Sarah Silverman Pledges to Go Vegan

Comedian Sarah Silverman was recently presented with the cruel reality of dairy consumption on a recent episode of her “The Sarah Silverman Podcast.” Silverman—who has been vegetarian since the age of seven—responded to a voicemail left by a caller during the podcast who explained that the dairy and meat industries are intrinsically interconnected. “A dairy farm is a meat farm because when a mama cow has a boy, they take the boy cow away and they slaughter [him] for veal.” the caller said, giving Silverman pause. “But, and I’m sure you know this, the mama cow needs to spend a year with her [babies], feeding them. But they rip the babies away from the dairy cow because they don’t want to waste the milk on the little baby cow, they need the milk for humans. So, there’s a traumatic separation to cows; all the cows are yelling and they are depressed and it’s horrible.” 

The caller also points out that the animal agriculture industry is environmentally damaging, explaining that 10 percent of all greenhouse gases are emitted from cows exploited for food. He urges Silverman to explore vegan alternatives for dairy products such as Ben & Jerry’s ice cream and says, “I don’t know what the reason would be to drink milk, or eat butter, or eat [dairy] ice cream.”  

Silverman’s vegan pledge
After a series of expletives, the 50-year-old entertainer made the connection between consuming dairy and inflicting animal cruelty. “He’s right,” Silverman said, repeatedly, before explaining that she recently stopped eating eggs. “That’s what I needed. I can’t unring this bell of information … I’m going to try to go vegan.” 

The comedian grappled with the transition, explaining that she needs good vegan substitutes for butter, ice cream, and sliced cheese. “They exist,” Silverman said. “I just have to get them and maybe try a few and find the one I like. I don’t have an excuse. I like all those things. I can easily adjust to all those things.” Silverman then affirmed her pledge to transition to veganism, stating, “I think you’ve just witnessed me get officially grossed out and not want to be a part of this [dairy consumption] anymore. And the environment thing is so real. The cows, it’s just such a giant [carbon] footprint.”

Shortly after her pledge to go vegan, Silverman took to Instagram to showcase a dairy-free treat that she prepared using Forager’s vanilla yogurt, Grape Nuts cereal, and an oat-based vegan whipped cream. The treat was not vegan, however, as it contained honey crunch wheat germ.