Food For Thought: The Joys And Benefits Of Living Vegan

Please enjoy this compilation of editorials I've written and recorded over the years for my local national public radio station. With over 10 2-minute episodes heard back to back, you'll enjoy topics such as urban livestock, caring for hurt or injured dogs and cats, having a turkey-free Thanksgiving, the violence inherent in slaugherhouses and how it affects the workers, shark fin and foie gras bans, animal abuse in Ancient Rome and today, and lots more! For the animals...enjoy!

Living according to your ethics in a complicated world certainly comes with challenges, but it's not impossible. For vegans trying to do the right thing, it's one thing to opt out of eating the obvious animal products -- meat, dairy, and eggs - but what about the trickier, grayer areas, including work. What if you work for a software company and you're put on a project to build a website for a hunting company? What if you work in a restaurant and have to serve meat? What if you work in a job that requires you to cook meat? These are real scenarios for many people, and the answer isn't to "stop being vegan" because things are complicated. Take a listen to my thoughts in today's episode of Food for Thought.  

It’s in this stage that we might buy our first food processor or high-powered blender or we garden for the first time or we cook for the first time or we try new foods or cuisines or restaurants we never tried before. This is when we learn how expansive it is to live unconditionally compassionately. This is when we may feel more deeply connected to other animals and to other people in our lives. This is where we may be expanding skills that we will wind up turning into a new career that we implement in Stage 9: Where Do I Fit In?   Sponsor: The American Anti-Vivisection Society Visit JoyfulVegan.com for resources and comments. 

The question I get more than any other is “What do you feed your cats?” Many years ago, I produced a podcast episode that addressed this issue but included additional unrelated information. And so, it was time to dedicate an updated episode to this topic, which also includes how dogs do on a vegan diet. Thank you to listener supporters and to our sponsor The American Antivivisection Society. Listen by subscribing to the RSS feed or listening through iTunes, Stitcher, or Soundcloud.

Travel with me to southern Italy and France, as I share details of our most recent trip as part of the "Vegan Travel with Colleen Patrick-Goudreau." My intention is to demonstrate how enjoyable it is to eat an abundance of local food, take in the incredible sites, immerse yourself in local culture, customs, and people -- all while adhering to your vegan values. We explore many towns in Provence, horses in the Camargue, ancient Roman ruins, medieval towns of Cilento, vegan restaurants of Paris, and so much more.   Thanks to the American Anti-Vivisection Society and listener sponsors for making this podcast possible.   View all the related photos and videos at the show notes for this episode at JoyfulVegan.com.

In celebration of our nine-year anniversary of the podcast, I feature the letters of listeners who have been transformed by "Food for Thought." The stories are as diverse as the listeners and reflect varied ages and backgrounds, but they all share common threads of hope and compassion. I hope you are as moved by the letters as I am humbled by them. If you ever once thought that "people don't change," then you're in for quite a treat. This episode is dedicated to amazing animal activist Lisa Shapiro, 1964-2015. Her fire is put out but not her light.  We will carry on for the animals and hold her in our hearts forever.  

Some people say: “Just because you’re vegan, doesn’t mean you’re healthy. Vegans eat a lot of processed foods. Processed foods are killing people. Processed foods are evil.” In today's episode, I offer my response to this idea that "processed foods" are bad for us or that they reflect poorly on veganism. The truth is we ALL eat "processed foods," and "vegan" is not a diet. Thank you to listener supporters and to our sponsor The American Antivivisection Society. Listen by subscribing to the RSS feed or listening through iTunes, Stitcher, or Soundcloud.

There is a prevailing myth in our culture, played out in our language and in marketing, that meat is masculine and plant foods are for wimps. Meat is a metaphor for strength, virility, and manliness, while vegetarianism/veganism is feminine, effeminate, and even emasculating. "Real Men Eat Meat" and "Tofu is Gay Meat" are just two examples of advertisements that perpetuate this myth and secure it in our consciousness. Studies show it's working. Join me for a meaty episode that will shake you out of your vegetative state. If you don't want to be a fruit, learn how you can be a beefcake.  Thank you to listener supporters and our sponsors The American Antivivisection Society and Nature's Food. (Shop for Nature's Food at GNC.com and receive $5 when you use the promo code 26381.) Listen by subscribing to the RSS feed or listening through iTunes, Stitcher, or Soundcloud.

When it comes to human and non-human animals, we are more alike than different, especially when it comes to mothering. In today's special episode, I share my thoughts about what it means to be a great mom and why elephants and alligators both meet the criteria. Thank you to listener supporters and our sponsors The American Antivivisection Society and Nature's Food. (Shop for Nature's Food at GNC.com and receive $5 when you use the promo code 26381.) Listen by subscribing to the RSS feed or listening through iTunes,Stitcher, or Soundcloud.

Returning to the 10 Stages of What Happens When You Stop Eating Animals, today we wrap up Stage 7: Effective Communication. In Part One, I covered our first five strategies: *Creating Intention*Practicing Active Listening*Asking Questions*Having a Sense of Humor*Knowing Where You End and Another Person Begins In Part Two, I offer five more strategies to help us communicate unapologetically, respectfully, productively, compassionately, and effectively.  Thank you to listener supporters and our sponsors The American Antivivisection Society and Nature's Food. (Shop for Nature's Food at GNC.com and receive $5 when you use the promo code 26381.) Listen by subscribing to the RSS feed or listening through iTunes, Stitcher, or Soundcloud.

