Quotes about vegetarianism
page 3

“When I went vegetarian at age eleven, it was a remarkably easy transition. A boy at my school was attempting to kill creatures in the pond. When I tried to stop him, he said, “You eat animals,” like that meant I had no right to try and save something that could end up on my plate later. The hypocrisy of my actions became crystal clear in that moment. I decided, no more meat. … When I first started working for two organizations supporting anti-factory farming, vegan outreach and humane education, my choice to go vegan became that much clearer. I realized veganism is the only diet that can change the world. … You can expect a healthier body, and the feeling of pride that goes hand-in-hand with living according to your values. That’s something that many people aspire to, but few people achieve.”

Alicia Silverstone (1976) American actress

"How to Transition from Vegetarianism to Veganism", in The Kind Life (9 April 2013) http://thekindlife.com/blog/2013/04/how-to-transition-from-vegetarian-to-vegan/

People, Age, World, Education

“Indeed, Judaism as a way of life, seeks to inculcate in us a consciousness of the Divine Presence in the World and respect for life accordingly. The more we care for life, the closer we are in fact to God. Accordingly, an ethical vegetarian way of life expresses the most noble and sublime values and aspirations of Judaism itself, bringing us closer to its vision for society as a whole.”

David Rosen (1951) irish rabbi

Source: Vegetarianism: An Orthodox Jewish Perspective, p. 55

Life, God, World, Way

“I’ve been a vegetarian for 14 years now, and a lot of the time I avoid going to restaurants. I eat at home. … I’ve never had any desire to eat meat. In fact, when I was a kid I would have a really difficult time eating meat at all. It had to be the perfect bite, with no fat or gristle or bone or anything like that…. I don’t judge people who eat meat—that’s not for me to say—but the whole thing just sort of bums me out.”

Tobey Maguire (1975) actor from the United States

"Tobey Maguire - Web Exclusive", interview in Parade.com (1 April 2007) http://web.archive.org/web/20070930165114/http://www.parade.com/export/sites/default/articles/editions/2007/edition_04-01-2007/Tobey-Maguire. Quoted in "The Green Quote: Tobey Maguire Prefers To Eat At Home", in Ecorazzi.com (24 July 2008) http://www.ecorazzi.com/2008/07/24/the-green-quote-tobey-maguire-prefers-to-eat-at-home/.

People, Home, Time, Perfection

“Animals deserve to be treated with kindness. I love animals, and I don't believe humans can treat them as commodities and cause them harm. … I officially became a vegan on June 1, 2009. Even though it's quite a change in terms of nutrition, I have never felt better or so healthy in my life. Considering that I'm a professional athlete, that's quite important … I understand the impact I have in joining many groups like PETA. I don't do it to force people to be vegetarian or vegan. I just want to educate people on the subject to make this world a better place. … Many people … refuse to get educated on the matter because just like me, they're sensitive and afraid to make a change. But my friends, that change is not bad at all. … Millions of people around the globe are going vegetarian for the sake of animals, their health and the environment. I encourage you to give it a try too!”

Georges Laraque (1976) Canadian ice hockey player

“A Vegan Life”, in georgeslaraque.com (August 2009) https://georgeslaraque.com/vg-vegan.php.

Love, Life, People, Health

“I think being ‘alternative,’ which most people think holds me back, actually helps [in the music industry]. If I'd been an ordinary singer, I'd still be trying to get noticed in Canada. I'm an alternative in every way. I'm a country singer who's a vegetarian for health reasons and because of compassion for animals. I'm also alternative because of Canada — there's something romantic about being Canadian. I always push the fact that I'm Canadian. I'm not self-righteous enough to think I'm unique and I'm not being overly rebellious. But I've learned that to go your own way and be yourself, which is what I'm trying to do, is alternative to a lot of people.”

K.d. lang (1961) Canadian singer-songwriter

In 1988, upon becoming Miss Chatelaine (Chatelaine magazine's woman of the year); as quoted in Have Not Been the Same: The CanRock Renaissance 1985-1995 by Michael Barclay, Ian A.D. Jack, Jason Schneider (Toronto: ECW Press, 2011 ebook edition), p. 539 https://books.google.it/books?id=xLIiOE_jCpAC&pg=PT539.

People, Health, Music, Way

“Vegans and vegetarians are commonly baited by nonvegetarians with “what if” scenarios that typically have no relevance to or bearing on most people's real-life situations.”

Joanne Stepaniak (1954) American writer

Source: Being Vegan (2000), p. 44

Life, People

“Vegetarianism is a link to perfection and peace. But it's a small link. There are lots of other issues: apartheid, vivisection, political prisoners, the arms race. There's so much going on in this world today, so much ignorance among people. That's not to say I'm not standing amongst everybody. But the point is, what can we do now? That's the thing about vegetarianism; it's an individual's decision and it's something you have control over. How many things do we really have control over?”

River Phoenix (1970–1993) American actor, musician, and activist

Vegetarian Times (1988)

People, World, Peace, Decision

“When the underlying reality is particularly unpleasant, we minimize—numbing ourselves to the actual extent of the real story. We say, “Things can't possibly be as bad as people tell us,” because we don't want them to be that bad. This is a form of magical thinking, a way of shutting our eyes. Surely if things were that bad, somebody would do something about it. Withdrawal can take the form of removing our interest (another horror story about furry pets, yawn, yawn); or our wandering attention (understandably, since we are besieged by other equally pressing images of horror). Of course this reaction can be genuine: not everyone need become an activist in the cause to end animal suffering. And becoming a vegetarian may seem like going too far. In fact, it is not such a difficult step and could be legitimately seen as the very best form of activism.”

Jeffrey Moussaieff Masson (1941) American writer and activist

Source: The Face on Your Plate (2009), Ch. 4, p. 161

People, Way, Understanding, Thinking

“So I read about various aspects of vegetarianism—the scientific aspect, the humane aspect, the ethical aspect, and the economic aspect. The more I studied, the more convinced I became that it was a logical procedure, that it would help humanity, that it would lessen the suffering of the animals, and that it would help this country.”

Gordon Latto (doctor) (1911–1998)

Interview in The Vegetarians by Rynn Berry (Autumn Press, 1979), p. 123.

Study, Suffering, Reading, Help

“Among the many prejudices against vegans is the belief that they are always preaching to others and trying to convert them. I do not think that is true; we are incredibly tolerant. We are always polite when others ask, “Don’t you ever get tempted by a bacon sandwich?”… In fact, most vegans I know are rather coy about explaining why they are vegan, mostly because the question tends to be asked when we are sitting a dinner table full of meat eaters, and it seems rather impolite to answer. However, seeing as we are not at a dinner party now, here is the ethical case… If people are vegetarians for ethical reasons—because they believe that killing and eating animals is wrong—they really ought to be vegan, too. The average human eats more than 11,000 animals in his or her lifetime, but millions of calves and chicks are also killed every year as “waste products” of milk and egg production.”

Kerry McCarthy (1965) British politician

Debate on World Vegan Day http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201011/cmhansrd/cm111101/debtext/111101-0004.htm#1111025000002 (transcript in www.parliament.uk), House of Commons, 1 November 2011

People, Question, Thinking, Animals

“I was of a generation that didn't even realize that a vegetarian diet was healthy, but I wasn't going to have animals killed for me to eat. … I had little idea what vegetarians ate, but when my first husband was killed, I thought, "Well, I always felt that I didn't want to eat animals, and now I'm definitely not going to."”

Muriel Dowding, Baroness Dowding (1908–1993) British noble

Source: Interview by Rynn Berry, p. 140

Idea, Animals

“Some people, many who profess to be yogis, argue that vegetarianism is not a healthful diet for everyone. We agree that vegetarianism is not for everybody; it is only for those who desire happiness and peace. It is definitely a must for those who are interested in enlightenment.”

Sharon Gannon (1951) American yoga teacher

Jivamukti Yoga: Practices for Liberating Body and Soul, coauthored with David Life (New York: Ballantine Books, 2002), p. 65 https://books.google.it/books?id=D_9oFtc1ZLMC&pg=PA65.

