The Rise Of The Power Vegans

BusinessWeek:

It used to be easy for moguls to flaunt their power. All they had to do was renovate the chalet in St. Moritz, buy the latest Gulfstream (GD) jet, lay off 5,000 employees, or marry a much younger Asian woman. By now, though, they've used up all the easy ways to distinguish themselves from the rest of us--which may be why a growing number of America's most powerful bosses have become vegan. Steve Wynn, Mort Zuckerman, Russell Simmons, and Bill Clinton are now using tempeh to assert their superiority. As are Ford Executive Chairman of the Board Bill Ford (F), Twitter co-founder Biz Stone, venture capitalist Joi Ito, Whole Foods Market (WFMI) Chief Executive Officer John Mackey, and Mike Tyson. Yes, Mike Tyson, a man who once chewed on human ear, is now vegan. His dietary habit isn't nearly as impressive as that of Alec Baldwin, though, who has found a way to be both vegan and fat at the same time.

It shouldn't be surprising that so many CEOs are shunning meat, dairy, and eggs: It's an exclusive club. Only 1 percent of the U.S. population is vegan, partly because veganism isn't cheap: The cost comes from the value of specialty products made by speciality companies with cloying names (tofurkey, anyone?). Vegans also have to be powerful enough to even know what veganism is.

"CEOs are smart. There just hadn't been enough exposure for people to glom onto this trend," says Ingrid E. Newkirk, president of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. "The information is everywhere now. Instead of 'Better buy this blue chip,' it's 'Better eat vegan.' " When Newkirk learned Wynn had become a vegan, she didn't think the news was crazy. "Having dolphins in a small tank outside a casino is crazy," she says. "Ordering vegetables is not."

Read the whole story: BusinessWeek

Comments

[grod805]

12:49 AM on 11/30/2010

Well it is a lot easier to be vegan when you're rich. Not saying that its not do-able for the average person, but these people have chefs and are able to get whatever they want.

[DandaPanda]

10:01 AM on 11/10/2010

Being a vegan is not political: it is a healthy compassionate choice.

[ElaineS]

04:58 PM on 11/08/2010

Go vegans! Whether you're wealthy and powerful or not, going vegan is a kind and sensible choice. Each vegan saves more than 100 animals every year, regardless if they have rags or riches.

[WillowG]

10:22 AM on 11/08/2010

I don't care why anyone goes vegan. All that matters is that they do! It's even better that people in "high profile" positons are choosing this healthy lifestyle, because whether we like it or not, these folks are often looked to as examples.

[Justin Van Kleeck]

11:50 AM on 11/07/2010

This article bothers me, as a strict ethically motivated vegan for 12 years, rather than making me feel better. Perhaps these and other "power vegans" made the change for ethical reasons, but the article makes it seem more like something motivated by a fad or to show off and seem "hip." That sort of action is hypocritical, not ethical, and I think it degrades every person who switches and sticks to veganism in order to reduce the suffering humans cause other animals. Regardless of one's attitude about veganism, it is not hard to feel saddened and cynical after reading this sort of thing. I am glad to have more people being vegan, but it should be done respectfully and whole-heartedly.

[honeybear64]

12:33 PM on 11/07/2010

Justin - this was beautifully stated. We vegans have enough of a problem as it is with being labelled "elitist" without this kind of stuff being put out there.

I'm likewise glad that veganism is gaining popularity, but to be honest I've always been something of a contrarian, and the fact that veganism seems to be becoming a fad would almost be reason for me NOT to want to convert, had I not already done so.

Those who become vegan because it's "hip" will soon learn, through hard-won day to day experience, that their diet is not as popular as they think it is, and that it takes real commitment to stick to it.

I was at a Halloween party last week, and this one guy, who must have weighed 450 pounds if he weighed an ounce, went back to the buffet table FIVE times for huge plates of hot wings and BBQ meatballs, and no one said ONE WORD. I helped myself to a heaping plate of broccoli, cauliflower, and carrot "crudite" and some sliced oranges, and at least three people said something along the lines of: "aren't you gonna get yourself some real food? You're too skinny as it is". (Note: I am 15 pounds overweight for my height and build.)

I don't know about the circles Bill Clinton and Steve Wynn travel in, but in my world healthy eating in general is considered suspect, and veganism is considered downright outrageous.

I'm your first fan.

