For the past half-century, veganism has been a minority within a minority. In America in 2015, according to one survey, 3.4% of the population were vegetarian and just 0.4% were vegan. But 2019 will be the year veganism goes mainstream.
Interest in a way of life in which people eschew not just meat and leather, but all animal products including eggs, wool and silk, is soaring, especially among millennials. Fully a quarter of 25- to 34-year-old Americans say they are vegans or vegetarians.
The business of providing vegan meals is booming. McDonald’s has started selling McVegan burgers. Sales of vegan foods in America in the year to June 2018 rose ten times faster than food sales as a whole. Giant food firms are clambering onto the bandwagon, creating vegan lines of their own, buying startups, or both. Tyson Foods, a meat behemoth, has a 5% stake in Beyond Meat, which sells meat-free patties to TGI Friday’s, a restaurant chain. Even Big Meat is going vegan, it seems.
The school district of Los Angeles, America’s second-largest, will start serving vegan meals in all its schools during the 2018-19 academic year. In its annual meeting in 2018, the American Medical Association called on hospitals to offer more such meals. But most national governments have been reluctant to encourage veganism. That could start to change in 2019 when the European Commission at last begins the process of formally defining what counts as vegan (and vegetarian) food, providing a measure of legal certainty.
At the same time, vegan firms are making meat substitutes that actually look and taste like meat. Beyond Meat’s patties ooze with blood made of beetroot juice. When a vegan steak made by a Dutch firm, Vivera, arrived on supermarket shelves in June, 40,000 were sold within a week. If plant-based “meats” take off, they could become a transformative technology, improving Westerners’ protein-heavy diets, reducing the environmental hoofprint of animal husbandry and perhaps even cutting the cost of food in poor countries.
Interest in a way of life in which people eschew not just meat and leather, but all animal products including eggs, wool and silk, is soaring, especially among millennials. Fully a quarter of 25- to 34-year-old Americans say they are vegans or vegetarians.
The business of providing vegan meals is booming. McDonald’s has started selling McVegan burgers. Sales of vegan foods in America in the year to June 2018 rose ten times faster than food sales as a whole. Giant food firms are clambering onto the bandwagon, creating vegan lines of their own, buying startups, or both. Tyson Foods, a meat behemoth, has a 5% stake in Beyond Meat, which sells meat-free patties to TGI Friday’s, a restaurant chain. Even Big Meat is going vegan, it seems.
The school district of Los Angeles, America’s second-largest, will start serving vegan meals in all its schools during the 2018-19 academic year. In its annual meeting in 2018, the American Medical Association called on hospitals to offer more such meals. But most national governments have been reluctant to encourage veganism. That could start to change in 2019 when the European Commission at last begins the process of formally defining what counts as vegan (and vegetarian) food, providing a measure of legal certainty.
At the same time, vegan firms are making meat substitutes that actually look and taste like meat. Beyond Meat’s patties ooze with blood made of beetroot juice. When a vegan steak made by a Dutch firm, Vivera, arrived on supermarket shelves in June, 40,000 were sold within a week. If plant-based “meats” take off, they could become a transformative technology, improving Westerners’ protein-heavy diets, reducing the environmental hoofprint of animal husbandry and perhaps even cutting the cost of food in poor countries.
Sort by:
Showing 1-50 of 86
Rating:
List Type:
While promoting his latest Avengers film, the actor revealed that his plant-based diet is what kept him in action movie-worthy shape. He was even named PETA's Most Beautiful Vegan in 2018.
The Game of Thrones star has been vegetarian for many years, and recently made the switch to veganism, according to Veganuary. When he has to eat on-screen for a GoT scene, he reportedly swaps any meat products for tofu, and it's nearly impossible for viewers to see the difference.
This Victoria’s Secret Angel is one of the many models who enjoys eating clean by using a vegetarian delivery service called Sakara. Aldridge explained to Peaceful Dumpling that by eating a plant-based diet she overall feels healthier. With her on-the-go schedule, the service makes it easier to sustain her vegetarian diet.
Twenty-six-year-old singer-songwriter Gabrielle Aplin adopted a plant-based diet in 2014. “Today, I embark on my fully vegan adventure. Trembling at the thought of no blue cheese. Or just no cheese at all. No. cheese. at. all,” she wrote on Facebook.
But the British musician seems to be coping just fine. The Please Don’t Say You Love Me singer even launched her own vegan cooking show on YouTube called Food With Friends. The online series sees her whipping up dairy-free mac ‘n’ cheese, eggless omelet, vegan Buffalo wings, and plant-based jackfruit tacos.
