Rainn Wilson Reveals He Went Vegan for His Rescue Pigs [VIDEO]

When actor Rainn Wilson revealed on Instagram that he and his wife had adopted a vegan diet, he framed the choice as an attempt to give the couple’s “digestive systems a change-up.” He stated:

“So about six weeks ago or so, my wife @HolidayReinhorn and I decided to try Veganism for a month. (Is that a thing? A word? VeganISM?) As an experiment. We were so dependent on eating animals and animal products, we just wanted to try it. Give our digestive systems a change-up.”

Noting that he had “no moral issues with killing and eating animals,” Wilson stated that he appreciated the “health and planetary benefits” of the plant-based lifestyle. He also added that after about two weeks, he felt more energetic, was sleeping better, and was even losing some weight. However, in a recent appearance on late-night talk show Conan, The Office star told the host how his wife’s rescue pigs had actually influenced the decision:

“My wife loves to rescue animals, and she rescued these two pot-bellied pigs and they live in our backyard: Snortington and Amy. We built them a little piggy door and they come in at night and they sleep on their little piggy beds. So in the morning once, I was up, they hadn’t gotten up yet–they like to sleep in, and I was microwaving some of that Trader Joe’s bacon, and chomping on it, looking at these adorable little pigs…so it just was heartbreaking to sit there looking at their beautiful little faces, staring at them. It was macabre and terrifying and so I went vegan.”

Joking that the experience turned him into “that annoying vegan friend,” he also taught O’Brien and the audience how to correctly pronounce quinoa and acai.

You can watch the clip below: