" Non-violence leads to the highest ethics, which is the goal of all evolution. Until we stop harming all other living beings, we are still savages. "
- Thomas A. Edison
" Being a vegetarian makes it easier for us to increase our loving kindness and compassion. "
- Thich Thanh Tu
" In his final teachings before he physically left this earth, the Buddha foresaw that a situation would arise in the future where those speaking in his name would pervert his Doctrine and encourage meat consumption. So here, in this great Nirvana Sutra, he lays down his last will and testament on the matter: in no circumstances should one eat meat or fish " nor animal corpses, found in the jungle, for instance " nor even accept from a donor a meal which contains an abundance of flesh-foods. The very contact of other food with meat is deemed defiling and requires purification of the food by water. It is quite evident from all this that the Buddha in no way condoned the eating of meat and was keen for his monastic and lay followers to abjure the uncompassionate practice of meat eating and follow the pure path of vegetarian Mahayana. In this, we would be wise and benevolent to follow him. "
- Dr. Tony Page
" I wouldn’t expect vegetarianism to lead to enlightenment. However, it is probably that on your road to enlightenment, you will find vegetarianism along the way. "
- Terry B
" Aware of the suffering caused by the destruction of life, I am committed to cultivating compassion and learning ways to protect the lives of people, animals, plants, and minerals. I am determined not to kill, not to let others kill, and not to support any act of killing in the world, in my thinking, and in my way of life. "
" By eating meat we share the responsibility of climate change, the destruction of our forests, and the poisoning of our air and water. The simple act of becoming a vegetarian will make a difference in the health of our planet. "
- Thich Nhat Hanh
" Every variety of living creature I must ever defend from harm. "
- Ta chwang yan ling lun
" How can one, who eats the flesh of others to swell his flesh, show compassion? "
- Tiruvalluvar
" It does take a little work to be a vegetarian… but it’s so worth it, oh it’s so worth it! "
- Tippi Hedren
" The Utopians feel that slaughtering our fellow creatures gradually destroys the sense of compassion, which is the finest sentiment of which our human nature is capable. "
- Thomas More
" Whether industralized societies ... can cure themselves of thier meat addictions may ultimately be a greater factor in world health than all the doctors, health insurance policies, and drugs put together. "
- The China-Oxford-Cornell Project on Nutrition