# Quotes about veganism

- Quotes: 49
- Authors: 21
- Broader topic: [Quotes about animals](https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/animals.md)
- Topic page: https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/veganism
- JSON version (same data): https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/veganism.json

## Quotes

> O mortals, from your fellows' blood abstain,
>
> Nor taint your bodies with a food profane:
>
> While corn, and pulse by Nature are bestow'd,
>
> And planted orchards bend their willing load;
>
> While labour'd gardens wholesom herbs produce,
>
> And teeming vines afford their gen'rous juice;
>
> Nor tardier fruits of cruder kind are lost,
>
> But tam'd with fire, or mellow'd by the frost;
>
> While kine to pails distended udders bring,
>
> And bees their hony redolent of Spring;
>
> While Earth not only can your needs supply,
>
> But, lavish of her store, provides for luxury;
>
> A guiltless feast administers with ease,
>
> And without blood is prodigal to please.

[Ovid](https://www.leafyquotes.com/ovid.md) · [Metamorphoses](https://www.leafyquotes.com/ovid/metamorphoses.md) — [Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/ovid/metamorphoses/o-mortals-from.md)

Topics: [animals](https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/animals.md), [veganism](https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/veganism.md)

> O impious use! to Nature's laws oppos'd,
>
> Where bowels are in other bowels clos'd:
>
> Where fatten'd by their fellow's fat, they thrive;
>
> Maintain'd by murder, and by death they live.
>
> 'Tis then for nought, that Mother Earth provides
>
> The stores of all she shows, and all she hides,
>
> If men with fleshy morsels must be fed,
>
> And chaw with bloody teeth the breathing bread:
>
> What else is this, but to devour our guests,
>
> And barb'rously renew Cyclopean feasts!
>
> We, by destroying life, our life sustain;
>
> And gorge th' ungodly maw with meats obscene.

[Ovid](https://www.leafyquotes.com/ovid.md) · [Metamorphoses](https://www.leafyquotes.com/ovid/metamorphoses.md) — [Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/ovid/metamorphoses/o-impious-use.md)

Topics: [animals](https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/animals.md), [veganism](https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/veganism.md)

> The indifference of children towards meat is one proof that the taste for meat is unnatural; their preference is for vegetable foods, such as milk, pastry, fruit, etc. Beware of changing this natural taste and making children flesh-eaters, if not for their health's sake, for the sake of their character; for how can one explain away the fact that great meat-eaters are usually fiercer and more cruel than other men; this has been recognised at all times and in all places.

[Jean Jacques Rousseau](https://www.leafyquotes.com/jean-jacques-rousseau.md) · [Emile; or On Education](https://www.leafyquotes.com/jean-jacques-rousseau/emile-or-on-education.md) — [Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/jean-jacques-rousseau/emile-or-on-education/the-indifference-of-children.md)

Topics: [children](https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/children.md), [veganism](https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/veganism.md)

> Something is broken when the food comes on a Styrofoam tray wrapped in slippery plastic, a carcass of a being whose only chance at life was a cramped cage. That is not a gift of life; it is a theft.

[Robin Wall Kimmerer](https://www.leafyquotes.com/robin-wall-kimmerer.md) · [Braiding Sweetgrass](https://www.leafyquotes.com/robin-wall-kimmerer/braiding-sweetgrass.md) · p. 31 — [Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/robin-wall-kimmerer/braiding-sweetgrass/something-is-broken.md)

Topics: [animals](https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/animals.md), [cruelty](https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/cruelty.md), [veganism](https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/veganism.md)

> a true beauty, real and lasting, [is] achieved by a healthy diet, without eating meat or drinking alcoholic beverages, by practicing gymnastics and taking walks in the open air, not a fictitious beauty such as that of adornment, without which, she is no longer herself.

[Luisa Capetillo](https://www.leafyquotes.com/luisa-capetillo.md) · [A Nation of Women](https://www.leafyquotes.com/luisa-capetillo/a-nation-of-women.md) — [Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/luisa-capetillo/a-nation-of-women/a-true-beauty.md)

Topics: [beauty](https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/beauty.md), [veganism](https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/veganism.md), [health](https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/health.md)

> [W]e call them dumb animals, and so they are, for they cannot tell us how they feel, but they do not suffer less because they have no words.

[Anna Sewell](https://www.leafyquotes.com/anna-sewell.md) · [Black Beauty](https://www.leafyquotes.com/anna-sewell/black-beauty.md) · p. 231 — [Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/anna-sewell/black-beauty/w-e-call-them.md)

Topics: [suffering](https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/suffering.md), [animals](https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/animals.md), [veganism](https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/veganism.md)

> [W]e shall all have to be judged according to our works, whether they be towards man or towards beast.

[Anna Sewell](https://www.leafyquotes.com/anna-sewell.md) · [Black Beauty](https://www.leafyquotes.com/anna-sewell/black-beauty.md) · p. 56 — [Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/anna-sewell/black-beauty/w-e-shall-all.md)

Topics: [responsibility](https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/responsibility.md), [animals](https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/animals.md), [veganism](https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/veganism.md)

> [T]here is no religion without love, and people may talk as much as they like about their religion, but if it does not teach them to be good and kind to man and beast, it is all a sham.

[Anna Sewell](https://www.leafyquotes.com/anna-sewell.md) · [Black Beauty](https://www.leafyquotes.com/anna-sewell/black-beauty.md) · p. 66 — [Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/anna-sewell/black-beauty/t-here-is-no-religion.md)

Topics: [love](https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/love.md), [religion](https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/religion.md), [kindness](https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/kindness.md), [animals](https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/animals.md), [veganism](https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/veganism.md)

> The sight of slabs of flesh should horrify and disgust any sensitive person if they exercised their inborn compassion. Habit has dimmed their native kindliness. Their palates have become abnormally corrupted and conditioned by a taste for dead food, its flavoring and odors. People who eat slaughtered creatures every day find it hard to imagine what to substitute for meat, not realizing that meat is the substitute for vegetables.

[Helen Nearing](https://www.leafyquotes.com/helen-nearing.md) · [Simple Food for the Good Life](https://www.leafyquotes.com/helen-nearing/simple-food-for-the-good-life.md) — [Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/helen-nearing/simple-food-for-the-good-life/the-sight-of-slabs.md)

Topics: [compassion](https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/compassion.md), [habits](https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/habits.md), [veganism](https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/veganism.md)

> This book on simple food is vegetarian, of course. It is the simplest, cleanest, easiest way to eat. I take it for granted that to live on plants and fruits, seeds and nuts is the way for rational, kindly and perceptive people to live.

[Helen Nearing](https://www.leafyquotes.com/helen-nearing.md) · [Simple Food for the Good Life](https://www.leafyquotes.com/helen-nearing/simple-food-for-the-good-life.md) — [Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/helen-nearing/simple-food-for-the-good-life/this-book-on-simple.md)

Topics: [veganism](https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/veganism.md), [vegetarianism](https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/vegetarianism.md)

> The word "vegetarian" derives from the Latin "vegetus"—whole, sound, fresh, lively. The meat humans eat is neither whole, sound, fresh or lively. It is dis-limbed, tainted, decaying, stale and dead. A diet consisting of green leafy vegetables, root crops, grains, berries, nuts and fruits supplies all the body needs for strength and well-being. It is healthful food, aesthetic, economical, harmless to our brother animals, easy to grow, to prepare and to digest. Flesh-eating by humans is unnecessary, irrational, anatomically unsound, unhealthy, unhygienic, uneconomic, unaesthetic, unkind and unethical.

[Helen Nearing](https://www.leafyquotes.com/helen-nearing.md) · [Simple Food for the Good Life](https://www.leafyquotes.com/helen-nearing/simple-food-for-the-good-life.md) — [Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/helen-nearing/simple-food-for-the-good-life/the-word-vegetarian.md)

Topics: [veganism](https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/veganism.md), [health](https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/health.md), [vegetarianism](https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/vegetarianism.md)

> The animals are our brothers; another nation living on earth, growing up beside us. They are not lesser beings; they are selves in different forms. Some of them have flippers, some wings for motivation; some have two propelling legs, some have four; we have only two. Some have thumbs, some have claws. We have manufactured claws and worse. We have no rights over these creatures; yet we exploit and imprison them. They should run wild and be on their own but we have corrupted them, enslaved them and modified their behavior and opportunities. Some of them like it, some don't. We have made friends of some and slaves of others.

