List of Famous Vegetarians

Hello! Here is a complete list from www.happycow.net of great minds, actors, philosophers, presidents that are vegetarian/vegan.

Abdul Kalam Dr., President of India and Space Scientist - info
Abraham Lincoln, former President of the United States - info
AC Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, founder of ISKCON/Hare Krishna - info
Adam Ant, musician - info
Adam Carson, drummer of AFI - info

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Adam Russell, bassist of Story of the Year, vegan - info
Adam Yauch, musician of Beastie Boys, vegan - info
Adriana Karembeu, model - info
Adriano Celentano, singer - info
Ahmet Zappa, musician and actor - info
Alan Donohue, singer of British rock band The Rakes, vegan - info
Alan Ford, actor, British - info
Alan Park, comedian, Canadian TV Personality, vegan - info
Alanis Morissette, singer, vegan - info
Albert Einstein, renowned scientist - info
Albert Schweitzer, theologian, philosopher, and physician - info
Alexandra Paul, actress and environmental activist - info
Alex Greenwald, actor, musician, vegan - info
Alice Walker, poet and writer - info
Alicia Silverstone, actress, vegan - info
Alison Lohman, actress - info
Allen Ginsberg, poet - info
Ally Sheedy, actress - info
Alyssa Milano, actress, vegan - info
Amber Benson, actress - info
Amber Valetta, model and actress - info
Amitabh Bachchan, Indian celebrity superstar - info
Amy Ray, musician from Indigo Girls - info
Andre Tonelli, musician and instrumental guitarist, vegan - info
Andre 3000 Benjamin, musician from OutKast, vegan - info
Andrew G, actor, vegan - info
Andrew (Whitey) White, musician and guitarist of Kaiser Chiefs - info
Andy Dick, comedian and actor - info
Andy Hurley, musician and drummer of Fall Out Boy, vegan - info
Andy Serkis, actor - info
Angela Bassett, actress - info
Angie Everhart, model and actress - info
Anna Paquin, actress and Oscar winner of The Piano - info
Annalise Braakensiek, model - info
Anne Hathaway, actress - info
Anoushka Shankar, musician and sitar virtuoso, vegan - info
Antoni Gaudí, architect - info
Anthony Grayling, writer and columnist - info
Anthony Kiedis, singer of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, vegan - info
Anthony Perkins, actor - info
Anthony Rapp, actor, vegan - info
Apu Nahasapeemapetilon, actor (fictional) of Simpsons, vegan - info
Ariana Huffington, writer and polictical activist - info
Aristotle, Greek philosopher - info
Ashley Judd, actress - info
Avril Lavigne, singer and musician - info
Axella Johannesson, folk musician - info
Barbara Bouchet, actress - info
Barry White, musician, vegan - info
Beatrice Wood, artist - info
Belinda Carlisle, singer of the Go-Go's - info
Benjamin Spock, M.D., pediatrician, vegan - info
Benjamin Zephaniah, performance poet and author, vegan - info
Benji Madden, musician and guitarist of Good Charlotte - info
Berkeley Breathed, cartoonist - info
Bernadette Peters, actress - info
Bif Naked, punk rocker, vegan - info
Bill Pearl, bodybuilder - info
Bill Walton, NBA All-Star basketball player - info
Billie Jean King, tennis player - info
Billie Joe Armstrong, musician and singer of Greenday - info
Billy Idol, musician - info
Billy Martin, rock musician of Good Charlotte - info
Billy West, voice actor, vegan - info
Bob Barker, US TV show host - info
Bobby Rock, musician and drummer - info
Bobcat Goldthwait, comedian actor - info
Bonnie Raitt, musician and singer - info
Boy George, singer - info
Brad Pitt, actor - info
Brandon Barnes, musician of Rise Against - info
Brandon Boyd, musician of rock band Incubus - info
Brandy, R&B artist and singer - info
Brendon Urie, lead singer of Panic! at the Disco - info
Brian Bell, musician of Weezer, vegan - info
Brian Fair, singer of Shadows Fall - info
Brian Greene, theoretical physicist, vegan - info
Brian May, musician ex-Queen - info
Brigitte Bardot, French actress - info
Brooke Shields, actress - info
Bryan Adams, singer and songwriter, vegan - info
Bryce Dallas Howard, actress - info
Buddha, Indian Saint and Spiritual Master - info
Candice Bergen, actress - info
Captain Sensible, musician of The Damned - info
Carmen Miranda, Brazilian bombshell - info
Carole Bouquet, French actress - info
Carrie Underwood, country singer - info
Carrie Anne Moss, actress in Matrix trilogy, vegan - info
Casey Affleck, actor, vegan - info
Casey Kasem, US radio host, vegan - info
Catherine Spaak, actress - info
Cathy Guisewaite, writer of the comic CATHY - info
Cedric Bixler-Zavala, singer of The Mars Volta, vegan - info
Cesar Chavez, United Farm Workers union organizer - info
Chantal Coutier, makeup artist - info
Charles Darwin, renowned scientist - info
Charlie Heather, musician and drummer of Levellers - info
Charlie Watts, musician and drummer of Rolling Stones - info
Charlotte Bronte, novelist - info
Charlotte Laws, author, actress - info
Charlotte Ross, actress - info
Chelsea Clinton, daughter of Bill Clinton and Hilary Clinton - info
Chia Collins, founder and COO of Lightlife Foods vegetarian products - info
Chris Evans, actor from Cellular and Fantastic Four - info
Chris Evert, American tennis legend - info
Chris Head, musician and guitarist of Anti-Flag - info
Chris Martin, lead singer and musician of Coldplay - info
Chris No2, musician and bassist of Anti-Flag - info
Chris Pontius, actor on MTV - info
Chris Walla, guitarist of Death Cab for Cutie - info
Chrissie Hynde, rock singer, vegan - info
Christian Bale, actor - info
Christian Serratos, actress - info
Christie Brinkley, model - info
Christina Applegate, actress - info
Christopher Amott, musician of Arch Enemy - info
Christopher Hills Dr., doctor who popularized microalgaes - info
Christopher Ingle, Singer, Musician, vegan - info
Christy Turlington, supermodel - info
Cicely Tyson, actress - info
Cillian Murphy, Irish actor - info
Cindy Jackson, cosmetic surgery pioneer and author - info
Claudia Cardinale, Italian film star - info
Claudia Schiffer, supermodel - info
Clint Walker, actor - info
Coretta Scott King, activist and wife of Martin Luther King Jr., vegan - info
Corey Feldman, actor - info
Crispian Mills, rock musician - info
Dalip Singh Rana, aka "Great Khali", professional Indian wrestler - info
Daman Albarn, singer for Blur - info
Dan Piraro, cartoonist, vegan - info
Dana Daurey, actress - info
Daniel Johns, musician of Silverchair, vegan - info
Daniel Kessler, musician and guitarist of Interpol - info
Daniel Negreanu, professional poker player, vegan - info
Daniela Sea, musician and actor, vegan - info
Danny Garcia, professional skateboarder - info
Danny Nova, singer and songwriter, vegan - info
Darren Boyd, actor, vegan - info
Dario Argento, writer, vegan - info
Daryl Hannah, actress and environmental activist, vegan - info
Dave Gorman, Comedian - info
Davey Havok, singer of AFI, vegan - info
David Johansenn, singer - info
Dean Ornish MD, doctor and author of The Life Choice Diet - info
Deepak Chopra, author and doctor - info
Dennis Kucinich, politician, vegan - info
Dennis Weaver, TV actor - info
Diane Keaton, actress - info
Diane Warren, songwriter - info
Dick Gregory, comedian and civil rights activist - info
Dick Lucas, musician of Subhumans - info
Diogenes, Greek philosopher - info
Dirk Bach, German actor and comedian - info
Dizzie Gillespie, famed jazz musician - info
Doctah B Sirius, music producer and natural health researcher - info
Doris Day, actress - info
Dustin Hoffman, actor - info
Dyan Canyon, actress - info
Ed Asner, actor and rights activist - info
Ed Templeton, professional skateboarder, vegan - info
Eddie Jackson, musician of Queensryche - info
Eddie Lama, film maker - info
Eddie Vedder, singer and songwriter of Pearl Jam - info
Edward Furlong, actor - info
Edwin Moses, athlete - info
Elijah Wood, actor, vegan - info
Elizabeth Berkley, actress - info
Ellen Degeneres, TV personality, vegan - info
Elvira Mistress of the Dark, actress - info
Emily Deschanel, actress, vegan - info
Emilie Autumn, musician, vegan - info
Emily Dickinson, writer and poet - info
Emmylou Harris, singer - info
Epicurus, Greek philosopher - info
Eric Johnson, guitarist - info
Eric Roberts, actor, vegan - info
Eric Stoltz, actor - info
Erykah Badu, R&B singer, vegan - info
Fat Mike, musician from NOFX - info
Fiona Apple, singer and songwriter, vegan - info
Fiona Oakes, athlete, ex-Olympian, vegan - info
Forest Whitaker, actor - info
Forrest Kline, vocalist and guitarist for Hellogoodbye, vegan - info
Francis Lalanne, French singer - info
