For a while over on my Facebook page, I posted a “Quote of the Day” series. I’ve gathered up 100 of my favorites that are meant to inspire, challenge, and remind us of the impact our choices have on the world around us.
“The idea that some lives matter less is the root of all that is wrong in the world.” -Dr. Paul Farmer
“What you do makes a difference, and you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make” – Jane Goodall
“Don’t wait for a better world. Start now to create a world of harmony and peace. It is up to you, and it always has been. You may even find the solution at the end of your fork.” – Sharon Gannon
“The vegan lifestyle is a compassionate way to live that supports life, supports fairness and equality, and promotes freedom.” – Robert Cheeke
“There is no greater wrecking ball to the planet than the industries that turn animals into food. No single choice that we make has a bigger or more positive impact.” – David Agranoff
“The intrinsic meaning of animal rights is that no animal should be used or killed for human purposes. Their rights as individuals are sacred, and no benefit to myself or my taste buds can trump their right to be” – Eddie Lama
“To face animal suffering is to face our responsibility in their suffering.” – JoAnne McArthur
“Could you look an animal in the eyes and say to it, ‘My appetite is more important than your suffering”?” – Moby
“Things that seem morally obvious and intuitive now weren’t necessarily so in the past; many started with nonconforming reasoning” – Robert M. Sapolsky, Behave: The Biology of Humans at Our Best and Worst
“You can’t do anything violent humanely.” – James Wildman
“You may choose to look the other way, but you can never say again that you didn’t know.” – William Wilberforce
“If you truly care about animal rights and have a passion for it, take some action. Whether it’s hands-on or political, just go for it. No matter what path you choose in life or what you decide to do, you can use your voice to educate other people and help the cause.” – Mac Danzig
“Often, the greater our ignorance about something, the greater our resistance to change.” – Marc Bekoff, Animals Matter: A Biologist Explains Why We Should Treat Animals with Compassion and Respect
“For me, going vegan was an ethical and environmental decision. I’m doing the right thing by the animals.” – Alexandra Paul
“It takes nothing away from a human to be kind to an animal.” – Joaquin Phoenix
“Veganism is not a pledge of perfection; it is a promise to try your best.” – Mark Hawthorne, A Vegan Ethic: Embracing a Life of Compassion Toward All
“The soul is the same in all living creatures, although the body of each is different” – Hippocrates
“We strive for a world where every earthling has the right to live and grow. That’s why we don’t eat animals. -Ruby Roth, That’s Why We Don’t Eat Animals: A Book About Vegans, Vegetarians, and All Living Things
“We need, in a special way, to work twice as hard to help people understand that the animals are fellow creatures, that we must protect them and love them as we love ourselves.” – Cesar Chavez
“One of the greatest opportunities to live our values-or betray them-lies in the food we put on our plates.” – Anne Barnhill, Food, Ethics, and Society: An Introductory Text with Readings
“Why do human egos seem so threatened by the thought that other animals think and feel? Is it because acknowledging the mind of another makes it harder to abuse them?” -Carl Safina, Beyond Words: What Animals Think and Feel
“If people were superior to animals, they’d take better care of the world.” – Benjamin Hoff, The Tao of Pooh
“Make ethical choices in what we buy, do, and watch. In a consumer-driven society our individual choices, used collectively for the good of animals and nature, can change the world faster than laws.” – Marc Bekoff, Animals Matter: A Biologist Explains Why We Should Treat Animals with Compassion and Respect
“If you really care about animals, then stop trying to figure out how to exploit them ‘compassionately’. Just stop exploiting them.” -Gary L Francione
“Some people talk to animals. Not many listen though. That’s the problem.” – A.A. Milne, Winnie-the-Pooh
“True compassion is showing kindness towards animals, without expecting anything in return” – Paul Oxton
“Becoming a vegan is not about self-denial; it’s more a matter of self-awareness. It is about trying new foods and broadening your palate, expressing the joy of being alive, and knowing that you’re making a daily effort to live less violently and more sustainably.” – Gene Baur, Farm Sanctuary: Changing Hearts and Minds About Animals and Food
“We can’t change the world for animals without changing our ideas about animals. We have to move from the idea that animals are things, tools, machines, commodities, resources here for our use to the idea that as sentient beings they have their own inherent value and dignity.” – Andrew Linzey
“Animal rights is a part of my everyday life. When you live by example, you create a certain level of awareness. Friends of mine – people I have never discussed animal rights or vegetarianism with – are adopting vegetarian habits because they see it.” – Joaquin Phoenix
“Clearly, animals know more than we think and think a great deal more than we know.” – Irene Pepperberg, Alex & Me: How a Scientist and a Parrot Discovered a Hidden World of Animal Intelligence – and Formed a Deep Bond in the Process
“Animals have so much to teach us. The sad reality is, unfortunately, most humans destroy or kill what they do not know, understand or value. That is how we are as a species.” – June Stoyer
“Ethical veganism represents a commitment to nonviolence.” – Gary L Francione
“When you truly understand that your food choices are powerful and life affirming, you can exercise control and restraint without deprivation.” – Marlene Adelmann
“You can’t be an environmentalist and eat animal products. Period. Kid yourself, if you want. If you wanna feed your addiction, so be it. Just don’t call yourself an environmentalist.” – Howard Lyman
“Any social movement throughout history has always been carried out by only 7% of population being passionately active in that” – Paul Watson
“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.” – Margaret Mead
