My in laws have planned a cruise for the family. We have a day to kill in Seattle before we board the cruise. My husband excitedly told me we are going to Pike Place all together. I have argued with my in laws before about them bringing a bunch of meat over when they visit (my husband eats meat). It's a sensitive topic and I am going to be with them for a 15 day cruise. Please help, what do I do?

In defense of my husband, he tried vegetarian for 1 year, but didn't feel well so went back to eating meat. He cooks it outside or when I'm not home. We eat separately most of the time.

I recently learned about plasma donation as a means to earn some extra cash, so I went in for the physical this week to see if I was eligible. I’ve been vegan for about a year and a half now, and it’s a struggle for me to eat enough or the right things, but I try to have a varied and relatively nutritious diet (I also take a multivitamin and occasionally a B12 supp).

Of course everyone assumes that it must be difficult to get enough iron and protein in our diets, so when I passed both of those blood tests, I was feeling so confident. Now I’ve got a personal response for anyone who is “concerned for my health” haha and it’s a great incentive to keep taking care of myself!

I know I don’t know you all individually but

You guys are all awesome. Some people really dislike us vegans and try to trigger us in various ways. Or try to convert us back to meat eating. But I love being vegan. I feel very good in every single way. I haven’t been one for long and many people might say I will feel different in a few years. But I don’t think I will, because I know I am following a healthy diet if done correctly and I am vegan because of reasoning, not a documentary. I think exploiting animals is wrong.

Anyways. Keep doing what you’re doing. Be healthy and take care of yourself. You’re awesome.

I am very new to this sub, and not a vegan, but I am moving in with my best friend who is vegan. I am going to culinary school and I plan on cooking for my roommates because it’s what I love to do. Everyday my friend sends me pictures of the meals she makes, and meals is a nice way to put it. Her usual go to is anything canned in the pantry goes into a pan with some kind of rice or pasta and she hopes for the best. She has asked me to help her make better meals for herself because she is so skinny and trying to put on weight, but I would have no idea where to even start. Any references to YouTube channels/social media cooks/websites is greatly appreciated!

I see so many posts in this sub from vegans who have no community, who feel disconnected and lonely. I’m wondering what folks do now to connect. I started volunteering at a farm sanctuary for instance. What do others do? But more importantly when it comes to an ideal vegan lifestyle, what do you wish existed in our current world to foster community?

I’m so tired of the exclusion of vegan foods for health. I can’t believe the amount of arguments people have on why a food isn’t vegan because it is “processed” or has dye in it. The whole point of the movement is to reduce animal suffering and then people start making definitions like “eganism” to divide those who do it for health or not. In my opinion, if you only eat plant based foods for health reasons that does not make you vegan anyway, but I’d like to hear some other perspectives on this.

The school I attend keeps and uses flies for a yearly breeding experiment in the biology department.

My only question is, am I obliged to stop it? To let them out?

I feel a burning need to, but I realise I could end up in serious trouble. I know where my priorities lie really, but I just want to know what you'd all do.

Title.

Fertilizers are often made with manure from chickens, cows, horses, etc. There are also soil amendments like blood meal and bone meal which is dried up blood and crushed up livestock bones from slaughterhouses. There's also seafood based amendments and compost. Not to mention things like worm castings which is worm poop and if you're not buying organic, pesticides murder insects in the process of growing your crops.

Is this something you think about or are most not aware of it?

This is a commentary article doubles down about another article on the Telegraph that’s behind a paid wall.

Basically says that farmers are not heartless bastards because one cried when his piglets died. And the writer also says that his “compassionate” farm father often paid for veterinary care for his animals even when he could not recuperate the costs from the sale. Quoting his father “An animal doesn’t have to suffer. Full stop”

Well. I guess you can care about them all the way to the slaughter house. But that doesn’t make you a heartless bastard. What am I missing here ? SMH

https://www.2oceansvibe.com/2024/04/26/exposing-the-lie-at-the-heart-of-veganism/

1. When you forget to immediately refrigerate your cheeze after using it to make a sandwich it doesn't get weirdly sweaty

2. No worrying about food safety and bacteria when cooking fake meat, tofu, seitan etc. Food safety concerns are mostly limited to cooking dried beans for long enough now

3. Sweat smells less bad? IDK why

4. Less choice means less time deciding what to eat at restaurants or when shopping. I always just go for whatever vegan option there is. When you're super indecisive like me less choice saves time

5. Waste less money on deals and offers since they're usually not actually that good value and they're typically not vegan

link to the paper
Hey everyone! Excited to share a new groundbreaking study published in PLOS ONE, showing that dogs can totally rock on a commercial pea-based vegan diet. We followed 15 dogs over a year, closely monitoring their nutritional and health status with regular blood and urine tests, plus monthly updates from their owners.

