The Queen of Earth, Beyoncé, says we should all be eating more plant-based foods and she’s making it really easy with a new vegan food delivery service called 22 Days.

The program is a partnership with Bey’s trainer, Marcos Borges. All the meals are 100 percent organic, gluten-free, dairy-free, soy-free, non-GMO and are delivered fresh; all you need to do is plate them and eat up. Reasonably priced (about the same as eating at a vegan restaurant), the more meals you buy, the less expensive the plan becomes.

Here’s what Beyoncé had to say about 22 Days in a statement: “I am so grateful that I took the challenge and credit Marco with leading by example. He is the most energetic person I know and it’s all because of his decision to live a healthy lifestyle. He came up with a great program to get people motivated to make better nutritional choices. All you have to do is try. If I can do it, anyone can. I am excited to partner with him.”

While not a true vegan herself (she’s a fur hag who’s even worn fur inside vegan restaurants of all places), Beyoncé and hubbie Jay Z have had a lot of success on a 21-day vegan diet, which gave them the momentum to put their weight behind the program. The theory behind 22 Days is that it takes 21 days to form a new habit, with it getting easier and more second nature beginning on the 22nd day.

Taking the struggle out of eating healthy during those critical early days, 22 Days’ delivery service provides freshly prepared meals so that you no longer have to battle the temptation of picking up the phone and ordering yourself a stuffed crust pizza or a bucket of chicken wings just because you can’t figure out what to do with tofu.

There are a few reasons why I like this program a lot. First, vegan meal delivery is not a new concept – several companies out there already do this – but unlike 22 Days, which delivers fresh foods, those other vegan delivery foods often come frozen, and for many people that means popping the meal in the microwave. You might as well just eat the cardboard box the food comes in if you’re going to nuke it. You get about the same nutrients. Fresh is key, not just to avoid the microwave, but it also tastes better, which is really important to nascent vegans. Rediscovering the inherent flavor in vegetables that aren’t dusted with Doritos flakes is an aha moment.

Second, there’s also a lower carbon footprint with 22 Days, as it appears the company has kitchens operating all across the country, so there’s no shipping your meals from New York to LA, for example. That’s a really big bonus for the planet. A vegan diet is already much better for the planet than eating meat and dairy-rich products, but shipping dinner across the country would make it counterproductive.

I also love that they went full vegan with 22 Days and not just vegetarian. The difference between vegans and vegetarians is that vegans don’t eat dairy products, eggs or honey, while most vegetarians do.

Egg and cheese-eating vegetarianism is an antiquated diet trend that was really popular in the ’60s and ’70s a la the Moosewood Cookbook days. Back then, you could get “clean” dairy and eggs from small family farms and since it didn’t kill the animal–it was more of a slight inconvenience–those foods were considered safe and healthy to eat. But when it comes to most of the dairy and egg products today, they’re mass produced in gnarly factory farms. Veal is a by-product of the dairy industry and egg-laying hens endure some of the worst farm conditions of any animals. So, in other words, if you’re going to be a modern vegetarian, you might as well eat meat as there’s little difference to the animals.

But the real benefit to the 22 Days program is the weighty push of Beyoncé and Jay Z. Let’s be real here: If they say you should eat more vegan food, you probably will, and of course, you probably should. But don’t just give it 22 Days; if you really want to do your body and the planet (and those animals!) some good, make plant-based foods the primary part of your diet every day.

Find Jill on Twitter @jillettinger

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How far will the branding of Occupy Wall Street go?

For anyone born after 1965, the current political climate feels like we’re living the pages of a history book. But now, Flower Power is repackaged into 140 characters or less. An iconic image of young protesters flower-bombing police officers is replaced with a soon-to-be iconic image of an 84-year-old activist bombed with pepper spray. For many of us, supporting or opposing the ideals of Occupy Wall Street places us firmly in roles that feel familiar. We’re the hippies, now. The police. The veterans. The armchair activists. We are the American experience.

Except in the 21st century, there’s one big difference. Now, we’re being branded.

It’s ironic, really. Occupy Wall Street is a movement born from frustration with a perceived capitalist’s greed. People are angry, fed up, tired of seeing the inequities of a supposed democratic society washed and diluted into a sea of bad decisions and wasted money. And yet, simply, we are still a society that revolves around consumer demand.

Accordingly, “occupy” has become a buzz word with businesses using it to market themselves and pop culture infusing it into the vernacular. Just, how did we get here?

It started with a casting call on Craigslist. Unemployment rates for the under 25 crowd is at 18 percent, compared to the national average of 9 percent. Hence, young people are pissed. And MTV, the youth network, wanted in. “If you are over the age of 20 and appear to be between the ages of 20-24,” wrote the October 17th, 2011, posting, please send three recent photos and your bio to realworldcasthing@bunimmurray.com.

From this call came “True Life: I’m Occupying Wall Street,” where we met Bryan and Caitlin, two middle class youths disenchanted with their present and future prospects.

Then there was Jay Z’s line of Occupy Wall Street t-shirts. Last week, the rapper-mogul came under fire for marketing a line of Occupy Wall Street cotton shirts on his Rocawear clothing line – without planning on sharing the profits with the movement. Called a “scrotum” with the “political sensibility of a hood rat,” Jay Z was accused of cashing in on a movement that is protesting cashing in. Ironic, but not too.

The t-shirts inevitably disappeared from the Rocawear website.

Then “Occupy” started showing up in blog stories unconnected with the movement. Gawker called a New York Times report on the “sell-out” California college kid’s trend to “Occupy McMansions.” Twilight enthusiasts occupied “Twilight Street” ahead of the latest movie premiere in Los Angeles. In fact, “Occupy” is officially part of our vernacular, soon to be validated as a buzz word of 2011.

Hell, even the conscious businesses are getting in on it. A recent email blast went out from Solar Mosaic to “occupy” rooftops with solar energy. As the company’s enthusiastic press release writes, “Called Occupy Rooftops, this new wave in the Occupy movement is being spearheaded by solar finance company Solar Mosaic and 20 other companies and organizations to help people kick start a project on a building in their community such as a school, non-profit or place of worship.” For as little as $100, you too can have solar energy occupying your home.

It seems as if we’re drawing on Occupy Wall Street like a leviathan swirling around a fleet of rogue pirate ships captained by dashing, dread-headed swains. (Copyright, The Walt Disney Company.) It’s enough to leave you wondering, just who is occupying who?

But if it changes the way we think, does it matter? We are all consumers. In the end, remembering this may be one of the best ways to effect real change. We can choose not to buy from giant chain stores. We can choose to support American-made local businesses. We can invest and bank responsibly. We can buy ethical house wares and local, organic food. And yes, we can even consciously source our energy.

We are the 99%. Time to occupy our own choices.

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