Question

Cat_Barf · Post by **Cat_Barf** » Fri Aug 16, 2002 10:50 pm

When or where did Al say he was a Vegan? I know he is a vegitarian, but I don't remember reading anything that was "official" that put him into the Veganmobile.

Does anyone know what an actual Vegan is? I've always thaought of it as an animal rights activist who is malicious about it politically and domestically. Please correct me if i am wrong. Now just a vegitarian eats no meat or dairy products for personal reasons, right?

Ok, now I haven't read that book "A Diet For a New America," but I read a webpage that quoted that book. It seems to me that this book has a lot of "fuzzy" numbers and statistics that I don't think are entirely credible. I know that somewhere Al was given this book, and then changed his diet. Also, I remember reading that Al never ate that much meat anyway so it didn't matter. This book fails to realize that if all meat production ceased, there would not be any jobs or millions of people in the west. Without the products of meat, several items would not be available to people. And please, don't go off on the pain and suffering gig.

I don't know, but I don't think that Al would be a Vegan and stay quiet about it. And, Al has been quite a politically neuteral person, as far as what's on the web, in the media, and in his music, so if he were a Vegan, he is not a good one.

Obbsesed · Post by **Obbsesed** » Fri Aug 16, 2002 11:45 pm

Well, I'm a vegitarian. That means I eat no meat. Except chicken. (Please don't tell me I'm not a realy vegitarian. My mom makes meso I don't die or whatever)

I always though a Vegan was someone that doesn't eat or wear ANYTHING made from animals or from animals. (i.e. eggs, milk, ect.) Maybe I'm wrong, though. Anyone a true Vegan that can help out?

*Me

Smegabyte · Post by **Smegabyte** » Sat Aug 17, 2002 12:46 am

Does anyone know what an actual Vegan is? I've always thaought of it as an animal rights activist who is malicious about it politically and domestically. Please correct me if i am wrong.

Anyone a true Vegan that can help out?

Okay, I'm not a vegetarian. Nor a vegan. (Can't give up those TWS's!) But here's what the dictionary says:

veg·e·tar·i·an Pronunciation Key (v j -târ - n)
n.
One who practices vegetarianism.
A herbivore.

vegan

n : someone who eats no animal products at all

I've also heard it said that vegetarians will eat the occasional egg, or milk, etc. but that vegans don't eat anything that's produced from an animal. It's a diet thing, not a political thing.

When or where did Al say he was a Vegan? I know he is a vegitarian, but I don't remember reading anything that was "official" that put him into the Veganmobile.

Quoting from the one official source for everything Al...

Is Al a vegetarian?

Yes. He changed his diet in 1992 after a fan gave him a book called "Diet For A New America." He currently eats no meat and also tries to avoid eggs and dairy products. (However, during the shooting of UHF, which was shot during his carnivorous years, he did eat real Twinkie-wiener sandwiches.)

Although accordion to Ask Al, Al sounds like he is a vegan (or at least a part-time one).

CMonkey2000 of Spatula City, Liechtenstein asks: Seriously, how do you rationalize being a vegan and playing a gig at the Great American Rib Cook-Off?

The same way I can rationalize playing at a college even though I’m not a student anymore.

Hope that helped answer your question!

Smegabyte *of course, if anyone out there is looking for inspiration to stick with vegetarianism, I'd suggest reading The Jungle. Eeeeew!*

Post by **scottidog** » Sat Aug 17, 2002 12:50 am

Well, I'm a vegitarian. That means I eat no meat. Except chicken.

Not to pick nits here... but isn't chicken meat? I'm sure the chicken would think so. No, I am not picking on you here. I am not a vegetarian (tho' I do try to do biblical Kosher) so I think it's fine that you eat chicken. But why call yourself vegetarian? Just wondering.

Obbsesed · Post by **Obbsesed** » Sat Aug 17, 2002 1:12 am

Well, I'm a vegitarian. That means I eat no meat. Except chicken.

Not to pick nits here... but isn't chicken meat? I'm sure the chicken would think so. No, I am not picking on you here. I am not a vegetarian (tho' I do try to do biblical Kosher) so I think it's fine that you eat chicken. But why call yourself vegetarian? Just wondering.

There are different types of vegitariens. I'm the kind that doesn't eat red meat basically. I call myself a vegitarien because...um...why not I guess. I'm considered one so, yeah, ya know?