Returning to our 10 Stages of What Happens When You Stop Eating Animals, today we tackle Stage 7: Effective Communication. This is the stage at which you begin to feel more comfortable in your own vegan skin, including how to speak to people who push back when you tell them you’re vegan or who are hostile or passive aggressive or disrespectful. You learn the importance of finding your voice and of being unapologetic about living compassionately and healthfully. Today is only PART ONE of 10 strategies for effective communication skills to be the best ambassador of compassion and wellness. Today's supporters include listeners like you, as well as The American Antivivisection Society and Piedmont Farm Animal Refuge

Often when you tell someone you’re vegan, the response is: “Why are you vegan? Is it for health or ethics?” Somehow, the answer matters, and depending on your answer, people respond differently. Join me as I discuss if our motivation to become vegan affects our dedication to remain vegan. I also share my opinion about people who identify as "plant-based" rather than "vegan." Thank you to listeners and to the American Anti-Vivisection Society (aavs.org) for their support of the podcast.

The idea of not meeting a deadline or being late for an appointment or letting someone down is the stuff of nightmares for me. Traveling with The 30-Day Vegan Challenge and speaking all around the country made it impossible for me to release this week's podcast episode. That's all you need to know, but if you want to listen to my adventures at the Natural Food Expo and my misadventures in FL and Mexico, take a listen. Regular podcast schedule resumes on March 29th! 

One misconception about veganism I’ve encountered more than once is the assumption that in honoring our values, we must forego tradition - as if these two things are mutually exclusive. Food-related rituals, particularly those involving animals, are likely to be so revered that they supersede consideration for anything or anyone else. Join me today for a discussion of how to honor the traditions of Easter and Passover while staying true to our values.   Thank you to listener sponsors as well as The American Anti-Vivisection Society.    

A small subset of opinionated, passionate, well-intentioned people perpetuate the stereotype of the angry, self-righteous, perfection-focused animal rights vegan when they spew invective at anyone who is not "vegan enough" in their eyes. They are otherwise known as The Vegan Police. Listen to today's episode for my perspective on how we can speak up for animals -- online and in person -- without alienating people who are trying to make compassionate choices.  *You can listen via by subscribing to the RSS feed or listening through iTunes, Stitcher, or Soundcloud. *Support the Food for Thought podcast *Music by Gosta Berling *Take The 30-Day Vegan Challenge! *Today's Sponsor: American Anti-Vivisection Society

When you look at the arc of history in terms of human violence against animals, there is no doubt that things are significantly better than they were in the past. We've still got a lot of work to to, but when we step back and look at it from a broader perspective, we can see the paradigm shifts that took place in terms of how we regard and treat animals. One of those shifts can be traced back to what is called The Age of Enlightenment, and that's what we explore today.   *Today's Sponsor: American Anti-Vivisection Society *Listen and Comment at JoyfulVegan.com *Subscribe to Food for Thought Feed *Support the Podcast  *Music by Gosta Berling

Many of us happen upon wildlife in distress in our daily lives, but we don't often do anything about it. We may be afraid, we may not know what to do, we may be too busy. Today I share my brief story about a little raccoon with distemper whose suffering took precedence over my fear. Today's Tweetable: "One life matters - especially to the one whose life it is." Please share and tag @JoyfulVegan For more information, visit JoyfulVegan.com.

For millennia, humans have engaged in rituals with the intention of achieving a wide variety of desired outcomes: reducing anxiety, alleviating grief, deepening faith, or even making it rain. Though rites and rituals can be used for positive or innocuous effects, they can also disguise discomfort and make unjustifiable actions seem legitimate. They can be meaningless, arbitrary, and archaic. They can also mask cruelty to animals by being shrouded in religious sanctity. And that’s what we’re going to talk about today. *Listen and Comment at JoyfulVegan.com *Subscribe to Food for Thought feed *Become a supporter *Music by Gosta Berling    

The 30-Day Vegan Challenge is the ULTIMATE guide for transitioning to a healthy, compassionate lifestyle, and it's the ULTIMATE resource for vegans. Packed with tools, tips, recipes, and menu ideas, it answers every question related to eating, cooking, nutrition, and the social aspects of living vegan, including eating out, holidays, living with non-vegans, etc. We already know the material inspires vegans. Now, we need to get this book in as many hands as possible -- for the animals, both human and non-human. Here's how! Purchase The 30-Day Vegan Challenge book Join The 30-Day Vegan Challenge online program Or do both for a discount

According to a recent study, the majority of people who become vegetarian / vegan go back to eating meat and animal products after a short time. One reason seems to be the lack of support or community. In today's episode, we return to our 10 Stages of What Happens When You Stop Eating Animals / Become Vegan and focus on what I think is the make-or-break stage for people: Stage 6: Finding a Sense of Community and Belonging.  Thank you to all of the listener supporters as well as Leaping Bunny - leapingbunny.org Field Roast - fieldroast.com Learn more about Colleen Patrick-Goudreau at JoyfulVegan.com