[Helen Nearing](https://www.leafyquotes.com/helen-nearing.md) · [Loving and Leaving the Good Life](https://www.leafyquotes.com/helen-nearing/loving-and-leaving-the-good-life.md) · p. 162 — [Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/helen-nearing/loving-and-leaving-the-good-life/the-animals-are.md)

Topics: [animals](https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/animals.md), [slavery](https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/slavery.md), [veganism](https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/veganism.md)

> A moment of truth here: If you continue to eat processed foods full of sugar and fat, you won’t lose weight. But you knew that. And that’s not why you’re here. You’re here to discover how good you’ll feel on a diet of vegetarian proteins, whole grains, and all the glorious and diverse vegetables and fruits of the earth. If you look around, you won’t see many fat vegans. Vegans tend to be slim and strong, gorgeous and glowing, and that’s because a healthy, plant-based diet creates vitality and vigor—and weight loss simply happens as a result of not eating fatty animal protein. And lest you think a plant-based diet is for weaklings, consider bulls, elephants, gorillas, orangutans, and stallions. These plant eaters are pure lean and powerful muscle.

[Kathy Freston](https://www.leafyquotes.com/kathy-freston.md) · [Veganist](https://www.leafyquotes.com/kathy-freston/veganist.md) · p. 3 — [Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/kathy-freston/veganist/a-moment-of-truth.md)

Topics: [veganism](https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/veganism.md)

> Being a veganist is good for your health, it's good for the environment, and it's certainly good for the animals, but it also has a powerful spiritual component. When you begin eating consciously, with compassion and thoughtfulness, you attain a certain lightness and inner peace, a sense of connectedness to the larger world.

[Kathy Freston](https://www.leafyquotes.com/kathy-freston.md) · [Veganist](https://www.leafyquotes.com/kathy-freston/veganist.md) — [Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/kathy-freston/veganist/being-a-veganist.md)

Topics: [compassion](https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/compassion.md), [veganism](https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/veganism.md)

> You know you are addicted to a food if despite knowing it is bad for you and despite wanting to change, you still keep eating it. Addiction means that a craving has more control over your behavior than you do. Almost by definition an addiction takes some effort to overcome, but in more than a few ways, those that struggle the most with going vegan are those who benefit the most. Only challenges make us stronger.

[Kathy Freston](https://www.leafyquotes.com/kathy-freston.md) · [Veganist](https://www.leafyquotes.com/kathy-freston/veganist.md) · p. 242 — [Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/kathy-freston/veganist/you-know-you.md)

Topics: [veganism](https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/veganism.md), [addiction](https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/addiction-2.md)

> To become a vegan is by far the best way we have at this time in history to contribute to peace on Earth. Being a vegan in the world today is to be involved in a nonviolent, direct-action protest against cruelty and an affirmation of kindness.

[Sharon Gannon](https://www.leafyquotes.com/sharon-gannon.md) · [Simple Recipes for Joy](https://www.leafyquotes.com/sharon-gannon/simple-recipes-for-joy.md) — [Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/sharon-gannon/simple-recipes-for-joy/to-become-a-vegan.md)

Topics: [peace](https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/peace.md), [veganism](https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/veganism.md)

> is a path to enlightenment through compassion for all beings. Jivamukti is a Sanskrit word that means to live liberated in joyful, musical harmony with the Earth. The Earth does not belong to us—we belong to the Earth. Let us celebrate our connection to life by not enslaving animals and exploiting the Earth, and attain freedom and happiness for ourselves in the process. For surely, the best way to uplift our own lives is to do all we can to uplift the lives of others. Go vegan!

[Sharon Gannon](https://www.leafyquotes.com/sharon-gannon.md) · [Simple Recipes for Joy](https://www.leafyquotes.com/sharon-gannon/simple-recipes-for-joy.md) — [Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/sharon-gannon/simple-recipes-for-joy/is-a-path.md)

Topics: [ecology](https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/ecology.md), [veganism](https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/veganism.md)

> Yoga teaches that whatever we want in life we can have if we are willing to provide it for others. So if yogis want to be free, they understand that to deprive others of freedom will ultimately not benefit their project—to be free themselves. Following that logic, yogis abhor slavery and examine their own lives to find ways that they themselves might be condoning slavery and then eradicate those ways of acting. The fact is that animals who are raised for food are slaves. Making kind choices when it comes to the food we eat is one of the most basic ways to begin to ensure our own happiness and freedom. The cause for our own happiness, health, and freedom lies in how happy and free we can make the lives of others. The definition of others includes other animals.

