Sometimes when I travel for work, I am visiting foreign lands. In those situations, I am sure to see chickens pecking in the yard a few hours before I eat them; or taste a coconut freshly picked by the community.
“When Heidi from the home office comes to Zambia, she eats meat. We don’t put chemicals in our food like you do in the U.S.” my guide Alfonsias proudly declared when I visited him last November. “But in the U.S. she is a vegetarian.”
Unfortunately, this week I am traveling within the U.S., at a conference geared more towards the church audience than the NGO audience. In the NGO world I might have a shot at some good vegetarian options, and fair trade coffee. In the church world I’m more likely to be served non-fair trade coffee in a styrofoam cup along with some CAFO meatloaf and vegetables drowned in butter. With some salad with tomatoes picked by slaves.
I did pack my own box of Kashi bars, since continental breakfast at most hotels consists of Fruit Loops with milk that seems a little suspect, stale doughnuts and bagels, and green bananas.
So what’s a Real Food Renegade to do? How much of a pain in the butt can I be? Do I grin and bear it? Claim situational vegetarianism and eat pasta the whole trip? Use this opportunity to educate others? Do my best to stick with more natural-looking food and hope I don’t gain weight?
Please post your advice below.
This post linked to Real Food Wednesdays.
That stinks. Shouldn’t it be the church who is most interested in fair trade, human-conscious food, if not eco-conscious too?
Oh, and when you go into Byron Meats next, say hello to my dad, Cal. 🙂
I was hoping you had the answer to this one for me. Praying it goes well for you and you can have some good conversations with folks as the opportunity arises.
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Thank you for sharing your blog!
Wendy, this is a tough one, but I decided a long time ago that while I don’t need to make a scene, I DO need to eat real food no matter where I am.
If the event registration asks, I explain that I need to restrict carbohydrates. I used to say that I was a vegetarian, but since so often the solution to that is a limp pasta salad or a cheese pizza, I now stick to ‘restricting carbs.’
At conferences and when I’m traveling, that means packing a few servings of protein – whey, foil packs of tuna or salmon, salmon or turkey jerky if it’s in at the natural foods store, and some cheese for my first couple days. I used to carry nuts, but now I carry those individual serving packets of nut butters.
I can mix the whey into milk, cold coffee, or as a last resort, cold water. The other things I use to amp up the protein in salads or soups. Most of the time, unless I really didn’t plan well, I just walk away from the other carbage on the table. I have also been known to ask the hotel desk for their take-out menus and order protein in as needed.
I’ve been a low-carber for eight years, and the froot-loop breakfast doesn’t work for me. I bring my serving of whey protein or something from my protein stash to communal tables, mix the whey into the available liquids, and explain what I’m doing and why. If eggs, cheese, cream cheese and/or peanut butter are available, I see if I can make do with them and save my stash for another time.
I don’t preach about low-carbing – but if asked, I do explain why I’m leaving the carbs on the table.
The only exceptions I make to eating what my body needs is if I’m at a meal at someone’s home. One meal of mac’n’cheese won’t kill me, and I don’t want to be rude. But if I’m at a conference, I honestly try to eat as close to the way I’d eat at home as possible when I’m not cooking for myself.
Hope that helps!
.-= Pat Steer (Gaelen)´s last blog ..Time stands still, time moves on =-.