Oprah & Promoting Healthy Vegan Eating
Remember Oprah’s 21 day veganesque cleanse? She’s going 21 days without consuming animal products (vegan) plus she’s also not drinking coffee, eating gluten, or consuming sugar. She’s doing a sort of detox that includes a vegan diet. Well, many of us in the vegan community are trying to support her and encourage her viewers to adopt veganism. For example, I wrote her a letter and I’ve been posting on her forums a bit here and there.
Oprah’s doing well. Here are some snippets from her blog:
Sunday: “How can you say you’re trying to spiritually evolve, without even a thought about what happens to the animals whose lives are sacrificed in the name of gluttony?
So this 21-day cleanse gives me a chance to think about it differently and see what my attachments are to certain kinds of foods—and what I’m willing to do to change.”
Monday: “Wow, wow, wow! I never imagined meatless meals could be so satisfying. I had been focused on what I had to give up—sugar, gluten, alcohol, meat, chicken, fish, eggs, cheese. “What’s left?” I thought. Apparently a lot. I can honestly say every meal was a surprise and a delight, beginning with breakfast—strawberry rhubarb wheat-free crepes.”
Tuesday: “I had three meals and two snacks today. They were so satisfying that so far I’m doing great. [...]
I stopped by my favorite restaurant to meet a business associate, but I was so full and satisfied after Tal’s meal, I only ordered sparkling water. (That’s a first!) The smell of garlicky, simmering fillets and steak Dianne were wafting all around me, and I had absolutely no problem resisting.”
Well, Erik at vegan.com is doing a podcast everyday for 21 days to help support new vegans. His podcasts are interesting (not always my style, but interesting nonetheless) and they’re a good beginning point for new vegans. If you’re a new vegan, curious about veganism, or even well versed in veganism you might want to check out these podcasts. They’re each about ten minutes long so they’re quick and easy listening. Here they are…
VegTalk Vegan Challenge Podcasts:
Day #1: Introduction to Going Vegan.
Day #2: Essential Cookbooks.
Day #3: Avoiding Nutrient Deficiency.
Day #4: Eat Your Veggies!
Day #5: Taking Nutrition Seriously.
Day #6: Learning from the Counterculture.
And by the way, if you’re vegan or vegetarian and want to encourage Oprah, you can send her an email by going here >>
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(Crossposted at ElaineVigneault.com)
PS - Bob and Jenna from Vegan Freaks chimed in on the Oprah stuff in their latest podcast. They’re wary of the optimism and think many people will be let down when the 21 days are over and Oprah likely goes back to eating meat. Here’s their podcast:
http://veganfreakradio.com/index.php?id=137
The take-away from their show, in my opinion, is that we should remember that regardless of any celebrity’s fad diet, the vegan community growth is a long, slow road. We’re building a pro-animal society and we shouldn’t count on influential celebrities to do the hard work for us. They aren’t as committed, they aren’t as reliable, they aren’t the movement. We are.
I hope she doesn’t go back to eating meat…she has a lot of influence and if she makes her veganism permanent I think others will follow! Although there might be some “Well sure, I’d go vegan too if I had a personal chef.” We’ll see!