Arianna Huffington And Wendi Murdoch Celebrate Kathy Freston And 'Veganist'

Trays of vegan crab cakes, grilled "meat" skewers, and mushroom-wrapped dates stuffed with soy cheese greeted rain-soaked partygoers at last Friday's celebration of Kathy Freston and her latest book, "Veganist: Lose Weight, Get Healthy, Change The World." Hosted by Arianna Huffington and Wendi Murdoch, the political opposites agreed on one thing immediately: All the food served at the event must be prepared without any animal products, in keeping with the theme of Freston's message.

Celeb guests included Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban, media heavyweights Les Moonves, Brian Grazer, and Bob Iger, environmental activists James Van Der Beek and Kimberly Brook, and vegan adherent Moby. The event was also sprinkled with a healthy dose of AOL employees, including CEO Tim Armstrong, and HuffPost staffers and bloggers.

Halfway through the evening, Huffington took the floor to honor her friendship with both Murdoch and Freston, saying, "Basically, it proves that girlfriends transcend politics!" While not a vegan herself, Huffington had nothing but praise for Freston's easygoing approach to the lifestyle: "When Kathy started talking about veganism, we all thought we were going to feel completely judged by her. But the great thing about her is that she's not judging anybody. She's just asking us to take baby steps."

Wendi Murdoch went on to share a moving story about growing up in China when meat was severely rationed. As a girl, her dream was to one day "come to America, become rich, and eat meat every day." She then deadpanned, "I got my American dream--but then I met Kathy." But all joking aside, Murdoch celebrated the fact that Freston was able to convince her household to go dairy-free and participate in Meatless Mondays.

Freston kept her remarks brief, but like her book, she packed a punch. Appealing to the spiritual dimension of the veganist lifestyle, she emphasized, "there are very few things we can do in our lives that literally transform us from the inside out." Freston was also able to hush the din of the crowd with her statement, "cancer is literally fed by animal protein" and remarked, "Ooh! Silence. I hear that. When you say the 'C' word..." She wrapped up to cede the floor to Dr. Dean Ornish, who contributed a medical perspective to her book, and ended the night posing for countless pictures, signing books, and catching up with friends.

Photos by David Crotty of PatrickMcMullan.com.

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Wendi Murdoch, Arianna Huffington and Kathy Freston

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Comments

[SanBruno]

06:36 AM on 03/01/2011

First of all, why do people associate PETA with anything that mentions meat consumption being linked to illness? I mean -- what's with the PETA bashing? PETA does some out-of-the-ordinary things to draw attention to their causes -- but they're good causes! --- and haven't each one of us behaved outrageously at least once in our lives in order to draw attention to ourselves? Negative attention is better than no attention at all -- right?
My second point has to do with consuming meat substitutes. They're made of soy -- and they're highly processed -- so they're not very healthy. I don't think anyone should classify themselves as vegan if they consume these products. Also, nearly all soy is produced by Monsanto using their genetically modified soy beans -- and Monsanto Corporation is downright scary evil -- so I keep soy products out of my kitchen. Okay...I'm done.

[doctorjay48]

03:52 PM on 03/01/2011

you're out of touch. they are solidly behind the meat causes illness bit. I agree with the Monsanto stuff

[AdamWeissman]

11:55 PM on 03/01/2011

Yes, PETA believes meat is unhealthy. So what? So do an awful lot of nutritionists. PETA didn't invent veganism, nor did they invent the idea veganism is a healthier diet than the standard American diet. PETA also believes that you shouldn't leave your dog in a car with the windows rolled up on a hot day. So since PETA believes this, does that mean that we should therefore do the opposite? Your logic is seriously flawed.

[AdamWeissman]

11:52 PM on 03/01/2011

The vast majority of soy is used to feed animals. Much of the soy used for human consumption is organic and thus non-GMO.

[c-tom]

06:37 PM on 02/28/2011

I've been considering a carnivorist evening where I consume only meat and meat by products. Seasoning will be a problem since pepper and most spices and all herbs are clearly veggies. But salt may be ok (salt not a veggie and not a meat so if vegans can so can carnies). Salt and butter should be enough flavoring.

[doctorjay48]

12:24 PM on 02/28/2011

Sorry to rain on this parade, but there is no evidence that cancer is literally fed by animal protein. This statement is beyond irresponsible! This is the PETA people using the highly flawed China Study, which they say proves their case, when, in fact, statistics compiled by that study supports the opposite. Cancer is influenced by many things, but probably most of all, environmental toxins. The Beluga whales of the St Lawrence seaway have bladder and breast cancer. And yes, they eat other fish, so that is animal protein. So does every animal in the food chain that eats another animal get cancer from it? And the agricultural revolution has and still does devastate the ecosystems. These vegan evangelists start with a belief that they want to be true and cherry pick statistics, and ignore others to support their case.

[AdamWeissman]

11:56 PM on 03/01/2011

Please visit this site: http://www.cancerproject.org/

[Zweiback]

04:27 PM on 02/27/2011

Sounds like a good warm-up for the Oscars--a roomful of pretentious millionaires congratulating each other...

[Nicole Dixson]

11:17 AM on 02/27/2011

The new fad.

[dennissinned]

11:06 AM on 02/27/2011

Wendi gives Rupert prunes all the time.

[Bedazio]

10:08 AM on 02/27/2011

Would eating fish count? I'd like to dive in...

[AdamWeissman]

11:56 PM on 03/01/2011

Fish aren't vegan.