Frank Iero, musician of My Chemical Romance - info
Frank Marino, entertainer and drag queen - info
Franz Kafka, Jewish writer - info
Fred Mascherino, musician of Taking Back Sunday, vegan - info
Fred Schneider, musician of B-52's - info
Gabe Saporta, singer and lyricist of Cobra Starship, vegan - info
Gabrielle Miller, actress, vegan - info
Gandhi, Hindu spiritual leader - info
Gavin Rossdale, singer of BUSH - info
Geoff Rickly, singer of Thursday - info
Geoff Rowley, professional skateboarder, vegan - info
Geoffe Tate, singer of Queensryche - info
George Harrison, musician of the Beatles - info
George Bernard Shaw, writer - info
Georges Laraque, NHL player, vegan - info
Gianni Morandi, Italian musician - info
Gillian Anderson, actress - info
Gina Lee Nolin, actress - info
Ginnifer Goodwin, actress, vegan - info
Gloria Swanson, actress - info
Grace Slick, singer and songwriter, vegan - info
Grant Morrison, Scottish comic book writer - info
Greg Cipes, actor and musician, vegan - info
Greg German, actor - info
Gregory Smith, Child Prodigy - info
Gustave Flaubert, French novelist - info
H.G. Wells, English writer - info
Harriet Beecher Stowe, writer - info
Hayden Panettiere, actress - info
Hayley Mills, actress - info
Heather Mills, model, celebrity, and activist, vegan - info
Heather McAdams, author, cartoonist - info
Heather Small, singer, vegan - info
Helen and Scott Nearing, authors of The Good Life - info
Henry David Thoreau, poet and writer - info
Howard Lyman, former cattle rancher turned activist and author , vegan - info
Huey Freeman, fictional cartoon character, vegan - info
Hunter Burgan, musician and bassist of AFI, vegan - info
Ian MacKaye, musician, vegan - info
Ian McKellan, British actor from Lord of the Rings - info
Immanuel Kant, philosopher - info
India Arie, singer and songwriter - info
Ingrid Newkirk, animal rights activist, vegan - info
Ira Glass, NPR's This American Life - info
Isa Chandra Moskowitz, punk rocker and vegan cookbook author , vegan - info
Isaac Bashevis Singer, Nobel Prize winner - info
Issa, musician from Good Clean Fun - info
Jack Johnson, singer - info
Jade Puget, guitarist of AFI - info
James Cromwell, actor and animal rights advocate, vegan - info
Jamie Kennedy, comedian and actor - info
Jamie Lee Curtis, actress - info
Jane Goodall, primatologist, educator, and animal rights advocate - info
Jane Velez-Mitchell, TV News, vegan - info
Jane Wiedlin, musician of the Go-Go's - info
Jared Leto, actor and singer of 30 Seconds to Mars - info
Jason Mraz, singer, vegan - info
Jay Kordich, aka the Juiceman raw foodist - info
JD Fortune, singer of INXS - info
JD Salinger, American novelist - info
Jean-Jacques Rousseau, philosopher - info
Jeff Beck, guitarist - info
Jenna Jameson, porn actress - info
Jenny Lewis, singer and composer for Rilo Kiley - info
Jenny McCarthy, actress, model, vegan - info
Jenny Seagrove, actress - info
Jeph Howard, musician and bassist for The Used - info
Jeremy Cunningham, musician and bassist of Levellers - info
Jesse Malin, rock musician - info
Jesus Christ, Christian saint and mystic - info
Jiddu Krishnamurti, spiritual teacher Eastern Indian - info
Joan Armatrading, singer - info
Jim James, singer - info
Joan Baez, American folk singer - info
Joan Jett, punk rock musician and singer, vegan - info
Joanne Rose, actor, vegan - info
Joaquin Phoenix, actor, vegan - info
Joe Principe, musician of Rise Against - info
Joel, musician of Good Charlotte - info
John Abraham, actor Bollywood - info
John Cleese, British actor and comedian of Monty Python - info
John Maxwell Coetzee, author/novelist - info
John Feldmann, musician of Goldfinger, vegan - info
John Lennon, Beatles singer and songwriter - info
John McDougall Dr., physician and author - info
John Melton, writer and politician - info
John Norris, MTV personality - info
John Peel, British DJ, vegan - info
John Robbins, activist and author, vegan - info
John Robb, musician and actor, vegan - info
John Tesh, TV personality/host - info
John Salley, NBA Champion, vegan - info
Johnny Marr, guitarist - info
Jon Anderson, musician of Yes - info
Jonathan Safran Foer, author - info
Jon Sevink, musician fiddle player of Levellers - info
Jonathan Richman, musician and singer, vegan - info
Jonathan Taylor Thomas, actor - info
Jorja Fox, actress, vegan - info
Joss Stone, British musician - info
Jovanotti (Lorenzo Cherubini), Italian singer/rapper - info
Julianna Margulies, actress - info
Julie Christie, English actress - info
Justin Sane, singer of Anti-Flag - info
Kal Penn, actor - info
K D Lang, singer, vegan - info
Kate Bush, singer and songwriter - info
Kate Winslet, actress - info
Kathy Johnson, gymnast - info
Keenan Ivory Wayans, actor and comedian - info
Kelly Clarkson, pop singer - info
Kelly Osbourne, daughter of Ozzy Osbourne - info
Kenneth KB Charman, musician of Nonpoint - info
Kevin Eubanks, musician of The Tonight Show with Jay Leno - info
Kevin Nealon, comedian and actor, vegan - info
Killer Kowalski, professional wrestler - info
Kim Basinger, actress - info
Kirk Hammett, musician and guitarist of Metallica - info
Krist Novoselic, musician, bassist for Nirvana - info
Kirsten Johnson, actress - info
Kristen Bell, actress - info
KRS-One, musician Boogey Down Productions rapper - info
Kurt Halsey, artist, vegan - info
Kyle Vincent, singer and songwriter, vegan - info
Lady Bunny, entertainer and drag queen - info
Larry Hagman, actor - info
Larry Mullen Jr, musician of U2 - info
LaToya Jackson, sister of Michael Jackson - info
Laura Nashman, musician - info
Lauren Bush, niece of George W. Bush - info
Leilani Munter, female race car driver - info
Leo Tolstoy, Russian writer and philosopher - info
Leonard Cohen, singer and songwriter - info
Leonardo Da Vinci, Italian painter and inventor, vegan - info
Leona Lewis, British Popstar - info
Liam Wilson, musician, vegan - info
Linda Blair, actress, vegan - info
Linda Carter, actress known as Wonder Woman - info
Linda McCartney, cookbook author and wife of Paul McCartney - info
Lindsay Wagner, actress - info
Lisa Bonet, actress - info
Lisa Edelstein, actress - info
Lisa Simpson, fictional cartoon character - info
Liv Tyler, actress/model, vegan - info
Lord Byron, writer - info
Lori Petty, actress, vegan - info
Louisa May Alcott, American writer - info
Louise Burns, musician of Lillix - info
Luke Cummo, contender in UFC Ultimate Fighter, vegan - info
Lynda Stoner, actress, animal rights activist, vegan - info
Ma'ari Abul Ala'a al, Arabian poet - info
Mac Danzig, athlete, vegan - info
Marc Lavoine, French singer - info
Marcus Patrick, actor - info
Marcus Schankenberg, supermodel - info
Margi Coleman, singer and producer - info
Maria Rosaria Omaggio, Italian actress - info
Mariana Tosca, actress and activist, vegan - info
Marilu Henner, actress and author - info
Mark Millar, Scottish comic book writer - info
Mark Twain, renowned American writer - info
Martha Plimpton, actress - info
Martin Shaw, actor, vegan - info
Marty Feldman, actor and comedian - info
Marv Levy, football coach - info
Mary Shelley, novelist - info
Mary Tyler Moore, actress - info
Masami Akita, musician, vegan - info
Matthew Scully, conservative political speechwriter and author - info
Maurice Maeterlinck, writer - info
Melanie Griffith, actress - info
Melissa Etheridge, musician, singer and songwriter - info
Meredith Baxter, singer - info
Michael Amott, musician and guitarist of Arch Enemys - info
Michael Bolton, singer and songwriter - info
Michael Eisner, entertainment businessman and former Disney CEO - info
Michael Franks, jazz musician - info
Michael Franti, singer of Spearhead, vegan - info
Michael Jackson, singer and The King of Pop - info
Michael Guy Chislett, musician, of The Academy Is... - info
Michael "Mickey" Madden, bassist for Maroon 5, vegan - info
Michel Sardou, French singer - info
Michelle Forbes, actress - info
Mike Farrell, actor - info
Mike Gordon, musician and bass player of Phish - info
Mike Ness, musician, Social Distortion - info
Milo Ventimiglia, actor - info
Mireille Darc, French singer and actress - info
Missy Higgins, Australian singer and songwriter - info
Moby, musician and co-author, vegan - info
Montserrat Caballe, Spainsh opera singer - info
Morrissey, singer, vegan - info
Mr.(Fred) Rogers, TV personality/host and educator - info
Mr. Spock, fictional TV character of Star Trek - info
Naomi Watts, actress - info
Nastassja Kinski, actress - info
Natalie Merchant, songwriter and singer of 10000 Maniacs - info
Natalie Portman, actress - info
Nathalie Baye, French actress - info
