Food For Thought: The Joys And Benefits Of Living Vegan

In this episode, I address a few of the typical excuses people have when it comes to becoming vegan — from "I don't really eat a lot of meat, dairy, and eggs" to "You can't teach an old dog new tricks." See if any of it resonates with you.  As always, you can resources for living compassionately and healthfully at joyfulvegan.com, you can find my books wherever books are sold, and you can join me in my online cooking classes. And because of you, this podcast is 100% listener-supported. You can join other supporters by going to patreon.com/colleenpatrickgoudreau.  For the animals, thank you for subscribing and listening. 

In this episode, I share my thoughts about why going vegan for 30 days can change everything. As always, you can find lots of resources for living compassionately and healthfully at joyfulvegan.com, you can find my books wherever books are sold, and you can join me in my online cooking classes. And because of you, this podcast is 100% listener-supported. You can join other supporters by going to patreon.com/colleenpatrickgoudreau.  For the animals, thank you for subscribing and listening.    

In this New Year's episode, we celebrate the 15th year of Food for Thought podcast with some plant-based food rituals from around the world to bring in the new year.   As always, you can find lots of resources for living compassionately and healthfully at joyfulvegan.com, you can find my books wherever books are sold, and you can join me in my online cooking classes. And because of you, this podcast is 100% listener-supported. You can join other supporters by going to patreon.com/colleenpatrickgoudreau.  For the animals, thank you for subscribing and listening. 

Changing the way we talk about animals may not change animals, but it might just change us, and it could just change the world. That is how I wrap up my new (and first) TEDx talk called ANIMALOGY: CHANGE YOUR LANGUAGE, CHANGE THE WORLD. I would be so grateful if you would go watch, comment, and share this TEDx talk. For the animals, thank you.  https://youtu.be/0_BKbKDM2cs

Every single person who has ever written me an email or a kind comment has shaped who I am, has provided me with hope, and has guided the work I do to help create a compassionate world. May the stories you hear in this FOURTEEN-YEAR PODCAST ANNIVERSARY do the same for you. So put your feet up (or get them moving), and take in the beautiful responses I've received from listeners, followers, and students this past year. I hope you are as moved by the letters as I am humbled by them. FOOD FOR THOUGHT is a 100% listener-supported podcast. Thank you for all your support and love these last 14 years!  

Exceptional times require an exceptional response. While every day is special, here are some suggestions for making this challenging holiday season a little brighter. Happy holidays, happy new year, and many blessings to you and yours.  For the animals. 

This end-of-year episode is based on my motto that life is made up of a series of lessons and gifts, an appropriate topic as we reflect on the lessons of the past year, create plans for the next, and offer gifts to one another. This episode is about creating meaningful holidays (and lives) and includes a list of 25 Meaningful Zero-Waste, Ethical Gifts we can give during the holidays or anytime of year. Thank you, listeners and supporters.

Enjoy this brief talk about the meaning of compassion, a presentation I was invited to give for a special event by Rancho Compasion, a farmed animal sanctuary founded by Miyoko Schinner.  Food for Thought Podcast is 100% listener-supported. Keep this podcast going at Patreon.com/ColleenPatrickGoudreau.

People. Atmosphere. Beverages. Food. That's all we need to create a special event, holiday, or meal — but this year, we deserve to go just a little above and beyond to make it EXTRA special. By the end of this episode, you'll have some ideas for doing just that — whether you'll be sharing a Zoom meal with out-of-town family or having a small gathering outside and safely distanced. (NOTE: All of the suggestions apply even if you don't celebrate a traditional American Thanksgiving.) Food for Thought is a listener-supported podcast. Become a listener support at Patreon.com/ColleenPatrickGoudreau.

A special announcement about our holiday online vegan cooking classes and how you can bring a friend for free.  JoyfulVegan.com/Classes

Don't worry! I don't recommend films in which animals are the victims of gruesome violence. So, grab some popcorn, get a pen and paper, and settle into this episode where I share my suggestions for films that are perfect for Halloween — for kids and adult alike.   This podcast is sponsored by listeners like you. Become a listener supporter at Patreon.com/ColleenPatrickGoudreau 

The thousands of animal-related words and expressions we have in our English language illustrate how deeply connected we are to animals, and that's never more apparent than in the names of plants — both the common names and the botanical names. Join me on this fun journey through gardens, fields, and forests as we discover plants, trees, flowers, and fungi named after animals.  Thank you to everyone who supports this listener-supported podcast. 

