Day 5

"The meat industry has a nasty reputation for not containing its waste very well. Not only does the poo, fertilizers, and other sludge get into the soil, it can also leach into nearby rivers and water tables. We have strict laws about the disposal of human waste but none for the animal equivalent, and according to Worldwatch Institute, U.S. livestock produces 130 times more waste than people do!" The Kind Diet

Um, ewwwwww!!! This is just the very beginning of the disgusting facts you can find when you really start digging. I remember there being a lot of information about the environmental effects of our livestock in The Omnivore's Dilemma. I feel like the environmental impact of the meat industry is something that is overlooked, rarely acknowledged, and sorely in need of some attention!!! We need to wake up...we are ruining our clean water supply, messing up the food chain, taking away animals' habitats, wasting resources and slowly killing the Earth. The damage happens at a much faster rate than you would think and it will take centuries to start reversing these effects. I find it scary that there are millions of people out there that don't give a damn! They don't even take the extra step (not that it's even an extra step anymore) to recycle in their own homes. They are teaching their children that the environment doesn't matter, that we don't have a responsibility to take care of it.  What about making sure our children and grandchildren can enjoy clean water and green grass and oxygen so they can breathe?!? It makes my blood boil, it really does. So I realize there is A LOT of work to do on getting people to open their eyes to the very real problems effecting our environment. The food industry is a major one and I hope people start paying attention.

We kind of need this to stay clean, don't we?

Ahh, the weekend! Does anyone else find themselves sometimes wishing away the days so it can be the weekend? I try not to, but it does happen. We slept in this morning till about 9:30 since we were up late last night. I tried to get as much "sit on the porch in the sun" time before the clouds rolled in. I had some canned pineapple (in its own juices, NOT syrup) and an English Muffin for breakfast. We went to Andy's mom's house to collect some more of our crap that was in the basement and then came home for lunch. I made a low-fat healthy(ish) version of broccoli cheese soup because I was craving Panera. It was really good!

We relaxed for a while during the afternoon---watched some comedy specials and Food Network (of course!). My appetite has still been a little weird and the only thing that sounded good to me was Tony A's Tomato Pie. We went there before heading over to Kelly & Alex's and it was so good. I got my half with no cheese.

We celebrated Alex's 27th birthday at their place tonight. It was fun playing beer pong on their front porch (brought back some great college memories) and hanging out with their friends. Kelly & I even won a game---I can't tell you how long it's been since I played beer pong! My drink of choice for the night was sweet tea vodka with Sprite Zero.

McTague Sisters in Action!

I thought with it being the weekend it would be much harder to go without meat but it really wasn't. I was fine without it. Day 5 = Success!

What I Ate Today:
1/2 cup canned pineapple (in its own juices)
1 English Muffin
1 cup broccoli cheese soup (homemade)
3 pieces Tony A's Tomato Pie (they are small squares, probably a little bigger than 1 large slice)
Chips & Salsa
3 Sweet Tea Vodkas w/Sprite Zero

My weight: 115 lbs