Day 17: Yogurt

Yogurt is the first dairy product I'm including. It's cool and creamy and a little tangy. Without sugar, it has a sour taste that's not altogether unpleasant. One thing to try is to simply experience that sourness. This isn't to say that fruit or honey aren't nice complements to yogurt generally, but that it's worth training oneself to interact with foods very directly and fully, especially ones that aren't fried, sweet, or salty.

When eating it, think about the history of this food, and the ingenuity of human beings in figuring out how to prepare it. Think also about what kind of nutrients it gives to you. Calcium for bones, protein for building your body, fat (in the case of full-fat or partial-fat yogurt) that provides energy and fullness. It also can provide beneficial bacteria, depending on what type of yogurt you're eating.

Think also about the cows that made the milk for this, and send out a thank you to them. This borders a bit on the political because by really thinking about the cows, it compels us to face the way they're treated in industrial farming. Possibly you thought of this, and had the resources (and access) to purchase yogurt that came from a (presumably) well-treated cow. Or possibly you didn't, with a hundred totally understandable reasons why.

The important thing is that this is NOT about guilt. Rather, it's about gentle "leaning" in the direction of gratitude and kindness. Most people agree that we should do better with our treatment of cows and other animals. So without a sense of condemnation or judgment, it's good to open our eyes and our hearts to this. Maybe it would be possible in your own life to eat a little less dairy and pay a premium for the more humane kind. At the very least, it would be good to err on the side of buying less rather than inadvertently wasting it. And when you do eat it, it's very important to truly, deeply enjoy it.