The results? Not only did the dogs maintain their health, but they also showed improvements in some nutrient levels and heart health markers!

As one of the scientists who conducted this study, I'm here to answer any questions you have—just drop them in the comments!

I’ve been talking with my friend a lot about Veganism and she was very interested. I took her to a vegan event called Earth Fest. They have tons of 100% plant based food vendors and even a bit of activism. PETA was there, same with a bunch of other activists and it was really beautiful. We got her some plant based Mac and Cheese, because that’s one of her favorite things and she loved it. She supports the cause and wants to make the switch.

We’re both 18, but she is dependent on her mom and her mom says “vegan food is expensive” which is a total lie lol, she’s probably thinking of all the mock and processed food. Also she told her “are you sure about this, why don’t you just switch slowly and see if it’s something you want to do” of course it’s something she wants to do, she said she can sacrifice taste and all that because she doesn’t wanna contribute to animal suffering.

How can I help her convince her mom? Her mom is old and very stubborn. She is the type of person to say “oh that’s sad, but I can’t give up meat” or “I’ve seen some of the videos, it’s sad” then why are you putting it in your stomach lol? If you can’t stomach it, then don’t put it in there. What do I do to help my friend?

Hi! If you're vegan and looking for a summer job, peta2 is looking for a small team of dedicated activists to travel full-time for about 8 weeks this summer. It's a high-energy gig, on the road, getting music festival crowds excited about animal rights, and developing relationships with young people across the country to plant the vegan seed. Driver's license and clean 3-year driving record required. https://www.peta2.com/help-animals/apply-outreach-crew/

My partner and I both ordered the vegan lorne sausage bun, and we ate the whole thing.

Looking back when they brought it out it was so fucking suss. It didn't look right from the start. Vegan meats are made in a mould so they're usually more uniform. It didn't taste right either, it was fatty and greasy and heavy, and it had an unpleasant flavour to it. We were both coping SO HARD throughout it though. We were like "Nah, there's no way. It's just some weird new recipe. I mean, there's vegan steaks that bleed now".

It wasn't until I got to the last bite and my tongue found a piece of gristle.

The staff were extremely apologetic and refunded our entire order. I'm actually not angry at them, it was extremely busy and the guy taking our order must have not heard us correctly due to the noise of the other customers. I'm just a bit incredulous because we ordered the vegan cake, and then he asked to confirm whether the soup was vegan, and we both got oat lattes—and then they went ahead and served us a dead pig's body parts. And then we fucking ate it.

We've both been vegan for 8 years now, so we knew it was going to happen eventually, like, it was in the post. The worst part though? I couldn't throw it up. I tried so hard. I fingerfucked my throat raw, but it just wouldn't come up. I had severe emetophobia when I was a child and sort of I've trained myself to resist vomiting, and it's super backfiring on me now. So it's inside of me right now. Fermenting. I actually feel like I've just eaten a murder victim. I'm incredibly upset. I want it out of my body so badly.

On the plus side, for those of you who've had the thought "Man, these fake meat products are getting pretty convincing, I wonder if I'd even be able to tell if I accidentally ate real meat", yes, you can tell. We got complacent.

I've been non-vegan for 21 years. I was vegetarian for 2 of those years long ago. My boyfriend had been vegan for a decade, came back to meat eating, and is now going vegan with me as well. We are both super duper excited.

Yesterday was my last non vegan meal, but I did have a vegan dinner. All the food is so good, even for someone as picky as me. We had vegan dumplings and tempeh with soy sauce. I was also surprised with HOW FULL the food was. Like everything I've eaten is very filling and I didn't feel the need to be snacky!

