Food For Thought: The Joys And Benefits Of Living Vegan

If you’ve ever stared at the “Nutrition Facts” label on the back of food products wondering what to make of it, then this episode is for you. Learn about how to read the label, what to look for to ensure you're avoiding such unnecessaries as trans fats, how to identify animal products in the ingredients list, and how to understand the health claims made by manufacturers. Even though this episode is U.S.-specific, we're certain you'll get a lot out of it wherever you live.

In 1903, Mark Twain published the short story “A Dog’s Tale” in Harper’s Monthly Magazine, and the following year, it was released it as a book. Though it tends to be overshadowed by his more famous works, the story received public and critical acclaim, and as Diane Beers writes in her book, For the Prevention of Cruelty,it “is to this day a persuasive literary weapon for animal advocacy.” And I agree with her when she writes, “Twain’s deceptively simple little tale gave a powerful voice to the voiceless and laid bare human cruelty and arrogance.” A lovely sad tale worthy of remembrance.

The campaign against "plumaged headwear" was one of the most successful in the early animal advocacy movement in the United States, ultimately creating legislative protection for birds and a cultural shift in terms of how the public viewed feathered hats. A once-coveted fashion item became the symbol of cruelty and selfishness as the result of a boycott against it. Today, feathers and down - cruelly-begotten products of an incredibly lucrative industry - show up stuffed in our comforters and puffed up in our coats. Though geese and ducks are the primary victims, ostriches, too, suffer immense pain and distress as the result of humans taking their soft down and colorful plumes.

In celebration of the three-year anniversary of our 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 transformation. 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.

When I talk about eating healthfully “in a recession” or on a budget, I'm referring to “eating healthfully affordably.” I’m not talking about eating cheap food. I’m talking about eating whole food. I’m talking about considering all the costs of our food consumption – costs to our health, costs to the Earth, costs to the people who produce it, costs to the animals, costs to our spirits. Join me as I offer five suggestions for eating healthfully while being budget-conscious. (This episode is part of our "Compassionate Series," which features favorite companies/organizations/products/experts in the context of the topic. Enjoy!)

Though rabbits inform our consciousness and culture in so many ways, they are one of the most exploited domesticated animals: raised and killed for human consumption, hunted for "sport," used for experiments in vivisection labs, farmed and killed for their fur, sold in pet stores, and so much more. Given all this, it’s a wonder how a dismembered rabbit foot could possibly represent “good luck.” Join me as I frame our exploitation of and relationship to rabbits within pop culture and literature.

Because memorials aren’t really a lamentation of death as much as they are a celebration of life, I want to emphasize that this episode is not at all sad. In it, I read several poems by celebrated writers (Robinson Jeffers, John Galsworthy, Eugene O'Neill, William Cowper), who memorialize their lost animal companions with whom they lived and loved. May you find joy and solace in their words.

Many companies boast that their personal care and household products are "cruelty-free" and "not tested on animals," a label more and more consumers are seeking. Today's episode addresses the fact that neither the FDA nor the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, which regulate cosmetics/personal care and household products, respectively, require animal testing to ensure the safety of their products. In other words, there is no law that mandates animal testing for cosmetics and household products. Learn about the common animal tests used to test safety, the alternatives that are slowly replacing these tests, and some fabulous companies whose products deserve a place in every compassionate person's bathroom. (This episode is part of our "Compassionate Series," which features favorite companies/organizations/products/experts in the context of the topic. Enjoy!)

According to the World Health Organization, people who live in high-income countries and middle-income countries predominantly die of chronic "lifestyle" diseases or "diseases of civilization"(Alzheimer's disease, atherosclerosis, asthma, cancer, chronic liver disease, Type 2 diabetes, heart disease, hypertension, osteoporosis, stroke, depression, diverticulitis, gallstones, and obesity). In low-income countries, people predominantly die of infectious diseases, such as HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria, and influenza. we’ve come so far in learning how to prevent infectious diseases. We should all be very grateful that we don’t have to contend with malaria on a daily basis – that we wake up and have little chance of contracting whooping cough. But what have we traded this for? We have all the information we need to prevent 80% of premature deaths and we do nothing. For what?

Today’s episode is part of our "Compassionate Series," which features favorite companies/organizations/products/experts in the context of the topic.) If you’re seeing this episode after the “holidays” have already passed, please don’t tune it out. The information is relevant ANYTIME and ALL the time, and you’ll be happy you listened to hear about these fabulous companies and their equally fabulous products for healthful, happy, humane living. There's lots of information here about tea - the difference between green, white, black, and oolong - and about wax used for candles.

