Lab-Grown Meat... My Take:

Hello my lovelies! Watch this video about growing meat in a lab and I'll tell you what happened today. 

Okay, I had an interesting conversation with a meat eater today. He is an OCAD art student and he was given the assignment to design packaging and a logo for lab-grown meat. What would it look like, how would he convey it as a meat product that wasn't regular meat, how would it appeal to people... 

Anyway, he said that most meat-eaters he talked to thought it was gross and would not eat it. So said the vegetarians and vegans. I told him that I was vegan and I certainly wouldn't be drawn to put that in my mouth either for several reasons: 


1. When you have been vegan for long enough your sense of taste and smell become much more sensitized, so meat and dairy start to smell really bad (at least in my experience, and that of many other vegans I have talked to). 

2. We do not know what long-term effects this lab-grown meat will have on our health.

3. I would have no idea whether the meat was grown on an animal that suffered terribly, or if it was grown in a lab, except to take the word of whoever was serving it to me... not taking that chance.

 4. There are so many better things to eat! Why the hell would I bother eating the muscle (flesh) of an animal, (even if it's grown in a lab, it is still muscle cells that have come from an original biopsy of a cow), when I could choose from thousands and thousands of colourful, fragrant, delicious fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds? Millions of incredible dishes are made with these vegan ingredients. 

I know PETA has offered one million dollars to whoever develops the first marketable lab-grown meat, and I get it. If it rids the world of factory farms and ends suffering of cows, chickens, pigs, and all of the other animals people like to eat, then I am all for it, but it doesn't mean I would eat it myself. 

The student I was talking to sort of scrunched up his face at the thought of eating lab-grown meat himself because he said it was just a lump of flesh grown in a petri dish and that it was unappetizing. I pointed out that most people don't buy meat with feet or faces still attached, and that a Chicken McNugget was essentially a boneless lump of flesh with fat and eyeballs thrown in, so it's not actually that different. He thought about it for a second and said nothing. I am not against this development, just thinking about what it all means. 

Hope you are having a beautiful day or night, wherever you are in the world!

Winter in Toronto, Canada :)

Well it's winter here in Toronto, and that means we have to make the most of it. Dressing for the cold means looking a little like a bag lady, wearing all the clothes you have and not trying too hard to be stylish. I always say that I am style-ish... 

 My knee is still a big issue, but I go out just the same and be careful with myself. I refuse to take pain killers anymore because I'm certain that they do more damage to my body than good. 
Today I did yoga with James, as usual, and I feel I'm improving. I'm also taking a vegan glucosamine supplement that is helping with joint pains and slowly building up my cartilage. I wasn't taking it before because the one I was given was made of lobster, crab and shrimp shells... a by-product of the seafood industry). Anyway, life   is always a gift, no matter what happens to us.

I'm going to do a post about our recent trip to visit our friend Claire in Bequia (Part of the Grenadine Islands), but not right now because I am almost ready for bed. We had an absolutely amazing time! I will post some of the photos James took, and tell you about some incredible things that happened, so stay tuned! I love you all!

Vegan Zombie Video and message from Lyn :)

Today is a good day. It's been a while since I blogged anything, so I am making time to do so now :) I also realize that I have fallen behind in answering my emails to all of you who have written, so I promise to get on that. It's a new year, 2013, and I expect to grow as a person even more than the previous year, so I hope you will all join me in creating a beautiful world!

James and I are having a quiet day reading, blogging, eating lovely food and feeding the squirrels who come to our deck to collect the peanuts we have placed there for them. So cute!!

So... without a proper segue...my friend Chad Ackerman, a vegan singer/songwriter from San Diego, California sent me a music video that I thought you might like, and I'll tell you a little about it before you watch. Okay here is the premise: There are people with animal faces being chased by a zombie who tries to eat them (and succeeds... some parts look really yuk, but it's not real. Obviously). And in the end the zombie considers veganism (yay!). The moral of the story (to me) is that if even zombies can go vegan so can everyone! I love it. Good job Chad! I like the song too, actually. He has a really great voice.

Just before I go I want to invite you to reinvent yourselves this year, to whatever it is you see yourself becoming. Every single second is a new moment, and what we choose to think, feel, eat and do creates who we are and what we will attract to ourselves.