14 DAY TRIAL // When celebrities go vegan, they do so with a lot of fuss and countless media interviews meant to encourage others (regular people) to go down the same path. When stars turn their back on veganism, some criticism inevitably appears but at least in one case it’s not warranted. Actress Bryce Dallas Howard explains in the July 2010 issue of Self why she had to go back to her meat-eating ways.
While some may choose becoming a vegetarian for solely health considerations or because they want to lose weight, in Bryce’s case it was all about standing up for something she believed in: namely that man has no right to eat the meat of other animals. Of course, there were also many health benefits that the star got to experience firsthand, but that was not what prompted her to consider this lifestyle in the first place, she says. The decision to go back to eating meat was imposed on her by her own health, she explains.
“I was a vegan for several years – all the way through my pregnancy and the birth of my son. Becoming Vegan was actually more of a personal choice than a health choice for me, but there were many wonderful health benefits that came along with that lifestyle. Unfortunately, I learned a few months after my son’s birth that I actually had a rare condition that was triggered by pregnancy, where consuming the amino acids from meat became critical to my health. My doctor sat me down and finally said, ‘Bryce, you need to choose between your ethics and your future’,” the actress says for the mag.
Eventually, she had to choose health over principles – which is probably a choice anybody else would have made – but that’s not to say it was an easy step to make. Moreover, all the things she learned while being a vegan will not be so easily forgotten. “It was actually a very challenging and emotional transition to make, but I was grateful to my doctor for putting things in perspective for me, and I was grateful for my time as a Vegan as I now have such a more profound appreciation for where my food comes from,” Bryce explains.
One of the most fervent believers in the health benefits of being a vegan is undoubtedly actress Alicia Silverstone. She said on countless occasions she was “converted” to this lifestyle by pure chance, but it’s now something she could not imagine her life without. Being a vegan not only helps her stay slim and energized, but also ensures she has wonderful skin and hair.