I am working on finding substitutes for things for my hair and shampoo and conditioner. I used Nexxus and I'm saddened to hear they are not cruelty free. I mostly use e.l.f as far as makeup goes but I seldom wear makeup anyhow that it's been an extremely long time since I've bought any makeup lol.

Anyway, thank you for the read, I just don't have too many people to get excited over this with :)

I have been a vegan for about 4 months but have never eaten much meat, I’ve always disliked it. Recently I got some bloodwork done. All my levels were great except creatinine. Google says this can be caused by low muscle mass or a low protein diet. I work out almost everyday, cycling, weightlifting, yoga, etc. I also eat well - I use pea protein in smoothies, I eat legumes, tofu, etc for protein. Is this something I should be concerned about? What can I do to improve my creatinine levels?

Hey guys, not entirely sure if this is the right sub to post this in, so feel free to redirect me :) I'm trying out a new recipe: beetroot and legume kofte with a lemon-coriander dip. The recipe I'm basing this on has a few different ingredients which I didn't have at home, which is why I've run into some problems. Since I needed to use up the beetroots today, I wanted to keep it to stuff I had here.

The taste turned out absolutely great, but the kofte themselves are too soft and don't hold together well. I had to use preserved whole beetroots instead of fresh ones, so I imagine the water content is significantly higher. I squeezed them out best I could. I also used white beans instead of chickpeas for the legume part, since I didn't have the latter.

As the mixture came out way too mushy, I added oat bran to soak up the excessive moisture. That worked fairly well, but it wasn't enough and the kofte fell apart slightly while frying. Do you have any suggestions what I might use as a binding agent? I was hesitant to add flour as I thought it might make them too dense. A chia egg would add too much moisture. I've only fried up half of the mixture so far and am looking to solve the problem with the rest before I fry it. As I said, I'm really happy with the taste, so I want to show the results to my family, preferably with kofte that keep their shape haha

Any advice would be welcome!

I just made the WORST noodle dish. I was so excited because I got some king oyster mushrooms and vegan shanghai noodles from my local international grocer. I added too much soy sauce, which I don’t normally like that much anyway. Burnt the hell out of the noodles, too. I hate wasting but man… it was bad. On the bright side, my apartment smells delicious. And the oyster mushrooms were tasty.

Share with me your worst vegan meals so I feel better. I was looking forward to this all day yesterday 😔 I’ll just stick to my tofu scramble recipe for now I GUESS

I just transitioned to veganism a couple months ago. I love it so far.

However this sub and many other vegans tend to have this very militant way of expressing their moral high ground which i think is dangerous.

I do believe that veganism is in many ways a solution, but you are not a good human being just because you’re vegan and you don’t get to tell others they are bad people for not being vegan.

The statistics of vegans being more depressed definitely is correlated to the fact that many vegans constantly concern themselves with what others do instead of acting in a way that convinces others that being vegan is the right thing to do.

Most people act on emotion and if vegans always make them feel bad about themselves they of course don’t want to follow their advice.

Below is something I wrote and posted on my personal social media a few weeks ago; it details my journey into veganism:

Dad, We lost you on this day many years ago. I still miss you. I’ll always miss you. I’ve been missing you more as of late. I wish you could meet my son. I’ve accepted that I will always miss you. There is much I wish I could tell you.

Life has so many joys and reasons for celebration. I am so grateful for my wife and my son, my home, my pets. I am so grateful for my life and those in it. I’m grateful for the memory of you dad. I was just a boy when you left us. For as long as you’ve been gone I still think of you often. Cancer robbed you of your life. You tried so hard to fight it. I remember your strength fading, your movement slowing, your pain growing. I remember seeing the light leave your eyes. The look of sadness and despair. Helplessness. It haunts me. I wouldn’t wish that on anyone.