Happiness, People, Health, Peace

“No League of Nations, or of individuals, can avail, without a change of heart. Reformers of all classes must recognize that it is useless to preach peace by itself, or socialism by itself, or anti-vivisection by itself, or vegetarianism by itself, or kindness to animals by itself. The cause of each and all of the evils that afflict the world is the same the general lack of humanity, the lack of the knowledge that all sentient life is akin, and that he who injures a fellow-being is in fact doing injury to himself. The prospects of a happier society are wrapped up in this despised and neglected truth, the very statement of which, at the present time, must (I well know) appear ridiculous to the accepted instructors of the people.”

Henry Stephens Salt (1851–1939) British activist

Seventy Years Among Savages (1921).

Life, People, Truth, World

“Veganism started off as a willpower challenge for me from vegetarianism. … I just walked into year three, so I'm still a brand-new vegan, but I've learned so much … and it's done wonders for my entire life. Some of the changes that I've experienced being vegan: I'm no longer anemic. … I don't get sick! And my skin is clear. I lost 30 pounds. … Everything in my life has benefited me just eating natural foods, and the more information about the truths and the harsh realities of treatment of animals as well as the process of manufacturing food or meat products—including seafood, including the dairy industry, which I was oblivious to being a vegetarian—prompted me to continue this journey, which I'm very proud of, but it's impossible to turn back, because I no longer see product—I see process.”

Mýa

“Mýa, Proud Vegan: 'I No Longer See Product—I See Process'”, video interview with PETA (12 October 2016) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rax-2smxzpk.

Life, Truth, Food, Nature

“No wonder Muddlers initially think that becoming a vegetarian is like taking a vow of culinary abstinence mixed with voluntary poverty.
Of course, in time Muddlers discover that there is an incredibly delicious, colorful, and nutritious animal-free cuisine out there to be discovered, a menu of possibilities that includes foods from every nation and ethnicity in the world. It is the great new food we gain, not the customary old food we lose, that is the real surprise, something all of us have to discover for ourselves.”

Tom Regan book Empty Cages

Source: Empty Cages (2004), Ch. 6

World, Food, Color, Thinking

“Even if vegetarian dishes are less palatable than meat-based dishes, and it is not clear that they are, we have to weigh up humans' loss of certain pleasures of the palate against what the animals we eat have to give up because of our predilection for meat. Most obviously, of course, they have to give up their lives, and all the opportunities for the pursuing of interests and satisfaction of preferences that go with this. For most of the animals we eat, in fact, death may not be the greatest of evils. They are forced to live their short lives in appalling and barbaric conditions, and undergo atrocious treatment. Death for many of these animals is a welcome release. When you compare what human beings would have to 'suffer' should vegetarianism become a widespread practice with what the animals we eat have to suffer given that it is not, then if one were to make a rational and self-interested choice in the original position, it is clear what this choice would be. If one did not know whether one was going to be a human or an animal preyed on by humans, the rational choice would surely be to opt for a world where vegetarianism was a widespread human practice and where, therefore, there was no animal husbandry industry. What one stands to lose as a human is surely inconsequential compared to what one stands to lose as a cow, or pig, or lamb.”

Mark Rowlands (1962) British philosopher

Animal Rights: Moral Theory and Practice https://books.google.it/books?id=bFYYDAAAQBAJ&pg=PA0 (Palgrave Macmillan, 2nd ed. 2009), pp. 164-165.

Death, Pleasure, World, Suffering

“Beyond all question the future is with the vegetarian. It seems certain that in the future — and I hope it may be in the near future — we shall be looking back upon this time with disgust and with horror. In spite of all its wonderful discoveries, in spite of its marvellous machinery, in spite of the enormous fortunes that have been made in it, I am certain that our descendants will look back upon this age as one of only partial civilisation, and in fact but little removed from savagery.”

Charles Webster Leadbeater (1854–1934) English theosophist

Source: Vegetarianism and Occultism (1913), p. 28

Age, Hope, Question, Time

“Those who claim to care about the wellbeing of human beings and the preservation of our environment should become vegetarians for that reason alone. They would thereby increase the amount of grain available to feed people elsewhere, reduce pollution, save water and energy, and cease contributing to the clearing of forests; moreover, since a vegetarian diet is cheaper than one based on meat dishes, they would have more money available to devote to famine relief, population control, or whatever social or political cause they thought most urgent. … when nonvegetarians say that “human problems come first” I cannot help wondering what exactly it is that they are doing for human beings that compels them to continue to support the wasteful, ruthless exploitation of farm animals.”

Peter Singer book Animal Liberation

Source: Animal Liberation: A New Ethics for our Treatment of Animals (1975), Ch. 6: Speciesism Today

Money, People, Support, Problem

“In the writings of such "pagan" philosophers as Plutarch and Porphyry we find a humanitarian ethic of the most exalted kind, which, after undergoing a long repression during medieval churchdom, reappeared, albeit but weakly and fitfully at first, in the literature of the Renaissance, to be traced more definitely in the eighteenth century school of "sensibility." But it was not until after the age of Rousseau, from which must be dated the great humanitarian movement of the past century, that Vegetarianism began to assert itself as a system, a reasoned plea for the disuse of flesh-food.”

Henry Stephens Salt (1851–1939) British activist

The Humanities of Diet

Age, School, Food, Literature

“Going vegetarian may be the most effective way to fight global warming. Buddhist practitioners have practiced vegetarianism over the last 2000 years. We are vegetarian with the intention to nourish our compassion towards the animals. Now we also know that we eat vegetarian in order to protect the earth…”

Thich Nhat Hanh (1926) Religious leader and peace activist

"Letter from Thay", Blue Cliff Monastery http://www.plumvillage.org/HTML/news/letterfromThay.html (12 October 2007)

Way, Animals, Fight

“[What inspired you to go vegetarian at age 19? ] A taste aversion stopped my eating meat, then my deep love and respect for animals started informing more and more of my decisions. I had an innate sense of wanting to be vegan, but I needed more information. The change was gradual, which let me think through every step. I was still eating dairy when my first son was born; he couldn't tolerate my breast milk, and I realized I had a dairy allergy. So, it kept evolving. I read Eating Animals by Jonathan Safran Foer, and that did it.”

Mayim Bialik (1975) American actress, neuroscientist

“One on One with Mayim Bialik”, interview with Vegetarian Times (15 Jun 2011) https://www.vegetariantimes.com/life-garden/one-on-one-with-mayim-bialik.

Love, Age, Thinking, Decision

“[About the 1991 film Diet for a New America narrated by John Robbins] It just changed my life, to see that film. When I saw it, I pledged to become vegetarian immediately, with the plan of becoming vegan. … My goal was always to become vegan, but it was a longer road. … I envy the kids going vegan now; they have so many different resources. … I think, at first, it struck me from an animal perspective, but the argument for the environment and for your own health also struck a cord with me. So it hit me on three different levels.”

Emily Deschanel (1976) American actress, television producer, and film producer

"Isn't she lovely". Interview by Stacy Gueraseva for Laika magazine, issue 4, 2014, page 51.

Life, Health, Thinking, Change

“Vegetarians and vegans are not morally superior to everyone else. We're simply healthier, and a hell of a lot better for the environment around us. Of course, just because we're not morally superior doesn't mean we're not on the side of the angels. I believe we are. After all, we're practitioners of a diet that's better for people, better for animals, and better for the environment.”

Howard F. Lyman (1938) American activist

Source: No More Bull! (2005), Ch. 5: Message for My Meat-Eating Friends, p. 78

People, Angels, Hell, Animals

“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).

Health, Lovers, Animals

“[In my family] we read books on the subject—a lot of them—and came to the conclusion that, because of the number and amounts of hormones now used to fatten animals, meat isn't healthy. … [Vegetarianism] helped my cycling some, but the diet is more important over the long run and later in life.”

Wayne Stetina (1953) American cyclist

"They Hunger for Success" https://www.si.com/vault/1977/02/28/560840/they-hunger-for-success, interview with Sports Illustrated (February 28, 1977).

Life, Books, Family, Reading

“Vegetarianism is a really important part of what we need to do to help the environment. The meat industry is really toxic to the environment. The cattle industry — besides the fact that there's a lot of cruel things happening — the manure is extremely toxic. We just need to pull back as a culture as much as we can.”

