Vegetarian Star

Race car driver Spencer Pumpelly has been a vegetarian for almost a decade and a vegan for about a year of that time. After seeing Farm Sanctuary’s co-founder Gene Baur in the film Forks Over Knives, Pumpelly decided to get in touch with the haven for abused and neglected farm animals to show his support.

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Leilani Munter. Credit: Phil Cavali, TheHotLap.com

“There is nothing to prepare you for seeing it in person. I saw these beautiful dolphins being driven into the cove, and they came out dead bodies.”

–Leilani Munter, race car driver and activist who’s traveling back and forth from the U.S. to Taiji, Japan, home of “The Cove,” and an annual roundup of dolphins, many of which are killed for meat. Previously, Leilani said the fishermen didn’t kill as long as the activists were around. Unfortunately, things have taken a turn for the worst as on Monday and Tuesday, several dolphins were slaughtered in front of her eyes.

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Photo: Phil Cavali

“The race fans forgive me for being an environmentalist because I have a race car. That’s why they’re listening to me; I have a race car underneath me. If I was just a biology graduate, trying to ask them to do these things, I don’t think any of them would hear me.”

–Leilani Munter, to the Department of Energy, on how she is able to connect with NASCAR fans on environmental issues and not turn them off by stereotypes of environmentalists and vegetarians.

In the ARCA race on September 30th, Munter will drive a car sponsored by Operation Free, a group of military veterans who advocate energy independence and action on climate change.

via The Pitch

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Leilani Munter. Credit: Alan Moore

Dolphin killings have resumed at The Cove in Japan, despite awareness brought to the issue by the award winning documentary with the same title. Leilani Munter had written about her plans to visit the area awhile ago, and VegNews caught up with her to get an update on her activist experience.

The race car driver explained that while the activists are watching the area during the season from September through March, the hunters don’t do much killing. But there are not enough people to keep vigil through that entire time, something she’d like to change.

“What we’re trying to do is get a whole team of people to Taiji, and be there for the whole killing season, which is September through to March, because that’s really what needs to happen. If it’s our presence there that’s deterring the killing then we can’t just be there for a week from September 1. That’s the challenge, and for that reason I’m going back to Taiji in a couple of weeks.”

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Leilani Munter. Credit: Alan Moore

Leilani Munter explained to the Huffington Post how she fuels up during race time on the track and on the road.

“Carbs are key. I like a hearty pasta with a meat-substitute. Say a Quorn “chicken” breast cut up and sauteed over pasta, lots of veggies from my garden. I eat a lot of high-protein meat-substitutes. MorningStar Farms has great products. It’s SO tasty.”

“I stock up at the grocery store — fresh produce and meat substitutes — and my garden beforehand. The rest of the team might have hotdogs in the garage, I’ll fire up my Tofurky dogs.”

It’s been said that if humans consume plants from the ground that animals raised for food eat, we’d save a lot of energy, land and feed more people. An article at Food Navigator suggests that eating the plant can also directly give you to the taste of meat–as long as there are a few adjustments made in the laboratory.

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Leilani Munter. Credit: Alan Moore

Vegetarian race car driver and environmental activist Leilani Munter is headed to Japan to join Ric O’Barry in the fight against the dolphin slaughter in Taiji.

Despite The Cove‘s success in educating the public about the slaughter and the film eventually making its way into Japanese theatres after protests and cancellations, Taiji mayor Kazutaka Sangen has made it quite clear he’s not going to let a few people concerned for animals and the humans who will eventually eat the mercury filled meat get in the way of a bloody tradition.

In an interview with the Associated Press, Sangen said, “We will pass down the history of our ancestors to the next generation, preserve it. We have a strong sense of pride about this. So we are not going to change our plans for the town based on the criticism of foreigners.”

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Leilani Munter. Credit: Alan Moore

Race car driver Leilani Munter comes in as the #1 eco athlete on Planet Green’s Planet 100.

“At number one, biology graduate turned race car driver, Leilani Munter is on a mission to ensure every race car uses clean, renewable biofuels and every race track has a recycling program. Self described “Vegetarian Hippie Chick,” Munter uses her celebrity status to inspire race car fans to make a difference. She is focused on getting the 135 million Indy and Nascar fans to recycle and use efficient bulbs—small actions that add up to big changes.”

Leilani’s a fantastic example of a green athlete, given her diet and environmental activism, but how did Hannah Teter not make the cut?

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Leilani Munter. Credit: Alan Moore

Leilani Munter and her husband keep an organic vegetable garden fueled by compost in their backyard at home. On the track, this professional race car driver has placed recycled bins and sold t-shirts made from plastic bottles to spread her eco-friendly message to her fans. Munter, a self-described “vegetarian hippie chick” recently spoke with EcoStiletto on the environment, her vegetarian diet and racing.

Best Eco-Friendly Tip To Readers:
I want everyone to realize how much a choice at the dinner table can affect our environment. The single most important thing that you can do to help our planet is to cut back or, even better, give up eating meat. I know that not everyone reading this is going to become vegetarian, but I hope they will at least try to reduce their meat consumption, even if it’s just one day a week like meatless Monday!

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