Vegetarian Star

Bryant Terry

Food justice champion and eco-chef Bryant Terry doesn’t use any animal products in his recipes, but the author of Vegan Soul Kitchen would prefer to keep the “V” word out of conversation.

He told Oregon Live why:

“One of the things people associate with vegan cuisine are all those processed “meat” products, like textured vegetable proteins, which I avoid entirely. I just like cooking with real food. I want people to really understand that when they’re eating plant-based, real foods it’s flavorful, delicious and healthy. That’s why I originally didn’t want my book labeled “vegan.” It’s a good way to encapsulate what I’m doing, but it’s also limiting because it’s bigger than veganism. It’s about this rich history and tradition of African Americans, and people in the South eating good, local, seasonal food. I think people need to understand that since the perceptions of African American and Southern cooking are so negative.”

So if Terry had to pick a name to describe what he eats and advocates, what would it sound like? Something to the tune of ingredientist-localist-seasonalist-soufulist. We hate labels too, but thank goodness vegan is so much shorter.

“Ingredient-driven local, seasonal, soulful food. I don’t eat animal products, but I intentionally don’t label my diet. I want to encourage people to really consider their values — what type of food system do they want to see; how do they want animals to be treated; how do they want the local economy to develop. I want people to think about these things first, rather than choosing a label and then eating accordingly.”

Visit Oregon Live for the entire interview.

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