[Sharon Gannon](https://www.leafyquotes.com/sharon-gannon.md) · [Simple Recipes for Joy](https://www.leafyquotes.com/sharon-gannon/simple-recipes-for-joy.md) — [Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/sharon-gannon/simple-recipes-for-joy/yoga-teaches-that.md)

Topics: [freedom](https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/freedom.md), [animals](https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/animals.md), [slavery](https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/slavery.md), [veganism](https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/veganism.md)

> To be a joyful vegan in the world today is to become involved in the most radical, positive, political revolution ever. A fork can be a weapon of mass destruction or an instrument of peace. Everything a vegan eats or consumes reflects a choice that takes into account the well-being of others rather than just ourselves—and that is a big difference. Each one of us can make a huge difference by choosing not to eat animals. By choosing kindness over cruelty, we contribute to the sustainability of our planet Earth and can even change the destiny of our species and all the species on Earth.

[Sharon Gannon](https://www.leafyquotes.com/sharon-gannon.md) · [Simple Recipes for Joy](https://www.leafyquotes.com/sharon-gannon/simple-recipes-for-joy.md) — [Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/sharon-gannon/simple-recipes-for-joy/to-be-a-joyful.md)

Topics: [veganism](https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/veganism.md)

> We've all heard it: vegans are cool and plant-based dining is hot. What other diet can promise to keep you trim without working at it, clear clogged arteries, save the lives of animals, and do more to stem climate change than driving a Prius—or not driving at all?

[Victoria Moran](https://www.leafyquotes.com/victoria-moran.md) · [Main Street Vegan](https://www.leafyquotes.com/victoria-moran/main-street-vegan.md) — [Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/victoria-moran/main-street-vegan/weve-all-heard.md)

Topics: [veganism](https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/veganism.md)

> 98 percent of the animals raised for food suffer horrifically on factory farms before being slaughtered. Every time you eat a vegan meal, you're voting for something different.

[Victoria Moran](https://www.leafyquotes.com/victoria-moran.md) · [The Good Karma Diet](https://www.leafyquotes.com/victoria-moran/the-good-karma-diet.md) — [Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/victoria-moran/the-good-karma-diet/98-percent-of-the.md)

Topics: [suffering](https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/suffering.md), [animals](https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/animals.md), [veganism](https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/veganism.md)

> There are as many ways to eat a vegan diet as there are people who discover it. Just about any way you do it, provided you focus on unprocessed foods, include vitamin B12, and make a few adjustments for your individual needs and preferences, can be viable and health-promoting.

[Victoria Moran](https://www.leafyquotes.com/victoria-moran.md) · [The Good Karma Diet](https://www.leafyquotes.com/victoria-moran/the-good-karma-diet.md) — [Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/victoria-moran/the-good-karma-diet/there-are-as-many.md)

Topics: [veganism](https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/veganism.md)

> If you hear yourself saying “I could never give up ice cream” (or something else), realize that you may just be short on vegucation. There are lots of rich, luscious nondairy ice creams on the market … If you have the necessary information and you're still saying “I could never give up...,” listen to yourself. You're affirming weakness. … You're bigger than that. You can eat plants and save lives. You can give your life exponentially more meaning by living in a way that decreases suffering just because you got up and chose a kind breakfast.

[Victoria Moran](https://www.leafyquotes.com/victoria-moran.md) · [The Good Karma Diet](https://www.leafyquotes.com/victoria-moran/the-good-karma-diet.md) — [Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/victoria-moran/the-good-karma-diet/if-you-hear.md)

Topics: [veganism](https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/veganism.md)

> Nothing fills us with deep and lasting joy the way that doing a good turn for someone else does. Saving somebody's life, human or animal, is that “good turn” in spades.

[Victoria Moran](https://www.leafyquotes.com/victoria-moran.md) · [The Good Karma Diet](https://www.leafyquotes.com/victoria-moran/the-good-karma-diet.md) — [Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/victoria-moran/the-good-karma-diet/nothing-fills-us-with.md)

Topics: [kindness](https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/kindness.md), [joy](https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/joy.md), [veganism](https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/veganism.md)

> Cruelty to animals is an enormous injustice; so is expecting those on the lowest rung of the economic ladder to do the dangerous, soul-numbing work of slaughtering sentient beings on our behalf.

