I debated about writing this post because any celebration of the Earth and trying to save the Earth is a good thing, right? And, as a dear friend pointed out, we can't do and be everything, and any small change we make is important. However, this blog is essentially about being the ripe tomato, and I feel like Earth Day Dallas passed up a chance to be ripe tomato. But in an effort to also be the ripe tomato, I am going to start out by mentioning the things I did like.
Michio spoke at the event. He was funny and interesting. Most of what he said I have heard him say on the Discovery Channel, but I thought it was really neat to hear him in person.
I thought it was super awesome that they had compostables receptacles. That way you had a place to put compostable trash, but I noticed a lot of people putting compostable things in the regular garbage, so it would have been nice to have educational signage about what is compostable.
A lot of exhibits were really neat. I met some really cool moms who are working for clean air. I got to talk to some neat groups working for organics and clean energy. The kids got to talk about things they think are important in environmental issues.
Here is where they really missed the boat: the food. But I am going to get to that in a minute. First, they had balloons, plastic bottles. No water refill stations. Tons and tons of handouts and flyers printed on glossy paper (which is difficult to recycle). Then there was the food. There was no vegan food. There was no organic food. There were turkey legs, funnel cakes, the food tent labels "yoga food" sold hot dogs. There was roasted corn slathered in butter.
The United Nations says that beef manufacturing produces more greenhouse gases than cars. You can read the article here. Not only that but they promised they would have organic and vegan foods. Not only that but I think it sent the wrong message. I think it said Earth Day is just another one day fair. You can go and have fair food and get shiny fair flyers.
I know that Earth Day shouldn't be some Hippie fest either. I mean, you need to mainstream Earth Day so more people will want to save the Earth, but can we do that by setting a good example and not having a meat fest? Come on Earth Day Dallas, be the ripe tomato.
After being at Earth Day Dallas all day with an apple and a bag of Vegan chips, I was starving. I was a little irritated, and when I'm hungry, I get extra irritated. So, I had heard great things about the Spiral Diner and Bakery in Dallas, and the good news is it was only 3.5 miles away!
So, me, my husband, my three kids, my friend, and her two kids headed over to the diner. We had a feast. The diner is 100% vegan. You don't even have to ask! You don't even have to question the menu items. That is awesome. When you live in East Texas, and you have to question everything, even the food the says vegan, it is amazing.
We had the chips and party dip platter that has salsa, guacamole, and a cashew based cheese dip. I ordered the protein platter that had quinoa and black beans and avocado and tahini dressing. It was so yummy. The kids had grilled cheese. We had cheese cake and ice cream and brownies. It was awesome. I give the restaurant 5 stars.
I told my husband that the next we go on a date, I want to drive 2.5 hours to go there! Check out their website if you live in the area. http://www.spiraldiner.com/
The good news is my camera is fixed, so tomorrow, we should have a back to usual post.
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