I hope that helped.

*Me

Cat_Barf · Post by **Cat_Barf** » Sat Aug 17, 2002 7:39 am

Ok, that solves some of the problem. I have always been under the impression that vegans are those who try to impose their beliefs on others, and their way is the only way. Maybe I'm thinking more of the PETA gang. And I was always under the impression that Al didn't eat much meat anyway, so it didn't take much for him to make the "switch."

Well, see, I know that my old man has stomach problems and red meat pays a serious toll on his digestive track. Things like pork and roast beef bother his stomach so he eats very little of them.

I agree that there are different kinds of vegitarians. Some may be more strict than others, but however I don't think that there is such thing as a "part-time" vegan. That's kinda like being partly pregnant. I don't think, and I really don't know, that Al is super-to-the-max vegan.

And what about all those TWS's and Ding Dongs in that RWS movie? And the Tamale Pie? Maybe he spit it out or just didn't eat it.

CatraDhtem · Post by **CatraDhtem** » Sat Aug 17, 2002 8:09 am

And what about all those TWS's and Ding Dongs in that RWS movie? And the Tamale Pie? Maybe he spit it out or just didn't eat it.

Ah, but if you notice, Al doesn't actually eat a TWS himself....Steve does.

Justmac · Post by **Justmac** » Sat Aug 17, 2002 7:05 pm

I agree that there are different kinds of vegitarians. Some may be more strict than others, but however I don't think that there is such thing as a "part-time" vegan. That's kinda like being partly pregnant. I don't think, and I really don't know, that Al is super-to-the-max vegan.

And what about all those TWS's and Ding Dongs in that RWS movie? And the Tamale Pie? Maybe he spit it out or just didn't eat it.

Eating Vegan, which means not eating anything that comes from an animal, can be difficult. Some vegans will occasionally eat a cookie or cake that have been made with eggs or milk and not feel the need to jump in front of an oncoming train. I think Al would fit in that group.

Tamale pie can be made vegetarian also. I have never had it, but if Al would like to invite me over for lunch, I'd be glad to try it. :biggrin:

Some people who only eat meat occasionally do refer to themselves as semi-vegetarian. I read that in the Idiot's Guide To Being Vegetarian.

I wonder what Al is having for lunch today.

Debby

Obbsesed · Post by **Obbsesed** » Sat Aug 17, 2002 7:49 pm

Tamale pie can be made vegetarian also. I have never had it, but if Al would like to invite me over for lunch, I'd be glad to try it. :biggrin:

Some people who only eat meat occasionally do refer to themselves as semi-vegetarian. I read that in the Idiot's Guide To Being Vegetarian.

I wonder what Al is having for lunch today.

Debby

Does this mean you are a vegitarian, or did you just read the book?

*Would also be happy to eat with Al*

*Me

mrmeadows · Post by **mrmeadows** » Sat Aug 17, 2002 9:42 pm

Vegans aren't necessarily "political wackos" of the PETA mold. They are just people who, for health and/or moral reasons, refuse to eat ANY food made from or derived from animals. I happen to not be a vegan (or a vegetarian, for that matter), but it doesn't bother me if someone is. Why should I care what someone likes or doesn't like to eat. More power to anyone who refuses to eat particular foods for personal reasons.

I read "Diet for a New America" in junior college and, while the book makes some excellent points against eating meat, it seemed almost more of a "gross-out" book to make you feel sick when thinking about meat (lots of descriptions and pictures of slaughterhouses, etc.). That's a tack that is obviously successful in getting some off of meat, but I found it lacked any hard facts that would convince me that eating meat is bad. It took the road that meat-eating is basically "wrong",

not necessarily unhealthful.

On the other hand, I just read a book about a year ago called "Fast Food Nation" (someone here also mentioned Sinclair's "The Jungle", which I would like to read someday). . .and I haven't had a fast food hamburger since! Plus, I've tried to avoid ANY red-meat consumption considerably (although that's difficult to do sometimes). I won't go into details, but FFN (unlike DFANA) has many facts about the production of meat, what's INSIDE a lot of the ground beef that goes from slaughterhouse to your table, and the way workers at meat-packing plants are treated no better than the cattle being slaughtered in the plant. A great case for shunning Whoppers and Big Macs, if not beef altogether. An excellent book I recommend picking up.

Meadows