Food For Thought: The Joys And Benefits Of Living Vegan

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

Join me today as I discuss the bullhook ban victory in my own city of Oakland, CA and how it is a small step indeed. I believe there will come a day in my lifetime when we see the end of animals in circuses, but until then, we're forced to make frustratingly small, incremental steps toward that aim. I also share a couple phone calls and announce the arrival of The 30-Day Vegan Challenge.    Thank you to listener support and that of American Anti-Vivisection Society and FakeMeats.com.    Music by Gosta Berling. 

Excited to share my trip to Ireland in today's podcast episode, including my meals at vegan (and non-vegan) restaurants, my visits to an animal sanctuary, and everything in between. So, sit back and enjoy! Many thanks to listeners and to American Anti-Vivisection Society and FakeMeats.com for sponsoring this episode.

Excited to share my trip to London with all of you, including my meals at vegan (and non-vegan) restaurants, my visits to animal memorials, and everything in between. In the next episode, I'll take you to Ireland with me, but for now, sit back and enjoy! I'm also including some questions from callers about the sustatainability of salmon, how to buy a car without leather seats, and if it's okay to not pay for non-vegan food when dining with non-vegans. This and more in this week's episode of Food for Thought.  Thanks to AAVS, FakeMeats, and listeners for their support of this episode! Thanks to Gosta Berling for its fabulous music. 

  I’m fascinated by the origins of words in general and how they relate to our perception of and thus treatment of non-human animals in particular. And so today, we take a look at five common English-language words and how they relate to non-human animals. After listening, you'll never again be able to order a burrito without thinking about my favorite animal. I also include some listener calls, which range from a question about honey to what speciesism really means.   Thanks to listeners for their support as well as to The American Anti-Vivisection Society. Music provided and performed by Gosta Berling.

In addition to sharing with you some exciting news (what I just did, where I'm going, and what's to come), in today's episode I feature questions from callers all of which have to do with dealing with real-world issues. Of course, this is what I address all the time on the podcast, but as I was organizing calls, it struck me as a theme for today's episode. We’ve got one caller asking about how to be the vegan family member who's asked by children why you're vegan. We’ve got one caller asking about how to navigate talking to the organizers of an extracurricular outing that her son should be part of but that involves exploiting animals. And we’ve got another caller asking about how to respond to friends who insist that zoos are valuable for animals because they're places of conservation. Listen for my responses. 

The urban agriculture trend is sexy, hot, and extremely popular. It also has the potential to negatively affect thousands of individuals when farming and killing animals is part of the plan. In today's episode, I share my experience working to stop backyard animal farming and slaughter in Oakland and why I think acting locally and politically for animals is imperative in changing the world for animals.  Thanks to listeners and The American Anti-Vivisection Socety for your support.  Please support the podcast at JoyfulVegan.com. Subscribe to the Food for Thought podcast on iTunes, Stitcher, or SoundCloud.

Join me for today's episode filled with wonderful questions from callers, such as what to do when a butcher shop moves in across the street; how to deal with "compassion fatigue": coping with the sadness of our society's rampant institutionalized animal abuse; and one from a doctor who looked for some guidance on how to talk to her patients about plant-based options. The main takeaway from today's episode is how much power compassion has to change the world.   Thanks to today's listener sponsors and Compassionate Business Partners:  American Anti-Vivisection Society  Tofurky Listen to the Food for Thought Podcast on iTunes, Stitcher, or SoundCloud! Your support is greatly needed and appreciated! Please support the podcast in one of two ways: become a monthly supporter or make a one-time donation.  

Because I shamelessly share photos of my beloved cats on a daily basis, many of which depict them outside with me, I'm often asked how I'm able to let them experience the outdoors in a way that's safe for them and safe for wildlife. In today's episode, I share my experience and emphasize that it's a custom decision based on situation, location, and individual cat.  Thank you to all of the listener supporters and to The American Anti-Vivisection Society for making this podcast possible.  Your support changes lives.     

Today’s episode focuses on the fourth stage of what happens when you stop eating animals: Evangelizing (Vegangelizing?). Join me as I talk about the difference between evangelizing and proselytizing and why we can - and should - fully embrace the true meaning of what it means to be an evanglizer, or a "messenger of good news." Sharing our enthusiasm for something we are excited about is a very natural, human reaction. How other people respond to it is an entirely different story.