This post has nothing to do with food. The reason being that part of my challenge is to adopt more environmentally conscious habits. We already started composting and that’s going well. There’s no effort involved whatsoever, so anyone can do it. The only drawback is the cost. If it’s not convenient to compost on your own, then the next option is to organize with a local program to pick up your fruit and veg remains and cart it off to be composted elsewhere. That’s what we’re doing, but if our bin gets stolen on more than one occasion (yes, we live in that kind of neighborhood – charming, central, but with… character), then we’ll just figure out a way to do it ourselves.

Anyway, enough about composting. Another habit we’ve adopted is switching our cats off clay litter and onto a more natural alternative. We’re trying recycled newspaper pellets by Purina’s Yesterday’s News. But first, let’s talk about clay. The idea to switch had its genesis at a get-together at a friend’s house – a corporate-trainer- cum-volunteer-animal care-taker whose been making the most of her free time by researching animal care “best practices”, so to speak. I’ll be honest, I never gave much thought to clay litter until she started proselytizing against it.  Whoa. It can clog their intestines? Or increase our chances of getting cancer? I decided to do my own homework. Not only is this stuff hazardous to cats and their humans, but it’s also harmful to the environment… very harmful.

Ever hear of “strip mining”? I never heard of it and I like to think that I’m in-the-know about all sorts of environmental issues, since I like to inform myself; I even took an elective in university on the subject.  Not once did I ever come across anything like this. Let’s call it a “dirty little secret”, because that  is exactly what it felt like when I discovered the truth about clay litter. And man, is it ever dirty! Here’s the skinny on strip mining and clay litter:

Cat litter is not a by-product of anything. The clay is mined specifically for litter, among other things. So, if we weren’t buying clay litter, there wouldn’t much of a reason to mine for it. Well, there are probably other reasons, but a lot of people buy litter for their kitties. And how many of us have cats? A friggin’ lot!

Strip mining is especially destructive to the environment. Here’s why:

Pretty ugly, right? There should be a lush expanse of trees in place of this atrocity, but cats need to crap, so… whatcha gonna do, eh? Strip mining is extremely stressful on the environment, to say the least. Heavy machinery is used to scrape off top soil, which takes thousands of years to form, to get to a thin layer of clay. Trees, top soil, biodiversity, all of this is sacrificed for kitty litter? I can hardly believe it myself. But it’s true.

Not to mention that kitty litter sits in landfills and never biodegrades.

But there are lots of alternatives and one of them is newspaper pellets. Rather than gouge holes into the earth for cat litter, Purina took newspaper, compressed it and made it into lightweight pellets in which cats can pee and poo to their heart’s content without the health and environmental risks, the mess and the stench. My cats haven’t complained yet.

There is also pine litter in pellet and scoopable form. Pine smells nice too so it helps eliminate the unpleasant ammonia-infused odour.

Anyway, I hope this has been helpful!

Challenge update

Everything is going great! Still animal-product free. I almost slipped though. A co-worker gave me a cookie that I just knew was laden with butter and eggs, but I resisted. I kindly accepted the cookie, took a whiff, then brought it home to Ricardo who is not doing the vegan thing as hard-core as I am. I realize that this sort of lifestyle cannot be easy for everyone. It’s easier for me because I don’t particularly like eating animal products to begin with, but Ricardo is doing a great job in his attempt to be more conscious about what he eats. Even if he’s not doing the vegan thing, he is really supporting me and that’s what counts.

And we finally ate at one of Montreal’s only vegan restaurants, Aux Vivres. I ordered a much needed organic fair trade coffee with soy milk and a Veggielox sandwich with their house tofu cream cheese. It was just delicious! If you like the taste of smoked salmon, you must try it.  Ricardo had the Montreal Smoked. If you crave smoked meat but can’t do the meat, this sandwich is the trick. It’s a wonder to behold and so Montreal, but with a meat-free twist, of course:  several layers of smoked and seasoned seitan (with pepper corns) lie nestled between two slices of lovely fresh brown bread with a side of vegan coleslaw and pickles. We also sampled their spicy citrus Gateau Fauxmage. Yummm! If you get a chance, please try this place. It is proof that vegans know good food!