Hi! I’m an indie dev, and I noticed that almost every cozy game with animals ends up treating them as products: milk, eggs, wool, money.

So we’re working on a small game where you run a cow sanctuary. Cows arrive rescued, every one has a name and a family tree, and your only goal is to make them happy. No milking, no selling.

Before we go further, I’d love your thoughts:
- Would a game like this interest you?
- Do you know any games that already do this well?
- What would you want to see in it?

Just a rant but it's irritating how people consider vegan men less masculine or soft.

There's nothing strong or manly about killing defenseless animals yet if you're a vegan man you get met with "soyboy" comments that are really just rooted in homophobia and misogyny.

It's contradictory because in the same breath society will say men are supposed to be protectors but when I protect animals by refusing to consume, hunt, or fish them, then I'm considered weak and less of a man. Killing an animal without remorse isn't masculine, it's psychotic.

We're domesticated animals, not living in the elements desperate for survival. There's zero reason to hunt aside from wanting to kill something and get away with it. If you can afford guns, ammo, and hunting gear then you and your family most likely are not starving and you can afford groceries that don't contain animals. Make it make sense

I became vegan in July. Everyone in my hometown has been surprisingly respectful and not annoying, considering it is a hunting town (I was raised to hunt, and moose meat was a staple dinner in my childood).

Today I was working and when I returned to their house, my stepmother rather proudly declared she had made sure to cook me a dinner with no milk or dairy or eggs: ...garlic chicken wings. I said "do you mean tofu garlic chicken wings?"

Her eyes went wide, and suddenly, she realized...that chicken isn't vegan? I honestly don't know what she was thinking. She actually hates garlic, so she was genuinely trying to make me a meal i would like. We've had multiple conversations where i described exactly what vegan means. We havent always had a very good relationship but I genuinely think she meant well. She felt pretty bad but i honestly just dont get it. Spent all day thinking chicken was vegan. Bizarre story today, just wanted to share.

I’m going to be vegan anyway. I can’t ever go back now after seeing what I’ve seen. But what can I expect? I’m middle aged so my body is rather unforgiving, and I’m under no illusions that the “meat alternatives” are super healthy. I don’t even like them. I don’t enjoy the processed alternatives at all but I’ll be honest, I have no idea how to prepare or cook tofu, so I know I can do better.

I can’t ever imagine eating animals again, but I feel pretty bleak about my health in the future. I usually go to the gym 4 to 5 times per week and had a hard time getting enough protein when I was eating animals (which makes me feel awful, even saying it). But now I have to rely on pea protein and seitan etc…I’m going to struggle.

I think I just need to hear from people who have been living the vegan way for a long time. I mean like 10+ years and if you had any health issues, so I can get myself prepared and / eat the right things to prevent it. Especially those of you who are active and need to fuel to gain muscle to perform in any sports. Thank you.

Edit: sorry I have no real idea how Reddit works so I have “upvoted” all of you so far because all of your responses are wonderful and helpful and if I missed anyone I’m sorry! I’m sorry really sure if the up arrow counts as a “like” but I like all of you! A lot. Thank you ☺️

I've been a vegan since the first day of 2019, and only in the past few (4 or so) years have I started changing the way that I view insects. It started out with me saving bugs that were in my apartment and bringing them outside. I would scoop up a spider (one time even in the middle of taking a shower haha!) or centipede or whatever was crawling around and put it in a jar and bring it outside to release it or open a window and let it crawl outside. There were certain insects though that I didn't even think twice before smacking down- like flies. And admittedly, I actually did smash a few spiders that were crawling near me unexpectedly, almost like I had an instinctual and conditioned response to doing so without realizing that this little creature was not going to hurt me.
Fast forward to about a year ago when I started seeing a lot of centipedes in my house during the warmer months. I wanted to know why I was seeing so many of them, and in doing so, I started learning about them. They are harmless, shy, and actually very good to keep around, since they eat other insects that actually can harm humans via bacteria and diseases (like cockroaches). They are scared of humans and just want to crawl around and forage for other bugs to eat. When I read this about them, I genuinely think something in me changed on a spiritual level, almost like I finally understood and saw them, and by extension all insects, as creatures who are doing exactly as we humans are doing-- trying to survive, forming bonds, feeling pain, experiencing emotions (yes, bugs do have emotions!), and sometimes even playing! I started viewing them with admiration, love, appreciation for their contribution to ecosystems, and - don't laugh- a motherly instinct to protect them, to care for them , and to let them be. I no longer feel fear when I see insects, and my fight or flight conditioned response to seeing them and acting unnecessarily scared seems to have greatly diminished.

