When Isabella showed me her white plastic cup with yogurt, I thought to myself, “Oh she’s a health nut or really likes yogurt”. It wasn’t labeled with any brand was small, something that you can easily hold in your hands. The cover was also clear and fit on top of the container very securely. Because it was see-through, I noticed that the yogurt was a soft white with raspberries, strawberries, and bits of almond suspended throughout the diary-treat.

Despite not really preferring yogurt as a snack, the fruits and nuts inside the yogurt looked a treat. “I wasn’t able to do much with it, as usual, so it has very few items in it, and the yogurt is just a plain” she tells me. “What flavor is plain? Vanilla?” I asked, growing up in my household, anything vanilla flavored was as plain as you can get. “No, I don’t really like adding flavoring to my own yogurt, maybe I’m doing it wrong, but it doesn’t turn out right” “Oh, do you make this yourself?” I was surprised, as I never really made anything myself. “Yes, I’ve been trying to become more towards veganism” She laughed as she said this, “I know yogurt is primarily made from animal products, but I just recently started this new lifestyle choice”. I never really was fond of meat myself, and usually prefer having more vegetables than meat in my diet; the taste of meet never did sit right with me, and I found it easier to finish a meal without it. However, I also did like deserts like tiramisu cakes, oatmeal-raisin cookies that include diary products in the recipes. “You must be amazing at organizing time to actually make it yourself, how long does it usually take you?” “I make a batch a week in advance and am usually able to finish all of it”. She makes a small circle with her hands, showing me that she probably made it in a container. “Why did you decide to become a vegan?” I asked, despite knowing that it had something to do with the Meat Industry. “I would say that it began with a conspiracy video I saw, titled ‘Cowspiracy’” this had me surprised, the name was unusual but at the same time, I was very interested. Isabella must have noticed my smile, because she also laughed and explained, “I know, I was very intrigue when I saw the title, but it does have pretty valid statements”. I didn’t really understand the concept, but in summary, Isabella told me how it connects the amount waste that goes into maintaining a meat-factory, but mostly in the amount of food that goes into feeding 1 cow. She explains, “you waste quite a lot of food, to make one hamburger”. I did agree with that concept, but being a non-avid burger enthusiast, I already didn’t like burgers and am probably biased in that concept. “I agree, with the amount of food that goes into feeding the cows, and yet at the same time we have parts of the world who are starving”. After that statement, I saw a spark in her eye, “Exactly! You know people in my country, Brazil, are starving and coming to the US, I see so much food waste” “It could have gone to a better use”. Coming from a third-world country myself, I agree with that, “You’re right, so much food is wasted in general just feeding the animals that would just be slaughtered for a few hamburgers”. “But why would you consider veganism, instead of just becoming a vegetarian?” She thought about this a moment, “Well I’m just trying out a new lifestyle, and am just testing which one would be best for me” “Who knows, I might just decide at the end to become a meat eater” she laughed at this. “How do you think by you becoming vegan, would help out really” I asked. “I think, no matter how small I may play in a role, I believe that I’m helping out by eating less meat really, and that would decrease the demand for meat consumption in general” “Who knows, maybe I can influence other people in my life to also eat less meat really, but I understand that its difficult to let go of that perfect omelet!”.

Isabella’s hand-made yogurt, sprinkled with various fruits and nuts, is an important artifact in her life. It can sort of act as a mantra for her, reminding her about her new path in life, veganism. Especially due to the work she put into making early batches of it prior to her start of her day. I can commend her for trying to overcome eating meat, or any animal products, which can be hard in a urban environment such as NYC; where branded diary products like Chobani basically advertises nonstop about its products, and is always present in various supermarkets.