People
Founders, thinkers, activists, chefs, scientists, and witnesses — the humans whose work shapes the movement.
- American authoractivistCarol J. Adams
American feminist-vegan writer, theorist, and activist (born 1951), author of The Sexual Politics of Meat, who linked feminist theory to animal rights through the concept of the "absent referent."
- American philosopherauthorChristine M. Korsgaard
American Kantian philosopher at Harvard whose Fellow Creatures extends Kant's ethics to argue that non-human animals are ends in themselves.
- British founderactivistDonald Watson
British woodworking teacher (1910-2005) who coined the word "vegan" and co-founded the UK Vegan Society in November 1944.
- British founderactivistElsie Shrigley
British vegan pioneer (1899-1978) who co-founded the UK Vegan Society with Donald Watson in November 1944 and served on its committee for decades.
- American philosopherlegal-scholarGary L. Francione
American legal scholar and philosopher (born 1954), architect of the abolitionist approach to animal rights and a sustained critique of animals' property status.
- American activistauthorGene Baur
American author, advocate, and co-founder of Farm Sanctuary — often called "the conscience of the food movement."
- English writerreformerHenry Stephens Salt
English writer and social reformer (1851-1939) whose Animals' Rights (1892) is one of the most cited precursors to the modern animal-rights movement; founder of the Humanitarian League.
- British founderactivistJane Land
British activist and co-founder of Veganuary (2014), the global campaign that encourages people to try a vegan diet every January.
- British activistwriterLeslie Cross
British vegan activist (1914-1979) who formalised the 1951 definition of veganism and co-founded the Plantmilk Society, forerunner of Plamil Foods.
- American philosopherauthorMartha C. Nussbaum
American philosopher at the University of Chicago who extended the capabilities approach to non-human animals in Frontiers of Justice and Justice for Animals.
- British founderinvestorMatthew Glover
British entrepreneur and activist who co-founded Veganuary (2014), the plant-based investment fund Veg Capital, and VFC Foods.
- Japanese-American chefentrepreneurMiyoko Schinner
Japanese-American chef, author, and activist — founder of Miyoko's Creamery and a leading voice in artisanal plant-based cheesemaking.
- Australian philosopherethicistPeter Singer
Australian moral philosopher (born 1946) whose 1975 book Animal Liberation popularized "speciesism" and helped launch the modern animal rights movement.
- British psychologistphilosopherRichard D. Ryder
British psychologist, animal-rights campaigner, and philosopher who coined "speciesism" (1970) and developed the ethical theory of "painism."
- American philosopherauthorTom Regan
American philosopher (1938-2017) whose 1983 book The Case for Animal Rights gave the modern animal-rights movement its most rigorous theoretical foundation.