On this day in vegan history · August 23, 1970
River Phoenix Is Born in Madras, Oregon
Decades before he became Hollywood's most famous vegan, walking out on a fancy Manhattan dinner rather than watch a friend eat crab, River Phoenix arrived in a small Oregon town most people still can't find on a map.
The facts
- Born
- August 23, 1970, in Madras, Oregon
- Vegan since
- Age seven
- PETA Humanitarian Award
- 1992, for his fund-raising efforts
- Conservation act
- Bought 800 acres of endangered rainforest in Costa Rica
River Jude Bottom, later known as River Phoenix, was born on August 23, 1970, in Madras, Oregon. He was raised by parents who joined the Children of God and later left the group, and he became a vegan at age seven, a commitment he kept for the rest of his life. As an adult actor, he turned that conviction into public advocacy, serving as a spokesperson for PETA and using his fame to raise money for animal rights and conservation causes. He also put money behind the cause directly, buying 800 acres of endangered rainforest in Costa Rica.
In their words
The day in the words of the people who were there. Every quote is verbatim, and every source links out so you can check it.
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Once when we were fifteen, River and I went out for a fancy dinner in Manhattan, and I ordered soft-shell crabs. He left the restaurant and walked around on Park Avenue, crying.
Martha Plimpton, recalling River Phoenix's reaction to her ordering soft-shell crabs
Source: Wikipedia
Why it still matters
Phoenix was one of the first major movie stars to make veganism and animal rights part of his public identity rather than a quiet personal choice, and his PETA work helped put the cause in front of an audience that otherwise wouldn't have encountered it.
Sources
This history is still being written.
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