youarenotyou:

Which option is the most ethical?

a diet that consists mostly of produce that was produced with the help of slave labor, that funds corporations such as Monsanto, and that travels thousands of miles to get to your plate (which means it has a large ecological footprint)? 

or

a diet that consists entirely of locally-grown and produced food, that supports local businesses, which happens to include animal products, seeing as how fresh produce cannot grow year-round in many parts of the world/the US?

Think about that for a moment. Animal products are not the only food that causes suffering. I am tired of seeing vegans claim that their lifestyle is the only correct one. Perhaps this is the case if you don’t care about the environment or human rights or farmers. But there are many of us who consider the whole picture when making dietary choices. It is not as rigidly black and white as you think it is.

I am also tired of seeing veganism presented as a choice that is accessible to all. It isn’t, and here’s why:

1. It is a privilege to have control over what you eat. Many people in the US and the world do not have the luxury of refusing food. You often say things like, “I’d rather starve than eat meat.” Have you ever actually been starving?

2. It is a privilege, in many parts of the US/world, to have access to fresh produce/food. Here’s why:

There are places in the world known as food deserts, where there are no grocery stores nearby. You may think, “They can walk, drive, or bike.” All of these options are privileges. Some areas are not safe to walk in; sometimes walking would take hours; not everyone can walk. Not everyone knows how to bike or drive, not everyone can do those things, not everyone can afford a bike or car. Even public transportation isn’t available everywhere. People in food deserts often live off of whatever they can get at convenience stores and gas stations.

Fresh produce spoils quickly. Constantly having fresh produce on hand means making frequent trips to the grocery store. It also requires that one have access to a refrigerator, which many people do not. Furthermore, high-end grocery stores such as Whole Foods (a company that specifically builds their stores in well-off neighborhoods) offer better quality produce because they can afford to purchase higher grades of food. That’s why lettuce from WF will last quite a bit longer than lettuce from Price Rite or Aldi. That’s why lettuce at the cheaper store is already brown when you buy it.

Fresh produce is expensive. Not everyone has the ability or time to dumpster dive, to shop around for the best deal, etc. Coupons for produce, whether it’s fresh, canned or frozen, are basically non-existent.

Some of you are probably thinking, “Start a garden!” If you really think that gardening is a possibility for all people, you are incredibly naive. It’s absurd to think that everyone has access to clean soil, good seeds, and the knowledge/time required to garden. Besides, actually growing enough food to live off of would require a ridiculous amount of gardening and a climate that allows for it. On the other hand, some people do only have access to what they can grow/keep on their property, which happens to include animals, dairy, and eggs.

3. You often claim that eating a vegan diet is actually cheaper than eating fast food, etc. because the raw ingredients are cheap (grains, dry beans, vegetables). Aside from the above points, you are incorrect because:

You can’t just eat the raw ingredients on their own; you need to cook them. And as I will explain below, cooking is not accessible to everyone.

It takes more produce/grains to fill you up than it does proteins.

The ability, knowledge, time, and equipment required to cook meals from scratch is a privilege in many, many parts of the world. Next time you cook a “cheap” meal, take note of how many things you are using. Pots and pans, spoons and spatulas, an oven/stove. Being able to spend at least an hour or two standing up, prepping, and cleaning (this is exhausting when you just worked a 12-hour shift, let alone if you are a parent, or have a disability). Having access to recipes or knowing how to make a meal in itself is a luxury.

You are forgetting that in order to cook, you need things like spices, oils, flours, vinegars, sauces, and so on. These things are considered basics or staples for any pantry, which is why you are oblivious to the fact that they cost quite a bit. Imagine being someone who has literally no food in their home. Imagine needing to go to the store to stock up on all these basic cooking ingredients. It will cost you a lot of money to make those trips. Even if you are shopping for one-two recipes at a time. It doesn’t matter if a bottle of olive oil will last you for 300 recipes, you still need to shell out that $10-30 in the first place. For a whole bunch of things, at once. Spices alone are absurdly expensive if you don’t have access to bulk spices. You need a few hundred dollars on hand to do this sort of stocking up.

