Viva! Disappointed By Gwyneth Paltrow Chicken Video

21
by Michael dEstries July 27, 2009
Categories: Animals, Eats
Tags: .

paltrow_chicken

Gwyneth Paltrow has upset some in the animal rights world with a new video on how to cook a roast chicken dinner. The actress, who in the past often talked about her macrobiotic and vegan diets, has flipped recently back to eating meat — and organizations like the UK vegetarian charity Viva! are less than thrilled with her latest “how-to”.

“To hear of a so-called vegan promoting the use of chicken meat is extremely disappointing,” Juliet Gellatley, the organisation’s director, said to the UK Daily Mail. ‘It not only condemns the cruel conditions that millions of these birds are forced to exist in, but it also shows complete disregard for the damage that the meat industry – including chicken production – is doing to an ever-fragile planet and to peoples’ health.”

She added: “If Gwyneth wants to promote healthy eating, she should think twice about cooking chicken. A medium-sized bird contains almost a pint of fat. It also releases cancer-causing compounds when it is cooked. We encourage Gwyneth to rethink her diet. She obviously does care, but needs nudging back in the right direction to veganism.”

While surprising to some, this isn’t the first time Paltrow has promoted a bird for dinner. Last Thanksgiving, the actress commented on how much she loves roast turkey — just days after telling PETA how much “a vegetarian diet is the best thing for her family’s health as well as for animals and the environment.”

Check out Paltrow’s cooking show video after the jump.


Categories: Animals, Eats
Tags: .

About Michael dEstries

Michael has been blogging since 2005 on issues such as sustainability, renewable energy, philanthropy, and healthy living. He regularly contributes to a slew of publications, as well as consulting with companies looking to make an impact using the web and social media. He lives in Ithaca, NY with his family on an apple farm.

View all posts by Michael dEstries →
  • Elle

    What a hypocrite! Seems so fair-weather about a lot of things… She could easily afford a full-time vegan chef if she truly believed in it.

    I was on her goopy mailing list thinking it would be vegtastic but unsubscribed immediately when they sent out a chicken recipe.

  • http://thevegangoodlife.blogspot.com/ The Vegan Good Life

    Not surprising news at all. She was on Oprah this past year saying she doesn’t eat animals that have four legs. Oprah, wondering aloud how many legs a chicken had (you can’t make this stuff up!), didn’t ask the logical follow-up question, “Why?” She said on the show she eats chicken, and appeared several years ago on Oprah and prepared fish in a cooking demo.

  • http://RawfoodsRetreat.com erin raw foods

    Does she eat humans (animals that don’t have four legs) She’s a moron. Plain and simple. Modeled for fur companies when she claimed she was veg, says she’s mostly vegetarian and then eats chickens (You are not “mostly vegetarian if you eat chickens by the way) I got this stupid goop email that talked about her gross roasted chicken. Does she even say to go organic? range free?

    Her more moronic husband (dumb and dumber) is still going around doing interviews saying he’s a vegetarian.

    I feel sorry for their children – having parents like this.. hypocrites and probably don’t pass down the best genes as far as intelligence goes.

    Erin

  • Rosie

    What judgments you are all making. Typical Vegan judgments, my way is the best and only way. Everyone has her reasons for eating meat or not eating meat. It’s a personal choice. She was a Vegan, now she is not. I’m sure she has a good reason for her change. How dare you criticize her personal choice.

  • Christine

    Rosie:

    1) veganism actually is the “best and only way” in terms of morality/animal suffering, environmental concerns and human health concerns. I would challenge you to find legitimate scientific proof to the contrary.

    2) Choices are no longer “personal” when they detrimentally effect others (particularly when the decision directly involves the torture and death of sentient beings).

  • Dan

    The judgements are pretty fair here. Paltrow enjoys the eco-cachet of being perceived as a vegan or vegetarian and does little to correct these misconceptions. As a result, they remain part of a public image which has netted her very lucrative spokes model contracts.

  • Rosie

    I actually don’t disagree with you, Christine (except maybe on human health concerns, but there is so much conflicting information here it’s impossible to know what is truly best for us. Certainly limited amount of animal is better than lots.) I just find that some Vegans (and I have been a Vegan, call me a hypocrite for not being one anymore) can be incredibly judgmental and often quite rude in their judgments of other people. Why not take a more positive approach and demonstrate how being a Vegan has made your life better and healthier and how it has impacted the animals and other humans. These are the approaches that people listen to and the ones that have an effect on the world.

