Vegetarian Star

Photo: Phil Cavali

Leilani Munter is an environmentalist and race car driver who races in both Indy Lights, the development league of IndyCar and ARCA, a development league of NASCAR.

Is anyone else in your family vegetarian?
As far as family members go, I have two vegetarian nieces right now. All three of my sisters have at one time been vegetarian and my sister Natascha was vegetarian throughout both of her pregnancies and during breastfeeding, which is interesting, because those are my two nieces that are now vegetarians. She told me that she had read that whatever you feed a child from zero to three is what they will crave for life. So she did not feed them meat and both of them are vegetarian by their own choice. Also, when I was a child, I never craved sweets, my mother told me that I always would refuse cookies and ask for parsley instead and to this day, I don’t crave sweet foods.

Is Craig (Leilani’s husband) vegetarian too? Did you have any eco features about the wedding?
Craig is not [completely] vegetarian but I would say he is about 95% vegetarian now. I honestly can’t remember the last time I saw him eat meat and we never, ever bring meat into our house. We had a small seaside wedding in New Zealand (where Craig is from) and we had an eco conscious cruelty free vegetarian meal. Our wedding invitations were printed by Green Field Paper on tree free paper that you can plant and wildflowers will grow!

You volunteered at a wildlife rescue and rehab center in college. What were some of the best parts about working with these injured animals?
The best part was when we were able to release them back into the wild, where they belong. Nothing is more magical than giving an animal its freedom. It is a truly beautiful moment.

In the future, do you see yourself being just as active and public with vegetarianism as you are with environmental issues?
Yes, I definitely would like to be just as active with promoting vegetarianism as I am with speaking out about environmental issues. They go hand in hand. [When] I give speeches on a regular basis, I am often discussing the environment and I always talk about the fact that the meat industry contributes more greenhouse gases into our atmosphere than all the planes, trains, cars, trucks, ships, and all other forms of fossil fuel based transportation in the world. Besides the obvious animal cruelty issues, going vegetarian can do wonders for our environment and for world hunger. Vegetarianism is one of the most important issues that is not talked about nearly enough. We hear a lot about alternative fuels and clean energy, but we need to be talking a lot more about our meat consumption. I know that it’s not realistic to think everyone in the world is going to become vegetarian, but if everyone could just start by reducing the amount of meat they consume, it would change the world for the better.

Learn about Leilani’s Eco-Dream team and her love for cooking with fake meats after the jump… (more…)

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Today is the day NHL player Georges Laraque turns vegan.

The Montreal Canadienes enforcer had been vegetarian for some time and recently told the Montreal Gazette he planned to go vegan on June 1st.

Georges has already blogged about his activism, participating in an anti-fur protest in Canada.

Making the plunge which involves eschewing dairy, eggs, and even certain types of clothing can be a challenge. Some may find themselves “going vegan” several times before they get it right.

Think Georges can pull it off? Give us your thoughts!

Wishing you a wonderful, animal-free life, Georges!

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Vegetarian fashion designer Stella McCartney will be hosting a screening of Home in her West Hollywood store on World Environment Day, June 5.

Home is the masterpiece of filmmaker Yann Arthus-Bertrand, and features shots of the Earth taken from the air.

The Great Barrier Reef in Australia, Pantanal Wetlands near Brazil, and the Niger River in Mali are just a few of the shots taken of 54 countries in 217 days.

Several fashion gurus other than Stella are joining in the celebrated release of the film by offering limited edition sustainable items.

Gucci will feature an organic cotton T-shirt, Sergio Rossi a sustainable shoe called the “Eco Pump,” and Yves Saint Laurent organic cotton and tote bags.

Home is backed by PPR, the parent company of these luxury designer brands. A portion of all profits go to the environmental non-profit Goodplanet.org.

via vanityfair.com

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Jane Velez-Mitchell’s got a new book coming out in October.

iWant is all about her journey to recovering from iwanting too much and that desire leading to overeating, smoking, excessive drinking, and excessive consumption.

Jane is no stranger to sharing her vegan beliefs in her work on Issues With Jane Velez-Mitchell on CNN’s Headline News, and iWant includes a chapter titled, “Veganism/Animal Activism: I Want to Make a Difference.”

Making a difference means making thoughtful purchase choices that will ultimately affect everything surrounding us from the planet to our health to the economy.

According to heeb’n’vegan, Jane writes these choices are sometimes so overwhelming, she has to pray about it.

“Every morsel of food I put into my mouth is an environmental, political, moral, and spiritual choice. Every household product I buy is an environmental, political, moral, and spiritual choice. I always try to think before I choose. Sometimes, when I’m in a quandary, I pray before I choose.”

Making good choices about our purchases isn’t as easy as looking at the bottom line. Organic or local? Vegan company or mainstream business offering a line of vegan products? Trade Fair trade for your favorite brand?

How do you make the tough purchase decisions in your life? What rules do you follow?

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A big slice of vegan birthday cake goes out to the following vegetarian or vegan celebrities today.

• Alanis Morissette (34)

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