UNITED STATES, November, 2010 : A growing number of America’s most powerful bosses have become vegan. Steve Wynn, Mort Zuckerman, Russell Simmons, and Bill Clinton are now using tempeh to assert their superiority. As are Ford Executive Chairman of the Board Bill Ford, Twitter co-founder Biz Stone, venture capitalist Joi Ito and Whole Foods Market Chief Executive Officer John Mackey.
It shouldn’t be surprising that so many CEOs are shunning meat, dairy, and eggs: It’s an exclusive club. Only 1 percent of the U.S. population is vegan.
“CEOs are smart. There just hadn’t been enough exposure for people to glom onto this trend,” says Ingrid E. Newkirk, president of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. “The information is everywhere now. Instead of ‘Better buy this blue chip,’ it’s ‘Better eat vegan.’ ” When Newkirk learned Wynn had become a vegan, she didn’t think the news was crazy. “Having dolphins in a small tank outside a casino is crazy,” she says. “Ordering vegetables is not.”
Wynn agrees. The self-described “animal nut,” who included the Humane Society of the U.S. in his will, sold the Mirage Hotel–and its dolphin tank–in 2000, and gave up meat and dairy this June. Wynn was converted when his friend–telecom mogul and recent vegan Gulu Lalvani–made him watch Eating, a documentary in which director Mike Anderson explains his strict meat- and oil-free diet. “I watched it, and I changed the next morning,” says Wynn. The transition was eased by the fact that Wynn happened to be on a yacht with a personal chef.
As soon as he got home, he began spreading the gospel by buying 10,000 copies of Eating, one for each of his employees. Says Wynn. “If I can keep them healthier, I’m acting like a smart businessman.” Though he swears it’s not a condition of employment, Wynn has persuaded most of his senior management to go vegan.
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