Billie Eilish opens up about being vegan for 7 years and explains why it's 'really hard to go back' to eating animal products

• Billie Eilish has followed a vegan diet for seven years.
• She said learning about the meat industry and dairy industry led her to eliminate animal products.
• "Once you know that kind of thing and you see it, it's really hard to go back," she said.

Billie Eilish discussed her commitment to following a vegan diet during an interview for British Vogue's June issue.

In the video, 23 famous fans asked the 19-year-old singer a wide range of questions about her career, personal life, and aspirations. Orlando Bloom, who met Eilish backstage at Coachella, was one of them.

The "Pirates of the Caribbean" actor described himself as "90% plant-based" and said he was curious to know why Eilish avoids consuming animal products, including meat, seafood, milk, eggs, and cheese.

"I am vegan. I've been vegan for, damn, seven years," Eilish began.

Educating herself about the ethics of the meat industry and the dairy industry guided her decision, the singer explained.

"Once you know that kind of thing and you see it, it's really hard to go back," she said.

Eilish continued, "And now, even though I have lots of friends that eat dairy and meat and I don't ever want to tell anybody what to do, I just can't go on in my life knowing what's going on in the animal world and like, not doing anything about it."

Growing up in Los Angeles' Highland Park neighborhood, Eilish didn't eat meat. So, the transition from a vegetarian diet to a vegan one was somewhat straightforward.

"Becoming vegan wasn't like a huge deal for me because meat was never a thing in my life. It wasn't like I missed meat - it wasn't like I had something to miss," the "Your Power" singer said on 2018 episode of the YouTube series "Montreality."

Eilish mentioned during a 2019 interview with Pitchfork that she had an iron deficiency, adding that her mother, Maggie Baird, gives her iron supplements.

Brian B. Scott, MD, a retired gastroenterologist of Lincoln County Hospital in the UK, previously told Insider that vegetarians and vegans may be at a greater risk for low iron. However, he said that nuts, dried fruit, and vegetables can help level out iron deficiency.

In recent years, the "Ocean Eyes" singer has used her massive platform to raise awareness about animal cruelty, often posting videos about the meat and dairy industries to her 83.7 million Instagram followers.