Da Veggie Code

Are you excited about the new Da Vinci Code movie? You’re not alone. More than 40 million people read the thrilling novel, which revolves around the hidden messages in Leonardo da Vinci’s art. Da Vinci’s paintings and inventions are world-famous, and he is widely considered a genius and the ultimate “Renaissance man.” Although people everywhere enjoy his art, humans aren’t the only ones who love Leonardo—animals are big da Vinci fans too. Why? Because da Vinci was an outspoken vegetarian. He once proclaimed, “[T]he time will come when men such as I will look upon the murder of animals as they now look upon the murder of men.”1

Numerous other brilliant and compassionate people throughout history have refused to eat animals. From mathematician and philosopher Pythagoras to peace activist Mahatma Gandhi and from Albert Einstein to His Holiness the Dalai Lama, history is full of great thinkers who decided to extend their circle of compassion to animals by leaving them off their plates.

Watch PETA’s fun “Famous Historical Vegetarians” e-card starring the beloved Nugget, and send it to all your friends. (And if you love Nugget as much as we do, check out Nugget’s T-shirt!)

1 Jon Wynne-Tyson, The Extended Circle: A Commonplace Book of Animal Rights (New York: Paragon House, 1989) 65.