The Tea Tree

Today, I looked at the ingredients of some Lindt Hello chocolate I had bought at the store.

To my horror, it contained palm oil.

For those unfamiliar with it, palm oil is yet another foreign product that first-world countries have latched upon, and thus significantly increased the demand for. Last time it was quinoa, which likely was not as bad as feared.

Palm oil, on the other hand, is used in multiple industries, many of them large-scale (ex. soap). To meet this demand, rainforests in Indonesia, Malaysia, and Colombia are being removed to plant the palm trees. Needless to say, this has a disastrous effect on an already fragile environment.

As if that weren't enough, there is also evidence that the big companies running these plantations are threatening and evicting indigenous populations from their native lands, leaving them displaced from their livelihood and home. We don't need to look across the oceans to know how badly that goes.

I sent Lindt an online request to consider not using palm oil. I encourage all of you to do the same for any company that you buy from that uses it. You're welcome to use this:

( Letter here )

Changing it to fit your company, of course.

There are enough awful things going on in the world. We don't need to make it worse by demanding things that aren't necessary. Chocolate in particular is already mired in rainforest destruction; there is no need to add palm oil to the problem.

Feel free to signal boost this.

Tschuess.

"She hoped they called it heaven as a cruel joke."

Need to think on this prompt a little more to figure out who is speaking, and where, and why -- but I had to get that sentence down before it vanished.

Also, I find it amazing how living in one area your whole life can change your perception so much. In Connecticut the farmer's markets were quite small, and lasted only a short while, mainly because New England's growing season is approximately like, two weeks long. Here in California? I just bought strawberries for $4, fresh from the farm, in the middle ofd March. This has me THROWN. Like, I am in awe. And they are already only $3 in Target.

And ( TW for discussion of classism )

I got my mail-in ballots yesterday, and dear god, no wonder California is broke. How many proposals exactly do we NEED anyway? And why do they all cost the state hordes of money? We really don't need to label genetically-engineered food; I think the state can let go of that proposal and expense.

This also means I get to figure out which loser candidate is going to get my vote this year. Last election I voted for Ralph Nader. This year it's likely going to be the Green Party candidate even though I know if she won? She wouldn't be able to do even half of what she proposes.

But it's that way with every candidate. The way the system works? Presidential candidates can spew all they want, but the only way they could get what they promise done is a) if they launched the most executive orders ever or b) if by some miracle both houses ended up with a major majority of their party. Even then? Good luck. Supreme Court will shoot some stuff down, people will critique this or that, and suddenly the massive conglomeration that is the United States Government will start turning and prevent the crazy-ass things that everyone promises.

Still, it's better to have a set of proposals and stick with them, otherwise you'll end up on a site like Mitt Romney's Flip Flops..

I need to watch clips of the debates at some point before I vote. I don't plan to vote for either of them, but I've heard they both were shitshows in their own ways, and I live in the US. I might as well watch the circus that is our current political system.

I'm not sure what can reform it to get it away from this, besides lots of education of the public so that things like Fox News and MSNBC aren't considered accurate.

Those of you out of the US: I really hope your political environment is a little less batshit insane than ours. And for those out there who live in a volatile area, like Pakistan (where a 14-year-old activist was shot by the Taliban in an assassination attempt because she dared think women should have a right to schooling): I just wish I had the money in the world to fix it.

Tschuess.

Today I bought a sandwich.

I bought at Synopsis Cafe, a small place on Cornell's campus located in the new Weill Hall. They offer overpriced (what isn't these days) panini, flatbread, and deli sandwiches, along with some pretty awesome smoothies.

So I bought a sandwich there.

I'm a vegetarian. This often limits my options as to what to get. Even in Ithaca, there are times when as a vegetarian, I often can only order one thing on the menu. Here, there were three things I could order if I didn't want to string together a deli sandwich.

One was the Veggie Delight sandwich; had I seen this one first I would have gotten it. It was a smörgåsbord (I never knew this word was Swedish; awesome) of vegetables including roasted bells, mushrooms, tomatoes, and more, served with gouda. Instead I aimed for the Vegan sandwich. This sandwich had a choice of seitan, tofu kan, or hummus for a protein (I picked the seitan; should have picked the hummus), and... Tomatoes, sprouts, guacamole, and cucumbers. Mine was mysteriously devoid of tomatoes.

Now.

If they had all these vegetables... WHY weren't they in the "vegan" sandwich?

Here's the thing I've noticed about vegan options. The world is starting to get used to vegetarians. Many a restaurant (except maybe McDonald's) knows how to make a good, tasty vegetarian meal. Just throw some vegetables together, add some tofu, and BAM instant vegetarian meal.

But when it comes to vegan options, things get a little weird. Because even though you can offer the exact same thing minus the cheese or milk, instead the meal is devoid of most veggies as well.

Why didn't the vegan sandwich have some peppers? Or some tomatoes? It was a really disappointing sandwich, let me tell you. The seitan was THIN, man, I could barely taste it. I should have made a deli sandwich. It would have been more satisfying and probably cheaper too

Speaking of the deli, apparently "cucumber" is a "luxury side". I laughed.

But anyway.

