For new vegans: famous quotes

[*live*&*let*live]

^ that's brilliant ^ :bigsmile2: (not the killing birds but the stupidity street!)

[vtveg]

Here's mine - I just wrote this;

"I hold you in my heart, but not to my lips, nor wrapped around my skin, for your life is as precious as mine. And with my life I will honor yours; until breath has left me, and the flesh from my bones".

I thought of getting a tattoo of some kind, with a quote like this (or from someone else) and thought the "and the flesh from my bones" would be rather appropriate if this were tattooed on me :)

Anyway, just tinkering. I am a poet, always have been, but have neglecting my writing for too long. Maybe my new veganism will help trigger things such as this?!

[tombenarye1234]

a really great one: "If beef is your idea of `real food for real people,' you'd better live real close to a real good hospital."
XD

[tombenarye1234]

here are a few more. i don't know how famous these quotes are, but i think they are rather good:
You can easily judge the character of a man by how he treats those who can do nothing for him.
[a friend of mine said the quote would be much better if you switch the word "for" into "to". i agree.]

man's sense of righteousness should not be judged when it matches his education neither when it matches his culture, but when it contradicts them.

the worst sin is the inability to defend yourself. how else would you explain that the vicious creatures who commit this horrible "crime" are condemnd to the worst punishments in history?

There is truth, and there is untruth. To be in a minority of one doesn't make you mad.

The majority is never right. Never, I tell you! That's one of these lies in society that no free and intelligent man can help rebelling against.
Who are the people that make up the biggest proportion of the population - the intelligent ones or the fools? I think we can agree it's the fools, no matter where you go in this world, it's the fools that form the overwhelming majority.

have you ever wondered about the first man who found out you can get milk from cows...what actually was he trying to do?

and two about human nature:
E.O. Wilson, in response to the Marxist utopia of the end of class/hierarchical society: “Good theory. Wrong species.”

Unlike the stuff of physics, the stuff of history often lacks elegance.
Perhaps the difference lies in the fact that human beings had no role in the creation of the physical universe.

[DavidT]

That reminds me of the first person to watch an egg being laid, then thinking, "I'm going to boil that for three minutes and then eat it!"

Scary stuff, eh?

[RubyDuby]

You can easily judge the character of a man by how he treats those who can do nothing for him.


the worst sin is the inability to defend yourself. how else would you explain that the vicious creatures who commit this horrible "crime" are condemnd to the worst punishments in history?

i really like these. :)

[tombenarye1234]

i really like these. :)
your signiture is not bad either ^^
*adding it to my quote collection*

oh! i forgotten one of my favorites!
If you prick cows, do they not bleed? if you tickle dogs, do they not laugh? if you poison fish, do they not die? and if you abuse them, shall the society not protect them? If they are like you in the rest, they should resemble you in that.

[residualvisuals]

GREAT thread. I just updated my FB quotes with a few from here!

I especially like the one by Ben Franklin:

"Flesh eating is unprovoked murder."

To the point, and by a very highly regarded man.

[Daffodil]

fab quotes...love reading them. I think i have some on my computer at home - will have a look later and post some :-)

[phact0rri]

"He is a heavy eater of beef. Methinks it doth harm to his wit."
-From the 12th Night, William Shakespeare

"May all that have life be delivered from suffering."
-Buddha

[KariBerry]

Paul McCartney said: "If slaughterhouses had glass walls, everyone would be a vegetarian."

[Korn]

"I've always accepted that Man's greatest mistake is trying to turn himself into a carnivore, contrary to natural law." (Donald Watson, founder of The Vegan Society)

Since humans aren't known to try to turn themselves into meat eaters (who only eat meat, like true carnivores do), I'm sure Watson meant 'carnivore' in the same way as we use the term "meat eater" to day, about humans: people living on a diet that includes meat.

[VeganLu]

I am an atheist, but this is my very own quote: "If there is a God, humans are his worst creation."

Another quote, which is not mine, is "If you love animals called pets, why do you eat animals called dinner?" Farm Sanctuary

My older sister's quote: "If there are no animals in heaven, then I don't want to go to heaven." She is a religious and spiritual person. She is not vegan, but is a vegeterian.

[VeganLu]

Korn: Donald Watson is the Man!

Also, today's " the Man" in my opinion is Dr. Neal Bernard, President of Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine. Check out the website. Vegan physicians started this animals rights group. Plus they have a "recipe of the week". www.pcrm.org (http://www.pcrm.org)

[Korn]

...and here's a quote from dr. Bernard:

"The beef industry has contributed to more American deaths than all the wars of this century, all natural disasters, and all automobile accidents combined."

More doctor-quotes about the health aspect of eating meat:

"All red meat contains saturated fat. There is no such thing as truly lean meat. Trimming away the edge ring of fat around a steak really does not lower the fat content significantly. People who have red meat (trimmed or untrimmed) as a regular feature of their diets suffer in far greater numbers from heart attacks and strokes." (Michael Klaper, M.D)

"I don't understand why asking people to eat a well-balanced vegetarian diet is considered drastic, while it is medically conservative to cut people open and put them on cholesterol-lowering drugs for the rest of their lives." (Dean Ornish, MD)

"If you step back and look at the data, the optimum amount of red meat you eat should be zero."
(Walter Willett, M.D., of Brigham and Women's Hospital, director of a study that found a close correlation between red meat consumption and colon cancer.)

