Vegan Warrior Princesses Attack!

Do you always respond the same way in certain situations? Do you ever find yourself being inconsistent in your vegan message?

In This Episode

Moved by current events, Callie broaches the topic of consistency – is ok to sometimes waver in your vegan message? The girls discuss having different limits for what they will and will not eat, how they respond to carnist questions or situations, and then Nichole goes on a crazy rant about racism!

Links and Info

News

* Meat Lobby Peddles Doubt to Undermine Dietary Guidelines

* Whole Foods Opening More Affordable Chain of Grocery Stores

Vegan Warrior Princess of the Week

Is the Less Meat More Plants Coalition of plant-based companies that are lobbying against the meat lobby in the first news story above to keep the government from basing federal dietary guidelines around influences from the meat and dairy industries. This coalition is comprised of over 20 companies, Daiya and Tofurkey included, who are raising their voice to show the government that plant-based alternatives are an up and coming segment of the market that can no longer be ignored.

The Less Meat More Plants coalition’s comments were submitted by Michele Simon of Eat Drink Politics. Michele is a public health lawyer who works to fight harmful corporate tactics and influence for the good of public health.

Nichole is sick and tired of other vegans being shitty about gluten. She pops-off about the attitude in the community that it’s ok to judge others’ personal experiences if “research” doesn’t back them up.

In This Episode

Gluten is a controversial topic, one bound to stir up rude comments and rolled eyes. Nichole has had to go gluten-free, much to her pasta-loving Italian heart’s despair, and has been shocked by how brutally mean and judgmental other vegans can be about it.

She and Callie discuss gluten, what some new research has suggested is the cause of people’s intolerances to it, and more importantly, how even when research shows that something isn’t the way people think, you can’t offhandedly dismiss a mountain of anecdotal evidence.

Also discussed are long-term, chronic illnesses, and how disheartening it can be to struggle with one and also have to deal with other’s opinions about what may or may not be causing them, and that we need to find compassion for each other and not attack each other for simply trying to find an answer to our health issues.

Links and Info

News

* Aramark Animal Welfare Changes

* New Estimates for Extinctions Global Warming Could Cause

Vegan Warrior Princess of the Week

Nichole nominated the Oakland Veg Fest and it’s organizer, Katie Cantrell, as the Vegan Warrior Princess of the Week because of their focus on multicultural representation in this year’s festivities.

Oakland Veg Fest has been going for four strong years now, and this year they decided to make sure that other cultures, particularly those in the African-American community, were showcased to highlight that veganism is not solely comprised of white people, but is a movement of gorgeous and wide-reaching diversity. People of color and non-heteronormative sexuality are frequently under-represented at vegan events and in the media, so we think it kicks ass that Oakland Veg Fest made an attempt to right this imbalance.

Events featured a hip-hop show, and presentations by prominent African-American health and food experts, as well as a Vegan Soul Sunday kick-off event. We hope to see other vegan events follow suit!

Hero worship and blind faith are dangerous things for any movement. Veganism should not accept leadership that might save animals but includes sexism, racism, or any other form of hate.

In This Episode

Nichole and Callie talk about the dangers of having blind faith in vegan leaders and thereby excusing their behavior or harmful views. They talk about Gary Yourofsky as an example of a leader that spreads messages of veganism through racist and rape-promoting speech.

The girls also talk about vegan celebrities, ex-vegans and veganism as religion, exploring the idea that vegans need to become secure in their veganism so they are not so reliant on high-profile vegans to provide guidance and visibility to the movement.

Links and Info

News

* McDonalds Closing Hundreds of Restaurants in 2015

* 5 Million Chickens to be Killed as Bird Flu Outbreak Puzzles Industry

* Judge Recognizes Two Chimpanzees as Legal Persons

Vegan Warrior Princess of the Week

For the ruling listed in the news link above, Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Barbara Jaffe is our honorary Vegan Warrior Princess of the week! We know a lot of people worked on this case and of course they deserve recognition as well, but we wanted to highlight Judge Jaffe because it takes a lot of guts for a judge to make the first ruling on something and set a new precedent.

