Hello for this week, I have decided to go vegan for a week. I have actually done this before. In my high school days this was a trend and I was a full on vegan for one month because I heard it would give me clear skin and other health benefits. I soon realized cutting out meat cold turkey could not be a lifelong goal for me but I do not eat meat as much as I used to, but I love seafood. Being a vegan will require me to completely cut out meat of all sorts, even eggs and dairy. I could definitely do this for a week every once in a while in order to cleanse myself and cut down on the amount of meat I am consuming on average. 

Day 1: I ate an apple for breakfast, I usually skip breakfast but I ate something that morning and I chose an apple because I wasn’t sure what else to eat, I didn’t  do any grocery shopping prior to deciding to go vegan. I decided to go to veggie galaxy with my friend in Cambridge cause she loves it there and it’s the only place I could think of in that moment because I was not in the mood to grocery shop that day. We didn’t go into the restaurant because of the pandemic that is currently going on, we could only take out. We searched up the menu online and we ordered

over the phone. Honestly I’ve never been so excited to see cheesy fries and I also love tuna so I got the Chickpea “Tuna” Stuffed Avocado. Everything I purchased was vegan and was surprisingly more delicious than the “real” thing, this is a place I would absolutely go to more often.

Day 2: This day was all over the place because I went to work so I didn’t eat much, I had some homemade green juice that my mom makes all the time and this is where I messed up lol, I had yogurt which I totally forgot has dairy! I then continued like nothing happened and bought some snacks at Whole Foods and I got home and my mom cooked my favorite dish which contained seafood so at that point I gave up on the challenge. I wish I could have lasted longer but over the years I’ve become so accustomed to meat I can’t cut it out like I once did. The first time I went vegan I was so dedicated because there was an incentive behind it, I wanted clear glowy skin. Now that I was doing it and constantly forgetting why I was doing it, I lost interest after the first day. Going vegan would tremendously help protect these innocent animals from being slaughtered on a daily basis. Although it sounds like a great idea, it will not be easily executed because some people really love meat and that’s all they eat. I could probably pull off being a vegetarian but being vegan is way too drastic to make a lifelong commitment to, I would no longer be able to eat eggs or cheese and various other things that I live off of.

There are two views on abortion, is it wrong because its murder, and ends a human life that didn’t get a chance. Or perhaps in the environmentalist view, each human life takes a toll on nature. Some believe humans aren’t beneficial to earth in any way and all they do is take resources and mess up the atmosphere with pollution. Regarding the issue on whether abortion is right or wrong, we can look at the religious point of view that believe that abortion is a sin in the eyes of god and perceived as murder of innocent human being. Or we can also look at it in a scientist, who that abortion is more of necessary evil because the only thing human being do is destroy the environment and there’s way too many human being on this planet than the planet resources can provide for. I see both perspectives although harsh both sides have valid points as to why abortion can be ok or wrong. According to, In Reproductive choices: The Ecological Dimensions by Zoe Hawkins, it is stated that there is a strong correlation between environmental degradation and population growth. Hawkins brings up social class and  how women of lower classes may have more kids because they don’t have the means to attain the things necessary to prevent it. Hawkins believes the human population needs to be limited in order to preserve our ecosystem and prevent any further damage.Hawkins affirmed that; “ the environmental toll taken by each new human born within the developed world will be very much greater than that of one born elsewhere. By the same token, those of us living in industrialized nations can lower our overall destructive effect on the natural environment both by reducing the amount and nature of our consumption and by reducing the number of us that consume the planet’s precious resources”(692). Hawkins believe that higher abortion rates brings down the united states toll therefore preserving resources and regulating the amount of things we take from our environment. Hawkin also states that “abortion plays an important role in limiting the ecologically damaging effects of the human population in all parts of the globe”(692). Hawkin boldly affirms that abortion’s are effectively regulating how much resources we are utilizing and preventing too many people being on earth, basically advocating for population control. My stance on all of this is neutral, I can’t say one particular side is right compared to the other, because the facts presented are supported and make sense from both views. Ecofeminism is in the stance of pro choice and I think that is where I stand on all this. No matter if some people view it as wrong or right, it is the women’s choice to make a decision that will permanently affect her body and not only that, having a child is a lifelong commitment if you aren’t going to be a committed parent it’s best to not put a child through a life of suffering.