Despite all you suffered you never complained. You never lashed out nor self-destructed despite the bad hand life had dealt you. I respect you so much for that. You continued to show kindness and compassion to other people. I respect you for that as well. You showed me what real strength looks like. It seemed so unfair for you to die of cancer. I never saw you smoke. I saw you drink maybe 2 beers ever. On the surface it did not seem you had many vices. You did love your meat though. You quite possibly ate it every day I knew you. Krakus ham. You loved to make sandwiches with krakus ham. It disturbs me to know that processed meat is deemed a Grade 1 carcinogen by the World Health Organization (smoking and asbestos share the same classification). All these years later I am forced to wonder if I could have spent more time with you if not for the regular consumption of animal products and the lack of fruit and veggies. You used to joke that apple pie was your serving of fruit. Maybe it wouldn’t have mattered? Maybe you just got unlucky. Sometimes people do everything right and things go wrong. Maybe it was the microplastics in the water we drink. Maybe it was the pollution in the air. Maybe it was all of it. Some may say it was fate or your time; I never felt it was enough time though. Maybe a different diet would have made a difference; maybe not. I’ll never know.

When I was boy, my sister and I hid a kitten we found at the park in the shed. I was so scared you be mad at us. But your stoic face melted when you saw her and she jumped in your lap. I was so happy when you let us keep her. You loved her so much. You held her and kissed her and sang to her and would be late to work because you were petting her. She loved you too. She was with you too as the light faded from your eyes.

Years later with tears in my eyes I would sign the paperwork consenting to put her to sleep to spare her from the pain of her cancer. Cancer took her from me just like it took you. I held her and I saw the light leave her eyes with a look of sadness and despair that looked eerily familiar. I wouldn’t wish that on anyone.

Not all that long ago I caught a mouse. It was spotted by some dismayed individuals. They wanted it gone which of course was understandable. I too wanted the mouse gone but didn’t want it to suffer; after all it didn’t know it wasn’t allowed there. It had broken no rules that it was aware of. It was simply living life and trying to survive. I built a trap out of some cardboard and tape and to my own surprise managed to capture it. I put it in a cup and began briskly escorting it out of the building. I looked down at it. Something didn’t seem right. It seemed so scared and distressed. Of course it was scared but this was different. I pause and look at the eyes and see sadness and despair as it begins to writhe in pain. The realization slowly dawns on me that it had eaten poison that someone had left out. It was turning blue and whimpering. Knowing it had only moments to live, I placed it in a sunny spot in a patch of grass. “it’s just a mouse” I think to myself as I walk away. Yet that sadness and despair looked all too familiar. It was losing its life; the only thing it had. The most important thing to it. I wouldn’t wish that on anyone.

I wonder why we as humans can get so sad when our pets die but celebrate the death of a rodent or collude with the suffering of farmed animals by buying their products. Why do we think it’s okay to kill some animals but not okay to kill others? Why do we mourn the passing of a pet and turn them into ashes but pay for the death of another animal and turn them into feces? It doesn’t seem to make sense. It is morally inconsistent. One need only spend some time with an animal to see there is an individual with unique experiences. A thought for another day.

I find out I’m going to be a father. I’m so happy. So grateful. So excited. I want to be the best version of myself I can be for my family. I self reflect a lot. I think what are my strengths? What are my flaws? What am I proud of? What am I ashamed of? When have I failed? How can I be better? Self reflection can be a difficult process yet I think it is important to be the best version of oneself so I persist. I think of people in my life that I respected. I wonder what kind of person my son will grow up to be? I think of the attributes and traits of people I respect. I’ve always been a firm believer that actions speak louder than words. I think about myself; I want to make sure I’m actually living a life consistent with my values not only for my son but also for myself. This led to an epiphany of sorts.

At this point I had not eaten meat in nearly a decade. But I still consumed cheese and eggs and honey regularly. I had made the connection many years ago that meat was a dead animal’s flesh and decided my taste buds did not matter more than another being’s life so I stopped eating meat. For whatever reason I never made quite the same connection between animal suffering and eggs and dairy. I knew the animals probably didn’t have the best living conditions but my mind never dug much deeper. I would spend a little more money on “cage free” eggs or “grass fed” dairy to alleviate my own internal guilt. No one ever challenged me on the ethics of it all. I wish they had.

