Bryan
Adams Interviews -New Vegetarian and Natural
Health magazine 1997
Q: We'll
start off with the most obvious question,
why did you become a vegan?
A: I guess
it was destiny that I was going to become
a vegetarian because I was slowly but surely
finding out that meat, meat products and meat
by-products were affecting me. In a physical
sense it was slowing me down and I didn't
also like the idea of eating animals, it was
starting to gross me out a little bit. So
when I was in Calgary, in Alberta, which is
steak country, Fillet Mignon country, I was
feeling pretty awful and my manager said "Oh
well, just go and have a steak, you'll feel
better". So I went down with some friends
and I ate this thing, and I swear it stayed
in my stomach for days afterwards and I felt
so horrible. It was the last piece of meat
I ate and that was nine years ago. Then over
the months that passed I weaned myself off
chicken, and then I weaned myself off fish
and all fish products, and then I stopped
eating eggs and then logically I stopped eating
milk. I never really ate milk that much anyway.
Q: Milk
comes in everything like, biscuits.
A: I really
avoid things like that now, and now the only
thing Ill occasionally have is a little bit
of parmesan cheese, but it's very, very seldom
because I know that it's got rennet in it,
so it's sort of disturbing to think that I'm
eating it.
Q: Did
you feel different after the change?
A: Oh,
absolutely. Yeah.
Q: In
what way?
A: Well
because I knew that I was slowly going to
become a vegetarian, not even knowing what
a vegan was, I always thought a vegan was
a vegetarian, but it turns out there are many
different forms of veganism and vegetarianism.
So I started reading up on it and I read a
few books that were interesting, one was "Diet
for a New America", and the other one
I read was "Fit for Life", which
was the most profound book that I've ever
read. It affected my life more than any other
book. In fact I still follow "Fit for
Life". I'm not as conscious combining
wise, but definitely one thing I picked up
on was eating fruit in the morning and allowing
yourself a chance to detoxify daily. So every
morning I start my day with fresh juice and
fresh fruit and don't eat anything else until
noon, and that gives my body a chance to flush
itself out. When I read that book it was like
someone turned on a light for me. Every page
I read I kept thinking "Wow, of course,
of course", and so it became my sort
of bible in terms of my vegetarian career.
Q: A lot
of people have said that about that book.
A: And
it's astonishing, it's written a little bit
for fat overweight Americans so it's not really
written in a universal language, but you can
derive things from it because the philosophy
is sensible.
Q: What
was the reaction of those around you?
A: Oh,
very, very harsh. Family were in an uproar
and the guys in my band kept bugging me about
going to eat a hamburger. Now we have tree
vegans in the band. My mum has now become
a vegetarian as a result too. Everybody was
against it but I never really got into preaching
about it, because it's very dangerous to get
into that area of trying to tell people what
they should do with their lives. You don't
do that, so I just slowly but surely dropped
the hint. I came back from making a record
and my manager said to me "God, you look
fantastic! What have you done?". I said
"I'm a vegetarian and I sorted myself
out". I did lose a lot of weight in the
transition. Eventually I got my weight back
again, but in that period it took some time
for my body to metabolise back. it did come
back and that is the only thing for people
that do read that book, it will be a shock
to their system when they finally take the
plunge and do follow the "Fit for Life"
regime. There is a point where you think "Oh
my God, I actually don't feel very well",
and a lot of that is because your body is
detoxifying.
Q: Did
you find it harder to make the transition
from meat eating to vegetarianism or from
vegetarianism to veganism?
A: Well
to me vegetarianism is veganism. I mean it's
just depending on what your perception of
what a vegetarian is. What tree does a fish
grow on? You're not a vegetarian if you eat
fish, you're not a vegetarian if you eat eggs.
Eggs are not a plant, eggs are animal products,
so if you are a vegetarian you don't eat those
things. If you just eat a little bit of meat
or chicken, or a little bit of fish, or if
you still dabble in eating eggs, you are not
a vegetarian, I'm sorry. Veganism is a word
created for people that are very, very strict
about what they put inside themselves, and
really do avoid all animal products.
Q: Were
you brought up in the middle of cattle country
in Canada?
A: No,
no, no, my parents are English and I was brought
up on Yorkshire pudding, roast beef and beans
on toast.