Nellie McKay, actress, singer and songwriter, vegan - info
Nelly, rap musician - info
Nick Rhodes, musician of Duran Duran - info
Nico, model, actress - info
Nicole Lapin, Journalist, CNN Anchor, vegan - info
Nikola Tesla, physicist and inventor - info
Nina Hagen, German punk rock singer - info
Noah Wyle and his wife Tracy, actor - info
Nolwenn Leroy, French singer - info
Norman Walker, doctor and longest lived raw foodist - info
Ocean, Indie musician and singer, vegan - info
Oleg Cassini, designer - info
Oliver Stone, American film director - info
Oliver Sykes, Lead singer, vegan - info
Olivia Newton John, Australian singer and songwriter - info
Olivia Wilde, actress, vegan - info
Omar Epps, actor - info
Omar Hakim, singer, writer. and drummer - info
Omar Rodriguez-Lopez, musician of The Mars Volta, vegan - info
Orlando Bloom, actor - info
Orlando Jones, actor - info
Ornella Muti, Italian actress - info
Owain Yeoman, actor - info
Pamela Anderson, actress - info
Pamelyn Ferdin, actress and voice in Charlotte's Web, vegan - info
Paramahansa Yogananda, spiritual teacher and yogi from East India - info
Pat Neshek, professional baseball player, vegan - info
Pat Thetic, musician and drummer of Anti-Flag, vegan - info
Patrick Bauchau, actor - info
Patrick Flanagan, childhood genius and scientist - info
Patrick McDonnell, cartoonist and creator of Mutts - info
Paul McCartney, musician, singer and songwriter, Beatles guitarist - info
Pauly Shore, comedian and actor - info
Percy Bysshe Shelley, writer - info
Persia White, singer and actress, vegan - info
Peter Gabriel, singer and songwriter - info
Peter Max, artist - info
Peter Sellers, actor and comedian - info
Petra Nemcova, model - info
Philip Collen, musician, guitarist of Def Leppard - info
Phil Lesh, musician and bass player of The Grateful Dead - info
Phil Ramone, record producer - info
Phylicia Rashad, actress - info
Pierce Brosnan, actor - info
Pink, American pop singer - info
PJ Harvey, musician, singer and songwriter - info
Plato, Greek philosopher and student of Socrates - info
Plutarch, Greek philosopher - info
Poly Styrene(Marion Elliot), musician of punk rock band X-ray Spex - info
Porphyry, Greek philosopher - info
Portia de Rossi, actress, vegan - info
Prince, musician, singer and songwriter - info
Prince Fielder, professional baseball player - info
Propagandhi Band, political punk rock band Ö all members, vegan - info
Pythagoras of Samos, Greek mathematician of Pythagorean Theorem - info
Quinn Allman, musician ot The Used, vegan - info
Rabindranath Tagore, Eastern Indian philosopher - info
Radha Mitchell, actress - info
Raffi, musician childrens tunes - info
Rainer Maria Rilke, writer - info
Raja Bell, NBA athelete - info
Ralph Waldo Emerson, writer and poet - info
Ramana Maharshi, Indian Saint and Spirtual Master - info
Richard Thompson, musician and songwriter - info
Richie Havens, musician - info
Rick Allen, musician, drummer of Def Leppard - info
Ricki Lake, TV personality and actress - info
Ricky Williams, professional football player - info
Rider Strong, actor - info
Rikki Rocket, musician and drummer of Poison, vegan - info
Ringo Starr, musician and drummer of Beatles - info
Rita Moreno, actress - info
River Phoenix, actor, vegan - info
Rivers Cuomo, singer of Weezer - info
Rob Zombie, musician and film director - info
Rob Bigwood, Pro Arm-wrestler, vegan - info
Robert Redford, actor and film producer - info
Robert Smith, lead singer of The Cure - info
Robin Gibb, musician of Bee Gees, vegan - info
Rosa Parks, civil rights activist - info
Ru Paul, entertainer, drag queen, and activist - info
Ruben Studdard, American Idol singer - info
Russel Simmons, music producer and co-founder Def Records - info
Russell Brand, actor - info
Ryland Bouchard, musician, vegan - info
RZA, musician and producer of The Wu-Tang Clan - info
Sade Adu, singer - info
Sadie Frost, ex-wife of Jude Law (formerly vegetarian) - info
Saint Angela Merici Saint - info
Saint David, Christian Welsh Saint, vegan - info
Saint Francesco d'Assisi, Saint - info
Salim Stoudamire, vegan, athelete - info
Samantha Eggar, actress - info
Samuel L. Jackson, actor - info
Sandra Bernhardt, comedian and actress - info
Sandra Oh, actress - info
Sant Kirpal Singh Ji, Indian Saint and mystic - info
Sarahbeth Purcell, author - info
Sarah Connor, fictional character from Terminator film - info
Saul Williams, vegan, musician - info
Scott Adams, cartoonist and creator of 'dilbert' - info
Scott Jurek, athlete, vegan - info
Scott Westerfeld, author - info
Seal, singer and songwriter - info
Seamus Davey-Fitzpatrick, actor - info
Sean Conant, actor, vegan - info
Sean Lennon, musician and son of Yoko and John Lennon - info
Seba Johnson, Olympian, actress, and writer, vegan - info
Serenity, actress and porn star - info
Serge Raynaud de la Ferriere, Dr., founder of Universal Great Brotherhood - info
Serj Tankian, musician of System of a Down - info
Shane MacGowan, singer of The Pogues - info
Shane Sweet, actor, vegan - info
Shane Told, musician of Silverstein, vegan - info
Shania Twain, Canadian country singer - info
Shannon Elizabeth, actress - info
Sinead O'Connor, Irish singer, vegan - info
Sir Isaac Newton, physicist - info
Sir Stafford Cripps, British statesman - info
Sky Valencia, model and founder of Vegan Vixens - info
Socrates, Greek philsopher - info
Sonya Fitzpatrick, aka the Pet Psychic - info
Sophie Monk, Australian singer and actress - info
Spice Williams-Crosby, actress and stunt performer - info
Spike Milligan, comedian - info
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, Spriritual leader - info
Stella McCartney, designer and daughter of Paul McCartney - info
Steve Bellamy, tennis coach and founder of The Tennis Channel - info
Steve Freund, Blues musician - info
Steve Howe, musician - info
Steve Kilbey, singer and lyricist of The Church, vegan - info
Steve Perry, musician - info
Steve Vai, musician - info
Steve-O, Stunt performer & tv personality, vegan - info
Stic.man, musician of Dead Prez , vegan - info
Sue Coe, New York City artist - info
Summer Phoenix, actress, vegan - info
Superman/Clark Kent, fictional superhero - info
Supreme Master Ching Hai, Spiritual leader, vegan - info
Susan St. James, actress - info
Susan B. Anthony, women's suffrage pinoeer - info
Suzanne Vega, singer and songwriter - info
Sydne Rome, actress - info
Taran Noah Smith, actor - info
Ted Leo, musician, vegan - info
Terry Geezer Butler, musician of Ozzy Osbourne Band, vegan - info
The Roots, all veg band - info
Thom Yorke, singer of Radiohead, vegan - info
Thomas Alva Edison, renowned inventor - info
Thomas Dekker, actor, vegan - info
Thora Birch, actress - info
Tim Butler, musician of Psychedelic Furs - info
Tim Commerford, musician of Rage Against the Machine, vegan - info
Tim McIlrath, musician of Rise Against, vegan - info
Tobey Maguire, actor, vegan - info
Todd Oldham, American fashion designer - info
Tom Lenk, TV actor of buffy vampire slayer villian - info
Tom Gabel, singer, Against Me!, vegan - info
Tom Morello, activist and guitarist of Rage Against The Machine - info
Tom Scholz, musician and guitarist for Boston - info
Tommy Lee, musician of Mötley Crüe - info
Tony LaRussa, baseball - info
Tony Levin, musician - info
Tracy Chapman, singer and songwriter - info
Travis Barker, muscian and drummer of Blink 182 - info
Tyrone Willingham, football coach of Notre Dame - info
Uri Geller, actor and trick performer - info
Valerie Harper, actress - info
Valerie Kaprisky, actress - info
Vanessa Lengies, actress, vegan - info
Vanessa A. Williams, actress and dancer, vegan - info
Vanna White, actress and TV personality - info
Venkatesh Prasad, Cricketer - info
Victoria Moran, author, vegan - info
Ville Valo, singer - info
Vincent van Gogh, Dutch Post-Impressionist artist - info
Voltaire, French writer and philosopher - info
Wayne Static, singer of the metal group Static-X - info
Weird Al Yankovic, comedian and musician, vegan - info
Wendy Malick, actress of Just Shoot Me - info
Wendy O'Williams, singer of Plasmatics - info
Wendy Turner, artist - info
Willem Dafoe, actor - info
William Blake, writer - info
William Clay Ford Jr., CEO of Ford Motor company - info
Wolfgang Peterson, director - info
Woody Harrelson, actor and environmental activist, vegan - info
Yasmin Le Bon, supermodel - info
Yoko Ono, artist and wife of Beatles John Lennon - info
Zach Blair, musician of Rise Against - info
Zearle, hip hop artist and poet - info
Zooey Deschanel, actress, musician, singer, vegan - info