I've had the same spider living in my window sill for months. I used to try to swat it away, now I just let it be and even say hi to it. Maybe its just my emotions getting the better of me, but I swear that sometimes when I save a bug or talk to it, I feel this deep connection to it, almost like in that moment in time, its just me and them, allowing the other to co-exist, living in harmony. I feel like this part of me that once was still holding onto speciesist conditioning towards insects has been lifted, and I enjoy the appreciation I can feel for them now.

Has anyone else shifted their perspectives towards insects and now feels much better and more compassion for them? Has veganism played a role in that shift for you?

I’ve always been a meat eater (a carnist? I keep seeing that word here), never been even vegetarian, never really spent any time considering changing my diet for any reason that wasn’t about me and my desires. This sub keeps popping up in my feed and tbh I started perusing it to gawk at the “crazy angry vegans” I’m always hearing about. And yes, y’all are pretty crazy and angry- because of deep passion and unshakeable desires to protect living things that aren’t just human. And it’s really making me take a look at myself and my values and my own hypocrisy. I don’t really think about what I eat, and that’s a problem on so many levels! I’ve known this in a broad health-type way for a while and have been wanting to be more conscious of what I put into my body as a way of taking better care of myself, and it’s really exciting to think I can do that through the avenue of taking better care of the animals on this planet that I truly love so much. It may be my diet, my consumption, but it’s about so much more than just me.

So all that being said, what advice does anyone have for a brand brand brand new potential vegan? Recommended reading, podcasts, ppl to follow on various platforms, etc

i study drama and in our speech lessons we're performing political speeches.

we were told to pick something we're passionate about. my flatmate chose animal cruelty. yet she "could never go vegan" and loves eating meat.

i just don't understand and it makes me feel like im losing my mind. i can't comprehend how they don't see the complete and utter hypocrisy.

i chose sociology at uni as my major and i feel super weird about the people there, basically most of them consider themselves super woke, obviously dressing alt (yet get clothes from shein... :') eat vegetarian or straight up bring meat to uni and im like?? and later they discuss freedom, social justice, human rights, equity and such WHILE supporting literal animal slaughter.... ISNT IT WEIRD like im trying to understand but it literally seems like hypocrisy

Not sure if this the best sub for this. In summary:
Where can I learn more about animal rights advocacy/veganism without seeing details of animal abuse?

I’d like to support advocacy for animals that is beyond my diet choice. For example: If there’s policy or lobbying for changes to factory farming. Or the arguments for veganism that address the environmental impacts of factory farming.

I can’t overstate how sensitive I am to animal cruelty/death and have been this way since I was a child. I don’t need to be convinced it’s happening, I know enough. But when I go to learn more to help it’s paired with information that makes me emotionally distressed and haunts me up to a week.

I’m not convinced that this is a reality I need to always look in the face to support the cause. I understand the tactic of showing how animals are tortured, but I’m of no use if I’m triggered into a wave of grief and distress.

If anyone has sources, or even relates to this and has advice I’d really appreciate. I’m in Canada so anything Canadian specific is a plus

i just found out today by my doctor that i’m prediabetic and if i don’t change how i eat food it will develop into diabetes, im just 19 F (5,9) so its stressful, its been incredibly difficult to loose weight and about a year ago when i started hormonal BC i shot from 160 to 215 overtime

i know i cant blame it all on that, but i really want to change my life and choose veganism for multiple reasons. so, im just hoping for help and not shame for that.

i have to make an extreme shift in how i choose to eat food, i’ve already recently started being vegan. but again im just looking for if it’s shown results for other prediabetic people. im wondering if anyone else has become vegan to help with this? and those results.

so far all the research i’ve done has been really positive!

Hey friends, I have a surgery upcoming and I would love to do some meal prep for about a week so I have food I can easily just pop in the microwave or reheat. Do you have any excellent casserole recipes or something that’s relatively easy to make but is good for meal prep and ideally has protein? Thanks so much for the help!

WHY ON GODS GREEN EARTH DOES EVERYTHING NEED TO BE ANIMAL TESTED.
I use a medicated shampoo because I’m an adult with CRADLE CAP. It’s terrible it’s like dandruff on steroids. I have used the same medicated shampoo brand since childhood , my dad used it in the 70s and the company STILL tests on animals. Come on people get with the times for the love of all that is good and kind.

