I was in the U.S. last weekend when news hit about the massive recall of beef, stretching back to 2002. The reported problem was that slaughterhouse workers had tormented “downer” cows to get them to walk to slaughter. If they can’t walk to slaughter, it’s generally considered that they’re too diseased to be fit for human consumption, though they can still find their way into pet foods. If you have the stomach for it, the humane society has hidden-video footage of the torment (check it out here — but be warned. It’s not for the weak of stomach:

I confess it makes me sick.
I get the whole “top-of-the-food-chain” argument and I do eat meat. However, based on my own determination NOT to be complicit in the unnecessary suffering of any living creature, I buy my meat from a farmer whose animals are pasture-raised, grass-fed and as humanely slaughtered as possible. They travel 20 minutes down the road to an abattoir that a friend who works in the food industry reports is clean and sterile.
I try hard not to sound strident, since I think PETA sometimes does itself more harm than good with its approach. But the way we treat our animals says a lot about the value we place on all life. And of course, the way we treat our animals also impacts our own health and the health of our planet. If we can’t get past the disconnect we seem to have – that what happens over there simply doesn’t affect me here – I fear we’ll never get ourselves out of the mess we’re in. Unfortunately, trying to “recall” all our bad choices is as futile as trying to recall meat that was distributed a full five years ago.

Since it’s currently -27 degrees Celsius, the idea of line-drying my clothes is impractical if not impossible at the moment. However, it’s only 70 days until National Hanging Out Day (April 19), a campaign from Project Laundry List encouraging us to line-dry our clothes.
I confess a somewhat bizarre attachment to my own clothesline, which my husband thoughtfully (really!!) gave me for Mother’s Day a few years ago. There’s something very Zen about hanging up my wet laundry. I get lost in the task, frequently notice birds (in part because I’m leery of them pooping on my laundry – though it’s never happened) and generally take in the fresh air and sunshine. I also revel in the feeling of virtue – knowing that my simple choice means fewer greenhouse gas emissions in the atmosphere. And the smell of line-dried clothes is better than any “spring meadow scent” that comes in a bottle.
Besides, a clothesline for me conjures up memories of my childhood backyard. Our clothesline served far more than a place to hang wet clothes. It was Home Free during tag, first base for baseball and a “tent” (when covered with a large blanket) to hide in with my dolls.
If, like me, you are enamored with your clothesline, please join me in signing a petition put forth by Project Laundry List. Click here: http://www.laundrylist.org/advocacy/solardryers.htm

I was an odd child, as my brother so frequently pointed out to me. I didn’t like ketchup (still don’t) and wouldn’t eat peanut butter and jam sandwiches (still won’t). He was aghast, noting that PB&J was the “official food of childhood.”
For those who do embrace childhood and it’s official food, you’re in good company. According to the PB&J Web site (of course you knew there had to be one…it’s here at www.pbjcampaign.org), choosing a sandwich over a beef burger saves the equivalent of 2.5 pounds of CO2 emissions and 280 gallons of water. While I still prefer to eat a bean-and-cheese burrito over choking down a peanut butter sandwich, those of you who love the “official food of childhood” can now consider themselves “officially green.”