The Vegan Report

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Do you think ending factory farming is possible? If yes, what form of activism do you believe will stop factory farming for good? Institutional change? Street protests? Legal reforms?

Well, our guest today, Bruce Friedrich, founder of the Good Food Institute, thinks ending factory farming is possible — but activism is not the answer. For him, the solution to this issue is cultivated meat: the perfect replacement for regular meat, because it would taste the same, cost the same, but with no health risks, environmental damage and certainly no animal suffering.

In this episode, we discussed the new McVeggie that has launched in Canada, the consolidation of power in the hands of a few big food corporations, the Campbell Soup 3D printed lab-grown chicken debacle, and the opposition to cultivated meat by some animal advocates. Many of them have appeared on the show. I will add links in the description to all those episodes, including an amazing debate hosted by United Poultry Concerns featuring Bruce.

Meat: How the Next Agricultural Revolution Will Transform Humanity's Favorite Food — and Our Future https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/235992470-meat

Is Cell-Based Meat Good for Animals? With Leah Garces, Bruce Friedrich, Vasile Stanescu & John Sanbonmatsu | BONUS https://rss.com/podcasts/veganreport/2018735/

Inside the Mad World of Meatistan. With John Sanbonmatsu | Ep. 79 https://rss.com/podcasts/veganreport/2063993/

Veganism is Not Capitalism. With Miyoko Schinner | Ep. 65 https://rss.com/podcasts/veganreport/1898355/

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Sandro Jenni is a researcher at the University of Zurich's Psychology Personality Lab. He is studying the political psychology of sustainable plant -based food system change.

My LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/sandro-jenni

Email: [email protected]

Link to my research group: https://www.psychology.uzh.ch/en/areas/sob/perspsy/team.html

Links to my published papers from the episode:

First study: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fufo.2025.100825

Commentary paper: https://doi.org/10.5964/phair.19613

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Music by Alisia from Pixabay

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Prevent Bhutan from establishing its first slaughterhouse: https://www.change.org/p/prevent-bhutan-from-establishing-its-first-slaughterhouse

For today's episode, we explore the hidden face of vegan entrepreneurship. We often see vegan products mysteriously appear and disappear on the shelves of grocery stores, but how often do we stop to wonder what's happening behind the scenes? How did those products find themselves there? Well, today you will get some answers, and they won't make you look at vegan products the same way again.

To guide us through this topic, I have with me five amazing entrepreneurs.

Miyoko Schinner, of course, who describes herself as an Epicurean activist out to create justice for animals, people, and the planet. She is the founder of the Rancho Compasión (https://www.ranchocompasion.org/) animal sanctuary and author of The Vegan Creamery, her latest book (https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/752115/the-vegan-creamery-by-miyoko-schinner/).

An Pham, the entrepreneur behind Bodhi Gourmet (https://bodhigourmet.com/) vegan Asian sauces and Boida Outerwear (www.boidaouterwear.com) with its collection of Vegagooz winter outerwear. Also, the organizer of the Vegan Christmas Market of Montreal.

Meg Kelly, who co-founded the Veganic Agriculture Network (https://goveganic.net/). She also teaches the Learn Veganic (https://learnveganic.com/) online gardening course to empower people around the world to grow their own fruits and veggies at home.

Sandra Nomoto is a book whisperer for authors with impact. She herself authored two books, including the world's first vegan marketing book, Vegan Marketing Success Stories (https://www.sandranomoto.com/products/). She also co-founded VEG Networking Canada, Canada's only vegan networking group.

And finally, Brett Christoffel, the founder of All Y'alls Foods (https://allyallsfoods.com/), plant-based proteins such as plant-based jerky. A portion of All Y’alls Foods’ profits supports the Ranchers Advocacy Program, an initiative of the Rowdy Girl Sanctuary.

If you have any comment or question regarding the show, send a message to [email protected]

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Today, we travel to Denmark to explore the amazing work of the Vegetarian Society of Denmark.

I welcomed their Secretary-General, Rune-Christoffer Dragsdahl, to discuss why the Vegetarian Society of Denmark, despite its support of veganism, is not called the Vegan Society of Denmark, the art of building coalitions with people you disagree with, what if the annexation of Greenland into the US could be beneficial for stopping whale hunting?, Rune-Christoffer's secret to not burning out and much more.

If you have any comment or question regarding the show, send a message to [email protected]

Connect with the Vegetarian Society of Denmark: https://vegetarisk.dk/english/

Learn about Animal Charity Evaluators top 10 charities: https://animalcharityevaluators.org/recommended-charities/

If you have any comment or question regarding the show, send a message to [email protected]

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Today, we travel to Europe where there is a fierce political fight taking place for the animals.

And to address this topic, I have with me José Luis Murillo, the General Director of Animal Welfare Observatory. Jose and I discussed how Animal Welfare Observatory was able to make it a policy to have cameras in Spanish slaughterhouses and their plans to make it happen everywhere else in Europe, the clash his organization has with big Ag lobbyists, how his team convinced corporations that animal welfare reforms were lucrative, if there is hope for animal rights activists to get between animal and plant farmers and much more.

Connect with the Animal Welfare Observatory: https://animalwelfareobservatory.org/

Learn about Animal Charity Evaluators top 10 charities: https://animalcharityevaluators.org/recommended-charities/

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Music by Rockot from Pixabay

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Have you ever watched a nature documentary in which a wild animal was filmed struggling for survival? Maybe running from a predator, desperately foraging for food or braving bad weather. What if I told you that we had a moral imperative to help that animal? To help all wildlife creatures. To play an active role in their welfare, even when their sufferings are not traced back to us.