Lisa Edelstein (1967) American actress, playwright

"Lisa Edelstein's Exclusive Interview" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F8oAzGqnZXk, video interview with PETA (11 April 2012).

Help, Parting

“28% of the greenhouse gasses come from eating meat and from raising cattle, so we can do a much better job. … Luckily we know that you can get your protein source from many different ways, you can get it through vegetables if you are a vegetarian. I have seen many body builders that are vegetarian and they get strong and healthy.”

Arnold Schwarzenegger (1947) actor, businessman and politician of Austrian-American heritage

" Arnold Schwarzenegger: Stop eating meat and save the planet http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/article/35038053/arnold-schwarzenegger-stop-eating-meat-and-save-the-planet", in BBC Newsbeat website (8 December 2015) <br class="br">2010s

Way, Strong

“[Asked who inspired him to be a vegetarian] I used to sell books, when I was about 18 …. We were selling books, and right next to us was an old man. I mean, he had to be about 80 years old, and he was a nutritionist, but he was a holistic nutritionist, and he was talking to us about how you shouldn’t really eat animals and things of that nature … and he pulled up his shirt and the man had the abs of a 15-year-old. He says to us, “Touch ’em. Punch me,”—whatever—and he’s like, “How old do you think I am?” And we thought he was about 50 years old, and he’s like, “I’m 86 years old.””

Jeru the Damaja (1972) American Hip Hop artist

… We looked at each other, me and my friends, and we were, like, when we’re 86, we want to be like that …. So that’s what started it. <br class="br">" Jeru the Damaja http://www.peta2.com/heroes/jeru-the-damaja/", interview by Peta2, having just released his album Divine Design (2003).

Books, Nature, Thinking, Animals

“A diet optimally designed for adult humans would naturally be ideal for the children of that species, too. There are no special needs children have that would make them require a different diet. Even at the time of rapid growth and brain development, the optimal supply of energy and essential fats can be met by an appropriately planned vegetarian or vegan diet.”

Joel Fuhrman (1953) Family Physician and author

Source: Disease-Proof Your Child (2005), Ch. 4, p. 157

Children, Optimism, Nature, Time

“If judge and jury had to hang the prisoner themselves in cold blood, there would be fewer executions; if we each had to butcher our own meat, there would be a great increase in the number of vegetarians.”

Ernest Howard Crosby (1856–1907) American politician

Tolstoy and His Message (New York: Funk and Wagnall's Company, 1904), p. 53 https://archive.org/stream/tolstoyhismessa00cros#page/52.

“[As a vegetarian] I feel better, I have more energy on and off the set, and I have the satisfaction of knowing that I’m doing something to help stop animal suffering.”

Maggie Q (1979) American actress

“Maggie Q’s Beautiful New Ads,” by PETA (29 September 2007) https://www.peta.org/blog/maggie-qs-beautiful-new-ads/.

Feeling, Suffering, Help, Animals

“I had been a vegetarian ever since coming across the Theosophical teaching. My children had never tasted meat or chicken or fish and I suffered from the normal superiority complex which is often an outstanding characteristic of a vegetarian.”

Alice A. Bailey (1880–1949) esoteric, theosophist, writer

The Unfinished Autobiography (1951)

Children, Fish, Suffering

“German food is so bad, even Hitler was a vegetarian. "Would you like some more shtrudleghraf on your shamlw?" How appetising does that sound?”

Dylan Moran (1971) Irish actor and comedian

Like, Totally (2006)

Food

“After being murdered at Stalin's orders, Lev Davidovich Bronstein, alias Leon Trotsky (1879-1940), lived on for decades as the unassailable hero of aesthetically minded progressives who wished to persuade themselves that there could be a vegetarian version of communism.”

Clive James (1939–2019) Australian author, critic, broadcaster, poet, translator and memoirist

'Leon Trotsky', p. 747
Essays and reviews, Cultural Amnesia: Notes in the Margin of My Time (2007)

Communication

“Some yoga teachers say that a vegetarian diet is not necessary.
[Pattabhi Jois]: [laughing] Oh … a new method!
Many Indians and Westerners eat meat.
[Pattabhi Jois]: They are not practicing yoga. Meat eating makes you stiff.
What is the most important yogic practice in this time?
[Pattabhi Jois]: Vegetarian diet is the most important practice for yoga.”

K. Pattabhi Jois (1915–2009) Indian yoga teacher

Interview in Sharon Gannon and David Life, Jivamukti Yoga, Ballantine Books, 2002, p. 83 http://books.google.it/books?id=D_9oFtc1ZLMC&pg=PA83.

Teachers, Time

“My mom was always my biggest teacher, my inspiration, my role model. My mom was just the most amazing person. She was like a bon vivant in that she just lived each day to the fullest. As soon as I became a vegetarian, she became a vegetarian. … I was actually inspired by a book she was reading that I picked up off the nightstand when I was about 13. It was a Norman Mailer book [Miami and the Siege of Chicago] and it had a very graphic scene of the slaughterhouses in Chicago. So I read that and I said, "I love animals. I don't want to be a part of that system."”

Christie Brinkley (1954) American model

“Christie Brinkley on Skin Care and the Secret to Staying Young”, interview with Elle (5 March 2015) http://www.elle.com/beauty/makeup-skin-care/news/a27143/christie-brinkley-on-skincare-and-the-secret-to-staying-young/.

Love, Books, Moms, Teachers

“Our young people are faced by a series of different groups which believe different things and advocate different practices, and to each of which some trusted friend or relative may belong. So a girl's father may be a Presbyterian, an imperialist, a vegetarian, a teetotaller, with a strong literary preference for Edmund Burke, a believer in the open shop and a high tariff, who believes that women's place is in the home, that young girls should wear corsets, not roll their stockings, not smoke, nor go riding with young men in the evening. But her mother's father may be a Low Episcopalian, a believer in high living, a strong advocate of States' Rights and the Monroe Doctrine, who reads Rabelais, likes to go to musical shows and horse races…”

Margaret Mead (1901–1978) American anthropologist

Source: 1920s, Coming of Age in Samoa (1928), p. 161

Women, Men, People, Music

“Nutrition has always played a huge role in my life. I became a vegetarian when I was 13 and then got my entire family to become vegetarians. And I have always been active my whole life. I genuinely enjoy sports and I spend time on my total gym.”

Christie Brinkley (1954) American model

“Christie Brinkley Is 'Energized' About 2009”, interview with People (18 January 2009) http://people.com/celebrity/christie-brinkley-is-energized-about-2009/.

Life, Family, Sport, Time

“[Vegetarianism] changed my game, and it changed my body. I had tons of energy.”

Ricky Williams (1977) All-American college football players, professional football players, running back

"Going Vegan in the NFL" by Kevin Gray, Men's Journal (December 2012) https://web.archive.org/web/20130126012240/http://www.mensjournal.com/magazine/going-vegan-in-the-nfl-20130123.

Game, Change

“For those who are still merely vegetarian and not yet vegan, I ask, what in heaven's name are you waiting for? If you are trying to avoid the health pitfalls of eating carcasses—high fat, saturated fat, and cholesterol content; lack of fiber; deficiency of vitamins and enzymes; abundance of stored toxins—well, then take a good look at the dairy you're eating. Dairy is basically liquid meat without the iron. … Milk should be viewed as no more or less than what it is: a delivery system for fat, cholesterol, blood, pus, antibiotics, and carcinogenic growth hormones. … If your reason for abstaining from meat has more to do with an emotional attachment to animals than a concern for your health, then understand that dairy cows are truly sick, miserable, abused creatures … Someone who has become vegetarian for emotional reasons ought to switch to the vegan diet as swiftly and surely as someone brought to vegetarianism for reasons of health.”

