Animal Advocate Jane Goodall Dies at 91

Jane Goodall dies at 91. The famed primatologist, conservationist, vegan, and animal advocate leaves a legacy of compassion for animals, people, and the planet.

Her death was announced on Wednesday by the Jane Goodall Institute, the nonprofit she founded nearly five decades ago.

“The Jane Goodall Institute has learned this morning, Wednesday, October 1, 2025, that Dr. Jane Goodall DBE, UN Messenger of Peace and Founder of the Jane Goodall Institute has passed away due to natural causes. She was in California as part of her speaking tour in the United States.”

A Life Guided by Compassion

Goodall is best known for her groundbreaking work with chimpanzees at Gombe Stream National Park in Tanzania, where she began field studies in 1960 under the guidance of paleoanthropologist Louis Leakey. She changed science forever by showing that chimpanzees use tools, hunt cooperatively, and express complex emotions — traits once believed to be uniquely human.

But while her scientific discoveries made her a household name, it was her personal philosophy and advocacy that defined the second half of her life. Goodall believed that the same empathy she extended toward chimpanzees should be applied to all animals.

Was Jane Goodall Vegan?

For decades, Goodall lived as a vegetarian before fully transitioning to veganism in 2015. She often cited the negative environmental impact of animal agriculture, the cruelty of factory farming, and her own health concerns as reasons for the shift.

“I stopped eating meat some 50 years ago,” she explained, “when I looked at the pork chop on my plate and thought, this represents fear, pain, death.”

That realization led her to eat differently and embrace a plant-based lifestyle. By going vegan, Goodall said she wanted to align her diet with her values and address the connection between animal products, factory farming, climate change, and human health.

She also shared her commitment with the world in 2021 when she published a vegan cookbook, #EATMEATLESS: Good for Animals, the Earth & All, a collection of plant-based recipes paired with her reflections on compassion and sustainability.

Beyond Chimpanzees

In 1977, Goodall founded the Jane Goodall Institute, which promotes conservation and animal welfare across the globe. Later, she created Roots & Shoots, a youth-led program that has empowered millions of young people to take action on issues ranging from protecting animals to building more sustainable food systems.

Her public talks increasingly tied together conservation and diet. She spoke of factory farming as one of the most destructive forces on the planet and called for people everywhere to embrace plant-based meals as a way to fight climate change, reduce cruelty, and live healthier lives.

Global Recognition

Goodall’s contributions earned her countless honors, including being named a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire, serving as a UN Messenger of Peace, and, in 2025, receiving the U.S. Presidential Medal of Freedom. She authored more than two dozen books, appeared in documentaries, and filled lecture halls on nearly every continent.

But, she often turned the spotlight back on the audience. “Every individual matters,” she would remind listeners. “Every individual has a role to play. Every individual makes a difference.” For her, choosing veganism was one of the most immediate and impactful ways to live that truth.

A Vegan Vision for the Future

Even in her 90s, Goodall was still traveling, speaking passionately about compassion, sustainability, and the urgent need to move beyond animal agriculture. She told audiences that the simple act of choosing plants over meat and dairy could ripple outward to change the world: reducing suffering, lowering greenhouse gas emissions, and protecting forests and wildlife.

Her message was one of hope. She believed nature could recover if humans chose differently — and that adopting a vegan lifestyle was a key step toward that future.

Remembering Jane Goodall

Goodall’s passing marks the loss of a pioneering scientist and one of the most influential vegan advocates of our time. She is survived by her son, Hugo Eric Louis van Lawick, and by millions of people inspired by her words and actions.

Her legacy is not only in the chimpanzees she studied or the forests she fought to protect, but in every person who, because of her message, looked at their plate and chose compassion.

Jane Goodall showed the world that science and ethics are inseparable. By demonstrating that animals think and feel — and by urging humanity to change how we live and eat — she left behind a vision of a kinder, more sustainable world.