#100 – Angela Davis

Once on the FBI’s 10 Most Wanted list, inspiring the likes of John Lennon, Yoko Ono and The Rolling Stones, she is considered the godmother of modern activism and announced she was vegan in 2009: we proudly kick off our top 100 list with Angela Davis! A force to be reckoned with, Angela has been advocating human rights and progressive justice since the 1960s. As a socialist scholar, she has lectured all over the world and held positions at a number of universities. More recently, she discussed the connection between human rights and animal rights in a major speech at the University of Cape Town, South Africa: “Sentient beings endure pain and torture as they are transformed into food for profit, food that generates disease in humans whose poverty compels them to rely on McDonald’s and KFC for nourishment.” Angela discusses human and animal rights with equal fervour, bridging the gap between animal liberation and progressive politics by illuminating the need to stop devaluing lives based on prejudice and profit. She was the co-chair of the 2017 women’s march on Washington, which took place across America the day after Donald J. Trump’s inauguration as president of the United States. Davis is someone to look to?and look out for?when you want to find effective ways of talking about injustice, and familiarise yourself with how progressive movements can grow.

#99 – Hannah Howlett

American vegan vlogger Hannah Howlett is known for her dramatic weight loss and potato cleanse diet. Howlett, who goes by the online name of High Carb Hannah, lost 70 lbs in less than a year. She did this by following Dr. John McDougall’s famed starch solution, published under the same name in 2012, by eating meals packed with potatoes, rice, oatmeal and other whole starches. In 2016, Howlett published Lean & Clean, an ebook containing over 50 recipes and 14-day meal plans and exercise guides for weight loss. Howlett inspires her YouTube followers to live vegan, updating them on what she eats, her workout routines and how to follow a more eco-friendly lifestyle and runs the Raw Till Whenever website.

#98 – Garth Davis

Garth Davis is a medical and surgical weight loss doctor based in Houston, Texas, lecturing across the medical field on the importance of a plant-based diet. Working as a medical expert for over 30 years, Davis has reviewed thousands of science-backed studies to successfully dispel the myth surrounding the need for animal protein. Instead, he writes that animal protein is killing humans in his critically acclaimed book, Proteinaholic. Dr Davis has starred in a number of films recently, playing a key role in the Cowspiracy sequel, What The Health. He also regularly takes part in triathlons and marathons, and runs a Facebook page with a devoted following of over 70,000 fans.

#97 – Gary Francione

As the first academic to teach animal rights theory in America, Gary Francione has been doing just that for close to 3 decades. Professor Francione is well-known throughout the animal protection movement for his criticism of animal welfare laws and the property status of nonhuman animals, and for his abolitionist theory of animal rights. He has authored a series of seminal books, including Eat Like You Care: An Examination of the Moralityof Eating Animals, and The Animal Rights Debate: Abolition or Regulation. Francione and his partner and colleague, Anna Charlton, represent individual animal advocates, grassroots animal groups and national and international animal organizations, and curate their website, The Abolitionist Approach, on AbolitionistApproach.com.

#96 – Bonny Rebecca

The 24-year-old Australian social media star has been active on YouTube since 2015 to promote the vegan lifestyle, gathering a following of over 250,000 subscribers over the years.Rebecca’s repertoire includes what-I-eat-in-a-day videos, healthy recipes, tips about veganism and lifestyle vlogs. She recently published Carbolicious, a recipe ebook filled with over 25 easily accessible high-carb and low-fat vegan recipes.

#95 – Tim Shieff

Vegan freerunner, parkour athlete and winner of the World Freerunning Championship, Tim Shieff is training, in his own words, with “a purpose greater than [his] own: to liberate animals.”Schieff has appeared on the Ninja Warrior UK series in 2015 and 2016, and is now focusing on his vegan clothing line, Ethics and Antics. He is an active YouTuber with over 160,000 subscribers.

#94 – Patrik Baboumian

A proud vegan since 2011, Patrik Baboumian is one of the strongest men in the world. Born in Iran and raised in Germany, he is a strongman competitor, strength athlete, and former bodybuilder who continues to inspire countless athletes and people around the world to go vegan. He recently published a book about the benefits of the vegan lifestyle: VRebellion-1: How to Become a Vegan Badass. He is also active on YouTube, and regularly gives talks at vegan events across Europe. His youtube channel can be found here.