Howard F. Lyman (1938) American activist

Source: No More Bull! (2005), Ch. 6: Message for My Fellow Vegetarians and Vegans, pp. 79-80

Health, Understanding, Waiting, Animals

“["Do you see a tie in between being a vegetarian and helping the environment?"] All of our cleaning products, lotions, shampoos, and toothpaste are organic and non-chemical, non-animal tested. You don’t have to be a vegetarian to be against animal testing, but it goes hand in hand. You know the rainforest that’s cut down or the land that’s cleared for cattle and factory farm animals, the destruction of the rain forest specifically for beef cattle is mind boggling to the both of us that they would destroy a very precious eco system just so cows have a place to eat grass. The people in South America don’t even really get to eat that beef but the land is being destroyed for it, and definitely the methane that’s produced from the cows and pigs. It’s definitely contributing to global warming. It’s hard for people to wrap their minds around the fact that their cheeseburger is making global warming worse. I think it’s an important message for people to get, but it’s hard for people to put the two together and make the connection.”

Susie Feldman (1982) American actress

"Watch “The Two Coreys” this Sunday", interview with PETA (27 July 2007) https://www.peta.org/blog/watch-two-coreys-sunday/.

People, Thinking, Grass, Help

“Vegetarianism is an ideal way to actualize the Torah's vision of a world in which the divine spark in all creation is respected and revered.”

Bonnie Koppell American rabbi

Source: Vegetarianism, p. 39

World, Way

“I saw that the writers on vegetarianism had examined the question very minutely, attacking it in its religious, scientific, practical and medical aspects. Ethically they had arrived at the conclusion that man's supremacy over the lower animals meant not that the former should prey upon the latter, but that the higher should protect the lower, and that there should be mutual aid between the two as between man and man.”

Mahatma Gandhi (1869–1948) pre-eminent leader of Indian nationalism during British-ruled India

Part I, Chapter 17, Experiments in Dietetics
1920s, An Autobiography (1927)

Question, Animals

“My mom always taught me to hold my head up high and be strong and confident in everything I do. … I’ve been interested in fitness and nutrition for most of my life. I became a vegetarian at a very young age and had to learn how to get the proper nutrition to my body. Over a 15-year process I visited trainers, dietitians and doctors; read hundreds of books and studies; and eventually became a personal trainer and fitness nutritionist myself. I want to use all of my real-life experience and the science behind my certifications to help educate everyone struggling with their body image. … Modeling is a lot of hard work and you have to have a very strong sense of self and confidence to succeed.”

Jayde Nicole (1986) Canadian model, Playboy's Playmate of the Month January 2007 and Playmate of the Year 2008

"Jayde Nicole, Miss 2008, Interview", in RunwayLive.com (20 August 2011) https://www.runwaylive.com/3306-jayde-nicole-miss-2008-interview.html.

Life, Books, Age, Education

“When we first started, we were able to take our undercover video to 60 Minutes or 20/20, and they would fight over it and do these thought-provoking exposés. Now that society has become less interested in these programs and more interested in sensationalism and the tabloids, we have to reinvent ourselves to keep our issues on the front burner; we have had to do a lot of theatrical things. … Much of what we do is geared toward kids, who have a great sense of justice. This is the first generation in which kids have grown up with this issue. Twenty-five years ago, parents were petrified when their kids went vegetarian — some still are.”

Dan Mathews (1964) American activist

About PETA's activities. “Sir Paul McCartney and PETA VP Dan Mathews Reflect on Two Decades of Activism” (April 2005), in PETA.org http://www.peta.org/features/paul-mccartney-interview/.

Justice, Parent, Sense, Fight

“President Herbert Hoover promised “a chicken in every pot and a car in every garage.” With warnings about global warming reaching feverish levels, many are having second thoughts about all those cars. It seems they should instead be worrying about the chickens. … It turns out that raising animals for food is a primary cause of land degradation, air pollution, water shortage, water pollution, loss of biodiversity, and not least of all, global warming. …The researchers found that, when it’s all added up, the average American does more to reduce global warming emissions by going vegetarian than by switching to a Prius. … Now that we know a greener diet is even more effective than a greener car, we can make a difference at every single meal, simply by leaving the animals off of our plates. Who would have thought: what’s good for our health is also good for the health of the planet!”

Kathy Freston American self-help writer

"Vegetarian is the New Prius", in the HuffPost (18 January 2007) https://www.huffingtonpost.com/kathy-freston/vegetarian-is-the-new-pri_b_39014.html.

Health, Food, Cars, Water

“I'm a vegetarian now, but I'm willing to make an exception in the event I'm presented with people. Because I've always been fairly standoffish; I have this tendency not to get to know people very well. And I don't think there is any better way to get to know humanity than to ingest it.”

John S. Hall (1960) Poet, author, singer, lawyer

"Eating People"
Lyrics, The Psychopathology of Everyday Life (2003)

People, Way, Thinking

“Growing up, I've always had so much love for animals, and I wasn't really fond of eating meat and really anything with a face because I just felt that it was an awful thing to do. Just recently I switched to a vegetarian. I had my first Thanksgiving with being a vegetarian; no turkey, I had tofu. A vegan dish, it was delicious. I did not miss turkey. I've never had a hamburger in my life. And I'm so glad that I can say that.”

Courtney Stodden (1994) American model, singer, songwriter, reality television personality

“Courtney Stodden on the Perks of Going Vegetarian,” video interview with PETA (28 March 2012) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EyBCZW3FWec.

Love, Life, Animals

“I was born a vegetarian, I think. Since infancy I never liked meat, never ate it, never ate turkey, chicken, fish or eggs. … I'm so healthy it's embarrassing. If I felt any better I'd have to see a doctor. … I truly believe that fruit is the body's cleanser, vegetables are the body's healer, and meat is the body's premature aging agent and the cause of all diseases except virus disease.”

Roy Hilligenn (1922–2008) South African bodybuilder

Interview by Osmo Kiiha; quoted in Clarence Bass, Challenge Yourself: Leanness, Fitness & Health at Any Age https://books.google.it/books?id=FSfwAAAAMAAJ (C. Bass' Ripped Enterprises, 1999), p. 202.

Age, Disease, Thinking, Fish

“I'm trying to reproduce healthily in a vegetarian way every kind of flesh there is — bacon, smoked salmon, roast meat. We're working on it. A lot of vegetarians complain that my book [Linda McCartney's Home Cooking] is meat-oriented and some of the products look like meat. For me, though, it's a matter of not just preaching — I hate to do it and it doesn't work — but helping to make the alternatives more attractive to more people. Change the eating habits and maybe you change the thinking habits. … I'm convinced that part of the reason the world is so sick is that so many people eat flesh. What are you doing but eating a slab of fear? … Look how long it took to abolish slavery. There was a time when much of the "civilized" world thought it was acceptable. And then they saw that it was wrong. I think the same thing will happen with eating animals. I have faith that the day will come when the world looks back and says, "How could we have done that?"”

Linda McCartney (1941–1998) American photographer

Interview from The Paul McCartney 1990 New World Tour Book; quoted in "Paul & Linda McCartney - In Their Own Words", Super Seventies RockSite! https://www.superseventies.com/ssmccartneys.html.

Hate, People, Books, World

“Susie and I choose the vegetarian way of life because for us, there really is no other choice. We must evolve as a race and as a planet, and evolution includes learning and changing from our mistakes. We will never truly grow until we as a whole come to the realization that all beings on this Earth should be treated with love and respect.”

Corey Feldman (1971) American actor

"What’s Your Favorite Corey Feldman Movie?" https://www.peta.org/blog/whats-favorite-corey-feldman-movie/, PETA (July 15, 2008).

Love, Life, Way, Learning

“I went vegan for the animals. I love them all and I don't want to eat my friends. I know it sounds cheesy but it's true. I started promoting it on my social media and I wasn't expecting people from all different areas of the world reaching out to me, saying how much I inspire them … My whole family is vegan and it's really fun to get creative in the kitchen while staying healthy, and just have fun with it. Veganism can be really healthy, but it can also be really unhealthy if you don't do it right. And it's not like I don't have cheat days with vegan junk food or vegan sweets, but it's important to stay on the program. … It was surprising how easy it is to be vegan. I was vegetarian my whole life prior so the transition was relatively easy for me to cut out dairy. When I cut out the dairy I noticed I had more energy. I also lost some fat and gained muscle!”

