Moving Down the Food Chain

Hello, my name is Jess and I am a carnivore…

Well, I was a carnivore, until today: the first day of my month long vegan pledge.

Ten months ago, I was introduced to Corey.

Corey is the roommate of my best friend Jess (yes, we have the same name so from here on out she will be referred to as Jess2, as I am Jess1 – naturally). Corey is a vegan.

When I first met Corey I thought he had some interesting eating habits. On any given night he will eat one of two meals: 1. Pasta with red sauce or 2. Black beans and rice. Now let me set the record straight, there is nothing wrong with eating pasta with red sauce and/or black beans and rice as long as they are paired with Italian sausage and grilled chicken, respectively (and to make it even more tasty, I would even add some cheese – to both).

Shortly after meeting Corey and learning about his vegan practices, he mentioned to me that there was a national vegan pledge that ran annually starting in January. I’ll try anything once, so in April 2011 I made a verbal commitment to take the vegan pledge.

Last month, after yet another verbal commitment, I received an email from Corey with instructions. The email was simple: “Hi Jess: You can sign up for the Vegan Pledge at this link: http://www.panveganpledge.org/signup.html.  Contact me if you have any questions. –Corey”

Two weeks later, I finally clicked the link. Once I arrived to the Peace Advocacy Network (PAN) website, I was instructed to choose my city – Philadelphia, PA – the city of Brotherly Love and cheesesteaks (insert shout out to Jims Steaks here – the best cheesesteaks in the city, hands down). Other participating cities include Bend, Oregon (tree huggers) and Salt Lake City, Utah.

After I selected my location, I landed on the sign-up form page: name, email address, have you ever tried going vegan before, etc. About halfway through the form, I was asked “Which of the following best describes your current diet?*” (notice the asterisk, indicating that this question requires a response). The options included the following: 1. I eat anything, 2. I eat fish but no land animals, 3. I don’t eat red meat, but I eat everything else, 4. I don’t eat fish, but I eat everything else, 5. Lacto-ovo vegetarian, 6. Lacto vegetation, 7. Ovo vegetarian, 8. I don’t eat poultry, but I eat everything else, 9. I don’t eat dairy, but I eat everything else 10. I don’t eat eggs, but I eat everything else, 11. I don’t eat dairy or eggs, but I eat everything else, 12. I don’t eat fish, dairy, or eggs, but I eat everything else, 13. I don’t eat fish, poultry, dairy or eggs, but I eat everything else, 14. None of the above, and last but not least 15. I am a vegan (in which case I should be a mentor, not a pledge). So of these 15 choices I was to choose the one that best described my current diet…

Flashback/side note: Do you remember when you were in high school and you took a standardized exam preparation course and your instructor told you to avoid answering questions erroneously that included words like “anything”, “always”, “everything,” etc.?

Most people would select option #1 to best describe me and I would agree with them (for the most part), except I don’t eat “anything.” For example, I don’t eat olives (even if they’re stuffed with bleu cheese), pudding, and/or SPAM. Other than that – I eat anything.

About a week later, I received an email from PAN Representative, Christine, confirming receipt of my pledge and information regarding my very first PAN meeting (Saturday, January 14^th @ 11am). In that same email, I was also instructed to consume what I had on hand in my pantry and refrigerator; however, I should avoid purchasing anymore items that come from animals. So, what Christine so politely suggested was that I shouldn’t purchase anymore jars of Nutella (made with skim milk)? Hmm, I must have missed that memo. Thank goodness for my roommates, Kim and Beth. Maybe they can take that jar of Nutella off my hands.

Yesterday was my last day of animal product indulgence. I had a tasty lunch at Sabrina’s Café with friends George and Kathryn. I ordered the grilled chicken salad sandwich (of course made with mayo and topped with cheese) and the butternut squash soup (which was made with what I am assuming was a chicken stock base). Last night for my “Last Supper,” Jess2 and I went to Izumi, our newly found favorite sushi restaurant on Passyunk Avenue. We enjoyed yellowtail with jalapeños, spicy tuna roll, and the signature Izumi roll (crab, eel, avocado, yum). Before heading home, we actually thought about topping off our bellies with a hot slice of Lorenzo’s pizza (on South Street). Forty-five minutes before my PAN meeting, I’m regretting not spending a couple bucks on a piece of cheese pizza. Damn.

This morning I had a cup of my staple green tea and a bowl of oatmeal with brown sugar and dried fruit (boring). Who knows what my next meal will be? Maybe they’ll be serving lunch at the PAN meeting?

Well, I am ready to go wearing lip gloss probably made from whale blubber, leather boots, and a goose down coat featuring a faux fox hair hood. I’m sure all the PAN Representatives will love me. Maybe they’ll slaughter me and feed me to malnourished pigs in Arkansas? Wish me luck…