I want to become a vegetarian, or at least eat all organic

(the city in the distance with the Lost Lagoon in the foreground)


(Plants growing out of a car at the co-op garden. neat way to reuse an abandoned car!)


(on my rainy trip to Cottonwood/Kitsilano Maple community gardens alongside a railroad track)

Hello my family and friends,

This past weekend I was lucky enough to be around for a food film festival (Stone Soup Film Festival) right at the high school down the street from where I'm staying. I saw many food documentaries, including MAD CITY CHICKENS, FOOD INC., ALL JACKED UP, THE GARDEN, and more. Each film was really inspirational for how we could all work to improve our food chain and eat more naturally, organically, and intelligently. Videos of cows being shoved into the grinder when they were still kicking and moving, chickens that had their beaks and crowns cut off or broken and without its feathers running around, and pigs standing in their own shit all day long, day after day, before being slaughtered were just some of the horrific realities of our food industry today.

I really don't want to participate and contribute to that mess and unethical practice. Did you know that a hamburger bun from a fast food chain can contain bits from 1,000 different cows from all over the world? Or that hot dogs are made from sinew, muscle, fat, and skin that's left over from machines that take off all the "real" meat off animals?

Anyway, enough of that. I'm going to commit to trying to consume local foods and meats that are organically raised and grass-fed, or not at all, which wouldn't be a bad idea.

Today was a clear day. I went to Chinatown today (2nd largest in U.S. after SF) and strolled around and bought some buns. It's a lot different, and I much prefer the one in SF. After that I walked in downtown Vancouver and visited some urban garden sites and talked with locals and saw some cool things. Vancouver is so magical because it's so advanced and focused on urban agriculture, a concept that most Americans aren't used to or even heard. They have freakin' tomatoes, pumpkins, and squashes, just to name a few, growing in plots on street corners and ex-gas stations!! It's definitely refreshing to see.

On Wednesday I'm taking the ferry over to Victoria, British Colombia's capital. Should be fun and interesting to see parliament and the capital buildings and other sites.


(Benny with spinach, cheese, and ooey goodness with potatoes for brunch)


(Atop the SPEC and City Farmer building roof garden, but more like a container garden)


(A ladybug joined me at City Farmer's urban garden right outside its offices)


(A kiwi trellis at Strathcona garden! I've never seen kiwis grown before, so this was really cool!)