Rock and roll will soothe your soul! Who doesn’t love music? Like music, having a dedicated vegan diet is essential for optimal human health and becoming an all round happier person.
Whether you are a tried and true rocker or an avid pop music listener, these 10 famous vegan musicians will leave you proud to be a member of their club. Veganism is nothing new in the world. Old, young, and all ages in between, ethical vegan musicians and band members have been rocking the music scene from the beginning of time.
Of course, there are lots of outspoken celebrity vegans out there who are using their voice and have made the ethical choice to live cruelty free with a healthy life, inspiring people eating animals to join the vegan community.
Read on to learn about the top 10 famous vegan musicians who have decided to take a stand, alongside many other vegan musicians making a difference.
Introduction to Vegan Musicians
The music industry has long been a platform for artists to express themselves and share their values with the world.
In recent years, a growing number of musicians have adopted a vegan lifestyle, using their influence to promote a plant-based food diet and raise awareness about animal welfare and environmental issues.
From rock stars to pop icons, vegan musicians are leading the vegan movement, making a positive impact on the world, one song at a time.
Why Musicians Choose a Vegan Lifestyle
So, why do musicians choose a vegan lifestyle? For many, it’s a combination of health, environmental, and animal welfare concerns.
Vegan cooking has been shown to have numerous health benefits, from reducing the risk of heart disease and diabetes to improving mental clarity and energy levels.
Additionally, animal agriculture is a significant contributor to greenhouse gas emissions and deforestation, making a vegan lifestyle a more sustainable choice.
Many musicians also choose a vegan lifestyle for ethical reasons, citing the cruel treatment of animals in the animal agriculture and dairy industry as a major motivator.
1. Miley Cyrus
Known as a lover of marijuana and a concert collaborator with Whiz Khalifa, Miley has had some bad press over her career moves.
Still, this one-woman show has proven time and time again what a powerhouse she packs when it comes to music, achievements, and her charity work.
Born Destiny Hope Cyrus, Miley is an American actress, singer, and songwriter. She was a teen idol starring as Miley Stewart on the Disney Channel's Hannah Montana once upon a time in 2006!
Accomplishments
Miley Cyrus has three #1 musical albums in addition to voice-over characters in animated films, her massive success as a live actress, a coach on The Voice, and numerous accolades and nominations.
On top of all these great achievements for such a young lady, this awesome woman always eats meatless and dairy-free. Miley became a vegan in 2014 following the last breath of her beloved dog Floyd.
Before that, she was gluten- and dairy-free due to food intolerances. Cyrus has often touted the health benefits of her meal choices.
She has said that it has protected her from preventable diseases.
Cyrus fills up on green smoothies, wraps filled with veggies and legumes and meatless pasta dishes, as well as the occasional splurges.
Her wedding to now-ex-husband Liam Hemsworth a few years ago featured cheese-less macaroni and cheese, or just no cheese, and meatless fried “chicken,” proving that it’s not hard to celebrate without products derived from living creatures.
Charity work
On top of all of her professional successes, she's never forgotten about the less fortunate. She supports numerous charities, including the:
And that's just the tip of the iceberg. She has received awards and acknowledgments for all her generous donations of time and money. She is also the founder of Happy Hippie Foundation , which works to fight injustice facing homeless youth, LGBTQ youth , and vulnerable populations.
I've always loved Miley Cyrus and her feisty attitude in addition to her strong vocals, but just reading about her numerous outputs of compassion and generosity; I feel that I am now blown away. What a super cool pop artist in my book.
2. Bryan Adams
I was a brand new teenager and oh so cool when his hit single, Cuts Like a Knife, came out in 1983.
Teenage girls loved him.
The following year, Summer of '69, only cemented our infatuation with his lyrics and voice. Bryan Guy Adams, born in November 1959, is a Canadian singer, songwriter, producer, photographer, guitarist, and, most importantly, a philanthropist and activist.
