Howard Lyman

About Howard Lyman

Howard F. Lyman (born on September 17, 1938, in Great Falls, Montana) is an American farmer and animal welfare activist who is known for his actions promoting vegetarian (and vegan) nutrition and organic farming.

He was raised as a fourth generation rancher on a farm that produced dairy and meat commodities. He attended Montana State University and graduated with a B.S. degree in general agriculture in 1961. Upon graduation, he spent two years in the United States Army before returning to work on the farm.

From 1963 to 1983 he was actively engaged in animal and grain production. The areas in which he was involved were dairy, pork, registered Hereford, chicken, range cattle, feedlot beef production, veal, grain, silage, and hay production.

In 1979 Lyman was diagnosed with a tumor in his spine. Faced with the prospect of paralysis, he vowed to return to non-chemical means of farming if he beat the cancer. He survived an operation to remove the tumor and set out to transform his land into an organic farm. He also attempted to be elected to political office, but he lost his first contest. He became a lobbyist instead and moved to Washington, D.C.

Circa 1990, again facing health concerns, he became a vegetarian and found his health improving. In 1989, Lyman began to investigate Mad Cow disease, which was just becoming an issue in the UK.

It was not until April 1996 that Lyman became well known. In an appearance on The Oprah Winfrey Show, Lyman made remarks which in turn led to Oprah renouncing hamburgers. The National Cattlemen's Beef Association sued Lyman and Winfrey. Both were found not guilty of any wrongdoing early in 1998.

Lyman eventually became a vegan. He has co-authored the book Mad Cowboy (1998) and co-authored No More Bull (2005) and became president of "EarthSave". Leaving that post, he became president of "Voice for a Viable Future".

Lyman wrote the Foreword to Erik Marcus's book Vegan: The New Ethics of Eating (1998), and the 1st Vegan Pizza Cookbook, Mark Sutton's "Heart Healthy Pizza"

Lyman also features in Franny Armstrong's 2005 documentary "McLibel" and in Marianne Thieme's 2007 documentary "Meat The Truth".

He has produced four DVDs (A Mad Cowboy Lecture, Earth Talk: 2001, Mad Cowboy: The Documentary, and A Mad Cowboy Lecture: 2007).

He was awarded the Peace Abbey Courage of Conscience Award in Sherborn, MA on April 12, 1997.

Lyman's story was featured in Tribe of Heart's 2009 documentary Peaceable Kingdom: The Journey Home. He was also featured on the 2011 documentary Vegucated.

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Quotes By Howard Lyman