Boston Celtics center Enes Kanter is now shifting to a plant-based diet, adding animal rights to his advocacy with an emphasis on factory farming. Being in the NBA bubble granted Kanter free time to do his homework on intensive animal farming, he told Boston Public Radio on Monday.
"When they put us in the NBA bubble, we had nothing to do but just stay in our room, so it was the first time I became very curious about where our food comes from," he said. "I started to research about all the factory farms where our meat comes from, and learning that animals are abused and workers are abused just shocked me."
Kanter drew inspiration from fellow pro athletes who are vegans, like New England Patriots quarterback Cam Newton and the Williams sisters, he added. "[Many] trainers say if you don't eat meat you're not going to get faster, you're not going to get stronger, or heal faster," he said. "But everything was just so wrong, I learned after all the studying I did, and there's been so much inspiration out there."
While he's not a full-on vegan yet, Kanter says he's working hard to lessen his meat consumption. "Once you do your research, you see it's not just about not eating meat, but you learn how factory farms abuse animals and workers," he said. "Three times a day, you get to vote what kind of world you want to live in."
