soy soy soy

so I came home from school today and didn't know what to post about right away. Sorry I'm not always full of big plans and tiresome call-to-actions. Anyway, I was snacking away at some homemade granola and staring at my soy milk carton, and it gave me an idea.

I consume a lot of soy. Not too much -- I try to get 25 grams of soy protein a day out of my required 50 and not much more. I've heard too much soy is bad for you, but 25 grams is recommended for health reasons. But that's not what I'm supposed to be talking about right now. Our little club is/was founded on the notion of "small things you can do to help" (the environment, that is). So, I thought I'd give an example of my steady and imperfect evolution of environmentalism as it relates to a teeny tiny aspect of my life.

I will freely admit that I used to drink Silk. My parents aren't into the whole organic/sustainable/local thing, so when I first went vegan I was perfectly all right with whatever my mom would buy at the Albertson's up the street. I think I continued to purchase it until we saw Food, Inc. in Theory of Knowledge and I learned about the horrors of Monsanto soy beans.

After seeing the film, my entire perspective towards consumer responsibilities, organics, and sustainability were altered. As a result, I started buying organic soy milk (among other things). I tried Earth Balance and stuck with it for a while because, well, it was tasty. Slowly, though, I became more aware of local and generally sustainable products. Recently I have switched to Organic Valley, pictured above. I didn't take a picture of the back, but the little company calls itself a "family of farms" and is basically a co-op of small farming families who use sustainable methods to grow non-GMO soy.

Of course, this isn't perfect. It never will be and you shouldn't freak out about it. Rather, do the best you can. For the time being, I'll stay on the lookout for a kind of local version of Organic Valley to meet all of my little food goals.

This went on a lot longer than I meant, but you get the point, right? Small changes make a big difference, that kind of thing? Eh? Eh?