The popularity of veganism is expanding, and music has played a significant role in this development.
Each song takes a different approach when it comes to veganism. Some songs favor a lighthearted or comedic approach, while others tackle real nightmares and inhumanities that animals face.
“Wha Me Eat” by Macka B
Song year: 2011
Macka B starts off his song talking about eating from the earth and leaving the animals to live their own lives, free from human restrictions.
“Wha Me Eat” digs into the common hassle many vegans face when informing others about their lifestyle and the odd looks he gets. He further explains that he has plenty of food options to pick and choose from and that there are more food choices for vegans than people realize.
The song excellently rhymes about delicious vegan ingredients that would probably have you hungry for a delicious healthy meal. If it were not for its vegan motives, you would think the song was music all about food.
It also explains that meat is not an essential part of our diet and that you can get all your proteins and vitamins from a green lifestyle.
Next time someone asks you about your “limited food options,” feel free to blast this song and be prepared to dance for a while.
The song adopts a playful tone while advocating for a vegan lifestyle, demonstrating how delectable vegan food options may still be and how people frequently ignore this.
“Nailing Descartes to the Wall / (Liquid) Meat Is Still Murder” by Propagandhi
Song year: 2000
The title covers the main message, and the song instantly jumps to its points, matching the intense theme of the long title.
The song discusses the lack of humanity surrounding billions of buried animals all across the globe and demands that you stop consuming animal products.
The vegan themes are strong in this song, as it notes that eating meat is the equivalent of murder and that dairy is unfair to livestock. It also discusses that animals’ lives shouldn’t be made shorter by us.
“Animal Kingdom” by Prince
Song year: 1998
“Animal Kingdom” is another song that debates the health benefits associated with a vegan lifestyle.
Prince raises the point that we are the only mammal that drinks milk past maturity. He follows that by taking a heavy stance against eating meat by saying that animals have no ill intent towards us, so why should we eat them?
The song also embodies an ethical and humane treatment of everything in the animal kingdom by mentioning we are all mammals and, thus, part of the animal kingdom.
There is also a comedic element to this song, as Prince makes a random mention of blue cheese and calls it “funky” in a negative manner.
“Looking For Changes” by Paul McCartney
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lkgpCbBxJs0
Song year: 1993
This song isn’t about eating choices, but it still embodies a strong vegan spirit.
“Looking For Changes” discusses the inhumane treatment of animals in science labs. The song talks about cats strapped up to machines by unsympathetic researchers, sharing none of the pain experienced by the cat.
It also strikes a debate by claiming that researchers would not hook themselves up on machines, so why do they do it to animals?
There is also mention about bunnies held in captivity for years and how depressing such a life must be.
Paul McCartney adds hope to his song by saying that we can change and that we can learn to grow as a species.
Just sticking to a vegan diet is not enough, and animal captivity for research is often an overlooked segment of many people’s lives, especially in the 90s.
While other songs strictly discuss avoiding meat, the treatment of animals in captivity is rarely talked about in songs.
This song played an essential role when it was released and spread information about the horrors lab animals have to face.
“Cats and Dogs” by Gorilla Biscuits
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TwHS3QMvLmA
Song year: 1989
“Cats and Dogs” discusses our favorite companions and how amazing and cute they are.
There is a true bond of love between us and our pets, and we treat them as equals by even giving them names.
The song takes a turn by saying how cruel it is to treat the cuter animals with love and reject the others. Gorilla Biscuits notes that compassion should be for everyone, looks shouldn’t be a factor; true compassion is for all species.
The final note made is that we directly steal the lives of animals to feel full and that cats and dogs are lucky for their cute appearances.
The song raises a more philosophical question by asking us why we differentiate and treat animals differently based on their looks and why we draw the line between a cow and a dog.
“Cruelty Without Beauty” by ARCH ENEMY
Song year: 2012
Released in 2012, the song discusses the terrifying state of slaughterhouses and how inhumane they are.
“Cruelty Without Beauty” Claims that if the walls in slaughterhouses could talk, all they’d do is scream. Animals in Slaughterhouses are treated without any dignity and are shown no empathy by us.
slaughterhouses have no defensive stances, and the victims of it are unable to voice their dissatisfaction.
Animals are shown no dignity by having plastic bags act as their burial gowns.
Slaughterhouses are a daily nightmare experienced by animals worldwide, an issue that will remain for many years to come.
This song is among the more serious on this list and may not be for the faint of heart.
“40-Year-Old Vegan” by Chokeules, A Plant Based Song
Song year: 2014
“40-Year Old Vegan” Opens up with an all too familiar question many vegans face asked by others regarding their limited food options.
The song talks about all the food options readily available to vegans, such as mocha fudge or vanilla cookie dough. It also claims that vegan chicken finger alternatives are just one of many vegan substitute foods.
The 40-year-old vegan discusses his love for pizza and how he devours it. He then mentions that his pizza is vegan-friendly as the cheese is not bruschetta; it is soy cheese.
He also mentions his love for nachos and tacos, especially guacamole.
The remainder of the song discusses other delicious vegan foods such as tofu and how quickly he cut meat out of his diet and replaced it with vegan alternatives for things such as soy jerky.
Throughout the music video, the singer is seen singing around farm animals and even uses a carrot as a microphone.
“Say Ten” by Reel Big Fish
Song year: 2001
This song applies a creative twist. Rather than being from the side of the vegan, this song is from the point of view of someone in contact with a vegan.
“Say Ten” Starts by a person questioning a lady who avoids eating meat and is baffled that she chooses to avoid all meat options. Sausage, bacon, turkey, eggs, and steak, the other person is at a loss for words.
The song takes a funny twist by claiming that the other person feels bad about killing broccoli and that they hear plants screaming.
The person justifies their stance by saying they eat cows to save plants.
The song spirals and talks about the other person eating meat because it is red and dead and makes a bizarre claim that they would eat humans if it were legal.
“Vegan Velociraptor” by Nanowar
Song year: 2018
This entry is among the more lighthearted approaches to promoting veganism and is also one of the few vegan songs discussing the environment.
The song talks about a vegan velociraptor that drives an environmentally friendly police Tesla tank and avoids disposable items, and hunts broccoli.
The vegan in vegan velociraptor comes from the velociraptor sticking to a diet of only lentils. Due to this diet, the vegan velociraptor is affected by powerful flatulence that causes the bears to abandon the arctic.
The bears deserve it as they are fish eaters, and vegan velociraptor directly fights speciesism.
The vegan velociraptor is the protector of the livestock as he replaces chocolate milkshakes with greener alternatives such as juice.
The rest of the song discusses an altercation between a vegan velociraptor and evil carnivorous cows.
If comedy is your cup of tea, this song is worth a listen. The music video features a comic aesthetic to match the hero sheriff vegan velociraptor.
If you enjoyed the comedic approach to music, you would be pleased to know that Nanowar includes lots of comedy in their music, and they all sound just as great.
Best Songs About Being Vegan, Final Thoughts
Every song on this list has directly promoted veganism and helped provide animals with a better life. They send a message in different ways; some do it through a debate or a call for the humane treatment of animals, and others in comedic ways. In addition, they also sound great and make for a great addition to a playlist.