“Around 16 or 17 years old, I started finding out about some of the animal cruelty things, and ethically it just didn't make sense to me to keep eating meat, so eventually I stopped. … I was watching an HBO special about eating habits and different cultures, and they actually showed in China how people eat cats, and I'm really fond of cats, and I just happened to be sitting on the couch with my cat, and once I saw that, it just put everything in perspective. If I wouldn't eat my cat what's the difference between eating a cat or a cow? If certain animals are considered lesser than, so are certain people and that's not really fair. And the root of that is to consider life on equal terms across the board.”

— Ben Kenney

“ Ben Kenney—Exclusive Interview https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rRVPQc6UmdI,” ad for PETA (10 July 2008).

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Ben Kenney 1

American musician 1977

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“From my reading of Gandhi I had learned how some people in India regard eating cow as unspeakably repulsive. I realized I felt the same way about cats and dogs: I could never eat them. Were cows so different from cats and dogs that there were two moral standards, one that applies to cows, another that applies to cats and dogs? Were pigs so different? Were any of the animals I ate so different?”

Tom Regan book Empty Cages

Source: Empty Cages (2004), Ch. 2

“That song [5-3-10-4 from Maybe I'll Catch Fire] really is about how I saw things. I wrote that song when I was still doing the bike messenger grind and you know being down by the stockyards where they would take all the animals and slaughter them; there were a bunch of slaughterhouses down there and there were cows and pigs being frozen and chunks of meat were hanging in trucks, it was such a pinnacle time in my life. … I haven’t eaten meat for something like 17 years. I remember I was eating meat one day and my cat was looking up at me and I thought, ‘Man I wouldn’t eat my cat. What difference would it make if it was a little cat or a cow?’ and it occurred to me that we are all connected and I didn’t want to contribute to that. All the time people around me are eating meat but that is their thing, it is not until they ask that I inform them that I am a vegetarian and it is a big part of who I am.”

Matt Skiba (1976) American musician

"Interview: Matt Skiba (Alkaline Trio, Matt Skiba and The Sekerets)" http://cooltry.com.au/interview-matt-skiba-alkaline-trio-matt-skiba-and-the-skerets/, Cool Try (26 June 2012).

“When I turned 15 or 16 I realized that I did not have to eat meat, so I stopped. I went Vegan the same year I got in to bike racing: 1999. I was living in San Francisco and started racing on the track and lived with a bunch of vegans. To be honest, I never really liked eating animal products. It was just always in stuff I would eat. Y'know: burritos have cheese, pizza has cheese. But once I was surrounded by people who showed me that there were options, I stopped eating animal products right away. I was really motivated to start taking responsibility for what I put in my body.”

Molly Cameron (1976) American racing cyclist

"Molly Cameron - Cycling" http://www.organicathlete.org/post/vegan-athlete-molly-cameron#.W12sVP4UlgU, interview with Organic Athlete (9 March 2006).

“From my reading of Gandhi I had learned how some people in India regard eating cow as unspeakably repulsive. I realized I felt the same way about cats and dogs: I could never eat them.”

Tom Regan book Empty Cages

Were cows so different from cats and dogs that there were two moral standards, one that applies to cows, another that applies to cats and dogs? Were pigs so different? Were any of the animals I ate so different?
Source: Empty Cages (2004), Ch. 2

“(Sylvia) A cat who’s just been told that he’ll have to eat that special canned cat food that comes from the veterinarian for the rest of his life. (Cat) Shoot me now.”

Nicole Hollander (1939) Cartoonist

Source: Sylvia cartoon strip, pp. 108-109

“I'm an animal lover and my two cats are my world, so I don't wear any fur. I don't support the fur industry. And I'm not really into animal prints either, I just don't like the idea of me saying "I'm wearing a big cat today."”

Alyssa Campanella (1990) American model

"Meet the former Miss USA turned fashion blogger, Alyssa Campanella, who is dominating NYFW" https://www.aol.com/article/2016/02/11/meet-the-former-miss-usa-turned-fashion-blogger-alyssa-campanel/21310867/?guccounter=1, interview with AOL (February 11, 2016).

“When I was 6 and found out where meat came from, I was horrified. We were eating a meal of chops and three veg, and I was talking with my parents about where carrots came from; they said carrots grew in the ground. We talked about the other vegetables and got to the chops, and I asked what a chop grew on. My parents looked at each other like, "Who is going to tell her?" I felt betrayed they would make me eat an animal. After that I remember hiding my pet cat, hoping the cat wasn't going to end up on a dinner plate.”

Pippa Black (1982) actress

"One on One with Pippa Black" https://www.vegetariantimes.com/life-garden/one-on-one-with-pippa-black, interview with ' (6 July 2011).

“When I stopped eating meat, I noticed that it was easier for me to focus, and I was really proud of myself for being green also. … I had a plethora of reasons for going vegetarian. I was eating meat and didn’t know how it affected my health …. I just felt better and brighter and lighter, and I had more energy …. It was a big deal to me, being an animal lover, that I realised what I was eating, and I didn’t separate myself from, say, my animals, my pets.”

Christian Serratos (1990) American actress

"‘Twilight’ Star Hits Graveyard In Sexy, Dark PETA Ad" https://www.peta.org.uk/media/news-releases/twilight-star-hits-graveyard-in-sexy-dark-peta-ad/, interview with PETA (November 2012).

“Ever since I was a kid, I had a really hard time eating meat. Every time I ate chicken, I actually spat it out in my napkin and gave it to my dog. … I would always see the animal in my mind. I never understood why I was eating another creature. That just never made sense to me.”

Allie (wrestler) (1987) Canadian professional wrestler

"Meatless in the Ring: Being Vegan in the Changing World of Pro Wrestling" https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2688747-meatless-in-the-ring-being-vegan-in-the-changing-world-of-pro-wrestling, Bleacher Report (15 March 2017).

“In 1998, I had a talk with a friend that was vegetarian, and he just made me think … Like, just because someone else can kill an animal for you and cut it up and do all the disgusting dirty work, all I have to do is walk into McDonald’s and order it and then I can eat it. … I still eat the same kinds of things I used to but without meat. So I think that if you love animals and deep down are sort of just over [eating them] or think it’s wrong and not the right thing to do, then just stop doing it. … Videos are also very effective—my friend saw a video about factory farming and stopped eating meat immediately afterward. Seeing is believing. Sometimes people don’t want to think about stuff like that or don’t care to think about stuff like that until it’s really just thrown in their face.”

Tom Higgenson (1979) American singer

"Plain White T's Frontman: ‘Seeing Is Believing'" https://www.peta2.com/news/plain-white-ts-frontman-knows-that-seeing-is-believing/ interview with PETA (18 July 2011).

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Ben Kenney 1

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