We hope the hearing on May 27 goes well and these two chimps, Hercules and Leo, are granted legal personhood.

Because the team who set this in motion and did all the work is so important, please check out the Nonhuman Rights Project. They are the ones who brought this case, and many others, to court and are working tirelessly to win rights for animals everywhere.

What do we owe vegan businesses? Should vegans only eat at vegan restaurants? Are we allowed to write bad reviews or give negative feedback? The ladies explore these questions and more!

In This Episode

Nichole and Callie talk about the idea that as vegans, we should only eat at vegan restaurants or patronize vegan businesses; and that we’re not allowed to say anything bad about them.

Another discussion inspired by crazy Facebook threads, Nichole and Callie take on the vegan police who claim that vegans should not patronize any establishment that isn’t vegan. Despite the fact that that would be impossible for most people, this would also keep veganism on the fringe, weird and inaccessible. Going to non-vegan places creates a demand for vegan products in the mainstream. It gets veganism out in the open, makes it more “normal” and takes us out of the shadows.

Nichole and Callie both believe that vegan businesses are still businesses. If they provide horrible service, or treat their customers disrespectfully, they should get bad reviews like any other businesses. The girls do concede that it’s good practice to give any small business direct feedback and/or a second chance before committing to a public negative review, but that vegan businesses should not be exempt from the same standards as any other.

Links and Info

News

* Pendleton Correctional Facility builds cat shelter in prison

* San Francisco bans animals in entertainment

* DxE’s public statement regarding Hugo Dominguez

Vegan Warrior Princess of the Week

VWPA nominated Rob Greenfield of Food Waste Fiasco as the Honorary Vegan Warrior Princess of the Week for his work on food waste. Rob gave a presentation at the Earth Day festival in Balboa park in San Diego.

He goes dumpster diving and displays the food for everyone to see how much food is needlessly thrown out in the U.S. while people go hungry. He’s got a great message, we’re hoping to interview him soon for an environmental episode!

***Trigger warnings for talk about rape culture, domestic abuse and animal slaughter***

Nichole takes on PETA, explaining the ugly and often unknown things the organization does to promote veganism and their twisted view on animals’ right to life.

In This Episode

Nichole and Callie start a couple new segments, and then take on the always controversial topic of PETA, and why they are a terrible organization.

PETA is often loved or hated, but neither side seems to know much about them. Their critics mostly complain about their sexist ads, which is a problem, and their fans tend to say that they don’t care that PETA exploits sexism, as long as it’ll save some animals.

In my research to back up why I disagree with supporting PETA in any way, I was shocked to turn up a lot worse information than I had known before I started (see research links below). Not only does PETA have ads, campaigns and actions that are incredibly sexist, body-shaming, promotive of domestic violence and rape culture, and exploitative of marginalized groups, but they also kill animals in the thousands every year.

Ingrid Newkirk, PETA’s founder, is very clear in her public statements that PETA does not advocate animals’ right to life. PETA believes animals should not suffer or be used for human entertainment/amusement. This translates to them killing almost every animal that enters their shelter, most within 24 hours, and many perfectly adoptable and in good health, despite their “shelter of last resort” branding.

Their ads run from offensive to downright disturbing. As you’ll see below, they often mix sexualized images with violent ones, and the bodies looking sexy while receiving violence are always ones belonging to women. They openly shame the overweight and obese, and have even gone so far as using the KKK to create a campaign against the American Kennel Club.

Links and Info

News Links

* Cost of lab-grown burger patty drops from $325,000 to $11.36

* Germany Set to End Brutal Killing of Male Chicks in Egg Industry

* Sabra Hummus Listeria Recall / Listeria Research

Vegan Warrior Princess of The Week

VWPA nominated The Daily Show as the Honorary Vegan Warrior Princess of the Week for their recent interview with Gene Bauer of Farm Sanctuary (below) and their recent expose on California’s water usage being mostly for feed for animal agriculture.

PETA Research

I’m not going to link to every single thing I reviewed in preparation for the show, but the below hit all the major points I addressed. If you are interested in further information, a Google search will turn up plenty but you can also email us through the Contact Page.