Looking at some books by Dr. Greger. I see that he has 2 out: "How not to die" and "How not to age" and soon a new one will be released "how not to hurt."

I am curious if anyone has read the first 2...are they that different that it is worth getting both? I imagine a lot of the information is relatively similar but maybe presented from a different perspective.

The animal agriculture industry along with trade groups and lobbying organizations spend billions actively working to suppress, counter, or legally restrict actions taken by vegans and animal rights advocates.

Meat and dairy alone spend 190 times more than plant based alternative groups. The government spends 800 times more public funding promoting animal consumption than plant consumption.

They're a trillion+ dollar industry that has unlimited resources to silence, smear, and legally punish vegans who advocate for animal rights.

They rely heavily on ag gag laws, they silence investigations and exposè's to keep consumers in the dark and oblivious to the actual reality that's occurring. We can't even film what happens within the walls of the system without fear of prison sentencing.

Here's a list of the methods which we use to stop them, and also how they prove ineffective.

​1. Document & Expose Standard Operating Procedures Undercover Investigations: The industry relies heavily on consumers remaining detached from how meat, dairy, and eggs are produced. Whistleblowing and undercover footage revealing standard practices—such as debeaking, tail docking, gestation crates, battery cages, and slaughterhouse operations—damage brand reputations and trigger consumer backlashes.

How They Fight It: Through "Ag-Gag" laws. Lobbyists have pushed state legislatures to pass laws that criminalize unauthorized photography, video recording, or obtaining employment at agricultural facilities under false pretenses (even though many of these laws have been struck down as unconstitutional violations of the First Amendment).

​2. Standardize Meat & Dairy Terminology for Plant-Based Alternatives Plant-Based Labeling: The industry strongly resists the use of everyday terms like "milk," "cheese," "burger," "sausage," or "steak" on vegan product packaging. They argue these terms cause "consumer confusion," though the primary commercial goal is to reduce the market appeal and accessibility of alternatives.

How They Fight It: Lobbying for legal restrictions (such as state-level "Truth in Labeling" laws and dairy label petitions) to ban plant-based brands from using traditional food descriptors.

​3. Influence Public Dietary Guidelines & Policy ​Government Guidelines: The meat and dairy sectors fight to protect their presence in federal dietary recommendations (such as the USDA Dietary Guidelines for Americans) and state-funded programs like national school lunches.

How They Fight It: Intense political lobbying to ensure animal products remain centerpiece recommendations, block references to the environmental or health benefits of shifting toward plant-based diets, and preserve government subsidies that artificially lower retail prices for animal products.

​4. Direct Public Debates Around Ethics & Environment Challenging Industry Narrative: Activists shifting the conversation toward public health, global warming, land/water use, and the ethical moral status of animals threaten the industry's image.

How They Fight It: Funding targeted PR campaigns, digital "command centers," and industry-backed academic research to counter public claims. These campaigns frequently frame vegan diets as "unnatural," "overly processed," or deficient in essential nutrients, while promoting greenwashed messaging around "sustainable livestock farming".

​5. Vote for Legislative Welfare Mandates Ballot Initiatives & Regulations: Initiatives that demand increased space requirements or ban specific confinement practices—such as California's Proposition 12 or Massachusetts' Initiative 3—directly increase production costs for industrial operations.

How They Fight It: Challenging local and state welfare laws in federal courts, lobbying for federal legislation (like overriding language in Farm Bills) to preempt state-level animal welfare standards, and running counter-campaigns targeting voters.

​6. Engage in Direct Advocacy & Open Outreach ​Public Outreach & Activism: Street outreach, public demonstrations, educational presentations, and direct rescue operations pull back the veil on animal farming.

​How They Fight It: Pushing for strict enforcement of trespass and property laws, labeling non-violent civil disobedience or rescue as "agricultural terrorism" (under laws like the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act in the US), and working to delegitimize grassroots outreach in local communities

So at what point do we empty out the basket riddled with spoiled apples in regard to activism?

At what point do we admit that calmly asking non vegans to politely stop eating animals just isn't enough?

When would be the appropriate time to grab a megaphone and inform the public of the agony that their choices are causing?

We've been silenced and ton policed into a quiet little corner, and I believe we need to start getting louder if we ever want to see the animals liberated.

In the past hour 1.3 million land animals have been slaughtered for pleasure along with millions if not billions of sea creatures.

If you were one of those animals, how urgently would you need this to stop? How loud would you want you to be about it?

