素食主义：商业巨头的新宠

曾经，商业巨头们要炫耀自己的权势很简单：翻新滑雪胜地圣莫利兹的乡村别墅；购买最新的美国湾流喷气机；大手一挥砍掉5千名员工，或者迎娶一位年轻貌美的亚洲姑娘。不过现在这些招数用尽，富豪们想要再表现得高人一等殊为不易。也许正因为如此，越来越多的美国超级大老板迷上素食主义。大名鼎鼎的史蒂夫-永利、莫特-扎克曼、拉塞尔-西蒙斯以及比克-克林顿，现在莫不食用印尼豆鼓（Tempeh）以示高贵。福特董事会执行董事长比尔-福特，推特的联合创始人比兹-斯通，风投家乔伊-易通，全食超市（WFMI）总裁约翰-麦基和迈克-泰森也不例外。是的，曾经咬人耳朵的拳手泰森现在是一个素食者了。不过，他的饮食习惯和阿里克-伯德温比起来就是小巫见大巫了。伯德温竟然发明了一边素食一边速肥的素肥大法。

It shouldn't be surprising that so many CEOs are shunning meat, dairy, and eggs: It's an exclusive club. Only 1 percent of the U.S. population is vegan, partly because veganism isn't cheap: The cost comes from the value of specialty products made by speciality companies with cloying names (tofurkey, anyone?). Vegans also have to be powerful enough to even know what veganism is.

也难怪CEO们纷纷对肉奶蛋避之不及：因为在美国只有1%的人是素食者，这是一个少数人的专享俱乐部。这部分是由于素食可不便宜：专业公司出品的素食特制品价格不菲，这些公司光名字听起来就很油腻，比如说豆腐鸡（原文为tofurkey），有人听说过吗？此外，如果无权无势，想搞明白真正的素食主义可不容易。

"CEOs are smart. There just hadn't been enough exposure for people to glom onto this trend," says Ingrid E. Newkirk, president of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. "The information is everywhere now. Instead of 'Better buy this blue chip,' it's 'Better eat vegan.' " When Newkirk learned Wynn had become a vegan, she didn't think the news was crazy. "Having dolphins in a small tank outside a casino is crazy," she says. "Ordering vegetables is not."

英格里德-伊-纽克是善待动物组织主席。她说：“CEO们很聪明。以前媒体曝光度不够，了解素食主义的人并不多。现在则到处都是‘素食最好’，而不是‘XX股票最牛’。”当纽克知道永利变成素食者，她并不觉得这有多疯狂。她说：“在赌场外面的小池塘里养海豚很疯狂，多吃点蔬菜可不。”

Wynn agrees. The self-described "animal nut," who included the Humane Society of the U.S. in his will, sold the Mirage Hotel—and its dolphin tank—in 2000, and gave up meat and dairy this June. Wynn was converted when his friend—telecom mogul and recent vegan Gulu Lalvani—made him watch Eating, a documentary in which director Mike Anderson explains his strict meat- and oil-free diet. "I watched it, and I changed the next morning," says Wynn. "Bang! Just like that." The transition was eased by the fact that Wynn happened to be on a yacht with a personal chef. As soon as he got home, he began spreading the gospel as only a mogul can—like buying 10,000 copies of Eating, one for each of his employees. "I'm providing the ass for the insurance. If they're sick, we're picking up the tab," says Wynn. "If I can keep them healthier, I'm acting like a smart businessman."

永利表示同意。他自称“动物坚果”（animal nut），甚至在遗嘱里把美国动物保护协会列入其中。2000年，他出售持有的金殿大酒店以及海豚池；今年6月，他放弃了肉食和牛奶。电信大亨古鲁-拉尔瓦尼是永利的朋友，最近刚成为素食者。永利看完他推荐的纪录片《饮食》（Eating）后也变成了素食者。在片中，导演迈克-安德森解释了他的“无肉无油”食谱。永利说：“我看完片子的第二天早上就变了。砰！就是那种心动的感觉！” 当时他的私人厨师碰巧也在游艇上，让这一切变得更加容易。回去后，他开始四处宣扬素食主义。 比如说为手下的员工买1万份素食，人人有份。永利说：“我这是在买傻瓜保险呢。如果他们生病了，公司得买单。所以要是他们身体健康，我岂不是赚了？”

Though he swears it's not a condition of employment, Wynn has persuaded most of his senior management to go vegan. And since the majority of Wynn's lunch companions ask his assistant in advance what he likes to eat, he's got the upper hand at lunch before even sitting down. He can also suggest one of his own joints—Wynn now offers vegan menus at his restaurants in Las Vegas and Macau, including the steakhouses. "Last night I had dinner with Terry Semel, and we were eating at Wing Lei, the Chinese restaurant," Wynn says. "They couldn't believe the stir fry wasn't in oil. Everybody switched to my food."

