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Tracye McQuirter is an African-American public health nutritionist and a Vegan/Plant-based[1] author who appears in the 2024 documentary, You Are What You Eat: A Twin Experiment.[2]

Background

McQuirter grew up in Washington D.C. and graduated from Sidwell Friends School in 1984.[3][4] She received her B.A. from Amherst College in 1988[5] and her Masters in Public Health Nutrition (MPH) from New York University in 2003.[4]

Career

Actor and activist Dick Gregory introduced McQuirter to vegetarianism in 1986 when he gave a talk on the subject at Amherst during her sophomore year.[6][7] When she was a junior, she spent a semester in Kenya and had experiences there that made her decide to become a vegetarian. During her second semester, when she was an exchange student at Howard University, she discovered what she later described as a "large Black vegan and vegetarian community in Washington D.C." This group, which was also influenced by Gregory and his book Dick Gregory’s Natural Diet for Folks Who Eat: Cookin’ With Mother Nature, taught her how to be a vegan. However, at that time McQuirter notes that, "there were not a lot of options in terms of grocery stores. There was no Whole Foods... we had to basically cook everything for ourselves."[8][6][9]

McQuirter co-founded "BlackVegetarians.com" (1996-1997), the first vegan website by and for African Americans.[6][10]

According to the New York Times, her 2010 book, By Any Greens Necessary contributed to the rise of veganism among African-Americans between the time of its release and 2017 (when the article was published).[11] She also co-authored the African American Vegan Starter Guide in 2016 with the Farm Sanctuary.[12]

Honors

Vegetarian Times named her a "New Food Hero" in 2017,[13] and Self Magazine listed her cookbook Ageless Vegan as one of the "16 Best Healthy Cookbooks" of 2018.[14] In 2019, she was inducted into the U.S. Animal Rights Hall of Fame [10] and PBS named her a "Woman Thought Leader."[15] In 2024, VegNews listed McQuirter as one of the "17 Black Vegan Chefs Redefining Plant-Based Food and Community." [16]

Bibliography

  • McQuirter, Tracye (2018). Ageless Vegan: The Secret to Living a Long and Healthy Plant-Based Life. Da Capo Lifelong Books. p. 256. ISBN 978-0738220208.[14]
  • McQuirter, Tracye (2010). By Any Greens Necessary: A Revolutionary Guide for Black Women Who Want to Eat Great, Get Healthy, Lose Weight, and Look Phat. Lawrence Hill Books. p. 240. ISBN 978-1556529986.[17]

References

  1. ^ Uwumarogie, Victoria (2023-05-16). "Black Americans Are Going Vegan At A Higher Rate Than Anyone Else. Here's Why And How You Can Do It Too". Essence. Retrieved 2024-01-12.
  2. ^ Chiorando, Maria (4 January 2024). "Vegans have better sex, live longer and are healthier – according to new Netflix documentary". Vegan Food & Living. Retrieved 9 January 2024.
  3. ^ "Sidwell Friends School 2019 Distinguished Alumni Award". Sidwell Friends School. 2019. Retrieved 2020-06-09.
  4. ^ a b Milloy, Courtland (2020-04-28). "Inequities helped covid-19 ravage the black community. But there are things we can do to help ourselves". Washington Post. Retrieved 2020-06-06.
  5. ^ "Amherst College Alumni Reunion 2018". Amherst College. 2018. Retrieved 2020-06-06.
  6. ^ a b c Jones, Alexis (2019-06-29). "RACE AND THE ROOTS OF VEGANISM". NEHA Magazine. Retrieved 2020-06-06.
  7. ^ McQuirter, Tracye (2018-07-11). "'I'm Vegan And I've Got More Energy Now Than I Did In College'". Women's Health. Retrieved 2020-06-06.
  8. ^ Associated Press (2011-01-05). "Vegan Diets Become More Popular, More Mainstream". CBS News. Retrieved 2020-06-06.
  9. ^ Phanor-Faury, Alexandra (2015-04-08). "Vegetarianism: A Black Choice". Ebony. Retrieved 2020-06-06.
  10. ^ a b Hussain, Ruksana (2020-04-07). "Tracye McQuirter Spearheads a Vegan Movement for Black Women Everywhere". Cuisine Noir. Retrieved 2020-06-06.
  11. ^ Severson, Kim (2017-11-28). "Black Vegans Step Out, for Their Health and Other Causes". New York Times. Retrieved 2020-06-07.
  12. ^ Phanor-Faury, Alexandra (2016-09-28). "New African American Vegan Starter Guide Revamps the Plate of Black America". Farm Sanctuary. Retrieved 2020-06-07.
  13. ^ Dowdle, Hillari (2017-05-01). "The New Food Heroes". Vegetarian Times. Retrieved 2020-06-06.
  14. ^ a b Byrne, Christine (2018-10-20). "The 16 Best Healthy Cookbooks of the Year". Self Magazine. Retrieved 2020-06-06.
  15. ^ PBS (2019-12-22). "Woman Thought Leader: Tracye McQuirter". PBS. Retrieved 2020-06-06.
  16. ^ Flink, Tanya (February 19, 2024). "The Top 100 Vegan Cookbooks of All Time". VegNews. Retrieved March 12, 2024.
  17. ^ Cleary, Lisa (2010-10-14). "A Revolution to Lose Weight, Look Phat". WRC-TV (NBC4 Washington). Retrieved 2020-06-07.

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