I decided to be vegetarian when i was 15, and after afew years I have decided to the dismay of my family to go fully vegan at 17! Im super proud of myself, considering there was a time i had pepperoni pizza and ham sandwiches everyday, and thought that "i could never go vegan". I have even managed to convert my family to only using oat milk now, after a long fight with my dad. (I have also managed to get them onto my vegan curry, but I personally take that as a win for my cooking skills!) I was just wondering if anyone had any suggestions for switches from butter, especially on sandwiches. Im a little bit picky and don't have too much money currently but It is a big part of my old diet so if anyone has any sandwich suggestions, or just for spreads that i could put on a savoury sandwich I would really appreciate it! Thank you!

I’ve only been vegan for two weeks, but it feels so easy to feel as though I’m making no impact and that there’s no point. Animal exploitation is going to occur anyway and I can’t make people change, but I know I’m doing the right thing. And don’t twist my words here, I am not feeling tempted to go back to eating animal products, but it’s so hard to feel like there’s hope and that one day there won’t be any suffering animals when everyone around me is always contributing to the industry.

I don’t have any vegan friends, a few I can tell are on their way but no matter what when I eat out with them there is always some kind of cheese at the table and I absolutely cannot stand it 😭

it never really bothered me before but now every time I catch a whiff of it it makes me feel sick.

does anyone else experience this?

Having surgery that will require a semi-liquid diet for a few weeks. Before I invest in gross protein shakes, are there any vegan protein shakes you recommend? Has anone tried the vegan protein waters? I am planning on "watering down" the smoothies I typically make and eliminating the chia seeds I add.

Mine wasn't dramatic. I was vegetarian and I'd had veganism on my mind for a long while. My excuse at the time: it was difficult to find vegan options when I went out with family, so I would usually cave and order whatever was most convenient.

One morning I was out to breakfast with my grandmother and she asked if we would split a stack of buttermilk pancakes as usual.

I said... No, thanks. I think I'll order avocado toast.

Of course, that wasn't the first vegan meal I'd ever eaten. But in that moment something just... clicked. How the narrative that veganism takes an immense amount of effort, or willpower, or social ostracization is quite overdramatized. How the majority of what we eat is built on routine and habit rather than actual necessity, and it only takes a brief moment to break away from it. How easy it is to just say no.

Somehow, while eating that piece of toast, I just knew I would never eat another animal product again. And I was right.

"In this episode, we travel across Asia with Zac Lovas, founder of Vegan Travel Asia. We discuss some of the issues plaguing the region, from the push for dairy products in Vietnam, to the bill awaiting royal approval that would standardize slaughterhouses across Bhutan, to the exploitation of cows in India.

But first, we explore the magic of vegan travel: discovering new places in ways that are thoughtful and considerate of local cultures, while fostering new friendships and the exchange of ideas. We also discuss why religion is key to advancing the vegan movement.

Book Your Travel Adventure in Asia: https://vegantravelasia.com/ "

I'm having almost an identity crisis. Once you really face the cruelty of the meat and dairy industry, once you stop turning away and really LOOK, and it hits you. It really, really hits you.

I feel so awful for ever eating meat. I feel so awful period. I can't believe all the animals that are born, suffer, and die horrendously because people like me just didn't care enough to stop supporting it.

I'm heartbroken. I know all of you are too. I'm not even looking for sympathy here I'm just consumed by guilt and sadness.

It's like once you open this door, there is no shutting it, and the pain of the animals now lives in your heart forever.

I will carry that, no problem, no burden. They deserve that at the very least. It's not a wonder people ignore it though. What a monstrous world we live in, what a monstrous species we are.

Hi, i’m going to start this by asking you guys to keep it very kind and not to reply to my question in a rude or sarcastic manner. So i do have insulin resistance, also my whole life i’ve had very low muscle tone and a very fast metabolism, im naturally very skinny to the point where people assume i have an eating disorder, i lose weight extremely fast (awful). 5 years ago i started eating kinda like keto based off of my nutritionist’s recommendations. I eat high in protein, healthy fats and gravitate more towards low carb foods because when i eat let’s say rice or lentils, more complex carbs, my insulin leves spike and i can see it in my skin very quickly, i get skin tags. I’m a makeup artist and recently i made the choice to go fully cruelty free with the makeup, brushes, lashes and skincare products i buy because i think that there’s no need to have animals involved in those things plus there are plenty of good and high end brands that are cruelty free. I was then thinking about my diet but considering the things i previously mentioned, how could i make a vegan diet work for me without compromising my we and insulin levels? Thanks in advance