But the British musician seems to be coping just fine. The Please Don’t Say You Love Me singer even launched her own vegan cooking show on YouTube called Food With Friends. The online series sees her whipping up dairy-free mac ‘n’ cheese, eggless omelet, vegan Buffalo wings, and plant-based jackfruit tacos.
Not only is the “Game of Thrones” star a longtime vegan, but she’s also an activist, speaking out for animals. She recently took to Instagram to encourage her fans to avoid elephant tourist attractions that exploit animals.
Film icon Natalie Portman is a longtime vegetarian who turned vegan after reading the 2009 Jonathan Safran Foer book, “Eating Animals.” She’s not only lent her support to various causes, but she also narrated the 2018 documentary based on Foer’s book.
Portman shared exactly what she eats with Harper's Bazaar, and revealed the one thing she doesn't get from her diet: "I'm vegan, so I generally have a very clean diet; I usually have oatmeal or avocado toast in the morning ... I take vitamins too — vitamin D, and I'm still on prenatal vitamins. I get B12 shots once a month because it's the one thing you don't get from a vegan diet."
Portman shared exactly what she eats with Harper's Bazaar, and revealed the one thing she doesn't get from her diet: "I'm vegan, so I generally have a very clean diet; I usually have oatmeal or avocado toast in the morning ... I take vitamins too — vitamin D, and I'm still on prenatal vitamins. I get B12 shots once a month because it's the one thing you don't get from a vegan diet."
The 16-year-old star of Stranger Things credits Woody Harrelson for opening her eyes to veganism when they worked on The Glass Castle together in 2017.
Model and former “Made in Chelsea” star Watson won Peta’s coveted ‘Best Vegan Cookbook’ award for her debut publication Feed Me Vegan in 2017.
Our favorite Titanic actress went vegetarian later in adulthood and has been an active advocate for PETA for several years now. She even narrated a videos about boycotting restaurants that serve foie gras, a product made from the liver of duck or goose.
This Glee star has been an active advocate for PETA in the past and she credits her vegetarian lifestyle for giving her the energy and stamina to deal with the demands of a being a Hollywood actress.
The actress has gone back and forth between veganism and vegetarianism, admitting that it can be difficult. "[Being vegan] is not always easy and accessible, but it's a way of life and makes me as a person feel really good and physically look better," Wilde said in the Huffington Post.
At 75, the vegan for more than 20 years looks younger than ever and can still bring stadiums to a rocking frenzy.
Legendary singer, songwriter, and producer Stevie Wonder has been vegan for more than six years. On a 2015 segment of James Cordens’ Carpool Karaoke, Wonder talked about his veganism, saying he’d been vegan for more than a year and a half. The duo also broke into song about Wonder’s eating habits.
“I like not eating meat,” Wonder told Corden. “Go vegan, go vegan, you’ve got-got-got to go vegan,” the pair sang.
“We have to be about making our planet more greener, the urban areas more sustainable for the children… We can’t just talk about it, we have to be about it. I’m motivating people to do something about how we are living on this planet,” he said in a 2018 interview with AOL.
“I like not eating meat,” Wonder told Corden. “Go vegan, go vegan, you’ve got-got-got to go vegan,” the pair sang.
“We have to be about making our planet more greener, the urban areas more sustainable for the children… We can’t just talk about it, we have to be about it. I’m motivating people to do something about how we are living on this planet,” he said in a 2018 interview with AOL.
The actress has been a vegan for 12 years, and says going vegan gave her more energy and clearer skin. "Being vegan was not anything I ever wanted to be. I just really was listening to what my body was telling me," she said to W Magazine.
The supermodel, actress and author told Forbes she’s been a vegetarian ever since she read about an animal slaughterhouse in Chicago when she was 13. Brinkley works to maintain her figure by sticking to a healthy diet that involves eating as much color as she can every day.
Bring Me the Horizon frontman Oli Sykes went vegan eight years ago. He is an active animal rights activist and even opened a vegan bar and cafe called “Church: Temple of Fun” in 2018.
He talked with vegan meat company The Fry Family Food Co. about his plant-based lifestyle. “I have been vegetarian for almost 15 years now, and I made the transition to being vegan slowly about 5 years ago,” he said in 2017. Sykes admitted it took him “a while to fully convert.”
He talked with vegan meat company The Fry Family Food Co. about his plant-based lifestyle. “I have been vegetarian for almost 15 years now, and I made the transition to being vegan slowly about 5 years ago,” he said in 2017. Sykes admitted it took him “a while to fully convert.”
