Vegetarian Star

Michael Franti, who mostly follows a vegan diet, is very outspoken on humanitarian and environmental issues, and uses his platform as a well-liked musician to bring about change.

For over a decade, he’s helped organize the Power To The Peaceful Festival, a concert held in San Francisco annually that raises funds for good causes.

He’s also helped collect shoes at his concerts for the charity, Soles4Souls.

Franti interviewed with Global Grind, where he touched on the topics of endangered species, both animals and humans living in poverty.

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Some musicians get bras and panties thrown at them on stage. Michael Franti (who gave us this lovely interview months ago) would prefer to have the ladies (and the guys) shoes. Being the charming fellow he is, he gets what he wants.

In an interview with CBS’ Early Show weather anchor Dave Price (lover of vegan chocolates), Franti discusses his work with the charity Soles 4 Souls. He’s on a mission to collect 100,000 pairs of shoes at his concerts. Unfortunately, not all fans wait to donate at the bins.

“Sometimes I’ll say ‘Well, we need shoes,’ and I’ll explain to people what we’re doing and people start throwing them on stage and I start having to dive,” Franti explains.

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Michael Franti is the musical creator of Michael Franti & Spearhead, a band that blends hip-hop with funk, jazz, reggae, folk and rock. Franti’s Say Hey (I Love You) reached #18 on the Billboard Hot 100 and was featured on the Showtime series Weeds and during the opening credits of the 2010 film Valentine’s Day. Franti is an outspoken proponent for social justice and will perform a live acoustic version of his upcoming September 21, 2010 album release, The Sound of Sunshine, at the 12th Annual Power to the Peaceful Festival in San Francisco.

In an exclusive interview with Vegetarian Star, Franti addresses the issue of raising children vegetarian, Meatless Monday, John Mayer and more.

You have children. What’s your take on raising children vegetarian/vegan? Should parents force it on them? Or wait until they’re old enough to decide?
I feel when you raise a child, you raise them with whatever circumstances you live in. If you take an Inuit family in Alaska, for example, they eat fish year round and there’s no choice. They don’t have an option so the kids grow up eating fish and never think otherwise. Whatever you choose to feed your kids is your decision and in America we have a lot of choices. You’re not forcing your child, you’re just choosing to eat a certain way. But I do think as kids get older, just as they want to play video games, sports, watch TV or whatever – it’s their own choice and we have to respect the choice of others. My oldest son decided to become vegan when he was 14 and that was on his own accord. He’s now 23 and still predominantly vegan. My 11 year old son eats chicken from time to time but he’s never wanted to have any kind of beef or pork or anything like that.

Between tofu, tempeh and seitan, what’s your favorite?
Tofu. Because it doesn’t give me gas and the others do. I like the flavor of tofu. Some people don’t like the flavor of plain raw tofu, but I love it. I toss it into just about everything – salads, smoothies, shakes, everything.

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