#93 – Katie Cleary

Model and actress Katie Cleary is the president and founder of Peace 4 Animals and its global animal news network, World Animal News. Cleary founded the nonprofit Peace 4 Animals with a clear vision: to create a world in which we can all live in harmony with our animal friends. Cleary also produced Give Me Shelter, a documentary covering and uncovering the three most prevalent issues facing animals. She is regularly featured on JaneUnchained.com and spoke at the 2016 SoCal VegFest where she exposed the plight of the animals raised for food.

#92 – Chef AJ

As the host of the Foody TV series Healthy Living with Chef AJ, Chef AJ has been devoted to the vegan lifestyle for nearly 40 years. She is the author of the popular book, Unprocessed: How to Achieve Vibrant Health and Your Ideal Weight, which focuses on her journey from a junk-food vegan faced with a diagnosis of pre-cancerous polyps to learning how to create recipes that nourish and heal the body. Based in Los Angeles, California, Chef AJ teaches a hugely popular monthly seminar featuring cooking instructions and nutritional science. She is also the founder of the Ultimate Weight Loss Program, and the host of the YouTube cooking show, The Chef and the Dietitian.

#91 – Jake Conroy

Next up is Jake Conroy, who has been involved in a wide range of activism since the mid-1990s. As the co-founder and vice president of Ocean Defense International, Conroy led the first ever whale-hunt disruption in US coastal waters. He also helped build the foundation of Stop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty USA, one of the most successful grassroots animal rights campaigns in recent history. Due to the overwhelming success of the campaign against one of the biggest lobbying industries in the US, the federal government prosecuted Jake and his co-defendants, known as the SHAC 7, as domestic terrorists. Jake was sentenced to 48 months, which he served in 2 prisons in southern California. Conroy currently works for an international environmental organization that relies on direct action and pressure campaigns to help enact responsible corporate policies. He is also on a speaking tour across universities and events, and has been featured in What the Health.

#90 – Nina and Randa Nelson

Nina and Randa Nelson are identical twins who have been vegan from birth.In 2015, they exploded onto the YouTube scene and have since raked in over 600,000 subscribers, garnering over 30 million views in the last year alone. Unlike many of the influencers on this list, Nina and Randa have shifted away from purely vegan-based content and campaigning. By focusing on their passions, including music videos, they are expanding their subscriber base and reaching people who would otherwise never consider a plant-based diet to thrive. Plant Based News will continue to watch these two rise to fame over the next and take the vegan movement to scale.

#89 – Ed Winters

British animal rights activist Ed Winters, better known as Earthling Ed, is a campaign and protest organizer active on the London scene and beyond. Rejecting the mainstream political system, Winters documents events and interviews and uploads them as educational content on his eponymous YouTube channel that recently hit 600,000 views.He is the co-founder of Surge, a grassroots animal rights organization through which he organizes and attends protests, demonstrations and outreach events that focus on a variety of animal rights issues. In 2016, Surge hosted the UK’s biggest ever animal rights march, gathering over 2,500 vegans in London, which Winters ended with a rousing speech: “I can’t believe that in this day and age we still have to fight oppression. How can we allow ourselves to fit into a society that thinks compassion is extreme?” Watch out for the official 2017 march for animal rights, which will take place in September!

#88 – Sharon Nuñez

Sharon Nunez is the founder and international director of Animal Equality, a well-known animal advocacy organisation dedicated to defending all animals through public education, campaigning, and farm investigations. Currently active in the US, UK, Germany, Italy, Spain, Mexico, Venezuela and India, Animal Equality moves the public to embrace veganism for the animals. Their greatest accomplishment to date, iAnimal, is a virtual reality project that creates a 360-degree, immersive environment in which viewers are transported inside factory farms and slaughterhouses. iAnimal reached 30,000 influencers worldwide and is shared with over 90 activists and organizations.

#87 – Daniel Bissonnette

Daniel Bissonnette is the world’s most influential 12-year-old speaker and author in the health field. From the age of 9 onwards, Daniel has been speaking alongside world-renowned experts at leading health events across Canada and the US. He is now the keynote speaker at Western Canada’s Premier Consumer Health Shows. Determined to make an impact on the world by helping kids and families eat better, he has delivered over 100 professional presentations and authored a best-selling book, Daniel’s Breakfast Burst. Feel free to check him out on his YouTube channel!

