Michael Jackson, Vegetarian, Dead at 50
Michael Jackson at a March 5, 2009 press conference in London.
Dave Hogan / Getty Images.
Michael Jackson, the King of Pop, passed away yesterday at the age of 50. Jackson was a vegetarian (but see update at bottom), and the video for his song "Earth Song" was awarded the Doris Day Music Award at the 1996 Genesis Awards, which recognizes pro-animal messages in the media at a star-studded awards banquet every year.
But was Jackson an animal advocate? Jackson's famed chimpanzee companion, Bubbles, was given up to an animal trainer because he became aggressive as he became older, as chimpanzees do. At Neverland Ranch, Jackson's personal zoo/amusement park, the singer kept elephants, giraffes, orangutans and other animals. When plagued by financial woes, Jackson sold off some of the animals to pay off debts.
Celebrities are often examples of the virtues and vices of everyday people magnified by a million because of the resources available to them and the media attention. Like many people, Jackson apparently loved certain animals, while others were treated more as entertainment. I'm sure Jackson would have said that he loved Bubbles and all of his zoo animals.
Part of the lyrics from Jackson's "Earth Song":
What about animals
We've turned kingdoms to dust
What about elephants
Have we lost their trust
What about crying whales
We're ravaging the seas
What about forest trails
Burnt despite our pleas
July 1, 2009 Update: While some are asking if Jackson may have been vegan, it appears that he wasn't very consistent with his vegetarianism, and ate Kentucky Fried Chicken.
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Comments
I knew that whole Vegan thing was going to be a problem…
Regards,
Albert
PeTA: Cruel to Children
Where do Donations to the HSUS Go?.
Hey Albert,
How is being a Vegan a problem. It’s the path towards peace.
Of course, you don’t want peace. I’ve seen your blog.
Why is it so hard to be kind and humane toward all livings beings.
Do the world a favor and leave the animals alone. Let them be. Let them live.
Focus on working out your own issues. You’ll be a happier person:)
Thank you,
Eric
Albert, you make me sick. Another one of the millions of ignorant and informed who support cruelty towards animals and, oh what a surprise, spouting the age old “PETA is evil” argument.
I’ve been a vegan for 12 years and have no interest whatsoever in PETA. Animal rights is an issue which spans the centuries, Pythagoras himself often spoke in favour of animal rights. Please, do everyone a favour and stop spouting the same old regurgitated rubbish you read on the internet.
I’ll never understand people like you – why would you attempt to speak out against those who seek a peaceful existence? Do you feel insecure at your own lack of morals? Jealous because you can’t comprehend anything outside of your own meagre existence? People with your mentality, and there are millions, unfortunately – will never cease to amaze and sicken me.
In closing – Rest in peace, Michael Jackson. The world lost an icon.
I am vegan as well. I appreciated Michael’s views on diversity and a peaceful world. Yes, there are always people who take veganism as a personal attack. Some people are really interested in changing their diet to make the world a better place and others are terrified of change and “outside of what they ever known”. typical..
Albert, your sources are utterly biased and have no comprehension of animal rights. Those posts are written by hunters who have no regard for the life of other living creatures.
I’d also like to add that not all vegans are PeTA supporters. I am vegan and I despise PeTA because they do very little for animals RIGHTS.
Veganism is a positive lifestyle, one of peace and love. By being vegan we can not only save billions of animals every year, but we can combat human disease and poverty. Vegans focus on both animal and human liberation. By tucking into a steak you’re taking away the life of an innocent animal, and many human lives in third world countries. It is utterly selfish, but I expect that you cannot comprehend the word “compassion” and that is why you insist on eating an outdated diet and killing animals for “sport”.
We vegans are people who understood the evolution’s call: use the CONSCIOUSNESS. When poor people still trapped in their lymbic system (the reptile-like brain) they suffer and will suffer a lot because they are still using the steam of the ego.
People who are not vegans they will have to pay back all the pain they put into the planet, cuz nothing in this Universe is for only the ego !
THose people who are not vegans do not still understand the wholeness of the world, and the empathy of someone stabbing a knife to another person or to an animal, that is a proof they are very unevolved !
