THINGS I'VE DISCOVERED:

1) Being Asian in Asia comes with expectations.

Everyone always talks about how being white in Asia can be burdensome because of all the staring and curiosity, and while this may be true, I have found that being Asian in Asia can be equally burdensome and can get old too fast. The main reason being that everyone mistakes me for being Chinese here, which means they assume I can speak Chinese.

The picture (which happens ALL the time): Dan will say something to someone in Chinese. The person, confused, will say something quickly to me in Chinese, and then look at me, expectantly, waiting for me to clarify and answer in perfect Chinese. I, then, understanding that look of expectation, can only sheepishly mutter “Bu hui shuo Hanyu” (I can't speak to Chinese), at which point they will look bewildered and/or disappointed. Dan will then step in and attempt to restate his inquiry. Most people seem genuinely confused as to why the white person can speak Chinese, and why the Asian remains mute. It's frustrating because sometimes I feel people think I'm incompetent, and this bothers me. Oh well, it just lends further drive to learn Chinese more, and better. I'll show you! Also being a half white and half Asian couple itself draws many stares from people trying to figure out what the hell is going on. Keep on keeping on.

2) Most of Chinese meat is grown locally, not on factory farms, despite their population of 1,336,718,015.

Before coming to China I thought it would be interesting to learn more about the agriculture and farming system here in China, and then compare it to the United States, since the population in China is so much larger than that of the United States. One of the reasons people justify factory farming in the US is that there are too many people to feed and that local farming wouldn't supply enough meat for all. Well, I say bullshit. I know China is importing more meat, and I know that wholly surviving off local farming may not be plausible in the US (not solely for population reasons though), but to say that ONLY factory farming is the ONLY solution is complete utter cow shit. I mean, look at China. They have so many more people, and somehow MOST of their meat is from local farms. I'm beginning to think there can be a balance in the US, but of course, at a cost. Isn't there always some kind of cost? Part of the issue Guo raised that makes raising meat in local farms harder in the United States is the incredible amount of meat we eat. It's a greedy amount, an entitled amount: 5 hamburgers a week isn't good enough for some Americans, they need 10. So then I raise the question... what if we restricted the amount of meat people could eat? This brings me to my next point....FREEDOM!

3) There is such a thing as being too free (thanks Jonathan Franzen for lending to this idea).

Freedom. Everybody loves this word, it's almost a word that has lost its true meaning, a toss around word. Nobody hates freedom, we want it, we love it, and we want it for all. Then, I started reading “Freedom” by Jonathan Franzen and damnit does he bring up some great points about freedom. Freedom isn't always so good, especially for environmental protection and conservation, natural resources management, and being able to survive as a unit on this planet. Freedom for individuals can be good, but as a whole, when it comes to the environment, it can be a very detrimental force. Freedom gives us the illusion of entitlement and privilege: “we're allowed to have as many babies as we want because it's out freedom” (even if it means there won't be enough resources like food and water to feed the ever-growing population by 2050), “we're FREE to eat as much meat as we want" (even if it means we're emitting ridiculous amounts of GHGs like methane into the environment), and “we're FREE to own our cars and drive 3 blocks down the street" (etc, etc, you get it). So my point is: MEAT CARDS. HUH? MEAT CARDS? WADDAWHO? WADDAFUCK? Well, okay, let me elaborate. What if everyone in the US had a meat quota, not too scarce, but not over-indulging like it is now, maybe 5 pounds a meat or something a week (numbers would be worked out obviously). Everyone would have a card they would have to present when buying meat, so the amount of meat would register on the card, and then when the person ran out of their quota for that week, they would be denied the meat they want to purchase and have to wait until the next week for their quota to re-up. Having a quota would curtail the huge demand for meat, thus allowing meat to be produced more on local farms (which there were plenty of before the big corporations took over farming) and less by factory farms. You might say there will be a black market for meat, or some other excuse, but WHATEVER! Can't be afraid to try to new things because of fear of something else. It's just an idea, but of course in America this would never fly because our “freedom” is so precious. We can eat meat whenever the fuck we want, and however much we want. The big time agriculture corporations also would have a problem with this meat rationing. We need to start thinking about things like this though, ideas that SEEM so radical (like China's One Child policy), but eventually will be necessary and imperative for humankind's survival on planet Earth. We can't keep going on the way we are or else we will really end up destroying the planet, and ultimately, ourselves.