Throughout history, both in the East and the West, social structures have shaped and limited women’s roles in society. These norms, sometimes subtle and other times openly restrictive, have been deeply ingrained for centuries. As a result, gender equality has often lagged behind the social and cultural progress of communities.
The feminine has always been at the heart of a fight for recognition. Women have long challenged discrimination, working to secure rights that, until the 19th century, were mostly tied to domestic work, religious life, or family responsibilities. In the mid-20th century, with the rise of vegan activism, the movement for equality joined forces with other liberation struggles. Women activists have played a key role in spreading awareness of Animal Rights, shaping the vegan movement into what it is today.
Veganism and feminism naturally intersect, as both seek to end oppression—whether of human or non-human animals. Feminist veganism envisions a world that is fairer, more sustainable, and rooted in justice for all, including access to land and ethical food choices.
To celebrate the impact of women in the vegan movement, we’re highlighting 10 incredible activists who have played a vital role in shaping and advancing this cause. Their work continues to inspire change and pave the way for a more just and compassionate world.
1. Greta Thunberg
At only 18 years old, activist Greta Thunberg has already been elected as a youth model by the animal rights organization PETA and Person of the Year by Time magazine. Famous around the globe for her climate activism, Greta is also a vegan and began protesting on her own in August 2018 outside of the Swedish parliament, where she demanded practical action in response to climate change. Since then, she has motivated millions of children from several different countries to join her in the School Strike for Climate. In a strong, blunt speech in the UN Climate Action Committee in New York in 2019, she said: “You have stolen my dreams and my childhood with your empty words” – “People are suffering. People are dying; entire ecosystems are collapsing. We are in the beginning of a mass extinction and all you can talk about is money and fairytales and economic growth. How dare you?”
2. Luisa Mell
In Brazil, Luisa Mell is considered one of the leading voices in the fight against animal deaths and exploitation. Her career began in 2002 when she started working in television, starring in two programs. Through her work, Luisa exposed the harsh and often degrading conditions that many pets face across the country. On her show—created by her father—she highlighted the issue of animal abuse. From that point forward, Luisa Mell became one of Brazil’s most recognized animal rights activists. “My family’s connection with animals began at an adoption fair in São Bernardo. We adopted a very sick stray dog, who is still with us today! It became a lifelong bond,” says Luisa.
3. Angela Davis
Angela Davis, an influential American scholar and activist, is known for exploring the connection between Human Rights and Animal Rights. She is considered one of the most prominent figures in explaining the intersectionality within veganism today. Her perspective on animal rights is profound, as she often emphasizes the importance of recognizing the suffering that animals endure for human consumption. In a 2012 interview with Grace Lee Boggs, Davis stated, “Most people don’t think about the fact they’re eating animals. When they’re eating a steak or eating chicken, most people don’t think about the tremendous suffering that those animals endure simply to become food products to be consumed by human beings.”
4. Ingrid Newkirk
With great representation to the progression of animal liberation, Ingrid Newkirk is the president of the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), the biggest Animal Rights organization in the world. Ingrid says she strongly believes animals shouldn’t be used for food, turned into clothes, experimented on or used for human entertainment. In her book, “Animalkind”, she explores the ways in which humans can better demonstrate their compassion for other species. “The goal of this movement [animal rights] is to make people acknowledge that, the same way animals aren’t hamburgers, they are handbags wither”, she wrote for PETA in 2016. “They are not test tubes with whiskers, they aren’t cheap alarms to avoid robbery, they are accessories, they aren’t pests. They are individuals and we must protect all of them.”
5. Leah Garcés
The Animal Rights organization Mercy for Animals also has a female president. With almost 20 years of leadership experience working in the animal protection movement, Leag Garcés wrote the book “Grilled: turning adversaries into allies to change the chicken industry”. It is in some parts a memoir and in others an account of her experiences from her work in the industry. Melanie Joy, a social psychologist has said: “Grilled is absorbing, intriguing and moving. It will open your eyes and hearts to the animals’ situation within the american food system.”
6. Jane Velez-Mitchell
Currently hosting a vegetarian cooking show called “New Day, New Chef”, on Amazon Prime, the former CNN news anchor and best-selling author Jane Velez-Mitchell is the founder of Jane UnChained News, a social media news channel that produces original content about animal rights activism and veganism. Jane has received several awards, including four Genesis Awards from the Humane Society in the United States for her coverage of animal issues. In a 2018 Animal Rights conference she has said: “Your phone is your best tool. You have an entire network, a TV studio, satellites, all of that in your back pocket or your purse. Use it for the animals.”
7. Rooney Mara
Actress and stylist Rooney Mara is an Animal Rights activist. In 2019, she joined Animal Equality during the secret investigation of two factory farms, from which the footage obtained was released in an exposition called “With My Own Eyes”. She said of the occasion: “Even though I’ve seen many of these kinds of documentaries, I”d also like to see for myself and I hope to do something that can impact people to change their minds as well.”
8. Nina Rosa
Nina Rosa is responsible for one of the most significant Brazilian documentaries about the meat industry: A Carne é Fraca (The Meat is Weak), released in 2005. The documentary helped raise awareness and led thousands of people to stop consuming such a cruel product. Nina became an animal rights activist in 1994, when her companion, a dog named Chica, passed away. Over time, she felt the need for educational work that could prevent animal abuse and abandonment before they happened. This led to the creation of the Instituto Nina Rosa in 2000. The institute’s mission is “projects for love of life,” with a focus on educating and raising awareness among humans. “For animals, it doesn’t matter what you think or feel. What matters to them is what you do,” she says.
9. Dr. Vandana Shiva
Dr. Vandana Shiva is an environmental activist and scholar that has been advocating for sustainable agriculture and food sovereignty for over three decades. Shiva’s work emphasizes the importance of traditional knowledge and community-based approaches to agriculture. She has been a critic of industrial agriculture and the use of genetically modified organisms in food production.
10. Carol J. Adams
A woman who has been changing the way thousands of people see the world is the american feminist author and Animal Rights advocate, Carol J. Adams, with her famous and necessary book, “The sexual politics of meat: a feminist-vegetarian critical theory”. The book contains plenty of solid and consistent arguments, explains the close relation between male dominance, cultural violence against women and the act of eating meat. A must-read to reflect upon the relations between men, women and animals in the fight for and oppression free world. “Meat is a social construct made to seem natural and inevitable.”
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