Vegetarian Star

Peter Rojas. Photo Credit: Jill Fehrenbacher of Inhabitat

The Good Ideas Salon, hosted by PSFK and Nissan, will bring together some of today’s most forward thinkers on October 20 to share their ideas on what will make the world better for the future.

Web entrepreneur and vegan Peter Rojas will serve on the panel of distinguished guest for the “Pure Living” conversation moderated by Piers Fawkes (PSFK) and psfk.com gave a preview of what Peter might share during the conversation.

Q: How do you see the ideal of pure living manifesting itself practically in the world today?
PR: In ways that people are living in ways that lessen their impact on the world: living closer to work so they don’t have to drive (as much), traveling less, going vegetarian, etc.

Q: How do you see pure living playing out in the future?
PR: In some respects we won’t have any choice but to live less resource-intensive lives. Barring some breakthrough in renewable energy (like cold fusion), we won’t have enough energy to lead the same kind of consumption-driven lives we lead now. The challenge will be to design an economy that isn’t driven by ever-increasing production and consumption.

For other pure living ideas and to view the entire panel of guests, visit pfsk.com or lean more at goodideassalons.com.

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Photo Credit: Jill Fehrenbacher of Inhabitat

Peter Rojas is the co-founder of the popular tech blog, Engadget, which he later sold, along with other blogs, to AOL. He’s currently spending his days on RCRD LBL, a digital music site he created.

On Accidental Veganism
I became vegetarian when I was 15 or 16 in high school. I think in the early 90s there was a general upsurge in consciousness about issues related to environmentalism. That was my primary reason for going vegetarian.

Becoming vegan was a little different. I didn’t even know any vegans until I got to college. I’d eaten mostly vegan, but occasionally would have something not vegan, but vegetarian, at the dining hall on campus. [After awhile] I realized I had gone probably six months without eating anything that wasn’t vegan and I was like, “I think I’m going to keep doing this.” That was about 12 years ago. There isn’t anything about being a vegan, for me, that feels like a hardship at all. I don’t feel like I’m sacrificing anything.

I read your wife’s (Jill Fehrenbacher) blog over at the Inhabitat and she said one of her New Year’s resolutions was to stop giving in to non vegan sweets. Does it ever upset you when she eats non vegan and gives into the cookies?

It’s a tough life if you’re going to be really judgmental about other people. I tease her about it a little bit. And she’s actually been sort of off and on vegan for awhile. Let’s put it this way, if she would start eating meat, then I’d have a serious problem. I’d probability be really judgmental about that because when we got married she was a vegetarian. I’ve always encouraged her to continue to be vegan. But it wasn’t anything worth getting upset over. That’s not really the way I operate in the world.

A decade ago you had a job for a media planning agency which involved a lot of numbers and because of that, you felt  you didn’t do well. I found that to be a little strange, given the fact that you’re a techie and into gadgets. I kind of imagined someone who is into that as being a good number cruncher.

I’m much better about writing about technology and thinking analytically about technology and the industry and trends. The media planning job was, like, you have 50 thousand dollars to spend in this market and it was really about doing the kind of distribution of funds for ad buying.

It’s actually very different skill sets. Talking about technology and being able to be insightful about technology is very different than being good at crunching numbers.

When you look at Engadget and things that I’ve done, it’s really been about trying to humanize technology and thinking about technology as another form of pop culture and less about hard nose science and engineering.

On Being A Famous Role Model For Veganism
Even though I’m  known to gadget fanatics, I don’t have any delusions as to how well known I might be [to others]. I look at someone like Moby who obviously is very well known. And having him be a presence and spokesperson for vegans does have an impact that obviously I’m not going to have. 

(Joking)Would you ever consider getting naked for PETA?
I don’t think anyone would necessarily want to see me naked. I think I need to start going back to the gym before I do that.

Find out what famous vegans Peter admires, after the jump.

(more…)

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For the final Who Would You Poll of 2008, we’re doing it geek on geek. Peter Rojas co-founded Engadget and Gizmodo, where you have all your nerd techie toys reviewed. Max Levchin created Pay Pal so you can buy those gadgets off eBay after they’ve become outdated-like within a couple of weeks or so after the original owner purchased them. Both are sexy meatless geeks who have loads of money in the bank. So who would you rather do…

Edans on Flickr

flawedartist on Flickr

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Photo: Edans on Flickr

Peter Rojas became a millionaire blogger reviewing electronic equipment at Engadget. Some of his latest entrepreneurial adventures include RCRD LBL, which works with record labels and artists to provide free music downloads. His considers his veganism a “very personal thing,” but for someone so personal, he sure exposed a lot of details of what he ate during the week of July 24th-30th to NYMag.

He and fellow vegan Moby also seem to be stalking each other.

“I always see Moby out at vegan restaurants,” Rojas said. “Half the time I go out to eat he’s there.”

Mere coincidence? Rojas stalking Moby? Moby stalking Rojas? Rather than solve the riddle of the (faux) chicken and (mock) egg, we’d rather be stalkers ourselves and bring you voyeuristic pleasure of learning what Rojas had to eat.

Thursday, July 24
“I was out in California for a couple of days on business, and since the guys I was meeting with knew I’m vegan (twelve years!), they took me to Cafe Gratitude, a raw-food place in San Rafael.”

Friday, July 25
“I got the vegetarian bento box.”

Saturday, July 26
“I got the tofu scramble and home fries.”

Sunday, July 27
“I had some granola cereal from Whole Foods…then cooked a massaman curry with tofu and vegetables. I kind of screwed it up by adding too much lime juice to it — not sure what I was thinking.”

Monday, July 28
“I had more cereal for breakfast. Then I made a smoothie for lunch.”

Tuesday, July 29
“I ordered some Moroccan chickpea thing, which was good (but not great), but the real highlights were the stuffed-avocado salad and the totally vegan brownie sundae.”

Wednesday, July 30
“I had the vegetarian meatballs with Thai black rice.”

And what does he think of what the city that never sleeps has to offer its vegan food patrons?

“There’s a pretty good selection of vegan restaurants in New York — it’s really easy. I kind of wish there were a Manhattan equivalent of Foodswings in Brooklyn — it’s a vegan fast-food kind of place with fake chicken, all kinds of fake stuff.”

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