Temple Grandin is well known for her work regarding animal welfare, neurology and philosophy. She has authored more than 60 scientific papers on animal behavior and is a prominent voice for the humane treatment of livestock for slaughter.
In her books, Grandin talks about how the alleviation of anxiety should be a priority for any animal, pet or livestock. She believes that anxiety suffered by domestic animals left for long periods of time without human or animal interaction as an example of one of the ways animal welfare is neglected outside of the slaughterhouse.
Here are some of the best Temple Grandin quotes on animals and life.
“Nature is cruel, but we don’t have to be.”
― Temple Grandin
“I think using animals for food is an ethical thing to do, but we’ve got to do it right. We’ve got to give those animals a decent life and we’ve got to give them a painless death. We owe the animal respect.”
― Temple Grandin
“I don’t want my thoughts to die with me, I want to have done something. I’m not interested in power, or piles of money. I want to leave something behind. I want to make a positive contribution – know that my life has meaning.”
― Temple Grandin
“I am different, not less.”
― Temple Grandin
“But my favorite of Einstein’s words on religion is “Science without religion is lame. Religion without science is blind.” I like this because both science and religion are needed to answer life’s great questions.”
― Temple Grandin
“The worst thing you can do is nothing.”
― Temple Grandin
“My theory is that the environment animals live in should activate their positive emotions as much as possible, and not activate their negative emotions any more than necessary.”
― Temple Grandin
“Animals make us human.”
― Temple Grandin
“Unfortunately, most people never observe the natural cycle of birth and death. They do not realize that for one living thing to survive, another living thing must die.”
― Temple Grandin
“I believe that the place where an animal dies is a sacred one.”
― Temple Grandin
“There’s a saying in engineering: You can build things cheap, fast, or right, but not all three.”
― Temple Grandin
“The world needs all types of minds.”
― Temple Grandin
“Animals like novelty if they can choose to investigate it; they fear novelty if you shove it in their faces.”
― Temple Grandin
“Sometimes you have to go outside your field of study to find the right people.”
― Temple Grandin, Animals Make Us Human: Creating the Best Life for Animals
“Neither living nor learning is good without order.”
― Temple Grandin
“Bad things always happen when an animal is overselected for any single trait. Nature will give you a nasty surprise.”
― Temple Grandin
“It is human nature to strive.”
― Temple Grandin
“What a horse does under compulsion he does blindly, and his performance is no more beautiful than would be that of a ballet-dancer taught by whip and goad.”
― Temple Grandin
“People are always looking for the single magic bullet that will totally change everything. There is no single magic bullet.”
― Temple Grandin
“People wouldn’t have become who we are today if we hadn’t coevolved with dogs.”
― Temple Grandin
“When I was younger I was looking for this magic meaning of life. It’s very simple now. Making the lives of others better, doing something of lasting value. That’s the meaning of life, it’s that simple.”
― Temple Grandin
“You have to get away from words if you want to understand any animal. It thinks in pictures, it thinks in smells, it thinks in touch sensations – little sound bites like, it’s a very detailed memory.”
― Temple Grandin
“People can live up to high standards, but they can’t live up to perfection.”
― Temple Grandin
“Curiosity is the other side of caution.”
― Temple Grandin
“I get satisfaction out of seeing stuff that makes real change in the real world. We need a lot more of that and a lot less abstract stuff.”
― Temple Grandin
“Dogs serve people, but people serve cats.”
― Temple Grandin
“All animals and people have the same core emotion systems in the brain.”
― Temple Grandin
“Animals do have emotion. But fear tends to be one of the most primal emotions.”
― Temple Grandin
“I feel very strongly that we need to give beef cattle a really good life. When they go to slaughter, it needs to be painless.”
― Temple Grandin
Watch: Understanding the Animals in Your Life
Temple Grandin Books:
Temple Grandin Livestock Handling
Temple Grandin’s Guide to Working with Farm Animals
Livestock Animals Handling and Transport
Temple Grandin: How the Girl Who Loved Cows Embraced Autism and Changed the World