After seeing a documentary on slaughterhouses when she was 10 years old, the actress simply couldn't bear the thought of eating meat. "The next day I said 'I'm never eating meat again.' It just stuck. I feel good about it morally and physically," she told Women's Health UK.
Between Miley Cyrus and Woody Harrelson, Hemsworth had a lot of close people in his life who are vegan. He told Men's Fitness, "I have a lot of friends who are vegan. Woody Harrelson was actually one of the original reasons I became vegan, because he's been vegan for, I don't know, 30 years or something. So, with the facts I was gathering, and then just how I was physically feeling, I felt like I had to do something different."
There’s no doubt Grammy-winning musician, songwriter, and producer Tony Kanal loves animals. Kanal went vegan in 2012 after being vegetarian for years.
The rocker and his wife, Erin Lokitz, even “veganized” their home. “We had down couches, wool blankets,” Kanal told the Los Angeles Confidential. “Once we became aware of how animals were exploited to harvest these items, we were devastated. When it came time to redecorate, we knew none of these things would be welcome.”
Kanal is also active in the animal rights community. He regularly attends animal rights marches, as well as pig vigils at Farmer John’s slaughterhouse in Vernon, CA.
The rocker and his wife, Erin Lokitz, even “veganized” their home. “We had down couches, wool blankets,” Kanal told the Los Angeles Confidential. “Once we became aware of how animals were exploited to harvest these items, we were devastated. When it came time to redecorate, we knew none of these things would be welcome.”
Kanal is also active in the animal rights community. He regularly attends animal rights marches, as well as pig vigils at Farmer John’s slaughterhouse in Vernon, CA.
ritish stand up comedian and presenter Amstell recently brought veganism to the forefront of the BBC with his retrospective film, Carnage.
The supermodel is not only concerned with healthy living, but also making sure her kids grow up with a respect and appreciation for the earth and environment. "We all love it. It's not only good for our health and makes us feel good, but it is also good for the planet," she told People.
Pfeiffer says she went vegan for health reasons, but also to maintain her complexion. "Eating a vegan diet — it's just so much healthier — and you avoid a lot of toxins that could age your skin and your body. I really noticed a difference in my skin not too long after switching to fully vegan," she told Urbanette.
The Harry Potter star told Vegan Food & Living that she’s been a vegetarian since she was a young girl because she was “viscerally repelled by the idea of eating animal flesh and there was no way to avoid the fact that someone had been killed for that piece of meat.” Her transition to full vegan happened around 2015 after Lynch read Eating Animals, a book that spotlights what it really means to eat animals in an industrialized world.
The Academy Award winner has been spotted at LA’s trendiest vegan restaurants with his family – and since going veg more than a decade ago, he’s spoken out about his diet choice for PETA, even bringing his daughter into some of the media spots.
American singer-songwriter Dawn Richard went vegan “cold turkey” following her father’s cancer diagnosis. “Everything has changed for me and for the better,” Richard commented, also saying that veganism is about “more than just food, it’s a lifestyle.”
She believes more people need to make the connection between what’s on their plate and the animal their food was sourced from. “People are forgetting that it starts with the animals and we have misused them as if they are not like us,” she said. “The mistreating of them, it comes into our food.”
She believes more people need to make the connection between what’s on their plate and the animal their food was sourced from. “People are forgetting that it starts with the animals and we have misused them as if they are not like us,” she said. “The mistreating of them, it comes into our food.”
Phoenix has been a vegetarian nearly his entire life, starting at age 3. He said he has a vivid memory of being on a fishing trip with his family, and being horrified when they caught and killed the fish. "We said, 'Why didn't you tell us that's where meat came from?' And my mom didn't know what to say. I feel like I have this memory of seeing her crying," he told Cover Media.
This model-turned-actress has been an activist for stopping animal cruelty for years now and even went nude in 2013 to show her support in a PETA campaign. Prior to that she was also named PETA’s Asia-Pacific Person of the Year in 2008.
American rock singer Joan Jett has been meat-free since the 80s. The artist made the change for ethical reasons. “Twenty years ago I thought: What’s the difference between eating a bloody steak and killing my dog, slitting him open and roasting him?” Jett said to the Guardian in 2010. “I’ve always loved animals but it was around the late 80s that I realized I had to go vegetarian. A lot of things converged in my life then – musically, emotionally – but mainly it was my love of animals and spending so much time touring that made me decide I had to change my diet.”
It was a change of pace for the frontwoman of the Runaways, who had grown up being “a major carnivore.” Now she’s a major supporter of PETA, the largest animal rights group in the world. In a 2008 testimonial for the organization, Jett said, “Cutting meat out of your diet is the best thing you can do for animals and your own health. Did you know it’s one of the best things you can do for the planet too?”