Poor ignorant mass, my pitty !
GO VEGAN !!
GO FRUITARIAN !!
GO ORGANIC !!
Eric,
I’m a soldier by trade. My job always has been, and always will be to protect each and every one of you from those that would stifle or abolish your freedoms. The path to peace is littered with the corpses of men who will always stand up and defend what is right.
Ryan,
Ignorant and informed? Uninformed I think, right? Anyway, don’t try to justify your inability to comprehend basic rights or your inability to do your research, by spouting non-sense. Again from PETA: “Mankind is the biggest blight on the face of the earth”; “I do not believe that a human being has a right to life”; “I would rather have medical experiments done on our children than on animals.” If that’s not evil, then I must be confused. By the way don’t take my word on it, Google those phrases up. Even your other Vegan buddies here don’t like them.
Jen,
What’s typical? Look you can do what you want, whenever you want, just don’t try to force or coerce me into your lifestyle. You never see me telling folks how healthful “X” is or how detrimental “Y” is. That’s for adults to decide. Responsibility. To live successfully, man must use his rational mind. The mind can only be exercised by choice. And the choice to think can only be negated by the use of physical force. Coercion. I will not be coerced.
Claire,
You are the brightest one in the group. At least you admit to the selfish desire to live in a better world. One of your making, but at least you admit it. The only problem that you have (With Me) is that you think that animals are on the same moral plane as humans. I disagree. To claim that my use of animals is immoral is to say that I have no right to my own life. You seem to think that I must sacrifice my welfare for the sake of creatures who cannot comprehend, grasp, or apply the concepts of morality. Seems backwards to me.
David,
Once again I must remind you, that we are humans because we evolved from sniveling, fearful creatures to masterful intellectual predators. That the human race is capable of great injustice and horror is well known. That’s why I’m around, to try and keep it from engulfing folks that want to live and breath in peace.
Oh, and do me a favor please. If you are going to go to my website, try to refrain from leaving really nasty remarks. It’s one thing to be spirited and passionate, it is quite the other to leave nasty, senseless remarks.
Albert,
Feeding Baby Mockingbirds
Why I Carry a Gun
Hi, Albert,
Thanks for your comments.
No one is talking about using physical force or coercion against you. Telling someone how healthful or detrimental something is is part of an intelligent exchange of ideas. On the other hand, hunting forces a deer into dying for your belief system. Also, respecting an animal’s right to be free doesn’t mean you have no right to your own life. I respsect your right to be free, and I still have a right to my own life.
Ms.Doris,
The ultimate evolution of what HSUS and PeTA advocate, and by extension AR advocate, would in fact require a coercive force.
And I absolutely agree with you that you have a right to your own life. As I said previously, I will defend your right to freedom with my own life if need be. But again, the Animal Rights agenda is one of totalitarianism. Telling me it is better for me to eat my veggies, than to eat ground refuse from a slaughterhouse is one thing, legislating it is another. If the animal rights movement legislate factory farming out of existence, hunting, then fishing, then I will have to either A: accept the vocal minorities wishes, or B: become an outlaw. That is the logical conclusion. Unless I missed something, most AR’s would abolish most animal farming, hunting, and fishing. That is what PeTA says, and so does the HSUS.
So, though you seem to be a very nice lady, you can’t keep PeTA from turning the guns of the State against me, even though I stood in front of you to keep you from harm.
Best regards,
Albert
My Response to the PeTA
I’ll Have My Coffee Now If You Please
I just now watched Michaels video “Earth Song” and I was verra moved,I am vegan and also a supporter and member of Peta and those of ye that slagged Peta,WELL,YE HAVE YE OPINIONS AND I HAVE MINE,with that said may Michael rest in eternity to those that passed before him,so long Michael!
I don’t agree with senseless killing of any living thing, but I think its ridiculous that some vegans on this site think that eating meat is somehow wrong and that humans should be ashamed of it!
Humans digestive system is exactly the same as all the other predators in this planet because we evolved to eat meat, not vegetables.