4. Making changes to your diet can have a huge impact on your life. I am privileged in many ways, and when I was vegan, I had to do things like bring my own meals to work and school always because there were no vegan options. That meant preparing food well in advance and often I was incredibly exhausted and unable to do it. I was out of the house for long enough that I needed to always have snacks and two full meals on hand. And I was barely at home for enough time to make these meals. If you have children or a partner who lives with you, they may be resistant to a dietary change. If you have allergies (most commonly soy and gluten), veganism can be a huge challenge. Some people become malnourished due to a vegan diet, for whatever reason. I could go on.

As you can see, it is never just a matter of choice, and choice itself does not occur in a vacuum. And when people can choose, some do not consider veganism to be the most ethical decision. There are many, many reasons why people may not be vegan that have nothing to do with “apathy” or “laziness” or “selfishness.”

This, plus, replace “be vegan” with “eat healthily” and most of this is still true. How about we do not judge others’ food choices?

annalsofonlinedating:

Him: I was looking at you questions and found out that you are manic depressive. I wouldn’t think that being a nanny is the best job. I’m sure you keep it together well, but I am just imagining you flipping out on the kids. I think the only reason I thought of that is because one of my bosses has the same thing and she is freaken CRAZY. Hope I didn’t offend you. :P

Her: Wow! That’s amazing! I’d never considered it before. I’ve been doing this successfully for years, and my clients love me, but I obviously can’t be competent because your interpretation of a medical condition means I’m unstable! I need to quit today. Can we meet some time and talk, so I can get more of your wisdom?

Him: I’m not sure if your messing with me or not. Text is so hard to joke around with someone you don’t know. I would be willing to meet up, but no way I’m driving all the way there. Do you know an good half way points?

____________________________________________________

+8 for “You are a crazy bitch who shouldn’t be around children, hope i didn’t offend you! SMILEY!”

+3 for understanding sarcasm fail.

+4 for the armchair psychoanalysis based on one answer to a question on OK Cupid and his experience with a bad boss. 

+6 for I think that your relatively common mental health issue, which you are clearly managing well enough to at least be up-front and unashamed about, means that you are a total psycho who is potentially abusive to children. This concerns me, since you work with children, and also we are meeting on an online dating site, which means that we are potentially going to date, which could some day lead to marriage, which could mean that you could have MY children and then abuse them, because you are a total crazypants, which I know because I once had a mean boss. I am nevertheless happy to meet up with you and take the first steps toward a romantic relationship. Unless I have to drive, in which case, NO WAY, TOTAL DEALBREAKER.

TOTAL POINTS: 21.

(Source: annalsofonlinedating)

sanitywatchers:

In light of the comments on this Jez post about the humiliating experience a dying woman and her daughter had at the hands of the TSA, I thought I should post something I wrote when my mom was still alive, before hospice care started, when I was the one helping her with activities of daily life like toileting and bathing. I wrote this to try to describe to my friends why I was thoroughly exhausted even though my mom slept 2/3 of the day. I am trying to imagine doing all this in an airport bathroom after being groped by the TSA.

The thing about Parkinson’s, at least how I understand it, is that it makes everything so SLOW. Not only does my mom move very slowly when she moves, but it takes forever to get from the idea to move to the actual motion. Half the time, she’ll decide to move, and then by the time her body starts cooperating, she has forgotten what she was supposed to do. Just to get out of the bedroom involves sitting up, scooting to the edge of the bed, standing up, walking to the bathroom, walking *into* the bathroom, turning around to face away from the toilet, pulling pants down, sitting down, using the toilet, cleaning yourself, changing adult underwear (which itself involves taking off shoes and pants and then putting them on again), standing up, pulling pants up, walking out of the bathroom, walking to the bed, turning to sit down on the bed, sitting down, changing pants, changing shirts, combing hair, standing up again, walking to the door, walking down the hallway, and then sitting in the chair in the living room. What most of us can do in ten minutes before our brains have even switched on involves as much effort as anything my mom does in a day, and she can only keep one task in mind at a time, so that there’s no way, for instance, that she could remember to get a new pair of undies *before* going into the bathroom. So I have a hand in every aspect of every part of this. We both end up worn out, and all we’ve done is get out of bed.