from Joey
Week 3

The Italian meal that we ate was the best food I have ever eaten. I have never tasted something with SO much flavor. It is unreal how ignorant people can be in thinking that you can only get that much flavor from meat. There is a lot of flavor in what you put on meat, but the only meat that I think actually has its own flavor is bacon. I have not eaten a whole meal since that one because the nutrients in it have kept me so full! I never miss meals, so this is a rare and odd occurrence for me to not be starving come dinnertime. I absolutely loved how the taco salad made me feel. It was so light and filling. The flavor was really unique in it too. The thousand island dressing didn’t make me feel as guilty as normal thousand island. I liked that.

I wanted to listen to my body last night. I was craving a burger, and after not eating meat for a very long time, I decided I would give my body what it wanted. The burger itself did not make me sick, which is what I thought would happen like the typical reaction of a vegan to a meat product. I felt so heavy. I felt like shit. I had been eating like a king of vegetables, and feeling so healthy and young. I couldn’t move, I lay down on my boyfriends gross and dirty wood floor and felt defeated. I gave my body its’ craving, only to find out, that was not what it wanted at all. 

I thought our discussion about rights went really well. I found so much horrific stuff about agent orange that I was repulsed and so upset that we were putting people through such cruelty. The other presentations were really interesting within this topic too. Workers harsh conditions, and the contradictory facts were so terrible to listen to. How can we not listen to the 99%? How are their voices so muted? Just liked the Diet for a Dead Planet is saying, we are eating labor. We are depending on half the world in just our breakfast. These are such weird and revolutionary thoughts, I love it. 

from Ali

 Over the past two weeks, I feel like I've been so informed with all of the problems that we have today due to the meat and dairy industries that staying vegan for me is inevitable. Over the past week that I've been vegan, I have noticed that I no longer feel sick after eating. Surprisingly, I think I recently became lactose intolerant and so being aware of what I've been eating has really affected the way that I've been feeling after meals. This class has really benefitted me so far because I've become not only more health concious, but I've also become much more environmentally friendly in all of my decisions. 

The reading that affected me the most this week was the Rolling Stone's article on Boss Hogs. To read information like that is so depressing and it's so difficult to believe that our government is allowing this to go on. Pig shit so poisonous that it takes the lives of those working with it is nearly unbelieveable. Yet it's continuing to go on regardless of all of the problems coming out of it. Not only is it bad for our environment, but it is also disgusting that the pigs so pumped with hormones and anti-biotics are allowed to be sold to the public for food. To think that our country is putting something so toxic in their body without being well aware is not fair. Plus, with the laws that our country has, it's now illegal to speak about what actually goes on. This article was so intriguing, yet so disturbing. I'm just thankful that other governments are refusing to allow Smithfield into their states.

from Jack
Week Two

Watching my room mates gobble down mcdoubles and mcchicken sandwhiches turned my stomach as well as my mind after our converstaions this week in class. The idea that what we consume has been turned into an industry and is so far away from the natural processes of the world is mind boggling- how can we as humans believe that we can sustain ourselves on these things?  This food  is as much of crap as the plastic garbage we buy to please ourselves.  it is empty and disconnected, but most of all for me, it is killing the planet we inhabit.  To imagine that the spill from the pig waste polluted far more than the exxon valdez and no one heard about it is appaling.  I ponder these facts we are presented with and wonder how we have let ourselves get to a place where what we put into our bodies is so ... fake.  It seems that much of our society is developed around a premise that the cheapest, fastest, and most individualistic method is the best.  In America it is all about effeciency and because of that health, environment, and ethics is tossed out the window.  And this is not just in the realm of food, we let these rules govern all whole culture.  In order to get to the point of it and understand our place in the world we must slow our consupmtion rates and educate our selves on how to live simply and conciously. 

One afternoon this week when I cut out of class I went and was able to sit at a table with congressmen Matheson.  To hear what he thought about the current state of a couple issues in Utah was interesting, and yet it felt fairly scripted.  He said what we thought he would say as the cameras rolled.  But it was nice to meet with someone who makes the decisions in the place we live, and to see that we do see eye to eye on some things.  But in order to make a real change, we need a radicle candidate who will not buy into the coperate lobby but be able to understand what the people and their land need.  This person will be able to call out companies like smithfeild farms on their malpractice.  Maybe they will start to put sustainable, local business back on top and we can once again be connected with our bodies and our environment. 

from Nate
Week Three

I have a shirt my best friend gave me for Christmas that says "Bacon Strips and Bacon Strips and Bacon Strips and Bacon Strips, EPIC MEAL TIME." As funny as I thought it would be to wear it to class during Boss Hog, I did not. Oh well.

