Vielka's Guide to the Propositions: Prop 2

Short Answer: VOTE YES

I am a little mad that Oprah beat me to the punch on this one. So Prop. 2 says that for hens, veal, and pregnant pigs, their cages or pens have to be large enough for them to spread their wings and turn around. They will not be cage-free; the cage is only a bit larger. To keep it real, Cali doesn't have any veal and very few pig farms so we are only really talking about hens and eggs. The opposition says that it will cost them too much money and with the competition with Iowa's eggs, California farmers will go out of business. I hear that and I would be down if we weren't talking about humanity, something I don't believe you can put a price tag on. That's first for me.

But I'm also trying to put a budget together (like many of the homies out there) so it is really important to consider how much more money we are talking about. If it means that we have to make a real effort to buy California eggs, even if they will be something like $0.12 more per dozen (really, that's about it), I think it is worth it. In all honesty, I already buy cage-free eggs, so I'm paying about $1.50 more per dozen. I don't anticipate switching over to the more humane regular eggs, thereby putting the cage-free farmers out of business, in case anyone was concerned about that.

It would also mean that other states will follow the lead. I'm sure eventually we will move to getting rid of the cages; if you've ever compared prices with cage-free eggs, you know you are definitely paying more for those cage-free joints. But only 5% of consumers buy those. The more people who buy them, the lower the prices will be. And if in the end, all eggs and meat are cage-free and free range and AFFORDABLE, how is that a problem?

I am definitely biased. As many of you know, I was a vegan for a long time and even though I am not anymore, it does take a minute for me to be settled with the idea of chowing down on a steak. I eat meat about once a week or less but I really love cheese. I'm still stuck on tofu and milk and protein alternatives. The switch had a lot to do with the cost of being vegan, financially and mentally, always thinking about if I had enough protein or calcium that day. That's brain space and stacks that I definitely don't have, with grad school and all. But, who knows, one day, I may be back. The choice for me had a lot to do with my spirituality: how the animals lived and were killed, not wanting to put such bad energy in my body. Thus, I now do the best I can with the cage-free, free range stuff, when I can and try not to trip when I can't.

So if that didn't convince you, here go some alternatives.

Housewife in you: If Oprah said it and she isn't even in California, then it must be important, right? We can ignore the fact that she had Arnie and Maria Shriver on the show when he was running for governator. In that case, I was hella hot since that really solidified his governorship in a state that she doesn't even live in most of the time! But she balanced it out when she endorsed Obama. And she is redeeming herself here, with Prop. 2. Yes, again in a state that she doesn't spend most of her time, but understanding it may affect federal commerce and other individual states sometime in the future.

Charlotte's Web: You know when you read that book you couldn't mess with bacon for like a week. Go with that feeling. Now, the pig will be killed anyway, but imagine a place where the pig has homies on the farm, gets to wander around, literally, in a circle, communicate...perhaps with his homie living in a web...What if the web was behind him? And Charlotte couldn't talk to him because he can't turn around? He doesn't even know Charlotte is there! Let that tear fall like it did when you were eight years old!

Obama: Since he is a Muslim and therefore doesn't eat pork, we can be supportive of our next president by eating humane pork. ;)