AWESOME veggie encounter today. [View all]

[font color="navy" face="Verdana"]So I was on my way home from an appointment, got off a bus and headed for the light rail stop. A young fellow got off the bus right after me and we started chatting pleasantly as we crossed the street. He mentioned that he'd had a burger the day before and had felt queasy ever since, wondered if the meat was bad.

"How serendipitous that you should ask!", I replied. (Not exactly in those words, but I know an opening when I see it.) So I started explaining about the cruel, filthy conditions that meat animals live and die in, the antibiotics and hormones they're fed, the concept and reality of "pink slime" and the multiple meat sources in just one burger. He listened, absolutely horrified, said he had never heard any of this before.

We continued our conversation on the light rail and an athletic-looking young man across from me, who had been quietly looking out the window, started nodding and finally said, "I'm vegetarian. Not vegan, but working towards it. She's right, man. Meat's no good for you." A lady two seats away piped up and named the store she shops at, raved about veggie meat substitutes, naming specific brands and products. I was also able to refer them to the web for veggie recipes and YouTube for more information about industrial meat ranching.

When I got off the light rail, there were 5 people still talking among themselves about being or wanting to be vegetarians. These were not city commuters in business suits, but everyday folks: One older man with a bike, two 20-ish African-American males, one 50-ish white woman, and one 30-something Latina.

I got off that train after hand clasps all around feeling on top of the world, with the biggest grin I've worn so far this week. The word is out and people are paying attention!