Humans don’t view the killing animals for a burger or bacon or even a smoked salmon, as wrong or unjust. These animals are viewed as objects to remove the idea that these living creatures with feelings are being slaughtered for a meal. I can’t bash anyone because I eat meat but the issue is that many people are desensitized to the fact that these are living animals who deserve life just like us. As I am writing this I am watching a Mukbang on youtube , if you don’t know what that is a mukbang is a live online broadcast in which a host eats large amounts of food. In the video i’m currently watching, they are eating giant steaks and lobsters, don’t get me wrong the food looks delicious and it’s making me hungry but things like Mukbangs have become very famous over the years and the most popular videos are the ones with the largest amounts of food even though most of that food isn’t actually eaten. Food that all people see when they see a steak, chicken, salmon, pepperoni but not the story behind these animals and how they were killed and endured suffering. In Carol J. Adams interview, Adams affirms that; “When humans turn a nonhuman into “meat,” someone who has a very particular, situated life, a unique being, is converted into something that has no distinctiveness, no uniqueness, no individuality. When one adds five pounds of meatballs to a plate of meatballs, it is more of the same thing; nothing is changed. But to have a living cow and then kill that cow, and butcher that cow, and grind up her flesh, you have not added a mass term to a mass term and ended up with more of the same. You have destroyed an individual. What is on the table in front of us is not devoid of specificity. It is the dead flesh of what was once a living, feeling being.“(6) Adams reaffirms that these animals are not viewed as anything but a meal and mass, there is nor concern of the substance they had before they were killed.

All of these images sexualize food by adding body parts of women onto or around the meat. This correlates with the idea that Adams was trying to convey. Adam argues that; “Acts of violence that include animalizing language create people as false mass terms, since animals already exist in that linguistic no man’s land of lacking a recognizable individuality. When people say “they treated us like animals,” they are saying, “we were treated as though we weren’t individuals.”  These images are dehumanizing women therefore treating them like they’re “animals”. If you look back at the top of this blog post you will see a picture of a waitress from hooters holding a rack of ribs and this is meant to attract a particular audience. These types of advertisements are meant to attract men by sexualizing the food and it doesn’t consider how women will feel when seeing these types of advertisements.

This image shows a white cartoon that appears to be a male chef who is cutting the meat and the second knife that is stuck into the meat could symbolize him claiming his territory. In the article Meatheads: New Study Focuses on How Meat Consumption Alters Men’s Self-Perceived Levels of Masculinity, Zoe Eisenberg and Lusty Vegan affirm that; “We’ve been fed this idea for decades. If you are what you (m)eat, and you’re a man, then you eat meat.”(1) Eisenberg and Vegan are saying that men identify eating meat as part of their masculinity. I never thought about it like that but I can see how some people may judge what people eat but I personally don’t care. If I go on a first thing the last thing I’m going to do is worry about what my date thinks about my meal, if I’m hungry I’m most likely getting the steak as well. Based on this reading I believe the man cutting the meat is demonstrating his masculinity and as I said earlier the second knife is to reassure that male dominance. Eisenberg and Vegan stated that; “It’s hard to shift an individual’s perception without first tackling their society’s view.” (1) I agree with this observation because people seem to be more motivated to do things only when it is socially accepted, if only people would stop giving this society so much power over their lives things would be very different, for the better. These gender roles and expectations are ruining us as people and our planet, some men view veganism and vegetarianism as feminine things and it is truly ridiculous, like who looked at a salad and said this is feminine and who looked at meat and said this is for men. It’s crazy how deep rooted these gender roles are embedded in our minds, in the article it brings up how smoking cigarettes used to be a manly thing to do. Men are willing to do anything, although unhealthy and dangerous, in order to be viewed as manly. In my opinion the manliest man is the one that doesn’t conform in order to please a society that is so accustomed to one way of thinking. Whilst looking at the 2020 Animal clock it broke my heart, I never thought of the impact until I saw the number of animal deaths go up by thousands every few seconds. In the reading Contextual Moral Vegetarianism by Deane Curtain, Curtain argues that; “From a woman’s perspective, in particular, it makes sense to ask whether one should become a vegan, a vegetarian who, in addition to refraining from meat and fish, also refrains from eating eggs and dairy products. Since the consumption of eggs and milk have in common that they exploit the reproductive capacities of the female, vegetarianism is not a gender neutral issue.”(4) There are things that I never related to gender and this is really making me think, we all need to make this a gender neutral issue because at the end of the day It already is but a great deal of the population refuses to acknowledge that.

