'Trading Spaces' to expose my very 'inconvenient truth'

I've really struggled with my food choices since I started teaching Sociology of the Environment a few years ago. Turns out ignorance [was] bliss.  In questioning what systems I want to support over the next year, I decided to turn the camera on the very 'inconvenient truth' of what I eat by 'trading spaces' with the critters behind the food.

I love soft serve ice cream.  Love.  It.  Perhaps more than life itself.  (I'm actually not kidding.) Unfortunately, even in the best case scenario of a small-scale, organic farmer, a cow is only required to have 120 days in pasture.  The rest of the time could be spent like this:

I see enclosures similar to this driving in Iowa, Wisconsin, and Illinois all the time.  The mud is punctuated by poo piles, which the cows are commonly laying in.  If I were to trade places with these cows, my life would look something like this:

Space constraints will eventually force me to touch/lay in my own excrement (represented here by my sock 'poo' piles) as is the case for my four-legged friends.  Technically, I should also be laying in the excrement of several more people. [Get out from behind the camera and join me, Melanie!]  On the bright side, I would get 120 days 'vacation' in pasture.  That's the same as what I currently have between summer and winter break.  Sweet.  [Insert sarcasm here.]

To be honest, I wanted to do this in my bathroom with a real poo pile placed on the floor.  Melanie cautioned against it for a variety of reasons (all of which just made me want to do it more).  She said: "But people don't live in their bathrooms." Exactly.  And: "But people will just think you have 'lost it' and really need a break."  To that I would ask:  Which of the following is truly a sign that I have 'lost it':  1) Questioning the reality of life for a confined animal by 'trading spaces' with it, or 2) continuing to eat the products of an industry that allows for these conditions?  My answer would be the latter. That said, I thank Melanie for the constructive feedback that saved me from a 'clean up in Aisle 9' type event.

I guess I should be happy that I'm not part of large-scale, industrial dairy as I would never get a break from this:

I imagine this is the supply source for my beloved McDonald's ice cream cones.  (Yes, I know my fetish is problematic on many levels, but I had to 'out' myself in the interest of full disclosure.)

If I got really 'lucky,' I could listen to classical music while being milked in my hermetically sealed enclosure as is the case for some cows in China (please consider watching the PBS video associated with this link...it's only 10 minutes long, but deeply troubling).

The equivalent experience of an industrialized dairy cow for me (restrained in place, on concrete, with no sun) might be:

I was buying 'cage free' or 'free range' from the Co-Op, but am concerned that those labels do not mean much given current guidelines and that life for these chickens often looks like this:

The human equivalent seems easy [again, insert more sarcasm here] and I've already lived it for part of one day.  It was January 1, 2013, in Bangkok, Thailand.  We were making offerings at the Buddhist temples on the first day of the New Year.  So was everyone else in Thailand.  That's me squished, and resisting a pick-pocket attempt, just to the bottom-right of the gray sign:

Now I only have to rock this for 364 more days in a row.  At least I would have more freedom than a battery cage chicken (of which there are currently 255 million according to Farm Sanctuary):

The human equivalent of being in a battery cage would be spending my life confined to one space that is smaller than a sheet of paper (it's hard to tell because I would have almost no room left with my big feet, but I am standing on a white sheet of paper):

Bacon is another weakness of mine.  Again, I won't lie: I have been guilty of buying pre-cooked, mass produced bacon to avoid the 'inconvenience' of dealing with the bacon grease.  Assuming the worse case scenario associated with my purchase, life in a gestation crate for pigs is grim:

According to the Humane Society, the human equivalent of this would be spending my life in an airplane seat.  Melanie modeled this one for me (though she gave herself more legroom than I would have and she would be on a very full flight rather than an empty plane):

I think this picture is probably a better way to feel the confinement:

My days in a gestation crate might be numbered, however.  McDonald's, for instance, will only [eh hem, more sarcasm here] continue to use pigs from gestation crates for the next 2900 days or so (i.e., 8 years).  Then, if I'm lucky, I might get to move to this:

To continue the airplane analogy, I think this would be like when the pilots turn off the 'fasten seat belt' sign and announce that you are 'free to roam about the cabin.'  I don't know about you all, but that's typically little relief to me in the context of a long flight and a crowded cabin.

I do love mahi mahi and other local catch when in Hawaii.  According to some estimates, our reliance on super trawling (see image below for why they are truly 'super') has eliminated 90% of the big fish in the sea:

If I were to put myself in this position, I would imagine peaceful snorkeling...

...interrupted by a quick snatch into a net with other dead and dying ocean critters.  I would definitely end up as wasted bycatch as no one would ever be paid to 'catch' me.  Just ask Melanie....  :)

I'm sure someone has already placed humans in the same positions we place animals, but I needed to go through the mental and physical exercise of 'trading spaces' for myself.  I needed to expose myself to this very 'inconvenient truth.'  I want to keep eating McDonald's soft serve ice cream cones.  Really.  Badly.  I want to cling to the 4th of July bratwurst, cake, and ice cream traditions of old.  But I have to let go.

While I do not feel I have to demonstrate the intelligence of any creature to justify the humane treatment of it, I do think it's worth noting that these critters are just like us (sans the ability to exercise dominion over others).  Cows nurture friendships and are excited by intellectual challenges.  Chickens outperform dogs and cats in cognitive assessments and can anticipate the future, which is something only humans and primates have been observed to do.  Pigs can play video games (probably better than I can, but I digress...).

