"I don't think you should eat something that had a mother" - Vegan NBA Player

[Menudo Terremoto Williams]

http://www.ajc.com/sports/content/he...05lvVEGAN.html

Veg out with Hawks' vegan player
Stoudamire crosses over to healthy cuisine

By FAITH DAWSON
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 04/05/07

In June, Atlanta Hawks guard Salim Stoudamire abandoned his diet of junk food and animal-based foods to become the Hawks' only vegan player. (Vegans typically only eat food from plants — fruits, vegetables, legumes [dried beans and peas], grains, seeds and nuts.) So when team chef Bradley Rouse cooks turkey chili or Cajun catfish for the rest of the team, Stoudamire gets grilled tofu and quinoa (a high-protein grain).

Stoudamire recently sat down to talk about being a vegan in a sport dominated by carnivores.
Keith Hadley
(ENLARGE)
Atlanta Hawks guard Salim Stoudamire has lost 3 pounds since becoming a vegan last June. "My endurance has gone up, and I haven't gotten tired at all during the whole season." His meal includes tofu and pasta.

SALIM STOUDAMIRE'S 5 FAVORITE VEGETABLES
• Broccoli
• Tomato
• Carrots
• Squash
• Potato

Q: Why did you become a vegan?

A: I've always wanted to be one because of health, but I never wanted to go eat by myself or have people talk about me. But I finally reached a point where I just didn't care what other people thought, and I didn't have a problem with eating alone.

Q: None of your teammates goes with you?

A: They don't eat like I do. They look at my food and are disgusted. [They're] like, what's that, what's that?

Q: Did you lose weight after you became a vegan?

A: I lost 3 pounds, and I'm in better condition. My endurance has gone up, and I haven't gotten tired at all during the whole season.

Q: So this wasn't prompted by animal rights?

A: Sort of. I don't think you should eat something that had a mother. I don't think that's right.

Q: The Hawks Media Guide says your favorite food is macaroni and cheese. Explain.

A: It used to be! Not anymore.

Q: What's your favorite food now?

A: My favorite dish is brown rice with steamed vegetables and tofu.

Q: What would you say if I told you Philips Arena sells excellent hot dogs?

A: No — that's disgusting to me.

Q: I have a list of famous vegans for you: Prince ...

A: Prince is a vegan?

Q: Yes! Gwyneth Paltrow, Andre 3000, Pamela Anderson.

A: Pamela Anderson's a vegan? I don't believe that!

Q: It's true! She's a PETA spokeswoman. ... How are you on dates? Do you have to tell your date not to order the Buffalo wings?

A: I have a [non-vegan] girlfriend. ... She'll go to vegan restaurants with me. She's into it. She'll be converted one day.

Q: Vegan restaurant in Atlanta where we're most likely to see Salim Stoudamire?

A: Soul Vegetarian!

Q: How do you feel about the NBA's return to the leather ball?

A: I like that ball because I grew up with that ball.

[TJinTX]

Originally Posted by Menudo Terremoto Williams

A: Sort of. I don't think you should eat something that had a mother. I don't think that's right.
.
.
.
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Q: How do you feel about the NBA's return to the leather ball?

A: I like that ball because I grew up with that ball.

That's hilarious.....

[Dave McNulla]

Q: It's true! She's a PETA spokeswoman. ... How are you on dates? Do you have to tell your date not to order the Buffalo wings?

A: I have a [non-vegan] girlfriend. ... She'll go to vegan restaurants with me. She's into it. She'll be converted one day.

and as soon as they break up, she'll go out and get a double double, animal style.

[cd98]

Originally Posted by TJinTX

That's hilarious.....

Apparently Salim didn't get that leather basketballs come from animals that have mothers.

[dark21horse]

Originally Posted by cd98

Apparently Salim didn't get that leather basketballs come from animals that have mothers.

Yeah....and apparently he didn't get that the sneakers he wears came from sweat-shops from people who have mothers.

[WhiteChocolateJr]

That the ball is leather...as are Salim's sneakers no doubt ought to cause any vegan's eyebrows to raise.

That said, the use of the leather ball versus the slippery-synthetic version from tip-off from a PETA or animal salvation standpoint is an absurd argument. According to Spalding sources as well as the NBA, the leather used in the manufacturing of NBA balls comes from already-dead cows, and "not a single cow will live because [the league] changed to a composite ball."

