Howard Lyman
Former cattle rancher turned vegan activist; author of Mad Cowboy book
and documentary
(1938 - )
"No animal needs to die for me to live and that makes me feel good."
"You (my meat-eating friends), put your health at risk — that's your business. But animal-based diets put the land, the water, the air, a society's collective health at risk. That's my business. That's everyone's business."
"If you visit the killing floor of a slaughterhouse, it will brand your soul for life."
"Never forget there's no such thing as 'humane slaughter.' I never saw an animal clicking its heels going to the slaughterhouse, saying 'Yippee, skippy, I'm going to be a McDonald's burger tomorrow!" There is always fear in their eyes. They know exactly what's going to happen. So for anyone to claim there is such a thing as 'human slaughter,' well, that's the greatest oxymoron in the world."
"Not, 'Am I nice to animals?' or, 'Do I feed them well?' but, 'My God, should we be eating them?' I was in the bathroom and I was looking in the mirror: it was so traumatic for me that I damn near tore the sink off the wall. That was a door of my soul that I had never opened before. And once I'd opened it, I could never close it again because I knew what those animals looked like when they went onto the kill floor."
"To consider yourself an environmentalist and still eat meat is like saying you're a philanthropist who doesn't give to charity."
"Family farmers are victims of public policy that gives preference to feeding animals over feeding people. This has encouraged the cheap grain policy of this nation and has made the beef cartel the biggest hog at the trough."
"I believe if the viewing of slaughter was required to eat meat, most folks would become vegetarians."
"Running the ranch paid well; it was challenging; it was my family
tradition. But my conscience told me that I needed to speak out about this
industry - there's just too much that the cattle industry hides from the
public."
from Vegan: The New Ethics of Eating by Erik Marcus
"Veganism isn’t just a strict vegetarian diet; it is a complete philosophical viewpoint. It is practical in outlook, simple to understand and aspires to the highest environmental and spiritual values. I am sure it holds the key to a future lifestyle for a humane planetary guardianship…"