#86 – Caldwell Esselstyn

American physician and author of Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease, Dr. Esselstyn is known worldwide for his long-term nutritional research aimed at arresting and reversing coronary artery disease through a low-fat, whole-foods, plant-based diet.Previously the star of the Forks Over Knives documentary, he was featured in two recent documentaries, What The Health and Eating You Alive. His son and Engine 2 Diet and My Beef With Meat author, Rip Esselstyn, is a former firefighter and triathlete who promotes healthy vegan dieting, trademarking the “plant-strong” term.

#85 – Tobias Leenaert

As the co-founder of the Belgian organisation, Ethical Vegetarian Alternative, and The Center for Effective Vegan Advocacy, Tobias Leenaert is known for his work as a vegan strategist alongside such notables as Melanie Joy. Leenaert organises weekend training sessions on effective vegan advocacy and he is currently putting the finishing touches to a book on vegan strategy and outreach entitled, How to Veganize the World in 30 Years. He can be found at VeganStrategist.org where he discusses vegan activism strategies.

#84 – Kristen Bell

Coming in at number 85 on our list, a long-time vegetarian who became vegan in 2012 after watching Forks Over Knives, Kristen Bell, and her husband, Dax Shepard, have become strong supporters of anti-animal cruelty, fostering and protecting animals from the Michigan Humane Society. Bell also attends fundraisers for the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, and supports the San Diego-based Helen Woodward Animal Center.

#83 – Matt Ball and Jack Norris

As the founders of Vegan Outreach, Matt Bell and Jack Norris have distributed over 1 million copies of their informational booklet, Why Vegan? The success of their strategy was proven by the steady stream of testimonials from individuals across the world who have all given up meat “cold turkey” after reading their literature. Ball and Norris also offer other award-winning booklets, including The Vegan Starter Pack and The Vegan Advocacy Booklet.

#82 – Peter Dinklage

A vegetarian since the age of 16, the iconic Game of Thrones actor Peter Dinklage recently became vegan on ethical grounds, fronting campaigns for Farm Sanctuary and PETA, and serving as an ambassador for Cruelty Free International. He has been a spokesperson for Farm Sanctuary’s Walk for Farm Animals and delivered an important narration for PETA’s farming exposé, Face Your Food.

#81 – Serena and Venus Williams

The famous professional tennis sisters switched to a vegan diet in 2011 when the older of the two, Venus, was diagnosed with Sjögren’s syndrome, a chronic autoimmune disease that made her constantly tired and caused her severe joint pain. Serena showed her support and turned vegan herself shortly after. During tennis season, the iconic sisters follow a raw vegan diet abundant in veggies, green juices and sprouted foods. Although we don’t know whether the Williams sisters have been vegan throughout the past 6 seasons, it is clear that they have had a significant influence on the vegan movement, recently promoting Silk, the plant-based milk alternative for a healthy lifestyle.

#80 – Bob Goldberg

Bob Goldberg is the CEO and founder of Follow Your Heart, an American company that manufactures and distributes Vegenaise, the now world-famous egg-free mayonnaise substitute, plus numerous vegan cheeses, vegan eggs and dressings, and gluten-free products. Follow Your Heart also shares recipes and promotes compassionate living on their FollowYourHeart.com website.

#79 – Steven Morrissey

The English singer, Steven Morrissey, best known as the frontman of indie rock band The Smiths, released Meat is Murder in 1983, which was remastered in 2012 and promptly became the number-one anti-animal cruelty album in the UK, winning devoted fans and foes alike.In 2016, in what was his first interview in nearly a decade, Morrissey sat with TV legend Larry King, speaking openly about his vegan lifestyle. Back on the touring side, Morrissey insists that his venues serve no meat. As a long-time PETA supporter, he partnered with the animal rights organisation to create an animated video about farmed hens that he features on his tours.

#78 – Alexandra Beth

Alexandra Beth’s YouTube channel, Alexandra’s Girly Talk, currently boasts over 1.4 million subscribers.Combining beauty hauls and vegan lifestyle vlogs, Beth encourages her audience to buy cruelty-free cosmetics and non-leather products.The 22-year-old Colombian vlogger recently became a mother, sharing with the world what she ate as a pregnant vegan.

#77 – Simone Reyes

Simone Reyes has been dubbed the “Gloria Steinem of the Animal Rights Movement.” Reyes is the executive assistant to media mogul Russel Simmons, who is also vegan, and has been working tirelessly for animal causes. She has been featured on Plant-Based by Nafsika and JaneUnchained, and is a successful public speaker.Simone recently created a YouTube channel, so don’t forget to check her out!