Still funny that Salim didn't infer the REAL question being asked and side-step that one.

[polk]

Originally Posted by WhiteChocolateJr

That the ball is leather...as are Salim's sneakers no doubt ought to cause any vegan's eyebrows to raise.

That said, the use of the leather ball versus the slippery-synthetic version from tip-off from a PETA or animal salvation standpoint is an absurd argument. According to Spalding sources as well as the NBA, the leather used in the manufacturing of NBA balls comes from already-dead cows, and "not a single cow will live because [the league] changed to a composite ball."

Still funny that Salim didn't infer the REAL question being asked and side-step that one.

I can see where the interviewer was going with the question but I guess as long as Salim isn't having basketball with a side of Nikes for dinner, he is OK.

[Jones]

He's not eating the shoes or the leather ball, as polk said. It's hilarious to me that some of you guys are trying to tear him apart for not being a good enough vegan in your eyes. Like you even care. He said he did it for health reasons.

[Menudo Terremoto Williams]

Originally Posted by Jones

He's not eating the shoes or the leather ball, as polk said. It's hilarious to me that some of you guys are trying to tear him apart for not being a good enough vegan in your eyes. Like you even care. He said he did it for health reasons.

Amen!

[dark21horse]

I was joking about the sneakers part. It would be different if he said, "I am a vegan cause I want to be healthy" and left it at that. To add, "I don't think you should eat something that had a mother" brings a whole new element to the discussion. Does it mean that its not okay to eat something if it had a mother, but its okay to wear something that had a mother? That statement doen't make since to me, which is why I made the joke about the sneakers.

[buttsR4rebounding]

Originally Posted by Jones

He's not eating the shoes or the leather ball, as polk said. It's hilarious to me that some of you guys are trying to tear him apart for not being a good enough vegan in your eyes. Like you even care. He said he did it for health reasons.

Actually...

Q: So this wasn't prompted by animal rights?

A: Sort of. I don't think you should eat something that had a mother. I don't think that's right.


So, if he's doing it strictly for health reasons...wonderful! I went 4 years once w/ no meat. It was for health reasons 100%. I had no problem w/ meat from a social justice standpoint. If he did it for animal rights then his leather belt, leather seats, etc. are indeed hypocritical. That's all.

[maldoror]

Originally Posted by buttsR4rebounding

So, if he's doing it strictly for health reasons...wonderful! I went 4 years once w/ no meat. It was for health reasons 100%. I had no problem w/ meat from a social justice standpoint. If he did it for animal rights then his leather belt, leather seats, etc. are indeed hypocritical. That's all.

So if someone has a lifestyle change to be vegan they should dispose of all their leather products? Sounds wasteful and nonsensical.

He has no control over the ball the NBA uses and if he has a shoe contract he may have no control over his shoes either.

[dark21horse]

Originally Posted by maldoror

So if someone has a lifestyle change to be vegan they should dispose of all their leather products? Sounds wasteful and nonsensical.

I don't know if anyone said that.

[maldoror]

Originally Posted by dark21horse

I don't know if anyone said that.

No one may have specifically said it here but some people think that though.

[WhiteChocolateJr]

Originally Posted by Jones

He's not eating the shoes or the leather ball, as polk said. It's hilarious to me that some of you guys are trying to tear him apart for not being a good enough vegan in your eyes. Like you even care. He said he did it for health reasons.

I'm not sure where you are getting that I'm trying to "tear him apart for not being a good enough vegan." I was a lacto-ovo vegetarian for two+ years for strictly health reasons, and anyone that is able to maintain such a strict diet gets my nod.

That said, Salim didn't say he was maintaining a vegan lifestyle solely for health reasons. Rather, his reasons outlined in the article were a blend of traditional health ones alongside one absolutely moral in nature. Specifically, Salim posited in the article that he maintains his diet at least in part due to his belief that it is "wrong" to eat as food those items which originally "had a mother." In this context, one would certainly expect him to eschew or at least voice an opinion against using a leather ball and wearing sneakers made from the exact same bovines-with-mommas that he steadfastly refuses to allow on his dinner plate.

In other words: it isn't about "tearing him apart" so much as it is questioning the consistency by which he holds himself to such a seemingly strict personal code.

(And to another comment: though anecdotal, I do know of several people who "turned vegan" and got rid of their leather products. Yeah, it could be viewed as "wasteful" in some respects, but it was deemed a necessary step in order for the persons involved to feel as though they were living in line with the new lifestyle. Plus, it no doubt gave them an excuse to buy more hemp products.)

