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My first day being vegan

VEGANISM IS ‘SINGLE BIGGEST WAY’ TO REDUCE OUR ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT, STUDY FINDS

For this time I decided to review an article that I read related to my research topic which was about veganism. The article portrays that veganism could possibly be the only way on reducing the risks to the environment. Researchers from Oxford University suggested that stopping or decreasing the consumption of meat and dairy would reduce the individual’s carbon footprint percentage. Though, I connected this reading to the creative re-mix that I conducted. My creative re-mix involved me being vegan for the first time. For that project, I was vegan for a single whole day.

Based, on the creative re-mix that I did of being vegan I saw that my body and I missed eating the meat and dairy for that single day. Imagine for the rest of our days!!! I think for some of us it would be hard on avoiding to eat meat or dairy. I feel like the suggestion from the Researchers of Oxford University is complicated to follow for some people. I think that maybe individuals would be able to follow on avoiding eating meat or dairy but like once in a while not often. Though, now the question would be, do we fully have to stop eating meat and dairy food to avoid any risks to the environment?

Moreover, this article and also my research question results showed that many choose to become vegans due to environmental concerns. It is not just about looking healthy nor due to ethical reasons. However, others choose to become vegan because those individuals seek a better environment. To produce the meat we need farmland, and if the meat consumption stops then that land would be available for other resources for the environment.

We’re aware that to eat meat, animals are killed. This is another factor as to why some choose to become vegan. This factor is known as “ethical” reasons. Many would argue that killing an animal or cutting or chopping it off shows an inhumane act. Then, that’s when the concern of “mass wildlife extinction” comes to play along in the environment. When farmers kill the animals then these animals will all of a sudden disappear.

I learned that meat and dairy are held responsible for 60 percent of agriculture’s greenhouse gas emissions. It sort of surprises me how food generally matters a lot of percentage to our environment. This article, it also describes that meat and dairy do not only impact the environment but also climate change emissions, water pollutions, and air pollution.  In the article, Joseph Poore explains that a vegan diet would probably be a great solution to reduce the impact on Earth. It says that if you were to produce like plant food then it would not generally affect a lot the environment.

To take better choices on consumption then it would be great if the consumers become aware of their eating habits. I personally think that not everyone will agree that a vegan diet is a solution to avoid any risk to the environment.

Genre: TV Show – MasterChef

I decided to insert on this blog TV Show clip of MasterChef. This clip of MasterChef is about a competition of who cooks better a Vegan plate at MasterChef. I enjoyed watching this episode as part of the TV Show MasterChef.

I can tell you that Gordon Ramsay is one of my favorites chefs that I have heard. His cooking recipes and techniques are the best. I love his cooking skills. In this clip, Gordon Ramsay seems to not like the idea of having to cook a vegan plate. As he says in the video, he is not used to cooking vegan meals. Usually at MasterChef the people at the show cook meat meaning that MasterChef consists of a meat plate. So he found it sort of difficult on cooking a vegan meal. However, the competitor; Madelaine Petsch had an advantage because she is a vegetarian. The fact that she was vegan allowed her on knowing what exactly to cook as part of her vegan plate competition with Gordon Ramsay.

It was fun watching a very famous chef compete with the actress; Madelaine Petsch. The face that Gordon Ramsey made was funny when he looked at all the ingredients that he had to cook for the vegan plate. He could not believe the fact that his ingredients included mainly plant-food production. He saw many vegetable ingredients to use for his plate competition. However, when Madelaine Petsch saw the same ingredients as Gordon Ramsay in her cooking space, she did not get shocked or anything. Since she is vegan for her it was normal compared to Gordon Ramsey. Instead, she kept laughing at the fact that Ramsey had to do a vegan plate something he didn’t do at MasterChef.

If I were to do a vegan plate it will be challenging for me. This is due to the reason that I have never cooked any vegan meal. I have always been used to having meat on my lunch and dinner meal. If I were to think of eating vegetable-related meals for a day well, I do not think I would be able to handle it. I am not a fan of vegetables. I personally don’t like too natural meals. What I mean by this is that I do not like too many healthy food plates. I feel that I can’t pass by my week if I do not eat at least 2-3 a week fried-food plate. It is not that I am saying that vegetables or any other healthy food is bad. On the contrary, it’s great to have healthy food on our body to have a positive quality of life within ourselves.

Overall, I can relate to Gordon Ramsay when he was preparing to cook the vegan plate at MasterChef. I liked watching this TV Show Clip. Since am planning to do a video of myself being vegan for a day as part of my creative re-mix project then, watching this clip reminds me that I will be having to cook a vegan dish.

Think Veganism, is a video that explains Kerry McCarthy her own personal path of veganism. After watching this video I realized and took note of many things that McCarthy mentioned throughout the video.

One thing I did realize was that I was able to compare what McCarthy said to the article of Michael Pollan, Power Steer. McCarthy spoke that many vegetarian eating choices are due to the way they think or perceive things. For example, she explained that she can’t see herself cutting or cooking a chicken or any other animal kind. Which shows how her way of eating was due to humane reasons. She says that imagining the blood of the animals causes her to have a moment of self-consciousness. Her speech relates to what Michael Pollan argued in his article. Pollan mentioned how the steers would panic if they noticed that they were going to get killed. This generally relates to some sort of existence in humanity. 