It was a change of pace for the frontwoman of the Runaways, who had grown up being “a major carnivore.” Now she’s a major supporter of PETA, the largest animal rights group in the world. In a 2008 testimonial for the organization, Jett said, “Cutting meat out of your diet is the best thing you can do for animals and your own health. Did you know it’s one of the best things you can do for the planet too?”
“Bones” star Emily Deschanel is a committed vegan and raising her family vegan, too. “Being healthy, being kind to animals, being kind to our environment, to me, that’s the thing that motivates me the most,” the star says.
Not only is the “Carol” star a vegan activist, but she’s also a designer, too. She’s the visionary behind the Hiraeth Collective – a vegan fashion label gaining ground as a leading luxury line for compassionate consumers.
This Australian actress went vegetarian after watching a documentary called Earthlings, which explores what animals actually go through in factory farms, research labs, and puppy mills. Lucas was also voted Australia’s Sexiest Vegetarian Celebrity by PETA Pacific Asia in 2010.
The Scandal actress said that going vegan was a decision she made after having an odd experience in her college dining hall. "I got the baked breast of chicken, and they sort of plated it weird. As I lowered it down to my tray, it looked exactly like my mom's little furry yippy dog when she'd roll over and want you to rub her tummy. That was it for me," she told YouBeauty.
The actor has been vegan since he was 24 years old. "I used to eat burgers and steak but I would just feel knocked out afterward; I had to give them up. Dairy was first, though," he said to Metro UK.
The actress might be vegan, but that doesn't mean she can't enjoy a good burger. "I'm completely obsessed right now with the vegan, gluten-free Beyond Meat burger," she told Bon Appetit. "The first time I had it, I thought, 'I must have gotten this wrong.' It looked so bloody because of the beets! I'm completely addicted. I'll cook one up in some olive or coconut oil, top it with a slice of vegan American, and put it in a gluten-free bun with ketchup and lettuce."
Like her sister, actress Kate Mara is vegan. And, she says being vegan is one of her “personal truths.” She’s recently also championed for wildlife conservation efforts for chimpanzees.
Like her sister, actress Kate Mara is vegan. And, she says being vegan is one of her “personal truths.” She’s recently also championed for wildlife conservation efforts for chimpanzees.
The actress and political activist revealed she's a vegetarian on Twitter earlier this year.
Not only has the Titanic director been outspoken about veganism, but he’s currently producing a documentary on the diet, recently invested in a pea protein facility, and co-founded a vegan school in southern California with his wife Suzy Amis Cameron.
Quirky Australian singer Sia Furler made the switch from veggie to vegan a couple of years ago and took part in the revelatory 2018 animal agriculture documentary, Dominion.
Rainn Wilson is worlds away from the meat-loving character he portrayed on The Office, Dwight Shrute, as the star is an animal-loving vegan!During a 2017 appearance on American talk show, Conan, Wilson revealed his beloved rescue pigs inspired him to go vegan. While eating breakfast, Wilson realised he loved Snortington and Amy more than bacon and so went vegan.He told Conan O’Brien that he had a revelation one day as he was eating some bacon and “looking at these adorable little pigs”.Dubbing himself ‘The Fifty Year Old Vegan’ in an Instagram post, Wilson shared the positive health benefits he had enjoyed since going vegan. He told his 2.5 million fans: “I noticed that I had more energy! I was sleeping better and deeper.”
When longtime vegetarian Mýa went vegan, she experienced a world of benefits. She has since declared she is “vegan for life.” The R&B artist credits her plant-based diet for helping her beat anemia. “I thought you had to have meat to have protein and get your iron, and that’s just false information,” she said in a video for PETA.
She explained that she no longer gets sick since ditching animal products and thanks her healthy diet for her clear skin and “fountain of youth.”
“It’s done wonders for my entire life.”
She explained that she no longer gets sick since ditching animal products and thanks her healthy diet for her clear skin and “fountain of youth.”
“It’s done wonders for my entire life.”
PETA named her one of the sexiest vegan celebrities in 2014, thanks to her advocacy efforts. She famously tweeted, "Why are vegans made fun of while the inhumane factory farming process regards animals and the natural world merely as commodities to be exploited for profit?"
Grammy-award winning singer-songwriter Billie Eilish has taken the world by storm with hits like “bad guy” and “bellyache.” The musician went vegan around 2014. She wrote in a blog post that there were “a lot of reasons” for the lifestyle change, including the impact of dairy on health and animal welfare – “leave animals alone,” she wrote.