[Victoria Moran](https://www.leafyquotes.com/victoria-moran.md) · [Main Street Vegan](https://www.leafyquotes.com/victoria-moran/main-street-vegan.md) — [Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/victoria-moran/main-street-vegan/cruelty-to-animals.md)

Topics: [animals](https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/animals.md), [cruelty](https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/cruelty.md), [veganism](https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/veganism.md)

> Even with all our technological accomplishments and urban sophistication, we consider ourselves blessed, healed in some manner, forgiven, and for a moment transported into some other world, when we catch a passing glimpse of an animal in the wild: a deer in some woodland, a fox crossing a field, a butterfly in its dancing flight southward to its wintering region, a hawk soaring in the distant sky, a hummingbird come into our garden, fireflies signaling to each other in the evening. So we might describe the thousandfold moments when we experience our meetings with the animals in their unrestrained and undomesticated status. Such incidents as these remind us that the universe is composed of subjects to be communed with, not of objects to be exploited.

[Thomas Berry](https://www.leafyquotes.com/thomas-berry.md) · [Evening Thoughts](https://www.leafyquotes.com/thomas-berry/evening-thoughts.md) · p. 37 — [Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/thomas-berry/evening-thoughts/even-with-all.md)

Topics: [nature](https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/nature.md), [animals](https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/animals.md), [veganism](https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/veganism.md)

> We have... increased food production, built cities, established empires and created... trade networks. But did we decrease... suffering..? ...[M]assive increases in human power did not necessarily improve the well-being of individual Sapiens, and usually caused immense misery to other animals.

[Yuval Noah Harari](https://www.leafyquotes.com/yuval-noah-harari.md) · [Sapiens](https://www.leafyquotes.com/yuval-noah-harari/sapiens.md) — [Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/yuval-noah-harari/sapiens/we-have-increased.md)

Topics: [suffering](https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/suffering.md), [animals](https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/animals.md), [veganism](https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/veganism.md)

> [W]e have... made... progress... with the reduction of famine, plague and war. Yet the situation of other animals is deteriorating... and the improvement in... humanity is... fragile...

[Yuval Noah Harari](https://www.leafyquotes.com/yuval-noah-harari.md) · [Sapiens](https://www.leafyquotes.com/yuval-noah-harari/sapiens.md) — [Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/yuval-noah-harari/sapiens/w-e-have-made.md)

Topics: [animals](https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/animals.md), [veganism](https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/veganism.md)

> [F]or the vast majority of domesticated animals, the Agricultural Revolution was a terrible catastrophe.

[Yuval Noah Harari](https://www.leafyquotes.com/yuval-noah-harari.md) · [Sapiens](https://www.leafyquotes.com/yuval-noah-harari/sapiens.md) — [Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/yuval-noah-harari/sapiens/f-or-the-vast.md)

Topics: [animals](https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/animals.md), [veganism](https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/veganism.md)

> There may be moments in your life when you have to choose between ‘being liked’ and what you really want to do. Imagine your future spouse is a vegan and does not enjoy being with people who eat meat. Could you imagine putting aside your beliefs and feelings, to show support, love and understanding for your partner’s?

[Nigel Cumberland](https://www.leafyquotes.com/nigel-cumberland.md) · [100 Things Successful People Do](https://www.leafyquotes.com/nigel-cumberland/100-things-successful-people-do.md) — [Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/nigel-cumberland/100-things-successful-people-do/there-may-be-moments.md)

Topics: [love](https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/love.md), [respect](https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/respect.md), [veganism](https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/veganism.md)

> A man hunted only for food or clothing or in self-defense. It was another mark of the effete and the sadistic to take life as a sport.

[Tanith Lee](https://www.leafyquotes.com/tanith-lee.md) · [The Storm Lord](https://www.leafyquotes.com/tanith-lee/the-storm-lord.md) · p. 155 — [Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/tanith-lee/the-storm-lord/a-man-hunted.md)

Topics: [animals](https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/animals.md), [cruelty](https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/cruelty.md), [veganism](https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/veganism.md)

> "I hate zoos," she told Gabriel. "They remind me of prisons."
>
> "People like to see animals."
>
> "Citizens want to kill wild creatures or put them into cages. It helps them forget that they're also prisoners."

[John Twelve Hawks](https://www.leafyquotes.com/john-twelve-hawks.md) · [The Traveler](https://www.leafyquotes.com/john-twelve-hawks/the-traveler.md) — [Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/john-twelve-hawks/the-traveler/i-hate-zoos.md)

Topics: [freedom](https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/freedom.md), [animals](https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/animals.md), [veganism](https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/veganism.md)

> Hmm...hmm. A stag hunt. To what elaborate lengths the equestrian classes go in order to draw out the simple business of butchering venison.