Q: Beans
on toast, that's still a good vegan stand-by.
A: Too
much sugar in it though.
Q: How
would people going vegetarian make a difference?
A: Well
there are many different ways of looking at
that. There are people who say it would help
a lot of different things in society because
there would be less agricultural problems.
In many ways people even read it back to the
budget and the big picture of economics, but
you can't change the world, you can't stop
people from eating meat, you can't stop people
from their regime that they have been brought
up on. As I told you earlier I was faced with
great opposition from friends and family,
and although I have been able in my own way
to influence people around me, it's up to
the individual to really decide for themselves
whether they are ready for the change or not.
You can almost tell when you meet somebody
whether they're ready for it or not. It's
not a spiritual thing, but there is something
abut someone that's ready to move on, and
are dissatisfied with themselves in the way
they have been carrying on.
Q: If
you have children would you bring them up
vegan?
A: Oh,
absolutely. I would only because that's what
would be available at the house. I mean in
the end an individual's choice is their choice,
and if I had children and they decided that
they wanted to eat hot dogs, I would do everything
in my power to let them know what was in a
hot dog before they stuffed it into their
mouth. You know I wish someone had told me
what was in it before I ate it, but God knows
no one did.
Q: I think
we're all in the same boat there.
A: I'm
afraid so.
Q: What
do you do to educate others about vegetarianism?
A: Well
I talk about it in a sort of round about way.
I put out a book last year and I talked about
vegetarianism in that book. People know that
I'm vegetarian, you know that I've never spoken
to you before in my life, somehow you found
out. I think there's a circle of people that
know. If you go on the internet and look up
famous vegetarians you probably will find
my name.
Q: What
do you think are the big myths associated
with vegetarianism? For example that vegetarians
are all skinny and pale.
A: Well
there are great communities of people in the
world that are vegetarians. The Indians, for
example, and they get on fine, and I'm living
proof also of someone that hasn't even thought
about a supplement. I just eat very fresh
food all the time.
Q: Not
even a vitamin B12 supplement?
A: I don't
do anything. I don't even take medication.
I won't even take an asprin for a headache.
I try not to, I try everything I can to avoid
medication. When I was in France last year
I had a bit of hayfever because the pollen
was out when we were out there. I got some
homoeopath remedies that worked brilliantly
and I could have easily gone to the shop and
got some of those antihistamines, but God
knows they put you to sleep and whatever.
You know there is hope for homoeopathy in
the world. I have some friends that are into
it.
Q. Do
you miss eating meat or dairy foods?
A: No,
but occasionally if I see some I can reminisce
about what it was like. I can very easily
remember what it was like to eat meat, fish
and chicken. You don't lose the memory of
taste because if I tell you about an orange
or a lime right now, I'm sure your taste buds
will react accordingly. So the same thing
when you see food. If you are famished and
you walk by a barbecued chicken, you will
suddenly get the sensation in your mouth of
what might have been.
Q: What
do you think of the meat substitutes like
vegetarian sausages?
A: Oh
superb, really, really great, we use them
all the time. i've got someone that cooks
for us on tour here and a lot of the food
we use aside from pastas, potatoes and the
usual things are tofu based.
Q: How
far does you veganism go to in regard to the
clothes you wear?
A: That's
about the only spot where I still have leather
shoes.
Q: Jackets
or pants?
A: No,
I haven't bought anything. It's all been given
to me and all that stuff is used from years
ago, but I haven't gone out of my way to buy
things that are leather. I won't buy a leather
jacket for example. I have some vinyl shoes
and I have some leather stuff, I admit it.
I've got some vinyl pants which look like
leather.
Q: Do
you find it difficult touring as a vegan?
A. Touring,
no.
Q: Do
you have a personal chef?
A: We've
got a tour cook.
Q. Does
he cook the same meals for everyone?
A: Basically
it's available to anybody, but generally most
of the crew go for the old meat and two veg,
and then there's a few of us that have cooking
by Emmanuel Luyton.
Q. Are
there ant other vegans/vegetarians in your
entourage?
A: Yeah,
there's two others, my drummer and my guitarist
are both vegetarians.
Q: Do
you try out any vegetarian restaurants whilst
on tour?
A: No.
