Top 5 Vegan Speakers
Vegan speakers are all across the world spreading the good word of veganism face to face with the people in all sorts of venues from festivals stages to school halls, covering topics from ethics to ecosystems. They do a great job so we’ve decided to compose a short list of our favourite top 5.
1) Gary Yourofsky
As of January 1, 2015 Gary Yourofsky has given 2,660 lectures to more than 60,000 people at 186 schools in 30 states and several Israeli cities/schools, including the U. of Alabama, U. of Florida and Georgia Tech. The latter has been translated into more than 30 languages for over 10 million YouTube hits. Activists in Israel created the Hebrew website GARY-TV and convinced two major vegan companies to put that site’s URL directly on their packages! To view accolades from the Israeli press since 2012, check out the English translation of the site. Long story short, he’s an awesome vegan speaker! To find out more about Gary click here.
2) Colleen Patrick-Goudreau
American author, speaker, and podcaster. Having earned her bachelor’s degree from Rutgers University, and her master’s degree in English Literature from Seton Hall University, Patrick-Goudreau uses her writing and communication skills to advocate veganism as a means by which to prevent cruelty to animals. One of her books - The 30-Day Vegan Challenge is also an online multimedia program that’s been featured in a number of major media outlets, including Bust Magazine, Care2.com, and Men’s Fitness. Patrick-Goudreau also produces a popular podcast called “Food for Thought,” She also produces videos on her Youtube Channel: JoyfulVegan. For more info on Colleen Patrick-Goudreau click here.
3) Melanie Joy
Melanie Joy dedicates her life’s work to asking two questions. Firstly, why do we eat some animals and not others? Secondly, if there’s nothing wrong with eating animals, then why do we try so hard to justify it? She takes an in depth look at the psychological games we play, and argues that the true enemy is not ourselves, but an insidious belief system that pulls its strings from the shadows – with severe repercussions on our health, our future and most of all our conscience. For more information on Melanie Joy and her book ‘Why We Love Dogs, Eat Pigs, and Wear Cows: An Introduction to Carnism’ click here.
4) Michael Greger
A top contender for the most entertaining speech, Michael Greger’s speech is a pleasure to watch for his acerbic, medical-establishment-aggravating wit. That doesn’t take away from the fact that the speech is an encyclopedia on the health benefits of a vegan diet in itself. Michael Greger walks us through the leading causes of death and the role that animal products play in them, citing an enormous range of studies from vegan physicians to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to some of the more embarrassing ones that the meat industry would prefer to keep behind closed doors. If you enjoy the speech, be sure to check out his follow-up, More Than an Apple a Day: Combating Common Diseases.
5) Neal Barnard
It’s amazing how seriously omnivores take the ‘I can’t give up meat and cheese because they taste so good’ argument. Neal Barnard finally gives them the legitimacy they desire, but not in the way they’d expect. He explains how we crave certain sinful foods because they have opiate effects; in other words, these foods are cheap, deceptive shots that don’t deserve a place on that golden gastronomic pedestal. This is good news for would-be vegans who are afraid of ‘missing out’ – they need only ride out the adjustment period – and vegan food connoisseurs who want to like foods because they are actually delicious.