5 Inspirational Women Who Stand Up for Animals Every Day
There are lots of powerful women out there: mothers, entrepreneurs, actors, politicians, scientists, doctors, designers, and more. But what sets some successful women apart is their compassion—their desire to help others. Meet five inspiring women who are putting their considerable talents to work helping animals.
Jacky Wasserman, graphic designer, clothing line owner
L.A.-by-way-of-Atlanta transplant Jacky Wasserman has taken the Internet by storm with her creative vegan T-shirt line, BEETxBEET. Her unisex clothes are famously dubbed with sayings such as “Plant Based Party,” “It’s Not You. It’s Meat,” “In Plants We Trust,” “Go Vegan Right Meow,” and “Vegans Are Magical.“
Wasserman explains, “I wanted to incorporate not only messages about being vegan, but more awareness types of messages around the environment as well. . . . I think it’s important when trying to reach a consumer to educate them about these topics to take an approach that doesn’t scare them off or put them on the defensive at first glance.”
Bonus about Wasserman? She’s also a DJ. (Pictured here with one of our favorite male entrepreneurs, Joshua Katcher.)
Miyoko Schinner, chef, author, entrepreneur
Miyoko Schinner is the founder and chair of Miyoko’s Kitchen, an artisan vegan cheese company whose products are found in Whole Foods stores across the nation as well as online. She’s the author of several cookbooks, including The Homemade Vegan Pantry, the Art of Making Your Own Staples, Artisan Vegan Cheese, and Japanese Cooking, Contemporary and Traditional. She is even featured on the television show Vegan Mashup. “I wrote my first cookbook nearly 25 years ago (The Now and Zen Epicure, Book Publishing Company, 1991) to dispel the myth that vegan food could not be gourmet,” Schinner writes on her website. “Back in San Francisco, I launched a vegan bakery, then a vegan restaurant (Now and Zen), where I went into labor with my second child during lunch rush …” Now that’s dedication!
Stephanie Nicora, shoe designer
The recipient of PETA’s 2014 Most Talented New Designer Award, Stephanie Nicora, is an artisan shoemaker and founder of Nicora Johns, an eco-friendly, cruelty-free shoe company based in California. “I’ve been a vegetarian most of my life (vegan now), but it was not until I started researching materials for Nicora Johns in 2011 that I discovered just how unnatural and inhumane the commodities market for leather is,” she told PETA. “The blatant disregard for life and the destruction of natural resources are unnecessary and seemingly unending. Meanwhile, science and technology are perfectly capable of replicating leather with textiles. Let’s just say my mission began there. The blueprint was set.” Nicora thinks vegan fashion is the future, and we couldn’t agree more.
Jo-Anne McArthur, photojournalist and author
Photographer Jo-Anne McArthur has traveled the world documenting the plight of animals on factory farms, in laboratories, in zoos, and more. She created the We Animals project, an archive of photographs of animals, with the goal of dispelling the notion that animals are objects as opposed to living, feeling beings.
She has also published a book by the same name and has had work featured by National Geographic Traveler, the Huffington Post, Elle Canada, and more.
She is also the subject of an award-winning documentary, The Ghosts in Our Machine.
Ellen Jaffe Jones, reporter and author
An Emmy-winning news anchor and investigative reporter, Ellen Jaffe Jones is an outspoken and energetic advocate for a vegan lifestyle. She has written several books, including Paleo Vegan and Eat Vegan on $4 a Day.
Jones shares her love of vegan food by teaching cooking classes. At 61, this brainy boomer is also the picture of health! She is a certified personal trainer and running coach, writes a column for Running Journal, and operates her own website, VegCoach. She also credits her vegan diet with helping her lose 25 pounds and with speeding up her recovery time after races.
She was also named PETA’s Sexiest Vegan Over 50 in 2014!
These are just a few of the many influential women who stand up and speak out for animals. Do you want to save nearly 200 animals per year? Go vegan! If you’ve already made the compassionate decision not to eat animals, send a VSK to a friend who needs a little push in the right direction.
