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Alexandra Paul Interview
Hi Alexandra! Hi How are you doing? I'm pretty well, I'm lying on my dad's guestroom bed with his cat. Petting his cat Sound's pretty comfortable Yeah (laughs) OK, well what part of the world do you live in? I live in LA. I've been in LA for 20 years. I live in southern Malibu, with my husband. Ok and that's Ian Murray? Yes How long have you been vegetarian? I understand you've been vegetarian since you were 15? Since I was 14 14, OK. So... 24 years. When I was 21 I did a TV movie where I played a body builder and my trainer wanted me to eat fish, so I ate fish. And I didn't feel good about it and I stopped after the TV movie. So, you definitely noticed the difference when you were on the fish? I don't know if I remember how I feel, but I just remember it was mostly from an animal rights point of view. Right, right. Now... Are you vegetarian now, or are you vegan? I'm an almost vegan. I think I'm a vegan except for that I eat egg whites. So, I don't wear leather, wool, or silk. I don't eat dairy or fish. And use no products that are tested on animals. Do you have any problem finding those non-animal products? You know... no. I mean I'm not a cook. I think that's my biggest drawback is that I don't cook, so I don't spend time. You know, everyone is healthier if they cook for themselves, no matter what your basic diet is. But no, there's always salads in restaurants. That's always fine and pasta, you know, with marinara, no butter. That kind of thing or tomato, so it's really fine. Right! How about other products? I was just shopping for sneakers a couple days ago and I had to hit quite a few shoe stores to find some vegan shoes that I could use for volleyball. Oh, golly, I don't know about volleyball, but I know that running shoes are generally all man-made materials, because they're lighter. Well, actually, I ended up getting some running shoes. Oh, yeah, yeah. Running shoes are pretty good. And then, as for shoes, regular shoes, I go to Payless or Shoes for Less. I mean my shoes are... I'm pretty much a cheap date (laughs), you know... no alcohol, no meat at dinner, and then, you know, when I buy, go to Payless for shoes. When you don't buy leather or silk or cashmere everything is much cheaper (laughs). Right! And I did notice that Payless has more of the man-made materials. They do. They have a lot. Unfortunately, their shoes aren't as comfortable as... what's it called... Shoe Pavillion in Los Angeles is pretty good. And, you know, the truth is, I'm also trying to practice owning less stuff. I really find I only wear a pair of clogs that I bought, probably eight years ago, and then I wear a pair of loafers I bought three years ago that are vegan, both are vegan. And then I wear sneakers. That's about it. Oh, excellent! ... And I've found some vegan shoes online, some hemp. They're not real dress shoes, but they're very nice casual shoes. Oh, that's good. You can wear them with slacks 'n... yeah... Yeah, so I can wear those to work. That's not a problem. And I even found some for... I went to the PETA Gala last year and I found a nice pair of black hemp shoes. Oh, that's nice...What website did you go to for the hemp shoes? I'll have to look it up. [http://www.Rawganique.com/footwear.htm (trailblazers and oxfords] You know, it's OK because my brother and his girlfriend are vegans - and she knows a bunch of websites for shoes and stuff. But I haven't gotten around to it, because so far I'm doing fine with my loafers and my clogs and my sneakers (laughs). That sounds good! I find that I'm not that fashionable. I mean I know that as an actor, you know it's hard to find clothes that aren't wool or silk and... Yeah, that's true. It's just, you know, the word Prada... I mean I said to one of my close friends "I've never seen a Prada bag" (laughs). She said "here, I have one" and she showed me. Is that a... I'm not even familiar with that. Well, because... you're a guy. OK But the girls, women, who like read In Style magazine, or whatever, would know Prada. Or, like, if you watch Sex in the City with Sarah Jessica Parker, they have this obsession with shoes, and I forgot the name of the shoe... but anyway, I've never even gone into that shoe store. I can't even remember the name. But anyway, so I'm very out of style... or I should say I have my own style. Right. Payless, Miller's outpost And they can look great too! Exactly! It just doesn't have the name. Yeah, exactly! Now, have you noticed benefits, like to your health, since being vegetarian? You know, because I've been a vegetarian for so long, I haven't noticed a change, because when you're 14 you're not really that aware of stuff, but for me it was really an ethical and environmental decision. I mean I know it's better for the environment, so I feel better with that and I'm sure that I'm doing the right thing by the animals. People worry about your energy level and all that, but I seem to have a good energy level. And you are athletic so you have no problem with that? No, no, no, never! And as you may have read on my website I've trained for the Ironman Triathalon and did it on a vegetarian diet. Ate a lot of egg whites. But I'm on a vegetarian diet and have never been the worst for it. Excellent! I lived in Hawaii for almost 14 years. I never actually did the Ironman, but I know that it takes a lot of work. Well, do you have other things you would say to encourage others to become vegetarian or vegan? Yeah, I'd encourage them to do it slowly. You have to do it at your own pace. And to read about people, like I think reading John Robbins' book Diet for a New America is very helpful, because it really gives you... it really helps you remember why you are doing it, if you're doing it for ethical reasons. Right. As well as environmental. He has a lot of information in there. Yes, exactly. His more recent book, which I read... Yeah, The Food Revolution. Yeah! He has a lot of environmental things in terms of water use per pound of chicken vs. per pound of wheat, etc. So, those two are very, very good books. It's not like you can't hang around meat eaters, my husband eats meat! Actually, he doesn't eat red meat anymore, but he still eats chicken. I'm not exactly sure why he doesn't eat red meat. After The Food Revolution I was going on about how the water use and everything and I think that may be why he cut out red meat, but I'm not exactly sure. (laughs) OK But it's not about not hanging out with people who are meat eaters, but it is about, you know, learning more and more, opening up your life to more people who might be vegetarians or vegans. Right. And going to the health food store is very helpful. Yeah. I know going to potlucks is a nice way of learning new dishes and things and how foods work together. |
