Woodrow Tracy Harrelson—Woody to most—is understood for his skilled portrayal of seedy characters in blockbuster movies reminiscent of Pure Born Killers, The Folks vs. Larry Flynt, The Starvation Video games trilogy, True Detective, and the Venom films. Whereas his performing credit are notable and his expertise is profound, we observe Harrelson for his vegan acts of kindness and entrepreneurship.
From mentoring Stranger Issues star Sadie Sink to investing in eco-friendly and plant-based companies, Harrelson is as vegan as you will get. Right here’s how the award-winning actor turned a veritable vegan icon:
He’s been vegan for over 30 years
Harrelson has been vegan for greater than 30 years—far earlier than the invention of recent conveniences reminiscent of Past Burgers and non-dairy Ben & Jerry’s ice cream. This was even earlier than the introduction of soy milk at Starbucks. Again within the day, for those who went vegan, it nearly dictated that you just additionally ate entire meals plant-based, as a result of processed vegan merchandise have been exceedingly uncommon. We tip our hats to you, sir.
Opposite to how most individuals ditch animal merchandise—by going vegetarian first, then vegan—the Prime Time Emmy winner known as it quits on milk and cheese first. In a 2014 interview with Metro, he stated: “I used to be on a bus once I was about 24 and this woman noticed me blow my nostril–and I had zits throughout my face. She informed me I used to be clearly lactose illiberal and that if I gave up dairy my signs would disappear in a matter of days. She was proper.”
In that very same interview, Harrelson described how consuming steak and hamburgers made him really feel torpid. However after giving up animal merchandise, his vitality ranges went up.
Through the years, Harrelson adopted a predominantly uncooked vegan food plan. He informed InStyle in an often-cited article that has since been eliminated: “I eat vegan, however I eat largely uncooked. If I’ve a cooked meal, I really feel my vitality drop. So once I first began shifting my food plan, it wasn’t as a lot an ethical or an moral pursuit however an lively pursuit.” Granted, he does admit to having fun with the common vegan-friendly libation—however no one needs to be held to excellent requirements. In his thoughts, the largely uncooked vegan food plan balances the sluggishness post-alcohol.
He evokes new vegans
Stranger Issues star Sadie Sink should be vegetarian if not for Harrelson’s mild steering. The co-narrator of the 2018 documentary about industrial animal agriculture, Dominion, credit Harrelson for educating her concerning the vegan food plan whereas the duo labored collectively on the 2017 biographical drama, The Glass Fortress. And apparently, his household is aware of find out how to serve good meals.
“His daughter and I had a three-day sleepover,” Sink informed Elle in 2019. “The complete time I used to be with them I felt good about what I used to be consuming, and never like I used to be lacking something.”
English actress Thandie Newton additionally talked about in an interview that she had gone vegan whereas taking pictures on the set of Solo: A Star Wars Story with Harrelson. “I feel it’s good to have a vegan within the combine … a vegan able of energy. I’ve been vegan since working with Woody,” she stated of the Texas-born actor, who she affectionately known as “everybody’s father or mother.”
Harrelson additionally influenced former vegan Liam Hemsworth to provide the life-style a attempt whereas the 2 shot The Starvation Video games. Hemsworth stayed vegan till 2019 when he re-introduced animal merchandise to his food plan after battling kidney stones. Maybe one other movie with Harrelson may get Hemsworth again on the vegan bandwagon.
He has vegan connections
Regardless that Harrelson feels finest when consuming uncooked, he can nonetheless respect and raise up different vegans within the culinary scene. As a pal of Chad and Derek Sarno—the cooks behind the Depraved Wholesome and Good Catch manufacturers—Harrelson wrote the foreword for the pair’s cookbook, The Depraved Wholesome Cookbook. He’s additionally employed many vegan cooks (together with the Sarnos) to cater his personal occasions and “on-location” filming days. We will solely think about the standard of that catering unfold.
Depraved Kitchen
He’s an activist
Harrelson’s transformative powers will not be withheld when he’s off-set. He’s lively in spreading the plant-positive message and takes motion to take action. In 2019, he joined forces with the animal rights non-profit Folks for the Moral Remedy of Animals (PETA) to protest an annual pig rodeo in Texas. That very same 12 months, he was one of many many celebrities behind the activist group Million Greenback Vegan’s initiative to influence Pope Francis to go vegan for Lent. The pinnacle of the Catholic Church has since made statements encouraging youthful individuals to eat much less meat in an effort to to mitigate the local weather disaster.
He’s additionally contributed his voice and assist to Sir Paul McCartney’s ongoing Meat Free Mondays marketing campaign. And, even when it was only for laughs, Harrelson even introduced his vegan point-of-view to season 11, episode 4 of the HBO sitcom Curb Your Enthusiasm, the place he bluntly informed characters that they need to lower dairy out of their diets for the sake of mom cows.
Harrelson can also be the narrator behind the 2020 Netflix documentary about regenerative agriculture, Kiss the Floor, which paints a optimistic image of the way forward for the local weather, ought to we transition away from monoculture. Whereas the movie isn’t explicitly vegan, Harrelson cares deeply about preserving and restoring the planet’s biodiversity.
“We’ve acquired a number of company industrial agriculture and the best way they do it now could be extraordinarily harmful given pesticide use and the destruction of soil,” he stated throughout a panel on the 2022 Solar Valley Movie Pageant in Idaho. “Regenerating soil could be an effective way to mitigate the consequences of world warming.”
He invests in vegan manufacturers
In October 2021, Harrelson and actor Owen Wilson each invested within the plant-based meat model, Abbot’s Butcher. The Costa Mesa, CA-based firm focuses on vegan meats which are made out of pea protein and free from soy, gluten, and canola oil.
As a Sarno brothers pal and fan, Harrelson was one of many slew of huge names—together with enterprise mogul Paris Hilton and Huge Little Lies star Shailene Woodley—to put money into their vegan seafood line again in 2020. At the moment, Good Catch has crossed the pond from the UK to the US the place its plant-based tuna, fish sticks, and crab desserts can be found in main grocers nationwide. In 2022, the brothers’ Depraved Kitchen firm additionally secured $20 million in a funding spherical which included Woody Harrelson to assist additional speed up the model’s development.
“What I like about this model is that the merchandise are literally created by cooks that all the time put taste first, making it really easy to go plant-based,” Harrelson stated about Depraved Kitchen.
He’s additionally an investor in a Baltimore, MD property that housed vegan-friendly restaurant L’eau de Vie. Harrelson purchased the actual property again when it was a boutique lodge, although the property has been redeveloped into luxurious condominium houses. The restaurant opened on the underside ground of the brand new condominium constructing, however sadly, it has since closed.
Earlier in his profession, he partnered with entrepreneur Jeff Golfman to launch Prairie Pulp & Paper—an eco-friendly, tree-free paper firm that provides paper to Staples workplace shops in Canada and the US.
When in Los Angeles, Woody enjoys eating at one of many 4 places of Sage Vegan Bistro—a vegan micro-chain he threw some cash at in 2017 to assist the growth of its vegan beer backyard within the Echo Park neighborhood of LA. Sage’s combine of remarkable uncooked and cooked dishes might have performed an element in securing Harrelson’s generosity.
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