The Covid-19 pandemic and subsequent lock-down have added stress and strain to our bodies, hearts, and minds. Listen to this episode for ideas for staying healthy physically, emotionally, and mentally during this time and always.  Thank you to listener supporters who make this podcast possible. Please become one at Patreon.com/ColleenPatrickGoudreau.

Plastic consumption and plastic pollution have skyrocketed during the pandemic because of the increase in the use of disposable gloves, masks, and gowns; online shopping, restaurant take-out; and the prohibition of reusable bags, cups, and containers.  What's a conscious consumer to do? Is it possible to reduce our plastic consumption when we're in the middle of a deadly pandemic? Can we still aspire to be low-waste or zero-waste (which was already aspirational in the best of times). Take a listen to this episode for tips on reducing your plastic consumption when it comes to:  Restaurant Take-Out Grocery Shopping Hand Sanitizers Cleaning Products Ordering Online Properly Disposing Plastic Waste Enjoy some ideas for what you can do at home and in your own life.

A deadly pandemic, job loss, economic turmoil, social isolation, fear, insecurity, debt, disparity, civic unrest, and confronting centuries-long racial tensions, systemic racism, and injustice. No wonder people are angry and anxious. Join me for this episode about how to come together, cope, and find hope and joy in turbulent times.  Food for Thought is a supporter-listener podcast. Thank you for being a Patron.

Every one of us has had to manage what to do when uninvited guests take up residence in our attics, walls, or basements. Sadly, we're too quick to consider them "pests" and take lethal measures to get rid of them. But even when we want to take compassionate action, we may be deceived or making it worse for the animal. Listen to this important episode about how to change our perception and behavior and still humanely deal with rats, squirrels, raccoons, and even cockroaches.  Thank you for supporting this podcast. 

If you’ve ever doubted the power of voting, all you need to do is take a look at the history of and struggle for suffrage — the right to vote — in this country, because the power of voting can be measured by the efforts to suppress, limit, and restrict it. Voting rights have been hard-won for most segments of the population, especially the millions of black men and women who endured the horrors of slavery, Pig Laws, Black Codes, Jim Crow laws, and 100 more years before securing their basic Constitutional rights.  So, that’s what we’re going to talk about today — a little history, a few animalogies (animal-related words and expressions), and lots of resources if you want to get involved in exercising this most basic, most powerful right and making sure others can do the same. Food for Thought is a 100% listener-supported podcast. Thank you.

As advocates for the causes we care about — whether it’s racial justice, environmental sustainability, animal protection, reproductive rights, or all of the above — it can be difficult to decide where to spend your time, money, and energy, and I don’t believe there’s one answer. But I do believe political engagement is one of them. Join me in this episode for the best ways to get your voice heard federally, regionally, and locally. 

Today's episode is not as gruesome as it sounds — aside from the fact that killing animals and eating their body parts is kinda gruesome — but it IS fascinating. It's all about words with animal flesh and fluids at their roots both actually AND etymologically. Words you'd never expect. Words you never even realized. Take a listen and see what I mean! Thank you to all of today's podcast supporters. Food for Thought is a 100% listener-supported podcast. Become a supporter at Patreon.com/ColleenPatrickGoudreau. 

In this episode about my zero waste journey, I share the principles that have absolutely changed my thinking and way of living. Zero Waste is not simply about my making YouTube videos about how to make zero-waste almond milk (although I do that!), it's a way of thinking that profoundly changes our approach to resources and production, going beyond "waste diversion" and striving to ensure that products are designed to be repaired, refurbished, and reused, creating a circular economy rather than a linear economy of make, use, dispose. And it's definitely not about recycling. Recycling IS waste. Have I blown your mind yet? Supporters receive transcripts of all episodes. Patreon.com/ColleenPatrickGoudreau