He first rose up the charts in 1983 with that famous album Cuts Like a Knife. Awards, nominations, and inductions have riddled his successful career.
Three decades of compassion
He has been a proud member of the meatless and dairy-free club for almost three decades. He has stated of his own health, “I have tons of energy because I am plant-based. It is absolutely the best thing you could ever do for yourself. It is a great path to a healthy lifestyle.”
He has credited his excellent medical record to his meal choices and plant based eating. The vegan since 1989 has been feasting on avocado toast since well before it was trendy. He recently posted an Instagram photo of his lunch.
At the same time, on an airplane: a single avocado sprinkled with lemon juice and Mexican spice. Adams believes lemons and limes are the secrets to creating delicious cuisine without consuming animal products.
Bryan is involved in lots of charities, but his main focus is The Bryan Adams Foundation, set up in 2006.
The Foundation’s directive is to improve the quality of people’s lives around the world by providing monetary grants to support projects specific to that betterment of lives.
Education is the ultimate goal.
Varied and vague to help many people in their journey’s needs, this charity has something for everyone.
Source: The Bryan Adams Foundation
3. Moby
Moby grew up with pets in his home, an experience that hot-wired his brain for ethical choices about their well-being.
In an article he wrote for Rolling Stone , he says that it took him until the age of 19 to make the connection that his dining choices directly affected the well-being of the creatures he loved.
"I would never in a trillion years think of hurting [my] cat," he wrote. "So why am I eating other animals who have four (or two) legs, two eyes, amazing brains, and rich emotional lives?"
Ethical choices and Vegan Lifestyle
That was in 1985, the year Moby cut out dairy and ceased to eat meat. Then in 1987, he realized the most ethical thing would be to change his habits to be free of anything derived from animals. So why am I eating animals who have four (or two) legs, two eyes, amazing brains, and rich emotional lives?
He continued learning about the ethical consequences of his dining choices “I found out that producing a pound of soybeans requires 200 gallons of water but that producing a pound of beef requires 1,800 gallons of water,” he wrote in Rolling Stone.
Moby tried to shame his friends into becoming vegans by yelling at them, but he found that this was not the best way to get them to follow his example.
He wrote that he found that the right way to win more vegans to the cause was to engage in respectful dialogue.
4. Ariana Grande
Can anyone forget the Manchester bombing at the end of her concert on May 22 of 2017?
A horrific event, yet a fantastic comeback Ariana Grande made afterward!
What a compassionate superstar this young lady is! Her accomplishments and achievements are almost unbelievable for someone her age, yet at any age, for that matter.
She was born in 1993. At her young age, she' already become a hugely successful actress, singer, and songwriter. She announced to fans in 2013 that she was adopting a 100 percent vegan way of life.
Superstar...
This go-getter has had her music videos viewed more than ELEVEN BILLION TIMES online. She has earned three American Music Awards. She has sold 30.5 million digital singles in the US alone.
The entrepreneur has received three MTV Europe Music Awards. She was named Billboard's Female Artist of the Year in 2017. Three out of four of her albums have been certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America.
Grande won a 2014 Nickelodeon Kids' Choice award for Favorite TV Actress. She has also scooped up 10 Teen Choice Awards. Her Instagram account has more than 130 million followers, and she has more than 55 million Twitter followers.
...with a big heart
To all of these people, she unabashedly shares her views on the benefits of a plant-based diet and vegan lifestyle. "I love animals more than I love most people, not kidding," she told the Mirror in 2014.
Grande eats a vegan diet influenced by Japanese cuisine, with a heavy dose of blueberries. She’s urged her fans to turn away from SeaWorld after becoming a vegan in 2013.
She’s adopted rescue dogs and promoted pet adoption. She’s even launched a line of lip shades in which the profits benefit people affected by AIDS and HIV!
She’s held performances for Black Lives Matter, A Concert for Charlottesville, and March for Our Lives. What this woman has done for humanity is stunning, much better than wearing an abusive steak dress to the MTV Video Music Awards.
