Jezebel: vegan

Walking Away

Dodai — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 13:30:00 EST

This is the end of the road for Natalie Portman's vegan shoe line, which launched in February. Parent company Té Casan closed up shop for good last month, and Portman's critter-friendly footwear concept, unfortunately, was also shut down. Will she try again somewhere else, or abandon hope? (And since the shoes retailed at $200, is this idea even sustainable?) [NY Mag, E!]

Being A Dude Who Doesn't Eat Meat Takes Balls

Dodai — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 12:30:00 EDT

On the heels of Jessica Simpson wearing a T-shirt which read "Real Girls Eat Meat," a new study was released, claiming that eating tofu can lower a man's sperm count. Soy contains phytoestrogen, which has an impact on semen "quality." But, writing the Guardian, Barbara Ellen asserts that, less virile or not, male vegetarians are sexy. Writes Ms. Ellen:

In this hostile, ultra-macho, morally arid climate, to stand up and be counted as a male vegetarian must require cojones of immense size, much bigger balls, in fact, than your average carnivorous wimp, who just goes along with the crowd.

Of course, in our collective human history, the man was the hunter while the woman collected colorful berries. Fast forward a few millennia and dudes go in for the kill on Wall Street while women forage and collect berry-colored shoes. But like all generalizations, this is only partly true. Men eat berries, women eat meat. And while there was a time that salad bars were for chicks and steakhouses were for the boys, haven't we left all that behind? Are vegetarian (or vegan) guys — presumably educated about the cruelty of factory farming — smarter, ballsier, sexier?

Full disclosure: My boyfriend is vegan. He is not a "hippie," hates camping and never comes near patchouli. He eats, among other things, popcorn, spicy noodles, French fries, jelly beans, guacamole, cookies and tacos made with beans and soy chicken, none of which could be called "rabbit food." So I don't agree with Jessica's previous post branding male vegetarians "sissies." Just like it's offensive to say that eating meat is "manly," isn't it awful to assume that not eating meat is "girly"? Why would caring about what's in your body be gender-specific? And what's up with using "sissy" or "girly" as an insult?

It Takes A Real Man To Say He Enjoys Tofu [Guardian]
Related: Soy Vey! Does Eating Tofu Lower Sperm Count? [Scientific American]
Soy-Based Foods May Lower Sperm Count: Study [Reuters]
Soy Foods 'Reduce Sperm Numbers' [BBC]
Health: Soya-Based Foods May Harm Male Fertility, Say Scientists [Guardian]
Earlier: Do More Men Really Go Vegan Because Of Pamela Anderson's Boobs?
Can Female Vegetarians And Male Carnivores Ever Find True Foodie Love?

Scientists have a warning: Don't listen...

dodai — Thu, 03 Jan 2008 15:45:00 EST

Scientists have a warning: Don't listen to celebrities! For instance, of her macrobiotic diet, college dropout Gwyneth Paltrow has said: "I am challenging these evil genes by natural means. I am convinced that by eating biological foods it is possible to avoid tumors." Claims dietician and nutrition expert Ursula Arens: "Diet cannot prevent cancer. The risks of some of them can be reduced with certain diets, but some cancers, alas, show no link to dietary factors." Gwynnie's pal, fashion designer Stella McCartney says: "Lots of skin products use the same petrochemicals as the antifreeze in your car." To which pharmacologist Dr. Dominic Williams replies: "Propylene glycol is a very versatile chemical which is used primarily as a base in moisturizers, a solvent in food coloring, a carrier solvent in fragrances and in many anti-bacterial lotions. So it might sound scary, but it isn't." Good to know. [Telegraph]