Howard F. Lyman (born September 18, 1938, in

Great Falls, Montana Great Falls is the third most populous city in the U.S. state of Montana and the county seat of Cascade County. The population was 60,442 according to the 2020 census. The city covers an area of and is the principal city of the Great Falls, M ...

) is an American farmer and

animal rights Animal rights is the philosophy according to which many or all sentient animals have moral worth that is independent of their utility for humans, and that their most basic interests—such as avoiding suffering—should be afforded the sa ...

activist known for promoting

vegan nutrition Vegan nutrition refers to the nutritional and human health aspects of vegan diets. A well-planned, balanced vegan diet is suitable to meet all recommendations for nutrients in every stage of human life. Vegan diets tend to be higher in dietary f ...

and

organic farming Organic farming, also known as ecological farming or biological farming,Labelling, article 30 o''Regulation (EU) 2018/848 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 May 2018 on organic production and labelling of organic products and re ...

. In 1997 he was awarded the Peace Abbey Courage of Conscience Award for his leadership in the animal rights movement.

Biography

Lyman was raised as a fourth generation rancher on a farm that produced dairy and meat commodities. He attended

Montana State University Montana State University (MSU) is a Public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Bozeman, Montana. It is the state's largest university. MSU offers baccalaureate degrees in 60 fields, master's degrees in 6 ...

and graduated with a B.S. degree in general agriculture in 1961. Upon graduation, he spent two years in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

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 A neoplasm () is a type of abnormal and excessive growth of tissue. The process that occurs to form or produce a neoplasm is called neoplasia. The growth of a neoplasm is uncoordinated with that of the normal surrounding tissue, and persists ...

in his spine. Faced with the prospect of

paralysis Paralysis (also known as plegia) is a loss of motor function in one or more muscles. Paralysis can also be accompanied by a loss of feeling (sensory loss) in the affected area if there is sensory damage. In the United States, roughly 1 in 50 ...

, he vowed to return to non-chemical means of farming if he beat the

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...

. He survived an operation to remove the tumor and set out to transform his land into an organic farm. He also ran for political office, but lost his first election. He then became a

lobbyist In politics, lobbying, persuasion or interest representation is the act of lawfully attempting to influence the actions, policies, or decisions of government officials, most often legislators or members of regulatory agencies. Lobbying, which ...

, and moved to

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

Circa 1990, again facing health concerns, he became a

vegetarian Vegetarianism is the practice of abstaining from the consumption of meat (red meat, poultry, seafood, insects, and the flesh of any other animal). It may also include abstaining from eating all by-products of animal slaughter. Vegetarianism m ...

and found his health improved. In 1989 Lyman had begun to investigate

Mad Cow disease Bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), commonly known as mad cow disease, is an incurable and invariably fatal neurodegenerative disease of cattle. Symptoms include abnormal behavior, trouble walking, and weight loss. Later in the course of t ...

, which was just becoming an issue in the UK. He eventually became a

vegan Veganism is the practice of abstaining from the use of animal product—particularly in diet—and an associated philosophy that rejects the commodity status of animals. An individual who follows the diet or philosophy is known as a vegan. Di ...

''The Oprah Winfrey Show'' appearance

In April 1996 Lyman came to national attention during an appearance on ''

The Oprah Winfrey Show ''The Oprah Winfrey Show'', often referred to as ''The Oprah Show'' or simply ''Oprah'', is an American daytime broadcast syndication, syndicated talk show that aired nationally for 25 seasons from September 8, 1986, to May 25, 2011, in Chicag ...

''. Lyman's remarks on the show led to Winfrey renouncing

hamburger A hamburger, or simply burger, is a food consisting of fillings—usually a patty of ground meat, typically Ground beef, beef—placed inside a sliced bun or bread roll. Hamburgers are often served with cheese, lettuce, tomato, onion, pickles ...

s. The National Cattlemen's Beef Association sued Lyman and Winfrey. Both were found not guilty in 1998. While the CDC and USDA maintained that Mad Cow Disease could not occur in the US, the government of Japan did not agree.

Publications

He has co-authored the book ''Mad Cowboy'' (1998) and co-authored ''No More Bull'' (2005) and became president of

EarthSave John Robbins (born October 26, 1947) is an American author, who popularized the links among nutrition, environmentalism, and animal rights. He is the author of the 1987 ''Diet for a New America'', an exposé on connections between diet, physica ...

. 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 Franny Armstrong (born 3 February 1972) is a British documentary film director working for her own company, Spanner Films, and a former drummer with indie pop group The Band of Holy Joy. She is best known for three films: '' The Age of Stupid' ...

's 2005 documentary '' McLibel'', in

Marianne Thieme Marianne Louise Thieme (, born 6 March 1972) is a Dutch politician, author and animal rights activist. A jurist by education, she served as the Party for the Animals' political leader from 2002 to 2019 and a member of the House of Representatives ...

's 2007 documentary ''Meat The Truth'', and in Kip Andersen and

Keegan Kuhn Keegan Kuhn is an American documentary filmmaker, director, producer, and professional musician. He is best known for co-directing the documentary films '' Cowspiracy: The Sustainability Secret'' and ''What the Health'', along with Kip Andersen. ...

's 2014 documentary ''

Cowspiracy ''Cowspiracy: The Sustainability Secret'' is a 2014 American documentary film produced and directed by Kip Andersen and Keegan Kuhn. The film explores the impact of animal agriculture on the environment—examining such environmental concerns as ...

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

Recognition

Lyman was awarded the Peace Abbey Courage of Conscience Award in

Sherborn, Massachusetts Sherborn is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. Located in Boston's MetroWest region, is in area code 508 and has the ZIP code 01770. As of the 2020 U.S. Census, the town population was 4,401. Sherborn shares its highly ...

in 1997 for his leadership in the animal rights movement. His story was featured in Tribe of Heart's 2009 documentary '' Peaceable Kingdom: The Journey Home''. He was also featured on the 2011 documentary ''

Vegucated ''Vegucated'' is a 2011 American documentary film that explores the challenges of converting to a vegan diet. It "follows three meat- and cheese-loving New Yorkers who agree to adopt a vegan diet for six weeks." Director, Marisa Miller Wolfson in ...

''.

Honors and awards

* 1996: Elected President of the

International Vegetarian Union The International Vegetarian Union (IVU) is an international non-profit organization whose purpose is to promote vegetarianism. The IVU was founded in 1908 in Dresden, Germany. It is an umbrella organisation, which includes organisations from ...

(served through 1999) * 1997: Peace Abbey Courage of Conscience Award in Sherborn, MA on April 12, 1997 * 2002: Vegetarian Hall of Fame, August 3, 2002, at the North American Vegetarian Society's annual Vegetarian Summerfest in

Johnstown, Pennsylvania Johnstown is a city in Cambria County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 18,411 as of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. Located east of Pittsburgh, Johnstown is the principal city of the Johnstown, Pennsylvania, Metropol ...

References

External links

*
Interview with Howard F. Lyman
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lyman, Howard 1938 births Living people 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American military personnel American animal rights activists American veganism activists People from Great Falls, Montana Farmers from Montana Montana State University alumni Organic farmers