#76 – David Carter

The 6-foot-5, 300-pound defensive lineman for the American football league, NFL, happens to be an outspoken Vegan Outreach activist.As an ambassador for Vegan Outreach, Carter speaks variously on vegan-related topics, including food justice and vegan activism. Having embraced veganism and stopped consuming any animal products after watching Forks Over Knives, he managed to reverse and cure his ailments and saw a massive improvement in his performance on the field.His motto? “My food is my medicine”.

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#75 – Philip Wollen

Philip Wollen is former Vice-President of Citibank and is now a prominent member of the animal rights movement. He runs Winsome Constance Kindness, a global initiative whose mission is to promote kindness towards all living beings and oppose cruelty to humans and nonhuman animals and has won many awards over the years.

#74 – Ginny Messina

Dr Messina is a registered dietitian and co-author of Vegan for Life, Vegan for Her and Never Too Late to Go Vegan as well as other books for health professionals. She has helped the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine and shares health advice on her own website the vegan RD .com.

#73 – Crissi Carvalho

?A wholistic vegan fitness coach and model, Crissi Carvalho won the Arnold Classic last year. The 43-year old promotes a healthy high-carb diet wherever she can, including on her website, veganfitnessmodel.com.

#72 – Paul Bashir

Paul Bashir co-founded Anonymous for the Voiceless in 2016 with Asal Alamdar. The public outreach events have activists presenting visual media of atrocities inflicted on non human animals in what’s been dubbed the “cube of truth”. Trained activist are on hand to counsel the viewing public and within less than a year the organisation has held over 250 of these events in over 70 cities across 17 countries.

#71 – Miyoko Schinner

?An entrepreneur for over 30 years in the food world as a best-selling author and chef, Schinner also co-hosts the national cooking show Vegan Mashup. The 59 year old was recently inducted into the Vegetarian Hall of Fame by the North American Vegetarian Society in 2016. She also regularly posts recipes on her brand page.

#70 – Thomas Majchrzak

?Thomas Majchrzak is the founder of Autogefuhl, which is a popular youtube channel well known for in depth car reviews. As a passionate vegan, Thomas provides profound insight into issues surrounding the use of animal skin on car seats. Via his large autogefuhl platform, he wants to bring reason and empathy to the automotive industry.

#69 – Marianne Thieme

Dutch founder of the world’s first Animal Party was always going to be on the list. The party has won 5 seats in our 150-seat parliament at the elections earlier in the year and she is rightfully putting animal rights on the national political agenda.

#68 – Kendrick Farris

?Vegan since 2014, the champion asked himself “How do you get back to the purest form of our life?” and he started with food. The 30-year-old athlete was the only male US weightlifter in the Olympics last year, when he broke a US record.

#67 – Andrew Taylor

Andrew Taylor has been an ethical vegan for many years, but came into the limelight over the 12 months for his year long potato-only diet.

#66 – Ellen Fisher

Ellen Fisher is a low fat vegan mother with a sizeable social media outreach living in Hawaii and has been vegan for over 10 years, the healthy lifestyle helping her heal ailments including acne, poor digestion and anorexia.

#65 – David Simon

A Los-Angeles based lawyer and advocate for sustainable consumption, David Simon works as general counsel for a healthcare company and serves on the board of the APRL Fund, a nonprofit dedicated to protecting animals. Simon has also authored “Meatonomics”, which shines a light on the unsettling world of factory farming how governments in the western world contribute to it. This is the first book to explore the unseen economic forces that drive our animal food system and the hair-raising ways these forces affect our spending, eating, longevity and environment. In 2017, Simon was featured in the Cowspiracy follow-up film What The Health.

#64 – T. Colin Campbell

Campbell specializes in the effect of plant based nutrition on long-term health and the author of The China Study, which although initially published in 2005, continues to sell like wild fire. He also featured in the 2011 Forks Over Knives documentary. Although retired from his biochemist position, he heads up the t colin campbell center for nutrition studies. In January 2017, he wrote an article to the BBC titled: British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), Your Credibility Is Tarnished after he claims he was misrepresented in a recent documentary by the BBC about clean eating.

