This year’s White House contest seats dinner in the middle of politics, and it’s not all steak and cheeseburger talk, either. Vegetarian eats have a prominent spot on the menu this campaign cycle. For years, plant-based food references have simmered around the edges of campaigns.
This summer, though, the stew began to boil over and push candidates to talk about vegetarianism — whether they want to or not. Republican and vegan Suzanne C. Johnson, of Kittery, is seeking the Maine House of Representatives seat 151 on a platform that includes encouraging “totally plant-based diets for best health and respect of all species.
” Johnson’s policy positions also include banning pesticides in school food, protecting natural resources and prohibiting towns from taking properties for unpaid taxes. Johnson, who has never held elected office, has worked to prevent a natural gas plant being built on the Piscataqua River and helped advocate for disability rights for people with hearing loss. Her opponent is incumbent Democrat Kristi Michele Mathieson, of Kittery, a licensed dietician, who serves on the Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee and the Health Coverage, Insurance and Financial Services Committee.
Kittery has the highest per capita number of plant-based businesses of any Maine town. In July, Usha Vance introduced her husband, Republican vice presidential nominee JD Vance, to the crowd at the Republican National Convention, saying, “Although he’s a meat-and-pot.