Ads that promote body shaming, sexism, rape culture/domestic abuse:

 

PETA’s “My Boyfriend Went Vegan and Knocked the Bottom Out of Me” ad:

PETA resources regarding pets:

* PETA’s page about their shelter in Virginia,

A frank and vulnerable look at our experiences with body image issues around not “looking” like a vegan.

In This Episode

Tackling a very personal issue, Nichole and Callie talk about how the popular media stereotype of what a vegan is supposed to look like has impacted their own vegan identities, holding them back from truly stepping into the roles of public vegan figures.

Vegans love to push health and eternal youth as a selling point to veganism, but at what cost? When we start to idolize and promote only vegans that are thin and young-looking and seemingly in perfect health, we ostracize and shame a huge portion of our community.

Having struggled their whole lives with eating disorders and body image issues, Nichole and Callie have been heavily impacted by the idea that to be taken seriously as a member of the vegan community, you have to fit a certain physical description. They explore this topic honestly, with a plea to the community to maybe consider those of us who are outside of this standard but have passion and a voice that we want to use to help animals and the movement.

Callie and Nichole discuss V-Cards! Umm that’s Vegan card… what were you thinking?

In This Episode

Callie and Nichole discuss the concept of taking someone’s vegan card. Is it ever ok or appropriate? At what point do you get to tell someone they are not a true vegan. There seem to be a lot of vegans that are trying to police others… What does this accomplish? Why do some feel the need to treat veganism as an exclusive club? If someone is truly trying to be vegan and live a more compassionate life, why would we want to beat them down just because they aren’t perfect.

Veganism, just like other self labels, can become a big part of a person’s identity… shouldn’t we try to embrace others instead of trying to telling them who they are (or who they aren’t)?

We vegans ask the world to give up the pleasure of eating meat for the greater good, but are we willing to give up our love of pets for the same?

In This Episode

Nichole talks Callie through the incendiary concept that owning pets is a form of speciesism – a concept that Nichole vehemently disagreed with when she first heard it but over time has come to accept and understand.

We love our pets, vegans especially, and it can be shocking to think that with everything we do to do right, that we might still be doing something wrong when it comes to animals. While there are many animals right now that need and deserve good homes, the concept of pet ownership, the idea that domesticated animals should be continued to be brought into existence so that we can take them as companions, is still trading an animal’s life for our pleasure. Some pets seem very happy with the trade off, there’s no denying that many pets love their owners and would stay if given the choice. But, they are not really given the choice. Pets don’t have the agency to leave, or to follow many of their natural instincts.

Continuing this train of thought, Nichole and Callie briefly touch on all forms of domesticated animals, including livestock, and “rescuing” species from extinction by locking them in cages or safaris.

A polarizing topic, for sure. We hope that you will listen with an open mind and we’d love to hear your feedback on this topic!

To fake fur or not, that is the question. Nichole and Callie tackle this controversial topic, and suggest ways to make it werk werk werk for fashionistas everywhere!

In This Episode

Whether or not faux fur and leather are a good or bad thing is a hot button topic with vegans everywhere. Some think that wearing the fake version of these items perpetuates a desire for the real thing. Others believe offering faux alternatives allows more people to make the switch than otherwise would have. Both sides have a good point.

Callie and Nichole explore this topic, discussing Stella McCartney’s new fashion collection that now includes faux fur coats, something Ms. McCartney was firmly against in the past. We also talk briefly about the concept of sustainability and repurposing items from vintage/second-hand stores, and whether or not you are required to through out your leather boots that you bought ten years ago.

Callie and Nichole discuss the importance of inclusiveness, and learning to understand and accept the concept of privileges.

In This Episode

In our journey to be become better vegans (and better humans) we are trying to be more aware of othering, making sure we welcome people of all different backgrounds. While it is basic human nature to want to categorize each other, this can sometimes lead to oppression; as compassionate activists we need to be aware of this.

We also discuss intersectionality and how understanding privileges, especially which privileges we ourselves have, will help unite activists in deconstructing all the systems of oppression.