#63 – Nafsika Antypas

The ever-so-sweet Nafsika Antypas is the host, producer and creator of the world’s first and only vegan lifestyle TV series “Plant-Based by Nafsika”, focusing on a plant-based lifestyle that includes food, fashion, beauty, health and innovations. She also went on to found The Struggling Vegan Inc, an organization with the mission to help people transition to a vegan lifestyle while strengthening the vegan community. Season 2 of her show will air this spring and she is also working on a book at the moment. And do take note of the Greek entrepreneur’s motto: “If you plant it, it will grow”.

#62 – Nathan Runkle

Nathan Runkle is the founder and executive director of Mercy For Animals. Since founding it over a decade ago, Runkle has overseen the organization’s growth into a leading force in the prevention of cruelty to farmed animals and promotion of compassionate food choices and policies. He is a nationally recognized speaker on animal advocacy, factory farming, and veganism and, believe it not, at the age of 25 he became the youngest person ever inducted into the U.S. Animal Rights Hall of Fame. A grassroots organizer and coordinator for many years, NAthan Runkle has spearheaded thousands of demonstrations and outreach events across the U.S. – ranging from protests outside pork and egg producer conventions to parade marches, educational exhibits and more.

#61 – Che Green

Former analyst and investment banker, Che Green is the executive director and lead researcher of Faunalytics, a nonprofit research organization dedicated to helping animals by providing useful information to advocates to help them increase their impact. They conduct opinion polls, audience surveys, focus groups in order to understand how people think so that they can choose the best ways to influence them.

#60 – Paul Shapiro

As the Vice President of Policy for the Humane Society of the United States, Paul Shapiro focuses on promoting policies that advance animals’ interests across all 50 states. He helped mastermind a cage-free ballot initiative in Massachusetts that will help reshape how food animals are produced across the country. Vegan of over 20 years, Shapiro is also the author of a forthcoming book on the clean meat movement due out Fall 2017.

#59 – Matthieu Ricard

?French-born Buddhist monk and humanitarian Matthieu Ricard has been dubbed the world’s happiest man last year after a 12-year medical study at the University of Wisconsin. Ricard has been vegan for over 5 years and is asking people to be more compassionate towards animals.

#58 – Gene Baur

Gene Baur is co?founder and president of Farm Sanctuary, and has been hailed as “the conscience of the food movement” by TIME magazine and listed on Oprah’s top 100 biggest trailblazers. He was a pioneer in undercover investigations and instrumental in passing the first U.S. laws to ban inhumane factory farming practices. Since 1986 he has traveled extensively, campaigning to raise awareness about the abuses of animal agriculture and our cheap food system. He has also written two national best-selling books.

#57 – Evanna Lynch

?The Harry Potter actress went vegan in 2015, and gave a moving speech at an acceptance ceremony in Dublin last year, touching on the devastating environmental effects of eating meat and the ethical reasons that drove her to veganism. This year, she announced she would be starting a podcast focused on veganism.

#56 – Jamie Adenuga

Jamie Adenuga, better known by his stage name JME, is an English grime MC, teetotaler and commited vegan. The 31-year old helped inspire Ethics’ VGANG clothing line, and starred in a BBC tv show about veganism this March called Carnage.

#55 – Matthew Glover, Jane Land & Veganuary Team

Matthew Glover and his wife Jane Land are the founders of Veganuary. With the help of Clea, Spencer and Sally, they run the increasingly popular campaign and associated website, which encourages people to try vegan for the first 31 days of the new year. A number of restaurants support the campaign, which has grown by 260% this year, breaking records with almost 60,000 participants from over 170 countries. According to veganuary’s surveys, 67% of those taking part stay vegan.

#54 – Mommy Tang

Sharing vegan recipes online, YouTube star Mommy Tang has over 360,000 subscriber. She is well known for her plant-based asian mukbangs and highly entertaining personality.

#53 – Dale Vince

A big shot in the sustainable energy industry, Dale Vince is a vegan businessman who is founder of ecotricity and chairman of Forest Green Rovers, the first ever vegan Soccer Club, who have recently been promoted to the prestigious english football league. Dale Vince’s company ecotricity have also supported the cowspiracy follow up film seaspiracy, which is an environmental documentary about our oceans set to be released in 2018.

#52 – Michael Dearborn

?Michael Dearborn also known as mike the vegan on youtube, is an activist who makes it his goal to bust myths about veganism. With over 100 thousand subscribers and an active growing audience, Dearborn is an up and coming activist and one to watch over the next few.

