photo by Laeticia Butler
Vegan authors are on the rise and we see them all over the blogosphere. Even many carnivores are familiar with Rory Freedman and Kim Barnouin. I mean, who hasn’t heard of Skinny Bitch? As the hazy, lazy days of summer are upon us and you may be looking for something to accompany you to the beach, or some other relaxing destination, take a look at this list of 7 vegan authors – and if you don’t already have one of their titles gracing your bedside table, maybe you’ll get inspired to pick one up!
- Brenda Davis: You might not know the name, but if you have ever looked for a vegan book, chances are that you’ve come across one of Brenda’s. Vegan nutritionist and registered dietitian, Brenda has co-authored seven books, including: Becoming Vegan, Becoming Vegetarian, The New Becoming Vegetarian, Defeating Diabetes, Dairy-free and Delicious and the newly released, Becoming Raw and Raw-food Revolution Diet. On her website, you can find a detailed description of what Brenda does and the services she offers, in addition to helpful resources and recipes.
- Brendan Brazier: Best-selling author of Thrive, Thrive Foods, The Thrive Diet, and Thrive Fitness. Born in Canada, Brendan became a professional Ironman Triathlete and went on to create Vega, a line of vegan athletic sports performance products.
- Dr. Neal A. Barnard has written over a dozen nutrition books around a plant-based diet. He is the president of PCRM, Physicians Committee of Responsible Medicine, and strives to raise awareness of the health benefits of a cruelty-free diet. But he doesn’t stop there – Dr. Barnard also advocates a cruelty-free way of life. Some of Dr. Barnard’s books include Food for Life, Foods that Fight Pain, and 21-Day Weightloss Kickstart.
- Scott Jurek is a vegan runner who has run ultramarathons and world championships and won! Who says you can’t kick you-know-what on a vegan diet? As a vegan runner myself, I am truly inspired by Scott’s accomplishments; among them is co-authoring the book Eat and Run.
- T.Colin Campbell is the author of The China Study, which partly inspired the incredibly influential movie, Forks Over Knives, and has had a tremendous impact on the vegan movement, by documenting credible evidence for the clear health benefits of a whole foods, plant-based vegan diet. This book documents Campbell’s work, which has taken place over many decades, and shows conclusive evidence of the link between animal protein and common ailments, such as heart disease, diabetes, and some forms of cancer.
- Will Tuttle author of The World Peace Diet which became #1 best seller on Amazon in March of 2010, explains the relation of food to our culture. James Mackey, C.E.O. and founder of Whole Foods had this to say, “I am grateful for this powerful and cogent book. It has stretched my thinking (and heart) about animals, compassion, and our society.” Additionally Tuttle is a blogger and musician.
- David “Avocado” Wolfe known as the raw food guru, has written several of books on in relation to raw foods. Topics range from chocolate to natural beauty. Check out a list of David’s books.
As far as cookbooks are concerned, the options seem to be growing endlessly. Just hop onto Amazon and type in the word vegan to see what pops up.
These books are all related to food and health, but there are LOTS of other great vegan books out there that deal with animal rights issues and the environment. Some other authors you might want to look into include John Robbins, Joan Dunayer, Rip Esselstyn , and Jane Valez-Mitchell.
What’s on your summer reading list?
After suffering with health issues for two years, Laeticia became a vegan and changed her life. She went from walking with excruciating pain to running half marathons. She became aware of the cruelty to animals through research and works hard to teach her son why we don't eat them. Currently training for her first full marathon, Laeticia's goals as a writer is to help motivate others to living a healthier lifestyle through a healthy diet and fitness. 