[Justin Van Kleeck]

01:03 PM on 11/07/2010

Hey Honeybear...ha ha ha. You rock. Seriously, I know what you mean. On one hand I am glad to see so many vegans, since it means so many animals being saved. But having started before "vegan" was even a familiar term for most folks, I share your concern about the current motivations. I guess I (we) should just stop being cynical and celebrate the cultural spread of veganism. Nevertheless, the philosopher in me cringes at shallow motivations and a lack of concern for the true reasons to do something like avoiding animal products. Hope to talk to you again soon!

[DandaPanda]

10:04 AM on 11/10/2010

JVK: rather than questioning motives we should embrace the idea of high profile people advocating this choice. ( oh and i fanned u2)

[Justin Van Kleeck]

10:17 AM on 11/10/2010

Hey DandaPanda, I definitely understand where you are coming from. Perhaps it is purist of me to cringe at this, but I just do not think it is good for anyone to do something unless they truly believe in it. Just doing it to get power or notoriety or what have you is, for me, unethical...perhaps not as unethical as killing and eating an animal, but still unethical. I am glad, though, that more people are becoming aware of veganism...though we (and vegetarians) still only represent like 3% of the population or less. :)

[ciarrai]

11:16 PM on 11/06/2010

Every study and each bit of research points to a vegan diet as the most healthy. Why do we have to debate and discuss as it is accepted fact that it is the healthiest way to go. Plus, you don't have to drag around all the guilt of meat-eating. So many sentient beings caused so much pain and suffering and fear to satisfy our taste buds.
Does this make any sense?

[honeybear64]

11:34 PM on 11/06/2010

As a vegan, it makes me sad to read comments like this. The issues are SO much more complicated and contingent than you suggest. No, it's NOT true that "each bit of research points to a vegan diet as the most healthy" (although much of it does). You can live off of Pop-Tarts and Oreos and be a vegan, but I doubt anyone would call that a healthy diet. A healthy vegan diet is healthy, but then so is a healthy omnivorous one - it's tautological.

If you don't think sentient beings suffer pain and fear when their habitat is displaced and they're mutilated in discing, plowing, and combining equipment to harvest that soy for your Boca Burger, or that wheat for your multi-grain bread, then you're seriously out of touch with reality.

Giving up animal products is not a "free pass" to feel superior to other people. We all need to source our food carefully, to the extent we are able.

There are good reasons to go vegan, if you do so in a healthy and environmentally responsible fashion. But show a little respect to the conscientious omnivores out there - it's entirely possible that some of them eat a diet that causes far less suffering than yours does.

Don't take this too hard - it's coming from a fellow vegan. I'm just trying to give you a leg up on overcoming the naivete that often afflicts newbie vegans.

Cheers
HB

[Vickster]

11:40 PM on 11/06/2010

There are very few studies that have dealt with the vegan diet since it is so new and the number of people who follow it are less than one percent of the population. I do know of two studies that found 92% of vegans and 63% of vegetarians have serious B12 deficiencies. Studies have also found that vegetarians run the risk of serious mineral deficiencies, including calcium, iron and zinc. There's a good chance that vegans would have fared much worse if they had been included in these studies.

[honeybear64]

12:25 AM on 11/07/2010

Hey Vickster -

Thanks for the thoughtful message. I worry about people who give up animal products without doing any research into the nutritional implications of doing so. I've always been something of a health nut (including back in my omnivorous days) and an enthusiastic follower of nutrition research, so my switch to a vegan diet hasn't presented the issues you raise, but there are a lot of people out there who rely on simplistic vegan propaganda to just give up animal products without giving another thought to nutrition.

It really becomes a problem when people eat a very poor omnivorous diet to begin with and are barely hanging on by the proverbial nutritional thread, and then give up the animal products and, with them, the essential nutrients for which they were the only source. As I like to say, a cheeseburger-fries-and-a-Coke diet minus the cheeseburger is not healthy veganism (not that that diet WITH the cheeseburger is healthy omnivorism).

Just for the record, the studies you mention demonstrate deficiencies in blood lab results, but the evidence for demonstrable symptomatic clinical deficiency is almost non-existent. The reasons for this are not clear at this point.

With B12, supplementation is necessary for vegans, but the problem is often one of malabsorption, a problem which affects omnivores too, especially with age.

The minerals you mention are entirely available with a vegan diet, but you have to actually eat your veggies and not rely on vegan junk food.

