Former President Bill Clinton has been sharing his health secrets lately: avoiding products from animal agriculture.
Back in 2004 President Clinton had a health scare that resulted in quadruple-bypass surgery. To start taking care of himself, he decided in 2010 to become a vegan.
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“I just decided that I was the high-risk person, and I didn’t want to fool with this anymore. And I wanted to live to be a grandfather,” Clinton told AARP. “So I decided to pick the diet that I thought would maximize my chances of long-term survival.”
(Source: The Daily Meal) So what did he chose? Veganism.
Clinton gave up meat, cheese, fish, and milk. He consumes no dairy.
Now that he’s lost 30 pounds, and feeling better for it, he think it’s time that the rest of America to join him in a vegan diet. Through the Clinton Foundation, he is now promoting veganism for all Americans.
But something tells me that Clinton’s meat-eating habits weren’t the cause of his weight gain.
By the time he reached the White House, Bill Clinton’s appetite was legend. He loved hamburgers, steaks, chicken enchiladas, barbecue and french fries but wasn’t too picky. At one campaign stop in New Hampshire, he reportedly bought a dozen doughnuts and was working his way through the box until an aide stopped him.
(Source: CNN) Sorry, Mr. President, but eating a dozen doughnuts in one sitting is contributing to your poor health a whole heck of a lot more than having a piece of chicken for dinner. Clinton’s appetite IS legend and I can’t help but think that this new-found vegetarianism is more of a political game than an actual conversion.
It is perfectly possible for Americans to eat meat and dairy products without being overweight. In fact, a well balanced diet requires those products.
While I’m happy President Clinton has shed a few pounds and is taking care of his heart, I just wish he wasn’t doing it by blaming animal agriculture for his former bad choices. Our farmers deserve a whole lot better than that from a former president.
