If you caught the Oprah show today, you may have been surprised to see that Oprah and her staff- some 378 men and women- participated in Oprah’s Vegan Challenge. For 1 week, they left behind their usual fare of dairy, eggs, butter, meat, fish, and all other animal products and even the HARPO cafeteria started serving some vegan options. I thought I was dreaming when I saw the preview for this show because I did not expect this, but I was so proud of Oprah and her staff for bringing attention to this topic. I took some notes to share with you because I know many of you were not able to watch the episode.
Journalist and food expert Michael Pollan, vegan author Kathy Freston, and journalist Lisa Ling were invited onto the show to talk about veganism and being conscious of where our food comes from. Oprah was clear in stating that everyone needs to make the choice for themselves and the show was neither pro-vegetarian nor pro-vegan, but pro-education, much like her show with Pollan several months ago.
Oprah claims that many of us are ‘disconnected’ from the animals, meat industry, and the food we eat each day. As reported by the USDA, 10 billion animals are killed in the US each year for consumption. With such a staggering number, it is important to question how our food gets to our plates.
Michael Pollan thought the Vegan Challenge was fun because it makes people conscious of what they eat. I had to agree with this because when I became a vegan, for the first time in my life, I started reading the ingredients that were in my food. I was shocked to find out that I didn’t know what half of the ingredients were and I still find myself looking up mystery ingredients on a weekly basis.
Oprah’s staff member, Jill, emptied out every item in her fridge that had an animal product in it. By the time Jill went through her fridge, it was virtually empty. She was shocked how much food contains animal products.
Pollan admits to eating meat 1-2 times per week, but states that he doesn’t eat industrial or feed-lot meat and he supports small-scale, local farmers that do not feed the animals grain (i.e. corn or corn by products). Michael’s goal is to REFORM the meat industry, not eliminate it. While I would love to see a meat-free society some day, I do realize that Michael’s approach is probably the most realistic.
As a rare look inside a meat farm, Lisa Ling travelled to Cargill Meat Solutions– one of the largest meat companies in the US. This part of the episode was the most emotional for me to watch. They described the process that each cow goes through from the feed lot to the slaughtering to the processing. Each cow at Cargill spends 200 days at the feed lot where they are fed corn and corn by products. This is to fatten up the cattle where they gain about 3 pounds per day. Each day, 4,500 cattle are sent to the slaughterhouse where they will be guided through maze-like pathways for 2 hours to calm down prior to slaughter. I could almost feel the chill in the air as I watched this somber part of the clip.
It was extremely hard for me to watch the animals looking into the camera, just moments before death. Kathy Freston described how I was feeling when she said, ‘watching the animals in the slaughterhouse didn’t sit right with my soul.’ I could not have described my own emotions any better. It is one thing to read something from a book, but to actually see it happening is very real.
Not surprisingly, the episode did not show the 4 inch bolt that is shot through every cow’s head during slaughter. They did, however, show the pain on Lisa Ling’s face as she watched the slaughtering. The carcasses then go through the process of skin removal, sawing, and chopping/grinding the parts. This part was very graphic, but I was happy that they did show this behind the scenes look because I think it is important to connect ourselves to what we eat. The most shocking thing about this slaughterhouse was that it was supposed to be one of the ‘better ones’ and that many, unfortunately are much, much worse than was portrayed.
The show ended with vegan author, Kathy Freston who served as the vegan guide for Oprah and her staff members during the vegan challenge. Kathy took staff member Jill to Whole Foods to show her examples of vegan foods she could cook for her family. I expected Kathy to show her beans, legumes, lentils, vegetables, fruits, nuts, or seeds, but sadly, Kathy showed her a plethora of packaged fake meats, fake mayonnaise, fake cheese, and fake ice cream sandwiches. I strongly believe that a vegan diet does not need to rely on processed, imitation products, so I was disappointed to see this focus. When I first went vegan, I tried all the fake meat products because that is what I thought I was supposed to eat, but my real satisfaction with veganism only came when I experimented with non-processed foods like grains, beans, lentils, vegetables, nuts, and seeds. That is when it all clicked for me and I knew that I could do it long term.