Eating vegetables from farming is a neolithic invention which follows the palaeolithic era. A palaeo diet is the most natural diet for our digestive system and fat, believe it or not, is good for you. We need fat, our brain is composed or fatty strains, also, fat doesn’t promote insulin production – insulin intolerance being the biggest human health concern of the modern age – and in over 50 years of research, and billions and billions of dollars, there has still never been any accepted evidence among scientists that fat causes heart disease.
Something else to think about. Mothers breast milk contains 50% saturated fat, do you think Mother Nature would give us something that is apparently supposed to be dangerous for us in our most important stages of development? I think not.
Our digestive system shows that we are not designed to eat meat. If you compare the human digestive tract to that of, say, a flesh eating mammal, you’ll notice the flesh eating mammal’s tract is much shorter and that their digestive acid is much stronger. Even human saliva is more similar to that of an herbivore. We do have canine teeth but they are not defined enough to be effective like that of a tiger’s. We cannot eat an all meat diet, and will become sick if it is eaten raw. No one knows when humans discovered fire, or when they found that meat could be cooked over it. I doubt that “cave men” knew that cooking meat killed all of the particularly harmful bacteria and organisms in it. Humans are omnivorous since we can eat meat (if raised on it) and not become sick, so long as it is not the sole source of sustenance (plant products are key to health). Someone who hasn’t been raised on meat cannot eat it. I’ve witnessed this myself. People who used to eat meat and no longer do find the same thing. Personally, the thought of eating an animal is not compelling. I don’t have the natural urge to find a rabbit, crush the life out of it, and eat it raw like a predator does. if I were out in the wilderness and hungry I would first seek out berries and tubers. One could argue that eating meat is a survival tactic. During the cold months of winter when plant life is scarce, we can survive on meat, even if it is not healthy for us, until spring arrives again. Vegetarians obtain their proteins from sources other than animal flesh, like wheat and soy beans, and rarely suffer from deficiencies if they eat the correct food sources in the right amounts. One cannot survive off of lettuce and tomatoes alone. Legumes, beans, fruit, etc. must be included. All mammals survive off of their mother’s milk when young… even herbivores like cows. Meat often makes us sick. One could argue that this is because of how food animals are abused and treated with hormones etc. but even without the use of such treatments, diseases and sicknesses still abound, like heart disease. Our canines are not well defined… one could argue that they should be used to perform such tasks as pulling the hull off of fruit or eating insects. In short, the human body is made to process vegetation, yet can also process meat less efficiently. For this reason they are defined as omnivores. However, in today’s day and time it is more practical to be vegetarian/vegan. According to a report by the U.S. Surgeon General, more than 70 percent of deaths in this country — more than 1.5 million annually – are related to diet, particularly the over – consumption of beef and other foods high in cholesterol and saturated fat. Study after study confirms that consumption of red meat is a primary factor in the development of heart disease, strokes, and colon and breast cancer. The American Heart Association, the American Cancer Society, the National Academy of Sciences, and the American Academy of Pediatrics all recommend that people reduce their consumption of red meat and other animal-derived foods, and eat more grain, fresh vegetables, and fruits instead. Over 70% of the U.S. grain harvest – and more than one third of the grain produced in the world – is fed to cattle and other livestock. We could provide proper nourishment to more than a billion people if we used the world’s agricultural lands to grow food for human consumption rather than feed for cattle and other livestock. Just something to think about. You can hold on to your selfish ways of wanting to keep eating meat, whether it is traditional or for whatever other reason. But in today’s world, the end to eating meat products would provide a huge benefit to the human state (help to end hunger, etc.) and reduce global warming (which the farming of cows and pigs plays a key role in.)
Oh naive Katie, you could not be more wrong. Your just another example of the political junk science that has ravaged our modern culture and fed us on mis-information. In fact I don’t blame you for feeling this way, because I too also thought saturated fat, fatty meats or anything of that nature contributed to heart disease and stroke. That was until I read I started reading the correct dietary information about how our body works. One book in particular that explains in great length where our science started going wrong is ‘the diet delusion’ by Gary Taubes, which I recommend if you want to realise the truth.
