It’s International Women’s Day – a universal celebration of the wonders and achievements of women around the world. By and large, women have been the driving force of the vegan movement, with milestones reached by activists, entrepreneurs, and change-makers from all walks of life. In this article, we celebrate 10 of these inspiring vegan women you absolutely should know about.
1. Genesis Butler
Genesis Butler started her animal rights activism at all of 10 years old. If you don’t know about her yet, you can get to know her by watching her TedX Talk A 10-year old’s vision for healing the planet, where she talks about how animal consumption impacts the environment. This girl even traveled to the Vatican on a mission to convince Pope Francis to adopt veganism during Lent!
2. Dr. Amie Breeze Harper
Amie Breeze Harper is an American critical race feminist, diversity strategist, and author of books and studies on veganism and racism. Her labor of love Sistah Vegan Anthology features a collection of writings by black female vegans.
3. Shivya Nath
At age 23, Shivya quit her corporate job with a dream of traveling the globe. Packing up her life into a backpack, she decided to hit the road indefinitely. Somewhere along this journey she embraced veganism, and has been a powerful spokesperson for the movement ever since! On her travel blog The Shooting Star as well as on social media, she shares an abundance of valuable tips on how to be vegan on the road. It’s all informed by her rich experiences and learnings from around the world.
“War is too big for us. Poverty is too alienating for us. Corruption is too complicated for us. But the killing of innocent voiceless animals for food that we relish in our dining rooms-that is something we can change.”
Shivya Nath, The Shooting Star
4. Sayuri Tanaka
Sayuri Tanaka is the super-woman behind the popular Sayuri Healing Food Café in Bali. WIth over 20 years of experience as a Vegan and Raw Chef and as someone who has taught healthy cooking for several years, Sayuri promotes practical ways of creating a better world for humans and for the animals. Sayuri spreads this passion for healthy, compassionate cooking through her online and onsite academy, inspiring people from around the world to adopt a plant-based lifestyle!
5. Toni Okamoto
Toni Okamoto is the creator of Plant-Based on a Budget, the popular food blog and meal prep guide that shows you how affordable vegan food can be! This platform has been featured in Reader’s Digest, US News and World Report, and more. Okamoto is also the author of The Super Easy Vegan Slow Cooker Cookbook.
6. Tracye McQuirter
Tracye McQuirter is a public health nutritionist and author who aided more than 15,000 Black women in their transition to veganism in 2020 through her successful 21-day online program, 10,000 Black Vegan Women. In the past, McQuirter also worked with Farm Sanctuary to create the first African American Vegan Starter Guide!
7. Miyoko Schinner
Miyoko Schinner is an award-winning plant-based chef who is revolutionizing the world of vegan dairy, specifically vegan cheese and butter! She was also a speaker at the first-ever Vegan Women Summit, an event that aims to “inspire, educate, and empower future and rising female leaders on how to bring compassion to their career and industry”. She envisions Miyoko’s Creamery to compete with the biggest companies in the dairy aisle.
8. Aph Ko
Aph Ko is a writer, vegan activist, and digital media producer. She co-authored the book Aphro-ism: Essays on Pop Culture, Feminism, and Black Veganism from Two Sisters. She is known for writing the first article that listed 100 Black Vegans and also contributed a short essay about race and animal oppression in the first African American Vegan Starter Guide.
9. Joanne Lee Molinaro
Joanne Lee Molinaro is an American attorney, vegan author, and blogger. Popularly known as the Korean Vegan, Molinaro posts videos cooking simple, veganized recipes from her childhood, while captivating us with her unique style of storytelling as she cooks. As of 2022, she has 591K subscribers on her YouTube channel and over 3M followers on TikTok.
10. Jehina Malik
Meet the first ever bodybuilder who has been vegan since birth! Malik’s compassion is as inspiring as her strength.
“Animals have never been a food choice to me. What motivates me is proving to the world that you can be strong and healthy without eating animals. I’m living proof! I was a vegan in my mom’s womb and she ate all the yummy nutritious vegan foods, so there you go!”
Jehina Malik, on Great Vegan Athletes.
There are SO many inspiring vegan women in this world that it was honestly difficult to shortlist only 10! Who are your favorite vegan women? Tell us in the comments below and let’s continue this thread!
If you enjoyed this article, check out the rest of the HappyCow blog. To find vegan food near you, at any time and place, get the FREE HappyCow app. Follow us on Instagram,Facebook, Pinterest, and Twitter for vegan tips, guides, and recipes!