Tia Blanco (1997)

"3 Ways to Go Vegan with Tia Blanco" http://www.worldsurfleague.com/posts/237346/3-ways-to-go-vegan-with-tia-blanco, interview with World Surf League (February 2, 2017).

Love, Life, People, World

“[One thing] underpins, makes consistent, and gives meaning to all our other activities on behalf of animals. This one thing is that we take responsibility for our own lives, and make them as free of cruelty as we can. The first step is that we cease to eat animals. Many people who are opposed to cruelty to animals draw the line at becoming a vegetarian. It was of such people that Oliver Goldsmith, the eighteenth-century humanitarian essayist, wrote: "They pity, and they eat the objects of their compassion."”

Peter Singer book Animal Liberation

Source: Animal Liberation: A New Ethics for our Treatment of Animals (1975), Ch. 4: Becoming a Vegetarian

People, Animals, Drawing

“I just don't like meat. Rotten carcasses don't feel good inside in my body. I've also seen some horrible documentaries about the hormones and things that go into meat. On a health level, meat is so scary. […] It's not just about staying away from meat, it's about keeping things in your diet that make you feel good. That's why you eat vegetarian in the first place. […] I think killing to make or eat things is horrific. It seems like there was a movement against wearing fur in fashion, but overnight it's fine again. I hate the way we pay lip service to issues like that.”

Alan Cumming (1965) Scottish actor

“ One on One with Alan Cumming https://www.vegetariantimes.com/life-garden/one-on-one-with-alan-cumming,” interview with Vegetarian Times (27 January 2011).

Hate, Health, Way, Feeling

“My veganism stems from Mike Vallely. He was the person, he and Christian Kline … would take me out to dinner and say, “We’ll buy dinner for you if you don’t order meat.” I remember being totally bummed out about that and thinking, “I can’t get the Kung Pow chicken, this sucks.” Then I read some pamphlets and discovered how it was made. I think it takes a weird person to know that and then keep eating it. As I read that stuff, it hit me and I instantly went vegetarian. Then a year later went vegan. I read more information because I was interested, the floodgates opened and there was no turning back. … A lot of kids come up to me at demos and say, “Oh, you’ve skated so long. Is that because you’re vegan?” I’m always the first person on the course and the last person off. I’ve always had good energy. Maybe it’s from eating healthy. … I was just one person who said, “I’m not putting my dollars into this stuff, I’m only putting my dollars in this vegan stuff.” When millions of others do the same, the markets respond. Now there’s great ice cream and great soy milk. Everything you can dream about is made vegan now. That’s something that has transformed over the years. I did my little part, my little sacrifice made a point.”

Ed Templeton (1972) artist

"Ed Templeton Interview pt. 2" https://web.archive.org/web/20130207234012/http://veganskateblog.com/interview/ed-templeton-interview-pt-2. Vegan Skate Blog (February 1, 2013).

Dreams, Thinking, Reading, Parting

“The future is with the vegetarians.”

Rudolf Virchow (1821–1902) German doctor, anthropologist, public health activist, pathologist, prehistorian, biologist and politician

Quoted in Consuming Culture in the Long Nineteenth Century: Narratives of Consumption, 1700-1900, edited by Tamara S. Wagner and Narin Hassan (Lexington Books, 2007), p. 19 https://books.google.it/books?id=NAEZBjQwXBYC&pg=PA19.

Future

“I believe in living a vegetarian lifestyle from a health standpoint and I also have deep compassion for animals. I wanted to raise awareness and educate people on the abuse and inhumane treatment that goes on every day in slaughterhouses. … I want people to know that you can still be fit and have curves living a vegetarian lifestyle. … [I have been a vegetarian] since I was little girl. I grew up on a ranch and animals were my pets.”

Bonnie-Jill Laflin (1976) American actor, model

“NBA scout Bonnie-Jill Laflin poses for PETA ad,” interview with ESPN's Page 2 (April 2011) http://www.espn.com/espn/page2/index/_/id/6403093.

People, Health, Education, Girl

“We are highly evolved, intelligent human beings. And we do have the choice of what we put in our mouths. And for me anyway, it’s no meat. … Being vegetarian now, I find myself feeling so much lighter and freer and fresher, and I can sleep less and do more. I hear this from so many people who are vegetarians and vegans. I started feeling much lighter. My activities were energized. My thoughts were clearer. … Finding inner peace is vital. If you don’t have inner peace, you are not living. Everyone has their own personal journey. My journey for finding inner peace has been since the day that I was born. My children have taught me a lot about inner peace. I’d say more patience than peace, but through patience you find peace!”

Kristoff St. John (1966–2019) American actor

"In-Depth with Loving the Silent Tears MC: Kristoff St. John", GodsDirectContact.org (2012) http://www.godsdirectcontact.org.tw/eng/news/211/sr_49.htm

Children, People, Peace, Feeling

“I went vegetarian when I was about… 8 years old. One day I cut this piece of meat open and blood came out of it, and I realized, I asked my mother, “Where did this come from?,” and she said, “From animals,” and that was it.”

Geezer Butler (1949) English musician, bassist and lyricist of Black Sabbath

“ Black Sabbath's Geezer Butler,” interview with People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (5 May 2009) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D5ASHXylc-g.

Animals

“One may regret living at a period when it's impossible to form an idea of the shape the world of the future will assume. But there's one thing I can predict to eaters of meat: the world of the future will be vegetarian.”

Adolf Hitler (1889–1945) Führer and Reich Chancellor of Germany, Leader of the Nazi Party

Stenographic transcripts translated by Hugh Trevor-Roper Bullock, 11 November 1941, Alan (1993). Hitler and Stalin : Parallel Lives. Vintage. p. 679. ISBN 0-679-72994-1.
1940s

World, Idea, Future

“It's only about once in a lifetime that anything sensational ever happens to one, and when it does, you don't want people taking all the colour out of it. I remember at school having to read that stuff where that chap, Othello, tells the girl what a hell of a time he'd been having among the cannibals and what not. Well, imagine his feelings if, after he had described some particularly sticky passage with a cannibal chief and was waiting for the awestruck "Oh-h! Not really?", she had said that the whole thing had no doubt been greatly exaggerated and that the man had probably really been a prominent local vegetarian.”

P.G. Wodehouse book Right Ho, Jeeves

Right Ho, Jeeves (1934)

People, School, Feeling, Imagination

“Before the Flood came, all the people and all the animals were vegetarian. Some say that some animals today cannot live without meat. During World War II, the zoo in London, England, had no meat to feed the lions so they fed them cabbage and other vegetables. They did fine. For years, Hollywood moviemakers used a lion called Little Tyke that refused to eat meat. In the 4,400 years since that Flood, some animals’ digestive tracts may have “adapted” to an all-meat diet, making it difficult or maybe even impossible to go back to a vegetarian diet, but that is not real evolution. Going from a plant-eating lion to a meat-eating lion is a minor change, compared to the evolution theory, which says they changed from a rock to a lion!”

Kent Hovind (1953) American young Earth creationist

Slowly of course! Unless you are from Harvard
Source: What On Earth Is About To Happen… For Heaven’s Sake? (2013), p. 47-48

War, People, World, Change

“The more I got educated about cruelty and inhumane treatment, then it was really a no-brainer [to become a vegetarian]. No one would barbecue their family dog. Why is a cow or a pig different or a chicken different? They're just as much of a gentle animal as a dog or a cat. I just feel stronger, faster, cleaner, healthier.”

Mike Ness (1962) Musician, singer, songwriter, guitarist

"Mike Ness: 'Meat's Not Green'", video interview with peta2 (28 April 2009) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3dg73SRrNjA.

Education, Family, Dogs, Feeling

“Prevention is within reach of everyone. And here are recommendations: abstain from smoking, eat less, eat mostly vegetarian foods, an active mind and body, and follow individually designed early diagnostic regimens.”

Umberto Veronesi (1925–2016) Italian oncologist and politician

The First Day Without Cancer (2013)

Food

“I was vegetarian for about 10 years, decided within that 10 years to just go full vegan … It's been 15 years of no flesh. What inspired me was as I learned more about the abuses to animals and the way meat was brought to the table and everything that these creatures were going through. It was just another motivation and reason for me to live the lifestyle that felt true to my soul and my spirit. … You don't realize what food tastes like until you stop eating meat. It's like something happens to your palate, it just gets cleansed and the simplest thing—a tomato—tastes like the most vibrant, amazing thing on the planet. My energy is fantastic.”

