Booker on if Americans should be vegan: ‘No,’ and in Spanish, ‘no’

Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) said during the party’s primary debate Thursday night that more people shouldn’t become vegan amid rising concerns about climate change, but prompted laughter from the audience when he translated his answer.

ABC News’s Jorge Ramos, one of the debate’s moderators, began a question for Booker by citing experts who suggest that “eating less meat is one way to help the environment” and adding that President Trump is concerned that climate change regulations could affect economic growth.

“So should more Americans — including those here in Texas and in Iowa — follow your diet?” Ramos asked.

“First of all, I want to say ‘no’ — actually, I want to translate that into Spanish — ‘no,’” Booker said, spurring laughter from the audience.{mosads}

“Look, let’s just be clear,” he continued, “the kind of incentives that we are giving that don’t line up with our values — that’s what I’m calling for.”

The moment comes after the New Jersey senator’s reaction to former Rep. Beto O’Rourke (D-Texas) speaking Spanish become a meme at the June debate.

Booker has been vegan since 2014 and has previously said he doesn’t believe the planet’s climate can sustain industrialized animal agriculture in the future.