Community Chat

[velveteenb]

hihi --

i know i haven't visited w/most of you lately but i hope that doesn't matter too much in terms of this post.

the first thing may seem frivolous, but it bugs me. do you watch "wheel of fortune"? you know during the bonus round, after the wheel's been spun and it's time to walk to their marks to solve the puzzle? if the contestant is female, Pat Sajak will take her by the hand and lead her to her mark. he does not make physical contact with male contestants; i guess he doesn't think they need his "help". i don't find his behavior chivalrous, i find it demeaning.

thing 2 is more serious. for decades i've been bothered that vegetarians eat cheese. cheese comes from animals; it is not a plant based food. then i learned that there are all sorts of "levels" of vegetarianism, including those who only eat raw plant based foods, vegans who eat only plant based foods but can cook them, and even those who eat animals, but consider themselves vegetarians 'cause it's only once or twice a week.

finally the reason for my cheese quibble hit me over the head. RENNET. rennet is an enzyme found in the stomach of mammals. it is used to make their mother's milk digestible. in cheese making, it's used to make the milk coagulate and separate the curds from the whey.

think about it. enzyme found in the cow's (goat's, sheep's) stomach. now, how would one retrieve it? yup. you gotta kill the baby animal who still manufactures the enzyme because it is not yet weaned. think byproduct of the veal industry. that's how cheese is made. even the cheese that vegetarians eat. even the cheese that i ate. how awful.

bunny. the dangerously complicated rabbit.

ps yes, i know there are some cheeses made w/out animal rennet, but not the vast majority.