Natalie Portman: From Quiet Vegetarian to Vegan Activist

A recent article by Natalie Portman in the popular online publication The Huffington Post caused a lot of discussion. The actress talks about her journey as a vegetarian and shares her impressions of the recently read book Eating Animals by Jonathan Safran Foer. According to her, the suffering of animals, documented in the book, will make everyone think. 

The actress writes: “Eating Animals turned me from a 20-year vegetarian to a vegan activist. I have always felt uncomfortable criticizing the choices of others, because I did not like it when they did the same to me. I’ve also always been afraid to act like I know more than others… But this book reminded me that certain things just can’t be kept quiet. Perhaps someone will dispute that animals have their own characters, that each of them is a person. But the suffering that is documented in the book will make everyone think.”

Natalie draws attention to the fact that the author of the book showed with specific examples what animal husbandry does to a person. Everything is here: from environmental pollution that causes damage to human health, the creation of new viruses that get out of control, to damage to the very soul of a person. 

Portman recalls how, during her studies, a professor asked students about what they thought would shock their grandchildren in our generation, in the same way that subsequent generations, right up to the present, were shocked by slavery, racism and sexism. Natalie believes that animal husbandry will be one of those shocking things that our grandchildren will talk about when they think about the past. 

The full article can be read directly from the Huffington Post.

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