Brian May has long been a voice for animals. He has spoken out against badger culling in the UK, condemned the abuse of factory-farmed turkeys during the holidays, and criticized illegal fox hunting. Recently, the Queen guitarist used a podcast appearance to discuss his plant-forward diet and compassion for all animals.
Asked on the Good Food Podcast about his childhood love of prawns, May gave a candid response: “The idea of eating animals at all doesn’t sit well with me. At the same time, I have all of this kind of tradition, and it’s hard to break it.”
“I haven’t eaten beef or lamb or bacon … for years and years, probably 30 years,” he continues. “I would hate to do that. The idea of eating a cow or a sheep is kind of repugnant to me.”
The musician, who co-founded Queen with Freddie Mercury and Roger Taylor in 1970, has dedicated much of his life to protecting wildlife. In 2010, he founded the Save Me Trust with activist Anne Brummer. The organization campaigns and lobbies to protect wildlife across the UK and maintains close ties with Harper Asprey Wildlife Rescue.
Save Me Trust
“I’m definitely committed to trying to decrease the suffering of animals,” May continued, indicating he was reluctant to discuss the consumption of animal products during the show. “I think every animal matters—not just species, not just numbers, but every single creature matters.”
In 2020, he took the Veganuary challenge for multiple reasons. He wrote on Instagram at the time: “(1) To lessen the suffering of animals. (2) To lessen the load on our groaning planet. (3) For my health. And… as an animal campaigner, it has been bothering me for a while that I still eat animal-derived food that has caused indignity and pain to a non-human animal. So I will try to move along the line.”
Speaking on the Good Food Podcast, May expanded on his opposition to animal exploitation.
“I’ve said very often, if an alien came to Earth and looked at all the different animals, creatures on Earth, they wouldn’t necessarily come to the conclusion that humans were the best and the most worthy of preserving,” he told host Samuel Goldsmith.
“We’ve done a lot of damage, and we still do a lot of damage, and I’m not convinced that we do a very good job as a species,” he added. “So why do we assume all the other species are there for our exploitation? It’s not a logical assumption. To me, it’s self-evident that every animal matters.”
Celebrities make the case for going vegan
May isn’t the only celebrity to speak up about veganism lately. Supermodel Christie Brinkley recently revealed that, after a lifetime of vegetarianism, she had adopted a vegan diet. “People seem to think that it’s hard to do,” she said. “But it’s really not.”
Christie Brinkley | Instagram
MMA fighter Ian Machado Garry has also used his platform to advocate for veganism.
“If I didn’t go vegan, I wouldn’t be in the position I am right now—1 million percent,” he told BBC Sport earlier this year. “Because I saw the negative effects that my diet was having towards my weight cutting and my fighting. I kept consistently getting sick.”
“Our decisions affect the animals, it affects the birds, it affects the bees, it affects all humans across the world, it affects sea life,” he added. “So we need to be more conscious of the decisions we make day in and day out.”
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Charlotte is a VegNews editor and writer based in sunny Southsea on England's southern coast.
