AR-News: Kucinich hopes U.S. is ready for vegan president

[jim robertson]

Kucinich hopes U.S. is ready for vegan president
Long-shot Democratic candidate says his only vice is being 'a member of 
Congress'

Mark Leibovich, Washington Post   Wednesday, November 12, 2003


Washington -- Dennis Kucinich is hungry for the nation's biggest job and a 
plate of kidney beans.

At the moment, the kidney beans are more realistic. He walks into his 
favorite Capitol Hill restaurant -- Taverna the Greek Islands -- and orders 
the beans. They arrive in a few minutes, along with Kucinich's usual plate 
of hummus with wheat pita bread, sliced zucchini sauteed in olive oil, a 
tomato and onion relish, a Greek salad without feta cheese and a pot of 
boiling water with lemon wedges.

This is comfort food for the long-shot Democratic presidential candidate. He 
has spent a long day of campaigning in New Hampshire followed by a flurry of 
votes in Congress. He is, in all likelihood, the first major party vegan to 
run for president. He ingests no beef, poultry, fish, dairy or animal 
products.

Kucinich also eschews processed foods, caffeine, alcohol and tobacco.

Does he indulge any vices? "Yes," he says, "I'm a member of Congress."

Not for long, if all goes according to Kucinich's plan. He envisions waking 
up in the White House on Jan. 21, 2005, and sitting down to a presidential 
breakfast of oat groats sprinkled with walnuts, bananas, coconut and 
raisins, a bowl of miso soup, wheat toast and a plate of fresh vegetables.

Is red-meat America ready for a vegan president? Or, more to the point, is 
red-meat America ready to elect a vegan president who is Dennis Kucinich, 
57, a figure whose long-shot status in the presidential race is a result of 
many factors besides his diet. He is little-known nationally, barely shows 
up in polls and his signature political experience -- mayor of Cleveland in 
the 1970s -- landed the city in financial ruin.

But at the very least, the prospective First Vegan eats extremely well --

and as any candidate will attest, eating well is not easy in the long, 
bustling course of a campaign. Eating vegan would be nearly impossible, 
except Kucinich has a network of people across the country who will secure 
him a righteous meal on short notice.

And yes, he says, America is ready for a vegan president. He doesn't 
proselytize. "Food is so personal to people," he says. He doesn't bring up 
the subject of his diet and voters never ask him about it.

Kucinich embraced veganism nine years ago at the inspiration of a former 
girlfriend, Yelena Boxer. Before his conversion, Kucinich says, he would 
typically eat breakfasts that included steak, eggs, cereal and six glazed 
doughnuts.

Today, he weighs 135 pounds, which is down from a top weight of 158. He has 
more energy, requires less sleep (five hours a night) and almost never gets 
sick -- all of which are essential to surviving the grind of a campaign.

"I've ended up with a level of energy and health and clarity that goes 
beyond anything I've ever had in my life," says Kucinich.

"It just makes sense for me in every way," he says of his diet, which he 
says conforms to his commitment to peace, tolerance and the humane treatment 
of animals.

Kucinich is not perfect on animals. He owns at least one pair of leather 
shoes. As president, he would not impose his vegan outlook. At state 
dinners, the Kucinich White House would offer non-vegan as well as vegan 
fare. A world of carnivorous dignitaries can rest easy.

As the plates are cleared, Kucinich goes off-vegan and on-message: He 
reiterates his opposition to the war in Iraq, his commitment to universal 
health care and his prediction that the race for the Democratic nomination 
will not be settled until the convention.

He wipes away a smudge of hummus and concludes his testimony on self, 
country and diet with a question: "Is this story running in the food 
section?"


http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2003/11/12/MNGSL2VEOG7.DTL



The thinking [person] must oppose all cruel customs no matter how deeply 
rooted in tradition and surrounded by a halo. When we have a choice, we must 
avoid bringing torment and injury into the life of another...
--Albert Schweitzer

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