Is Bill Clinton a vegan?

[Second Summer]

NO. The answer is NO. Despite what you read in the newspapers and headlines such as this:
Bill Clinton Explains Why He Became a Vegan (by Joe Conason, AARP The Magazine, August/September 2013)

On page 3 of that article, it says:

Once a week or so, he will have a helping of organic salmon or an omelet made with omega-3-fortified eggs, to maintain iron, zinc and muscle mass.

So that should settle that discussion. And of course, even if his diet was vegan, I very much doubt the rest of his lifestyle was vegan.

That said, I think it's a great thing he's doing by showing how a vegan-ish diet can help Americans (and others!) improve their health. There are a lot of overweight and obese people in the US and the western world in general. Also, the more people who join Clinton and want and demand vegan food options, the more options will become available (presumably!) and hopefully it will become a lot easier to be a (real) vegan.

 

[Amy SF]

I think there are several camps regarding Bill Clinton's diet:

1. Those who admire him for trying to eat a little healthier and maybe are even inspired to eat a little healthier themselves.
2. Those who don't give a crap about his diet and continue with their own unhealthy (or healthy) diet.
3. Those who are disappointed that he's not a strict vegan and resent the fact that a lot of people think he is, which only leads to more confusion about what constitutes a vegan diet and what doesn't.

I'm in all three camps.

 

[Forster]

I'm in camp 2.

 

[shyvas]

I'm in N° 1 except for he didn't inspire me to go veg*.

It was thanks to a book I read by an American woman - can't remember her name.

 

[ledboots]

Great, give eggs to a heart patient.

 

[Everleigh]

I think I would be in camp 1.Anything that brings people's attention to the veg* cause is good imo.

Although, he doesn't happen to be my inspiration.

 

[cornsail]

Bill Clinton inspired me to go from vegan to flexitarian. He is a brave hero.

Spoiler

I kid.

 

[ledboots]

I think there are several camps regarding Bill Clinton's diet:

1. Those who admire him for trying to eat a little healthier and maybe are even inspired to eat a little healthier themselves.
2. Those who don't give a crap about his diet and continue with their own unhealthy (or healthy) diet.
3. Those who are disappointed that he's not a strict vegan and resent the fact that a lot of people think he is, which only leads to more confusion about what constitutes a vegan diet and what doesn't.

I'm in all three camps.

I'm in camps one and two, plus the President playing the saxophone corner.

 

[thefadedone]

In camps 1 and 3.
While I think it's great that he's eating less animals, I don't think he should label himself vegetarian or vegan. I have very little tolerance lately with the fish or chicken eating "vegetarians". I was just doing a search on Yelp yesterday for restaurants using the key terms vegan and vegetarian. Almost every single restaurant review seemed to have one of these people. Then there were the restaurants that labeled themselves vegetarian/vegan yet served fish on their veg menu.

 

[RascalsMom]

In camps 1 and 3.
While I think it's great that he's eating less animals, I don't think he should label himself vegetarian or vegan. I have very little tolerance lately with the fish or chicken eating "vegetarians". I was just doing a search on Yelp yesterday for restaurants using the key terms vegan and vegetarian. Almost every single restaurant review seemed to have one of these people. Then there were the restaurants that labeled themselves vegetarian/vegan yet served fish on their veg menu.

This pretty much sums it up. I think famous people eating a little bit of animal products to "keep up levels" confirms for some that you can't be healthy on a strict vegan diet, and that you need to at least occasionally eat animal products to get iron/protein/whatever. It also makes those products look healthy. (Eggs? Really? He has heart problems!)

 

[crystal tips]

I'm in camp 4, no he isn't. I dont subscribe to the dietary vegan thing, that is just a strict vegetarian in my opinion.

 

[thefadedone]

This pretty much sums it up. I think famous people eating a little bit of animal products to "keep up levels" confirms for some that you can't be healthy on a strict vegan diet, and that you need to at least occasionally eat animal products to get iron/protein/whatever. It also makes those products look healthy. (Eggs? Really? He has heart problems!)

But eggs are good cholesterol.

 

[Danielle]

Bill Clinton inspired me to go from vegan to flexitarian. He is a brave hero.

Spoiler

I kid.

me too omg gotta have dat zinc and iron, right?

 

[angie54321]

This pretty much sums it up. I think famous people eating a little bit of animal products to "keep up levels" confirms for some that you can't be healthy on a strict vegan diet, and that you need to at least occasionally eat animal products to get iron/protein/whatever. It also makes those products look healthy. (Eggs? Really? He has heart problems!)

That made me cringe too. It's suggesting that a vegan/vegetarian diet isn't complete without the odd supplement of animal products.

Does Bill actually call himself a vegan? From everything I have seen (admittedly probably only a small amount of media) he has said that he eats a 'mostly vegan' diet - so is it him saying it, or other's claiming it on his behalf?

 

[RascalsMom]

I think others claiming iron his behalf, from what I can tell.

 

[RascalsMom]

Auto correct changed it on to iron.

 

[Amy SF]

It's obvious Bill has fallen off the wagon. It's not easy for some people to remain strictly vegan, especially dietarily. And for someone like a former POTUS, who is constantly busy and traveling, I can imagine how tempting it is to stray. However, I do think there are omnis who will be impressed and be inspired by his story (not just eating more healthy but exercise and walking) enough to try being healthier themselves. The article by Joe Conason is aimed at older readers, many of whom are retired. When you're retired, you tend to sit home a lot and become a stick-in-the-mud, not going out or doing much of anything. I mean, yes, there will always be older folks who go stir crazy and always have to be doing something, but as they continue to get older, it can become harder to stay active, especially as SO's and friends start dying and family members move away or simply don't have the time for the old folks in their lives.

 

[thefadedone]

It's obvious Bill has fallen off the wagon. It's not easy for some people to remain strictly vegan, especially dietarily. And for someone like a former POTUS, who is constantly busy and traveling, I can imagine how tempting it is to stray. However, I do think there are omnis who will be impressed and be inspired by his story (not just eating more healthy but exercise and walking) enough to try being healthier themselves. The article by Joe Conason is aimed at older readers, many of whom are retired. When you're retired, you tend to sit home a lot and become a stick-in-the-mud, not going out or doing much of anything. I mean, yes, there will always be older folks who go stir crazy and always have to be doing something, but as they continue to get older, it can become harder to stay active, especially as SO's and friends start dying and family members move away or simply don't have the time for the old folks in their lives.

I don't think he was ever on the wagon to begin with. From what I've read, he's always included fish in this new diet. I do agree that it is difficult to maintain a vegan diet while traveling, but I think that's a shitty excuse when it comes to celebrities and wealthy people in general. Almost all of them have personal chefs and if they don't then they can sure as hell afford to have one. They also have assistants who they can send out to fetch them vegan food. Plus the money, power, and fame allows them to pretty much have whatever they want.

I agree though that it would be wonderful if this article and Bill's new lifestyle choices help influence others to follow in his path. Hopefully it will also encourage them to do even more research and really become vegan.

 

[Amy SF]

By the way, I have the magazine the article came from. For what it's worth, there are a couple of vegan recipes and a link to more vegan recipes at the end of the article.

 

[RascalsMom]

I don't think he fell of any wagon, either. He's stuck with his new diet - it was just never a vegan one.