Lady in Red

After the US election results were announced, I decided to become a part-time vegetarian* (in other words, I’m committed to being meat-free for two-thirds of my meals every week!). It’s clear that the current US president and his administration don’t care about curbing climate change, even though the Earth and humanity are at an important turning point. Part-time vegetarianism seemed like a simple way for me to fight back against the wasteful and delusional tendencies of the current government: research shows that eating less meat can help curb catastrophic climate change! How? Wastes from the meat industry pollute waterways and release a lot of methane into the atmosphere; methane is a greenhouse gas, so the more methane that is released into the atmosphere, the more heat is trapped on the Earth’s surface. Additionally, livestock require a lot of grain and water for sustenance, so the more livestock there are, the less water there is to quench the thirst of human and irrigate gas-trapping plants. If each one of us reduces our individual levels of meat consumption, there will be less demand for meat, which means less raising of livestock, which means less methane-producing fecal matter from livestock, less global warming, and more available water.

M. has embraced the part-time vegetarianism diet too. So, recently, M. and I went to the Chicago Diner for a lunch date. The Chicago Diner is a highly praised vegan and vegetarianism restaurant in Chicago, and we wanted to see if the hype was well-founded.

I was in the mood for something fried (because I lack self-control) so I ordered a crispy spicy chicken sandwich:

It was delicious! The “chicken” patty was crisp and flavorful, with a breading that was much spicier than I had expected. I love spicy food, and whenever I order a spicy sandwich, I’m usually disappointed by how little heat there is. Chicago Diner got it right. I really wanted to try Chicago Diner’s vegan shakes too, but by the time M. and I were done with our entrees, we didn’t have room for dessert.

To go with my environmentally friendly meal, I wore an environmentally and ethically conscientious outfit:

The choker and mock neck top were made in the United States in sweatshop-free conditions. The sleeveless blazer is an oversized, unlined blazer that I bought from the thrift store and then altered by lopping the sleeves off, binding the cut edges with bias tape, and shifting the button a few inches to the left so it would create a slimmer line when buttoned.

And here’s a goofy selfie for ya (oh yeah, I was wearing lipstick at some point that day…):

The lipstick is Metallurgy, from Portland Black Lipstick Company. If you haven’t noticed, I love their lipsticks so much! This one is a shiny olive green color over a black base. I only bought a sample size but now I’m debating getting the full tube…

If you’re wondering why I’m so underdressed, considering it’s only March and Chicago is a cooold city, M. and I had our lunch date on a weekend of freakishly warm weather. I think it was in the low seventies (Fahrenheit)! As much as I enjoyed walking around outside without a coat on, those temperatures are a reminder that climate change is real and should not be taken lightly…. More reasons to stick with these new lifestyle choices of mine!

❤ S. (a.k.a. AMisplacedPen)

* I know I could do even more by adopting a 100% vegetarian diet. But I don’t want to give up meat entirely because there’s as much of a cultural component in my meat-eating as there is a taste factor. (For example, a lot of dishes that my Mom would make during my childhood involved animal products. I really want to preserve the food of my cultural heritage, and that would be extremely difficult to do if I become 100% vegetarian. Malaysian food is very seafood based and Cantonese food involves a lot of chicken and pork.) I think part-time vegetarianism is a good compromise, and also a more realistic goal. Most of the human population would probably refuse to give up meat entirely, but not as many would refuse to lessen their meat consumption.