Veganism

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One of my goals this quarter is to move toward veganism.  Once again, I'm joined on this quest by my friend Shona of LALA dex press.  We're both huge cheese fans but know that, for us, the right thing to do is to move away from regular (or at least daily) consumption of this product.  Go here to see how Shona is approaching this topic.

For me, moving towards veganism will not mean completely eliminating animal products from my diet.  First of all, I will continue to eat eggs as we have chickens who are very well cared for so our eggs are cruelty free.  Secondly, eating vegetarian away from home has enough challenges.  Many restaurants in my area offer very few entrees that don't have meat in them; those that don't have meat almost always contain cheese.  Finally, when I eat at the homes of friends or at other social functions, most people who know me are kind enough to go out of their way to accommodate my vegetarianism; telling them I'm a vegan would be too much for them to handle.  However, in my daily life, I'm giving up cheese and dairy.  

I'm not going to purchase any more cheese at the store.  I have a small stockpile of cheese in my refrigerator that I'm working through but once it's gone, I won't be replacing it.  I will be buying small amounts of milk for my husband as he drinks Cuban cafe con leche and it wouldn't be fair for me to force my choices on him.  As for cheese, he's not a big fan so that won't be a sacrifice for him.  Also, I won't be using milk in my cooking anymore but will be substituting rice milk where appropriate in recipes calling for cow's milk.

Giving up cheese also goes along with my sustainability goal.  Since I like to eat a variety of cheeses, that always means a variety of plastic packaging.  Now that I'm giving up cheese, that means less waste that will go to landfill.  So giving up cheese and dairy is really a part of my sustainability goal.