Natalie Portman has been a vegetarian for twenty years, but was recently inspired to become a vegan by Jonathan Safran Foer's first nonfiction book, Eating Animals. Portman wrote an essay for the Huffington Post in which she compares the book favorably to Michael Pollan's The Omnivore's Dilemma (previously on the blue), and makes this specific criticism of the latter book:

But he reminds us that being a man, and a human, takes more thought than just "This is tasty, and that's why I do it." He posits that consideration, as promoted by Michael Pollan in The Omnivore's Dilemma, which has more to do with being polite to your tablemates than sticking to your own ideals, would be absurd if applied to any other belief (e.g., I don't believe in rape, but if it's what it takes to please my dinner hosts, then so be it).

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posted by Halloween Jack on Oct 28, 2009 - 283 comments

No, I am not just trying to get your attention - there is a Vegan Strip club in Portland. Very much a clash of ethics for some, a great opportunity to 'spread the message' for others. [more inside]
posted by Megami on Mar 27, 2008 - 91 comments

This comment got me thinking about the pro-life/pro-vegan movement. I first encountered these folks at my local food co-op when I noticed some interesting bumper stickers. I was already somewhat aware of the "Consistent Life Ethic" movement, but they don't seem to talk about animals much. Is being pro-choice philosophically inconsistent with veganism? Some claim a resounding "yes", for others it comes down to when a fetus can experience pain, and still others take a hardline. I have to admit that I respect some of these people, if only because they're obviously not in it to make friends. To paraphrase something Steve Colbert said about Jews for Jesus, can you put a price on annoying two extremist groups at once?
posted by brevator on Feb 13, 2005 - 109 comments

Those crazy PETA kids, well, now they've gone and done it. They've admitted that being a vegan is punishment, by sending a letter to the NY Prison Commissioner telling him that "Feeding inmates exclusively vegan food sends a message to inmates and the public that our society isn't molly-coddling them..." Funny, funny PETA people, hoisted by their own celery stick, as it were. I'm guessing that being that anemic makes them a little short on irony.
posted by dejah420 on Feb 24, 2003 - 32 comments

A Vegan Radical Cookbook Project - Share your favorite recipes here! Eat well, and enjoy this spring's nighttime gardening.
posted by sheauga on May 12, 2002 - 26 comments

Veganism nearly kills baby? A New york couple is charged with reckless endangerment after there baby is taken to the hospital underdeveloped and near death. The article doesn't specifically say veganism was the reason for the baby's poor health but strongly impies it. [link via plastic]
posted by drezdn on Apr 30, 2002 - 55 comments

Slaughterhouse webcams.
Would you eat meat if you were confronted by images like this every time you ate it?
I wouldn't.
"You have just dined, and however scrupulously the slaughterhouse is concealed in the graceful distance of miles, there is complicity."
Ralph Waldo Emerson, 1870
Warning: graphic pictures.
posted by TiggleTaggleTiger on Mar 13, 2002 - 51 comments

Lettuce ladies want to slim (clap) you up! I didn't know Elizabeth Berkley was the original lettuce lady. Heck, I didn't even know they existed at all. I noticed the site has some false advertising, though -- on the front page, it says "wearing nothing but strategically placed lettuce leaves..." but how in the world would those tops stay on with straps of lettuce? I guess "wearing nothing but lettuce and green colored underwear" doesn't have the same ring to it.
posted by jragon on Nov 29, 2000 - 11 comments

From the "You learn something new everyday" file: apparently, if you're a vegan, you can't drink most red wines. Luckily for them, there's people selling vegan friendly wines. I've been a vegetarian for about 10 years now, and I was a vegan for a few months until I heard that you're not supposed to eat honey. That was a bit much for me, but like most things, there's always someone willing to take it even further.
posted by mathowie on Feb 8, 2000 - 2 comments