Monday, September 6, 2010

Virginia is for Lovers

<3

And so my adventure has begun! Yesterday at about 6AM, my boyfriend and I hit the road. By 9AM we were already in Delaware. It's funny how you can just drive such a short amount of time and end up somewhere completely different from home.

I'm not supposed to report to the office until tomorrow, but it seems that my mission was destined to start a little early. As we arrived in the state of Virginia, we passed TONS of Tyson and Perdue factory farms. I might not have realized this, since we were constantly surrounded with green fields and blue skies for miles. However, there was a certain thing that could not be ignored - the outstanding smell. I'd like to tell you all that it was due to the fertilizer, but that's just not the truth. The reality of the situation is that the smell was most likely due to the horrific amount of rotting carcasses. (PS: that's what meat really is - a rotting carcass. The meat which is so nicely pre-packaged in stores does not fall off of a "hamburger tree" just in case anyone has been misinformed). Anyway, the smell was so bad that it permeated our vehicle (which had been fragranced from a serious car wash less than 24 hours beforehand). Eventually we got over the smell in between farms and decided to stop for lunch.


There wasn't much to choose from, so we ended up at the Sage Diner. To my surprise, among a strew of non-vegetarian entrees; there was actually a veggie burger on the menu. Now, for those of you who don't know me, I am a small girl with a pretty ravenous appetite. After a couple hours I was very anxious and excited for this veggie burger. However a matter of seconds after taking our order, our server returned to inform me that they were "out" of veggie burgers.

Now, I know there are those who will say that I am looking for something, but I don't think it's any coincidence that an area that was surrounded by meat-producing places mysteriously had no veggie burgers or vegetarian options. So - here's some food for thought:

You don't have to be vegetarian/vegan, but others have a right to be. And doesn't that mean that everyone should have a right to at least one meal option at every restaurant? When I tell you there was not one vegan option on the menu, i am honestly not lying. As soon as I'm in the area again, I'll definitely be stopping by to see if they are "out" again.

Thankfully, today I was able to make up for this by having a great lunch here in Norfolk. I think the best part about it, was the fact that for the first time in a year and a half my boyfriend and I were able to eat in the same establishment without any trouble. That alone is worth a million bucks! They had a full vegan menu in addition to a regular menu and it was a serious burger joint! I'm just saying.
Vegan Fajitas aka social justice on MY plate! Mmmmmm

No comments:

Post a Comment