Frankly, the animals in my life have more sense than me.  No cat I've had as a companion has ever eaten even one bite of McDonald's 'meat.'  Not one taste of 'sausage ball' from a Sausage Burrito.  Not a shred of 'beef' from a Big Mac.  Nothing.  My two cats currently, however, will beg (literally) for pieces of Tofurkey:

Beyond the premise of 'do unto others as you would have done to you,' our current food system burdens our own bodies (the 'invironment') and the environment.  Not only do meat and dairy production carbon dioxide emissions (18%) surpass those of transportation (14%), but we could be feeding all of the people in the world if we were not diverting grain to feed the critters we want to eat.  We've been marketed to view 'meat' as synonymous with 'protein.' As a result, we think hamburger is healthier than beans and brown rice.  We've been told 'milk does a body good' though some research suggests the reverse and it is odd (as stated by Colin Campbell in Forks Over Knives) that we are the only species that drinks the milk of another animal.  We are so far removed from a working knowledge of 'whole foods' (e.g., fruits, vegetables, grains) that 'newscasters' don't know what's left when told not to eat processed 'foods' by medical experts [I'm thinking here of the recent interview with Dr. Mark Hyman by Savannah Guthrie in which she asked "what's left" after being told not to eat various processed foods].  Sadly, we also don't know when we're eating something real or something processed without checking the very, very, very fine print.  One insidious example are the Flav-R-Bites that replace 'real' fruit in 'blueberry' bagels or waffles, etc.  As reported in Pandora's Lunchbox, these need only be 6% blueberry solids by volume in order to be labeled as 'blueberries.'

If our food system doesn't benefit most people, animals, or the planet, who is winning?  Largely the answer is the corporate interests that have shaped nutrition guidelines and consolidated food production.

Am I being too reductionistic?  Couldn't I just eat critters from small-scale, diversified farms that do right by their animals?  Yes.  I could. There are many out there.

I know, however, that the reality of 'owning' even one dairy cow could mean the decision to put the cow down when it fails to produce enough milk to pay for the cost of feed.  To translate that into human terms in my 'trading spaces' exercise again: Since I am going on an unpaid leave next year, should I be put down for failing to earn enough to cover the cost of my food?

The reality is also that there would need to be a world wide, wholehearted return to small scale, diversified farming in order to meet present domestic and global demand for meat and dairy.  Since that hasn't happened yet, I have no choice but to change my personal demand.

My decision to quit meat and dairy again 'cold turkey' (pardon the pun) also follows from the fact that I could not kill an animal to eat it at the end of life or otherwise.  I've had fantasies of catching my own fish, but the truth is I couldn't kill one myself.  My decision is a result of the clear preference of all critters to be free (see the escape artists in Chickens in the Road).  It makes sense. I'd prefer not to be confined to even the most pleasant of places.  Why would that not be true for any other critter?

Lastly, I'm prone to extremes.  ['Balance' means what now?]  It's best for me to excise things from my life and not look back lest my brain will engineer various times or reasons when indulging would be 'OK' (even though it's not).

When I last questioned my participation in conventional food systems two year ago, I found myself a 'lapsed vegan' after a few months because it was 'too hard.'  I've struggled with giving up other things because they were 'too hard.'  I finally realized that 'sometimes things are just hard,' but that doesn't mean I should stop doing them.  I'll call it getting hit upside the head with a big ol' frying pan of Buddhism.

So, no matter how hard or inconvenient, or _________it is, I'm going to return to eating and buying vegan.  I'm not trying to proselytize or to influence the behavior of others.  Really. I'm not.  I promise. I desperately need to let go of that artifact of teaching.  Changing my own behavior will be challenge enough.  I will, however, share yummy alternatives to meat and dairy.  I will also share examples of people doing good with their food.

I'm already a fan of the Forks Over Knives recipes as well as Straight Up Food.  Both of these resources do not use oil or additives, but are strictly whole foods, plant based.  When following their guidelines during my last bout of veganism, my total cholesterol fell below 200 for the first time in my life.

That said, for my occasional treats (with added oil) when things get hard but I'm not willing to give up, I am a huge fan of these yummy cones:

Special thanks to Chantell and Val at HyVee on Locust Street in Dubuque for adding these to their Health Market offerings!

I've also found a few seriously good vegan parms:

I will need to be very mindful of budget for the next year so I will also be reporting on the costs of my 'whole food, plant based' diet.  Contrary to what we've been taught by food corporations, whole foods are more nutritious than processed 'food' and cheaper, too.  Just got three sweet potatoes (that's three lunches) for $1.64.  I will buy from local farmers or farmer's markets as much as possible.

I also plan to grow our own food.  I hope to report on many successes.  My experiment in kombucha brewing has taught me that I can learn to nurture and sustain life.  By the last batch, my 'mother' had grown to about 1.5 inches thick, was as wide as her container, and even had a 'baby' floating in the booch below her.  Instead of my initial response of trepidation at her sliminess, I was in awe of her life.

I want to be part of food production that I believe in and to focus on the good that is out there.  My cousin's efforts on her land represent some of that good. She is growing cantaloupe, peppers, tomato, corn, beans, cucumber, etc. and canning.  Perhaps more importantly, she is 'growing children' who are mindful of the land and respectful of the animals.  She has a teenage son who refuses to eat factory farmed fast food.  She has a young daughter (only age 8) who speaks so eloquently about her own respect for their food and animals that it moves you to tears.  Their good gives me hope.  B.

P.S.  I've completely fallen in love with:

to obtain my necessary B12.  I don't know why I didn't like this stuff the last time I tried it, but I'm about ready to drink it now.  It's fabulous on broccoli, sweet potato, veggie burgers (or anything else as a cheese substitute) and/or tasteless (if you wish) mixed into any other sauce.

I also continue to love this plant-based milk substitute (and it's fortified with B12 as well):