In June 2019, Eilish took to Instagram to urge people to think twice about the food on their plates. She shared undercover footage taken at Fair Oaks Farms, a facility in Indiana that supplies cow’s milk to dairy brand Fairlife. The exposé, which said to be the largest undercover dairy investigation ever, showed farmworkers abusing calves.
“If you can watch the videos that I just posted and not give a [expletive] that it’s YOU contributing by LITERALLY EATING the creatures that are being fully tortured just for your pleasure. I feel sorry for you,” wrote to her 26.1 million followers.
In June 2019, Eilish took to Instagram to urge people to think twice about the food on their plates. She shared undercover footage taken at Fair Oaks Farms, a facility in Indiana that supplies cow’s milk to dairy brand Fairlife. The exposé, which said to be the largest undercover dairy investigation ever, showed farmworkers abusing calves.
“If you can watch the videos that I just posted and not give a [expletive] that it’s YOU contributing by LITERALLY EATING the creatures that are being fully tortured just for your pleasure. I feel sorry for you,” wrote to her 26.1 million followers.
Back in 2012, Caillat told Shape magazine that she has been vegetarian for several years and eats 95 percent vegan. Caillat doesn’t like the feeling of having meat in her stomach and would rather get her protein from vegetables, salads, quinoa, and lentils.
The “Bleeding Love” singer has been a vegetarian for most of her life and announced she was going vegan back in 2012. Lewis is passionate about animal welfare and has been a long time activist for PETA, specifically targeting the cruelty involved in the production of leather.
The Australian model and star of Orange is the New Black has been vegan since 2013 and is rather partial to Vego chocolate.
The actress said she felt like she had no choice but to become vegan, after she and Ellen DeGeneres moved to a farm and bonded with the animals. "I always thought going vegan would be difficult, but I genuinely don't crave meat or cheese," she told O, The Oprah Magazine. "And I feel happier, like I'm contributing to making the world a less violent place."
Singer-songwriter Morrissey stopped eating meat at 11-years-old. As the frontman of The Smiths, Morrissey released the album Meat is Murder in 1985.
The musician hasn’t been quiet about his lifestyle. He told Fiona Dodwell in an interview, “I refuse to eat anything that had a mother, that’s obvious.”
In 2019, he began setting up booths at his concerts to collect petition signatures to urge winter clothing manufacturer Canada Goose to ditch down and coyote fur. “I’m writing to urge Canada Goose to act more like its namesake (e.g., smart, brave, and willing to fly off in a new direction) by making the bold ethical choice to remove coyote fur and down feathers from its parkas,” the musician wrote in the petition.
In 2018, Morrissey wrote a letter to the Irish Minister for Agriculture, Food, and the Marine asking for a ban on fur farming in Ireland.
The musician hasn’t been quiet about his lifestyle. He told Fiona Dodwell in an interview, “I refuse to eat anything that had a mother, that’s obvious.”
In 2019, he began setting up booths at his concerts to collect petition signatures to urge winter clothing manufacturer Canada Goose to ditch down and coyote fur. “I’m writing to urge Canada Goose to act more like its namesake (e.g., smart, brave, and willing to fly off in a new direction) by making the bold ethical choice to remove coyote fur and down feathers from its parkas,” the musician wrote in the petition.
In 2018, Morrissey wrote a letter to the Irish Minister for Agriculture, Food, and the Marine asking for a ban on fur farming in Ireland.
This actress, author, producer, and entrepreneur has been a long-time vegetarian and animal rights activist. Her cosmetic line Flower Beauty is completely cruelty-free and when it came to filming her new Netflix comedy Santa Clarita Diet, where the characters develop a taste for humans, Barrymore refused to allow any real meat on set.
Load more items (36 more in this list)
People who voted for this also voted for
Film Diary of 2023
Music...Tribute...Billie Holiday
Tribute...Golden Era Black Legends of Cinema
Travel...Chicago my kind of town
Music...Tribute...B.B. King
The Iridescent Sounds of 2019
Attractive Writers
Celebs..Afro-Asian...Blasian..aka Hapa Actresses..
Netflix & chill.Sweetest Sappiest Movies to Stream
Music...The Best DJs in the World Right Now
ER Cast: Seasons 6-10
Remembering Chuck Berry
Music...Discography Soul/R&B
The ten most beautiful Shoegaze covers ever
My Fav Black Cinema
More lists from Nusch
Horror Movies That Use Drugs As A Plot Point
Philosophical and Psychological Posters
My Favorite Albums: 1970
Metaphysical Movies
My Favorite Horror TV Shows of the 21st Century
PHOTOS | Hein Gorny
ART | Misha Gordin