Top Google Search in Iowa: “Is Bernie Sanders Vegan?”

According to Google, the Iowa caucus raised one big question: “Is Bernie Sanders Vegan?” The Vermont senator’s presidential campaign has largely focused on progressive political issues such as climate change and animal rights—with The Humane Society of the United State’s annual report card recognizing Sanders as a leader in supporting ethical legislation. Sanders’ stances on these issues fall in line with environmentalists, young progressives, and animal activists and as such, the question arose of whether Sanders eats meat—a practice proven to be environmentally harmful and ethically misaligned. The answer was “yes,” according to his daughter Carina Driscoll, who told People magazine that Sanders “was a follower of the [meat-centric] Paleo diet before the Paleo diet was a thing.” Along with immense animal suffering, according to the United Nations, raising animals for food contributes to more greenhouse gas emissions than all of transportation combined. With this overwhelming public interest in the senator’s diet, perhaps Sanders will “feel the Bern” himself and consider going vegan to bolster the credibility of his campaign.