New York City Gets A First Vegan Mayor

Last week, Eric L. Adams officially became the new mayor of New York City. He is the first vegan person to be elected to office. 

In the last run, he defeated his opponent, Republican Curtis Sliwa.

During the campaign, both candidates expressed their love of animals and support of animal welfare issues. 

Sliwa lives with 16 rescued cats and wants to end backyard animal breeding and ban horse-drawn carriages. He also supports increasing the number of no-kill animal shelters.

Adams, who has been vegan for five years, promotes a plant-based lifestyle as a healthier diet and a solution to fight climate change. 

Plant-based diet to help Type 2 diabetes

He said he went vegan after being diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes to ease the symptoms of this chronic disease.

He said in a statement: “Throughout the campaign, I’ve spoken repeatedly about my health journey.”

“After adopting a plant-based diet, I was able to reverse my type 2 diabetes, which changed not only the trajectory of my life, but also my career as a public servant. I am now committed to spreading that message and empowering New Yorkers in every zip code to lead a healthy lifestyle.”

Adams celebrated his win with a vegan wrap in a Brooklyn eatery Marinello’s Gourmet Deli, on the way to his office. 

Food brand Plantega, known for bringing vegan food to bodegas across New York City, developed a unique vegan breakfast option for this occasion, offering customers a Plant-Based Mayor’s Wrap made with Just EGG and potato-based vegan cheese. 

22 years in public service

Before pursuing his career as a politician, Adams was a police officer and worked in the New York City Police Department for 22 years. 

During that time, he founded an organisation called 100 Blacks in Law Enforcement Who Care to fight against racial profiling in NYPD and lobbied for criminal justice reform.

In 2014 he was elected as the Brooklyn Borough President and became the first person of colour in the office. During his service, he supported several plant-based initiatives and grants to help New Yorkers gain control of their health and promote healthier plant-based eating among kids. 

Spreading plant-based message

Recently, he released his first book Healthy at Last to spread his plant-based message. In the book, he tells his health story, issues related to bad eating habits and the benefits of a plant-based diet. The book also includes 50 vegan recipes. 

Adams often engages in documentaries promoting a plant-based lifestyle.

The last film, They’re Trying to Kill Us, discusses racism in the USA and links poverty with a bad diet. 

“Like many New Yorkers, my life has been full of struggles. It wasn’t always easy. My mom worked her fingers to the bone cleaning houses to raise six children, all on her own,” he said. 

“But we persevered—because that’s what New Yorkers do. Now the city is in pain. And I know I can help because I have lived the life of the people who are hurting the most. I have seen what works and what doesn’t in this city. To be truly progressive, we have to fix [the] government and eliminate the inefficiencies that are holding us back.”