EDITOR LEAH GOEBEL THE VOICE, FRIDAY, DECEMBER 2, 2011 5 Vancouverite Darren Bare- foot has lived purely Canadi- an for the past 11 months as a project called One Year, One Canadian. He even has his own logo (left). Photo courtesy of Darren Barefoot Purely Canadian for a year Living the maple leaf dream is sometimes easier said than done By JEN ST. DENIS or the past 11 months, one Van- couverite has been living all Ca- nadian, all the time. Darren Barefoot committed 2011 to eating, buying, watching, and reading only products made in Canada. The professional marketer and tech- nical writer has been blogging about the project and plans to spend 2012 writing a book about his experience. “[m a curious person, so I was just kind of interested in the intellectual question of how could one live if one tried,” said Barefoot. “And I’m a patriot too, so being able to shine a light on Ca- nadian products and media and servic- es appealed to me.” Barefoot found that living Canadian is easier said than done. “There are whole categories of stuff you can’t buy, like running shoes or hiking shoes, clothes generally, and sunglasses and contacts.” Canadian food was easier to find. But Barefoot still spent more time and ef- fort than usual at the grocery store, es- pecially since he doesn’t really like to cook or even think about food. “T have to think about it every day, I have to think about it all the time,” said Barefoot. “What to buy at the grocery store, scheduling visits to the farmers markets, freezing berries and fruit for the winter so I'll have some kind of sugar in the winter.” Any refined sugar, coffee, tea or or- ange juice was out of the question. Barefoot also had to cut out Coke, which he often drank before the project started. Now he just drinks water. He’s lost about six pounds in the past few months. Although the project showed how few products are manufactured in Can- ada, Barefoot said he’s “not somebody who believes in the entirely irrational idea that you could move a lot of manu- facturing back to North America” al- though, “it is striking how relatively little we now make in Canada, [com- pared with] how much we used to make.” Rather, he said, the project is meant to be about thoughtful consumption. “It’s just about thinking more care- fully about what you eat and what you put on your body in terms of clothes and what you bring into your home,” said Barefoot. Now that the project is almost over, Barefoot says he will continue buying some of the products, such as Vancou- ver-based Sapadilla soap, and will con- tinue to visit farmers markets. But he’ll be glad to be able to make his first trip in a year to U.K.-based The Body Shop for his favourite brand of shaving cream. Read about his endeavour on his blog at www.oneyearonecanadian.ca. 66 It is strik- ing how relatively little we now make in Canada, [compared to] how much we used to make. DARREN BAREFOOT Meat eaters chew through guilt — study People who eat meat generally do not believe that animals have mental qualities. There’s a disconnect between animals having feelings and thoughts and eating their meat, says a recent Australian report 66 You don’t even think about it be- ing linked to fan animal] because it’s in a pack- age. KATIE MCALLISTER By ALANNA HARDINGE-ROONEY Meat eaters deny mental capacities to animals to justify eating them, ac- cording to new research from a team of psychologists at Australia’s University of Queensland. The study found that when people are reminded of the harm their carniv- orous behaviour has on animals, they judge those animals to possess fewer intellectual and emotional faculties compared to when they are not re- minded. “Denying minds to animals reduces concern for their welfare, justifying the harm caused to them in the process of meat production,’ research leader Brock Bastian said in a press release. According to Bastian, people don’t enjoy thinking about where their meat comes from and the processes it goes through before it arrives at the grocery store. “Animals have thoughts and feel- ings, I just disconnect the meat from the actual animals,” Langara history student Brett Swanson said. He said he feels guilty about the pain factory-farmed animals suffer, but he likes the taste and convenience of meat too much to adopt a vegetarian diet. Arts and sciences student Katie McAllister said that she was born into a meat-eating household and because of that, she never thought to question the practice. “My parents were meat eaters, so I just started eating meat ... you don’t even think about it being linked to something because it’s in this pack- age,” she said. Amanda Yunker is a volunteer at the Humane Society of Canada. She stressed the large disconnect between people’s view of animals and their view of meat. “As the population grows in cities, there’s less and less opportunity for people to do things like fish and hunt and find their own food,” said Yunker. “Everything has become factory pro- duced, meaning that people are so far removed from where their food comes from that they lose sight of the fact that these animals are being treated so poorly.” Yunker also pointed out that the at- titudes people have toward meat and animals and are culturally determined. “People in China eat dogs, and Hin- dus are horrified if people eat cows,” said Yunker. “It’s all meat technically, but some- how we attribute more intelligence to one than another.” According to Yunker, the best way to assuage the guilt of eating meat is not by denying that animals have thoughts and feelings, but by giving up meat al- together. “Tf I can’t kill an animal and be okay with it, then why would I eat meat,” said Yunker. But for some people, it just isn’t that simple. “T like pepperoni pizza too much,” said Swanson. Perfect gifts for under Here are some great gift ideas that will get you smiles, not an overdraft By DEVON MACKENZIE budget can be tough but The Voice has some gift suggestions under $30 to make your seasonal shopping simpler. For the tea lover in your life, the Riklig teapot with tea infuser from Ikea makes a great gift idea. The built in, but removable infuser allows tea enthusiasts to brew loose- leaf tea and remove it neatly once it’s adequately brewed. Available for $9.99 at Ikea. At the same price, Ikea’s Blossande set of three tea accessories (tea ball, tea squeezer, and honey tuner) is an af- fordable add on to the teapot, or works well as a standalone gift too. For the coffee lover on your holiday list, the Bodum stainless steel travel mug/coffee press from Ming Wo Cook- ware on East Pender Street gives cof- fee connoisseurs a convenient method to brew fresh coffee on the go. $26.99 in-store or at www.mingwo.com. Whiskey fanatics will love Terofor- ma’s set of nine whiskey stones that cool your whiskey but don’t dilute it like ice cubes do. $29.99 at Cookworks on West Broadway or Howe Street. Ladies, the man in your life (and his winter-chapped lips) will thank you if you get him Sephora’s set of four Origi- nal Jack Black Lip Balms. For $25 his lips will be silky smooth all winter long. For the avid adventurer, the Para- cord bracelet is a must-have. The bracelet, which begins at less than two inches long, unravels to 16 feet long and functions as a bungee cord, a tow- rope and as a lashing cord. $24.95 at www.survivalstraps.com. Men, keep your lady’s hands smooth and protected with Cake Beauty’s Milk Made Hand and Cuticle Buffer. This succulent hand savior keeps winter hands from getting dry and rough and will keep your lady’s hands happy all winter long. $16 at Sephora. Once her hands are smooth and sat- iny, make sure they stay warm with touch-screen texting gloves. These gloves feature special fabric inserts at the tips of the index and thumb fingers to keep hands texting in the cold. Avail- able on Amazon.ca for $14.99. And lastly, for the person that has everything, contemplate having Sta- ples make them a custom calendar with their favourite photos. Calendars cost anywhere between $8 and $30 and Staples can have them made up within a day. Pesce holiday gifts on a student DEVON MACKENZIE photo Don’t forget anyone on your list!