kind of a shock to see how difficult it can be to find good meatless choices. We put meat into almost everything sandwiches, soup, pizza, salads and the list just goes on.
Hawaii was one example, but since it is an island, it does have certain limitations. And I don’t see a tofu luaua happening soon. In August we went to Eastern Oregon, the home of Painted Hills beef. In all of the restaurants we ate over those 3 days, there were either no meatless choices, or maybe grilled cheese for the kids. I was able to order my salads without meat, but none of them were originally meatless. Since there was no veggie option, I ordered a hawaiian pizza without the ham causing complete confusion. It is not the kind of place with true cowboys and cattle ranchers lounging around that you want to mention vegetarianism too loudly.
While in California yesterday for a quick business trip, my client suggested Black Bear diner in Napa. It looked very country and homey. Out of ALL the many lunch (and dinner) options on their extensive menu- there was literally only 1 vegetarian option. An iceburg salad that was just not very good.
At the airport in Sacramento, hoping to get something better for dinner, I surveyed the choices in Gate B area. Mexican cafe- chicken or pork were the 2 options listed. You could ask for it without meat, but then it is just rice and beans. Not to mention if you want to avoid cheese too. A grilled vegetable option would have been all that was needed.
The sandwich place and food kiosks all had meat in them. There was one pizza that was veggie- but if you don’t want the cheese? The burgers place did have a veggie burger option. I am suspicious of veggie burgers since they are not all created equally. Some can be delicious, but most are just some frozen store-bought patties that have been sitting around in the freezer forever since no one orders them. There is a big difference between having an actual vegetable option like a portobello sandwich that is equally as good as the other items on the menu, or having some kind of bland default or back up item.
I’m just bringing this up because I would like restaurants and cafes to actually provide good options and choices, and not make it so difficult. Have some delicious vegetarian and vegan options, and people will eat them.
At our office, the little coffee shop offers pastries and sandwiches from local bakeries. The owner orders little vegan pies- usually roasted vegetables. Those seemed to do well and he started also providing a vegan sandwich filled with hummus and roasted eggplant that is truly delicious. Those have become very popular, and probably not only with vegans.
It shouldn’t feel like you are getting the leftover dregs if you don’t eat meat. I’ll continue to support the restaurants that make an effort, and hope that their success catches on. I’ve never been to a vegan restaurant or bar in Portland that wasn’t busy. In cattle country, it would be difficult, but if people don’t even have the option, how can they choose meatless?
This doesn’t have to be all or nothing. Try eating LESS meat. If you still eat red meat, only buy the very best grass-fed beef from local farmers. Be picky. If we stop buying the mass-produced meat, maybe practices can shift. The meat worship- putting bacon in ice cream, donuts, etc is just bizarre.
I’ve been doing a LOT of research. I’m looking at studies about how Americans (and other countries) are doubling their meat intakes- with corresponding rising health issues. I’m reading about the environment being decimated to produce enough grain and water for the animals. There is also the issue of the animal welfare- and how the treatment is so horrific and unhealthy- it is inhumane.
If you are not interested in health, environment, or animals. Do it for your kids. Who may have to be vegetarian by 2050 out of necessity not choice. Who will never have a chance to eat wild fish because we’ve destroyed the oceans with our greed to eat as much meat as we can without regard to the rest of the world or the future.
You don’t have to cut everything out if that seems too difficult, but the move is going to happen this way anyway just based on our limited resources. Can we slow down the process rather than speed it up?
If you are reading this, then you might be curious about veganism, vegetarianism, or why someone might suddenly switch to a different eating style after 42 years. I’m as surprised as anyone else. If this was a religion, I would be “born again”.
I literally feel like I was living in an alternate universe, and was pretty much oblivious to a lot of issues. My eyes have been opened, and I don’t see how I could ever forget.
All of us over 30 years old or so grew up in a time and place that is VERY different than it is today. We’ve had a population explosion- over 7 billion people live on this earth- it was 3.6 billion when I was born. We have twice as many people to feed. Many countries are much more developed, and they want the same standard of living that we have. The ice caps are melting- global warming is happening faster than predicted.
We can’t live the same way our parents did, or that we did a few decades ago, and have the same quality of life. It is not sustainable. When I was very young, we didn’t put babies in carseats, young children didn’t wear seat belts. Would anyone suggest we continue that practice despite what we have learned, and know how we can save lives?
It is not all about the animals, although they do play into this. I grew up believing that it was okay to eat animals because they were raised for us to use as food. With that reasoning, can you say it is okay to enslave some people because they were raised for that purpose? The process used to convert animals into food is wasteful and cruel, and it is creating an enormous environmental impact.
I think I actually started this journey based on more the health implications of a plant-based diet, and that now is the least important aspect to me.
There is an alternate universe that exists, if you are willing to look at it. It is a hard truth.
I’m passionate about this, but don’t worry, I will not be converting you directly on the playground or elsewhere. I’m not asking anyone to do anything- except to keep an open mind.
It has been awhile since I posted. While I haven’t been scanning my daily meal drawings, I have continued to research and delve into the whole vegan/vegetarian lifestyle.
The line between vegetarian and vegan seems to be huge, and I feel like I sit on the fence on it, but am ready to jump off. If you are vegetarian, there are plenty of food options, people seem much less intimidated to invite you to dinner, you seem a lot less, I don’t know, judgmental or uptight.
I always viewed veganism as being too extreme for me. It turns people off and is just more difficult. I did eat vegan strictly for one month, and have cut back on all dairy and eggs at home.
As I have learned more about the dairy industry, and egg production, I can’t enjoy these products. There are so many options here in Portland, it is pretty easy to find delicious alternatives.
I’ll admit, it is hardest for me on the social side. I feel rude sometimes, or like a difficult guest to stick to my food choices. Especially since all my life I have had no restrictions or food allergies. I know it has caused us to be off the list of guests at times for dinner because it seems really hard for the menu planner.
I would rather bring a salad, and join friends, than be left out of a gathering for our food preferences. I would guess that most vegans don’t expect the main course to be catered to them, and are happy to have a side dish to eat, or bring something to the dinner to share, that they can eat. I don’t know for sure since we don’t know many other vegans- but that is how I feel. I imagine it is the same for the gluten-free folks as well.
One weekend this summer, we had our good friends visit. We’re mostly vegan, they are on the paleo diet. Sounded like it might be a nightmare for mealtimes, but in fact it was fine. We focused on the foods we could share- fruit, vegetables, nuts… and for shared meals put the grains, breads, legumes on the side for us. Meat, fish and eggs on the side for them. It was surprisingly easy. If it can work with those two extremes, it can work with anyone.
Although I still feel like being flexible in some situations about dairy or eggs (for example, I see nothing wrong with eating a fresh chicken egg from someone’s backyard chickens), I’m going to stick more closely to my plant-based diet. Hopefully I can share some of the new foods and delicious recipes I’ve discovered with others.
