Pardon the pun, but I just read a very distasteful article in the Wall Street Journal called, Let Them Eat Dog. The article is intended to illustrate how ridiculous it is that we call one animal man’s best friend and then eat equally smart and lovable animals like pigs.
While I agree with the author’s sentiments I certainly could have done without reading the Filipino recipe for “Stewed Dog, Wedding Style.” Clearly, even man’s best friend and horses are in danger of being gobbled up by people in many parts of the world, as this quote from the article points out:
- The French, who love their dogs, sometimes eat their horses.
- The Spanish, who love their horses, sometimes eat their cows.
- The Indians, who love their cows, sometimes eat their dogs.
Even in America, where dogs and horses are rarely eaten by people, most caring people are concerned if a dog is being abused or if a horse is not fed enough or well cared for. We care because it would be inhumane to ignore a dog or horse being mistreated and most of us consider ourselves to be animal lovers.
Okay, but isn’t it equally inhumane for factory farms to keep pigs, cows and chicken in horrible tiny pens where it is physically impossible for them to turn around and where if these animals get sick they are most often left to die as they are cheaper to replace than to keep alive? It is bad enough the animals are going to be slaughtered and then eaten, but do we have to make the entirety of their short lives miserable as well?
In the last 80 years, the rise of factory farming in conjunction with consumer demand for cheap animal meat has turned mankind from the good sheppards of the past into terrible and irresponsible custodians of these animals. These animals are entirely at our mercy and we systematically show them no mercy whatsover. Every time we buy hamburger, chicken, turkey or pork from one of these companies we are complicit in the mistreatment and brutal murder of these helpless animals.
Never mind that the human consumption of animals is incredibly self destructive to people. Eating animals endangers personal health by dramatically increasing the risks of heart disease and cancer. Raising animals for human consumption also endangers the continued existence of mankind by contributing between 28 and 40% of greenhouse gases from methane from factory farmed cattle alone. Want to stop global warming? Going vegan will have a bigger impact on the world than buying a hybrid car.
On a completely different and more upbeat note, today Cheryl and I went to WaterCourse Foods for lunch today. WaterCourse Foods is a terrific vegetarian restaurant in downtown Denver. WaterCourse Foods is very relaxed and has a hip urban feel to it. Most importantly, their food is outstanding.
To start things off, I ordered some of their Seitan Buffalo Wings with vegan Ranch dressing and celery. My expectations were not very high, but I was curious what these might look and taste like. The Seitan Buffalo Wings arrived in oblong shaped rectangle shapes, so they looked more like the Buffalo strips than wings.
We tasted them and immediately just loved them. In fact, I declared the Seitan Buffalo Wings the 3rd Vegan Miracle (1st was Cheryl’s Mushroom and Tempeh Stew and 2nd was her Black Bean Enchiladas)! Seitan is made principally from wheat gluten and we found the Seitan Buffalo Wings’ texture and taste to be remarkably like that of chicken. The Seitan Buffalo Wings were a little crispy on the edges and Cheryl was excited that she could actually enjoy the eating them, hassle free. When we used to eat chicken buffalo wings Cheryl would wisely remove the skin because it is so incredibly fatty and unhealthy.
For the entree, I had the Atlas Sandwich which was made of smoky grilled tempeh, lettuce, tomato, and avocado on grilled sourdough toast. I put a little hot sauce on mine and it was pretty good. Cheryl ordered the Champ Sandwich which she just loved. It was made of freshly baked foccacia bread with layers of roasted beets, red onions, grilled zucchini, sprouts and lemon caper aioli. Cheryl said it was without a doubt the healthiest and one of the best sandwiches she had ever tasted.
All in all, it was a ridiculous quantity of food. Let me tell you, Vegan food not only satisfies, but it stays with you. Next time we go back I am going to order the Seitan Buffalo Wings and maybe get a garden salad on the side. That’s all I’ll need and I’ll be happy! 
Not too much else is new. I had actually gained 2 lbs, but that came back off so now I’m just a shade lighter than I was a week ago. I have been working out much harder since my initial month of going vegan. That first month I had so much energy it was a bit frustrating to have to restrain myself to my pre-vegan workout levels, but I wanted to keep everything else the same except the food. Now that I’m into the 2nd month, I’m working out more frequently, longer and harder. I am gaining good lean muscle so that may be why my weight loss temporarily stopped and then restarted.
Tomorrow I’m making our first full on true vegan pizza. Yes, we’ve got true vegan cheese like food from Daiya. I’ll let you know how that turned out soon. Happy Halloween!!
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