On Solstice this week, I didn’t go out and sit in the grass. I didn’t worship the sun or set life intentions, nor did I pour over my astrological forecast.
I did, however, report on Solstice — and I did so even before the sun came up for its big day.
Sitting in the studio on the second floor of the public media headquarters where I sometimes hang my hat, my tech doodads all around me arranged just so, I spent the week filling in as host of Morning Edition for WXXI (where I am the regular Weekend Edition host).
It was a week of waking up at 3 am to get to the studio at 4, working nonstop (hosting is so much more than being on the air) through 9:10 when I went off the air, and then monomaniacally prepping for the next day. I also did interviews and put together stories for the afternoon program, All Things Considered. At around 11 am or Noon, I would head home, eat lunch, and, most of the time, jump into my other work. (And whenever possible, I napped.)
Per usual, I made plenty of mistakes. And though I’ve worked hard on letting go of on-air mistakes (the ones you hear and, more commonly, the tech-related ones you don’t) during my weekend show, I have found that during Morning Edition, you just don’t have time to focus on mistakes; there are simply too many imminent deadlines.
I texted Mariann & Moore:
“Morning Edition is either going to cure my anxiety, or ruin me.”
(I’m hoping for the former.)
The older I get, the more I don’t — can’t — sweat the small stuff. But it’s like I’m being forced to let it go, rather than knowingly making the conscious choice; there’s too much at stake.
Most pressingly: me. My sanity. My values. My mindfulness. My family. My other responsibilities (many of which I have been completely ignoring … and I am endlessly grateful to my wife, Moore, for supporting my career so much so that she basically takes care of everything at home while I’m in this mode. I got her a Wife of the Year award recently, and though it made her smile, she joked that she is now on the hook to live up to it.)
Bear with me here, but this process — letting go of self-flagellation because there isn’t enough time for it — reminds me of cultivated meat, which has been in the news recently, and for good reason: it has been approved for sale in the US for the first time.
You: Wait, what? You’re comparing the process of your past week to lab-grown meat? You’re being such an annoying vegan right now.
Me: I asked you to bear with me! I haven’t gotten to my point yet. Also, people don’t really say “lab-grown meat” anymore.
You: Ugh, I cannot follow vegan trends!
Me: Yeah, but this is much more than a trend for vegans specifically.
You: Can you just make your point already?
Me: I’m trying to …
You: Then get to it!
When people are intrigued by veganism but afraid of missing out on their go-to favorite foods (spoiler alert: there’s a vegan version of everything and literally every single vegan I know reports that eschewing meat, milk, and eggs effectively expanded their culinary life by leaps and bounds), I encourage them to focus on adding things to their plate, rather than putting their focus on subtracting things.
So, adding more foods like greens, grains, and wholesome proteins like tempeh, tofu, or beans will inevitably “crowd out” the other stuff. (If you’re afraid of the permanency of the word “vegan,” try this technique and make as many plant-based choices as possible.)
But something even cooler is going to help people transition to (full-throttle or nearly full-throttle) veganism: cultivated meat, the food of the future … and, in some cases, the food of now.
Within a few years-ish — certainly within the next decade — cultivated meat (that’s meat made without slaughter, thus leaving the darlings alone) this new type of meat is going to pop up on menus, in grocery stores, and in fast-food chains everywhere. Though there will certainly be an initial “ick factor,” my crystal ball says it will become normalized soon enough, and society won’t even remember the hundred times they crinkled their nose at the thought of eating slaughter-free flesh. (Why they don’t crinkle their nose at slaughtered flesh and all of the horrors that goes with that is beyond me, but let me step off my soapbox now.)
This gives me more hope than I can explain, when it comes to weening people off of eating animals. In the height of my grassroots activism, I handed out many thousands of brochures, helped organize at least hundreds of protests, outreach events, and fundraisers, and gave countless talks around the globe on why we need to lean into veganism. And though I’ll never lose my passion for animal rights, and I’ll advocate for issues of justice until the day I die, sometimes it’s exhausting and, frankly, depressing.
So I hold onto the hope that at some point, curmudgeons, naysayers, or blissfully ignorant people (this is not intended to be offensive … sometimes I wish I could be more ignorant about certain issues!) will simply be making vegan or vegan-adjacent choices without actively choosing to do so.
It will just be in the mainstream zeitgeist. It will be affordable, accessible, and tasty. It will be evocative of slaughtered-animal meat, and eventually, people will mostly forget that this was ever such a hot-button issue (or maybe it never was a hot-button issue for them in the first place).
Just as the act of making a choice to give up slaughtered meat is going to be swiftly removed as our society moves in a more sustainable, compassionate direction (factory farming is the exact opposite of those things), this past week has taken away my choice, and my chance, to dwell on small mistakes.
This past week, I did not have the luxury (yep, luxury) to dwell. The radio show must go on.
And now that I’ve seen this side of the tracks, I want to stay here. While only very recently, making a mistake such as poorly timing a newsbreak or a cut would have given me a minor panic attack, now when it happens, I make a mental note for next time and then I just keep going.
Just like the omnivore of tomorrow who orders the cultivated burger, the choice has been made for me.
So I ask you this: Do you need to have something drastic happen in order for you to recognize that you don’t need to get stuck in your own way? Don’t be like me — not in this instance, anyway. Don’t wait until you are faced with a giant challenge to let go of those things that no longer serve you, whether we’re talking about self-deprecation or foods that don’t match up to your ethics.
Here’s to new learning experiences! And now, I’m going to put my feet up. For this moment, anyway, there’s nothing to worry about.
xo,
jazz
P.S. Since last we spoke, the VegNews Podcast launched, with me as the lucky host. Check it out.
P.P.S. If you want to listen to some of the headlines from last week’s Morning Edition, check out the Morning Edition podcast, which summarizes that day’s headlines.
P.P.P.S. Speaking of podcasts, today on Our Hen House, I interview my good friend, comedian Myq Kaplan. Subscribe to his rad Substack.
dear jasmin,
as always, this is great and you are great.
and not JUST because you mention me and call my Substack "rad."
thank you and i love you and YOU are rad.
love,
myq
PS if you are someone who is NOT Jasmin and you are reading this and you don't know Jasmin's work, please start knowing it! she is creative and funny and compassionate to animals including humans like me but also many of the other ones!
Love this! As soon as I get a few minutes, I will be sharing for my omnivore friends. I bet the open minded ones will really appreciate it!