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James Talarico’s “no meat” controversy explains a lot about America

The response to the Texas Senate candidate’s comments on animal welfare highlight the challenge of talking about meat in US politics.

Earlier this month, Texas state Rep. James Talarico eked out victory in a heated race to become Texas’s Democratic nominee for the US Senate race this November. Texans haven’t elected a Democrat to the Senate since 1988, and a lot of hopes are riding on Talarico’s longshot campaign to change that.

But this week, an unexpected video from Talarico’s past resurfaced that caused so much uproar he issued a hefty rebuttal within 24 hours.

The video didn’t revolve around the typical political scandal fodder, like allegations of an affair or bribery. In the eyes of his opponents, it would seem, he had committed a far graver offense: Talarico had endorsed…veganism.

For the record, Talarico has never claimed to be vegan himself, but at a 2022 fundraiser event in support of strengthening animal abuse laws, he said that his campaign — at the time for reelection in the Texas House of Representatives — had officially become a “non-meat” campaign. Talarico stated that the campaign would only buy “vegan products from our local vegan businesses,” and mentioned a local plant-based pizzeria. He said it was an existential matter to try to reduce meat consumption because “it’s necessary to fight climate change” but also as a means to “respect animals in all aspects of society.” The crowd cheered.

In advocating for plant-based eating, Talarico joined a handful of other politicians: New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker, former New York City Mayor Eric Adams, and Maryland Rep. Jamie Raskin, among others. But the message hit different in Texas, which raises more cattle than any other state by far, and where the mascot of the state’s second largest university is the longhorn steer.

The responses to the resurfaced post have been fast and furious. Texas Sen. Ted Cruz called Talarico a “freak” who wants to “ban BBQ” (Talarico has said no such thing). Texas’s other senator, John Cornyn — who Talarico might face off against in........

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