A place I see I belong in is Haiti, I have visited multiple times with my mother. What’s crazy is that when I visit I don’t see it as a place I’m going on vacation , I see it as a second home, that’s where my grandparents live as well and they have a house right near a huge lake that is absolutely breathtaking. Haiti is part of me. It is where she was raised and where my mom became who she is. That is where she met my father. If she didn’t meet him I wouldn’t be here. Every time I go to Haiti. A lot of assumptions are always made about Haiti because people haven’t really seen all parts but it is a beautiful place full of life. That is where my mother and father are from and I wouldn’t ask to be from anywhere else. Something I don’t experience in Boston is friendly neighbors and in Haiti everyone helps each other and it is such a great sense of community. Just stepping into the little town my mom is from just fills my heart and meeting all the people she grew up with and where she used to play. Whenever we go to Haiti a flow of stories come rolling in of all the things my mom did as a child and it is my favorite thing because I didn’t know how much me and my mom have in common we were both actually very mischievous children and I think it’s hilarious. I feel like visiting Haiti has brought me so much closer to my mom cause it helped me realize at one point she was just like me, I’m like the reincarnation of her. Places hold stories, memories all of the above and a part of my story was missing because I didn’t know anything about my mom’s story now I feel so in touch with a different part of my roots. I am closer to a part of my history I never acknowledged. I always knew I was Haitian I always identified as that I rep my flag every chance I get because that’s where my parents are from. Although I never really knew what it meant being a true Haitian until I was blessed with the opportunity to see the country. Community is big in Haiti , everyone helps each other and that changed me so much I used to only be concerned with my loved ones and myself but now I see the bigger picture life is about positivity impacting as many lives as you can. This is my home away from home and I will never forget it, and one day the cycle will continue when I bring my children there to learn about their grandmother and grandfathers backgrounds and connect it to their own. It is important for everyone to feel a sense of belonging because it’s what gets us through life and gives us the sense of direction we need at some point in life.

In the article The Movement, by Dr. Vandana Shiva, Shiva reveals that; “the women representatives took a pledge to work together, to form a network, communicate with each other and to wage a war against water barons. They also vowed to honor and revive the spiritual connection with water, to take responsibility towards stewardship of water, to work towards the equitable access to and sustainable use of water and to raise awareness through education. Recognizing that for thousands of years women have produced their own food and guaranteed food security for their children and whole communities”(1). Women have a strong nurturing instinct that motivates them to take care of the community that surrounds them. Not everyone acknowledges the environment and how it can truly affect them, for example our planet is currently facing a serious shift in climate and our environment is in trouble but people aren’t doing anything to change it, I truly believe that if we had more women leaders in the world we would have a completely different planet. Whether we see it or not our environment truly affects us from our mood/personality, to our health. Women are the foundation of the world that keeps everything going without them communities would be lacking a vital component. Sustainability is very important for the future of our planets, we have been taking so much from Earth and not giving anything back. We need Earth the Earth doesn’t need us so we need to stop polluting and depositing things into the atmosphere and all do our part in creating a sustainable future for our planet. It’s selfish that some people view climate change as something that is in the distant future that won’t affect them in their lifetime. When thinking about these things we need to think about our kids and our kids, kids and the type of future we are depriving them of. In the Footsteps of Gandhi interview, Shiva affirms that; “the first issue that compelled me was a very strange split between India being highly developed scientifically (we were the third biggest scientific manpower in the world then) and yet at the same time struggling with amazing poverty.” Shiva’s observation shows how countries all over the world prioritize war and scientific advances instead of the well-being of the planet and humans. Shiva also discussed how the Himalayan forest is being deforested and it is gravely affecting the women of the community who utilize the forest to create various medications and to gather firewood. This community is being torn down because people don’t think of the repercussions of destroying nature. Shiva also stated; “Nature is their means of production. So for them ecological destruction is a form of injustice. When the forest is destroyed, when the river is dammed, when the biodiversity is stolen, when fields are waterlogged or turned saline because of economic activities, it is a question of survival for these people. So our environmental movements have been justice movements.” Ecological destruction should be a form of injustice to all of us because we are all affected one way or another we must all live a sustainable lifestyle so that we may have a chance of turning this climate crisis around.

Hello everyone, welcome to my blog! My name is Valorie Leo, and I am a Health and Societies major. I love reading and painting, and I am currently a junior. Gender studies is very relevant and intriguing, there is so much for me to learn and so much for me to share! I am 22, born October 11th, I was raised in Walpole MA. I have only one sibling, a brother named Nicholas he is 15, a sister would of been nice but he’s cool LOL. My favorite meal is a crab leg seafood boil and I love wine. Scary movies are my fave if I were to pick my favorite movie it would be Nightmare on Elms Street. Not sure what else to say but I’ll finish this off by saying I can’t wait to have a positive and productive semester!

Welcome to UMassD WordPress. This is your first post. Edit or delete it, then start blogging!