他成功说服公司里的多数高管尝试素食主义，并发誓没有以职位要挟他们。而且由于永利的午餐同伴，多数会事先问他的助手他要吃什么。所以他在坐下用餐前，就可以决定要点什么。他还可以在自己的销金窟用餐：他在拉斯维加斯和澳门的饭店现在都提供素食菜单，甚至牛排店也不例外。永利说：“昨天晚上，我和特里-塞梅尔在（Wing Lei）中餐馆一起用餐。他们都不敢相信炒菜不用油。所有人都和我一起吃素。”

Wynn's a convincing salesman, but a decade ago even he couldn't have given away free seitan. Being a vegan then was so weird that pundits listed it as a reason Dennis Kucinich couldn't be the Democratic Presidential nominee. "People weren't sure if it was another political party or an ethnic group they'd never heard of," Kucinich says. While the Ohio representative failed to win the Democratic nomination in 2004—and in 2008—Kucinich's diet has become so accepted that he was able to persuade Representative Robert A. Brady (D-Pa.), the head of the Committee on House Administration, to include vegan options in the congressional cafeteria. When Bill Clinton announced his dietary epiphany—"I got back to basically what I weighed in high school," he told Wolf Blitzer this September—Kucinich decided to finally finish his own diet book, whose working title, The Cleveland Diet, will probably be changed by its publisher. Kucinich, however, did not go vegan for power, but rather for love. Fifteen years ago, he says, "I met someone who was vegan when I went to the state senate. This was someone I was very fond of. This was kind of a courtship strategy."

永利是一个很能忽悠的推销员。但是10年前，即使是他也不可能免费派发素肉（seitan）。那时素食是如此一种怪癖，以致于专家们把它列为丹尼斯-库西尼奇无法成为民主党总统候选人的一大原因。库西尼奇说：“人们不确定这是另一个政党，抑或是一个他们从未听说过的少数民族。” 虽然2004年，他没能赢得俄亥俄州的民主党提名。但是到了2008年，库尼西奇的食谱是如此广为接受，他甚至成功说服房管委员会长罗伯特-佩-布拉德利，在国会咖啡馆里增加素食菜单。今年9月，比尔-克林顿宣布减肥成功，对沃尔夫-布里兹说 “我又回到了高中时的体重”。库西尼奇决定完成自己的个人食谱，书名暂定为“克里夫兰食谱”，但是出版商可能会改名。然而，库西尼奇吃素并不是为了权力而是为了爱情。他说，15年前，“我去州参议院的时候，遇见了一个非常喜欢的素食姑娘。吃素是一种求爱方式。”

This is how most guys go vegan. According to Bart Potenza, co-owner of Manhattan power vegan restaurant Candle 79, the rise of the power vegan coincides with the rise of the vegan second wife. As the Four Seasons of seitan piccata, Candle 79 regularly hosts not only Zuckerman but also News Corp. (NWSA) CEO Rupert Murdoch and former Viacom (VIA) CEO Tom Freston, who both have pro-vegan wives. "I live in the shadow of a power vegan," says Freston, whose wife, Kathy, got Oprah to convert for a three-week trial. "I'm well on the way myself. It's pretty clear the benefits are undeniable and many." In other words, as Potenza says, "I think she has him pretty much handled."

多数素食者就是如此变身的。巴特-普腾扎是曼哈顿全素饭店“79号蜡烛”的老板之一。他说，权贵素食者的崛起与他们的素妾密不可分。“79号蜡烛”全素饭店四季供应素肉素排。扎克曼以及新闻集团的总裁鲁伯特-默多克和维亚康姆集团前总裁汤姆-佛莱斯顿都曾大驾光临。默多克和佛莱斯顿的妻子皆为专业素食主义者。佛莱斯顿说：“我生活在权贵素食者的影子中。”他的妻子凯西让欧普拉3周内变成一个素食者。她说：“我自己感觉很不错。素食的好处真是太多了，令人难以抗拒。” 套用普腾扎的话来说就是：“我认为她搞定了他。”

For others, veganism is a moral imperative. In 2000, Twitter co-founder Biz Stone went to visit Farm Sanctuary, an animal rescue organization with a location in upstate New York, and returned a vegan. So far it hasn't hurt business. "My meal companions are sometimes curious at most," says Stone, "but never judgmental." Though that tends to happen when you run a company with an estimated value of more than one billion dollars.