[Bedazio]

07:23 AM on 03/02/2011

I was trying to be crude and get past moderation.

It's tough. :-)

[tjtoday]

09:18 AM on 02/27/2011

It would be nice to eat healthy but follow the money trail.
If the government would promote healthy living instead of subsidizing all the corn and feed for animals our poorer communities eat healthier.
Take a dollar into a local market and see what healthy food you can buy?
Not much but you can buy a bag of chips or cookies for the same dollar.

[JMB8]

08:35 AM on 02/27/2011

Veganist is a wonderful book. I got it for my parents who could certainly use some healthy eating advice. The great thing about Veganist is that it doesn't judge or expect readers to change overnight. It encourages and applauds positive steps, just what people who have been eating a certain way for many years need. Definitely a perfect book as a gift.

[one1byke]

07:40 AM on 02/27/2011

Wendi Murdoch. Tiger Woods. If he were in this article expounding Buddist principles, it'd be a laugh riot. But, now that it's WM, their only concerned with her Vegan preferences?

Since when did she give up meats?

[trainer3]

06:55 AM on 02/27/2011

My neighbor has 2 miniature horses with beautiful manes like that. I think the Rachel has evolved into the Secretariat.

[Grace Hulbert]

02:00 AM on 02/27/2011

How many pairs of leather shoes do you think these women own? Leather Belts? Leather bags/purses, suitcases?

How many of their clothes, furniture, etc are made in sweat shops?

[NathaninSeattle]

02:21 AM on 02/27/2011

Ah, so because you can't do all good things you can't do any? Since when is compassion like pieces of pie that must be divided?

[Grace Hulbert]

12:21 PM on 02/27/2011

The irony is rich & the hypocrisy stunning.

[UrbanAntonio]

09:19 AM on 02/27/2011

Exactly!!! but you are using logic to point out the hypocrisy and utter nonsense of vegans. Unfortunately, vegans do not use logic, they cant as their entire ideology is emotional, delusional and a denial of death. so your comment will fall on deaf & undernourished ears.

[arunsjunk]

12:08 PM on 02/27/2011

For a person professing to be logical and objective, your posts tend to be profuse with adjectives.

[Prince Enki]

12:32 PM on 02/27/2011

Further, A statement such as: " Cancer is literally fed by animal protein" makes me wonder. Has Freston read/ written an academic paper that outlines empirical evidence for her assertion? If she's going to make such grandiose claims, then she has found the cure for cancer. This event is about selling books, nothing else.

[Grace Hulbert]

01:57 AM on 02/27/2011

More vegans means more steak for me!

[sensimilla]

02:37 PM on 02/28/2011

yeppers, fill up those arteries!

[MInchau]

12:48 AM on 02/27/2011

What evidence does she have that cancer feeds off of animal protein? That is not generally accepted by the medical community. I really like her and her message, but I despise when people just throw "facts" out there, based on nothng but a hunch.

[amber15]

03:57 AM on 02/27/2011

why don't you just take that finger and google to find out. Its all available.

I despise when people point fingers instead of researching the "facts" out there, based on nothing but a hunch.

[kahalaman]

05:56 AM on 02/27/2011

Been a vegetarian since I was 13. Been an athlete my entire life and have always had as much strength and stamina as any omnivore.

If people research the health benefits of a meatless diet, like you suggest, they'll be knowing better. Most prefer to live in willful ignorance, however.

[MInchau]

09:17 AM on 02/27/2011

Were you aware that Steve Jobs has been a lifelong vegan?

[Terris Linenbach]

06:27 AM on 02/27/2011

Sugar is also a food source for cancer, so obviously, it's not just animal protein. There are so many other reasons to not kill an animal just so you can eat breakfast. But whatever. We're all going to die and be eaten by worms or crematory fire, so just get out of my way and tread lightly if you can.

[m1jones]

11:46 PM on 02/26/2011

There is a wonderful book which explains how a source of protein from a natural animal once native to the area has restored enormous swaths of the environmentally devastated Great Plains. The short, wonderful, funny book is Buffalo for the Broken Heart by Dan O'Brien. Highly recommended. A heartland tale which will warm the hearts of Republicans, Democrats, and rugged individualists. I think even Tea Partiers will like this story.

Eating beef fattened up on corn in disgusting feed lots which require the animals to be fed huge quantities of antibiotics is envrionmentally destructive as well as very unhealthy. Beef fat clogs your arteries and causes heart disease.

Eating tasty, low fat buffalo meat, from bison who gamboled on native prairie grasses until the day they were humanely shot is healthy. Buffalo has half the fat of corn fed beef, is delicious, and good for the land where they feed on native grasses.

In addition, buffalo, which evolved on the great plains, actually restore the ecology of bad lands (such as those in South Dakota) by the way they graze and move on without overgrazing. It's a great story by a wonderful author. And it will get you rethinking about how you can have a little meat and restore a beautiful habitat at the same time.

Highly recommended. And if you want to buy buffalo meet, go to site wildideabuffalo.org - amazing.

[amber15]

01:11 AM on 02/27/2011

no thanks, most vegans choose this lifestyle so they will not have take the life of an animal....
that's kinda the point.

[QueenBoudica]

03:23 AM on 02/27/2011

F & F!

[doctorjay48]

12:40 PM on 02/28/2011

Sorry. Fat from from grassfed beef does not clog arteries and cause heart disease! Period! Another myth. The fat is virtually the same as that from the grassfed buffalo