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Sometimes rumored to be vegetarians but sometimes not (unproven):
Adolf Hitler, infamous German Nazi dictator - info
Alec Baldwin, actor and animal rights advocate - info
Andy (The Butcher) Mrotek, musician of The Academy is... - info
Annie Lennox, singer and songwriter - info
Anthony Robbins, writer and speaker - info
Audrey Kitching, model - info
Benjamin Franklin, author, politician, and scientist - info
Bill Goldberg, world champion pro wrestler - info
Bill Maher, comedian, and TV personality - info
Bob Dylan, singer, songwriter, and musician - info
Bob Marley, musician and reggae legend - info
Bruce Springsteen, musician, singer and songwriter - info
Carl Lewis, athlete - info
Carlos Santana, musician and guitar player - info
Cheryl Cole, singer of the Girls Aloud - info
Clint Eastwood, actor and film director- info
Common, rapper and hip-hop artist - info
Conor Oberst, musician of Bright Eyes - info
Constance Marie, actress - info
Cyndi Lauper, singer and songwriter - info
Dalai Lama, Spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhism - info
Dave Scott, athlete - info
Davy Jones, musician of the Monkees - info
Demi Moore, actress - info
Drew Barrymore, actress - info
Dwight Yoakam, musician and country music singer - info
Ed Begley Jr., actor and environmental activist - info
Elvis Costello, musician, singer and songwriter - info
Faith Hill, musician, country singer - info
Gerard and Mikey Way, musician - info
Gwyneth Paltrow, actress - info
Hank Aaron, baseball athlete - info
Jackie Chan, Hong Kong action actor - info
Janeane Garofalo, actress, comedian, and political commentator - info
Jennifer Connelly, actress - info
Jessica Biel, actress - info
Jim Carrey, actor, stand-up comedian - info
Johnny Cash, country musician - info
Josh Hartnett, actor - info
Kate Moss, model - info
Kirk Cameron, actor and Christian evangelist - info
Leonardo diCaprio, actor and environmental activist - info
Lisa Kudrow, actress - info
Madonna, pop superstar - info
Martina Navratilova, tennis player and legend - info
Meatloaf, singer - info
Michael Stipe, singer of REM - info
Mike Dirnt, musician and bassist of Green Day - info
Paul Newman, actor and entreprenuer - info
Pete Wentz, musician - info
Peter Tork, musician of the Monkees - info
Queen Sofia, Queen of Spain - info
Reese Witherspoon, actress - info
Richard Gere, actor - info
Russell Crowe, actor - info
Simon Cowell, TV Personality - info
Steve Martin, actor - info
Steven Jobs, founder of Apple Computers - info
Tea Leoni, actress and wife of David Duchovny - info
Tony Gonzales, NFL Star - info
Vanessa Amorosi, musician - info
Victoria Beckham, pop star of the Spice Girls and wife of David Beckham - info
William Shatner, actor - info