[maldoror]

Originally Posted by WhiteChocolateJr

I'm not sure where you are getting that I'm trying to "tear him apart for not being a good enough vegan." I was a lacto-ovo vegetarian for two+ years for strictly health reasons, and anyone that is able to maintain such a strict diet gets my nod.

That said, Salim didn't say he was maintaining a vegan lifestyle solely for health reasons. Rather, his reasons outlined in the article were a blend of traditional health ones alongside one absolutely moral in nature. Specifically, Salim posited in the article that he maintains his diet at least in part due to his belief that it is "wrong" to eat as food that originally had a mother. In this context, one would certainly expect him to eschew or at least voice an opinion against using a leather ball and wearing sneakers made from the exact same bovines-with-mommas that he steadfastly refuses to allow on his dinner plate.

Not necessarily. Leather is a secondary by-product of the meat industry. Cows are not being killed for the leather. If no one ate meat and cows were killed for leather then someone could argue that by using leather you are contributing to the killing of the animal. In this context using leather is not necessarily as hypocritical as some people think.

[dark21horse]

Originally Posted by WhiteChocolateJr

I'm not sure where you are getting that I'm trying to "tear him apart for not being a good enough vegan." I was a lacto-ovo vegetarian for two+ years for strictly health reasons, and anyone that is able to maintain such a strict diet gets my nod.

That said, Salim didn't say he was maintaining a vegan lifestyle solely for health reasons. Rather, his reasons outlined in the article were a blend of traditional health ones alongside one absolutely moral in nature. Specifically, Salim posited in the article that he maintains his diet at least in part due to his belief that it is "wrong" to eat as food that originally had a mother. In this context, one would certainly expect him to eschew or at least voice an opinion against using a leather ball and wearing sneakers made from the exact same bovines-with-mommas that he steadfastly refuses to allow on his dinner plate.

That's my point. To me it is not enough to say "I will not eat anything that has a mother". Why stop there? Why not stop wearing things that have a mother? To say I will not eat anything that has a mother, but still wear leather shoes sends a mixed message.

[evenstar]

thats awesome!

i don't have the patience to be vegan, but i comend anyone who does i do eat vegan meals, but there is no way i could abandond meat. thats not happeneing ;)

[WhiteChocolateJr]

Originally Posted by maldoror

Not necessarily. Leather is a secondary by-product of the meat industry. Cows are not being killed for the leather. If no one ate meat and cows were killed for leather then someone could argue that by using leather you are contributing to the killing of the animal. In this context using leather is not necessarily as hypocritical as some people think.

Again, it comes down to consistency of his own personal code. The central assumption here is that WEARING or USING something that originally had a mother is tantamount to EATING the same. Since all we have is a brief interview, I don't know what Salim would say given the matter. What I can infer from the article is that the health reasons cited (e.g., slimming down, more energy, etc.) seem to be more a factor in his decision than the comment about eating "animals with mothers," which may have been made off the cuff.

If, in fact, my inference is incorrect and the primary reason for Salim's diet is the moral one, then it is a fair expectation and logical extension to apply the same code to other uses of leather items, given his original reasons as defined. In this context, one could certainly make the case that he would NOT wear sneakers, belts, or other personal items made of leather. Even if it is a a fact that the leather available for use in such products is there to be used regardless of whether or not the meat is eaten by the individual, one would likely expect that a personal so abstaining from meat for a moral stance as Salim has done would additionally take an individual stance against the personal use of leather.

Even if one person refusing to wear sneakers made from the hide of a cow were to have zero impact of the sales, production, and overall industry of leather sneakers, doing so would appear to an outside observer to be more harmonious, that is, in line with the stated code self-prohibiting the eating (and therein, the personal use) of animal products.

[knownalien]

i applaud him drumming to his own tune!!

[zipper-boy]

Eat mur Chiken!

I think we should give up eating beef and wearing leather because cows produce more carbine than automobiles, this will allow us all to drive bigger cars. Buy as much plastic and rubber as absolutely possible because it will help President Bush and his buddies make tons of money!

Just in case you don't get it I'm making fun of everyone (Dems, Reps, Gore, Bush and you)!

[WhiteChocolateJr]

...and somehow, I envision the line at WholeFoods getting a lot longer after I post this.