[Avram Davidson](https://www.leafyquotes.com/avram-davidson.md) · [The Phoenix and the Mirror](https://www.leafyquotes.com/avram-davidson/the-phoenix-and-the-mirror.md) — [Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/avram-davidson/the-phoenix-and-the-mirror/hmm-hmm-a-stag.md)

Topics: [humor](https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/humor.md), [animals](https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/animals.md), [veganism](https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/veganism.md)

> Native Americans would say that [the sight of a fox killed in a trap] was the moment when my fate was sealed. They say that you sign nature's unwritten contract to work with animals at a very young age as a result of some experience, either good or bad, that happens in early childhood. Looking back, there is no doubt that the shock of seeing that magnificent young fox-my friend-hanging from that tree left me with a feeling of revulsion for my own kind and a desire to distance myself from the human race.

[Shaun Ellis](https://www.leafyquotes.com/shaun-ellis.md) · [The Man Who Lives with Wolves](https://www.leafyquotes.com/shaun-ellis/the-man-who-lives-with-wolves.md) — [Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/shaun-ellis/the-man-who-lives-with-wolves/native-americans-would.md)

Topics: [animals](https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/animals.md), [veganism](https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/veganism.md)

> No one would listen to me when I tried to protest that foxhunting was cruel. And as a young boy it was hard to argue with my elders about being disrespectful, but it seemed to me that if you didn't want foxes to get into your henhouse, then you needed to build an enclosure that was foxproof. It seemed totally unjust to set foxhounds to kill foxes because human beings were too lazy to take proper care of their chickens. Whenever I tried to speak to anyone about it, I was told to mind my manners, what did I know? I was just a child. It was years before I was vindicated and foxhunting was banned in England and Wales. During the debate that raged beforehand, I was involved in researching the effect hunting had on the fox. The prohunting lobby said that they only caught old and sick animals, but that was simply not true. I examined foxes that had been caught and among them were carcasses of eighteen-month-old foxes - animals in the prime of life - too young to know how to save themselves. Another myth was that the lead dog brought down the fox and it was all over in seconds with a single bite. The truth was they ran the fox to exhaustion until its brain boiled and swelled, its lungs bled, and the fox drowned in its own blood. They were often dead before the hounds even touched them. It was the most horrific death.

[Shaun Ellis](https://www.leafyquotes.com/shaun-ellis.md) · [The Man Who Lives with Wolves](https://www.leafyquotes.com/shaun-ellis/the-man-who-lives-with-wolves.md) — [Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/shaun-ellis/the-man-who-lives-with-wolves/no-one-would.md)

Topics: [animals](https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/animals.md), [cruelty](https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/cruelty.md), [veganism](https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/veganism.md)

> Farewell, farewell! but this I tell
>
> To thee, thou Wedding-Guest!
>
> ''' He prayeth well, who loveth well
>
> Both man and bird and beast.

[Samuel Taylor Coleridge](https://www.leafyquotes.com/samuel-taylor-coleridge.md) · [The Rime Of The Ancient Mariner](https://www.leafyquotes.com/samuel-taylor-coleridge/the-rime-of-the-ancient-mariner.md) — [Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/samuel-taylor-coleridge/the-rime-of-the-ancient-mariner/farewell-farewell-but.md)

Topics: [love](https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/love.md), [animals](https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/animals.md), [veganism](https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/veganism.md)

> 'Is it he?' quoth one, 'Is this the man?'
>
> By him who died on the cross,
>
> With his cruel bow he laid full low
>
> The harmless Albatross

[Samuel Taylor Coleridge](https://www.leafyquotes.com/samuel-taylor-coleridge.md) · [The Rime Of The Ancient Mariner](https://www.leafyquotes.com/samuel-taylor-coleridge/the-rime-of-the-ancient-mariner.md) — [Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/samuel-taylor-coleridge/the-rime-of-the-ancient-mariner/is-it-he-quoth.md)

Topics: [animals](https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/animals.md), [cruelty](https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/cruelty.md), [veganism](https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/veganism.md)

> He prayeth best, who loveth best
>
> All things both great and small;
>
> For the dear God who loveth us,
>
> He made and loveth all.

[Samuel Taylor Coleridge](https://www.leafyquotes.com/samuel-taylor-coleridge.md) · [The Rime Of The Ancient Mariner](https://www.leafyquotes.com/samuel-taylor-coleridge/the-rime-of-the-ancient-mariner.md) — [Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/samuel-taylor-coleridge/the-rime-of-the-ancient-mariner/he-prayeth-best.md)

Topics: [love](https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/love.md), [animals](https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/animals.md), [veganism](https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/veganism.md)

> And I had done an hellish thing,
>
> And it would work 'em woe:
>
> For all averred, I had killed the bird
>
> That made the breeze to blow.
>
> Ah wretch! said they, the bird to slay,
>
> That made the breeze to blow!