[entreMundo]

10:53 PM on 11/07/2010

Your blind hatred of vegetarianism is quite troubling. You come to every thread to spew the same garbage: why not work on making your own life better, instead of worrying so much about others?

[HazelPethigFan]

11:08 PM on 11/06/2010

As a farmer, I really have no side to take in the meat vs vegan debate. If someone likes meat..do that. If someone does not like meat...do that. I don't care either way.

What I dislike is food extremism. Common sense is out the window. It's a no win for everyone. The left was sent a message this last week. Many traditional Dem farmers (yes there are many and i am one) voted Rep due to the leftie food extremism that has gone completely out of control. The antiAgScience/antiGMO agenda of urban liberals has made many farmers now distrust the Dems. The recent ban on GM beets has opened many many farmer's eyes.

[Bruce Friedrich]

09:41 PM on 11/06/2010

Two great videos on ethical veganism are free for download at www.Meat.org (if the link doesn't work, just plug it into your browser).

Meet Your Meat, by Alec Baldwin

Glass Walls, by Paul McCartney

[honeybear64]

10:26 PM on 11/06/2010

Hi, Bruce -

Actually those two videos are both great inspirations for both veganism and conscientious omnivorism - i.e., the rejection of the industrial, "factory farming" model of food production. But I wouldn't say that they are about ethical veganism per se, since they don't address the specific question of whether it is ethical to kill and eat animals in the first place, regardless of how they're raised.

For that, I think that "Earthings" is a more pertinent film.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nkLt88_u5lQ

Granted, the vast majority of meat, eggs, and dairy products in stores and restaurants are the products of factory farms, so that to talk about eating them is, in effect, to talk about factory farming, but the two documentaries you mention still leave open the question, "what if I find alternative sources of these products?".

Those two documentaries make something of a leap in logic with their "go veg" message: kind of like saying "chaining a dog to a fence 24 hours a day is reprehensible, so reject pet ownership!" You need to show me how pet ownership is wrong in the first place, or else I can come back, "what if I provide my pet with a loving home?".

By the way, I'm vegan for ethical reasons myself. I'm just saying the two documentaries you list leave open questions that they pretend to answer but don't.

Cheers
HB

[elcerritan]

10:35 PM on 11/06/2010

You're far too rational, honeybear. LOL!

[honeybear64]

10:27 PM on 11/06/2010

I meant "Earthlings", not "Earthings" - little typo there, sorry.

[Vegan Girl]

09:37 PM on 11/06/2010

I must have read this thread for 4 times by now. It is really interesting, and for the most part, preserves a civil tone. I really like that. I also like the fact that it grows from the inside, that most posts are to respond to other posts. Awesome!

[honeybear64]

10:03 PM on 11/06/2010

I agree 100% (fanned, by the way). It's fairly civil in tone, and is refreshingly different from a lot of other threads I've read that are not much more than vegans and omnivores both

1) lobbing verbal spitballs at each other,
2) demonstrating profound ignorance of how food is produced,
3) sharing misinformation,
4) demonizing anyone who disagrees with them, and
5) resorting to the post hoc fallacy and anecdotal evidence for what is really in all likelihood a multifactorial phenomenon - (e.g., "I went vegan and my health vastly improved"; "I went back to eating meat and now I feel so much better"; blah, blah, blah. Maybe the fact that, whether vegan or conscientious omnivore, you're actually thinking more about food and making more informed health choices has something to do with it?)

While I'm vegan myself, I've never really seen this issue as "vegan vs. omnivore". Instead, I see it as vegan/vegetarian/organivore/locavore/conscientious omnivore teaming up to do head-on battle with factory farming and the industrial model of food production in general.

We vegans have nothing to gain by alienating potential allies in the fight against the mindless support of animal torture, human disease promotion, and environmental degradation. The one attitude I think we can all agree is reprehensible is that of, "I can't abide cruelty to animals if it's in my face, but as long as I don't have to see it or hear about it, I'm cool with it."

[Dogma]

03:39 PM on 11/06/2010

I commend anyone who goes vegan or vegetarian, however, I question the actual health benefits. One could easily argue that these people look and feel better because they have been forced to find healthy alternative to the processed, industrialized and corn syrup laden food that most of us consider to be normal.

I went vegetarian for a few years in my early 20's and I am still suffering from allergies that I acquired during that period. Trust me, it's not for everyone. Yet, it goes without saying, mindless consumption of factory meat at every meal is more than just unethical.

