Veganism is the practice of abstaining from the use of animal products. Ethical vegans reject the commodity status of animals and the use of animal products for any purpose, while dietary vegans (or strict vegetarians) eliminate them from their diet only. Another form, environmental veganism, rejects the use of animal products on the premise that the industrial practice is environmentally damaging and unsustainable.

The term "vegan" was coined in England in 1944 by Donald Watson, co-founder of the British Vegan Society, to mean "non-dairy vegetarian"; the society also opposed the consumption of eggs. In 1951, the society extended the definition of "veganism" to mean "the doctrine that man should live without exploiting animals," and in 1960 H. Jay Dinshah started the American Vegan Society, linking veganism to the Jain concept of ahimsa, the avoidance of violence against living things.

It is a small but growing movement. The number of vegan restaurants is increasing, and some of the top athletes in certain endurance sports—for instance, the Ironman triathlon and the ultramarathon—practise veganism, including raw veganism. The American Dietetic Association and Dietitians of Canada regard a well-planned vegan diet as appropriate for all stages of the life-cycle. Well-planned vegan diets have been found to offer protection against many degenerative conditions, including heart disease, though vegans are advised to make sure they have adequate sources of vitamin B12, iron, vitamin D, calcium, iodine, and omega-3 fatty acids.

Gary Yourofsky (born August 19, 1970 in Detroit, Michigan, United States) is an American animal rights activist.

He has been arrested 13 times between the years 1997–2001, and has spent 77 days in a Canadian maximum security prison in 1999, after raiding a fur farm in Canada, releasing 1,542 mink in 1997.

Yourofsky was sponsored by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) between the years 2002–2005, and has lectured about veganism to more than 60,000 students in middle school, high school and college.^{[non-primary source needed]}

Gary Yourofsky was born on August 19, 1970, in Detroit, Michigan, United States. He grew up in Oak Park. He graduated from Berkley High School in 1988. He later received a journalism degree from Oakland University.

Yourofsky traces his animal rights advocacy to the early 1990s. His stepfather was volunteering as a clown in a circus, and offered him a backstage tour. During the tour, Yourofsky saw an elephant chained to a post, with scars behind its ears. Yourofsky was shocked, "I looked into the elephant’s eyes and all I saw was sadness and despair."^{[non-primary source needed]} He left the circus when dancing bears wearing ballet tutus were brought out in front of the audience. He started researching the treatment of animals in several industries, and became a vegetarian, then a vegan.

Mac Danzig (born January 2, 1980) is an American mixed martial artist, who competes as a lightweight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

Danzig, of German and Scots-Irish descent, grew up in the greater Pittsburgh area before moving to Los Angeles to pursue his career.

In the past, Danzig was known for his association with R1 fight team (formerly RAW) and had been a student of Iowa wrestling standout Rico Chiapparelli and MMA fighter Frank Trigg. Since then he trained boxing extensively at both the Wild Card gym in Hollywood, California under Freddie Roach assistant Justin Fortune, and more recently under Gil Martinez in Las Vegas, Nevada. Danzig credits Martinez as his only current boxing coach.

While Danzig is known as an impressive grappler, having scored 12 of his victories by submission; he has proven himself to be an adept striker, most notably with his KO victory over Joe Stevenson and his TKO victory over former lightweight champion Takumi Nakayama.

After defeating Royce Gracie black belt Buddy Clinton on August 4, 2006, Danzig increased his winning streak to 12 in a row with a unanimous decision victory over Miletich fighter John Mahlow on September 29 in Calgary, Alberta Canada.

Joseph James "Joe" Rogan (born August 11, 1967) is an American martial artist, stand-up comedian, actor, writer and color commentator. He is best known for playing Joe Garrelli on the NBC sitcom NewsRadio, commentating for the Ultimate Fighting Championship, hosting the NBC reality show Fear Factor and The Joe Rogan Experience podcast.

Rogan was born in Newark, New Jersey. His paternal grandfather was Irish and the remainder of his ancestry is Italian.

In 1981, at age fourteen, he became a practitioner of Kenpo Karate before transitioning to Taekwondo. He eventually gained a 2nd dan black belt. A four-time state champion in Massachusetts, in 1987 he was the USA Taekwondo U.S. Open Champion. In 1996, he began training in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu under Jean Jacques Machado, eventually earning his brown belt. In addition, he holds a brown belt in 10th Planet Jiu-Jitsu under Eddie Bravo.

He also practiced and competed in kickboxing.

In 1994, he co-starred on the Fox comedy Hardball as Frank Valente, the young, ego-centric star player on a fictional professional baseball team. From 1995 to 1999, he co-starred on the comedy NewsRadio. He portrayed Joe Garrelli, the electrician at WNYX, a news radio station in New York City. In 2002, he appeared on the episode "A Beautiful Mind" of Just Shoot Me as Chris, Maya Gallo's boyfriend. In 2011, Rogan played his first major character in a movie in the Kevin James movie Zookeeper. He is slated to play himself in an upcoming action-comedy starring Kevin James called Here Comes the Boom, set to be released in the summer of 2012.

Alicia Silverstone ( /əˈliːsiə ˈsɪlvərstoʊn/; born October 4, 1976) is an American actress, author, and animal rights and environmental activist.

Silverstone was born in San Francisco, California, the daughter of Deirdre "Didi" (née Radford), a Scottish-born former Pan Am flight attendant, and Monty Silverstone, a real estate agent born in England. She has two older siblings, a half-sister from her father's previous marriage named Kezi Silverstone and a brother named David Silverstone. She grew up in an upper-middle class home in the San Francisco suburb of Redwood City, California.^{[citation needed]} Her father is Jewish and her mother converted to Conservative Judaism before marriage. She began modeling when she was six years old, and was subsequently cast in television commercials, the first being for Domino's Pizza. She attended Crocker Middle School and then San Mateo High School.

Silverstone won several awards for her film performances. She received multiple MTV Movie Awards and a Young Artist Award for The Crush. For Clueless she received multiple MTV Movie Awards and a Young Artist Award once again, plus awards from Blockbuster Entertainment Award, Kids' Choice Awards, National Board of Review, and an American Comedy Award.