#51 – Henry Firth & Ian Theasby

British cooks Firth and Theasby founded the plant-based recipe facebook page BOSH last year, which with over 1.1 million likes, makes it the largest of its kind.

#50 – Chloe Coscarelli

Commited to bring delicious, vegan dishes to a mainstream audience, Coscarelli is the first vegan to ever win a culinary competition on television. The 29-year-old vegan chef and best-selling author published cookbooks including Chloe’s Kitchen, Chloe’s Vegan Desserts and Chloe’s Vegan Italian Kitchen; in 2015 she opened her vegan restaurant, by CHLOE, in New York. Coscarelli is posting recipes on her website, chef chloe.com, and changing the landscape of the food industry, Forbes having named her “30 Under 30” earlier in 2017. Since then, however, the famed chef has been sacked from her own restaurant. The reason? She heroically defended veganism by not allowing her name to be used for selling animal products, when ESquared Hospitality expressed the intention to open non-vegan restaurants under the by CHLOE brand. Salute.

#49 – Emma Stone

Oscar-winner actress Emma Stone is also a proud vegan and a dog shelter advocate who has been known to describe Academy Awards nights as “fun for the night and then you eat a nutburger and you go home”, says Stone.

#48 – Chase Armitage

Chase is an actor, parkour professional, a record holder, and also a vegan inspiration. He goes by Student of Movement on YouTube, where he uploads his adventures and runs Life Level Ups, a blog dedicated to his journey of being the version of himself physically, mentally and spiritually. The professional freerunner is proud to be part of the vegan movement, believing that going vegan was the most important decision he ever made.

#47 – Ralph Smart

Ralph is the genius behind the popular YouTube channel, Infinite Waters, which has accumulated over a million subscribers. A psychologist and life coach, he discusses the potentialities of the human body, nutrition, metaphysics and relationships. Ralph has been vegan for 12 years and promotes a plant-based diet, encouraging his viewers to ditch animal products in exchange for a compassionate lifestyle and a karma-free life.

#46 – Dr. Breeze Harper

Dr. Breeze Harper is an accomplished vegan with a wealth of experience in dealing with diversity issues. She has authored many books in this area, and is the creator of The Sistah Vegan Project and the editor of the ground-breaking anthology, Sistah Vegan: Black Female Vegans Speak on Food, Identity, Health, and Society. As such, she is a huge proponent for framing veganism in an intersectional way and her work explores how systems of oppression operate. She was nominated last year as the Humane Party Vice-Presidential Candidate and is currently working on another book titled Recipes for Racial Tension Headaches: A Critical Race Feminist’s Journey Through ‘Post-Racial’ USA’s Ethical Foodscape.

#45 – Brian Turner

A natural bodybuilder for over 9 years, Brian stepped into the spotlight when he was featured on the Daily Mail last year, having cured his severe acne by switching to a vegan diet. He also promotes a vegan lifestyle on his YouTube channel, Humerus Fitness, educating his audience on fitness and nutrition, all while having fun, and was recently featured on the doctors show.

#44 – Joaquin Phoenix

Widely known for his animal rights advocacy, the American actor became vegan at the age of 3, when he went fishing with his siblings. 3-years-old! Joaquin is a member of In Defense of Animals and PETA, actively campaigning for both and bringing awareness about retail corporation Walmart and their support of pig cruelty and China’s brutal dog-leather industry. This vegan superhero is the voice of Earthlings, receiving the Humanitarian Award for his narration and contribution to the documentary.

#43 – Dr. Richard Oppenlander

A well-known activist, lecturer and author, Dr. Richard Oppenlander has written two books on the impact food choice has on the environment, our health, world hunger and the cruelty inherent in all types of animal agriculture. He is also the founder of Ope’s, a vegan food company, and the non-profit “Inspire Awareness Now”, which develops initiatives that solve major world problems, creating green jobs and providing education in the U.S. and internationally in order to increase awareness for the benefits and methods of converting to a fully plant-based agricultural system.

#42 – Genesis Butler

Genesis Butler is a 10-year-old animal rights activist who started her vegan journey at 4 and has since lobbied her local government, participated in protests, spoken out on the news, picketed circuses and set up her own foundation to raise money for animals in need. Influencing dozens of people to go vegan on her platform “A Vegan Child’s Journey”, Genesis received The Paul McCartney Animal Hero Kids Young Veg Advocate Award for her veganized version of Dr. Martin Luther King’s “I Have A Dream” speech. This miracle child has also worked with Farm Sanctuary to get Meatless Mondays passed and is starting her own non-profit foundation, called Genesis for Animals, where she will provide funding to people who rescue animals.

