Vegetarian Star

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.”

(more…)

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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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Photo: Phil Cavali

“If I was just another vegetarian, tree hugging, biology graduate asking people to give up meat and stop using plastic bags, I don’t know how many people would be listening to me. But because I drive a race car, I have an ability to reach a new audience of people that most environmentalists are probably not talking to.”

—Leilani Munter, (from Savings) race car driver who’s publicly spoken out about environmental and vegetarian issues, and often incorporates green themes into her racing, such as placing recycled bins at the track and selling t-shirts made with recycled materials.

Leilani recently took the time to record a PSA on the oil spill in the Gulf Coast. Sure hope her influence helps prevent a catastrophe like this again.

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Race car driver Leilani Munter has recorded a PSA for Athletes Go Green on the effects of food on the planet as a way to raise environmental awareness.

Eco friendly racing is not an oxymoron when you’re Leilani, who encourages fans to get involved by putting recycling bins at the track, selling clothing made from plastic bottles and recruiting sponsors to display their green messages during race time.

Now she’s hoping NASCAR and IndyCar fans will skip the barbeque after the next big race.

“I think a lot of people don’t realize that more greenhouse gas emissions go into our atmosphere from raising animals for food than all of the planes, trains, ships, automobiles, SUVs and all other forms of transporation combined,” Leilani says in the video. “Raising animals produces methane, which is 21x more heat trapping than CO2. So if you want to do something good for the environment that’s easy to do, cut back on your meat intake.”

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Photo: Phil Cavali

Sporting News magazine is featuring one of NASCAR’s 50 Most Beautiful People, Leilani Munter.

Leilani is famous for her motto, “Never underestimate a vegetarian hippie chick with a racecar.”

Leilani set a goal to make what some would call one of the most environmentally unfriendly sports green.

Her goal is to power her racecar to speeds at 200mph with biofuel and take those dangerous curves on the track with recycled tires.

She’s placed recycling bins at the track and frequently speaks out about the benefits a vegetarian diet has on the environment.

She also maintains a blog containing earth friendly ideas and education.

Oh,  yeah, there’s also her racing history.

From Sporting News:

“Munter has been racing since 2001 and last year became the fourth woman in history to race in the then-Indy Pro Series, the development league of Indy-Car. Prior to running in the then-Indy Pro Series, she spent six years in stock car racing, earning 19 top-10 finishes and nine top-five finishes in 39 starts. In 2004, Munter also set the record at Texas Motor Speedway for the highest finish for a female driver at the 1.5-mile speedway with a fourth-place showing.”

Did you know she’s also a master at battling the chocolate war?

During an interview, Vegetarian Star learned she never craves sweets.

Now you really have a reason to be jealous.

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