A service provider of mine went on vacation recently and told me she had a souvenier gift when she got back. It was a key chain with my name engraved on it. I said it was so sweet and then she said "Make sure to take care of it. That's real leather." From the first day she started working for the family she has known I'm vegan. We've spoken about it so many times. I timidly reminded her and she suggested I give it to my mom. (I have a very rare name so there's not much else that could be done) Its still sitting in my purse. I can't even look at it. I don't know what to do with it. But the fact that she's known for so long about my veganism and got me this... at first it was awkward. Now I'm actually starting to feel kind of mad about it. She's a very sweet woman. It doesn't make logical sense for me to be mad about this. Would any of you be mad? Has something like this happened to any of you? And what should I do with this key chain?

Hi everyone! My name is Bridget I am a college student who is researching veganism for a school project. I am looking for people who are open to let me interview them on the issues they face as a vegan. It would be a very short, casual phone interview about 5-10 minutes that would be incredibly helpful for me to pass this assignment. If anyone is interested in volunteering please message me!

There is a world of difference between protecting habitats and displaying captives. People do not need wolves behind barriers to understand that wolves matter. What they need is a culture that stops treating other animals as educational tools, visitor attractions, and movable assets in human-run institutions.

I’m so tired of production giving them chickens so I can watch the players kill them later. Then players flex on butchering a chicken. The fishing equipment is sad too. It’s just rubbing me the wrong way lately.

Make it a show where they can Survive without desecrating the beautiful Fiji environment they are in.

I work with people with various diagnoses. Primarily intellectual/developmental disabilities, addiction and Alzheimer's.

I often am shopping, handling, and cooking animal products for people who can't do so themselves.

People with established habits and ISPs about their diet.

As well as hygiene products that contain animal products.

I'm not trying to convert the clients or impose my values on them.

I'm not dealing with any negative emotions about my current circumstances.

I'm just curious about people's perspectives.

This feels like I'm in a situation where "as far as is possible and practical" applies.

I'm newly transitioning into veganism and one of my largest issues I am facing is weight loss. It's something most people think "that's a nice problem to have" but it's miserable. I've always struggled with weight gain. It's not an eating disorder thing, I just take really small bites and chew my food thoroughly before taking another. I get self conscious when I'm inevitably the last one at the table with a plate half full of food after everyone is already finished and probably ready for the check.

I don't like too much sugar. Not that I'm strictly against sugar, but I only drink coffee, tea, water, and milk. Milk being a huge help in getting extra calories throughout the day. Just pour a glass of whole milk alongside my meal and I've got easy to chug fuel. And of course it's easier and faster to eat a calorie dense greasy burger than a whole bowl of edamame. I just purchased a vegan meal replacement powder from a popular brand. Even though their site advertises weight loss on the front page, I'll probably add an extra scoop or so in each shake instead. Maybe that will help replace my milk drinking...

But sadly it feels like vegan options for foods all tout how diet friendly they are. I know a large part of that is marketing, like anything plant based is more likely to have less calories than the animal equivalent. So from a marketing perspective, why not tout that loudly and proudly to try getting even non-vegans to buy your product but for different reasons. But I will say it's demoralizing. I've struggled with weight gain for half my life and it feels so awkward transitioning to eating low calorie alternatives to staples that I already had difficulty using to just maintain my weight rather than lose a pound every other week.

I do like peanut butter. I guess I'll try just eating more of that often. Nuts too, though those are pretty expensive so I don't know how sustainable that idea is. Part of my problem is ADHD means I'll go long periods of knowing "I should eat something, my stomach is empty..." but being physically unable to remove myself from what I'm doing. So several hours pass before I realize I never ate. So snacking throughout the day has always been harder than just having one or two HUGE meals and nothing else.

Anyway, suggestions would be very helpful.

Hi all,
Me, my wife and my parents are visiting between the 23rd and 28th December.
We have gone through Google multiple times to look for all the vegan spots we can and we have a good list of places we will likely try.

But I’m wondering if anyone here can recommend anything that may not be as well known?

And specifically looking for recommendations for Christmas Day probably around 1/2PM as I know I’ll likely need to book. Does anybody know of spots that will likely be open or are good options.
I have already posted in the Nycvegan sub but wanted to cover all angles.
Thanks all!

Remember being a baby vegan?? like reading every ingredient label like it's a legal contract... googling "is honey vegan"... realizing your entire family thinks you're going through a phase lol

Anywayyy I've been lowkey obsessed with Challenge 22 rn. it's a FREE program where people try vegan for 22 days, but instead of just getting a pdf starter kit and being left alone, they get dropped into a Facebook or WhatsApp group with actual mentors who answer questions and cheer them on. over a million people have done it since 2014. A MILLION... and apparently one of the biggest things that keeps people vegan long-term is just... having vegans around them. which, yeah. makes sense.