#41 – Dr. Alex Hershaft

An animal rights activist with a heart of gold, Alex Hershaft is the co-founder and president of the Farm Animal Rights Movement, America’s oldest organization devoted exclusively to promoting the rights of animals not to be raised for food. FARM organizes public awareness initiatives, cutting-edge grassroots campaigns, and movement-building programs that nurture both aspiring vegans and budding activists. Dr. Hershaft’s influence on the animal rights movement as a whole can hardly be understated.

#40 – Geoff Palmer

Vegan bodybuilder Geoff Palmer is the CEO and owner of Clean Machine, a natural and plant-based sports and nutrition supplement company that is making waves with their newly-launched Clean Green Protein. As a leader in plant-based nutrition, Clean Machine is the first company to market a “superfood” protein powder with Lentein, a brand of protein-rich water lentils. The protein powder, according to Palmer, is an “unprecedented innovation in plant-based nutrition because it offers a superior source of protein, greens and Omega 3 fatty acids, all in one product”. The Clean Green Protein not only is the most nutrient-dense protein powder ever, but it also has enormous health benefits, “ranging from assisting with muscle building to weight loss, joint health, heart health, and much more,” said Palmer.

#39 – Heather Mills

Heather Mills is a businesswomen, activist and founder of vegan company VBites. After a devastating motorcycle accident in 1993, Heather found veganism as an incredible remedy for a severe infection which nearly resulted in her losing her knee as well as her lower left leg. The remarkable recovery Heather experienced became the start of a new journey for her, with successes with VBites and opening a restaurant, to winning gold medals as an Alpine skier.

#38 – Toni Okamoto

Toni Okamoto is the founder of one of the fastest-growing vegan food blogs, Plant Based on a Budget. Reaching over 4.5 million views in its 4 years of existence, the blog has been supported and promoted by most animal advocacy organizations, including Mercy for Animals, PETA and Vegan Outreach. Toni co-authored The Friendly Vegan Cookbook, the e-book being filled with her and Michelle Cehn’s 14 household favorite recipes, such as Hella Healthy Mac ‘n’ Cheese; Toni also makes vegan food accessible on her self-titled Youtube channel. She is a recognized personality and speaker within the vegan movement and has been a public figure for several leading animal advocacy organizations. Toni Okamoto is featured in the What the Health film (dir. Kip Andersen), where she slayed the myth about vegan eating being expensive.

#37 – Bruce Friedrich

We’re talking about Bruce Friedrich next, executive director of The Good Food Institute and founding partner of New Crop Capital, organizations focused on replacing animal products with plant and culture-based alternatives. He is also a popular speaker on college campuses, having presented at most of the nation’s top universities, including Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Stanford, and MIT. Friedrich’s articles appear regularly in the Huffington Post and has penned pieces for the Wall Street Journal and USA Today, among others, promoting veganism.

#36 – Adriano Mannino

Adriano Mannino is a philosopher, writer and co-founder and president of Sentience Politics, an organization that develops political strategies that promise to reduce the suffering of sentient beings in highly effective ways. They are currently preparing legislative campaigns in several European countries and has launched democratic initiatives in Switzerland, leading up to binding popular votes on daily vegan options in all public canteens, on basic rights to all primates, and on the abolition of factory farming. Mannino is working on a book about Sentience Politcs’ approach – so keep an eye out!

#35 – Erin Janus

A passionate vegan activist, Erin made waves with her educational videos on her self-titled YouTube channel. Whether exposing the dairy industry or shining a light on materialism, Erin Janus has gathered millions of views and influenced many since 2012.

#34 Dr. Kim Williams

Recently featured in the “What The Health” documentary, Kim Williams is an American cardiologist, fellow and trustee of the American College of Cardiology who published countless peer-reviewed articles, monographs and editorials in the field of nuclear cardiology. Dr. Williams is also a professor of cardiovascular disease at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago and he was the first vegan president of the American College of Cardiology in 2015-2016.