Throughout her daily life, she notices how her thinking is the principal of her reasoning. McCarthy says that many times society’s interpretation of food consumption is what deprives you of choosing your own food choices. We let others’ thinking affect our own. They say that oh “fish is good, a perfect vitamin”. However, McCarthy argued how society uses certain phrases to emphasize or encourage people on eating things. In the video, she explains how vegetables or fruits are also well for your health and how in many circumstances that is not being told to the world as much as meat consumption is. Many times meat food is the one that’s being more popularized in society. Meaning it’s being more advertised towards people so then many would decide to consume it. Though, it’s fine not wanting to eat it. Meat does have many benefits as well. However, once you imagine eating it and feeling not good about it then the decision is up to you to choose. 

Adapting to veganism isn’t hard nor easy. It all depends on how hard you make it for yourself. Mostly McCarthy points out why she chose to become vegan. She explains how she heard many negative comments from other people regarding her becoming vegan. She realized that the market and businesses also have to do with the influence of food consumption. She believes that if many people did not consume meat then those meat food businesses would not have enough consumers. Therefore, for those businesses, it would be convenient for them to have many people who arent vegan. McCarthy mentions how society wants people to believe things that they say instead of letting the individuals chose their own choices. From her own personal experience, she explains why it was hard to become a vegan. McCarthy says that yes, the flavor of its meat is tentative but yet just imagining the animals as she pours the meat into her mouth then, that’s when she feels disgusted. She truly can’t hold watching herself eating the meat of an animal that was poured out of blood while being killed in such an inhuman way. 

1. Social class differences in food consumption
2. Fast Food
3. Food desserts

Are you wondering what to eat? Well, I recommend eating “Salchipapas”. If you are looking to eat an exquisite  fast food, salchipapas is the perfect dish that you will ever find. Salchipapas includes french fries and beef sausages. It is typically served with ketchup and mustard. When I was about 10 years old I first encountered the appetizing salchipapas at an Ecuadorian Restaurant. Salchipapas is one of the common food served in my Ecuadorian culture. This fast food is not only consumed in my culture but on many others such as in Peru and Colombia. Though, throughout time the salchipapas dish has expanded to other cultures.

As a Latina women I love eating fried foods. Salchipapas is one of my favorite dishes that I enjoy eating. It is easy and favorable to eat. I feel that when I see the salchipapas there will be no one who will stop me from eating it. The desire to eat it is uncontrollable. Just by looking at it,  I imagine my hands eagerly grabbing the french fries to add it with ketchup. The beef sausages are cut into small portions.  However, why choose to eat “salchipapas”? This type fast food dish will make you feel happy or relaxed especially on a stressed or tired day. Not only will it lift your spirits but this street food will be inevitable to forget because it owns a tasty flavor.

I like to eat it but I also find pleasure on preparing it. Cooking the salchipapas does not require too much time. While I’m preparing the salchipapas, what I don’t like is that it makes me feel a bit hot while am near the kitchen because the flame of the stove is firing up to the pots. This type of food requires oil then it is obvious that it will make the kitchen feel warmer. I sense that the fire and I don’t get along. Now I wonder how does this type of food relate to me? I would say that I like things that are fast and favorable. The salchipapas fast food would be an awesome plate to taste when I’m in a hurry because I would eat it quickly, easily and with a good taste.

Since I just mentioned about  the salchipapas, my daily life is not mine if I don’t try something fried. Fried is what I like, it draws my attention on trying it. I avoid eating fried food since I remember what my family tells me, “it is bad for the health to eat a lot of fried food”. If for several days I do not eat something fried, my body feels somewhat uneasy. I remember there was this time where I did not eat fried food and all of a sudden I felt anxious and my mind began to imagine any fried food floating around my head. For this reason, salchipapas is one of my favorite food to eat. So, why not discover the taste of the yummy fast food “Salchipapas”?

     Assignment Week #2: 

• Identify and define the word “butchered”. I looked up for the word butchered and it meant killing (people) or also cutting up an animal for food.
• Important or interesting: “But when I killed my first chicken I was only seventeen and unaccustomed.” I find this sentence interesting because the author is using words that would let the reader know what the passage will be talking or mentioning about. This sentence lets the reader analyze not only was she a 17 year old girl but also an unexperienced chicken animal killer. This shows that the author will provide some sort of new experiences that the 17 year old girl had. Which, new experiences means learning something new. Though, what I would like to know is how was she feeling while she was trying to kill the chicken for her first time and what would she have done different or does she regret doing it?
• Is there any way that you can relate life experiences with the first time killing a  chicken? If  yes, how or why does it make it relatable?

Due to the pandemic many changes has occurred. I miss being surrounded by my whole    family. The time where I would be with my entire family is in parties. I can’t deny it I miss going out to parties. Why so ? I remember how we would all unite as a family and enjoy eating some delicious food plates. All the parties that we have had there was not even once where food was not served. My family wouldn’t call it a “party” if no food was present. Let me tell you something. It was not just one type of food plate that was served but instead there was a variety of food type to eat. If I were to go back into time “ohhh yes I can remember the smell of the  delicious foods that my family would serve”. Every food type had its own taste. Every food plate that was served to my family it was unique, special and with a great taste. Why special ? In every party once food was served we would talk, laugh, tell each other jokes and much more. That was special because not only were we eating our delicious food but as well a great family time existed at that moment. The food isn’t what I exactly miss. I miss being with my whole family and having a great time. When does that great moment time come? It comes at parties once food is served. At parties not only does food help the hunger go away but it brings in a moment of unity among all the people that we are surrounded by. Sadly, due this pandemic situation for now I can’t feel that feeling of union that existed as a whole family. The good memories remained among all of us while eating our enjoyable food plates.