The meat of going meat-less

Because it is Friday and it is Lent, let me say a few words on going vegetarian.

If there's one thing our project work on environmental campaigns last spring taught me, it's that if you're serious about saving the environment, you should be a vegetarian. (Yep, I've said this before.) But how about the meat producers, the supermarket staff and owners, the restaurant cooks, the traders and middlemen who will lose their jobs if we all go meat-free? People, we have to accept that we need to radically change the way we live if we want to make a noticeable difference. In the final analysis, capitalism and saving the planet do not go together. However, we can make better choices. Or choose not to consume at all. We will have to challenge notions of progress and development.

That said, I wish I could live a vegetarian lifestyle. Of course, I can be if I choose to, since I don't get cravings for meat. Besides, I enjoyed all the food we had during our project meetings at Irene's place, though we never had meat because Hanna is a vegetarian. But unless and until everyone in my household can be a vegetarian, I don't think it will be easy to stay as one.

Which leads me to the Adventists, who do not smoke or drink, and are vegetarians. Yesterday, I had a great vegetarian lunch at the cafeteria of the Manila Adventist Medical Center in Pasay City. (Why I was there is another story.) I had spicy tofu, sinigang and soy milk. It was an unlikely combination, but everything tasted good. MAMC also bake their own bread, so I bought a cinnamon twin loaf to take home for merienda. It's less fattening than most cinnamon rolls but very delicious. The canteen is by no means a fancy place, but it's the only hospital canteen I actually want to eat in.