#33 – Bryant Terry

Named by Fast Company magazine one of “9 People Who Are changing the Future of Food” in their April 2016 issue, Terry is an award-winning chef, educator and author renowned for his activism to create a healthy, just and sustainable food system. He is currently the Chef-in-Residence at the Museum of the African Diaspora in San Francisco where he creates programming that celebrates the intersection of food, farming, health, activism, art, culture and the African Diaspora. His cookbooks include the bestseller Afro-Vegan: Farm-Fresh African, Caribbean, & Southern Flavors Remixed and Vegan Soul Kitchen: Fresh, Creative, and African-American Cuisine.

#32 – Fiona Oakes

A vegan since 6-years-old, Fiona Oakes is a British marathon runner, holding three world records in spite of the fact that she lost a kneecap when she was 17. Oakes is running the Tower Hill Stables Animal Sanctuary, which provides a home for life to around 400 rescued animals, both domestic and ex-farm. Whilst the Sanctuary deals with the symptoms of abuse and exploitation, Fiona has created The Fiona Oakes Foundation to strike at the root cause of what she believes is the biggest single issue facing the world in which we live in – sustainability. Positioning herself as a role model for the mainstream, Keegan Kuhn is producing a documentary centered on her!

#31 – Josh Tetrick

Josh Tetrick is transforming the current food system by heading up Hampton Creek, an innovative plant-based company that have received over 120 million dollars in investment. The company’s products are sold in more than 18,000 stores in the US, their success prompting Bill Gates to select Hampton Creek as one of three companies shaping the future of food. Healthier, cheaper and more sustainable, are how Josh Tetrik so often dubs his foods. And you can’t fault him, because it is absolutely true. Hampton Creek will be coming out with plant-based pasta, ice cream and high-protein snacks soon, as well as food products that address nutritional deficiencies and people without access to refrigeration.

#30 – Wayne Hsiung

Wayne is the co-founder of the animal rights international network Direct Action Everywhere, fighting against factory farming, animal abuse and animal cruelty. His commitment to saving animals and exposing the horrors of animal agriculture have led to his taking part in numerous high profile protests and campaigns. Wayne was even arrested in June this year following a vigil at a San Francisco slaughterhouse, when he began removing injured animals. He believes that “The only way to change an unjust law is to break it – and suffer the consequences of your action”.

#29 – Sandra Higgins

Founder and director of Eden Farmed Animal Sanctuary Ireland and campaign director for Go Vegan World, Sandra Higgins is seeking complete cessation of animal use. Go Vegan World is a public advertising campaign and the first of its kind in Europe that aims to bring to light the processes involved in objectifying a sentient being in laboratories, zoos, circuses, farms and slaughterhouses, thus promoting ethical veganism. The campaign targets large cities in the UK, having launched in late December 2016 on buses, taxis, video screens and on street and motorway billboards in London, Birmingham, Manchester, Liverpool, Leicester, Newcastle and Bristol.

#28 – Kalel Kitten

Beauty vlogger and animal rights activist Kalel Smith discusses veganism and vegan food on her self-titled channel, which has accumulated almost 2 million subscribers. She received the “Humane Influencer of the Year Award in 2016 for her work on YouTube. In mid 2017, Kalel deleted most of her youtube videos, but kept many videos about veganism, demonstrating her commitment to the cause.

#27 – Steve-O

Comedian and one of the stars of the Jackass crew says he saw something very wrong in the way we treat animals when he started working as a clown in ringling bros circus many decades ago. He observed animals being treated badly and kept in unimaginable conditions. Steve has continued to face ethical challenges working in various productions like working on “killer Karaoke” where animals were abused with the impunity of it being entertaining. SteveO has broken through the idea that it’s normal for animals being used for entertainment is normal and acceptable. The guy knows how to get attention, he has done public stunts, that he was ultimately arrested for, highlighting the animals abuse done by seaworld. In 2015 he got arrested doing a disruption protest about Seaworld he said “I mean, if your goal is to make a statement about captivity, you may as well get yourself locked up!” He uses his celebrity clout as an out spoken advocate for animal rights and talks regularly about living vegan to an unexpected audience.

#26 – Simon Amstell

Simon Amstell is an English comedian, television presenter, screenwriter, director and actor. In 2017, he produced a film called carnage: Swallowing the Past for the BBC, which was the first film about veganism produced for mainstream audiences.

Stay tuned for the rest of the list, which will be released soon. Subscribe to Plant Based News onyoutubeorsubscribeto the newsletter to get notified. If you havn’t seen the countdown in video form, it is below.