Wandering through New York City yesterday you can’t help but become immersed in excessive consumerism. Everywhere you look in NYC you are being sold to. If you can fit an advertisement certainly it’s there.
Songs have been made about the lights on Broadway in Times Square. The hub of the tourist trap. Certainly, without the constant bombardment of advertising and high pressured sales would this Mecca survive? Corporate profits pay huge costs for billboard space on pricey real estate. Another age of decadence.
But when you briskly walk past the nonsense and look for a bit of normalcy you can find whatever you are looking for in the greatest city in the world.
Priorities
Food is my favorite daily priority. As I’m now on a plant-based diet for well over a year now I’ll always search a neighborhood for what vegan options are available. I favor restaurants that have made the decision to only be vegan and vegetarian over restaurants that cross-pollinate plant-based food with animal products.
I’m not sure I would say a food snob as it’s a doubt that’s the proper definition however I will say I’m becoming an educated consumer. Businesses that commit themselves to not offer animal-based products are increasing. The options available are growing exponentially as consumers are learning about the environmental and health issues of animal-based diets.
Passion In Philosophy
Walking into P.S. Kitchen in Hell’s Kitchen we were warmly greeted and quickly seated in the chic bar area. We were a bit early for dinner and so it was the perfect time to sneak in before the dinner rush that would soon follow.
Seated at a high top we ordered a few cocktails and an appetizer. The ambiance of the room was warm and inviting and the staff was cheerful and helpful. As we sipped our drinks we began to see the diner crowd lining up and decided to have our meal in the bar area which is my favored placed to eat due to the ease of interaction with others.
Reading over the menu I was overwhelmed with the depth of the menu which offered well designed vegan creations of favored dishes. As I read the menu I couldn’t help but look at the reverse side and instantly fell in love with the restaurants’ philosophy.
Our world is changing. We are on a rapid trajectory towards destruction as prices of goods and services are rising along with the Dow Jones. The separation of wealth continues to cripple families as welfare and social services have diminished along with living wages in favor of corporate wealth and excessive profits.
When a company decides to turn itself upon the crowd and walk fearlessly in the opposite direction, caring not only about their customers by offering carefully chosen ingredients to answer the concerns of the vegan demographic, but to also focus on gifting away their profits we must embrace these trailblazers.
Focusing foremost on animal welfare by operating a vegan restaurant followed by donating the profits to help Haitian women with employment, healthcare, and education the humanitarian loop is fulfilled. By taking profits from patrons dining in one of the wealthiest countries in the world and sharing with one of the poorest helps to define the future we need to build.
Ready or Not the excessive abuse of the planet’s resources from people to the soil needs to be improved upon. We need to educate ourselves and understand the impacts of the damage we are doing. The future is now and thankfully there are those that are paving the pathway.
“The future depends on what you do today.”
― Mahatma Gandhi