Wu-Tang Clan frontman RZA, aka Robert Fitzgerald Diggs, is a long-term vegan who quit eating red meat in 1995 before ditching poultry and fish in 1996 and 1997 respectively.
Speaking about his vegan lifestyle in a podcast with Joe Rogan, RZA said he was proud to have been able to pass the vegan message onto his sons, who he said are both examples of how you can be strong and healthy while eating a vegan diet.
He revealed to Rogan, “I look at my household as a living example that you don’t need [animal products] to live.”
RZA’s journey to veganism wasn’t an easy one however, as growing up he loved to tuck into poultry dishes like like turkey and chicken wings.
But in 1996, he realised that his beloved wings were once living creatures, explaining: “I could knock back about 30 chicken wings. On the 29th chicken wing, my teeth hit the bone. My mind said: dead bird,” he explained.
He told himself, “‘you in New York City with all these pigeons flying around, and here you are, supposed to be an intelligent human being and you eating on a dead bird.’ I was like, that sounds pretty stupid to me. I never ate it again.”
16. Mayim Bialik
Actress and star of The Big Bang Theory, Mayim Bialik, is a long-term vegan who regularly uses her celebrity status to advocate for the animals.
Bialik has shared many videos on her YouTube channel explaining her reasons for being vegan, as well as offering advice on how to raise happy and healthy vegan children.
Bialik first cut meat from her diet aged 19, but took the plunge and went vegan after reading Jonathan Safran Foer’s 2009 book, Eating Animals.
Keen to share the benefits of veganism, Mayim has even published her own vegan cookbook, Mayim’s Vegan Table, with over 100 family-friendly plant-based recipes.