[Samuel Taylor Coleridge](https://www.leafyquotes.com/samuel-taylor-coleridge.md) · [The Rime Of The Ancient Mariner](https://www.leafyquotes.com/samuel-taylor-coleridge/the-rime-of-the-ancient-mariner.md) — [Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/samuel-taylor-coleridge/the-rime-of-the-ancient-mariner/and-i-had.md)

Topics: [animals](https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/animals.md), [guilt](https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/guilt.md), [veganism](https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/veganism.md)

> If 22 bushels (1,300 pounds) of rice and 22 bushels of winter grain are harvested from a quarter acre field such as one of these, then the field will support five to ten people each investing an average of less than one hour of labor per day. But if the field were turned over to pasturage, or if the grain were fed to cattle, only one person could be supported per quarter acre. Meat becomes a luxury food when its production requires land which could provide food directly for human consumption. This has been shown clearly and definitely. Each person should ponder seriously how much hardship he is causing by indulging in food so expensively produced.

[Masanobu Fukuoka](https://www.leafyquotes.com/masanobu-fukuoka.md) · [The One-Straw Revolution](https://www.leafyquotes.com/masanobu-fukuoka/the-one-straw-revolution.md) · p. 103 — [Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/masanobu-fukuoka/the-one-straw-revolution/if-22-bushels.md)

Topics: [ecology](https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/ecology.md), [veganism](https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/veganism.md), [food](https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/food.md)

> This was a thing she’d not seen before, how the meat that fed her was a living being one minute and then violently dead. The smell of it was personal, inescapable, like the scent that rose in the steam from her own self when she stepped into a hot bath. They had broken open the animal’s secret body just to eat it.

[Nalo Hopkinson](https://www.leafyquotes.com/nalo-hopkinson.md) · [Midnight Robber](https://www.leafyquotes.com/nalo-hopkinson/midnight-robber.md) · p. 104 — [Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/nalo-hopkinson/midnight-robber/this-was-a-thing.md)

Topics: [animals](https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/animals.md), [veganism](https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/veganism.md)

> We continue to live in ignorance concerning the harm we inflict on animals; very few of us have ever visited an industrial breeding site or a slaughterhouse. We maintain a kind of moral schizophrenia that has us lavishing pampering our pets and at the same time planting our forks in the pigs that have been sent to the slaughter by the millions, even though they are in no way less conscious, less sensitive to pain, or less intelligent than our cats and dogs.

[Matthieu Ricard](https://www.leafyquotes.com/matthieu-ricard.md) · [A Plea for the Animals](https://www.leafyquotes.com/matthieu-ricard/a-plea-for-the-animals.md) · p. 4 — [Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/matthieu-ricard/a-plea-for-the-animals/we-continue-to-live.md)

Topics: [hypocrisy](https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/hypocrisy.md), [animals](https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/animals.md), [veganism](https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/veganism.md)

> In the rich countries, depending on the species, 80 to 95 percent of the animals we eat are “produced” in industrial breeding operations where their short lives are an uninterrupted continuity of pain. All of that becomes possible the moment we begin to regard other living beings as objects for consumption or reserves of meat that we can deal with however we please.

[Matthieu Ricard](https://www.leafyquotes.com/matthieu-ricard.md) · [A Plea for the Animals](https://www.leafyquotes.com/matthieu-ricard/a-plea-for-the-animals.md) · p. 74 — [Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/matthieu-ricard/a-plea-for-the-animals/in-the-rich.md)

Topics: [suffering](https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/suffering.md), [animals](https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/animals.md), [veganism](https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/veganism.md)

> Working to spare animals the immense suffering they undergo does not diminish by one iota my determination to alleviate human misery. Needless suffering must be done away with wherever it is, in whatever form it takes. This is a war that has to be waged on all fronts, and it can be.

[Matthieu Ricard](https://www.leafyquotes.com/matthieu-ricard.md) · [A Plea for the Animals](https://www.leafyquotes.com/matthieu-ricard/a-plea-for-the-animals.md) · p. 99 — [Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/matthieu-ricard/a-plea-for-the-animals/working-to-spare.md)

Topics: [suffering](https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/suffering.md), [animals](https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/animals.md), [veganism](https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/veganism.md)

> The most striking quality that humans and animals have in common is the capacity to experience suffering. Why do we still blind ourselves, now at the beginning of the twenty-first century, to the immeasurable suffering that we inflict on animals, knowing that a great part of the pain that we cause them is neither necessary nor unavoidable? Certainly we should know that there is no moral justification for inflicting needless pain and death on any being.

