Dan Piraro with Akachan and Jenny at
Leilani
Farm Sanctuary, 2009.
Dan Piraro
Born Daniel Charles Piraro in
1958. He is a cartoonist, painter and illustrator. He is best known for
his syndicated cartoon panel
Bizarro
He became vegan in 2002 and sometimes incorporates animal rights issues into his cartoons. He has a section of his website dedicated to Animal Stuff, which includes an explanation about why he is vegan and vegan-related cartoons.
Reprinted with permission from Dan Piraro.
Quotes by Dan Piraro:
| "I'd always been very compassionate toward animals but tended to turn a blind eye to my diet believing that eating animals was just what humans did to stay alive. When I met and began dating my current wife, Ashley Lou Smith, in 2001, I began learning about what goes on in factory farms, circuses, fur farms, etc. I began seeing things differently almost immediately and a weekend trip to Farm Sanctuary in upstate NY changed me in a single stroke. I went there as an occasional meat eater, but left as a vegan and have never looked back." |
| "I saw the clipped beaks, the scars, and it affected me. I knew it was cruel, and I couldn't support it anymore. I had to stop instantly." |
| "I have always instinctively been opposed to cruelty to animals, as all decent and sensible people are, but didn't know much about how food animals were raised or processed." |
| "Many years ago, when I still ate meat, a neighbor was mistreating his dog, and I called a rescue group. I couldn't stand the idea of animals being mistreated. I understand people who have that dual mentality—companion animals and food animals—because I was that guy. I went out of my way not to find out where those [food] animals came from." |
| "Since becoming vegan, I've met rescued "food" animals now living natural lives outdoors. ... Cows, pigs and chickens are as smart, friendly and loving, as dogs and cats." |
| "Food animals just as bright and personable and feeling as your pet are being mercilessly tortured and brutally murdered every second of every day, purely for the sake of a mega corporation's profits and your tongue's amusement." |
| "One thing I've learned since becoming vegan is that there is almost no food I used to enjoy that I haven't found a delicious and much more nutritious vegan version of." |
| "The thing I miss the most is barbecue. When I smell barbecued meat, it makes my mouth water. So, I have barbecued seitan. I don't eat meat substitutes all that often, maybe once a week or so. At first I depended heavily on them, but as the years go by I find I need them less." |
| "People think of veganism as a diet of sacrifice, but it's really not. I eat a wider variety of foods now than before." |
| "The basic issue is that people see animals as being here for them, not with them. I try to change that basic impression and hope that the rest falls into place naturally. Once you see an animal of another species as someone instead of something, it is easier to change your choices." |
| "When I became vegan, some of what I had learned began to seep into my work. Those cartoons became instantly popular with people who are interested in animal compassion and over the years I've heard from lots of readers who began to think differently about their diet and lifestyle based on things I brought up in cartoons. I didn't expect that, but it's a terrific fringe benefit." |
| "As with any art project, it is important to speak from the heart. Preaching never works – and I mean never – but sharing your perspective and views can touch people." |
Quotes are from his website's why vegan page, his interview with The Vegan Culinary Experience and his 2009 interview with Vegetarian Times.
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