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)!