At the early age of 10, she co-founded the Kids Who Care, a youth singing group. This eclectic woman started amazing in her childhood and will end fantastic no matter what else she accomplishes.
I could only dream of being so accomplished. I wish her the best in her endeavor of taking over the world with love, compassion, and generosity.
5. Chrissie Hynde
Unless you were born under a rock, who does not know Chrissie Hynde?
Hippie counter culture, punk rock, London, and all that is old school cool comes to mind.
Christine Ellen Hynde, born in 1951, is best known as the founding member of the Pretenders.
She was born in Akron, Ohio, attended Kent State University during the controversial Kent State Shootings on May 4, 1970, and heading to Europe soon after to live her dream of joining a band.
After multiple successes and failures with different groups, she finally settled into the Pretenders. The band hit the big times in the late 1970s, 80s, and 90s and even working into the present times.
Chrissie Hynde is a self-proclaimed vegan and proud of that stance as she stated, "it's the best thing that ever happened to me." She is an animal rights activist and a supporter of PETA , appearing in anti-fur ads alongside other celebrities.
Mother-daughter activism
Her daughter Natalie was arrested in 2013 after a protest against the destruction of making ways for a road by destroying trees in Combe Haven.
How cool is that?
Mother Hynde must have taught her daughter well. She published an autobiography in September 2015, Reckless: My Life as a Pretender. Pick it up. This lady has always lived by her own rules, as should we all.
Hynde claims she doesn’t associate much with non-vegetarians and that her choice to eschew meat was a moral decision to save the planet, transitioning from a vegetarian diet to a vegan lifestyle.
Hynde claims in The Guardian that she is not picky about her food as long as it's devoid of products derived from living creatures. She likes cereal with soy milk, falafel, brown rice, and vegetable and lentil-based soups.
6. Paul McCartney
When you hear Paul McCartney’s name, The Beatles and his many musical achievements and accolades immediately come to mind. However, aside from his music, Paul McCartney has a long-standing association with the vegan/vegetarian lifestyle as well as the promotion of animal welfare.
Paul and Linda McCartney decided to go veg and stopped eating meat in 1975 upon watching lambs playing on their farm while having lamb chops. McCartney and his family have gone meat-free ever since, and PETA stated in a 2024 post that they are completely vegan now. "We said, ‘Shall we try going vegetarian?’ It was a joint decision and we never looked back. It was a great thing to do,” he once opined.
Standing on the forefront of the plant-based revolution for decades, Paul McCartney has advocated for animal protection since the 1970s, and has appeared on numerous PETA campaigns. He has narrated many animal rights videos including PETA’s factory farm expose, “Glass Walls.”
Another important legacy of McCartney, together with his daughters Stella and Mary, is meatless Mondays. In 2009, McCartney and family launched their Meat-Free Monday campaign.
7. Lenny Kravitz
Lenny Kravitz is one of those people who just never age. I mean, if you’ve been following him then you probably know that he looks the same as he did during his career resurgence in the late 1990s and early 2000s. At the age of 60, he looks so much younger than his age, and is an epitome of graceful aging. Surprise, surprise: he’s vegan and he credits looking and feeling young to his raw, plant-based diet.
The four-time Grammy-winning rock star has been a vegan for many years, but he turned raw vegan in 2016 and has not looked back since. “This journey is one of the most incredible I’ve ever taken. The life force is magnificent; It affects the mental, physical, spiritual, and the planet,” he said in a Facebook post.
Apart from staying fit with regular cardio exercises and yoga, Kravitz is mindful of what he puts in his body. Kravitz grows his own produce in his garden in the Bahamas, which is where he sources his food. His diet also consists of fresh produce, such as raw fruits and vegetables, nuts, whole seeds and mostly whole foods.
In an interview with The Telegraph, the legendary musician explained why he chose to go plant-based. “It’s the right thing for yourself, and for the planet and animals.” We couldn’t agree more!