There is an organization called Wild Animal Initiative that studies this very question. Their communication director, Cat Kerr, joined me to talk about the implications of that revolutionary idea. We discussed how Wild Animal Initiative's work could be a cure for vegan misanthropy, the deadly risks of feeding birds, my awesome story of squirrel rescue, contraception for rodents, and much more.

Wild Animal Initiative is one of the ten Animal Charity Evaluators recommended charities. I committed to interviewing every charity on that golden list, because I am really curious to learn who is behind the most effective efforts to advance the cause of animal rights.

Connect with Wild Animal Initiative: https://www.wildanimalinitiative.org/

Learn about Animal Charity Evaluators top 10 charities: https://animalcharityevaluators.org/recommended-charities/

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Music by Sergii Pavkin from Pixabay

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For today, a group conversation with two research scientists from Stanford University's Humane and Sustainable Food Lab: Seth Ariel-Greene and Jacob Peacock

We discussed some of 2025 news and trends that affected animal advocacy, such as, artificial intelligence, the election of Donald Trump, the rise of the MAHA movement, the popularity of the vegan nudges concept among researchers, cultivated meat and much more. Seth and Jacob also tried to convince me to start a cult - don't miss that piece of the conversation.

Humane and Sustainable Food Lab: https://www.foodlabstanford.com/

Subscribe to Regression to the Meat: https://regressiontothemeat.substack.com/p/welcome-to-regression-to-the-meat

Follow Jacob Peacock's work: https://www.jacobpeacock.com/

Nothing Seems to Work | Science of Activism https://rss.com/podcasts/veganreport/2256400/

CORRECTION: the organization interested in the sentience of AI is called Sentient Futures and not Science Futures.

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Music by Alisia from Pixabay

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Today, we’re diving into how Artificial Intelligence is becoming a real game‑changer for vegans, for animal rights activists, and for animals themselves.

To explore this topic, I’m joined by Thomas Manandhar‑Richardson. He’s the Director of Research at Bryant Research and the Lead Data Consultant at Greener By Default.

I asked Thomas whether he thinks AI is becoming sentient — and what we should make of that idea. We also get into why AI models aren’t as bad for the environment as you been lead to believe, if AI modals have an anti-vegan bias, why he thinks AI modals are key to giving animal rights activists a leading edge against big Ag and much more.

He also gives us the best tips for using AI as a pro. If you want to access free AI training for animal activists, visit the link in the episode's notes.

Amplify for Animals, who offer free AI training to the animal movement: https://amplifyforanimals.org/

Bryant Research (where I am research director), a social science research consultancy exclusively serving the animal advocacy movement and alternative protein sector. In 2026 we will be offering AI consulting, data science and AI agent building services https://bryantresearch.co.uk/

Sentient Futures: the org I shouted out multiple times who put on "AI animals and digital minds" conferences, https://www.sentientfutures.ai/

"animal harm bench" a benchmark test that rated how animal friendly AI models are: https://arxiv.org/abs/2503.04804

Cats Should Be Vegan!? With Billy Nicholles | Ep. 90 https://rss.com/podcasts/veganreport/2228910/

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Music by Dmitrii Kolesnikov from Pixabay

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Today, we discuss the topic of witchcraft with Dr. Corey Lee Wrenn, the author of the book the Vegan Witchcraft.

Dr. Wrenn is an American sociologist specializing in animals and society, the animal rights movement, ecofeminism, and vegan studies.

We talked about witches using human remains for spells, the witchy argument for veganism, how the animal movement fails women, the taboo of being a witch in society, what being spiritual means for an atheist, and much more.

Share this episode with the witches and vegans you know. Let's spread Corey's message to the world. Leave a good review. And for more interesting conversations, make sure to follow the show.

Visit Dr. Coree Lee Wrenn's website: www.coreyleewrenn.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/coreyleewrenn

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@CoreyWrenn

Vegan Witchcraft (Routledge 2026) https://www.routledge.com/Vegan-Witchcraft-Contemporary-Magical-Practice-and-Multispecies-Social-Change/Wrenn/p/book/9781032649719

A Rational Approach to Animal Rights (Palgrave 2016) http://palgrave.com/us/book/9781137434647

Piecemeal Protest (University of Michigan Press 2019) https://www.press.umich.edu/11301441/piecemeal_protest

Animals in Irish Society (SUNY Press 2021) https://www.routledge.com/Vegan-Witchcraft-Contemporary-Magical-Practice-and-Multispecies-Social-Change/Wrenn/p/book/9781032649719

Vegan Feminism in a Nutshell | Science of Activism https://rss.com/podcasts/veganreport/2308674/

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"Grocery stores are a crucial arena in the movement to change our food habits — in the US, a whopping three-fourths of calories are bought from supermarkets — so we need to think carefully about how to approach them."

Supermarkets Are the Next Big Challenge for Meat Reduction: https://morethanmeatstheeye.substack.com/p/supermarkets-are-the-next-big-challenge

More Than Meats The Eye | Björn | Substack: https://bjornjohannolafsson.substack.com/

Björn Jóhann┃Researcher-Writer, Animal Advocate: https://www.bjornjohann.com/

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Music by Alisia from Pixabay