During my personal journey to try to be the best version of myself I eventually made the connection that continuing to consume animal products on any level was being complicit in some form of animal suffering and cruelty. I decided to dig a little deeper into where my food was coming from. If it was good enough for my stomach it was good enough for my eyes and mind. What I found shocked and horrified me. In my younger and more immature days I scoffed at vegetarians and vegans. It seemed too extreme. Too inconvenient. Too hard. I loved the taste of meat and dairy and fish and eggs and honey. But seeing some of went on in factory farming changed how I thought. Seeing male chicks ground up alive because they don’t produce eggs. Watching hens slaughtered once they didn’t produce enough eggs to pay for their own feed. Seeing cows cry and scream as their newborn calves are taken away and sent to slaughter so we can steal the mother’s milk. Seeing pigs smash their bodies against the side of the cage trying to escape CO2 gas chambers; hearing their screams as the very air burned their eyes. Seeing thousands of chickens trapped in cages so small they can’t stand. Seeing birds genetically modified to grow as big as possible as fast as possible suffering due to broken bones as their bodies couldn’t support .them any longer. Watching animals debeaked and dehorned without pain killers. Seeing tails cut off and teeth ground down and castration without anesthetic. Seeing mothers separated from their newborns by cages, unable to soothe or comfort their young. Seeing ill trained workers many of whom are migrants or convicts fail to properly stun an animal and seeing the fear and pain in the animals’ eyes as their throats are slit. That sadness in their eyes looks too familiar. I wouldn’t wish that on anyone. Humane slaughter is an oxymoron. The word humane means having or showing compassion or benevolence. How do you compassionately or benevolently take the life of someone who does not want to die for an unnecessary reason. Humane slaughter does not exist.

I realized that I was no more ethical as a vegetarian than a carnist. The dairy industry IS the meat industry and I had been naïve to not recognize it sooner. Those cows are forcibly impregnated against their will and their babies are taken and killed and their milk stolen so I can enjoy a pizza. Factory farms keep impregnating the cow and taking her children and stealing the milk until she is “spent” and she is sent to the same slaughterhouse as her children. Hens mutiliated and kept in cages and never see the sun and are slaughtered when their production dips. All the sudden I had lost my taste for cheese and eggs. I had been complicit far too long. I needed to change. For my son. For me. For the animals. For the world.

This world must be a nightmare for those poor, innocent animals. Humans have created a dystopian world in which 80+ billion land animals are killed globally each year and so much marine life is killed from overfishing it is difficult to quantify. We are eating ourselves into extinction, clogging our arteries with cholesterol from animal products, ingesting meat now considered carcinogenic, creating drug resistant bacteria through our overuse of antibiotics on farmed animals, cutting down forests to make room for cattle, using land to grow feed for livestock, manure and slurry polluting our groundwater, and all the atmospheric carbon released by these billions of land animals we forcibly bred into existence contributing to climate change. I realized this was not sustainable. I owe it to my son and future generations to do my part to make sure the world is inhabitable for future generations. I realized there needs to be change.

I was disturbed to learn per a recent publication by the American Journal of Public Health utilizing data from the Food and Drug Administration that approximately 80% of antibiotics in the US are sold for use in animal agriculture. They give animals antibiotics prophylactically to minimize the spread of disease in cramped cages and living conditions. This reckless over use of antibiotics to meet the world’s gluttonous demand for meat is causing growing strains of antibiotic resistant bacteria. It is farmers, not doctors, that are creating these drug resistant germs. Like many, family and friends that I cared about were affected by Covid 19. People I cared about died from it. I wonder if one day we will see the emergence of an even deadlier disease that we are powerless to combat if we continue to recklessly and needlessly use antibiotics at our current rate to satisfy the demand for animal products.

I wonder even more now if maybe I could have had more time with my dad if his lifestyle had been different. After all, fruits and vegetables don’t have cholesterol and have little saturated fat. Only animal products have cholesterol. Heart disease is the largest cause of death. Why aren’t world leaders, governments, doctors, and everyone advocating for a more plant based diet to minimize or reverse cardiovascular disease? Instead the US government gives ~$40 billion annually to the meat and dairy industries while only allotting a fraction of that to support plant based industries. So every time you buy meat society is paying a large part of the cost of production. We quite literally kill so many animals that animal products end up in everything from toilet paper to toothpaste. I can’t help but think profit, lobbyists, lack of awareness, and convenience play a role here.