Again I am greeted with the question of whether I am happy I took this class or would have rather remained ignorant, a bit of blue-pill-red-pill dilemma. This week of class made me want to cry because bacon is awesome. Fact. And it makes me sad that now I get to feel that America-corporate-exploitation feeling that I associate with superstores like Walmart and other companies that slice their profits out of the souls of their employees and customers. I’m not sure whether I would have rather lived in the reality created for me, that I was born into, or whether I’m glad I took the red pill and realized that I haven’t been fed the full story. 

from Amanda
Week Three
Doing research on the impact of meat and dairy on the environment has been very interesting.  The statistics that my group presented were absolutely astounding.  For example, going vegan saves more energy and causes less pollution than switching to a hybrid car!  I never really thought about the fact that producing meat released greenhouse gases, other than the fact that cows release a lot of methane.  It's not something that one usually associates with meat production!  However, a simple google search of "meat and the environment" returns hundreds if not thousands of results about the negative impacts of producing meat on the environment.  More and more, people are beginning to open their eyes and want to bring about change through their diet.  One great website that I found was the Veganic Agriculture Network.  (http://www.goveganic.net/spip.php?article68).  This website discusses how sustainable agriculture and a vegan diet go hand in hand.

from Amanda
Week Four Blog
This last week's class was probably the most difficult and interesting for me.  I have always been upset by the treatment of the animals in the meat industry, but talking about it was intense for me.  The video that we watched in class was especially difficult!  Actually seeing what happens to the animals that we eat made me more sure than ever that I want to not be a part of the consumption of meat. I was shocked and appalled at the way the workers treated the animals as if they were not living beings.  They were so cold and withdrawn from the entire process, as if in their minds they were not registering what they were doing.  I think that if our society actually knew what was going on behind the closed doors of the slaughterhouses, if we actually saw videos like the one that we watched in class and everybody knew what happened to the animals, there would be a whole lot les meat consumption in the United States.  I think it would also cause the meat industry to be re-evaluated, replanned, and rebuilt.  

From Ali
Week Four

 As I read Into the Fire, it really got me thinking about Westminster's Campus. We're a little bit smaller than the 4,500 students at Yale University, but if their students had such a large impact on their campus, why can't we? We don't need Sodexo to provide us with their disgusting, fake food when we can eat organically and locally from farmers around the Salt Lake Valley. If we began to purchase large amounts of local food, we would see a different in the demand of the food, but also in the health of our students. We could also provide more vegan and vegetarian options, and food that would be preferred by most. It was really neat to read that just by purchasing apples, they were able to also get local meat in their school as well that was treated humanely and without hormones. If more universities began to do this, the demand for organics and local would sky-rocket, and the prices would decline, as well as the health problems in our country. 

This week, the presentation was on ethics. I've seen videos before, read books, and I'm very well aware of the things that go on in slaughterhouses, however, each and every single time I watch a video, I can't help but burst into tears. It really bothers me the things that they do the animals. It is so cruel and if we were to do something like that to any domesticated animal, it would be and is illegal. Hearing stories like Michael Vick with the dog fighting comes out in the news everywhere, but slaughterhouses are rarely heard of and when they are, people think it's just the radical, hippie point of view making up things. If people actually knew what went on in slaughterhouses, they would greatly reconsider what they ate...

I loved the last day of class, the meal was fantastic, and I'm so excited to embark on this journey of veganism! 

from Michael Fluharty
Last Week
well what can I say after a month of being almost completely vegan it feels pretty good. Its still hard to try to make the right choices every single day, but I think its part of the process of learning to make the right choices every single day and not just once every week. I have learned  a lot from this class, but the most important thing that I learned from this class is that this is a process that takes time and patience. Making the right choices maybe hard but it becomes easier and easier as the time goes on. 

from Ali
Week Three

On Monday, my group presented on the Effects of Meat and Dairy Production, and the information I came across, I found to be extremely disturbing because in such simple ways, we could easily change how much energy, waste, and problems we produce. The article that I found to be the most interesting was in the New York Times called Re-Thinking the Meat Guzzler. It actually compares oil and meat and here is the direct quote where it does:

"The two commodities share a great deal: Like oil, meat is subsidized by the federal government. Like oil, meat is subject to accelerating demand as nations become wealthier, and this, in turn, sends prices higher. Finally — like oil — meat is something people are encouraged to consume less of, as the toll exacted by industrial production increases, and becomes increasingly visible."