Vegetarian/Healthy Eating at Panera Bread

Ok faithful readers - listen up. I know a lot of people when they first start to go vegetarian struggle with A) Nutrition and B) where to go. Well, today I am going to give you some lovely insight on one of my favorite places to munch on when I have no money but want good food. Panera. Now, while Panera doesnt have as many vegetarian options as I would like...if you go to their OWN website, you can see on their nutrition calculator that their food isnt as healthy as one may think. I know girls - because I am one - are told by doctors, nutritionists, and in those crappy magazines that you should be eating turkey or chicken. When you compare it to thier vegetarian options (you can even make them vegan by asking for no cheese) you will be shocked by how unhealthy the meat and dairy is for you. This doesnt go just for Panera, obviously, but I know myself and a lot of my friends love to eat there and truly think that what they are eating is quite healthy.



When I go, I usually get the "You Pick TWO" option. I love to eat their half Mediterannian Veggie Sandwich along with half the Greek Salad (I know, sterotypical me). More than often I will ask for no cheese because I try to stay away from it as much as possible due to all the fat and cholestrol that is in it. For the sake of just seeing what is in here I will show you both options. Let's say you get exactly what I ordered, the Veggie Sandwich and the Greek Salad as they are:

You are looking at a meal of 520 calories with 15mg of cholestrol, 640mg of salt.

If you remove the dairy items (the feta cheese in both sandwiches) you are looking at a cholestrol free meal and shaved off 60 calories, bringing you to 460 calories (this does not include chips, side bread, or apple but I advise to go with the apple and have some water! Soda = crap for the body. Yes it's vegetarian but it has so much crap in it you probably are carrying extra weight just from soda that your tummy cant digest).

Now, back in the day when I was being lied to and believed everything I heard/read, I would get a "lean" turkey sandwich. All I have to say is....while it is not the worst of the sandwiches and it is definatly healthier than some of the other options...when you compare it to the Veggie sandwich on how to be healthy, there is no comparison.

The Sierra Turkey (half sandwich) is 480 calories 45mg of cholestrol with 990mg of sodium. Again this is just for HALF the sandwich alone. Not including soup or salad. That is a lot of salt and quite a bit of cholestrol. Again, healthier than some of their other options but daaaaaaamn.... That is 3 times the amount of cholestrol than the veggie sandwich with dairy or 45 times the amount of cholestrol if you get it vegan. For calories it has 180 more calories than the half of the Veggie sandwich as is or 240 more calories than the Veggie sandwich minus the dairy. You can make the Sierra Turkey healthIER by nixing the mayo but really, more than half the choloestrol and salt is from the Turkey it self. That's what happens wiht a lot of meat. They are high in salt to get the taste of death out of your mouth. Again. Meat = Crap for your body. Dairy too.

Now, for those good old Italian Sandwich lovers....you may be shocked. I think this may be one of the most unhealthy sandwiches I have ever seen. The Italian Combo sandwich. Now, this is just HALF the sandwich....

520 calories, 85mg of cholestrol, 1510mg of sodium. Yikes. Need I say more? Be smart with what you eat and where you eat it from.

People always say they are on the run and dont know what to get to eat. DO YOUR RESEARCH! Panera CAN be healthy, even Wendy's can be healthy if you stick to a baked potato and a side salad (another vegetarian option :) ). Vegetarian/Vegan is the way to go. We always hear from our doctors that our cholestrol is too high, we are too fat. Not going to lie...going veg has helped me a lot. I am on the run too. We are so blind and having "high cholestrol" or being "over weight" is just like another day. It has become so common to us people dont seem to even be afraid anymore when they hear these words!

You are what you eat.

Treat your body with kindness.

Lead a cruelty free - and healthy diet.

Make healthy choices so you can stick around a little longer than you thought you would. Fast food is part of our lifestyle...let's just try to make it a healthier one.


Kat






For more information on your diet or where I have received this information please check: http://www.paneranutrition.com/NutritionCalculator.aspx

Breakfast??? Psshh.....

Ok. Don't have much time to write today because I am very very busy. However, I found this well-written-better-than-I-could-say-so-myself article from WholeFoods.com. It explains why breakfast is important. For a long time I wouldnt eat breakfast because I didnt want to gain weight. This went on pretty much all through high school.

