FOOD!!!! Happy Turkey Day!!!!!

Happy Thanksgiving to all my friends, my incredible family and all who have joined my table tonight. I am so thankful for you.

I was going though my old hotmail account. I check it, maybe, twice a month and would have deleted it long ago except that I still have a few awesome friends that contact me there. One such awesome friend is my hanai brother Steve. (Hanai = adopted, or as in "blood brother)

Steve found a group email from 2005 (before Facebook and Twitter became popular we all used group emails to speak our minds). One such email (below) was from my other Hanai Brother, Sam. 

Disclaimer: disturbing images and foul language. Not too much though.

From: Sam Campos  

Subject: People need to wake up 

Date: Wed, 26 Oct 2005 00:40:05 -0700 (PDT)

"Hi gang, 

I'm not a vegetarian.  I like to eat meat. 

Tonight, I saw an ad for  tryveg.com, and went to their website.  I clicked on the area of animals. What I saw and read, reminded me of a program that I saw several years ago called "the animal contract".  It showed how we the people of the world treat the animals that we eat and wear the skins of.  

It made me ashamed to be human. 

We are destroying our world and no one seems to care, or if they do, its not a popular thing, so we go on like we don't care. 

When we are children things that we value like caring for our world disappear when we become adults.  Why?  No matter what the case, the fact remains that we are many and the resources are few.  People need to wake up. 

Remember the Lorax?  He spoke for the trees. 

I don't usually send out an e-maill like this. But I think that its really important and I trust you will too. Sorry.  I'll get off my soap box now. 

If you want, pass this website along.  
Maybe it will make a difference.  
Maybe somehow we can make a difference.

Sam"

And this was my response a few days later... I was 25! I guess he'd gotten so bad replies back so I backed him up with this:

On Wednesday, October 26, 2005 6:58 AM, pilialoha nathaniel <pilialohanathaniel@hotmail.com> wrote: 

Hey all!
Some of you know me, I know some of you, and the rest are just wondering...  

"Who are you... really?" 

This is in response to Sams' e-mail about tryveg.com. If you know me... then you know I can eat and eat and eat and eat, I LOVE FOOD!!!  Living in NYC especially... SO MANY MANY MANY ONO-KINE RESTAURANTS!!!  I still love food.  But a friend of mine turned me on to websites like the one Sam just showed you plus a few books like "Conscious Eating" and movies like "Corperation".  I realized 1) That I didn't need to eat so much to be satisfied, 2) the human body was not built to handle soo much animal product (if any) and 3) that it's just plain gross when you see how these animals are kept and killed.  (Really amazingly gross). 

So... I am now semi-vegitarian.  I've been trying this diet for about 6 months now.  I only consume fish about once a week and when I do it is usually raw.  (What can I say - I like sushi and sashimi.)  I never- ever thought I would do this.  I, like Sam, loved meat.  I just don't need or want it anymore.  There's just so much more in this world to love. 

Now some of you may be saying... "You've turned into a tree hugging yoga practicing weird stinky hippie person. Stop lecturing me"  And I'd say "Yes, thank you... except for that stinky part"  And then I'd tell you that "I'm not lecturing you... it's the mainstream media, school, the government.... that has been lecturing you all your life.  I'm just a little voice that is just reminding you that life is all about the choices you make."  You all just need to do what is right for you, your body and your environment.
It's all about choice. 

Aloha, 

Pili 

PS.  If we ever hang out... no worry beef curry... eat what you like... I don't usually say anything about my personal preferances towards food.  And I am not one to try to force my personal choices unto another person.  Just backin' up my big bro!  Aloha no!

And this is my e-mailed response to Steve TONIGHT... Eight YEARS later... I'm a little older... Wiser? Maybe....

First... I only check this email about twice a month. I have it because I still have awesome friends who contact me here. 

Second... I am so thankful for you! I hope you had a very happy thanksgiving!! 

Third... I'm a carnivore now. That Monsanto-corn-fed, genetically fucked-with, mutant turkey was awesome!!! That being said. It's still about the choices we all make. I chose to go back to eating meat because I needed to gain weight. I eat meat because my diet of NOT eating was not working.  

CHOOSE TO BE HEALTHY!!! Listen to your body and figure out what it needs to be active an healthy. Talk with your doctor!!! 

I still eat more veggies and try to buy SUSTAINABLE food products. I will be cutting back on my bread and processed food consumption once more.  

I still have to watch myself though… Iʻve gained about 20 lbs. since this time last year. I am HEALTHY at 128lbs!!!!!!!!!! BUT... I want to do the lemonade cleanse again. I want to do the cleanse BADLY!!! Very NOT GOOD for me. The anorexic in me wants to starve. She really needs to... 

...Go away.  

I shove a thick, juicy, grass-fed, sustainably produced, happy cow steak into her mouth and tell her to shut the fuck up. 

And Eat it.

Love,

Happy Nathaniel