Top 30 Vegan Quotes to Come Back to When It Gets Tough

Whether you are a brand new or well seasoned (see what I did there 😉 ) vegan, you’ll want to read these vegan quotes (and save it for later)!

Let’s face it, it can be hard to live in a world that sees animals as products.

As a fellow vegan, these quotes give me hope and peace. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: The author’s opinions are expressed in this article. This article is not a substitute for medical or dietary advice. Talk to your doctor about any health concerns, major dietary changes etc. See our Disclaimers for more details.

Why Quotes About the Vegan Lifestyle are Important

I’ve had my lifestyle unapologetically dismissed, some awkward conversations, and even been told by a health care professional that going vegan wasn’t going to save the animals.

Yah, it’s been a bit rough! Being vegan isn’t always easy (you can learn more about challenges vegans may face here).

In this modern world, factory farming is normal.

People eat animals. This is normalized in this society – and I use to do it to.

But you see: most people love animals and can agree with many of the quotes you are about to read.

They don’t only provide inspiration (and maybe some chuckles from the funny ones), but they can form bridges.

They ignite conversation. At the very least, they’ll probably encourage you to think a bit differently or refocus on your values as a vegan.

I hope you bookmark these quotes to come back to (even after you’ve gone to to the 3rd ice cream place on your quest for that dairy free option (true story). 😀

To the quotes!

Top 30 Vegan Quotes

From Thought Leaders

“The question is not, Can they reason?, nor Can they talk? but, Can they suffer?”

Jeremy Bentham

“Veganism is not a “sacrifice.” It is a joy.”

Gary L. Francione

“The lower animals, like man, manifestly feel pleasure and pain, happiness and misery.”

Charles Darwin

“The greatness of a nation can be judged by the way its animals are treated.”

Mahatma Gandhi

“My body will not be a tomb for other creatures”

Leonardo Da Vinci

“I have always eaten animal flesh with a somewhat guilty conscience.”

Albert Einstein

Funny Vegan Quotes

“Apparently being a vegan raises your chances of someday being stranded on a deserted island with a cow and nothing else to eat by 1000%.”

Anonymous

“I ask people why they have deer heads on their walls. They say because it’s such a beautiful animal. There you go. I think my mother is attractive, but I have photographs of her.”

Ellen DeGeneres

“I could never go vegan.”

– Almost every vegan at some point before they became vegan.

“Anything you can do, I can do vegan!”

Anonymous

From Celebrities

“If slaughterhouses had glass walls, everyone would be vegetarian.”

Linda and Paul McCartney

“If You Wouldn’t Wear Your Dog, Please Don’t Wear Any Fur.”

Charlize Theron

“I just took a look at my dog and said, ‘If I’m not willing to eat you, how can I continue to eat these other creatures that have the same desire to live, are just as funny, just as cute as my dogs?'”

Alicia Silverstone

“Vegan food is soul food in its truest form. Soul food means to feed the soul. And, to me, your soul is your intent. If your intent is pure, you are pure.”

Erykah Badu

“Eating for me is how you proclaim your beliefs three times a day.”

Natalie Portman

From Animal Rights Activists

“It is ironic that we believe that empathy and complex emotions only really exist in humans but we then fail to empathize with the animals who suffer at our hands.”

Ed Winters

“For all of these reasons, and more, I chose to eat plant-based all those years ago. I continue to ask people to consider what this choice really means on a moral and practical level for animals and the environment. It is the choice to change our individual lives, which will in turn have enormous benefits for all of humanity and all of the other living creatures we share our home with.”

Jane Goodall

“Uninformed food choices can contribute to the suffering of sentient beings. Therefore, your food choices can change the world.”

Lauren Ornelas, president of Food Empowerment Project (spoken at a Tedx Talk about both human and non human animals in the food system )

“Animal factories are one more sign of the extent to which our technological capacities have advanced faster than our ethics.”

Peter Singer

From Authors and Poets

“Nobody can be more vegan than what’s actually possible for them, and what they feel is possible for them. So it’s the only rational and respectful ask when we allow people to be the expert on their own experience decide what is possible for them, we’re being respectful of them. And frankly if everyone in the world were as vegan as possible, the world would be vegan quite quickly.”

Melanie Joy, PhD (During a talk at The Real Truth About Health Summit)

“There are many great minds on earth and not all are human.”

Anthony Douglas Williams (author)

“Animals are my friends and I don’t eat my friends.”

George Bernard Shaw

“Never, never be afraid to do what’s right, especially if the well-being of a person or animal is at stake. Society’s punishments are small compared to the wounds we inflict on our soul when we look the other way.” 

Jonathan Safran Foer (Author- Eating Animals)

“Know that the same spark of life that is within you, is within all of our animal friends, the desire to live is the same within all of us.”

Rai Aren (author)

“Man is the only animal that can remain on friendly terms with the victims he intends to eat until he eats them.”

Samuel Butler (poet)

From Vegan Health Professionals

“People say, ‘I’d go vegan but I can’t give up cheese.’ Then go vegan except for cheese!”

Jack Norris, RD

“Cows don’t produce milk because they are cows. They produce milk because they are mothers.”

Dr. Michael Klaper

“When someone says they respect a person’s right to be vegan and therefore we should respect their right to eat meat/drink milk, it means they don’t understand what veganism is. We need to do a better job of conveying that it’s much more than a personal dietary choice.”

Ginny Messina, MPH, RD(from a tweet)

Bible Verses that Show all Living Beings are Important to God

IMPORTANT: I just want to say super quick that I am not aware of any verse in the Bible that says we should all be vegan today. But as a Christian, I do believe that God created all animals. I also believe that he thinks they are valuable and in heaven, we will not eat animals.

For the Bible says:

“And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be nor more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.” Revelation 21:4.

The Bible – New King James Version

Given these thoughts, and the fact that I can personally live a healthy life as a vegan, I choose a vegan lifestyle.

“Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?” Matthew 6:26

The Bible – New International Version

“God made the wild animals according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, and all the creatures that move along the ground according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good.” Genesis 1:25

The Bible- New International Version

“The Lord is good to all, And His tender mercies are all over his works.” Psalm 145: 9.

The Bible – New King James Version

Did ya enjoy this article? What is your favorite quote about veganism? Let me know what the quote is (and the source) in the comments!
Since you’ve made it all the way to the bottom, I thought you might some of my other posts like these!
–How to Transition to Veganism
–Vegan Diet for Beginners
–Plant Based Diet Books (Top Picks from Registered Dietitians)
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