Meet these nine LGBT icons who’ve made the connection and not only fight for human rights, but animal rights as well:

1. Ellen DeGeneres



DeGeneres, an LGBT icon and vegan explains her motivation to make the transition: “I suddenly realized that what was on my plate were living things with feelings…it became an easy choice for me. If you choose to educate yourself, it’ll be an easy choice for you, too.”

2. Ricky Martin



Martin credits a plant-based diet with his excellent health.

This pop legend has been vegetarian since 2013 and loves the cruelty-free lifestyle. “On a vegetarian diet, I feel amazing!” the singer glows.

3. Sara Gilbert



Host of daytime show The Talk, Gilbert raves about the benefits of a vegan diet for health and the environment. She convinced co-host Sheryl Underwood to go vegan for a month, and wrote The Imperfect Environmentalist, a book promoting plant-based living as a major aid to the environmental cause.

4. Alan Cumming



This popular actor is also an outspoken animal rights advocate. He asserts, “Rotten carcasses don’t feel good inside my body…on a health level, meat is scary.”

5. Jane Lynch



This Glee star and comedian has long promoted LGBT issues,

and now she’s added a vegan lifestyle to her activist efforts. She chose veganism for its capacity to reduce suffering, and she explains, “Love is so unconditional from the animals. I’ve just become a much better person because of my love for animals.”

6. k.d. lang



Lang, the Canadian singer best known for her hit

“Constant Craving,” no longer considers meat a part of her diet. She questions common misconceptions by reasoning, “We all love animals. Why do we call some ‘pets’ and others ‘dinner’?”

7. Sharon Needles



This glamorous winner of RuPaul’s Drag Race also promotes a meat-free lifestyle in a powerful animal rights PSA. The star, famous for her ghoulish style and eccentric personality, quips, “I believe that dead things should be buried and not eaten.”

8. Jenna Talackova



This supermodel, known for successfully opening up the Miss Universe pageant to transgender women, chooses a vegan diet for reasons of health and personal ethics, and she’s not looking back: “I went vegan three years ago because I love animals and was studying nutrition and I just felt it really meshed with what I was about.”

9. Martina Navratilova



A world-class athlete can thrive on a vegetarian diet, as proved by this champion tennis player. She credits the transition for her current optimal health, stating: “Moving toward a more plant-based diet was a major reason that I was able to continue playing professional tennis.”