“The worst sin towards our fellow creatures is not to hate them but to be indifferent to them. That’s the essence of inhumanity.”
“Animals are my friends...and I don't eat my friends.” Those words were written by super playwright and essayist George Bernard Shaw, whose birthday was July 7, 1856. Yes, 1856.
As noted in a post from the nonprofit, In Defense of Animals, Shaw opposed animal experimentation (done back then, and even more unhumanely) and was a strict vegetarian. The Ireland native considered the bodies of meat-eaters "the living graves of murdered beasts." He became a vegetarian after hearing a lecture at the age of 25 and considered his meat-eating diet before that as one of a “cannibal.” From then on he frequently and passionately advocated for vegetarianism in his lectures and interviews, irritating journalists who wanted to hear more about his plays. Shaw attributed great health benefits to vegetarianism, as well as a more spiritual and moral mindset consistent with his activism in support of social issues. Shaw wrote 49 plays, including Mrs. Warren's Profession, Arms and the Man, Caesar and Cleopatra, Man and Superman, Major Barbara, Androcles and the Lion, Pygmalion (later set to music as My Fair Lady), Heartbreak House and Saint Joan.