    Also, every person is different. Some people just might not feel good on a Vegan diet. I’ve had friends who are very aware of what is necessary to eat a healthy Vegan diet who have reacted very poorly and have had to return to eating animal protein. Additionally, some people may not have enough access to the quality of food necessary to live healthfully on a Vegan diet. Certainly Ms. Paltrow has acess, but who knows what her reasoning was for leaving veganism behind.

    It is still a personal choice, regardless of the impact it has on others. I do understand and agree with what you wrote that these personal choices affect other people, animals and the environment; however, it is still personal. Some people care enough to make the choice for the greater good, others are just going to be selfish.

    How do you feel about so-called Vegans who eat lots of processed, unhealthy food?

  • Rosie

    Also, I have always had the understanding that she followed a macrobiotic diet, which is not the same as Vegan.

  • s

    she needs to freaking make up her mind already. i can live with the fact that not everybody is vegetaria/vegan, but don’t fake it if you’re not.

  • Ecoveg

    It is true she shouldn’t be a hypocrte. But, you know she probably has her reasons. Who are we to judge other people’s opinions. She should stick to one thing; You’re either vegetarian/vegan or youre a carnivore (meat is gross eww) it’s as simple as that! She shouldn’t go around saying to PETA and the whole world that she is a vegetarian or vegan when she’s showing everyone how to cook a chicken. I don’t know how she can say that and cut the poor chicken and boil it. It’s terrifying. Hopely she makes up her mind because she getting every vegetarian/vegan out there really upset.

  • Stephanie

    She’s such an idiot. I hate fake vegetarians. I also never understood why anyone would give up on being a vegetarian/vegan especially after years of being one. Going veg 2 1/2 years ago was the best choice of my life. There’s no way I would ever want to touch animal products again.

  • Whoever…

    Nobody is judging her for not being a veg*an!

    What we’re saying, myself included, is that it’s not ethical for famous people to use the veg*an/environmentalist ‘label’ when it fits their purposes, and when it doesn’t they just do the opposite.

    I mean, I for one feel insulted that someone with her influence and notoriety uses my lifestyle to promote herself when in fact she represents exactly the opposite of what veg*anism/environmentalism means.

    Do you get it now?

    I couldn’t care less if this person is veg*an or not, but I don’t accept that she says she is a vegetarian one day, and the next she goes and promotes fur! WTF?

    She is ridiculing our lifestyle… “mostly veg*an”? WTF is that? Either you’re a veg*an or you’re not!

    This is not being judgemental, it’s getting pissed off at people who make fun of our beliefs.

    Let me just give you a similar example… Do you know anyone who loves Heavy Metal and has a lifestyle that ‘screams out loud’ “I’m a heavy metal music lover”? Do you know what they say and think about people who don’t understand their lifestyle but still imitate them and listen to this kind of music so they can pretend they’re ‘bad asses’? Well, let me tell you, they hate those fake metal lovers… they really despise them!

    See my point?

  • KNSat

    Did Paltrow ever declare she was a vegan? I highly doubt it. She probably limits the amount of animal products she eats but does not eliminate them altogether and tries to use as many wholesome ingredients as possible. That’s what I do, so go ahead and pounce on me.

    Vegans should stop attacking people for not being pure like they supposedly are. All it does is is make them look like holier-than-thou extremists, and that’s the last thing the world needs right now.

  • http://www.veganjapan.net herwin

    seems like Paltrow only stated that she doesnt eat anything with four legs. A very moronic and rather cold hearted decision but she isnt a hypocrite since she never stated she was a vegan..

  • http://RawfoodsRetreat.com erin raw foods

    SHE DID SAY SHE AND HER HUSBAND ARE “Pretty much” VEGETARIAN.

    She then said she does what’s best for the environment and the animals. i did not realize what’s best for the animals is to kill and fry them and eat them. That’s news to me.

    She also says in this link (along with the DIRECT quotes I give) that when she had that little fur paux (the dumb B modeled FUR by accident she says) that a dresser just draped the fur over here while she was shooting and she just assumed it was fake.

    Uh hey Gywn what about the fur BOOTS you were wearing in the picture? Did they just slip those on and lace them all up why you weren’t looking either?

    She’s a liar, a hypocrite and worst of all makes a bad name for REAL vegetarians and vegans.

    http://blog.peta.org/archives/2008/11/gwyneth_paltrow_1.php

    DIRECT QUOTES from the liar/hypocrite here.

    Erin
    Vegan retreat owner

  • http://www.veganjapan.net herwin

    if she doesnt eat cows,pigs and other four legged animals, and only chicken, then YEAH, “pretty much vegetarian” is a very good way to decsribe yourself, there is nothing hypocrite about that.
    According to the article a similar misstake (wearing fur during photoshoot without noticing it) happened to Winslet. Paltrow apologises and explains about her little fur-misstake, so i really cant agree with all the nasty replies here like she is a “hypocrite” and a “liar”.