I don't really like vegetarian restaurants
because generally speaking the food is never
really that interesting, they make it so bland
and so uninteresting. I'm not surprised people
aren't more interested in vegetarian cooking.
Very, very, very seldom do I ever come across
one that's absolutely brilliant.
Q: I absolutely
love vegetarian Chinese food.
A: I won't
eat Chinese food that much because it's too
greasy.
Q: Do
you get the hotels you stay in to cater for
you?
A: We
bring our cook with us and if we need to use
the hotel kitchens we make arrangements with
the hotels before we travel.
Q: So
the hotels have never made meals for you?
A: Oh
yeah, sure they have.
Q: How
do they pass the test as far as vegan food
goes?
A: No
trouble, if you just tell people what you
want and you're very specific about what your
diet is, most people are very, very accommodating.
Q: So
where are you living?
A: I'm
based in England.
Q: What's
the vegan scene like there?
A: Very
strong. In fact in England The Vegetarian
Society is very strong. They actually label
foods in supermarkets that are vegetarian.
Although a lot of it has cheese, and people
like Linda McCartney for example, who's come
out very strong on vegetarianism, even her
line of food has eggs and cheese in it, so
it's still a little bit not really vegetarian
in my books.
Q: I know
that when I was there in 1991, I couldn't
believe that in the supermarkets there were
two whole aisles of vegetarian frozen foods.
A: I know
it's superb. Although California is the best
place for vegetarians, I really think England
is definitely second. America generally is
a great place for a vegetarian because it
has all that consumerism, especially California.
Vancouver, where I grew up a lot in my life,
is actually very good for vegetarians. There's
a great sort of hippie movement that's always
been there. Organisations like Greenpeace
and a lot of environmental organisations were
formed in Vancouver, so there's an incredible
movement there of natural consciousness.
Q: In
America they've got the Tofutti ice cream.
A: That's
America for you, you're not going to find
that in France, I promise you.
Q: I was
upset that when I was in England I didn't
have cooking facilities to try the vegetarian
frozen foods.
A: Yeah,
some of them are delicious. When we made an
album called "Waking Up The Neighbours"
in England, we'd just go down to Marks and
Spencers because they had so many great things.
you could get stuffed peppers, you could get
all kinds of things that were just delicious,
but do you know what my favourite meal is?
One of my favourite meals is just a basic
baked potato and a salad.
Q: With
coleslaw?
A: If
it's mayonnaise free, but baked potato with
a little, I don't know, you can get different
kinds of dressings you can put on a potato,
just a plain old potato and salad. My favourite
salad dressing for those that are interested
is actually fresh lime juice, not your cordial,
and extra virgin olive oil equal proportions,
with salt and pepper, and to me that's the
most yummy salad dressing.
Q: I don't
know about the lime.
A: It's
the same as a lemon, but there's something
about a lime that I picked up when I was living
in Jamaica. They don't really have lemon there,
they only have lime. So I started eating lime
and olive oil dressing and it's so delicious,
it's the nicest thing.
Q: I'll
have to try that one.
A: Definitely,
but equal portions, so if you use a tablespoon
of olive oil, use a tablespoon of lime.
Q: You
can get vegan mayonnaise here. Can you get
it there?
A: Oh
certainly.
Q: You
can get vegan condensed milk in England, can't
you?
A: Certainly,
you can get everything in England. Things
like Rice Dream, that's nice. I like that
if I ever eat breakfast cereal. Rice Dream
and Weetabix is a very good combination.
Q: Vanilla
flavoured Rice Dream?
A: Just
the plain. See I used to love Weetabix when
I was a kid. Have you ever had cream of wheat?
It's like a porridge. Cream of wheat and Weetabix,
I love those things, but I remembered what
it was like to have, so as soon as those new
products came out I could eat those things
again.
Q: So
do you prefer the Rice Dream to soy milk?
A: I do
actually. I prefer Rice Dream to soy milk
because soy products generally, if you combine
them with the wrong things you can get gas,
so Rice Dream doesn't do that.
Q: Hasn't
the soy market boomed?
A: Soy
milk is fantastic stuff, don't get me wrong,
I think it's fabulous, but like all things
if you combine potatoes and steak you can
have gas.
Q: Have
you noticed much change in the vegetarian/vegan
scene since you became one?
