Photo by sashimomura Used with permission 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!
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!
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