[renl]

07:51 PM on 11/07/2010

People often confuse temporal correlation with causation. As a medic, I see that day in, day out - they just want to attribute allergies and other maladies to factors which are unrelated. A bit like people decided autism was caused by MMR vaccines, because the onset is around the same age. There is nothing in meat (to my knowledge, please educate me if I'm wrong) that you don't find in dairy, eggs, cheese or veg, so you haven't really eliminated anything. Plus, eliminating foods in your twenties should not cause allergies.

But I accept not everyone wants to give up meat and commend your views about factory farming. Myself, I gave up meat a decade ago but have ambivalent feelings about leather...none of us are totally consistent or "ethical", it's nearly impossible. But I would rather at least think about it - many people would rather not, and take every opportunity to attack my preferences and point out inconsistencies. I take their behaviour as internalised guilt!

[Dogma]

04:49 AM on 11/08/2010

Yes, I can see why being a medic and eating meat would be difficult! I jest.

But seriously, I didn't know that there isn't anything in meat that isn't in dairy. The thing is, I didn't just get allergies, but I also was perpetually ill. I read an article by Dr Mercola that in his experience, many people get ill while going vegetarian:

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2010/09/17/angelina-jolie-says-vegan-diet-nearly-killed-her.aspx

I think diet is VERY specific to individuals, which is why it's a nowhere near an exact science. It amazes me that with all our technology and data today, that there still isn't conventional knowledge about diet (aside from sugar and processed foods are bad).

That said, the REAL issue is a moral one. I like the Dalai Lama's position: He said that his health was so poor that his doctor told him he needed to start eating meat, so he only eats it half of the year (either every other day or only in the winter months, I'm not sure).

[fictioneer]

02:39 PM on 11/06/2010

This is an offensive take on a healthy diet. I was a wheat-free vegan when I was broke and just out of college. You don't need to be rich to do it.

[jdmn17]

09:25 PM on 11/06/2010

In fact it can be cheaper. I looked at getting a turkey for my mom for Thanksgiving and just about fell over at the meat prices. WOW, if you shop well, buy what you need, make what you can from dried bulk, like beans then it's not that costly. People forget when they buy premade food they are paying for the materials including sugar etc and for someone else, or a machine, to make it and package it. I'm not vegan, vegetarian, but I can make almost anything I want for half of less of what it costs in the store. And I can make it with better ingredients, fresh ones too

[cirrus9]

01:25 PM on 11/06/2010

The human animal has evolved over eons on a omnivorous diet, and for complete health and vitality, a balanced omnivorous diet is the ideal for the result of that evolution: you and me.

Although no single diet works for everyone, animal products are a completely normal and natural part of an evolved human's diet.

Strict vegans are simply food extremists. Extremism is extremism is extremism.

[Vivian Alicia Evans]

01:45 PM on 11/06/2010

In other words moderation, unless you have problems such as digesting some foods then avoidance is the best course. f&f!

[dopamineboy]

01:45 PM on 11/06/2010

Maybe it has something to do with choice. It's funny how choosing a non-meat diet sometimes creates angry reactions.

[johnmorgan]

01:13 PM on 11/06/2010

This writer really worships CEOs, and I find that stupid. I'll save my admiration for people who care about other people.

[escobar]

12:58 PM on 11/06/2010

Vegan you say ??
Pres. Bill Clinton will live up to that
vow until a succulent piece of meat
is presented in a seductive,
empowering setting.
In year or so there will be photos of him
enjoying a pork bbq sandwich after a
round of golf with Pres. Bush

[cirrus9]

01:13 PM on 11/06/2010

Oh...you were talking about a pork sandwich....for a second there I though you were talking about something else.....

[Dogma]

03:43 PM on 11/06/2010

...or *someone* else.

[JohnCochtosten]

12:45 PM on 11/06/2010

It is not expensive to be a vegan. Just don't buy the fake meat and you're golden. It's very simple.

[maymay2]

01:16 PM on 11/06/2010

It's actually less expensive to be a vegan consider how much money you'll save for having good health. I shop at the local co-opt for the weekly specials and is cheaper than from regular super market chain.

[Mike Andersen Del Percio]

02:16 PM on 11/06/2010

Being a Vegan is actually not healthy at all unless you are taking a lot of vitamins, which are very expensive. So, to be a healthy vegan is expensive.

[veggieone]

01:21 PM on 11/06/2010

My husband and I saved $800 the first year we became vegetarians. It's much easier to cook too.