Tracye McQuirter is an African-American public health nutritionist and a

Vegan Veganism is the practice of abstaining from the use of animal product—particularly in diet—and an associated philosophy that rejects the commodity status of animals. An individual who follows the diet or philosophy is known as a vegan. Di ...

/ Plant-based author who appears in the 2024 documentary, '' You Are What You Eat: A Twin Experiment''.

Background

McQuirter grew up in

Washington D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, Na ...

and graduated from

Sidwell Friends School Sidwell Friends School is a Quaker school located in Bethesda, Maryland and Washington, D.C., offering pre-kindergarten through high school classes. Founded in 1883 by Thomas W. Sidwell, its motto is ' ( en, Let the light shine out from all), al ...

in 1984. She received her B.A. from

Amherst College Amherst College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Amherst, Massachusetts. Founded in 1821 as an attempt to relocate Williams College by its then-president Zephaniah Swift Moore, Amherst is the third oldest institution of higher educatio ...

in 1988 and her Masters in Public Health Nutrition (MPH) from

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, the ...

in 2003.

Career

Actor and activist

Dick Gregory Richard Claxton Gregory (October 12, 1932 – August 19, 2017) was an American comedian, civil rights leader, business owner and entrepreneur, and vegetarian activist. His writings were best sellers. Gregory became popular among the Afric ...

introduced McQuirter to vegetarianism in 1986 when he gave a talk on the subject at Amherst during her sophomore year. 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 Howard University (Howard) is a private, federally chartered historically black research university in Washington, D.C. It is classified among "R2: Doctoral Universities – High research activity" and accredited by the Middle States Commissi ...

, 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." McQuirter co-founded "BlackVegetarians.com" (1996-1997), the first vegan website by and for African Americans. 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). She also co-authored the ''African American Vegan Starter Guide'' in 2016 with the

Farm Sanctuary Farm Sanctuary is an American animal protection organization, founded in 1986 as an advocate for farmed animals. It was America's first shelter for farmed animals. It promotes laws and policies that support animal welfare, animal protection, a ...

Honors

Vegetarian Times ''Vegetarian Times'' is an American publication focused on food, culture, health and lifestyle for vegetarians, vegans, and all people interested in plant-based eating. ''Vegetarian Times'' promotes an eco-friendly lifestyle with recipes, and he ...

named her a "New Food Hero" in 2017, and

Self Magazine ''Self'' is an American online magazine for women that specializes in health, beauty, and style. Part of Condé Nast, its print edition had a circulation of 1,515,880 and a total audience of 5,282,000 readers, according to its corporate media ki ...

listed her cookbook ''Ageless Vegan'' as one of the "16 Best Healthy Cookbooks" of 2018. In 2019, she was inducted into the U.S. Animal Rights Hall of Fame and

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcasting, public broadcaster and Non-commercial activity, non-commercial, Terrestrial television, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly fu ...

named her a "Woman Thought Leader."

Bibliography

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References

External links

* * Living people Year of birth missing (living people) 21st-century African-American people 21st-century African-American women African-American women writers African-American writers American cookbook writers American food writers American podcasters American veganism activists American women podcasters American women writers Amherst College alumni Chefs of vegan cuisine New York University alumni People from Washington, D.C. Sidwell Friends School alumni Vegan cookbook writers Women cookbook writers {{US-nonfiction-writer-stub