Kimberly Elise (1967) actress

“Kimberly Elise's Vegan Testimonial,” video interview with PETA (21 August 2014) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z-ZUAmo7dLg.

Food, Way, Soul, Motivation

“Playing in shows all around the world takes tons of energy. Being a vegetarian has made a huge difference. Not only is a vegetarian lifestyle healthier, it's better for the animals and for the environment. And no matter where you find yourself on the planet, you can always find a great veggie meal.”

Phil Collen (1957) British musician

"Phil Collen: Vegetarian Testimonial," video ad for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (26 August 2011) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E-JsYIujaAM.

World, Animals

“Vegetarianism proves that we’re serious about our belief in compassion and justice, that we’re mindful of our commitment, day in and day out, every time we eat. We are reminded of our belief in mercy, and we remind others. We begin to live the nonviolent vision, right here and now.”

John Dear (1959) Catholic priest from the United States

Christianity and Vegetarianism (1990)

Justice, Time

“We should propagate the values of vegetarianism.”

Morarji Desai (1896–1995) Former Indian Finance Minister, Freedom Fighters, Former prime minister

19th World Vegetarian Congress 1967

“I was a cannibal for twenty-five years. For the rest I have been a vegetarian. It was Shelley who first opened my eyes to the savagery of my diet.”

George Bernard Shaw (1856–1950) Irish playwright

Interview "Who I Am, and What I Think", in Frank Harris's periodical The Candid Friend (May 1901), reprinted in Sixteen Self Sketches, 1949, p. 53; quoted in Desmond King-Hele, Shelley: His Thought and Work, 1984, p. 42 https://books.google.it/books?id=V5KvCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA42 <br class="br">1900s

“Bernard Shaw says that as long as men torture and slay animals and eat their flesh we shall have war. I think all sane, thinking people must be of his opinion. The children of my school were all vegetarians, and grew strong and beautiful on a vegetable and fruit diet. Sometimes during the war when I heard the cries of the wounded I thought of the cries of the animals in the slaughterhouse, and I felt that, as we torture these poor defenceless creatures, so the gods torture us. Who loves this horrible thing called war? Probably the meat-eaters, having killed, feel the need to kill—kill birds, animals—the tender stricken deer—hunt foxes. The butcher with his bloody apron incites bloodshed, murder. Why not? From cutting the throat of a young calf to cutting the throat of our brothers and sisters is but a step. While we are ourselves the living graves of murdered animals, how can we expect any ideal conditions on the earth?”

Isadora Duncan (1877–1927) American dancer and choreographer

My Life (1927), chapter 28; Liveright Publishing, 2013, p. 276 https://books.google.it/books?id=7bmj03oQH9IC&pg=PA276.

Love, Men, God, War

“Thousands — millions and billions — of animals are killed for food. That is very sad. We human beings can live without meat, especially in our modern world. We have a great variety of vegetables and other supplementary foods, so we have the capacity and the responsibility to save billions of lives. I have seen many individuals and groups promoting animal rights and following a vegetarian diet. This is excellent. Certain killing is purely a "luxury." … But perhaps the saddest is factory farming. The poor animals there really suffer. I once visited a poultry farm in Japan where they keep 200,000 hens for two years just for their eggs. During those two years, they are prisoners. Then after two years, when they are no longer productive, the hens are sold. That is really shocking, really sad. We must support those who are attempting to reduce that kind of unfair treatment. An Indian friend told me that his young daughter has been arguing with him that it is better to serve one cow to ten people than to serve chicken or other small animals, since more lives would be involved. In the Indian tradition, beef is always avoided, but I think there is some logic to her argument. Shrimp, for example, are very small. For one plate, many lives must be sacrificed. To me, this is not at all delicious. I find it really awful, and I think it is better to avoid these things. If your body needs meat, it may be better to eat bigger animals. Eventually you may be able to eliminate the need for meat. I think that our basic nature as human beings is to be vegetarian — making every effort not to harm other living beings. If we apply our intelligence, we can create a sound, nutritional program. It is very dangerous to ignore the suffering of any sentient being.”

Tenzin Gyatso (1935) spiritual leader of Tibet

Interview in Worlds in Harmony: Dialogues on Compassionate Action, Berkeley: Parallax Press, 1992, pp. 20-21.

People, World, Sadness, Food

“The sheer decibel level of unreason surrounding the issue of abortion in academic writing about animal rights tells us something interesting. It suggests that, contrary to what the utilitarians and feminists working this terrain wish, the dots between sympathy for animals and sympathy for unborn humans are in fact quite easy to connect—so easy, you might say, that a child could do it. … Since ethical vegetarianism as a practice appears commonly rooted in an a priori aversion to violence against living creatures, so does it often appear to begin in the young. … A sudden insight, igniting empathy on a scale that did not exist before and perhaps even a life-transforming realization—this reaction should indeed be thought through with care. It is not only the most commonly cited feature of the decision to become a vegetarian. It is also the most commonly cited denominator of what brings people to their convictions about the desperate need to protect unborn, innocent human life. … Despite those who act and write in their name, actual vegetarians and vegans are far more likely to be motivated by positive feelings for animals than by negative feelings for human beings. As a matter of theory, the line connecting the dots between “we should respect animal life” and “we should respect human life” is far straighter than the line connecting vegetarianism to antilife feminism or antihumanist utilitarianism.”

Mary Eberstadt American writer

"Pro-Animal, Pro-Life" https://www.firstthings.com/article/2009/06/pro-animal-pro-life, in First Things (June 2009).

Life, People, Feeling, Motivation

“I treat vegetarianism as a phase that might any second end without warning.”

Amit Chaudhuri (1962) contemporary Indian-English novelist

Friend of My Youth (2017)

“I think that on the whole man would be living a more natural life if he were a vegetarian.”

Malcolm Muggeridge (1903–1990) English journalist, author, media personality, and satirist

Interview with Rynn Berry

Life, Nature, Thinking

“I advance no exaggerated or fanciful claim for Vegetarianism. It is not, as some have asserted, a "panacea" for human ills; it is something much more rational—an essential part of the modern humanitarian movement, which can make no true progress without it. Vegetarianism is the diet of the future, as flesh-food is the diet of the past.”

Henry Stephens Salt (1851–1939) British activist

The Humanities of Diet

Food, Past, Future, Parting

“We Jews in this century have been victims of destruction and mass slaughter on an unprecedented scale. We have seen every norm of humanity violated as we were treated like cattle rather than human beings. Our response to this memory is surely a complex and multitextured one. But as we overcome the understandable first reactions to the events, some of us feel our abhorrence of violence and bloodshed growing so strong that it reaches even beyond the borders of the human and into the animal kingdom. We Jews, who always looked upon killing for sport or pleasure as something alien and repulsive, should now, out of our own experience, be reaching the point where we find even the slaughter of animals for food morally beyond the range of the acceptable. If Jews have to be associated with killing at all in our time, let it be only for the defense of human life. Life has become too precious in this era for us to be involved in the shedding of blood, even that of animals, when we can survive without it. This is not an ascetic choice, we should note, but rather a life-affirming one. A vegetarian Judaism would be more whole in its ability to embrace the presence of God in all of Creation.”

Arthur Green (1941) American rabbi and theologian

Seek My Face, Speak My Name: A Contemporary Jewish Theology (Northvale, NJ: Jason Aronson, 1992), p. 89.

Life, God, Pleasure, Food

“I never was against wearing fur because I truly did not know how these animals were tortured and killed in order to have these coats and accessories. I am done with fur forever and I have now found so many amazing faux fur lines that are great alternatives for women who love the look and love animals. I love that PETA is all about individuals taking baby steps in becoming aware of animal rights. I am not a full vegetarian but I have not eaten red meat or pork in over 10 years. … I am also extremely careful now not to purchase products that are tested on animals. I have started with fur but I hope that over time I will become a full vegetarian.”

