I just got back from a wonderful trip with friends who eat animals when given the chance.  There were some moments of contention.  The morning after I treated my first hosts (the ones I stayed with before leaving on the trip) to dinner, they served me a good breakfast, but my friend automatically buttered my bread and seemed annoyed when she remembered that I didn't eat butter.

"What do you do when you go to other people's houses?" she asked in an exasperated tone of voice. "Or do they know you're a vegan?"  I told her that they usually knew, and sometimes understood why and wanted to support the same cause--for animal welfare and the environment.

"I grew up on a farm," she said.  "And it's hard to think of a cow as the enemy."

"Which of course it's not," I said, wondering whether she thought animal eaters were not the enemy of the cow!

We had other choices a few doors down when we reached Merced, but "Las Carnitas" was the spot they chose to eat lunch.  

Our hostess at our place of destination seemed to grasp the idea that my diet wasn't because I was a picky eater but was based on concern for animals and the environment, so she welcomed my making cornbread and a chocolate pudding that were free of animal products.  

They also like the Myoko cheese-like product I brought, which I think is better than the earlier Myoko cheeses. 

She also made a very flavorful chili with tiny pieces of tofu taking the place of cows.   

But I think there was a certain annoyance about my being a vegan.  I'm a little bit surprised because I've been hosted by the same people twice before, and I never felt a conflict.  I don't know why there seems to have been a backward slide rather than a forward movement.  

I'm thinking about my trips in 2016 to Madrid and Paris, where friends were supportive of a plant-based diet even though they weren't vegans or vegetarians.  They were clear on the concept and suggested eating at only vegan places.  

Today is Earth Day, and for the first time, the emphasis is going to be on diet!  We have the support of the New York Times' quiz on how best to reduce our carbon footprint.

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2022/12/15/opinion/how-reduce-carbon-footprint-climate-change.html