21 Celebrity Quotes That Will Inspire You to Go Meat-Free

Going vegan isn’t just an environmental, health, or animal rights issue. According to Natalie Portman, it’s a women’s issue, too.

“Only after I became active in women’s issues did I realize that my veganism was related to those very issues. Dairy and eggs don’t just come from cows and chickens, they come from female cows and female chickens. We’re exploiting female bodies and abusing the magic of female animals to create eggs and milk.”

“Joker” star Joaquin Phoenix reminds us that when it comes down to it, animals deserve better. 

“We are all animals of this planet. We are all creatures. And non-human animals experience pain sensations just like we do. They too are strong, intelligent, industrious, mobile, and evolutional.”

Actress Alicia Silverstone has been vegan for decades. And her reasons run the gamut.

“Nothing’s changed my life more. I feel better about myself as a person, being conscious and responsible for my actions, and I lost weight and my skin cleared up and I got bright eyes, and I just became stronger and healthier and happier. Can’t think of anything better in the world to be but be vegan.”

“It” star Jessica Chastain is so passionate about eating plant-based she’s even invested in vegan meat brand Beyond Meat. She explains her motivation.

“I don’t normally get into this, but I’m a vegan. And I try not to, well, I don’t want to torture anything. I guess it’s about trying to live a life where I’m not contributing to the cruelty in the world. … While I am on this planet, I want everyone I meet to know that I am grateful they are here.”

5. Arnold Schwarzenegger

Arnold Schwarzenegger doesn’t eat meat anymore. The former bodybuilder, actor, and governor of California is now an avid environmentalist. And he says meat-eating isn’t manly. It’s marketing. Watch him in the trailer for ‘The Game Changers’ - a film he executive produced.

“Hunger Games” star Liam Hemsworth says going vegan was easy once he became informed. 

"After all the information I gathered about the mistreatment of animals, I couldn't continue to eat meat. The more I was aware of, the harder and harder it was to do."

Talk show host Steve Harvey says going plant-based has helped reverse his health conditions. 

“Disease is not what's hereditary. It's the habits that are hereditary. So, change your habits and you change your destiny.”

Talk show host and comedian Ellen DeGeneres’s diet may still include small amounts of animal products, but she still has a lot to say about reducing consumption.

“It’s a great idea for the planet. It’s a great idea for your health. It’s a great idea for the animal’s health,”

Filmmaker Kevin Smith had an “a-ha” moment after a near-fatal heart attack. While he went vegan for his health, he now stays vegan for the animals. 

“You’re always told by older people it’s OK to eat animals, we’re supposed to eat animals. And, you know, for a long time, that’s what my generation believed. Now we know a lot better.” 

Six-time Formula One World Champion Lewis Hamilton feels it’s his responsibility to use his platform to spread a message of compassion. 

"Extinction of our race becoming more and more likely as we overuse our resources. The world is a messed up place. World leaders either uneducated or don't care about the environment at all. I want my life to mean something and honestly, up until now my life's had no meaning." 

“Thank u, Next” singer Ariana Grande has eaten an organic diet for most of her life. But she credits going plant-based with making it even better.

 “I am a firm believer in eating a full plant-based, whole food diet that can expand your life length and make you an all-around happier person."

Singer and style icon, definitely. But did you know that Miley Cyrus is also outspoken about animal rights and the benefits of going plant-based?

"By not consuming animal products over the years I have protected myself from preventable diseases and saved the valuable lives of animals that would be turned into breakfast/lunch/dinner.” 

While she may be relatively new to living animal-free, actress Mena Suvari is not short on the inspiration.

“You’re doing a good thing for the environment, you’re doing a good thing for animals and you’re saving a lot of money.”

If it looks like Woody Harrelson is getting younger, he probably is. He’s been a mostly raw vegan for decades. And while he’s motivated by his health, he also does it for the animals.

   “In this world that is spinning madly out of control, we have to realize that we’re all related. We have to try to live harmoniously.”

A late-comer to the vegan diet, the legendary musician Stevie Wonder doesn’t think superstition has anything to do with saving the planet. It’s as simple as taking control and making changes to your diet.

