40/40/40 Earth Day 2010

This year in honor of the 40th anniversary of Earth Day the Unitarian Universalist Association has asked Unitarian Universalists accross the nation to choose an action or behavorial change that they can committ to for 40 dayss.  Click on the title of this post for more details.  As many of the suggested actions deal with food justice and ethical eating I am truly excited that my denomination is finally catching up with my lifestyle and beliefs.  As an ethical vegan who has shopped local organic for years many of the suggested actions are no challenge or action change for me and my family.  I personally believe that if I am going to be asking others to reexamine their own lives I need to choose an action that will require some change or sacrifice from me.  (Being vegan for 40 days or discussing ethical eating with an online group is part of my daily lifestyle)  So for the next 40 days I will be corralling my family to eat together around an actual table with no computer monitor or television on.  This should not be something that is a change and believe me when I was a young mother with small children, family dinners were not optional.  These days however, with older busy children who work, play sports, have scouts and me working a job and 1/2....we drop and eat where we are.  I still cook something from scratch every night.  I still carry on daily how was your day conversations, but frequently Jeopardy or Wii or lets admit it Facebook, Twitter or my online classroom are present as well.  So I will be blogging our progress.  And since many of you may be experimenting with eating lower on the food chain (I would need to consume Amoebas or air) I will also include our menus and recipes or links to whole food and vegan resources along the way.  Also my son, who was not consulted before I decided on the original pledge has decided to exert his independence and make his own pledge to learn something new about the food he consumes production for the 40 days.  I will share some of his discoveries as well.  So for now I leave you  to contemplate a photo of our congregation's lovely earth window and tonight's menu: Green Posole Seitan Stew with Chard and White Beans and Homemade Soft Corn Tortillas from Terry Hope Romero's excellent new cookbook Viva Vegan.  Wish me luck.  Dinner is served at 6:30pm