It was so interesting to see the two compared side-by-side because normally, you'd think there would be no comparison. Not true. The two are actually becoming more and more alike. The article went on to reveal that other countries are noticing that meat production today is a problem and are actually halting the deforestation of land for livestock and dairy. They referred to factory farms as "growing meat" rather than raising it, because the cows are just growing with no end. It also discussed that if every American were to just skip one meal of chicken a week, and substitute it with vegetarian products, it would be the equivalent of taking over a half million cars off of US roads. Crazy, right?

My favourite foods this week were the desserts... The raw lemon meringue and the raw peach pie were out of this world. I was so astonished that something could taste so good. The crust was amazing, the filling was amazing, the topping was amazing, and the peaches were amazing. It was so good! I also loved the taco salad, because I loved the crunchiness of the chips mixed with the freshness of the vegetables. It was a great, easy meal to make and to eat, and it was just simple. I also really loved the pesto sauce on the pasta, as well as the zuccini noodles! That was so cool, and it made them so much better. Vegan cuisine is so suprisingly delicious that everyone should be able to have some. I love that not only does it taste good, but it feels good when eating it and it gives me energy and leaves me feeing refreshed. 

week 4 ( as written right after week 1)

As stated in week one I was not sure coming into this class whether it would be awesome or really awkward with me being "that guy." To be honest it was, surprisingly, both. I was happy to be there but at the same time it was somewhat awkward playing devils advocate at every turn. However I enjoy playing devils advocate, just because it is so much more fun to poke holes in other peoples arguments than forming them myself.

This was true for everything except this week (I actually tied it in, see?)... playing devils advocate made people pretty unhappy with me because it was obvious who was right in the discussion, and it wasn't the omnivore.

week 1 (I know right?)

so I was going back and realized a never did the week 1 blog. I was kind of busy planning for the nutrition presentation >.<

so anyway, the first week of class I was not sure what to think, I had begun the journey into very very unexplored territory and I thought "this could be really awesome or four weeks of me feeling awkward in a class full of the already converted... not much in between" and I was right... kind of. I will get to that in my week 4 blog. anyhow, the backing for this idea was mostly the first readings and the first day of class. on the one hand the food and teachers were incredible. on the other, I was one of the few people win the class who was on "the other" side of the fence and the readings were certainly written to a vegan audience.

I saw a bumper sticker on the way to work the other day. It said "Don't judge me because I sin differently than you."

I was inspired by the way we chose to end the final class of the semester. Although to us, the facts may seem clear- others may be on a different point within the journey of this life. To make loving choices, in regards to our food, and our relation to others regarding our food habits, is the best advice Michael could give us for both our happiness and the spread of conscious choices regarding food.

The horrors we faced in the reading and ever so bluntly in the videos we presented inspire us to change- and inspire us to, in turn inspire others. I believe through the example of action, the example of love, is the best and only sustainable way to inspire those to observe more closely their food choices.

We can make a difference

Ethics. It is probably the hardest subject to talk about because we all have different opinions. In my Ethics class we talked about vegetarianism and we brought it down to sentience. Sentience is the ability to feel pain. If animals have sentience then it is wrong to kill them but if they don’t them it doesn’t matter. That’s what the class decided, what we couldn’t decide is if animals had sentience or not. I thought that the video that we watched in class was tough. It is a mild version to other videos out there but it was hurtful. I’m not sure how we got to the point where we treat animals like this but we got there. In the readings there was the story of the one-hundredth pencil. I really enjoyed it. I think that is what we are doing. We are all making a choice and change will be seen. One city chose to change and it made a difference. We can make a difference too buy the choices that we make when we go to the store. I think that is what I learned most out of the class. I learned that we can make a difference.  

Last Week

I am really sad class is over. May went by really quickly. I learned a ton of information about food, and nutrition but ethics and the environment too.

I think this is a class that everyone should take, even if being Vegan isn's something you are interested in the food is delicious and the atmosphere is great, but there is a lot of information to learn.

This last class was certainly the hardest one for me, seeing animals abused was extremely difficult. It is certainly one thing to talk about it in class and know that it goes on but being confronted with the imagery was challenging.

I want to say thank you to Nina and Michael for giving us all this opportunity and allowing us to spend time with you in your home (and for cooking for us)!