Khloé Kardashian (1984) American television personality

"My PETA Billboard Has Been Unveiled!!!!!" https://archive.fo/gSKe, on her blog Khloekardashian.celebuzz.com (10 December 2008).

Love, Women, Hope, Time

“For a month now I have been an out-and-out vegetarian. The moral effect of this way of life, with its voluntary castigation of the body, causing one's material needs to dwindle away, is enormous. You can judge for yourself how utterly I [am] convinced of it, when I tell you that I expect of it no less than the regeneration of humanity. All I can tell you is: let yourself be converted to a natural way of living, but one in which you eat suitable food (compost-grown, stone-ground, wholemeal bread) and soon you will see the fruits of your endeavours.”

Gustav Mahler (1860–1911) late-Romantic Austrian composer

Letter to Emil Freund (1 November 1880), in Gustav Mahler: New Insights into his Life, Times and Work by Alfred Mathis-Rosenzweig, translated by Jeremy Barham, Ashgate Publishing, 2007, ISBN 978-0-7546-5353-0, pp. 165 https://books.google.it/books?id=VIcSAX6tY1IC&pg=PA165-166.

Life, Food, Way, Nature

“I became a vegetarian at 15. I was never a big meat eater — I was always picky. I was raised in a kosher home, and if you're raised with a food restriction, it's not that difficult to have another kind of food restriction. … At some point, I had a dream that I was eating chicken. But in the dream, I understood that it was actually miniature human legs and arms. My brain was connecting muscle and bone to another animal. Once I had made that connection, it just wasn't something I wanted to eat.”

Lisa Edelstein (1967) American actress, playwright

"Lisa Edelstein: "I Don't Eat for Entertainment!"" https://web.archive.org/web/20100506024115/http://online.prevention.com/lisaedelstein/index.shtml, interview with Prevention magazine (7 May 2010).

Food, Dreams, Home, Animals

“When you consider your choices—heart disease, colon cancer, plus-size pants, melting ice caps, gale force storms, and animal suffering vs. good health, energy, a trim physique, a livable planet, compassion, and tasty, diverse foods—it's clear that going vegetarian is an excellent choice as we move toward living a more conscious life.”

Kathy Freston American self-help writer

"One Bite at a Time: A Beginner's Guide to Conscious Eating", in the HuffPost (27 February 2007) https://www.huffpost.com/entry/one-bite-at-a-time-a-begi_b_42211.

Life, Health, Disease, Food

“So then Mom decided my father ought to do a vegan diet, too. Well, my father grew up on a cattle ranch, but the nice thing is, my dad’s been sitting at the same dinner table for fifty-one years, and he can’t find his way around the kitchen! He’s been relying my Mom for fifty-one years to put the plate in front of him. So Mom went to the local health food store and bought hot dogs that are called “Not Dogs” and veggie burgers – which used to taste like cardboard, but now they’re really good. She can get Canadian bacon made of a wheat derivative. It’s all vegetarian. Instead of cow’s milk, it’s soy milk, rice milk, fake eggs – all that stuff! Dad just keeps cleaning his plate. Now I’ve got two vegetarian parents, and only one of them know it!”

Neal D. Barnard (1953) American physician, author, and clinical researcher

Wramc Us Too, Inc Newsletter (2003).

Health, Food, Dogs, Way

“I have been a vegetarian for a few years. Fred Dryer of the Rams has been one for 10 years. It shows you don't need meat to play football.”

Joe Namath (1943) American football player

Quoted in "9 superstar athletes who don't eat meat" https://www.mnn.com/food/healthy-eating/photos/9-superstar-athletes-who-dont-eat-meat/joe-namath by Brian Merchant, MNN.com (March 5, 2013).

Football

“I’m a vegetarian. Eight years ago it was something that I really wanted to try but I was nervous, I was scared. And my reasonings for wanting to try it is, being the animal lover and activist that I am, I felt like a hypocrite not being a vegetarian. So, I actually went to an Amanda Foundation (animal rescue) event and I walked away going, ‘Okay! Tonight’s the night!’ And I just did it. And I was amazed at how much easier it was than I thought it was going to be. Spiritually, I just felt so great that I was doing something I wanted to do.”

Kelly Packard

"In-Depth with Loving the Silent Tears MC: Kelly Packard", GodsDirectContact.org (2012) http://www.godsdirectcontact.org.tw/eng/news/211/sr_47.htm.

Lovers, Animals, Night

“[A year after going vegetarian] I feel really healthy, and it works on so many different levels, including the condition of my skin.”

Vida Guerra (1974) American model

"PETA makes a veggie statement at Capitol for National Hot Dog Month", interview with SHFWire (14 July 2010) http://www.shfwire.com/peta-makes-veggie-statement-capitol-national-hot-dog-month/

Feeling

“When I was in eighth grade there was a movie called Willard, about a rat, and I fell in love with rats. I wanted one … so one guy suggested that I call Hershey Medical Center … So I called and they said … "What experiment is it for?" I said, "I don't wanna experiment on it, I just want it for a pet!" And they said, "Well, we can't do that." … About two weeks later, I go out to the mailbox, and there's this thing from the [American Anti-Vivisection Society]. Lo and behold, I'm looking through all these different experiments and I see a rat there, spread wide open, and it said some of the experiments [were] done at Hershey med center. So boom! I put two and two together, and I decided to do a report in school about it. I took advanced bio and you had to dissect cats, and I started [asking] questions, "Where'd the cat come from?", and that really ruffled some feathers. "I'm not gonna do this, you know." So basically I got thrown out of advanced bio. From that point on I became an antivivisectionist. … [Things] are changing. When I went vegetarian it was really hard on the road, and that was just eight years ago. And I see people doing it twenty, twenty-five years, traveling, and it's like, wow! … I think on a very basic level people wanna do the right thing. And if we continue to focus on that part of them that wants to do the right thing, we can win maybe at the next generation or the one after that.”

Rikki Rockett (1961) American musician

"Something To Believe In" https://books.google.it/books?id=NWxF_V4r3PAC&pg=PA107, interview by Kirsten Rosenberg (July 1999), in Speaking Out for Animals, edited by Kim W. Stallwood, Lantern Books, 2001, pp. 107-112.

Love, People, School, Travel

“I have been a vegetarian since I was fourteen for ethical reasons. I continued to eat eggs and dairy until I did some research on the dairy industry and discovered the horrific treatment of farm animals. … I went vegan about 3 ½ years ago [in late 2014]. It was a process that took time and patience. I wasn't perfect, in fact I struggled a lot during the first year. That said, once I educated myself on how and what to eat, it became much easier.”

Allie (wrestler) (1987) Canadian professional wrestler

"Allie, vegan wrestler" http://www.greatveganathletes.com/allie-vegan-wrestler, interview with GreatVeganAthletes.com (2018).

Education, Time, Animals, Perfection

“Nonviolence begins with the insights that all life is sacred, that all human beings are children of the God of peace, and that as God’s children, we are under certain obligations. Of course, we should never hurt or kill another human being, wage war, build nuclear weapons, or sit idly by while millions of human beings starve to death each year. Nonviolence invites us, also, to reevaluate the way we treat animals in our society. While we resist violence, injustice, and war, and while we practice nonviolence, seek peace, and struggle for justice for the poor, we are also invited to break down the species barrier, extending our belief in Christian compassion to the animal kingdom by, among other things, adopting a vegetarian diet.”

John Dear (1959) Catholic priest from the United States

Christianity and Vegetarianism (1990)

Life, Death, God, War

“Can the human appropriation of nature ever achieve the elimination of violence, cruelty, and brutality in the daily sacrifice of animal life for the physical reproduction of the human race? To treat nature "for its own sake" sounds good, but it is certainly not for the sake of the animal to be eaten, nor probably for the sake of the plant. The end of this war, the perfect peace in the animal world — this idea belongs to the Orphic myth, not to any conceivable historical reality. In the face of the suffering inflicted by man on man, it seems terribly "premature" to campaign for universal vegetarianism or synthetic foodstuffs; as the world is, priority must be on human solidarity among human beings. And yet, no free society is imaginable which does not, under its "regulative idea of reason," make the concerted effort to reduce consistently the suffering which man imposes on the animal world.”

