"I have always been an animal lover. I had a hard time disassociating the animals I cuddled with - dogs and cats, for example - from the animals on my plate, and I never really cared for the taste of meat. I always loved my Brussels sprouts"
About this Quote
The line about “disassociating” is doing heavy lifting. It nods to the psychological trick modern meat-eating often requires: distance, euphemism, packaging. Bell positions herself as someone who couldn’t—or wouldn’t—perform that compartmentalization. That’s not just about animals; it’s about identity. In a celebrity culture that rewards relatability, she’s offering a personal origin story that reads as both ethical and slightly quirky, a gentle rebuttal to the stereotype that plant-based eating is joyless or preachy.
Then she lands the kicker: Brussels sprouts. For a generation raised on jokes about boiled green punishment, “I always loved my Brussels sprouts” is a small act of rebellion and self-branding. It signals that her tastes were out of sync early, that she’s not performing sainthood so much as admitting she never got the memo on what you’re “supposed” to like. It’s disarming, which is precisely why it persuades.
Quote Details
| Topic | Pet Love |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
| Cite |
Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
Bell, Kristen. (2026, January 15). I have always been an animal lover. I had a hard time disassociating the animals I cuddled with - dogs and cats, for example - from the animals on my plate, and I never really cared for the taste of meat. I always loved my Brussels sprouts. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/i-have-always-been-an-animal-lover-i-had-a-hard-152095/
Chicago Style
Bell, Kristen. "I have always been an animal lover. I had a hard time disassociating the animals I cuddled with - dogs and cats, for example - from the animals on my plate, and I never really cared for the taste of meat. I always loved my Brussels sprouts." FixQuotes. January 15, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/i-have-always-been-an-animal-lover-i-had-a-hard-152095/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"I have always been an animal lover. I had a hard time disassociating the animals I cuddled with - dogs and cats, for example - from the animals on my plate, and I never really cared for the taste of meat. I always loved my Brussels sprouts." FixQuotes, 15 Jan. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/i-have-always-been-an-animal-lover-i-had-a-hard-152095/. Accessed 17 Feb. 2026.








