7 Human Rights Campaigners Who Don’t Eat Meat

Some people say that veganism is just not as important or pressing as other social justice issues, particularly human and civil rights issues. But veganism is deeply embedded in all and all other social justice issues. The work of these human rights activists highlights that oppressions are connected at their root and that a commitment to human rights naturally extends itself to the rights of non-human animals. And a common driving force is a vision for a future that is more just, equitable, and compassionate for all.

Cory Booker

We are huge fans of Cory Booker’s. He is a passionate advocate for criminal justice reform, environmental protection, and economic equality in the U.S. He has succeeded in bringing the human and animal rights issues associated with agriculture into the political mainstream, something that has rarely been done in Western politics. He has also campaigned tirelessly on the connections between factory farming and the mistreatment of workers, particularly minoritized and undocumented workers in the agriculture industry. He explains it best:

Our food system is fundamentally broken. It fails to reflect our collective values. And it is not a dramatization to say that the way we produce and consume food in this country is quite literally a matter of life and death.”

Booker’s diet is an extension of his overall philosophy: to reduce suffering for both humans and animals. 

Xiuhtezcatl Martinez

Xiuhtezcatl Martinez is an Indigenous climate activist, a conscious hip-hop artist, human rights activist, and plant-based champion. He encompasses everything positive about youth activism, and shows how a visionary belief in something better can be channeled into real, effective change.

Martinez has made the connection that food is fundamentally a human rights issue, especially when it comes to Indigenous cultures and minority communities. He passionately advocates that reconnecting to our food is a crucial step toward breaking free from a corrupt food system that relies on human and animal suffering to make profit. He connects his dietary choice to his Mexican heritage, pinpointing that his indigenous community’s poor nutritional outcomes are a symptom of colonization, and that traditionally his ancestors would have eaten predominantly plant-based foods.

In 2017, Xiuhtezcatl appeared on Real Time with Bill Maher, where he said:

“We eat three meals a day, and every single one of those is a chance to make a choice for or against our future, for or against a healthy climate.”

If there is one sentence that perfectly encapsulates why veganism is a key tool to fight climate change, and thereby fight for human rights, this is it.

Yvette Baker

Yvette Baker is a total liberation activist. As a lifelong social justice advocate, she realized in recent years that animal liberation is not only inseparable from human liberation, but also may lie at the heart of eradicating unjust societal hierarchies, such as racial inequality. 

“My work and activism have been devoted to exposing and critically analyzing the intersections of human and nonhuman oppression through an Afro-Indigenous lens, aiming to empower the vegan movement as a movement for total liberation.”

Yvette also talks about how an intersectional, grassroots approach to activism can create lasting systemic change rather than the wavering cultural change we get from celebrity vegans or fad dietary trends. While these things might be useful tools for spreading veganism in the short term, Baker argues that lasting change is only possible when everyone is included in the conversation, and when we make the connection between the oppression of animals and people. 

If you’re interested in discovering more about Baker’s total liberation stance, this interview is a wonderful listen. 

Angela Davis

While she is very well known for her stance on civil rights, feminism, LGBTQ+ rights, and prison reform, Angela Davis has kept her diet fairly quiet throughout her extraordinary career. That’s understandable, given she has been busy fighting for a myriad of causes and raising marginalized voices. However, in recent years, she has decided to be more vocal about her veganism, stating that compassion towards animals is part of the same revolutionary perspective that has driven her other activism over the years:

“How can we not only discover more compassionate relations with human beings, but also with the other creatures with whom we share this planet. That would mean challenging the whole capitalist industrial form of food production.” 

Davis has an incredible way with words and while she has not spoken often about her veganism, this short clip of her speaking at the 27th Empowering Women of Color Conference is hugely insightful and powerful. 

Dr. A. Breeze Harper

Dr. Breeze Harper is an influential scholar, writer, and activist known for her pioneering work in critical race, vegan studies, and food justice. She sets out that for Black communities, the standard American diet is a disproportionate killer, with people suffering higher rates of chronic disease due to diet, as well as experiencing the majority of the negative health and environmental impacts of animal agriculture. She notes that a lot of the health disparities

faced by Black communities result from the legacy of colonialism and slavery, and current systemic whiteness. For her, diet, agriculture, and race, are connected in ways that we cannot avoid talking about. 

“If somehow people could see that it is all connected; that the movement in the Black community for racial and class liberation is not disconnected from the environmental sustainability movement, which is not disconnected from ending exploitation of animals.”

Dr. Harper’s veganism is much more than a dietary choice. It is a means of fighting the systemic injustices inherent in the capitalist food system that continues to exploit animals and minority communities. This interview is an excellent place to start if you want a more detailed introduction to Dr. Harper’s work. 

Greta Thunberg

There are few more famous campaigners than Greta Thunberg. She has arguably done more to amplify the conversation around climate breakdown than any other person. It makes sense then, that she has also adopted a vegan diet, as it is the single biggest thing we can do to reduce our carbon footprint. Thunberg has also successfully convinced her parents, and likely thousands of others, to adopt a vegan diet for the planet. When talking about the issue, she doesn’t sugarcoat things:

“Our relationship with nature is broken. If we don’t change, we are f*cked.”

We have included her here as a human rights campaigner, because climate breakdown is undeniably a human rights issue. It threatens the fundamental rights to life, health, food, water, and shelter, disproportionately harming communities in the global south who contribute least to the crisis yet face its gravest impacts. Western industrialized societies, as the biggest polluters of the last 100 years, have a responsibility to reduce emissions and mitigate the impact of climate change for all. While Thunberg speaks truth to power, and fearlessly holds governments and industry to account, she also lives her own principles by being vegan.

Akala

Akala addresses human rights, civil rights, and politics through his artistic endeavors, of which there have been many. Through music, graphic novels, essays, and more, he has stood up for the rights of marginalized communities and supported visionary political campaigns. He connects his own experiences with structural racism and classism to the historical, social, and political factors at the center of the British empire. His best-selling debut non-fiction book Natives brings these ideas together and is well worth a read.

Interestingly, his veganism is a personal journey of health that does not cross over into his activism too often. Occasionally, he enters the fray with a film or meal recommendation, and we are really glad he does, because he is an incredibly respected artist and campaigner. 

Conclusion

These human rights campaigners don’t eat meat, dairy, or eggs, not only because they believe in more ethical choices, but because they recognize the impact of their personal choices on the broader world. 

In championing their voices, we can see that a commitment to human rights, justice, and environmental protection naturally extends to an ethical commitment to all forms of life. Each of these campaigners brings a unique perspective on how veganism interlinks with broader social justice movements, showing that compassion and justice are not confined to single issues.

Their work reflects a growing understanding that our treatment of animals and the planet is inseparable from how we treat each other, and that often, the most effective activism starts on our plates. 

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