Oprah and her staff member’s reactions to The Vegan Challenge were very interesting to watch. One of Oprah’s staff members, Joe, said he felt so amazing that he was going to convert to a vegan diet. Oprah, said it was definitely ‘doable’ to eat a vegan diet, but she would be ‘veganish’ from now on, meaning that she will think more about the food she eats and try to eat more animal-free foods. Her partner, Stedman, wants to continue the vegan challenge because he enjoyed it so much. Other staff members admitted that they wouldn’t be converting any time soon, but they did admit that it made them think about what they eat each day. Out of 379 participants, they lost a total of 444 pounds and gained a total of 84 pounds. Some participants said they gained weight because they relied on ‘vegan junk food’ too much. I thought it was great that they showed both sides of the story because it is just as easy to eat unhealthy on a vegan diet as it is a non-vegan diet! I don’t like the portrayal that veganism is some kind of weight-loss diet though.
To end the show, Oprah and staff members at HARPO announced that they will be holding a Meatless Monday each week in honour of this challenge. I think this is a great idea and it shows that no matter what kind of diet you do chose eat, you can always make changes, big or small, to impact the system.
If you are interested, there are a bunch of video clips from today’s show on the Oprah website.
Did you see Oprah’s Vegan Challenge show? What did you think? Do you ever go meat/animal-product free or participate in Meatless Monday?
I was so irritated that Kelly went straight to the fake vegan products on that show and couldn’t mention other places in your diet to get protien other than tofu, seitan and tempeh. Um – hello Broccoli.
It reminds me how interpretative vegan food really is. A great example is when she tries to “veganize” meals. I think that’s missing the point. If you REALLY want a slice of pizza, you aren’t going to be satisfied with the replica. So, eat something else instead that actually tastes good.
It reminds me of a recent experience I had eating at a veg restaurant in Banff over the weekend called Nourish. They have ZERO meat replacements on their menu and their food was seriously amazing. It signalled to me that their chef actually wants to make food using real ingrediants and not processed substitutes. It was super exciting and I felt that eating experience didnt’ totally come through on Oprah.
That restaurant is AMAZING :)
I didn’t catch it, but I don’t eat meat. I actually feel a little guilty about my reason though. The main reason I don’t eat meat is because I absolutely can NOT stand the taste or texture of it. No red meat, no poultry, no seafood, YUCK!
The only animal product I eat is Greek yogurt because I have never found a good replacement for it and I don’t particularly think I’m doing anything “bad” by eating it. It really helps me get protein in, and has no soy or gluten in it which I can’t have!
The show was set to be recorded, but because of the ice storm we’re having here, the local news cut into the whole thing! I’m bummed that I didn’t get to watch it, but I’m sure there will be a re-run of it soon.
Thanks for the summary. I wasn’t able to watch yesterday but hope I can catch some of the clips. I appreciate reading your thoughts because you have also helped me realize how attainable veganism can be!
I currently eat meat, but have definitely been more concious of my food decisions in the past few years since reading Pollan’s The Omnivore’s Dilemma and watched Food Inc and other similar documentaries. I am glad Oprah tackled this topic since she has such a wide audience. If anything, I hope it makes people realize the impact their food decisions make.
I totally agree with you that Kathy should have shared a more of a healthier approach to veganism, and not go straight to the processed meat section. There is so much Sodium in the stuff! I recently just found your website and I love it. I currently try to eat vegeterian, but I also eat seafood, NO meat or poultry. I also am a runner, your recepies are delicious, I have made a few and they have all been a hit. Keep up the great blog!