The only time I ate breakfast was before a major exam because - oh wait- I wanted to do better! How smart was it for me to skip all those breakfasts when I knew it helped me stay awake and feel sharper? Not very smart. I often traded breakfast for a morning cigarette my senior year. YUM how nutritious was that? Exactly. I cant say I was the smartest teen, but have defiantly wise-up since then. I still ate a lot as a teen but I just wouldnt eat breakfast because somewhere along the line I believed some crap that it was "OK" to not eat. I can tell you this, it didnt help me get skinnier. I am 23 now and I eat breakfast every day and have since my freshman year of college (if I wasnt sleeping in that is ;)

Now, I eat it every day and it truly helps me get my day going and fight the hunger. I did have to make some lifestyle adjustments once I graduated college and got a grown-up job. I was trading in my eggs and fruit cups for....doughnuts and croissants! Yay! That was a quick way for my ass to explode! So after realizing I maybe needed to SLEEP MORE and get up earlier...breakfast became easier. When I find myself in a rush I normally have some organic instant oatmeal. See what the article says. I hope you enjoy it. It doesnt speak to vegatarianism itself, but it talks about health and to me, making healthy choices for YOU is more important.

The link is posted below and I also copied and pasted the article in case the link doesnt work. Enjoy.

http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/nutrition/breaking-for-breakfast.php

Breaking for Breakfast
Skipping breakfast — how bad can it be, really?

Pretty bad ... for real. It turns out that skipping breakfast can make you gain weight because you end up snacking and eating larger meals later in the day. More than that, it can temporarily dumb you down. It’s true. A respected European study showed better performance and cognitive ability in people who ate carbohydrates with protein for breakfast. Other studies have shown that brain function in children who skip breakfast is drastically reduced by late morning.

And no, that muffin on the way out the door doesn’t count as breakfast. We’re talking a real breakfast here, with proteins and carbs, one that will stick to your ribs until lunch or later. So, like your mother said, breakfast really is important.

Think about it. When you get up in the morning, you’ve been fasting since the previous evening's meal — up to ten or twelve hours. Breaking that fast with a cup of coffee and a donut doesn’t give you the nutrition and energy you need to make it all the way to lunch.

Skipping breakfast (or eating a poor one) can also lower your metabolic rate — your body has to compensate somehow for the lack of fuel, which means you will burn fewer calories throughout the day. Plus, children who eat breakfast are more likely to get the vitamins and minerals they need and be more emotionally stable and mentally alert.

Okay, so breakfast is important, but what kind of breakfast is best? One that’s balanced with good carbohydrates, good fats and protein. The ideal breakfast should have lots of fiber and whole grains, some protein and good fat, and as little added sugar as possible. Here’s a breakdown:

Carbohydrates
As much as you can, stick with foods that are low on the Glycemic Index. These are usually complex or unrefined carbohydrates that your body digests slowly, releasing a steady supply of energy over a longer period of time. Refined carbohydrates, like those donuts, are quickly digested and the energy they contain is rapidly dispersed, leaving you with less energy than you had before you ate them. Low glycemic foods also keep your blood-sugar levels on an even keel so you avoid those energy peaks and valleys that disrupt your day.

Good carbs include whole grain cereals, breads and pancakes topped with berries, fruit or nuts. Accompany them with a variety of non-sweetened fruit juices, naturally flavored, unsweetened milks and yogurts.

Bad carbs are foods such as donuts, white bread, sugary cereals, and high-sugar jams, jellies and syrups. Avoid sugary products in general along with those that contain high fructose corn syrup. After ten or twelve hours of fasting, the body is particularly sensitive to sugars, which is why they should be avoided at breakfast.

Fats
Everyone needs them and they make food taste good. The key is in knowing which fats are good and which are bad. For detailed information on fats, see the separate articles called The Facts on Fats and Guide to Cooking Oils.

Protein
Except for egg dishes, typical breakfasts are usually low in protein. Adding protein to your breakfast (and other meals) is a good way to lower your meal's glycemic index and prevent spikes in blood sugar.

Suggestions for adding protein-rich foods:

Eggs, cooked any way you like them (hard-boiled eggs are easy to have around for a quick protein boost)
Unsweetened yogurt or cottage cheese with berries
Refried beans spread on whole grain toast or tortillas
Nut butters
Burritos with eggs or beans and cheese on whole grain tortillas
All types of natural meat, such as breakfast steaks, lean pork chops or turkey bacon
Bean soup
Hummus on whole grain or corn tortillas
Add nuts to oatmeal, yogurt and hot or cold cereal
Tempeh
Scrambled tofu
Unsweetened Kefir
Cheese sticks with fruit
Cream cheese on whole grain crackers
Making it happen
So, how do get yourself — not to mention your family — to actually eat a good breakfast? Time is the key here, because most people will eat well if offered nutritious food and the time to eat it, so start by making sure enough time is available. But what about those who don't like traditional breakfast foods or are addicted to highly sweetened empty calories? To lure them over from the "dark side," offer them foods they like that normally aren't eaten for breakfast, such as pizza, smoothies, milkshakes and even leftovers. Homemade pizzas work well because they can be modified by substituting eggs or other breakfast fare and adding vegetables. Make the pizza the evening before and, come morning, reheat slices — they'll think they're getting away with something. To wean your family off sugary cereals, try mixing in gradually increasing amounts of unsweetened cereals until their taste buds have adjusted. A gradual change in breakfast fare from sweet to savory will do wonders for your family's health and well-being.

Variety is always good but it may have a special appeal at breakfast. One interesting study showed that people of normal weight tended to eat more varied breakfasts than people who were obese. No one likes to eat the same thing day in and day out, so create a little excitement and a sense of adventure to breakfast by thinking outside the cereal box.

Breakfast, like all meals, should be about wholesome food, not empty calories. Give yourself and your family a daily gift that keeps on giving all morning long — a good, nutritious breakfast. It will definitely make them healthier and probably smarter too.


Sources:
Appetite. 2003 Dec; 41(3):329-31. Breakfast reduces declines in attention and memory over the morning in school children. (abstract)
Wesnes KA, Pincock C, Richardson D, Helm G, Hails S. Cognitive Drug Research Ltd, Reading RG30 1EA, UK.

Thou Shalt Not Kill

Ok, for those of you who know me personally, know I am not the most religious person on the planet. I dont even really believe in the church itself. I pray to the big guy, and that's about it. Now, even though I dont go to church, I do think about religion and beliefs. One of the 10 commandements,"Thou Shalt Not Kill," really hit me. This one struck me when I was in my second month of getting meat out of my body. At that point I was down to only eating chicken and fish.

Well, around this time was my birthday. My birthday happens to fall around Easter where we fast from meat. Strange as it sounds they dont count fish as meat. I dont agree with that, but hey, to each their own. So I read in one of Paul McCartney's interviews of one of the reasons why he went veg. He said he went fishing and caught a fish. It was squirmming and looking up at him trying to breathe and he couldnt kill it. So he put it back in. So there you have it. Dont kill.

