Kucinich/veganism reaches the SF Chronicle via the Washington Post

[Guest guest]

Kucinich hopes U.S. is ready for vegan president

Long-shot Democratic candidate says his only vice is

being 'a member of Congress'

Mark Leibovich, Washington Post

Wednesday, November 12, 2003

©2003 San Francisco Chronicle | Feedback

 

URL:

sfgate.com/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2003/11/12/KUCINICH.TMP

 

Washington -- Dennis Kucinich is hungry for the

nation's biggest job and a plate of kidney beans.

 

At the moment, the kidney beans are more realistic. He

walks into his favorite Capitol Hill restaurant --

Taverna the Greek Islands -- and orders the beans.

They arrive in a few minutes, along with Kucinich's

usual plate of hummus with wheat pita bread, sliced

zucchini sauteed in olive oil, a tomato and onion

relish, a Greek salad without feta cheese and a pot of

boiling water with lemon wedges.

 

This is comfort food for the long-shot Democratic

presidential candidate. He has spent a long day of

campaigning in New Hampshire followed by a flurry of

votes in Congress. He is, in all likelihood, the first

major party vegan to run for president. He ingests no

beef, poultry, fish, dairy or animal products.

Kucinich also eschews processed foods, caffeine,

alcohol and tobacco.

 

Does he indulge any vices? " Yes, " he says, " I'm a

member of Congress. "

 

Not for long, if all goes according to Kucinich's

plan. He envisions waking up in the White House on

Jan. 21, 2005, and sitting down to a presidential

breakfast of oat groats sprinkled with walnuts,

bananas, coconut and raisins, a bowl of miso soup,

wheat toast and a plate of fresh vegetables.

 

Is red-meat America ready for a vegan president? Or,

more to the point, is red-meat America ready to elect

a vegan president who is Dennis Kucinich, 57, a figure

whose long-shot status in the presidential race is a

result of many factors besides his diet. He is

little-known nationally, barely shows up in polls and

his signature political experience -- mayor of

Cleveland in the 1970s -- landed the city in financial

ruin.

 

But at the very least, the prospective First Vegan

eats extremely well -- and as any candidate will

attest, eating well is not easy in the long, bustling

course of a campaign. Eating vegan would be nearly

impossible, except Kucinich has a network of people

across the country who will secure him a righteous

meal on short notice.

 

And yes, he says, America is ready for a vegan

president. He doesn't proselytize. " Food is so

personal to people, " he says. He doesn't bring up the

subject of his diet and voters never ask him about it.

 

Kucinich embraced veganism nine years ago at the

inspiration of a former girlfriend, Yelena Boxer.

Before his conversion, Kucinich says, he would

typically eat breakfasts that included steak, eggs,

cereal and six glazed doughnuts.

 

Today, he weighs 135 pounds, which is down from a top

weight of 158. He has more energy, requires less sleep

(five hours a night) and almost never gets sick -- all

of which are essential to surviving the grind of a

campaign. " I've ended up with a level of energy and

health and clarity that goes beyond anything I've ever

had in my life, " says Kucinich.

 

" It just makes sense for me in every way, " he says of

his diet, which he says conforms to his commitment to

peace, tolerance and the humane treatment of animals.

 

Kucinich is not perfect on animals. He owns at least

one pair of leather shoes. As president, he would not

impose his vegan outlook. At state dinners, the

Kucinich White House would offer non-vegan as well as

vegan fare. A world of carnivorous dignitaries can

rest easy.

 

As the plates are cleared, Kucinich goes off-vegan and

on-message: He reiterates his opposition to the war in

Iraq, his commitment to universal health care and his

prediction that the race for the Democratic nomination

will not be settled until the convention.

 

He wipes away a smudge of hummus and concludes his

testimony on self, country and diet with a question:

" Is this story running in the food section? "

 

 

 

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