What Should Vegans Do?

Okay readers, I know you're out there (in my head you are all members of a giant fan club that have banded together and are inspired and confidant to raise you're kids as vegans knowing there is such a goddess as myself sitting at her kitchen table, just waiting to read her words of wisdom gained form years of vegan parenting...)

In any case, I'm asking for advice. A vegan friend is planning a dinner time (only opening and location that works)  birthday party for her 7 year old, and the joint says nay on the vegan pies. They want her to buy cow cheese pizzas. GROSS!

I've written  about my feelings of financially supporting the meat and dairy industry, and she shares similar views. But is there ever a time when it is okay to give in to the peer pressure of the carnivorous society at large?

The Good:

*Others coming to the party are veg-UNfriendly. Having cow cheese would make them shut up and avoid comments like "eewww, my kids won't eat this"!

*Easier and cheaper

* Can still bring in 1 veg pizza for b-day boy under guise of allergies


The Bad:

*What the heck is the world coming to? Serving curdled baby cow juice at a veg b-day party?

*If she doesn't, they'll be 21 kids with a veggie plate (no dip) for 2 hours - during dinner time!

The Ugly:

"Presumably, the first cheese was produced by accident when the ancients stored milk in a bag made from the stomach of a young goat, sheep or cow. They found that the day-old milk would curdle in the bag (stomach), yielding solid chunks (curds) and liquid (whey). Once they discovered that the curd-chunks could be separated out and dried, they had discovered a means by which milk, an extremely perishable food, could be preserved for later use. The addition of salt was found to preserve these dried curds for long periods of time.

"At some point, someone discovered that the most active portion of the young animal's stomach to cause curdling was the abomasum, the last of the four chambers of the stomach of a ruminant animal. (In sequence, the four chambers are rumen, reticulum, omasum and abomasum.) In particular, the abomasum from a suckling kid or calf was especially active. The abomasum was cut it into strips, salted and dried. A small piece would be added to milk in order to turn it into curds and whey."


It's too late to change the location, date or time. So.... what would you do? Give in or stand your vegan ground?


xo,
Sarah

 

Gross Out!

My kids are dutiful vegans, and I'd like to keep them that way. When a commercial comes on for fast food, I point out the commercialism of it-  how the food isn't healthy, how they just give toys to kids to get their parents to spend money, etc. My kids are really good about it, and I don't think they have any desire to eat those foods. Just in case, though, I occasionally will share visual reinforcements: 


A chicken: 

Princess Tosha, Farm Sanctuary, CA 

Photo courtesy of amazing animal friend Kerrie!

Sadly, this beautiful lady passed away about a month ago. Heartbreaking as it is, I am happy to know that it was from old age and that she spent her golden years surrounded by love & friends 

The  inside of a chicken nugget: 

According to the USDA, mechanically separated poultry is "a paste-like and batter-like poultry product produced by forcing bones with attached edible tissue through a sieve or similar device under high pressure to separate bone from the edible tissue." 

A McDonald's Chicken Nugget: 

And in case that's not enough of an incentive to avoid this crap: 

Want one? EWWWWWWW!!