A Review of “By Any Greens Necessary: A Revolutionary Guide for Black Women Who Want to Eat Great, Get Healthy, Lose Weight, and Look Phat; Sistah Vegan: Black Female Vegans Speak on Food, Identity, Health, and Society”

Abstract

While talking about By Any Greens Necessary and Sistah Vegan, a friend asked, “Why is it necessary to have books about veganism written especially for black women?” My friend, a white woman, was well meaning. She could not understand what race has to do with veganism. Perhaps she was even surprised to hear that there are black, female vegans. Her question perfectly illustrates why these books are necessary. At best, veganism is a way of eating, a way of life that seemingly has nothing to do with race. At worst, it is a way of eating, a way of life tied to whiteness. Both books address the latter, bringing a visibility to black women’s experiences with veganism, using personal narrative to illustrate different journeys. The centering of black women’s experiences, addressing cultural concerns related to eating and community, and an explicit focus on health (broadly defined) link these two books together, but each approaches the subject differently. By Any Greens Necessary: A Revolutionary Guide for Black Women Who Want to Eat Great, Get Healthy, Lose Weight, and Look Phat doesn’t reference veganism in the title. Instead, readers might draw a parallel between the book’s title and “by any means necessary,” a phrase popularized by Malcolm X. In a 1965 speech, Malcolm X said, “We declare our right on this earth to be a man, to be a human being, to be respected as a human being, to be given the rights of a human being in this society, on this earth, in this day, which we intend to bring into existence by any means necessary.” Similar to Malcolm X’s desire for blacks to experience liberation from racial and economic oppression, McQuirter aims to help black women get healthy by “liberating the way [we] think about food” (xxiii). The title is inviting, though “vegan” is noticeably left out. While “Green” might refer to any type of leafy vegetables, for black women, it might call to mind collard greens. That—coupled with “Black Women” and “Phat”—creates a sense of community, familiarity, comfort, and safe space.