I want to raise a son who grows to be a kind, caring, compassionate, empathetic person. I set out on a journey to be a better person and wound up a vegan. I’m ashamed and embarrassed it took me as long as it did. I was brainwashed. I had my blindfold on. I was conditioned to not look too closely at labels like grass fed, free range, antibiotic free. Why didn’t I? Why did it take me so long? Those labels are lies meant to trick consumers into buying the product. The reality is that free range hens are actually kept in vast sheds with potentially thousands of other birds, few of which ever see daylight. There is nothing humane about how animals are treated and slaughtered. I was complicit in the abuse of animals, humans, and the earth for so long due to taste, convenience, culture, and lack of awareness. I turned vegan for myself, my family, health, the future, the world, the earth, and for animals. No sane person would rejoice or celebrate if they really saw or understood what happens to animals in factory farms.

Dad, I like to think if you had seen what I have seen you would do what you could to minimize your contribution to animal suffering as well. I know you would; because you were a good person and you stood up for what you believed to be the right and moral thing. Even when it wasn’t easy. Even when it inconvenienced you. Even when it hurt you. I know now that I got that from you. I think most people would refrain from consumption of animal flesh and products if they saw what I’ve seen. Some may argue and try to excuse our dominion over animals. I challenge those to watch Dominion on YouTube and see how we have corrupted nature, twisted our stewardship of the Earth, and abused the gift of animals. It may just change your life.

I will continue to unapologetically advocate for what I believe is right. If anyone wishes to engage in meaningful and respectful dialogue please reach out. If I moved the needle in your mind just a little and you wish to embark on a more plant based lifestyle or to reduce your consumption of animal products but are not sure where to begin please reach out.

Some films to consider checking out:

Dominion on YouTube

Earthlings on YouTube

The Most Important Speech You Will Ever Hear by Gary Yourofsky on YouTube

You Will Never Look at Your Life the Same Way Again by Earthling Ed-YouTube

What the Health on Netflix

You Are What You Eat on Netflix

Cowspiracy on Netflix

Pignorant on Amazon Prime

These books are also worth reading:

This is Vegan Propaganda by Ed Winters

Vystopia by Clare Mann

I recently saw a tiktok for Almond Cow, which essentially is a kitchen appliance that will blend up your ingredients and strain them to make your own almond or cashew milk at home and can do a few other things.

Does anyone own one by this brand or any other ones? Or do you find it easier to just use a blender and strain it via cheese cloth or do you use something like this all in one?

We all know the advice to eat healthy and that its cheap and that there is a lot of different plant foods to eat.

Some say there are thousands of different plants to eat.

My question is am I actually eating enough different plants? It feels like I just eat the few same ones. Many of which I already ate before becoming vegan.

Onions, garlic, potatoes, carrot, tomatoes, cucumber, bell peppers, broccoli, corn, green peas, lentils, black beans, chickpeas, oats, rice, plant milks, peanut butter, bananas, apples, pears, berries,

Thats all I could come up with. Some things on the list I dont even buy year round like fresh tomatoes and cucumber because they are too expensive out of season. The reason why there arent more fresh fruits and vegetables on the list is because they are too expensive to buy. The things I listed are things that I buy on a regular basis. Other things like avocados or other fruit like mango are too expensive to buy often.

They keep telling me there are 300,000 edible plants, nobody needs meat, egg or dairy. And because my ape cousin eats bannana I can get all my nutrition from banana because curious George does( he’s a monkey though )

So, how many of the edible plants would you personally eat ?

If you found out your landscaping is edible, would you eat it ? Would you eat the plant that needs days to cook.to take out the toxins ?

Rams Organizing for Animal Rights needs help! If you're interested in taking on this job, please apply to help with your resume, website, or linkedin, your email, and a little bit about you - thanks for your activism!

website help

Website: https://ramsorganizingforanimalrights.wordpress.com/

Compensation: This is a volunteer role, please help the animals!

Description: I tried my hardest to set up a wordpress website but I am not most familiar with how to best organize and layout the website. Help organzing what I already have and making it better (integrate social media more, set up payment maybe, etc) would be appreciated. Most of what I want is already on the site, I just want it to look professional and improve it. It would be nice to have this done by the start of fall 2024 semester, I listed 8/1/24 as the desired date.

Interested in this request? Please click the link below to apply to help on Playground!

Click here: Link to request

Thanks for your activism for the animals!

VH: Playground by Vegan Hacktivists

Find other requests to help animals, click here!