A speech can be a powerful tool to change minds and inspire people. It can be for good or for evil. It can start a war or end one. Martin Luther King and many other great speakers used their art to connect with people on a deep level. Their speeches were effective in making real social and behavioral change for the good of mankind, from raising equality for all to fighting discrimination to spreading peace and kindness.
These are my top 5 vegan speeches ranked based on how engaging, impactful and informative they are. Given by five passionate speakers who told their stories and delivered their points accurately and clearly, these speeches have inspired many people to go vegan and motivated many others to stay vegan.
Based on our recent vegan survey on why people go vegan, videos of speeches are one of the main reasons why people choose to give up animal products.
So, if you are a non-vegan and want to be informed and educated about veganism then take a pick and watch one of these speeches to broaden your understanding of the fastest growing social justice movement in the world right now.
If you are a vegan, then recommend these videos to your friends and family or watch them yourself to expand your knowledge or to simply remind yourself of why you went vegan in the first place.
Update: In 2018 (after the release of this blog article) Ed Winters who is known as Earthling Ed has released a captivating 32-minutes long speech on Veganism which has attracted over 2.5 million views in less than a year.
His eloquent style, clear, simple and flowing explanation of why we should ditch animal products make this speech undoubtedly one of the most powerful speeches on this topic ever.
So here I present to you the 6th bonus Life-Changing Speech by this amazing advocate...
1. "Best Speech You Will Ever Hear" by Gary Yourfosky.
Responsible for turning a whopping 8% of the Israeli population vegan, and thousands of others around the world, this speech without a doubt is the greatest vegan speech to date.
Gary Yourofsky is a full time animal rights activist from Detroit, Michigan, and this epic talk you can see below is just one out of hundreds he gave around the world on his many tours to promote plant-based peace with the goal of turning as many people vegan as possible.
Some describe his speech as a bit extreme because of his graphic description of the treatment of animals and comparisons of slaughterhouses to holocaust gas chambers.
Gary's speech is not only the most comprehensive and convincing, but equal parts captivating, energetic and passionate as well. He presents the facts very well, with logical points that are very hard to argue with, and his conviction alone is inspirational. There's no denial that Gary is 100% behind every word he says here. The speech mainly focuses on animal rights but it also covers many areas such as health, environment, physiology, our habits, culture and even includes a mouth watering list of vegan alternatives to meat.
2. "This Speech is Your Wake Up Call" by James Aspey
On par with Gary Yourofsky’s speech, James, an Australian vegan activist, delivers a more relaxed talk than Gary's, but still manages to be both powerful and passionate.
James tells his story from surviving cancer to being a heavy meat eater to becoming vegan. The best thing about this speech is the way it was told, James' delivery and presentation is relaxed and honest, he comes across as respectful, genuine and engaging. He spoke clearly and slowly, used logic and told his story without appearing pushy.
The main reason why I love this speech is because James makes the listener relate to him rather than makes them feel bad about it, he shows you that he’s just a regular open-minded dude. James sets the best example of how every vegan should act towards non-vegans and how we should promote and communicate our message to them.
Click here for the powerful 10-minute edited short version of the speech that lately had more than 5 millions views on Facebook.
3. "Animals Should Be Off The Menu" By Philip Wollen
This articulate, intelligent man is a former CitiBank CEO, Wollen delivers a short but a moving talk in a debate about veganism. This is of one of my personal favorite speeches of all time. In this short 10 minute long speech that was delivered elegantly and passionately, Wollen addresses all the issues and the reasons behind why we need to act now and go vegan to save the planet, the animals and ourselves.
If there is one speech I have to recommend to a friend on veganism, it would be either this one or James Aspey’s speech (the 10 minutes version) as people are more likely to watch short length videos than long ones and I believe these two speeches are a great way to introducing someone to veganism.
4. "Uprooting The Leading Causes of Death" by Dr. Michael Greger
An internationally renowned doctor and a New York Times best selling author, the amount of work and research Dr. Greger has done is incredible, he has dedicated his career into promoting and educating people on the benefits of a planet based lifestyle.
Dr. Michael Greger doesn’t make arguments based on emotions or compassion for the animals or the environment. His sole focus is on hard hitting scientific facts on health and nutrients, gathered from an extensive research from the best and most credible sources out there.
Dr. Greger goes into in-depth details about the health problems caused by eating animals and animal products and lists the benefits from eating a plant based diet. Packed with stats to back up his claims, Greger provides an interesting presentation on facts that will surprise anyone.
Also, make sure you check out Dr Greger's website NutritionFacts.org when ever you need answers to any question regarding health and nutrition.
Or buy his best selling book "How not to die" from here on Amazon
5. "Carnism: The Psychology of Eating Meat" by Melanie Joy
Last but not least, is a speech that will change your perspective on things whether you are vegan or not. Dr Melanie Joy who is an American social phycologist and a vegan activist, introduces us to the concept of "Carnism" in which she describes as an invisible belief system that conditions people to eat certain animals.
In her well prepared, well spoked and well structured presentation, she explains the psychology of eating meat and why it is difficult to make our food choices without awareness. Her speech is very interesting and engaging. It brings a different perspective on the way we see animals and why we choose to eat some but love and protect the others.
Dr Joy is also an author of the book "Why We Love Dogs, Eat Pigs, and Wear Cows: An Introduction to Carnism". You can buy it from here on Amazon
The Australian Vegan Magazine
