AFD firefighters shun meat to go vegan

June 4, 2006

06:36 PM CDT on Friday, June 2, 2006 By ERIN OCHOA / KVUE News The word 'firefighter' usually conjures up images of brawny men scarfing down hearty meals between calls, but that's not the case for a handful of firefighters in Austin. KVUE Online Video KVUE's Erin Ochoa reports After a recent health scare, an entire shift has gone vegan! Ground beef, cheeseburgers... that's what you might expect

to find in the fridge at any given firefighter station. "It's Texas and we're firefighters, so the stigma is meat and lots of it," said Firefighter Matt Moore, AFD. But at Station 2, "Team C," as they're called, follows a much different diet. They only eat vegan foods. "Nothing that flaps a wing, wiggles a fin, paws a hoof, closes a clam -- nothing or anything related - no milk, no dairy, no butter, no cheese," said Firefighter Rip Esselstyn, AFD. Their health kick started about a few years ago during a routine cholesterol check when a fellow firefighter (who's no longer at this station) tested well above 240. That's the range considered 'high risk.' "I was 152, Josh was like 162, James Rae was 344..." said Esselstyn. So the guys took a united stand. All the guys on the C-shift went vegan. They now take turns preparing and serving vegan dishes during their 24-hour shifts. "Sometimes you bomb big time, and sometimes you create something that's great," Esselstyn said. While their diet has definitely helped lower their cholesterol levels significantly, the idea is still just a little hard to swallow for some of the other firefighters. "In the fire department, we call it worming, so it's to be expected -- but to call the beef council and have then send posters and bumper stickers and then have it inundated on the whole inside the station was really, really -- I mean you've got to take that with a grain of salt. It was a good worm," Moore said. The C-shift is even working on publishing a cookbook. It's expected to be out in about a year. You can learn more on their Web site at www.engine2.org. Peter H

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