    Herwin, Vegan, dont have retreat.

  • VeggieTart

    Saying you’re “pretty much vegetarian” is like saying you’re kinda pregnant. You either are or aren’t. Now, if she said she was cutting back on flesh foods, great. If she used that irritating term “flexitarian”, well, okay. But one who eats the flesh of animals should never refer to themselves as anything approaching vegetarian.

    She’s a hypocrite if she talks about vegetarianism in one breath and then promotes cooking dead chickens in the next. And she’s a hypocrite if she does stuff for PETA one day and wears fur the next.

    And for the record, the only animal foods allowed on a macrobiotic diet are some types of fish. No dairy, no eggs, no land animals.

  • http://www.veganjapan.net herwin

    how about PETA allowing non veggie famous people to join a “Most Sexiest Vegetarian” contest ?? I rather suggest that sometimes veggies themself are hypocrites for using and labeling famous people who never labeled themselves as “vegetarian” or “vegan” , and being very nasty when such a non veggie famous person eats meat or chicken.

    She did wear fur, and apologized for it, even when she uses a lame excuse, there is no need to bash a person who publicly made an apology.

    for the record, in Japan where Macrobiotic originated, most Macrobiotic Restaurants and Cooking Schools are completely vegan and dont use any fish or other animal products.

    one of the most absurd attempts of veggies to claim a famous person is Thomas Edison, a person who electrocuted many dogs and other animals, even an elephant , just for trying to publicly discredit his competetor Tesla who used ac.
    This sad event has been filmed and still can be seen on the ‘net such as youtube
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RkBU3aYsf0Q

    why claim dubiues famous persons ? i rather stick to the real famous veggie heroes who make very clear statements.

    and yeah of course, she is absolutely noway close of being a hero for me. Promoting to eat chicken (or turkey) clearly signals she doesnt care at all about the animals but rather doesnt eat meat forhealth reasons.

    The question remains,who is more hypocrit, that chicken eating beach, or veggies and Peta who wants to use her for the veggie cause ?

  • Whoever…

    Here we go again… veg*ans fighting among each other… :(

    Way to go!! No wonder we can’t convince more people to give up eating animals. How can we if we can’t even agree on such a basic question as this one?
    How can we inform others of the advantages of our lifestyle when we are always accusing each other of being extremists and intolerant? These are the same arguments most non-veg*ans use to describe us!!

    The issue here (in my opinion) is whether this woman is using the veg*an/environmentalist label to promote herself or not.

    Saying “pretty much a vegetarian” is nothing but using our lifestyle to promote her image. If she had said she was almost a veg*an, that would be a different story. And don’t tell me that it was a bad choice of words because in case you haven’t noticed, words are a big part of her professional life.

    And please, only naive people believe that “wearing fur without noticing it was real” is a true statement. If someone put a fur whatever on me, I would instantly demand to know if it was real or fake!

    At least she should admit who she really is – someone who doesn’t mind promoting fur clothes and who loves to eat animals! Why does she have to go around making excuses for what she does? Either she admits who she really is or she should stop promoting fur and the consumption of animals. Let me just remind all of you that, for good or bad, she is a public figure and therefore a role model for many people.

    Meanwhile, millions of animals have already been killed for the consumption, amusement and use of humans…

    That’s what truly upsets me!! :(

    Oh, and if “how about PETA allowing non veggie famous people to join a “Most Sexiest Vegetarian” contest” is true, then yes, that’s a huge hypocrisy and it doesn’t help this cause in any way.

  • http://blog.miamivegan.info Inga Ambrosia

    People that eat meat defend other people that eat meat. They are blinded to the fact that vegans care about animals, environment, health and spiritual well-being. Meat eaters just want to eat meat in peace.

    Rosie: personal choice? Being vegan is a “personal” choice. Eating meat is just a “choice”, to keep doing what you’ve been taught, even in the face of knowing that it’s wrong and not caring.

    Gwyneth Paltrow is an opportunist. Period. Cooking chicken is disgusting and I’ve lost respect for her, if I had any anyway. Good day.

  • RAIN

    I don’t bother listening to celebs who say.. I only go with those who do.
    To much BS out there. Too much hope. People are quitters. Veganism is the best thing ever. If she wants to do ignorant speciesist think like this she will reap the cloggin of some good arteries. The one thing about eating animals is that when their dead they still will come back to haunt you when your heart clogs. Wak!

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