Add Jay-Z to the growing list of successful men who don’t eat meat.
The hip-hop mogul announced Tuesday on his blog, that he “will embark on a 22 Days challenge to go completely vegan, or as I prefer to call it, plant-based!!”
Jay-Z may not have made a lifetime commitment to stop eating meat, but there are many other influencers who have, transcending the stereotype that “real men eat meat.”
The trend, which says “I can be strong and powerful and still eat kale,” parallels mounting public awareness about the damaging effects of meat consumption on health and the environment. For some, the welfare of factory-farmed animals is also a concern.
In the United States, vegetarians are still rare: Only 5% of American adults say they are vegetarian, according to a 2012 Gallup study, and just 2% of people consider themselves vegan — people who don’t eat any ingredients that come from an animal, including eggs, milk, and honey.
While the percentage of vegetarians has remained the same over the last decade, this pattern may slowly change as tofu and salads became more fashionable among America’s male movers and shakers.
The founder of Def Jam Records was raised eating meat, but turned full-on vegan more than 10 years ago with a new-found awareness about the environmental impact of eating meat.
'Every day, more and more people are turning vegan, more children are looking at a rib and making the connection that it came from a suffering animal and more people are loving themselves and the Earth they live on just a little bit more by saying no to meat and dairy,' Simmons said told Ellen DeGeneres in 2010.
The entrepreneur, reportedly worth $340 million, is using his fame and fortune to protect animals. He recently launched a 'cruelty-free' clothing line called Argyleculture that will not use any animal products -- meaning no wool or leather apparel -- in its collection.
Booker has been a vegetarian for more than 20 years. The politician credits a meat-free lifestyle for boosting his athletic performance.
'In 1992, I decided to experiment, to try (being a vegetarian) for 3 to 6 months,' the politician explained in an 'Ask Me Anything session on Reddit. ' And WOW! when I did my athletic performance took off, I felt so much better and it comported with other values and ideas I was exploring at the time, so I decided that this is what is best for me. It was a very personal decision.'
Booker also the tried to be a vegan, but gave it up because he couldn't resist ice cream.
The 71-year-old chairman and CEO of Wynn Resorts became a vegan in 2010. The business magnate described his conversion at a vegan tasting hosted by Bon Appetit magazine in Las Vegas.
While on his boat in St. Tropez, Wynn was inspired by 'a handsome Indian gentlemen' who after a year as a vegan 'was 30 lbs lighter and 15 years younger,' Eater quoted the self-made billionaire as saying.
He added: 'The American diet is unbearably suicidal… animal-based diets cause cancer and degenerative spinal disease… and animal-based diets are absolutely unhealthy.'
(Just a note: Wynn isn't a doctor or nutritionist, and we aren't sure where he got his facts from. Studies indicate that meat in moderation can be healthy for most people.)
In an effort to ease the stigma associated with plant-based diets, Wynn mandated in 2012 that restaurants in his hotels have vegan menu options.
Joi Ito, director of the MIT media lab, blogged about his decision to become a vegan in December 2006. Six months later, Ito was 40 pounds lighter and overflowing with praise for his new fruit- and vegetable- heavy eating plan.
'I've never been healthier or happier as long as I can remember and I intend to continue being a vegan,' Ito wrote.
Ito is the CEO of venture capital company Neoteny and chairman of the boards of Creative Commons and Six Apart Japan.
John Mackey, the co-CEO of Whole Foods, has built a grocery empire that's modelled after the executive's own attitude toward food.
Mackey survives on an organic vegan diet that spurns vegetable oil, sugar, and processed food.
The health-conscious supermarket co-founder recently described a typical dinner to the The New York Times:
What did I cook for dinner last night? A salad, with my own walnut-cashew-based dressing, a stir-fry that I made without any oil, because you can do that with just water. It had kale and chard, onions, mushrooms and tomatoes in it, and mashed potatoes without salt or dairy, but I added some almond milk.
Meanwhile, Whole Foods continues to grow as a result of its commitment to healthier, natural, and local food.
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