8. Morrissey
Another important music figure on our list is Morrissey, who rose to fame as the frontman of British rock band The Smiths. Known for hits, “Heaven Knows I’m Miserable Now,” “There Is a Light That Never Goes Out,” and “This Charming Man,” The Smiths gained worldwide recognition even though they only lasted as a band for five years. The Smiths is also known for their second studio album, “Meat Is Murder,” which remains to this day a popular record spreading awareness about animal suffering and veganism.
Influenced by his mother, Morrissey became a vegetarian when he was about 11 or 12 years old. In an interview, the legendary musician shared that his mother was a “staunch vegetarian” who participated in anti-hunt rallies in the United Kingdom. He added that he thought meat was a good source of nutrition until he “learned the truth” about animal agriculture. “I refuse to eat anything that had a mother,” he said.
Morrissey confirmed that he transitioned to veganism in 2015. Over the years, he has been reported to ensure that his concerts are vegan-friendly, serving only plant-based foods. He has been known to show slaughterhouse footage, and halt performances when he sees fans eating meat at his concerts.
Morrissey supports (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) PETA and has been honored by the group with a Memorial Award. He has campaigned for neutering dogs and cats with PETA to reduce the number of homeless pets. He has made many statements about animal rights and protection, and has boycotted countries during his concert tours due to their cruel treatment of animals.
9. Joan Jett
Joan Jett is a legendary American rock singer and songwriter, who paved the way for female musicians in the male-dominated world of rock. She is best known as the frontwoman of her band, Joan Jett and The Blackhearts, and as a founding member of the all-female punk rock group, The Runaways.
Joan went straight edge vegetarian over 30 years ago then became vegan, after reading John Robbins’s book, “Diet for a New America.” The book got her pondering on the farm to table movement, and soon she was “thinking about slaughterhouses all day long.” Since then, she has used her influence to promote animal rights, working with various animal rights charities to expose the inhumane practices of animal agriculture and the health benefits of veganism.
“It's OK to use your status to influence people about this kind of thing. At the end of the day, billions of animals are still going to die – I just hope that I can help reduce the number,” she has said.
Joan has been an active supporter of PETA, having worked with them for decades. In 2024, she again partnered with PETA for a commercial where she challenged women’s rights activists to campaign for female animal rights too.
"We are daughters, sisters, and mothers. We all feel pain and fear and love, and if any of us were forcibly bred, or had our breast milk or eggs taken and sold, or our children stolen from us to be experimented on, we'd all feel violated and angry and heartbroken. Ask yourself: 'Would I wish this fate on my mother or my sister or me?' We are all sisters under the skin. End speciesism!," she said in the narration for the commercial.
10. Erykah Badu
American singer, songwriter, and actor Erykah Badu is one of the most outspoken Black American voices for veganism. She became vegetarian during her senior year of high school in 1989, but began eating like a vegan in 1997 for health reasons.
“I used to be a dancer, and so health and vitality have always been important to me. I wouldn’t say it took any one big event, vegetarianism just always made sense to me. [What farmed animals] endure is just terrible. It’s horrible,” she once said in an interview.
The renowned singer has spoken many times about her dietary preference, and has hosted soul-food themed vegan dinner parties to promote the benefits of a vegan lifestyle. Her balanced diet mostly consists of raw foods, such as kale salads, avocados, fruits and vegetables.
"It’s just what’s best for my body. If I was a Lamborghini, I would want to put the best gas in it,” she once said of her choice. “Vegan food is soul food in its truest form. Soul food means to feed the soul. And, to me, your soul is your intent. If your intent is pure, you are pure.”
Honorable Mentions
There were too many modern-day vegan musicians out there to feature just 5 of them. We had to add two honorable mentions to our top 5 list. Drumroll, please!
Leona Lewis
Another of the well-known vegan singers, she married her longtime love in Italy. She used to be a vegetarian but recently went vegan.
The party featured a vegan menu and vegan mille-feuille wedding cake.