What is the issue people have with vegan meals? It seems that most people still have the idea that, without meat or eggs or cheese or milk, that meals are "boring". That they must have no taste, no flavour. Never mind that most people have to spice their meat before they can eat it, or that their eggs may often be served with pepper or ketchup, or that some of the most popular cheese have pepper in them. Basically, despite the fact that most people don't like meat that doesn't have some kick, they think that meals without said bland meat must be gross.

The fact of the matter is, they aren't. Hell, vegan meals are quite easy to make from scratch. Most of my meals start off as vegan -- I take some vegetable oil, I saute some vegetables in them, and then I toss it with pasta. It isn't until I add the cheese that it becomes vegetarian.

So why is it so hard for people to offer delicious, vegan choices? I think it's just a stereotype. People don't mean to offer bland choices, but in their minds, that's what vegan is -- bland, tasteless, boring. And full of tofu

The truth is far from that. Oh sure, when I started off as a vegetarian, I stuck with a lot of processed tofu and vegetarian products. Some of these I still eat, just because they're quick and easy. But processed soy products can be some of the worst ways to get good food and nutrition. Veggie burgers tend to be pretty damn gross. I don't know what they put in those things, but ugh.

Cornell also has this really fun habit of making bad tofu. Like, "Who thought BBQ was a good idea" type of tofu. I was stunned the other day when I went to the dining hall and had tofu that had just the right amount of tenderness and an okay flavour. It's like they hired a real vegetarian cook or something.

I personally have my own thoughts on how to make good vegetarian/vegan meals, and it doesn't involve using things like sprouts or even preprocessed tofu. It involves things like this:

Fresh Vegetables

Want a meal to start off right? Skip the canned and precooked vegetables. Fresh vegetables may not be cheap, but that didn't stop me from buying some fresh broccoli, fresh garlic, fresh onions, fresh tomatoes. If you can't afford fresh, frozen is cheaper, but still good and with flavour. Avoid canned.

Frying or microwaving your vegetables is a sure way to ruin them. Try sautéing them in a light, flavoured vegetable oil. A single hot pepper with some garlic can flavour the oil without needing things like basil or cayenne, though they help if you can afford them. Steaming vegetables is also great, especially for broccoli, which gets an amazing colour and flavour without needing anything but some water to boil.

Want a sandwich? Fresh is best. Homegrown is even better. Homegrown tomatoes have more flavour than you can ever get at a supermarket and will do well in a sandwich with a light vinagrette or some mozzarella for the vegetarians. Match it with spinach, dark lettuces (skip iceberg, it's gross), or roasted peppers. Try with hummus or seitan.

Simple Tofu

Forget the tofu burgers, the tofu sausage. The best way to make tofu is to just buy a carton of it and flavour it yourself. This not difficult. Bake tofu with some ketchup and soy sauce; it tastes amazing. Crumple it in with your veggie stir fry. Throw it in soup. Tofu does best when complemented with other things, not by itself. Marinating it overnight also will do wonders. If you don't mind it bland, it can work in salads and sandwiches too.

Rice and Beans

There's a reason these guys are a staple in many cultures. Black beans and rice make a great dish with tortillas. Jasmine rice goes well with dumplings or chickpeas. A bean blend served with vegetables is really great if done right (Cornell fails most of the time with it.). Or put them in a soup!

REAL FOOD

SERIOUSLY. Buy dry pasta instead of canned. Make a meal instead of a TV dinner. USE REAL FOOD. Your meals will be bigger, better, faster and more delicious.

And I'd better post this before I forget about it. Again.

Tschuess.

So I've noticed that racism and bigotry is coming back into style, but only very specifically.

If I criticize Israel, then I'm an Anti-Semite.

But if I criticize Iran or Saudi Arabia, I'm just calling for freedom.

If I criticize Christianity, I'm am oppressor.

But if I criticize Islam, I'm just calling for free speech.

If I criticize women, then I don't think women deserve equal rights.

But if I criticize men, I'm just a feminist touting for equal rights.

If I criticize homosexuals, I'm homophobic.

But if I criticize heterosexuals, I'm just calling for equal rights.

If I criticize science, I'm a backwater Bible-touting Christian.

But if I criticize religion, I'm just reasonable and logical.

Honestly. I have seen so many blog posts out there screaming all sorts of generalizations that would be considered racism or bigotry if they weren't aimed at Muslims, men, or heterosexuals. But since they are, everyone just nods and thinks it's a-okay.

It's not.

It stuns me that it's okay -- no, encouraged -- to draw Muhammad with a bomb in his turban, and that we get pissed at Muslims for being mad. How about I go draw Jesus with a bomb in his robes? Oh, you're mad? Why? It's just freedom of speech! And don't give me that crap that Christians wouldn't call for my death; some would.

I am all for freedom of speech. I'm not saying any of this should be made illegal or otherwise. I'm not saying that the extremist reactions are okay. But for crying out loud, these generalizations are getting ridiculous. Extremists do not make up most of the population of any group.

Not all men are sexist, not all Muslims are terrorists who will shoot someone for drawing Muhammad, and not all heterosexuals hate gay people.

Get over it.