对于其他人来说，素食主义则是一种道德义务。2000年，Twitter的联合创始人比兹-斯通北上纽约，拜访了当地的农场动物避难所。他回去后就变成一名素食者。迄今为止，素食主义暂时和他的生意没有冲突。斯通说：“一起吃饭的时候，有人会觉得奇怪，但是从来没有人对此评头论足。” 不过这对于一个身价数十亿美元的公司老总来说，再正常不过了。

Farm Sanctuary's board includes a number of powerful vegans, including Tom Anderson, a former partner at McKinsey and CEO of college financing company Upromise. As an associate at McKinsey, he kept his veganism quiet for fear it would make him seem like a hippie. However, as he's climbed the corporate ladder, he's become increasingly eager to share the gospel of his eating ethics. In fact, he's bonded with a few executives over their shared anti-meat-and-dairy proclivities. The only times it hurts him, he claims, are when potential business partners tell hunting stories. "I'll have to say, 'I don't want to hear about that.' Then someone is on the defensive, and you don't want that in a business context," he says. Though as one associate of Dick Cheney can tell you, it's less uncomfortable than getting shot in the face.

农场动物避难所的董事会包括许多有权势的素食者。比如说，麦肯锡的前合伙人以及优诺（Upromise）高校金融公司总裁汤姆-安德森。在麦肯锡当合伙人的时候，由于担心被人当成嬉皮士，他没有公开自己的素食主义身份。但是随着他在公司职位上越爬越高，他越来越渴望与他人分享自己的饮食准则。实际上，他和部分高管因共同的反肉奶倾向而来往密切。他说作为一名素食主义者，唯一令他受伤的是潜在生意伙伴在他面前大谈打猎。他说，“我不得不说 ‘我不想听这样的故事。’ 然后有人会觉得你的话太重了。这不是你谈生意时希望发生的事。 ” 虽然如另一合伙人迪克-切尼所说，这还不至于大伤颜面。

Veganism's image, however, could still use some updating. While it remains associated with indie rock stars, such as Moby, and people with pixie haircuts, such as Ellen DeGeneres, it also counts among its newest converts ex-NBA star John Salley, Atlanta Falcons tight end Tony Gonzalez, former National Hockey League brawler Georges Laraque, professional poker player Daniel Negreanu, and, less recently, pop star and amateur bodybuilder Madonna. Ultimate Fighting Championship mixed martial artist and vegan Luke Cummo says that he drinks his own urine.

尽管如此，素食主义的形象有待更新。虽然它仍然会令人想起如莫比一样的独立摇滚明星，像艾伦-德格尼里一样的精灵短发。但是最新的素食明星阵容一样出彩：比如前NBA明星约翰-萨利，NFL亚特拉大猎鹰橄榄球队边锋托尼-冈萨雷斯，前NHL曲棍球员乔治-拉拉克，职业扑克玩家丹尼尔-尼格里奴；以及更早一些的流行天后及业余健美爱好者麦当娜，终极格斗冠军赛自由格斗（MMA）高手卢克-卡莫。卡莫不但吃素还喝尿 - 自己的尿。

And herein lies veganism's appeal to moguls: It affords them the opportunity to control their own health with the same manic id with which they control everything else. Wynn says his new diet has allowed him to get off Lipitor (PFE). Clinton's diet made him a fashion darling at his daughter's wedding this summer. "It's probably a good thing in a CEO," says Freston about veganism. "At least they won't be toppling over like those McDonald's (MCD) CEOs." This latest show of power, in other words, gives them all the more time to enjoy the Swiss chalet and the private jet.

素食主义对巨头们的吸引力在于：他们拥有疯狂的控制欲，他们希望掌控一切，而素食主义让他们掌控自己的健康。永利说，新的食谱让他摆脱了降血脂药立普妥（PFE）的纠缠。克林顿则在今年夏天女儿的婚礼上，因素食而成为时尚的宠儿。“这对一个CEO来说，可能是一件好事，”弗雷斯顿在谈及素食主义时说：“至少他们不会像那些麦当劳（MCD）的首席执行官们一样垮台。” 换句话说，对饮食的掌控让他们拥有更多的时间享受瑞士别墅和私人飞机。