There's an old adage that any publicity is good publicity. And hopefully Jay-Z's recent announcement that he will go vegan for 22 days will draw more attention to vegan (or better yet, raw vegan) as a lifestyle choice and get the conversation going. Jay (whose real name is Shawn Corey Carter) wrote on his website earlier this week that on Dec. 3, the day before his 44th birthday, he would embark on a challenge to go "completely vegan, or as I prefer to call it, plant-based!!" Then he asks readers to let his friend Marco explain the benefits of such a diet. Marco, as it turns out, sells a line of vegan energy bars.

As L.V. Anderson writes for Slate:

"On the surface, at least, Jay Z appears to be endorsing not the environmental, health, and moral benefits of veganism so much as his friend’s line of expensive diet foods.

"Of course, shilling for your friends’ brands is nothing new for pop stars or hip-hop royalty—and I’d rather Hova promote vegan snack bars than, say, a company with a pattern of racially profiling its customers. But given the convenient brevity of Jay’s abstinence from animal products and the underlying commercial aspect of his announcement, I’m skeptical Jay will be a PETA spokesman any time soon."

ABC News notes that Jay-Z's wife, Beyoncé Knowles, will be joining him in the 22-day vegan challenge. We'd like to see a spin on Caryl Churchill's Obie-winning play "Top Girls" (which features a scene involving five historical female characters at a dinner party), in which Jay-Z and Beyoncé arrive late at a dinner party of converts to veganism, which also includes Bill Clinton, Al Gore, and a few other celebrities.

Let the party begin!

Former Vice President Al Gore, who is 66, has become a vegan, according to one sentence in a Forbes Magazine piece by Ryan Mac: "Newly turned vegan Al Gore is also circling." (Mac's article is about Hampton Creek Foods' plant-based egg substitutes and the fact that such people as Bill Gates and environmentally friendly billionaire Tom Styer are company's backers.  "Hampton Creek has examined the molecular properties of 1,500 types of plants to find species with the best characteristics for emulsifying into mayo or congealing in a hot pan like scrambled eggs," Mac reports.)

Juliet Eilperin writes in The Washington Post blog "Post Politics": "An individual familiar with Gore's decision, who asked not to be identified because it involved a personal matter, confirmed that Gore opted a couple of months ago to become vegan. Gore's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment." Teacherken writes on Daily Kos: "One could posit that Gore, whose weight had ballooned, took the approach at least in part for health reasons."

We were surprised when former President Bill Clinton became a vegan several years ago, as he was known for eating fast food. Clinton went vegan for health reasons, as Joe Conason reported for AARP the Magazine. Clinton was dealing with heart disease, and his vegan lifestyle helped him to lose the more than 30 pounds he needed to, and has kept the weight off and improved his health,  writes Conason. 

It shouldn't be as surprising that Al Gore, who served as Clinton's vice president, has gone vegan, because Gore has been passionately pointing out for years how environmental change is needed to prevent global warming. It so happens that going vegan does more to prevent global warming than even switching to a hybrid car, so we are thrilled to hear that Gore is now vegan and congruent with his climate message.

Just saw a commercial on MSNBC for The New York Times that talks about great journalism. It features a montage of things, like people reading the newspaper, and articles, and one of those articles has the headline "How to Go Vegan."

This is a great sign!  There's no product called "vegan" that would be paying for that inclusion (as in product placement, also called co-op advertising, in which two or more companies share the cost of the ad). Someone at The NY Times obviously wants to get the vegan message out there!

No, it's not the entire commercial, but the fact that it's in there as prominently as it is, is a real coup for vegans and raw vegans!