nadsat

This past Friday, September 28th was International Hug a Vegetarian Day according to Peta (Facebook informed me). With Sandy being a vegetarian since she decided killing animals for food wasn’t cool (fish are fine though, she’ll even eat them raw), I had the perfect opportunity to get in a hug and see how the other side lives. So here it is, a day as a vegetarian for me.

The day started off pretty normal. For breakfast we had whole-wheat pancakes (actually much better than they sound), scrambled eggs from vegetarian-fed chickens, and “soy-sage“. The “soy-sage” came in the form of Morningstar Farms Sausage patties. The patties were actually pretty good. They had a spicy flavor that reminded me of real breakfast sausage but with a distinctly “veggie” taste. It’s really hard to describe if you’ve never had a veggie burger or other types of fake meat. They patties had hints of real sausage flavor but in the end had their own unique taste, which I appreciate. If I wanted it to taste exactly like sausage then I would just eat sausage. That is something I never really understood about fake meat products. Why are vegetarians so concerned with food looking/tasting like meat?

Breakfast went by without a hitch. The pancakes were excellent, the eggs were just like any other eggs, and the soy-sage was actually quite tasty. I’ve got two patties left and those will probably be eaten sooner rather than later. One meal down, two to go. Well actually, only one meal to go. We had a large, late breakfast and an earlier supper. We were in the car on the way to Atlanta during lunch time and neither of us were hungry until about 5:00. I know missing meals is a horrible habit but well sometimes it happens.

I somewhat cheated at supper. We ate at Cafe Sunflower which is an all vegan restaurant in Atlanta. I had eaten there a few times before and it is one of my favorite restaurants in Atlanta period, vegetarian or not. I can’t recommend it enough.

I had their Sesame “Chicken” while Sandy enjoyed a veggie burger. We shared an appetizer of Sunflower nuggets (fake chicken nuggets). If I could eat at Cafe Sunflower everyday I could be a vegetarian. No questions asked, no other stipulations needed. I don’t know how they do it but remember how I was talking about fake meat having a meat flavor but in the end being unique? The chefs at Sunflower have perfected this. The sesame chicken is incredibly satisfying. Not only is the “chicken” really good but they always have the brown rice and vegetables done perfectly. The meal could not have been made better even with real chicken.

So my two vegetarian meals weren’t so bad after all. Eating vegetarian isn’t that difficult if you eat out. Cooking for a vegetarian can be difficult though. Thankfully Sandy loves beans and rice so I always have an easy out. Some of my roommates junior year did a whole month as vegetarians. It’s really not as difficult as it might seem. I just love pork way too much. Fake bacon does not even begin to cut it. I reckon fake bbq can’t be good either.

It is fun to try every now and then though. I encourage my readers to do a meal, a day, a weekend, or even a whole week as a vegetarian. Just try it. The cooking is a challenge and sometimes it can be frustrating but who knows, you might find something you like.

I talk about Publix a lot but what can I say? I like shopping there. However, not everyone has a Publix in their neighborhood so a lot of this discussion has been irrelevant for them. Walmart on the other hand is pretty much everywhere.

Walmart has been making some environmental news of its own. They have vowed to be “good steward of the environment” by being more energy efficient and cutting down on waste among other things. Walmart has also made news with its product offerings from organic food and clothing to compact fluorescent light bulbs.

All that good press is one thing, but what does it actually translate to? What about your average Super Walmart in North Augusta, SC?

I went into the North Augusta Walmart looking for a few specific things that are available at Publix and what I considered good indicators for green shoppers. I included food and regular household items. Here’s the list:

• organic milk
• organic produce
• veggie burgers
• natural peanut butter
• “green” cleaners
• recycled paper products
• compact fluorescent light bulbs

The results were disappointing. The only areas I were impressed in were natural peanut butter and compact fluorescents. Walmart stocked my favorite brand of natural peanut butter and had it at a lower price than Publix. They also carried CFL’s at a reasonable price. They had organic milk but it was more expensive than Publix and they had a little organic produce but it was all pre-bagged and looked pretty pathetic. That was it. Walmart struck out on everything else. I was especially let down by the lack of recycled paper products.

Here’s the breakdown:

• organic milk - yes
• organic produce - yes
• veggie burgers - no
• natural peanut butter - yes
• “Green” cleaners - no
• recycled paper products - no
• compact fluorescent light bulbs - yes

Now how much of this is dependent on location? The Walmart in a place like Asheville, NC would probably have a better stock of green products. This doesn’t even take into account other factors like shopping into pleasure either. It could be a nice, quiet day outside or a nasty thunderstorm; either way every Walmart I have been into felt like chaos. Once I get inside one I immediately want to leave. In contrast I could spend all day in a traditional grocery store. For the time being I’m a Publix man.