Articles Reflecting a Vegan Lifestyle From All-Creatures.org

Vegan (and ex-Vegan) Celebrities

From The VeganRD
October 2024

It's easy to abandon a diet and most people have done so any number of times over the course of their lives. It's not so easy to abandon your principles. Unless, of course, you’ve become convinced that a vegan diet can't support your health. That’s why an evidence-based approach to veganism is crucial. And it’s why vegan advocacy should always focus on the stickiest of all reasons to embrace a vegan lifestyle, which is justice and compassion for animals.

No matter how often it happens it’s always big news when a vegan celebrity starts eating meat. I’m not sure I even knew that Lizzo was eating a vegan diet until she stopped eating a vegan diet. She says she needed to add more protein to her diet and that adding animal foods cured her brain fog. (This is according to People magazine, so take it for what it’s worth.)

I don’t know Lizzo’s situation– maybe she really did need more protein than she was consuming. Or maybe, she suffers from disordered eating. Or maybe, like scores of vegans, she just suffers from too much online misinformation about diet and health.

Whatever the reason, there are lessons here for us animal activists.

• Don’t hold up celebrities as models of anything. They are just people. They are susceptible to the same questionable beliefs about diet as anyone else.
• Don’t promote veganism as some cure-all diet. It may get people to stop eating animal foods for a while, but it can also lead to disappointment or ever more severe restrictions.
• Don’t promote extreme versions of veganism. Lizzo hasn’t exactly given up on veganism; she says she next wants to try a “raw alkaline vegan diet.” To me, this spells more trouble. There’s a thin line between a raw foods diet and disordered eating.
• Don’t insist that vegans never need to think about protein. Some people might in fact feel better with a higher protein intake on their vegan diet. Vegans eating low-calorie diets may need to work a little harder at getting adequate protein. Instead of denying this, let’s support their efforts and help them figure out how to eat a protein-rich vegan diet. Because just eating a variety of whole plant foods isn’t necessarily enough.

There is this theory that most people who go vegan end up abandoning veganism. I’m not convinced this is true. I think the high numbers of so-called ex-vegans are driven by people who are dabbling in different eating patterns in pursuit of perfect health or a smaller body. In a Facebook post about Lizzo’s abandonment of her vegan diet, activist Marla Rose of Vegan Street said this: “Dipping out is not an option when justice and compassion are your guiding principles.”

That’s the truth. It’s easy to abandon a diet and most people have done so any number of times over the course of their lives. It’s not so easy to abandon your principles. Unless, of course, you’ve become convinced that a vegan diet can’t support your health. That’s why an evidence-based approach to veganism is crucial. And it’s why vegan advocacy should always focus on the stickiest of all reasons to embrace a vegan lifestyle, which is justice and compassion for animals.

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Posted on All-Creatures: October 14, 2024
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