The commandment: "Thou Shalt Not Kill." Such a plain and simple law. It doesnt say "thou shalt not kill people" or "thou shalt not kill only to eat" it's just plain and simple "thou shalt not kill." That's it. And I know there are some smartasses reading this saying "WELL IM JUST EATING IT AND MY HANDS DIDNT ACTUALLY KILL IT SO THERE :P" Well let me ask you this....let's say you saw someone get killed. You knew who the murder was. And didnt say anything. Your hands are as dirty as theirs because you knew something and didnt do anything about it. So why keep having dirty hands and continue to financially support these people who are killing animals? Doesnt make sense to me.

Then there is the argument "oh well...we need to eat so we are going to eat animals in order to survive." Kaka! Why? Well, I havent eaten animal flesh in over a year and I am still kicking so we dont need to kill animals in order to preserve our life. We have other options. So why do we continue to eat? Well, since this blog has a bit of a religious tone to it, Im going to go with tempation. It's there? So you may as well do it right? RIGHT? No. Maybe at first it is a little hard because we are so used to this sinful lifestyle of paying people to do the killing for us. But in the end - we dont need it.

People always ask me -"isnt it hard to be a vegetarian? Do you ever think you will eat meat again?" I will never eat meat again ever. I will admit, training yourself for this rebirth of a meatless life is not one for the weak, but it is doable. The smell of a hot dog, the enchanting smell of a steak, all goes to hell once you stop eating it and realize not only how bad it is, but you were smelling the putrid scent of a decaying corpse.

Ask anyone who lives with me at how grossed out I am by the smell of bacon. From other vegetarians/vegans who I know they all have a particular meat they cannot stand either. Once you know the smell makes you want to vomit, there is no going back.

I sometimes wonder why we even began to eat meat in the beginning. Was it because of hungry cavemen? Or really was it because of the dollar and some smartass farmer thought "ya know...I could make more money if I KILL the cow and sell it for food instead of just milking it...." Talk about milking something for whatever it's worth.

Moral of this gospel? "Thou shalt not kill...ANYTHING!"

Meal 11/06/09 - Veggie Fajitas!

Hello all,

So, one slightly annoying factor when starting out to be vegetarian is that it seems like there aren't very many vegetarian-friendly places to eat. While there ARE vegetarian-friendly restaurants and options, there aren't that many menu items or they are all very similar. I decided it was best for me to start cooking. So, I wasn't the greatest cook before I went veg. Still not the greatest cook now, but, my skills are defiantly getting up there. To be honest, I love cooking for myself. It is such a stress reliever for me and I know whatever I make will be healthy, tasty, and made in a clean environment. When I first went vegetarian, I actually got food poisoning from Chipotle. Ironically, I got their veggie fajita there and I spent all night and the next day visiting the white shrine in my bathroom frequently and the one at the hospital too. What they think happened was the same person was handling the raw meats and the veggies and didn't change gloves and contaminated my food with bacterias that were out of my body for about 4 months. Jerk.

So now I make my own and BETTER fajitas. :)

Ingredients:

2 sweet peppers (color of your choice) I like the yellow and green ones.
1 yellow onion
1 package of sliced mushrooms (I use Green Giant)
1 can of organic black beans
white/brown rice (even taste good with no rice if you want to be carb conscious).
Wrap of your choice (White, Wheat, Spinach)
vegetable oil
sea salt (or regular table salt is fine - I just think sea salt has a stronger taste.
black pepper
garlic powder
cilantro
Paul Newman Salsa (optional)
sour cream (reg or vegan) (optional)

Boil rice in a hot pot drain and let it sit. Make the rice first because the veggies don't take nearly as long (30 minutes).

In a frying pan, pour vegetable oil but not a lot. Only enough to lightly cover the bottom. We don't want our food swimming in grease and getting soggy because of it. That is too fattening and gross. I start with a small amount and add as I see fit. I then let the oil heat up and dump the sliced peppers, onion, mushrooms into the hot oil and let them start to sizzle. I then sprinkle on top some sea salt, black pepper, and garlic powder. You don't need to use a certain amount, just be smart about it. Not too much salt though. We don't want to boost our sodium intake and drown out the natural flavor of the veggies. I let the veggies soften but Dont let them get too soft because then they will sog and be too flabby. This should take no longer than 10 minutes because you still want them to have some of their original texture. About a minute before I take them out, I add some fresh cilantro. I LOVE cilantro so I do go crazy with it. Chipotle adds it in the rice but I don't eat a lot of rice or sometimes I don't even add the rice because I want to be carb conscious. So to keep the flavor, I add it with the veggies Tangent below....

*******When you're vegetarian, you're pretty much limited to a carb diet. Veggies and fruits are complex carbs. The good carbs. Eat these carbs all day long. Simple carbs are like bread, wraps, muffins, rice (pretty much things that you are baking). Those carbs make the other carbs look bad. Brown rice has more fiber so it is better than white rice for sure. So if you want to be healthier with this, make brown rice instead of white. Or be super duper healthy and no rice at all and just the wrap. For lunch today, I actually ate my left overs minus the wrap because I ate it yesterday. Got to moderate your carbs because it can make you gain weight if you are just munching on bread all day****

Get a wrap ( I used a spinach wrap). I feel like my body digests those easier. Whole wheat is a better option. White ones really aren't that good for you and lack nutritional value, but the option is there. Lay the wrap flat and fill it with the veggies. Feel free to add salsa or sour cream. Wrap it up and get chompin'!

Alternatives:

No wrap and just eat some sauteed veggies with rice.
Wrap and no rice
No wrap or rice just the veggies (be careful with this - you cant escape all simple carbs and you do need to have something in your body. If you're going to skip any of the above, skip the wrap and go for the rice. The rice is in its original form. That's how I judge it. The wrap had to be molded and folded.
Skip sour cream or go with vegan or light cream.

Last night for dinner I ate the rice and the wrap. Today for lunch, I ate the rice, no wrap and no sour cream. Healthier and lighter.

Enjoy!

So Why'd Ya Do It?

So why'd I do it? I get the "why" and "how" all the time. I always get asked how did this traditional Greek girl who came from a lamb crunching family manage to do something completely unorthodox and stop eating meat? Well, let me answer the first question: Why?

I always have been a huge animal lover. I've always had pets who loved me back just as much as I loved them. I always felt conflicted to have such a great love for animals and then eat them at the same time. It just didn't seem right to me. It was a conflict of interest. I felt like such a hypocrite saying "I LOVE animals" and then eat some with practically every meal. Did I really love them? Or just love eating them? It was unsettling and was an internal conflict I had with myself.

Not only was it my love for animals that gave the desire to change, but I am always looking for a long life and to be consistently healthy. I didn't have the greatest of role models as a kid. My mom made a lot of homemade meals, but none of which seemed to be healthy once you break down the ingredients. And like many Greek households, she has a pantry filled with sweets.

