Last night I dreamt I went to Taco Bell and ordered a bean and cheese burrito. I quickly realized I couldn't eat cheese so I asked the cashier to change my order to a bean burrito. Mildly disappointed that I couldn't eat cheese, but proud of myself for remembering before eating it, I had a short conversation with the cashier. She argued with me about my order, unable to understand how I could order something without cheese. Eventually she gave up and stopped caring that I wasn't going to eat cheese.
I woke up annoyed that I lived one day as a vegan before having a dream about ordering something I can't eat. But then I realized my dream was not about the fact that I couldn't eat cheese - sure I forgot for a second that I don't eat it any more, but the issue was really someone asking me to justify my choices to her.
I stood in line at the grocery store tonight, ready to purchase my avocados, soy milk, tofu, and a bottle of wine. The customer in front of me purchased 12 frozen Banquet-brand meals (yes, I counted) - mostly of the Salisbury Steak and Cheesy Mac N' Beef variety. I'm not suggesting that we judge this person for his consumption choices, after all, 1800 Banquet meals are prepared every minute. If that many people are willing to eat Banquet frozen dinners every minute... well gee, how could that be disgusting?
It's just funny to me that people can be so quick to get... offended? by my dietary choices. I was used to this at age 12, when I became a vegetarian, but as vegetarianism has become more socially acceptable, it's a stigma I've sort of forgotten about. Now that I've chosen to eat vegan-ly, even on day 2 I can tell the stigma is back. You eat tofu and avocados and soy milk, which contain nutrients? But you won't eat Cheesy Mac N' Beef that has nearly twice the amount of sodium you need daily? Freak.
Now, lest I sound judgy about my fellow humans who are meat-loving, Cheesy Mac N' Beef eating individuals, I should point out there is a large element of class that plays into our dietary choices. The customer ahead of me in the check out line spent under $15 for his 12 meals. That's kind of impressive. And a feat not to be under valued if this person is concerned about money - and shopping at the Kroger at the corner of King and High, he probably is (though if one more person calls it Kro-ghetto in front of me.... I have half a mind to lock them in that Kroger until they've remedied their discomfort around poor people). It's cheap to eat crap. It's expensive to live well. This is a problem to me, so I want to be clear that I understand money plays a big role in people's dietary choices.
I spent far more than I would've preferred purchasing vegan friendly items today, but hey - that's why we invented credit cards right? Money aside, it would be impulsive and presumptive for me to say that going vegan has been easy (I'm not sure 2 days counts as a lifestyle change), but since when do I have an issue with being impulsive or presumptive? Being vegan is easy. I've eaten the same damn things yesterday and today that I'd normally eat - subtract a slice or two of processed, dyed Kraft American cheese, and add in mozarella soy cheese and some dark chocolate. Lucky for me, I threw out the option of Banquet Cheesy Mac N' Beef over 12 years ago, so I haven't had the challenge of adjusting to live without that.
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