“I’m motivating people to do something about how we are living on this planet. 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.”

Leave it to the “America’s Got Talent” judge to put things in perspective.

“Once you get used to it, it's easier. You feel better, my memory is better. So I didn’t find it difficult. I can still have beer, so I’m happy.”

Does the Black Eyed Peas frontman eat black-eyed peas? Maybe. One thing’s for sure: he’s definitely not eating any animals. A vocal advocate for animals, the rapper says seeing was believing when it comes to switching up his diet. 

“It took me 10 days to drop my cholesterol. I lost 8lb, my blood pressure came down. In 10 days my skin cleared up and my breathing was right.”

This “Grey’s Anatomy” star got her wakeup call from a cancer doctor. Overnight, she and her family turned to a plant-based lifestyle. But now, the motivation runs much deeper.

"I think we’re at a critical point for our planet and in the United States, this health issue is out of control, the obesity, the diabetes everything … Sickness is a huge business, I know that really, really well. The message of veganism is not one that they want to get out but not only will it help us, it helps the planet."

Strongman Patrick Baboumian eats more than 5,000 calories a day. And all of them come from plants. While he was a skeptic at first, he’s now one of the biggest proponents of living animal-free. 

“What actually happened was the opposite of everything I had expected. My athletic performance stayed stable and even improved in the long run. Today I am significantly stronger than I used to be. And my well-being improved fundamentally.”

Everyone knows that the Wu-Tang Clan ain’t nuthin’ to f*ck with, but for frontman RZA, neither are the animals.

“I don’t need a dead animal or dead piece of flesh to go into my live body. There’s nothing on this planet that doesn’t want to live. I had animals as friends, they were happy to see me in their own animal way. I’m quite sure they did not want to be on my plate.”

Need a little help from a friend? Will a Beatle do? Sir Paul McCartney is a longtime vegan and animal lover. (And he loves you, too, yeah, yeah, yeah.) 

“We have a responsibility to act now to minimise our impact on this planet – for our children and future generations who will inherit what we leave behind.”

Seven-time Grammy Award winner Carrie Underwood has been hailed for her “enormous” vocal range. When it comes to her diet, Underwood’s a fan of breakfast burritos and lots of tofu. She doesn’t shy away from the carbs, either. According to Cheat Sheet, one of her favorite snacks is a toasted English muffin with peanut butter.

Singer, songwriter, and “The Voice” coach, Blake Shelton, 43, has been working to stay fit recently with help from his long-time love, Gwen Stefani, who is a vegetarian and told him to get off the meat if he wants to feel fitter and lose some weight. Shelton has been trying to keep up with Stefani's impressive fitness level, according to an interview Stefani gave this fall. The former No Doubt singer and Hollaback girl is a longtime vegetarian, eats a mostly vegan diet, and is super fit-- and at 50, looks younger than her years. A source told Gossipcop, “Gwen’s told him the way to lose it is to stay the hell away from meat and bad carbs.” We're rooting for him!

The best-selling female country music singer in history isn’t buying any expensive steak dinners after a performance. The “Queen of Country Pop” has sold more than 100 million records but says she keeps her meat-free diet simple. She is both vegetarian and eats very little dairy -- though at times has said she does eat eggs.

Americana singer and songwriter Annette Conlon is also a passionate vegan. She started “The Compassionette Tour,” in an effort to bring compassion, social consciousness, human interaction, and animal issues to a mainstream audience.

The Man in Black is synonymous with country music, even nearly two decades after his death (1932-2003), probably in part because of the biopic about his life starring vegan actor Joaquin Phoenix. Ask any die-hard country music fan (or your dad, for that matter) and they will tell you that Johnny Cash was one of the best-selling musicians of all-time. His scores of hits include “I Walk the Line” and "Hurt" "A Boy Named Sue" and dozens of others. Cash himself was believed to have lived meat-free later in life to help combat some health issues. At Johnny Cash’s Kitchen and Saloon in Nashville, you can also load up on the meat-free dishes as the restaurant boasts a fully stacked veggie menu that includes greens, sweet potato mash, and fried okra.