Day 4

I had a delicious, satisfying, totally vegan breakfast this morning: brown rice krispies from Whole Foods (totally yummy and less sugar than traditional rice krispies), with almond milk and sliced bananas. To try and curb my sugar intake I sprinkled it with stevia extract. I prefer stevia because it's naturally derived from the stevia plant, as opposed to Sweet ‘N Low, Equal, Splenda, etc. which are all chemical sweeteners.

There aren't a ton of vegan choices in the cafeteria. Looks like sushi will become my go-to meal.

In class, we sang to Jonathan G. for his birthday, and he was nice enough to bring us all treats. I peered into the bowl at the delicious goodies: fun size Butterfingers, Twix, Milkyways... Nope, nope nope. I read the labels just to be sure (or perhaps just to tease myself). Even Tootsie Rolls aren't vegan! Darn.

After class I met John by the cafeteria. He had just eaten some hummus and pita. From a mile away I spotted the ingredients list, and where it clearly said on the bottom: "Contains: Milk." I pointed this out to him, and we read the ingredients together. No milk or milk products.

"They're just saying that to save face," he said. "It's probably just processed in a factory that also processes milk."

I'm finding that going vegan is not black and white. There's food with questionable origin, food that "may" contain animal products. Then there's the ethical standpoint. Should we not use products that were tested on animals? Should we not wear wool or leather? What if it's something we've owned for a while? There are so many restrictions if taking the vegan diet further into a lifestyle. Restrictions are all just a matter of morals, and morals, like fingerprints, vary from person to person.

I asked John if he feels guilty when eating outside of the vegan diet. "Not if I eat things by accident."