My dad has been overweight/obese since as long as I could remember. McDonald's, Burger King, Portillo's Hot Dogs, Lou Malnati's Pizza, Dunkin Doughnuts made weekly visits to my house. Not to mention the fast food would be mingling with the Greek cooking which involved tons of meat and my food swimming in olive oil. While olive oil is the healthiest of oils, it is still a fat. It's like saying "well I'm eating the low-fat cookie." At the end of the day, you still eat a cookie. It's better than the regular cookie, but still not great for you.

I didnt want to end up like my parents and other relatives in my family who have diabetes, died of heart attacks, and be overweight. I always stuck to lean meats like chicken, fish, and turkey...but I always felt sluggish. I would sleep between 8-10 hours a night, work out, and after I ate, want to pass out. I did some research and thought 'ok, I need to go organic' which was the next step.

I was always suspicious about our meat. There is a reason I think why in the 5th grade when we bought our lunches from the school cafeteria we would call it mystery meat. You really dont know what you are being fed. You dont know if you really are eating beef, chicken, etc. and more realistically, you dont know the quality of the meat you are eating. Think about it. They always say "fresh" when you buy the meat. Ok. Fine. It is blood red and looks like it was killed yesterday. Fair enough. Now....what was the quality of the meat when the animal was alive? How do we know that cow didnt die of natural causes? How do we know that cow didnt have cancer or moreso, mad cow disease? How do we know for sure, we are eating a healthy animal? Most of the time, you're not. A lot of the animals are sick, dying, or already dead before they are brought on your plate. It's gross. Take a look at some of the peta videos on their website. Like this one here: http://www.goveg.com/factoryFarming_cows.asp

I dont really want to feed on something that is wearing it's own feces. This happens all the time due to the tight spaces in the, I like to call, kennels. If you were sitting in your own poop all day, I highly doubt you would be all that healthy. So it's like really....how good of a condition is your meat in? Are a lot of these extreme cases? Yes. But they're true. And to be honest, this goes for organic meats too. Sure, they are stripped of the hormones and are fed organic products as well, but, how do we know that the animal itself is healthy? Again, we dont. When it comes to my life, Im not going to gamble.

We have so much crap in our meat we dont realize it because we dont see it. The animals are fed so many antibiotics and steriods, that stuff goes into our system and messes us up (mentally AND physically). Feeling depressed but nothing is causing it? It could very well be all the meat you're eating.

Along with not knowing what the condition of the food you're eating, I didn't like knowing something died for me to eat it. I didnt like thinking that veal, or baby cow, couldnt live it's life because I got hungry. Just seemed wrong.

I also didnt like that I was eating a dead body. Just seemed sickening once I thought of it that way. We call it "food" and have been told that's what it was for a while. It's not food. It's a dead body. I started to question eating a dead body. In "Skinny Bitch" they ask you "Do you get hungry when you see roadkill?" No, I don't. You see the tounge hanging out, guts everywhere, appendages scattered about. That's not appetizing. So what do why do we eat meat? We dont see the whole package. We dont see the brains smashed and the tounge hanging out. We just see a square chunck of meat nicely furnished on a plate. So I pretty much did a lot of my own research, checked out more of those peta videos, and decided I didnt want to eat decomposing, rotting, ill, diseased, cancer-filled, fece covered flesh.

Another reason ( I know, I had a lot of reasons), I loved my pets. I have a pet bird, named Cloud, who chirps, sings, whistles, and flies to me. I'd sit there, play with him and see the love in his eyes, but then whip out some bird out of the oven. Notice how I use the term, bird. Cloud is a parakeet, a type of bird. But so is chicken. They are all bird. How could I be playing with this bird and telling it I love it, when Im about to eat bird? It didnt make sense.

I had so many internal conflicts, I felt the only way to resolve it would be to stop eating it. So, that's exactly what I did. Whatever the reason may be for you: personal, religious, love for animals, health, etc., people go vegetarian/vegan.

Vegetarian? What DOES IT ALL MEAN?!?!

Vegetarian, what does it truly mean? Is there one kind? Are there exceptions? Well, for those who are unsure what vegetarianism is, here are a few definitions on the different types:

Let's start with the basic. Vegetarian.

Vegetarian- 1 : one who believes in or practices vegetarianism

2 : Herbivore

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/vegetarian

Whaaaaaaaat? That's it? Ugh. Thanks Merriam Webster for the most basic of basic definitions. OK, well yes, someone who is a herbivore. But we can do better than that...Here are the four types of vegetarian:

1. Lacto-Vegetarian

2. Ovo-Vegetarian

3. Ovo-Lacto Vegetarian

4. Vegan

They are defined as follows:

lacto-vegetarian - "a vegetarian whose diet includes dairy products, vegetables, fruits, grains, and nuts." http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/vegetarian

ovo-vegetarian - "diet includes eggs but not dairy." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vegetarianism

lacto ovo vegetarian - "diet includes both eggs and dairy products."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vegetarianism

vegan - "A vegan diet is a form of vegetarian diet which excludes all animal products, including dairy products, eggs, and honey." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vegetarianism.

Bet ya didn't know it was that complicated did you? And if you did, congrats. So anyways, those are the four types of a vegetarian diet. Now that you know what they are, if you are looking to become a vegetarian you can chose what you'd like to be. And if you're curious to learn more on the different types, prepare to be given lots of info.

Now. I'm going to talk about probably one of my biggest pet peeves about being vegetarian. I am not sure who came up with this crazy thought that eating fish is vegetarian. It's not. Get that thought out of your head. Fish is not vegetarian it is not, it is not, it is not. Fish have bones, eyes, and bleed. Yes, they bleed. Want proof? Here is a photo from my recent trip to Japan....

What do we see in this image? A head, blood, guts and bone. Whoever thought this is vegetarian was either lied to, or delusional. But it's ok. You now know the truth.

What kind of vegetarian am I? I am a lacto-ovo. I do eat dairy and eggs. While I eat both sparingly, I cant say I am "half a vegan." I believe you are either something or you're not. You are either happy or sad. Not both. I tried going vegan, but it wasn't for me. I do like to have my Ben & Jerry's icecream here and there. While I do mostly substitute dairy for coconut or soy milk, sometimes when I am out with the group, I will want to have my pizza. I'm from Chicago, we have good pizza.

Another common question I get about being vegetarian is "are eggs vegetarian?" While there is constant debate, here is my argument: It is protein. There isn't a head. There aren't any bones. No blood is being shed. The hen doesn't get killed (with fish eggs people have to kill the fish to remove the egg sac). I don't eat egg often, but again, you either are something or you aren't. So yes, I am a lacto-ovo vegetarian.

So what have we learned?

Dairy = lacto -Vegetarian

Eggs = ovo - Vegetarian

Dairy + Eggs = Lacto-Ovo Vegetarian

Vegan = No eggs or Milk (infact, most vegans don't even wear animal products that involve the animal being killed).

Now that I have given you some basic info, I can tell you more about what I eat or how to substitute things in later blogs if you choose to be vegan, lacto, or ovo.

Best,

Kat