“Farm animals are far more aware and intelligent than we ever imagined and, despite having been bred as domestic slaves, they are individual beings in their own right. As such, they deserve our respect. And our help. Who will plead for them if we are silent?” – Jane Goodall
“We must remember that our actions towards animals reflect our humanity. It is our responsibility to be compassionate and kind.” – Velma Bronn Johnston
“Facts do not cease to exist because they are ignored.” -Aldous Huxley
“Often, vegan advocates assume that a person’s defensiveness is the result of selfishness or apathy, when in fact it is much more likely the result of systematic and intensive social conditioning.” – Melanie Joy
“Nobody can possibly be so hungry that they need to take a life in order to feel satisfied – they don’t after all, take a human life, so why take the life of an animal? Both are conscious beings with the same determination to survive. It is habit and laziness and nothing else.” – Morrissey, Autobiography
“The power brokers of factory farming know that their business model depends on consumers not being able to see (or hear about) what they do.” – Jonathan Safran Foer, Eating Animals
“There’s a tremendous amount of pain in the world. Every day, I do the best I can do to mitigate that. The easiest thing I can do every single day is to be vegan. I can additionally help animals through my work as a documentary photographer. Some days I can do quite a bit, and other days not so much. But I continue to do my best.” – Jo-Anne McArthur
“What happens to them matters to them.” – Tom Regan, The Case for Animal Rights
“Animals are not here for us to do as we please with. We are not their superiors, we are their equals. We are their family. Be kind to them.” – Ricky Gervais
“I want to try to live my own values as consciously and purposefully as I can. Being vegan for me is a cleaner way of not participating in practices that don’t align with my values. – Cory Booker
“What we learn to call “natural” is actually just the dominant culture’s interpretation of history.” – Melanie Joy
“If you are not vegan, please consider going vegan. It’s a matter of nonviolence. Being vegan is your statement that you reject violence to other sentient beings, to yourself, and to the environment, on which all sentient beings depend.” – Gary L. Francione
“It’s not a requirement to eat animals, we just chose to do it, so it becomes a moral choice and one that is having a huge impact on the planet, using up resources and destroying the biosphere.” – James Cameron
“The animal has a feeling heart like you. The animal has joy and pain like you. The animal has a tendency to die like you. The animal has a right to live like you. – Peter Rosegger
Veganism is not about how hard it is for you. It’s about every animal’s right not to be used as a slave.” – Randy Sandberg
“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
“Your perception of meat being nice is blurred by the likely fact that you are excluded from participating in, or even witnessing the untimely mortal demise of the animals you gluttonously devour.” – Mango Wodzak
“A movement is always made up of individuals, and it’s the cumulative effort to these individuals that creates change.” – Earthling Ed
“Don’t do nothing because you can’t do everything. Do something. Anything.” – Colleen Patrick-Goudreau
“Things that seem morally obvious and intuitive now weren’t necessarily so in the past; many started with nonconforming reasoning.” – Robert M. Sapolsky
“My perspective of veganism was most affected by learning that the veal calf is a by-product of dairying, and that in essence there is a slice of veal in every glass of what I had thought was an innocuous white liquid -milk” -Rynn Berry
“We do not need to eat animals, wear animals, or use animals for entertainment purposes, and our only defense of these uses is our pleasure, amusement, and convenience.” – Gary L. Francione
“Tradition is no excuse for trophy hunting, bullfighting or any other form of animal cruelty.” – Alex Miller
“It is hard to overstate the role willful ignorance plays in causing animals throughout the world to suffer.” – Milton Davidson
“You can still be a vegan and be a foodie. Indeed, veganism is a logical extension of the idea that what is on your plate must resonate with who you are as a person.” – Henry Mance, How to Love Animals: In a Human-Shaped World
“Because most of us are shielded (or shield ourselves) from the unpleasant realities associated with the routine use of animals, we can maintain a view of ourselves as animal lovers by being kind to the few living animals we personally encounter.” – Grace Clement
“Our task must be to free ourselves by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature and its beauty” – Albert Einstein
“Everyone “loves” animals until they hear the word “vegan”. Then they’ll argue tooth and nail why it’s acceptable to abuse them.” – Rob Zombie
“Rather than struggling to be a ‘perfect’ vegan-freaking out if you accidentally ingest an animal ingredient you hadn’t heard of before-adopt the ‘practice makes progress approach. Keep trying new recipes and share them with friends and family. Do all you can to avoid animal byproducts, but don’t beat yourself up if you eat something by mistake.” – Mark Hawthorne, A Vegan Ethic Embracing a Life of Compassion Toward All
“We need to protect the defenders of nature, environmentalists, Animal Rights and Human Rights activists. It’s a call for all humans to show courage and solidarity” – Oliver Gediminas Caplikas
“I began to wonder why we cuddle some animals and put a fork in others.” – Henry Spira
“My doctrine is this, that if we see cruelty or wrong that we have the power to stop, and do nothing, we make ourselves sharers in the guilt.” – Anna Sewell
“Veganism is the way. Change can only start with you and me. What we put in our mouth – the food we eat, the products we buy to use, to the way we contribute to polluting our air. Use less, do more. Buy cruelty free, go vegan, save lives, live healthy save our planet.” – Angie Karan
“Being vegetarian here also means that we do not consume dairy and egg products, because they are products of the meat industry. If we stop consuming, they will stop producing. Only collective awakening can create enough determination for action.” – Thich Nhat Hanh
