i think water DOES have calories...

I entered a casual conversation with my coworker, centered around meats vs veggies/fruits and whether or not vegetarianism/veganism is or isn't stupid {as he so bluntly put it}. I am a pescetarian, I eat meat but sea meat haha! No land animal, be it four legs or two, a moo or a cluck will enter my mouth. Now, I am in it for a mixture've reasons. It is partially b'coz've animal cruelty and partially for health reasons b'coz I find I am much more energetic and less fatigued when I stay away from land meat. It is also proven that those who eat a majority of seafood, rather than land animal or fowl, live healthier and longer lives.

The animal cruelty reason as to why I only consume sea life is not b'coz they've to be killed to be eaten, but b'coz their lives are nothing like what it should be. Feed lot life and feeding livestock things they are not meant to eat {ie.- corn, other deceased animals, antibiotics} is not right in any way, shape or form. Not for the animals and not for the consumer.

Imagine an animal that we eat, say a cow. Now, imagine "her" standing in sectioned off pieces of land with 50 other cows. There is no grass, there are no trees, there are no flowers, all things that they need to thrive. There is just dirt. Dirt, mud, urine, fecies, and other bodily excrements. They stand, knee deep, in the toxic goo, exposing any wound they may encounter to infection by simply living. They eat kernels of corn and antibiotics each and every day, and it will kill them over a course of just a few years b'coz their bodies are not meant to live on corn alone. They will either die of their poor life, or die at the slaughter house. I believe that the slaughter house is the most humane thing these food companies do. I do not want to eat something that lived in such a nasty environment. {Perhaps that is why my body feels so groggy when I eat meat. And no one can say that is all in my mind; I did not know all I do now when I realised I felt different after eating a steak or meatloaf.}

Don't get me wrong, fruits, veggies and plant-based foods have their downs as well. It spreads to the vegetables and to the fruits. Unless they are labeled organic, it's a good chance what you're eating is the result of a lab experiment: genetically modified to withstand nasty chemical pesticides without dying. Not to mention all the waste that runs off from feed lots could potentially make it's way to the crops they usually grow nearby. Thus ecoli recalls on fruits and veggies as well. Why do they think there've been so many recalls? Recalls are a result of poor handling. The recalls on food items go up every year. It is worsening and no one is doing anything about it.

The food industry is extremely communistic and 90% of shoppers do not even know what goes on behind the scenes b'coz they trust their suppliers. It's a shame really; to be honoured with such an abundance of blind trust, only to take advantage of it, causing harm to animals and humans alike, bringing sickness that could be prevented, all for the sake of money; b'coz it is cheaper and brings them more money to do this half-assed {excuse my language}.

Back-tracking to the starting topic: vegetarianism, veganism, and pescetarianism are diets/lifestyles that are good for the body. They are in no way harmful unless done improperly: eating Oreos and doughnuts all day b'coz it is meat-free. We do not need as much protein as society would have us believe, milk is actually not good for your bones, and vitamins/minerals on a plant-based diet really isn't very hard to fulfill. The only vitamin I know of that is not found in plant-life is B12. I get my B12 from seafood and the vitamin enhanced almond milk that I add to my oatmeal.

They are sneaky with their labeling; trying to convince shoppers that their products are good for you, healthy. McDonald says they are seeing the light and trying to help people to be healthier and so they incorporated things like their oatmeal, yet they still have things like their 1200+ calorie big breakfast, which is more than a petite girl of below 5' would normally have in one day, let alone one sitting.

The most shocking fact I discovered from reading a packet of KFC "honey sauce". Toward the bottom of the packet it gave the ingredients which were something like: high fructose corn syrup, less than 7% honey... Disgusting. They added a man made chemical sugar that causes weight gain and major sugar spikes and dumbed down the natural goodness of what it is supposed to be. Why? It's cheaper and puts more money in their pocket. We really need to be careful of the honeys we purchase O.o some name brand labeled honeys are sneakily made up of high fructose corn syrup which ups the calories in the faux honey. Can you believe it!

Also my sister up in Oregon began teaching me of the hidden facts about food, such as 0 calorie labels! Some've them really aren't 0 calories! The 0 calorie butter and oil sprays, the 0 calorie diet sodas. Not really 0 calories! The food companies are not required to label anything under 1 calorie. That is why a bottle of 0 calorie diet Mt Dew can contradict itself. It says 0 calories for a serving, and yet it says 10 calories per bottle! Hidden calories! A bottle of 0 calorie butter spray actually has something like 800 or so calories O.o

 

I probably shouldn't be learning all this b'coz knowing me, I'll be adding calories to what any nutrition label says and counting my made up calories in water...oh wait, I do :P I don't trust anything. I mean, who's to say there're no calories in water? Sure, maybe pure rain water, but water manufactured in bottles or out've the soda fountain tap that runs through the same tap as Dr. Pepper? I don't think so. There's got to be some calorie in there that leeched itself from the other drinks around it. Especially soda fountain taps! Can't convince me that having both water and Dr. Pepper syrup conning out've the same tap won't add some calories to the water. I may not taste it, but I know it's there.

Okay, I'm done with my rant! Haha! I got a bit into this one! O.o