Whether you’re packing lunches for your children for school or your partner for work or for yourself to take to the office; whether you're a teenager packing your own lunch or a college student looking for quick and easy meals; whether you're someone who works outside - as a gardener or landscaper, carpenter or construction worker; whether you're going on a picnic, going camping, or taking a road trip or a plane ride, you may want to listen to this episode. Packed with ideas and suggestions for a number of different sandwiches, snacks, and salads (grain, pasta, noodle, fruit, bean, tofu, or tempeh), Food for the Road leaves no stone unturned.

At Animal Pharm, an anomaly is born. Whether a piglet with the hands and feet of a human baby or a human baby with the head and tail of a piglet, Ziggy only wants to find what we all seek. It is my pleasure to read this moving tale by the talented Shad Clark.

Cow's milk contains calcium because cows eat grass. Calcium is a mineral that comes from the ground, which means, like grass, all green leafy vegetables are teeming with this nutrient. Let's explore the rationale behind human adults drinking another animal's milk when we don't even drink our own species' milk into adulthood. Perhaps all the calves are laughing at us, for even they stop drinking their own mothers' milk when they become adults. In other words, I think we have a lot to learn from the cows.

When we closely examine the traditions of such holidays as Thanksgiving and Halloween, we see that we can honor their deeper meanings while still honoring our ethics and our values. Much of what informs our consciousness about these holidays is myth, which is fine. It’s fine to use myth to create rituals and traditions, but the point I make in this episode is that we pick and choose our cultural and personal traditions all the time, and these choices don't necessarily reflect some historical fact. I also spend a great deal of time talking about how vegan children can partake in all the fun of Halloween without being deprived. Finally, I offer some suggestions for using Halloween as an opportunity for advocacy.

What if I had my own hens and ate her eggs? What if I had my own cow or goat and drank her milk? What about honey? Is it considered "vegan"? These are some of the questions people ask as they begin to consider the ethical issues of consuming animal products. Though I don't pretend to have the one definitive answer, I am happy to share my thoughts.

With a penchant for romanticizing their consumption of animals, many people declare that they "pray over meat" or "weep over the animals who sacrifice themselves for us - just like the Native Americans." Not only does this attempt to assuage our discomfort make no difference to the animals we kill (for naught), I wonder: who's praying for the animals who are still alive? Who's weeping for those who need our help? And if it's so compassionate to pray over an animal while we slit her throat, isn't it even MORE compassionate to pray over an animal and NOT slit her throat? Join me as I explore what's really underneath this third-rail issue and as I suggest that it is not only insulting to the animals but to the Native Americans themselves.

Though I love talking about all things vegetarian with like-minded friends, my favorite people to engage with are strangers, whether on land or in the air (on planes). The more time we invest in conversations about vegetarianism and animal rights, the better advocates we will be and the more seeds we will plant. Despite the common assertion that "people don't want to talk about these issues," I actually experience quite the opposite. Join me today as I talk about some recent encounters with strangers on planes (the good and the bad) and how I responded to some frequently asked questions about animal rights and vegetarianism, particularly those that relate to religion.

With his keen understanding of human behavior, Benjamin Franklin once remarked: "So convenient a thing it is to be a reasonable creature, since it enables one to find or make a reason for every thing one has a mind to do." We tend to be quite adept at finding ways to justify our behavior, especially when it is either unnecessary or ethically questionable. When it comes to eating animals, we don't only justify it on the grounds that it benefits US; we actually have the nerve to justify it on the grounds that it actually benefits the animals. Focusing on a few of these common assertions ("cows need to be milked or they'll fall ill," "we give animals life," and "dying by our hands is better than dying by the hands of violent predators."), I offer my own perspective in response.

Calorie for calorie, dark green leafy vegetables are perhaps the most concentrated source of nutrition of any food. There are over one thousand species of plants with edible leaves, including Arugula, Beet Greens, Bok Choy, Brussels Sprouts, Collard greens, Cabbage, Chard, Chicory, Dandelion Greens, Endive, Escarole, Iceberg Lettuce, Kale, Kohlrabi, Mustard Greens, Purslane, Romaine, Sorrel, Spinach, Tatsoi, Turnip Greens, Watercress – and so many others. Join me as I talk about seven of these green leafies - their history, their etymology, how to store and wash them, how to cook them, and how to make them delicious so that you'll get them in your body - any which way.

Just as humans need the nutrients from plants to thrive and grow, so do the plants need the nutrients from the soil - such as nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium, calcium, iron, and magnanese. In this much-requested episode, learn how organic matter from plants (i.e. compost) enriches the soil, how animal slaughterhouse waste is unnecessary to create a healthy and abundant garden, and how to create harmony with all the creatures in your garden - even the snails!