"We are basically a vegetarian species and should be eating a wide variety of plant food and minimizing our intake of animal foods.... "Once people start introducing animal products into their diet, that's when the mischief starts."" (T. Colin Campbell, Ph.D)

The following quotes may not be as well known (although those who came up with these statements are):
"People get offended by animal rights campaigns. It’s ludicrous. It’s not as bad as mass animal death in a factory." (Richard Gere)

"If you could see or feel the suffering you wouldn't think twice. Give back life. Don't eat meat." (Kim Basinger)

[Korn]

Albert Schweitzer wasn't only a Nobel Prize winner, he was a doctor too, so here's another "doctor quote": "Until he extends the circle of compassion to all living things, man will not himself find peace."

[beanstew]

Humans — who enslave, castrate, experiment on, and fillet other animals — have had an understandable penchant for pretending animals do not feel pain. A sharp distinction between humans and 'animals' is essential if we are to bend them to our will, make them work for us, wear them, eat them — without any disquieting tinges of guilt or regret. It is unseemly of us, who often behave so unfeelingly toward other animals, to contend that only humans can suffer. The behavior of other animals renders such pretensions specious. They are just too much like us.
Carl Sagan/Dr. Ann Druyan

[VeganLu]

[QUOTE=beanstew;642982: "They are just too much like us." Carl Sagan/Dr. Ann Druyan[/QUOTE]

I am not a new vegan, but the fact that many animals are much like us is so evident just by watching them. Thanks for the above quote. My heart felt good to read it. :heart: But my heart went cold soon after, and I immediately thought to myself "No wonder I like animals better than people. I like animals better than nice people too". Now don't you guys go after me for saying that, because no matter what you say to me, I will not change my mind.

I have an older sister who has 4 daughters and 7 grandchildren. I have no children. She believes in God, but I don't. She always says: "If there are no animals in heaven, then she does not want to go to heaven". She is a vegeterian because she cannot give up cheese. She does not want to see what happens in factory farms, but I must tell you that she has helped so many animals in her life, it is unbelievable. She has many, many companion animals (all different species), and all of them are happy and well cared for. She does not have a lot of money and she owes money to vets all over Queens, New York. :lol:

[beanstew]

I'm glad you liked the quote VeganLu. There are lots more by Carl Sagan here (http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Carl_Sagan).

[rxseeeyse]

Love the one of George Bernard Shaw
I write this somewhere else on the forum too but I want to write it again because it is my favorite quote:
"All beings tremble before violence.
All fear death.
All love life.
See yourself in others.
Then whom can you hurt?
What harm can you do?"
-Buddha

[karen_87]

Hopefully Im not double posting these...

"The question is not, Can they reason? nor Can they talk? but, Can they suffer?”

- Jeremy Bentham

Those who eat the meat of other [living beings] in order to satisfy their own flesh, they are definitely murderers [themselves], since without a consumer [there can be] no killer.

—Acharya Hemacandra (12th c. Jain ascetic/scholar)

[EpicLibrarian]

My absolute favorite quote:


The animal shall not be measured by man. In a world older and more complete than ours, they move finished and complete, gifted with extension of the senses we have lost or never attained, living by voices we shall never hear. They are not brethren; they are not underlings; they are other nations, caught with ourselves in the net of life and time, fellow prisoners of the splendor and travail of the earth. ~Henry Beston

This was a quote used in Earthlings I think.

[TarekF]

This is not a well known man, but he was an amazing mathematician, one of the best mathematician to ever exist. Though his life was not lived as a vegan until later on, he encourages us with the idea that it is completely inevitable to extend ethics to animals. I think he was a vegan. How he speaks was notoriously quite cryptic (all through his life), however he was a Pure Mathematician after all.

Here (http://www.vita.org.ru/english/animalrights/gelfand.htm) is the link to an interview.

Much is said by his wife (also a vegan) because he did not like to speak in interviews, but he assures the readers that they are his beliefs.

"Tatiana. Does this mean that now you will eat animals?
Israel No, I will not.
Tatiana But why? Why would you not eat animals now?
Israel This has to be and will be built into the rules of Man.
Tatiana What else can you say about why you are not eating animals?
Israel There is nothing else to say."
"VITA What would you like to wish to vegans?
Israel To remain vegans.
Tatiana To be an attractive example of a person who knows that he or she is on the right path.
VITA What would you like to wish to people who are not yet vegans?
Israel (Smiling) Humanity."

"VITA Is the animal rights movement noticeable in the world?
Israel This movement is unavoidable. I am an optimist: in the battle between good and bad, the good cannot lose."
"VITA Did vegetarianism (veganism) help you solve problems?
Israel Yes.
Tatiana I am appending an abstract from an article about Israel in New York Times in 2003: " 'I think I am able to work as well as I could 40 or 50 years ago', said Dr. Gelfand who attributes this productivity, in part, to a strict vegetarian diet, which he adopted along with his wife Tatiana, a decade ago.""

As you can see his quotes are not exactly straightforward.. But they are also powerful in that they are morally uncompromising, and optimistic. Lastly they come from the greatest or second greatest mind in mathematics in the last few centuries (possibly in existence). I also added the final quote because he attributes being able to work well into his 90s to veganism.

[Edu]

This is my favorite from Tolstoy. Though he used the term "people", I think it applies to any sentient being:

"We don't love people so much for the good they have done us, as for the good we have done them."

This is just so true regarding to people. And personally, regarding to animals, when I was still reflecting about going vegan I realised that I was supposed to love them. But when I actually stopped eating them, and therefore started to think that I was doing something good for them, was when my love for them really became something I feel, instead of just something I reasoned

[Wraithling]

This is quoted by Carol J. Adams at the start of her book The Pornography of Meat - unfortunately, I can't remember whom she is quoting, but it's a good'un nonetheless:

"Meat is like pornography: before it was someone's fun, it was someone's life."