Kasia (Chicago)
I’m not a consistent Oprah watcher, but I’m bummed that I missed this show. While I am not a vegan, there are days that I pretty much follow a vegan diet – I just do not like to use the label. Too often I hear about people who are vegan or vegetarian but still follow an unhealthy diet – just like it is possible to follow a very healthy meat-eating diet, it is very easy to follow an unhealthy vegetarian diet – and I think it is important that people realize that! I follow Meatless Monday every day, but my goal is to inspire my friends and family to do the same!
Great post!
I thought that it was really great that Oprah did this- but I too was really disappointed with the focus put on all the processed vegan “substitution” foods. The only substitute I use on a regular basis is other milks, and occasionally Earth Balance in baking. Every once in awhile I do cook with seitan or tofu or vegan cheese, but these things are definitely not staples; fruits, vegetables, and grains are. I wish that Kathy could have taken a broader, healthier look at vegan eating.
Great recap Angela! I just watched the DVRd episode this morning. I was so excited at the concept of this show, but felt pretty frustrated while watching it. I wish they had talked more about the health benefits of eating a plant based vegan diet. Kathy just barely touched on it and could have said a lot more. The health benefits were what really got my attention when I made the switch to eating vegan.
I wish Oprah would have a nutritarian show with Dr. Joel Fuhrman. The word needs to be spread about the nutrients in our food (or the lack thereof).
All in all, I was glad Oprah got people to be more mindful of what they eat. And she opened the doors of communication about a worthy topic.
I recorded the show and watched it last night– I thought it was great that attention was brought to WHERE our meat comes from, and hopefully made some people more conscious about it! I totally cried when they showed those cows during the last meal of their lives, and I know that was definitely one of the more humane meat plants!
I, too, cringed when Kathy was pushing all those fake meat substitutes, but I went through that phase when I started a vegetarian lifestyle myself– I think it’s a good “transition” for people who really miss meat. But I definitely prefer eating REAL foods now!
I already follow a pretty “Vegan-ish” diet, as they called it yesterday, but I hope this inspired more people to at least start celebrating Meatless Mondays!!
I don’t watch Oprah (or much TV, in general), so did not view this episode.
Oprah’s audience is among the broadest you will find. So to have her focus on the topic of veganism, means that many people are thinking about it — perhaps for the first time. You must first take a moment to consider food, in general, to take steps toward well-being. So that’s great.
I tend to believe that being vegan, or eating veg/vegan does not require a lot of extra processed/expensive products — in fact, it can cause your food bill to drop, if you simply are eating “lower on the food chain.” However, I think that you have to consider that Oprah’s broad audience may have found the notion of never eating anything resembling cheese/meat again such a giant leap, that they’d have written off veganism altogether. And for many folks, simply switching out some vegan options (earth balance for butter), can drastically cut the amount of saturated fat they are consuming — and it generally wouldn’t make sense to ignore that there are meat substitutes on the market.
Thank you for the recap, I never watch Oprah but heard about this show and was interested. I’m 90% vegan but will never give up animal products entirely, there are WAY to many important reasons not to. I am all for better quality meat and better treatment of animals, and hope that change will come soon, but unfortunately, it will take a LONG time, if ever. And some people need meat more than others so becoming entirely free from animal products would literally kill some people. I highly recommend you look into the Blood Type Diets from Dr. Peter J. D’Adamo. Apart from my son, finding his book, Eat Right 4 Your Type, is the most amazing thing that has ever happened to me. We all have different dietary needs. By the way, I have never commented on any of your posts before but visit your site EVERYDAY and LOVE so many of your recipes. And I love your positive energy! Thank you for inspiring many of us :)
I saw the show and thought overall it great! I’d say my biggest critique was related to Kathy Freston’s shopping trip with Jill because of all the packaged vegan products being pushed on the family. As a loyal reader of OSG I was thinking that they should have had you on the show to show that vegan foods can taste great without having to turn to faux meats or pre-packaged items. I really think that your recipes could inspire more people to consider more vegan choices.
