The image of Dr. Jane Goodall sitting patiently with wild chimpanzees in the forests of Gombe is etched into our collective memory. She is a global icon of conservation and a profound respect for the animal kingdom. Given her lifelong dedication to animal welfare, many naturally wonder about the principles that guided her own diet. So, was the woman who lived among primates a vegan or a vegetarian? The journey of her dietary choices is a fascinating story of evolving awareness and commitment, reflecting a deep alignment between her values and her actions.
Her path wasn’t a single, sudden switch but a decades-long evolution. It began with a powerful moment of clarity in the late 1960s and culminated in a firm commitment to a fully plant-based diet in her later years. Understanding this journey offers more than just a label; it reveals the thoughts and convictions of someone who dedicated her life to creating a more compassionate and sustainable world for all its inhabitants.
A Journey of Deepening Compassion
Jane Goodall’s initial shift away from eating meat was sparked by an ethical revelation. In the late 1960s, she read about the realities of intensive factory farming, a system she found utterly horrifying. This new knowledge forever changed how she viewed the food on her plate. She famously described the moment she looked at a piece of meat and realized it “symbolizes fear, pain, and death.” From that point on, she stopped eating meat entirely, becoming a vegetarian for the first time.
Rest in peace, @JaneGoodallInst. A #vegan and true hero #ForTheAnimals. 🧡 pic.twitter.com/6Vq6zHKYFo
— John Oberg (@JohnOberg) October 1, 2025
For decades, she identified and was widely known as a vegetarian. However, her understanding of the impacts of animal agriculture continued to deepen. Over time, she came to learn that the production of dairy and eggs was also intertwined with the same industrial system of animal suffering she opposed.
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This growing awareness, coupled with a clearer understanding of the severe environmental consequences of all animal farming, led her to take the next step. While she was a vegetarian for more than five decades, she transitioned to a fully plant-based, or vegan, diet in the early 2000s, a shift she confirmed in her writings and interviews in the years that followed.
More Than a Diet: A Stance for the Planet
For Jane Goodall, adopting a plant-based diet was never just a personal preference; it was a conscious choice for the well-being of animals, the health of the planet, and the future of humanity. She often spoke about the decision using three powerful reasons.
First and foremost was the ethical imperative to end the suffering of animals in factory farms. She worked tirelessly to educate people about the “unspeakable cruelty” inflicted upon sentient beings within these industrial systems. Second, she was a vocal advocate for the staggering environmental benefits of reducing meat consumption. She highlighted how meat production contributes massively to deforestation, wastes enormous amounts of water, and is a major source of potent greenhouse gases like methane. Finally, she pointed to the human health benefits, noting the problems of antibiotic resistance linked to farm animal management and the known risks of high meat consumption.
Renowned primatologist Dr. Jane Goodall (@JaneGoodallInst) sheds light on the impact of eating animals on both our planet and its inhabitants, and urges people to switch to a plant-based diet.
According to researcher Joseph Poore, “a vegan diet is probably the single biggest… pic.twitter.com/BU1wKlykno
— Plant Based Treaty (@Plant_Treaty) June 30, 2023
Her advocacy went beyond her own plate. In 2021, she lent her name and wisdom to a vegan cookbook, #EATMEATLESS: Good for Animals, the Earth & All, which features entirely plant-based recipes. Through this project and her global campaigns, she encouraged everyone to simply start by eating meatless for one day a week, believing that collective small steps could lead to monumental change. So, while her journey began with vegetarianism, it was a path that led her to veganism—a diet and philosophy she embraced as the most powerful way to live in harmony with her values for a compassionate and sustainable world.
