Tuesday, April 12, 2011

WTF Natalie Portman?

Celebrity is a somewhat fraught topic in our culture; the inexplicable worship, paparazzi stalking, Stars! They’re just like us. One of the great things about celebrity though is a star’s ability to direct much-needed attention to deserving causes, like George Clooney’s work for the crisis in Darfur, or Sean Penn’s efforts following the massive earthquake in Haiti. These people get attention, money, and resources in a way you or I could not. Veganism has benefited greatly from representation by highly attractive and well-liked celebrities like Alicia Silverstone, Ginnifer Goodwin, and Ellen Degeneres. The downside to this is when one of these representatives ditches their plant-based diet, that too gets a lot of attention and seems to prove all the naysayers right.

Yesterday the internet was abuzz with Natalie Portman’s repudiation of her vegan diet while pregnant. ABC, NBC, FOX, Huffington Post, MSN, Yahoo, Perez Hilton all had mentions of Natalie’s comments, and my heart sank. This is not the kind of press we vegans enjoy. What is especially disappointing is the fact that Portman knows well the benefits of being vegan. In 2009, Portman wrote an articulate and moving piece for the Huffington Post on Jonathan Safran Foer’s Eating Animals and how it influenced her to make the shift from vegetarian to vegan. Portman details the toll taken on the animals and the planet, but most compellingly the toll taken on humans. She writes:

"What Foer most bravely details is how eating animal pollutes not only our backyards, but also our beliefs. He reminds us that our food is symbolic of what we believe in, and that eating is how we demonstrate to ourselves and to others our beliefs...I remember in college, a professor asked our class to consider what our grandchildren would look back on as being backward behavior or thinking in our generation, the way we are shocked by the kind of misogyny, racism, and sexism we know was commonplace in our grandparents' world...Factory farming of animals will be one of the things we look back on as a relic of a less-evolved age."

Only a year and a half ago, Portman was declaring herself not only a vegan, but an activist, dedicated to planting the seeds of her experience in the greater consciousness. Yesterday, however, Portman reported, “I actually went back to being vegetarian when I became pregnant, just because I felt like I wanted that stuff...I was listening to my body to have eggs and dairy.” Listening to your body...a phrase that covers all manner of sins. It’s something I told myself after my first six weeks of being vegan, when I was reluctant to commit to a life without Spaghetti Bolognese and Eggs Benedict; everyone is different, my body wants meat and dairy, I’m just listening to my body. Really, I was listening to my tastebuds. I wanted meat and dairy, but as the last year has shown me, my body doesn’t want meat and dairy. My weight loss, increased energy, and exuberance for life are proof that now I am truly listening to my body.

I have never been pregnant, so I cannot speak to a body’s changes during this extraordinary event. But, having experienced the bounty of benefits to my own health, I can’t imagine that the values wouldn’t be even greater for my baby. Because of her fame, Portman’s comments are not merely about her own experience; they become about every vegan. They shed doubt on this lifestyle. If it’s not good for pregnant women, then who is it good for? Veganism is not unnatural, unhealthy, or harmful. The body, pregnant or otherwise, does not need eggs, dairy, or meat to be healthy and happy.

Portman’s main complaint about being a pregnant vegan was “If you're not eating eggs, then you can't have cookies or cake from regular bakeries, which can become a problem when that's all you want to eat.” Well, let me make you an offer, Ms. Portman. I make unbelievable cookies and cupcakes, and I would be happy to send you some if that’s what you need to be vegan. Just let me know.


  1. Having cooked for the rich and famous and studied them up close, I have to say that although I agree with you about a body's needs--and these being amply supplied by a vegan diet--I do understand that some people in that uber-world often give in to pressures we can't imagine, and may state their reasons (or excuses)clumsily. What may have happened is that someone (possibly an MD) convinced her that this diet could harm her baby, and she may be saying this in the most gracious way she can.

    I say, let's have compassion for our black swan friend, and be ready to welcome her back when she's had a chance to read what she wrote and reflect on her own convictions.

  2. I totally agree with you Alan, and as I said, I have never been pregnant and can't imagine what that feels like. I merely wanted to add an alternative perspective so that those less-informed wouldn't read Portman's comments as an assertion of the dangers of being vegan.

  3. I agree with Alan, let's have compassion for Natalie Portman. It is unfortunate that she chose to ditch the vegan diet, but it is a personal choice and we don't know why it happened.

  4. When my wife was pregnant, she used to get some strange cravings at very odd times. I remember (fondly) getting up in the middle of the night to make her a lemon-meringue pie--because that's what she wanted right then. Who could argue or interfere with the wishes of a woman who is carrying a new life--however bizarre her wishes may be?