I have not read all the responses (too many). But, regarding Kathy Freston’s segment at Whole Foods, Oprah’s show obviously did the editiing which may have omitted what Kathy wanted included. For example, Kathy might have talked alot about other sources of protein (not the fake stuff) but the show, for whatever reason make a deicision to include the fake stuff. As viewers we never really get the whole picture only the edited version.
Also regarding Kathy’s comment “…it didn’t sit right with my soul.” I believe that some people are truly more sensitive than others. So, the killing of animals does really bother them when others are not so bothered. Sort of like some of us can be surgeons and others faint at the sight of blood. I’m trying to point out that were all are unique. No judgement is always a good mantra (of course, excluding things that are immoral or illegal).
This is a great post, Angela. I didn’t watch, but I enjoyed reading about it. I would really like to eat more meatless meals, at least- so it was very interesting to me. I’m glad that they showed both sides to the story about gaining/losing weight, as well- that’s one of my pet peeves!
Hi Angela!
Awesome post. I unfortunately missed the show, but your recap (and ALL the comments it generated) was the most interesting read!
I have been vegetarian for more than 7 years and have just made the transition to 100% vegan this past month, and have never felt better :)
I think overall it was probably a positive topic to get people thinking, despite the promotion of “fake meats”. You gotta start somewhere, and meat replacements are probably less intimidating to the general public that is vegan interested, than completely overhauling their dietary patterns all at once. If they are serious about it, they will figure out whole grains, legumes and veggies are best and most delicious in their natural state!!
thanks for the recap. i really wish i hadn’t read some of the comments. i realize not everyone here is an ethical vegan. but it is hard for me to keep reading about women who say they can’t be vegans for health reasons. i really wish someone like you who is really healthy and happy on a vegan diet would get some bloodwork and prove that iron levels and so forth can be fine on a vegan diet.
I was very happy that Oprah had the show on going Vegan for a week. The only part that I was not happy with is that it gave the impression that slaughterhouses were compassionate places. I know in Vermont Bushway Slaugherhouse was closed down by an HSUS undercover agent
for skinning a veal calf alive and electrocuting veal calves that were too scared to get up. I hope the show will help educate people and make the world a more compassionate place.
I was actually really surprised that Kathy went straight for the fake meats… as a vegetarian I am glad not to eat meat textures anymore… I have never tried nor do I intend to try fake meats. As an animal lover it is hard for me to understand how anyone could eat meat from a large factory after seeing the clips from Oprah (for Food Inc.). I am disappointed that Oprah seemed against being Vegan, it was like she was scared to take sides or state her real opinion. As for being a vegan, I am going to try. But I feel like I may buy animal products from the farmers markets.
I think your assessment is DEAD ON! I watched the show and agreed that it was presented fair, but was also slightly astonished when Kathy was showing the family all the fake products. I was vegetarian for YEARS and RARELY ate the fake products because I hated the taste! That was like 10 years ago, but still. I was able to load up on fruits, veggies, nuts, whole grains, dairy (no vegan for me haha) and tofu and I could stay clear of the fake stuff. All in all I thought it was one of the best Oprah shows I’ve ever seen (and I got to see a show in person last year! haha)
Angela,
I did see the episode and I couldn’t agree with you more about Kathy’s comment that it “didn’t sit right with my soul”. As soon as my fiance saw the preview about the slaughterhouse, he questioned me if I REALLY wanted to watch, but I definitely did, because I think that you definitely need to know where your food comes from. I had my doubts about veganism prior to discovering your wonderful website, but with your assistance and after actually SEEING the “humane” slaughterhouse on Oprah, I know that I definitely can. I have developed such a love for cooking, mostly thanks to you! Even my fiance (who has jokingly dubbed himself a “meatitarian”) has willingly agreed to try a week as a vegan with me, especially after I have made him so many of your recipes that he absolutely loves. Thank you Angela for bringing such awareness and opening my eyes, and so many others, to veganism and the true purpose and benefits to it.
xo
Becca
Thanks for your comment Becca! :)