Jason Mraz
The singer is famous for happy songs like "I'm Yours." What you may not know is that this soothing voice is also a vegan who eats mostly raw foods.
He owns a 5.5-acre avocado farm, and the fruit regularly features in the plant based meals he makes for himself, including a pudding-like concoction made of avocados, dates, cacao, coconut oil, and agave that he refers to as "Chocomole."
The musician travels with a Vita-Mix blender and a suitcase full of supplements and essential ingredients for preparing meals on the road. Talk about commitment in support of veganism!
Billie Eilish
Billie Eilish is an innovative pop star known for combining elements of trap, EDM and R&B to her own brand of alt-pop. The musician has released a number of best-selling singles and albums, garnering awards for her music including nine Grammys, two Oscars, and two Golden Globes. But perhaps her best achievement, which many people are not aware of, is supporting vegan and animal right’s advocacies.
Eilish has been a vegan since she was 12 years old. She shared previously that she was raised as a vegetarian, but decided to stop eating animal products all together when she turned 12. She spoke of her decision in 2022: “Once I learned about how animals are treated in our industrial food system, I didn’t want any part of it.”
She has added that she went vegan for environmental concerns as well. Animal agriculture is notorious for its greenhouse emissions, and she encouraged fans to shift to plant-based foods due to its low carbon footprint. “Climate change is a huge threat facing all of us,” she said. “But it is especially frightening for young people and for vulnerable communities who are really really going to suffer in our lifetimes,” she said.
In 2022, Eilish joined fellow vegan celebrities such as Moby, Joaquin Phoenix and Alicia Silverstone, in urging Rt. Hon. Alok Sharma, the president of the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference, to include in the discussions the role animal agriculture plays in the current climate change crisis.
Eilish often encourages her fans to adopt a vegan diet. She has partnered with Google to share a map of her favorite vegan restaurants in the United States for her “Hit Me Hard and Soft” tour. Apart from showing her commitment to her vegan lifestyle, she also sets an example by also advocating for cruelty free living and sustainable fashion and lifestyle. ••
Sia
Sia Furler is an Australian singer known for hit songs like “Chandelier” and “Bulletproof” (with David Guetta). Known as a vegetarian for a long time, Sia transitioned to becoming fully vegan in 2014, a decision she announced on Twitter that same year. In 2018, Sia joined Joaquin Phoenix and Rooney Mara in narrating for the Australian animal rights documentary “Dominion.”
As an animal lover, Sia has written about her animal rights advocacy for publications like Fortune. In a column, Sia said that she has dedicated her time and resources to organizations such as American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) and Best Friends to make good on a promise she made to her younger self “to spend the rest of her life trying to help these beautiful creatures when they’re in need—to protect them and to offer a voice to the voiceless.”
To this day, Sia continues to put a spotlight on the ill effects of animal agriculture and farming. In her published piece, Sia shed light on the unsustainable and cruel practices associated with animal farming. She stated 25 million farm animals are slaughtered every day in the United States alone for meat production, and that nearly one-third of the world’s freshwater is used in the process. She also noted how meat production is the largest contributor to climate change due to its greenhouse gas emissions.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Vegan musicians are using their platforms to make a positive impact on the world, inspiring fans to adopt a plant-based lifestyle and promoting a more sustainable and compassionate way of living.
These artists are proof that a vegan lifestyle is not only good for your health and the environment, but also for your creativity and productivity.
As the music industry continues to evolve, it’s likely that we’ll see even more vegan musicians using their influence to promote a plant-based lifestyle and make the world a better place, one song at a time.
These vegan musicians rock, big style. From old to new, to rock to pop, these artists are in a category all their own.
Why shouldn’t they be?
They are the cream of the crop when it comes to not only music, creativity, and innovation but also to doing whatever necessary to assist their fellow humans, animals, and Mother Earth.
This just makes me even more excited to be a vegan! So as you can see, many top American band members are going for veggie options instead of eating meat. If you are looking to get a new album, you might want to support one of these artists.
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