Expo West and the Natural Foods industry

It has been eight years since I was last at Expo West and my has the world changed. I will write more about this incredible trade show, and wanted to pass along what I experienced just yesterday while walking amongst the hundreds of booths promoting every natural food product one could imagine.

I decided to come to Expo West to learn about the newest amazing vegan food offerings and to start  a long-term process of finding out how companies in this industry, an industry that Mike and I financially support every day, are in welcoming transgender people to work for them. More specifically, I want to see if companies have gender identity and/or gender expression in the non-discrimination policies.

For those of you who are vegan or love vegan food, I can tell you that your food choice world is expanding even more than what I had thought prior to coming to Expo West. Companies like Daiya, Gardein, Tofurky, Miyoko's, Nada Moo, Bull Dog, Follow Your Heart and Vega blew my mind (and taste buds) with new products. Although many of these products won't land until later this summer or fall, I guarantee you you will not be disappointed.

There were several booths where I literally camped out for several minutes while continually "tasting" their new product. The same one I had just tried. They were that good. Of course after five tastes of the new Gardein breakfast pocket I decided that I should really move on. And yes, I will be back today!

From chickpea snacks to vegan caramels to juices and nutritional drinks, I continually walked away from booths with a huge smile on my face.

I also had dozens of conversations with companies about non-discrimination policies and will write more in-depth on those later. I will say that when you gather so many companies there are an equal amount of opinions and human resource-relayed policies. I will also say that wearing a press badge that has "The Gay Vegans" on it helped me many times in remembering that I live in a world that, even in a professional setting like a trade show, anti-gay bigotry and discomfort towards gay people exists.

More to come!

Thanks for reading!

7 - 0 victory in Sterling Heights!

It happened around midnight in the City Council chambers in Sterling Heights, Michigan. The Council voted unanimously, 7 - 0, to pass an ordinance that will prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation or identity. The ordinance will "apply to all persons seeking employment or housing in the city, but specifically would extend civil rights protection based upon sexual orientation and identity."

I am ecstatic.

7 - 0.

I had the honor of speaking with Mayor Pro Tem Mike Taylor before the vote. With allies like him and others on the Council who spoke about equality and prejudice, I feel even more hopeful about the future for those of us who do not fit into the heterosexual norm than I did before.

Said Mayor Pro Tem Taylor in a prior vote that brought us to last night, "“For those of you concerned that your ability to practice religion is being taken away, that is not the case. We can argue and debate many things, but this is not one of them,” he said. “The First Amendment is your shield and it protects you and your ability to practice religion, but it is not a sword to be used to strike down your fellow citizens because they do not agree with you.”

I agree.

I most likely won't get to speak with all of those on the Sterling Heights City Council who voted last night so will pass this message along:

Thank you. Thank you for being a voice for the voiceless. Thank you for shining light onto bigotry in any form. Thank you for doing the right thing and acknowledging all of your citizens and those who want to be part of the greatness that is Sterling Heights. As one of your citizens said "Discrimination is real and it happens every day. It is subtle, it is rarely overt, and it is laws like this that are necessary to protect LGBT people…Freedom is for all of us not just some of us who fit into a preconceived norm. Sometimes freedom for all makes us uncomfortable, that is the challenge of freedom."

I have a huge smile on my face and even more hope in my heart. Sterling Heights is where I came of age. I lived there during elementary school and junior high school, the years that I began to realize that I was different. It is a very special place for me.

Based on the vote last night, the City Council also thinks so.

Thank you for reading.