Was Jane Goodall a Vegan?

The world is mourning the loss of Jane Goodall, who passed away on 1st October 2025.

Jane was, and will always be, an icon.

A pioneering scientist, tireless advocate, and global icon, Jane changed how we see our fellow animals… and ourselves.

Her groundbreaking work as a field scientist back in the 1960s and 70s sent shockwaves around the world when she observed chimpanzees in Tanzania using tools.

Until then, it had been thought that human beings were the only animals to use tools. Since then, of course, all kinds of animals have been observed using tools — cockatoos, finches, sea otters and octopuses. But back then, her observations of tool use among our closest relatives, and her assertions that chimpanzees were individuals with thoughts, feelings, self-awareness and egos, just like us, rocked the scientific world.

In the decades since then, her legendary status grew to epic proportions, and millions loved her.

A legacy of compassion

Her work in promoting understanding and empathy towards our fellow animals, for the environment and for peace has been tireless.

When her death was announced, there was a predictable avalanche of obituaries, news stories and articles about her life and achievements.

I found it remarkable yet not surprising that none of the initial posts mentioned her being vegan.

Most of the people involved in the publishing of those initial news stories are not vegan themselves, and to mention that the late, great and highly respected Dr Goodall was vegan would have been to risk overshadowing the news of her death and feelings of loss with feelings of guilt, and the inevitable self-justifications that non-vegans feel compelled to spew whenever the subject arises.

I’d heard in the past that she was vegan, though, and wanted this fact to be acknowledged and honoured after her death. When I heard about her passing, I immediately started drafting an article about this.

The vegan question

In my research, I found multiple websites and videos stating that Dr Goodall had been plant-based since the 1960s. Other sources said she went vegan in the 1970s after reading Peter Singer’s groundbreaking book ‘Animal Liberation’.

But then I kept seeing interviews with Jane herself where she kept saying she had been a vegetarian since the 60s and 70s, but no mention of veganism.

It got me wondering. Was she even vegan at all?

So I dug deeper.

Turns out, all those articles and videos stating that Goodall had been plant-based since the 1960s were mostly parroting the same (erroneous) source.

Over the following days, various vegan and animal rights bloggers, influencers, and organisations published tributes to Jane Goodall, most of them repeating that she had been vegan since the 1960s, some of them not mentioning that she was vegan at all.

There was a lot of confusion around the issue.

I think Jane herself was partly to blame for this, as she often mentioned going ‘plant-based’ all those years ago, but it seems she misunderstood or was confused about the meaning of the term ‘plant-based,’ a term that has evolved over time.

In earlier decades, the term was often used interchangeably with vegetarianism. Today, it typically implies a diet free from all animal products, but not necessarily an ethical stance.

This semantic shift may explain some of the confusion.

Truth is, during most of her life, Jane Goodall was a lacto-ovo vegetarian. She didn’t eat animal flesh, but she did eat dairy and eggs.

She did a lot of amazing advocacy for nonhuman animals. She was outspoken against factory farms and vivisection and various other forms of cruelty, but she wasn’t vegan… until the Covid pandemic.

What the evidence shows

The definitive evidence is in an interview she did in 2021 with CBS News. In that interview, which you can view here, she clearly states she had been a vegetarian for many years and vegan since the pandemic.

The reason she gave was that “I now know about the cruelty to milking cows and egg-laying hens.”

I’m always pleased when anyone goes vegan. It’s an honourable and admirable thing.

Although I was disappointed to learn that Goodall had not been vegan since the 1960s, I was pleased to confirm she did finally do the right thing. In her final years, she was no longer paying for the confinement, abuse, exploitation, cruelty and slaughter inherent in the egg and dairy industries.

Why it matters

I firmly believe that veganism is the only truly ethical stance, but it does mean swimming against the stream to a degree. Most people in society aren’t vegan, so following your principles by not exploiting or oppressing other animals goes against the grain.

Anyone who goes vegan in their late eighties, as Jane did, deserves credit for that. So many people, even those in their fifties or sixties, make the excuse that they are too old to change, too set in their ways.

Jane Goodall showed us that it’s never too late to change. It’s never too late to learn. And it’s never too late to admit you were wrong and that you will strive to do better.

Jane inspired millions of people around the world to see other animals as fellow beings worthy of our respect and compassion. She will no doubt inspire many more for decades to come.

If you, too, have been inspired by her words and actions to go vegan — or at least to find out more about it — you can download my guide to Vegan Cooking and Nutrition here. 

R.I.P Jane Goodall (3 April 1934–1 October 2025)

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