Giuseppe Garibaldi was an Italian general and politician who played a large role in the history of Italy. He was the foremost military figure and popular hero of the age of Italian unification and is considered one of Italy’s “fathers of the fatherland”. Now, not everyone knows it as it’s been left out of most textbooks, but Garibaldi was a vegetarian and advocate for animal rights. In fact, he co-founded the Italian Royal Society for the Protection of Animals based in Turin, today known as the ENPA and headquartered in Rome. His favorite foods were bread, cheese with olives or beans. After making the switch he remained a tenacious advocate of vegetarianism for the rest of his life.