Opinion: Jane Goodall's advocacy for animals included a vegan diet

"The more we learn of the true nature of nonhuman animals, especially those with complex brains and corresponding complex social behavior, the more ethical concerns are raised regarding their use in the service of manwhether this be in entertainment, as pets,' for food, in research laboratories, or any of the other uses to which we subject them. Jane was a longtime vegetarian who in her later years became vegan."

"She advocated for plant-based eating and meat reduction. In a 2017 article, Jane wrote, I stopped eating meat some 50 years ago when I looked at the pork chop on my plate and thought: This represents fear, pain, death. That did it, and I went plant-based instantly. In her article, Jane reminds us that meat consumption is responsible for animal suffering and environmental degradation."

Jane Goodall dedicated her life to animals and conservation, driven by a deep love of animals that sustained her demanding travel and speaking schedule into advanced age. Her determination and gentle personality fostered widespread admiration and effective outreach through kind, nonjudgmental persuasion. She raised ethical concerns about using nonhuman animals in entertainment, as pets, for food, and in research laboratories, highlighting complex cognition and social behavior. She adopted vegetarianism decades ago and later became vegan, advocating plant-based eating and meat reduction as ways to reduce animal suffering and environmental degradation. Some of her convictions were controversial but remained rooted in compassion and practical advocacy.

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