Transcending the Hot Dog Stand: DC Street Food

As an addendum to the previous post, the Washington Post also reports that 21 new vendor sites have been awarded in an effort to increase the presence of street food vendors across the city. Of course, it will take a long while before I can get past the stigma of bacteria-laced hot dogs stewing in week-old meat juices in the ubiquitous Red Hot carts all over southwest DC.

On the topic of meat though, last night I popped in "Fast Food Nation" by Richard Linklater and was reminded again of the horrific process by which most Americans get their meat. Of course, it wasn't an eye-opening revelation, as anyone who's been to college has had at least one hemp-wearing vegan with dreads expose them to the inhumane and revolting practices of the modern-day slaughterhouses. But it's like this collective societal guilt that we push to the back of our minds because it's just easier not to question it. No one wants animals to be skinned, butchered and processed while alive; or for immigrant workers to be injured every day at the processing factory; or to eat irradiated feces while enjoying a cheeseburger. But regardless of what vegetarians and vegans claim, human beings are omnivores and meant to eat meat (at least on occasion). Unfortunately our meat sources, much like many other modern day conveniences, have been distanced so far from our day-to-day reality that we just can't be bothered to think about it. And I've admittedly lost much of my youthful zeal for activism. I would definitely support legal regulations on farming and processing practices, and ideally I'd like for farms and plants to be completely sustainable. And as for today, I'll opt for the veggie pita, but tomorrow, I'll probably return to complacent ignorance.