[Matthieu Ricard](https://www.leafyquotes.com/matthieu-ricard.md) · [A Plea for the Animals](https://www.leafyquotes.com/matthieu-ricard/a-plea-for-the-animals.md) · p. 4 — [Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/matthieu-ricard/a-plea-for-the-animals/the-most-striking.md)

Topics: [suffering](https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/suffering.md), [animals](https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/animals.md), [veganism](https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/veganism.md)

> 'Tis only Man, mischievous Man, that can make Death a Sport. Nature taught your Stomach to crave nothing but Vegetables; but your violent Fondness to change, and greater Eagerness after Novelties, have prompted you to the Destruction of Animals without Justice or Necessity, perverted your Nature and warp'd your Appetites which way soever your Pride or Luxury have call'd them.

[Bernard Mandeville](https://www.leafyquotes.com/bernard-mandeville.md) · [The Fable of the Bees](https://www.leafyquotes.com/bernard-mandeville/the-fable-of-the-bees.md) · p. 193 — [Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/bernard-mandeville/the-fable-of-the-bees/tis-only-man.md)

Topics: [animals](https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/animals.md), [cruelty](https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/cruelty.md), [veganism](https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/veganism.md)

> But in such perfect Animals as Sheep and Oxen, in whom the Heart, the Brain and Nerves differ so little from ours, and in whom the Separation of the Spirits from the Blood, the Organs of Sense, and consequently Feeling it self, are the same as they are in Human Creatures; I can't imagine how a Man not hardened in Blood and Massacre, is able to see a violent Death, and the Pangs of it, without Concern. In answer to this, most People will think it sufficient to say, that all Things being allow'd to be made for the Service of Man, there can be no Cruelty in putting Creatures to the use they were design'd for; but I have heard Men make this Reply, whilst their Nature within them has reproach'd them with the Falshood of the Assertion.

[Bernard Mandeville](https://www.leafyquotes.com/bernard-mandeville.md) · [The Fable of the Bees](https://www.leafyquotes.com/bernard-mandeville/the-fable-of-the-bees.md) · p. 187 — [Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/bernard-mandeville/the-fable-of-the-bees/but-in-such.md)

Topics: [animals](https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/animals.md), [empathy](https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/empathy.md), [cruelty](https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/cruelty.md), [veganism](https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/veganism.md)

> I have often thought, if it was not for this Tyranny which Custom usurps over us, that Men of any tolerable Good-nature could never be reconcil'd to the killing of so many Animals for their daily Food, as long as the bountiful Earth so plentifully provides them with Varieties of vegetable Dainties.

[Bernard Mandeville](https://www.leafyquotes.com/bernard-mandeville.md) · [The Fable of the Bees](https://www.leafyquotes.com/bernard-mandeville/the-fable-of-the-bees.md) · p. 187 — [Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/bernard-mandeville/the-fable-of-the-bees/i-have-often.md)

Topics: [animals](https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/animals.md), [habits](https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/habits.md), [veganism](https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/veganism.md)

> Some People are not to be persuaded to taste of any Creatures they have daily seen and been acquainted with, while they were alive; others extend their Scruple no further than to their own Poultry, and refuse to eat what they fed and took care of themselves; yet all of them will feed heartily and without Remorse on Beef, Mutton and Fowls when they are bought in the Market. In this Behaviour, methinks, there appears something like a Consciousness of Guilt, it looks as if they endeavor'd to save themselves from the Imputation of a Crime (which they know sticks somewhere) by removing the cause of it as far as they can from themselves; and I can discover in it some strong remains of Primitive Pity and Innocence, which all the arbitrary Power of Custom, and the violence of Luxury, have not yet been able to conquer.

[Bernard Mandeville](https://www.leafyquotes.com/bernard-mandeville.md) · [The Fable of the Bees](https://www.leafyquotes.com/bernard-mandeville/the-fable-of-the-bees.md) · p. 188 — [Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/bernard-mandeville/the-fable-of-the-bees/some-people-are.md)

Topics: [animals](https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/animals.md), [guilt](https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/guilt.md), [conscience](https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/conscience.md), [veganism](https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/veganism.md)