Nellie McKay

Nellie McKay is an American-British singer and songwriter.

Nellie weaves her political views and ethics into her songwriting, singing about feminism, politics and animal rights. She performed at the 25th anniversary gala of Farm Sanctuary.¹Heyman, M. 2011. Saving Pigs, Not Eating Them. Wall Street Journal. Available: https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052748703509104576325691869964676 [Accessed 9 September 2021].

Nellie was highly influenced by her mother, who would take her to animal rights protests when she was two years old.²Allyn, B. 2008. Nellie McKay. Vegetarian Journal. Available: https://www.vrg.org/journal/vj2008issue4/2008_issue4_veggie_action.php [Accessed 9 September 2021].

It is nice to be able to make music that reflects what you care about (…) People can call it sentimental, but it’s just that basic thing—it’s not nice to see some body or being that is in pain, and people have that gut reaction. They want to ignore it because they like the taste of their burger, or their chicken, but most people do have empathy. I think that’s what scares them so much.³Young, A. 2009. Interview With Vegan Songstress Nellie McKay. VegNews. Available: https://vegnews.com/2009/11/interview-with-vegan-songstress-nellie-mckay [Accessed 9 September 2021].

I remember going to an animal rights protest at New York University and seeing photos of a monkey all hooked up to electric wires; it gave me an instant feeling of empathy. Everyone has true empathy; it just gets beat out of them.

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