Herbert Marcuse book Counterrevolution and Revolt

Source: Counterrevolution and Revolt (1972), Chapter "Nature and Revolution," in The Essential Marcuse: Selected Writings of Philosopher and Social Critic Herbert Marcuse, edited by Andrew Feenberg and ‎William Leiss, Beacon Press, 2007, pp. 240 https://books.google.it/books?id=JqoyBgAAQBAJ&pg=PA240-241

Life, War, World, Peace

“Central to Jewish mysticism is the role that vegetarianism plays in messianic expectations: here vegetarianism functions in the concept of Jewish mystical time which chronicles human development from the vegetarian state in the Garden of Eden to the Messianic age when it is believed we will be vegetarians again. … in Judaism the laws governing responsibility to animals derive from the animal's place in the divine economy, assured by the covenantal statements, by the Jewish view of creation, and the Jewish view of a just and compassionate Creator. The stress of these laws with respect to the Jew is summed up in the question: How should the righteous (just) Jew behave toward animals, and the answer lies in the concept of the “imitatio Dei.””

Roberta Kalechofsky (1931) American activist

The just and merciful human behaves toward animals as a just and merciful Creator behaves toward humans. <br class="br">“Hierarchy, Kinship, and Responsibility: The Jewish Relationship to the Animal World,” in A Communion of Subjects: Animals in Religion, Science, and Ethics, edited by Paul Waldau and Kimberly Patton (New York: Columbia University Press, 2006), 97 https://books.google.it/books?id=wi4n8i4YgpYC&pg=PA97-98.

Age, Law, Question, Time

“[I chose vegetarianism] in 1989, for animal rights reasons, primarily. … I feel that simply living your life in a pointed way is activism in itself, and I want to be an example for other current or potential vegan/vegetarian athletes, to show them that they're not alone and it can be done.”

Adam Myerson (1972) American professional bicycle racer

"Adam Myerson - Cycling" http://www.organicathlete.org/post/vegan-athlete-adam-myerson#.W2G2Iv4Ukdc, interview with OrganicAthlete (September 16, 2004).

Life, Way, Feeling, Animals

“Jesus' message is about love and compassion, but there is nothing loving or compassionate at factory farms and slaughterhouses, where billions of animals endure miserable lives and die violent deaths. Jesus mandates kindness and mercy for all God's creatures. He'd be appalled by the suffering that we inflict on animals today to indulge our acquired taste for their flesh. Catholics, and all Christians, have a choice. When we sit down to eat, we can add to the violence, misery and death in the world, or we can respect God's creatures with a vegetarian diet. I believe we're obligated to make choices that are as merciful as possible, and we can all do that at the dinner table with a vegetarian diet. There won't be any factory farms and slaughterhouses in heaven.”

Bruce Friedrich (1969) Member of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals

"Is Eating Meat A Catholic Sin?", interview by Hank Pellissier, in SFGate.com (2 February 2004) http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Is-Eating-Meat-A-Catholic-Sin-2802645.php

Love, Death, God, World

“Jews will move increasingly to vegetarianism out of their own deepening knowledge of what their tradition commands as they understand it in this age.”

Yitzhak HaLevi Herzog (1888–1959) Israeli rabbi

Quoted in James V. Parker, Animal Minds, Animal Souls, Animal Rights, University Press of America, 2010, p. 98 http://books.google.it/books?id=I0Psf3FLKroC&pg=PA98.

Age, Understanding, Knowledge

“In becoming a vegetarian, you will eat a greater percentage of your calories from cereal grains, dried beans and peas, potatoes and pasta—the very foods most dieters avoid with zeal. And you will lose weight.”

Jean Mayer (1920–1993) French-American scientist, university administrator

Quoted in "Why People Get Fat" by Keith Akers, Vegetarian Times (May 1983), p. 29 https://books.google.it/books?id=SQgAAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA29.

Food

“Simonson, in rubber jacket and similar galoshes, bound with whip-cord over woolen socks (he was a vegetarian and did not use the skin of animals), was also awaiting the departure of the party. He stood near the entrance of the house, writing down in a note-book a thought that occurred to him. “If,” he wrote, “a bacterium were to observe and analyze the nail of a man, it would declare him an inorganic being. Similarly, from an observation of the earth’s surface, we declare it to be inorganic. That is wrong.””

Leo Tolstoy book Resurrection

Source: Resurrection (1899), Ch. 83

Books, Departure, Animals, Housing

“at night we glimpsed the flowers blooming between women's legs
but we were vegetarians and misogynists”

Lajos Kassák The Horse Dies the Birds Fly Away

"A ló meghal a madarak kirepülnek" ("The Horse Dies the Birds Fly Away"), 1922, translated by Edwin Morgan.

Women, Flowers, Night

“It is useless for the sheep to pass resolutions in favour of vegetarianism while the wolf remains of a different opinion.”

William Ralph Inge (1860–1954) Dean of St Pauls

" Patriotism http://books.google.com/books?id=dFYPAQAAIAAJ&q=%22It%20is%20useless%20for%20the%20sheep%20to%20pass%20resolutions%20in%20favour%20of%20vegetarianism%20while%20the%20wolf%20remains%20of%20a%20different%20opinion%22&pg=PA42-43#v=onepage&q&f=false" (August 1919) in Outspoken Essays (1919), pp. 42-43

Wolf

“I’ve always been an animal-lover and when I was about twelve I became a vegetarian. My mom subscribed to PETA’s magazine and I just started looking at the level of what it was. And I just thought it was unkind, so I made my personal choice — which at that point had nothing to do with the global scale of the situation. And so I know it was really early, but I made up my mind then to become an entertainer primarily because I thought I could help. I noticed that all my friends respected entertainers and knew more entertainers names than politicians names, so that was my turning point from possibly doing politics to entertainment … So that was one of the reasons I went into this field. And then the more I kept going career-wise, the more I’ve been able to use that vehicle — that megaphone. And that was exciting — the only exciting part, personally, about being a celebrity. I don’t think there’s anything good about it, except the ability to make positive change.”

Persia White (1972) American actress and singer

"Ecorazzi Celebrates Vegetarian Awareness Month With Actress/Musician Persia White", interview with Ecorazzi (20 October 2008) http://www.ecorazzi.com/2008/10/20/ecorazzi-celebrates-vegetarian-awareness-month-with-actressmusician-persia-white/.

Moms, Lovers, Thinking, Change

“I advocate eating nutritious food (I'm a vegetarian), working out, being in top form mentally and physically.”

Martina Navrátilová (1956) American-Czech tennis player

"Champion on Fair Play", in Ingrid Newkirk, One Can Make a Difference (Adams Media, 2008), pp. 172–73.

Food

“It started with me being a vegetarian, and then it eventually moved towards veganism. Now it's permanent. It's a true way of life. As a professional athlete, my diet helps me tremendously. There's no difficulty in me making weight before fights, or maintaining it. I feel better than ever, light on my feet… Heck, I even think with a more clear mind, all from my eating the right choices for me and my body. I research everyday on veganism, learning new things daily, which is pretty cool.”

Bryant Jennings (1984) boxer

"Exclusive: Bryant Jennings: The Man Behind The Gloves" https://hypefreshmag.com/culture/exclusive-bryant-jennings-the-man-behind-the-gloves, interview with Hypefresh Magazine (April 18, 2015).

Life, Way, Feeling, Thinking

“The central question about vegetarian diets used to be whether it was healthy to eliminate meat and other animal foods … Now, however, the main question has become whether it is healthier to be a vegetarian than to be a meat eater. … The answer to both questions, based on currently available evidence, seems to be yes. A properly planned vegetarian diet can provide all the essential nutrients, even for growing children … And, on the whole, vegetarians are less likely to be afflicted with the chronic diseases that are leading killers and cripplers in societies where meat is the centerpiece of the diet.”

Jane E. Brody (1941) American writer

"Personal Health; New Research on the Vegetarian Diet", in The New York Times (12 October 1983) http://www.nytimes.com/1983/10/12/garden/personal-health-new-research-on-the-vegetarian-diet.html

Children, Disease, Food, Question

Quotes about vegetarianism page 3

Quotes about vegetarianism
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