Saturday morning ramble Part II

Also because of Candide, I didn't take my work laptop home with me, which means I won't have a laptop to take with me next week. This one's screen is broken, so it depends on an external monitor, and my other one is officially dead. So you won't hear from me for a few days next week.

This will be my first macrobiotic business trip, i.e., this will be my first attempt at a macrobiotic business trip. I'm going to do my best to at least keep it non-dairy (I continue to see (sustainable) seafood as the lesser evil).

I've slipped over the last few weeks, though by omission rather than commission. I became increasingly lazy about planning, pre-cooking, etc., and so I've been hungry. But I haven't been tempted to remedy the hunger by consuming dairy; I've just let it go, which is not a good strategy for a long-term lifestyle change. But my bigger point is, I've experienced no desire to eat dairy. Furthermore--did I tell you a friend of mine lost some insane amount of weight on a paleo-type diet? Anyway, she did, and as far as I can tell, I haven't lost any weight at all. And yet, I'm happier being fat and vegan, so to speak, than thin and carnivorous. It's just right for me.

Burkhard Bilger writes, in his piece on fermentation, "The trouble with being a diet guru, it seems, is that the more reasonable you try to be the more likely you are to offend your most fervent followers." That very well captures what I've been preaching about: eating is highly personal. Telling other people how to go about it only sets you up for acrimony. Figure out what works for you and do it; put the effort in, and share suggestions, if people are interested, but avoid proselytizing. Stating facts (meat has a massive carbon footprint whether you like it or not) is not the same as proselytizing--providing information isn't the same as telling people what to do--but do it sparingly. I mean, you can tell me that air travel also has a massive carbon footprint--also an indisputable fact. I can only shrug.