Mark Hawthorne
I am the author of A Vegan Ethic: Embracing A Life Of Compassion Toward All, Striking at the Roots: A Practical Guide to Animal Activism, Bleating Hearts: The Hidden World of Animal Suffering, The Way of the Rabbit, and Eco-Spirituality and Human-Animal Relationships. I stopped eating meat after an encounter with one of India’s many cows in 1992, then went vegan a decade later.
Beginning in 2004, I served as a contributing writer for Satya until the magazine ceased publication in 2007, and am a frequent contributor to VegNews. My writing has also appeared in Vegan’s Daily Companion by Colleen Patrick-Goudreau (Quarry Books), Stories to Live By: Wisdom to Help You Make the Most of Every Day (Travelers’ Tales) and The Best Travel Writing 2005: True Stories from Around the World (Travelers’ Tales), as well as Vegan Voice, Herbivore, Hinduism Today, Utne.com and newspapers across the United States.
“My reverence for all life has become my guiding principle. It informs every aspect of my existence, including my choices about work, entertainment, home decor, healthcare, fashion, and, of course, diet. I have found my core belief surprisingly simple to adhere to. They are not sacrifices. If compassion is my religion, these are the actions I use to celebrate it. These are my rituals. For me, living fully awake means embracing all species with the same level of respect and kindness. Being a joyful vegan doesn't take willpower - just a willingness to try new things and choose mercy over misery.”