Now getting back to your other comments:
There is one important thing which opponents of meat eating like to refer to, and that is that we are not built to eat meat, e.g. teeth not big enough, no sharp claws etc etc.. there is one thing that they fail to realise though and that is early humans were opportunist hunters, much more likely to scavenge for meat and marrow (good brain food), we used tools, we were very sociable animals, therefore we co-operated to attack and outwit prey – lots of evidence of tools and bones. Chimps and monkeys all eat meat too. Meat is the only food capable of providing enough energy to sustain our needs, it has the vital vitamin B-12 and to take a quote from a thoroughly cited and researched article
“By definition vitamin B-12 is essential to human life. It is essential for the synthesis of nucleic acids, the maintenance of the myelin sheath (the insulation around nerves which when damaged causes Multiple Sclerosis); indeed its presence or deficiency affects nearly all body tissues, particularly those with rapidly dividing cells. Without it we suffer from pernicious anaemia which, as its name suggests, is deadly, and a degeneration of the nervous system.” reference: http://tinyurl.com/22noc
Now to pick you up on another issue about ‘anthropogenic global warming’. Again, I want to stress that based on the politically motivated mainstream media you have been fed I don’t blame you for thinking humans are causing supposed global warming.
Now lets check the information we know about Carbon Dioxide (CO2) which is crucial in this whole debate. First of all we are told that CO2 has a direct influence on the temperature of our climate e.g. the more CO2 there is the hotter our climate becomes. Currently the Earth has 380 parts per million (ppm) of CO2 with average global temperatures of 12ºC. If we were to take the CO2 concentrations of the late Ordovician Period (450 million years ago) which was 4400ppm, then you would expect average global temperatures to be much, much higher, yet average global temperatures were the same as they are today! This also isn’t an isolated case there are lots of examples in earth’s history where CO2 levels far exceeded global temperatures e.g. Cambrian, Silurian, Jurassic and Triassic Periods. All this evidence is in direct conflict with the politically motivated scientific opinion about AGW. There are two main factors that influence climate on Earth, one is the Sun and the other, which is a much larger influence is continental drift, both of which humans have no control over!
Uhhmmm,
Don’t Eskimos eat an all meat diet… and have no diabetes or heart disease…
They seem to be pretty fat and sassy to me!
Albert
My Response to the PeTA
PS: Oh nice work Alan, I like it when science trumps opinions.
AAR
PPS: Do any of you Vegans know a David Bell? He said some pretty inaccurate things about me over at the PeTA Blog, and of course PeTA won’t post my rejoinder. I would like to have him touch base with me. Thanks AAR
Thanks Albert,
Yes your right, Eskimos (ones that haven’t been touched by western culture) eat all meat diets and have disease free health, they don’t know what cancer, diabetes or heart disease is! There are also the Masai tribe in Africa who eat lots of meat, and even drink animal blood, they too have bodies free from western diseases. All of the indigenous tribes and cultures that have been researched, studied and documented over the last 150 years have no record of diabetes, heart disease, cancer or any other of the critical diseases that ravage our disjointed western culture.
Its a shame really, although vegans have good intentions, they are really doing more harm than good to their bodies and believe it or not, arable farming kills more animals than any other type of farming. If I was a vegan I would think twice about how much good I am actually doing!
Hi Albert,
Apologies in advance as I don’t mean to offend, but I have just visited your blog, and I can see a chink in your logic about hunting with guns.
Before I start, I just wish to say that I do agree with hunting for food, but I don’t agree with killing for sport.
On your blog you say that humans instinct to hunt harks back to the palaeolithic era (which I agree) but you also say that you feel its your right to hunt in our civilised world even though you don’t feel you really need to (which I also agree).
Therefore, would it not be fair for the animals (giving them a fair chance of escape) that you kill them with palaeolithic weapons instead of a gun as our ancestors would have had to do?
My logic: Guns were invented after farming was invented and therefore guns are not required to fulfil our instinctual desire to hunt.
As for Michael’s vegetarianism, I think any reduction in meat consumption is a good thing, even if he did eat chicken sometimes. My boyfriend eats vegetarian around me, because I’m a vegetarian, but when he’s by himself, he reverts to eating something with meat, occasionally. I say occasionally because he doesn’t crave meat nearly as much than before we started dating because I’ve introduced him to new food choices. Maybe Michael just needed that KFC fix.