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Howard F. Lyman (born on September 17, 1938, in Great Falls, Montana) - 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 was 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.

This attempt to fly in the face of the chemical-based farming establishment led him to take a try at 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 Great Britain.

It was not until April 1996 that Lyman became well known. In an appearance on Oprah Winfrey's talk show, Lyman made remarks which in turn led to Oprah renouncing hamburgers. The National Cattleman'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 also features in Franny Armstrong's 2005 documentary "McLibel" and in Marianne Thieme's 2007 documentary "Meat The Truth".

He has a free electronic newsletter (details at his website) and has produced four DVDs ("A Mad Cowboy Lecture," "Earth Talk: 2001", "Mad Cowboy: The Documentary", and "A Mad Cowboy Lecture: 2007").

Ethical vegetarian and fourth generation cattle rancher turned vegan for his leadership in the animal welfare movement, he was awarded the Peace Abbey Courage of Conscience Award in Sherborn, MA on April 12, 1997. The Peace Abbey Courage of Conscience Recipients List

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