A: No,
only amongst my friends that have changed
themselves, and I've influenced their friends.
I guess the only thing I can say really is
that there are more products than there were
ten years ago. I don't think there's any sort
of a revival or there's no real huge wave
of consciousness that is sweeping the world
if that's what you mean.
Q: Is
there any more awareness?
A: I don't
think so, no. I think people are just as meat
conscious.
Q: What
about the Mad Cow Disease in England?
A: I think
that stops people to an extent but then they
switch over and eat lamb. People don't really
care, and anyway most people go to their family
butcher and he'll say "Look it's all
right, don't worry about it", and they
say "Right-oh, I trust my butcher".
Q: Do
you cook?
A: Yes,of
course.
Q: Do
you have any specialities apart from the baked
potato?
A: I like
to cook a lot of different things. One thing
we've been making lately is just a sort of
tomato and potato galette, which is just a
round pan and you slice the potatoes quite
finely, you put them on the bottom with a
bit of olive oil, salt and pepper, and then
you just cover the top with sliced tomato,
pop it in the oven and in I think it was about
40 minutes or whatever it takes to cook a
potato, you've got a fantastic dish that's
just been roasted in the oven. I love roasted
vegetables. I love roast potatoes. I love
roast carrots and parsnips, and roasted onions.
A little but of olive oil and salt and pepper
goes a long way.
Q: Are
you into animal rights at all and/or animal
welfare issues?
A: Yeah,
well to an extent, again I can't really be
a sort of flag flying representative of something
like that if I still wear leather. I am against
cruelty to animals. I'm very much involved
with the anti-whaling movement. I've done
a lot of campaigning for them - postcard mailouts,
documentaries, interviews, and I'm just about
to narrate a documentary on dolphins on the
west coast of British Columbia, so I'm really
into promoting that.
Q: So
you're happy to stand up for any animal rights
issues?
A: I do.
I've signed a petition against fur if that's
what you mean.
Q: Circuses,
Rodeos, etc?
A: Oh,
yeah. There's a very brilliant organisation
in England called Elefriends, which are friends
of elephants, who try to campaign for finding
places for elephants that have been abandoned
from circuses. There's a farm in Tennessee
which has actually take on a lot of stray
elephants and they campaign quietly to get
money, because it's very expensive to feed
an elephant as you can imagine. There are
people in America that have really come to
the help of stray and unwanted creatures.
Q: Do
you have any pets?
A: No.
Q: Did
you grow up around pets?
A: Yeah,
I grew up with dogs. My father loved wire
hair fox terriers which is a breed of English
terrier. They have a long snout. They were
very popular in the 40's. I love dogs. I absolutely
love dogs. I'd love to have a dog, I'd love
to be able to take care of a dog, but I just
haven't got the time.
Q: When
you are not writing songs, recording or touring,
what are your favourite things to do?
A: Well
I'm just putting a new kitchen in my house,
so I love cooking. I love spending time at
the home. I love having friends around for
dinner and I always love to impress my friends
with a nice meal. It's great, I think it's
one of the nicest things you can do, and especially
impressive if you can tell everybody after
the meal, "Hey, there were no animals
involved in that meal". It takes a bit
of effort, thought, and that's the trouble
why most people won't do it, and it's more
expensive to become vegetarian. It's much
more expensive to eat fresh fruit all the
time and that's a deterrent because most people
can't afford to eat fresh food everyday. It's
a luxury unless you can grow vegetables and
fruit in your garden. One of the biggest reasons
why I think a lot of people, general punters,
aren't vegetarians is the cost.
Q: Really,
because when they've done budgets they always
work out that vegetarianism is cheaper?
A: I don't
know about that. I eat fresh food every day
and it costs me a lot of money. I love going
and buying paw paw, and I love pineapples
and blueberries, and I love all those fresh
fruits, but then at the end of the day I look
at my food bill and think, "My God, that's
so expensive to buy all that fruit".
Q: Do
you use organic products at all?
A: If
I can, yeah.
Q: What
are your goals and dreams for the future?
A: Just
to carry on. I sort of live day by day, I
don't really have a super plan. I suppose
I'd like to have my kitchen finished, so I
can put the kettle on and have a cup of tea.
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