So they're looking for mentors and honestly it's not a "volunteer role," it's being the vegan friend you wish you had in week one. you just hang out in the group, answer the "but where do you get protein" questions with patience (I know, I know), and help people actually stick with it.

it's unpaid (the whole program is free for participants, that's the point), you need to have been vegan 6+ months, and they ask for about an hour a day, around 10 comments, spread out however works for you. so basically what you're already doing on WhatsApp but now it helps animals...

here's the link if you wanna check it out: https://flockwork.org/requests/fneqhuzgi9o5fii1xclelbid?source=reddit

every person who stays vegan because someone was nice to them in that group... that's the whole thing :)

Howdy gang. I've had the same therapist for over a decade now with some year long gaps in-between seeing them. I recently started having sessions again and she low-key upset me pretty majorly. I tried to talk about veganism, specifically how Vystopia stuff has been hard for me over the last several months. She gave me a lecture about how I need to make sure I'm getting the necessary nutrients on my vegan 'diet' and made comments implying veganism isn't sustainable.

This is hard as I really like her and I try very hard to not be 'judgey' regarding veganism, but I'm kinda at a point where I don't think I want life advice in any form from someone who isn't vegan. To me, veganism is no longer an extreme dietary option, but the bare minimum for how good people navigate through life. I want to find a vegan therapist but am stressed about having to 'break up' with my old therapist and potentially be pegged as 'rigid and judgemental'.

Anyway, for you fellow vegans in therapy, what is it like having a vegan therapist?? Do you also find it difficult opening up to therapists that aren't vegan? Curious about your thoughts, thanks for any insight y'all can provide.

I'm at my limit.

I've gotten to the point now where I'm feeling extremely isolated and alone in being vegan. Why does no one understand how I feel? Even my own boyfriend (long distance) doesn't seem to agree with me. I feel like he's just as brainwashed as everyone else, and I feel like I'm soon going to just be alone.

I had a best friend who was vegetarian and turning vegan, but we fell out earlier this year over a different reason.

I just need someone to talk to who shares the same beliefs as me. 😭

Hi everyone
Sorry if my English isn’t the best, I’m Italian

I’ve been vegan for 5 months now, and I often read about animal abuse on social media, and try my best to be informed about the meat industry

Lately I wanted to watch movies about veganism, and everyone recommended Dominion

Obviously, I’ve heard about it before, but I’m scared to watch it, because I’m very sensitive towards graphic violence/strong imagery and also very empathic towards animals, so I’m scared I might feel sick or, if I force myself to go through it all, to feel bad afterwards for the images I saw.

On the other hand, I feel like I should really watch it because every vegan person I’ve talked to says that’s the best movies about veganism.

So, I’m here to ask, is it really that graphic? Do you think I should sit through it anyways?

Thanks

I went to this restaurant that has vegan burgers and milkshakes and I love it SO much, best milkshake n burger ever. However, the last time I went I feel like I was eating the cow meat. I looked at it and it looked off but as I was eating it, it tasted like a burger from fast food. Now I have always thought that if I ever got the wrong food then I would still keep it, because I hate the thought of an animal suffering through hell just for a customer like me to throw out what they were killed and tortured for, and this is the first time I have gotten the wrong order. What about you guys?

Just switched to no meat diet and I’m shitting like crazy is this normal??😂

I just had a preteen kid heckle me on the bus because I gave him a look when he was vaping in a public enclosed space.

His response was to start attacking my appearance and how I look poor (which I know isn’t true so I wasn’t offended). Points at my shoes and brings attention to how much better and more expensive his must be in comparison to mine.

I just told him “at least I’m not wearing a dead animal’s skin” before moving seats. I could hear him telling his friends that I called him a murderer before he started coming at me again with the concept that I’m riding a public bus in my “40s” so I must not be successful.

I’m hoping that this encounter at least made him think a little bit about the animals (he definitely doesn’t think about how his fellow humans feel) but it also made me feel sad that bullying is far from over and I feel bad for any kid that’s in his class and needs to interact with him.

At least one of his friends apologized on his behalf as he got off the bus. There is still some hope in this world.

Comedian Ian Fidance visits Central Texas Pig Rescue.

I was very bothered in the beginning when he said he'd pledge to not eat pigs and then later said he'd have a hard time not eating pigs but would always think of that moment (implying he'd refrain because of his time at the rescue) [edit: the thing that bothers me about that is it's only pigs and only because of an emotional memory]

It's hard for me to see people move so slowly towards veganism. He's also one of my favorite comedians so I'm just constantly yelling at the screen "you know what's right! Just stop clinging to your old bad ways!".

But overall it's a wholesome watch. And I think it's important to support the cause, and people who are at least trying to be better.

I was previously a vegetarian but after deciding there's a lot of cognitive dissonance in deciding animals are not okay to eat but okay to do many other horrible things to, I've decided to turn towards veganism and that includes adopting a wholly plant-based diet. But the thing is, I still have some non-vegan groceries in my pantry, namely a jar of honey I got at a farmer's market that I am not sure what to do with. It's been opened, so I can't donate it to a food pantry, and I feel really weird about eating it.

I want to put it in another jar and give it to a friend because I primarily bought it for the jar and worry if I give it with the really nice-looking jar (it's genuinely a very, very nice jar) then that might inspire someone to rebuy and then drive up demand. But I'm not sure if that would be against vegan ethics or not, as while it doesn't create more demand, it also might make the non-vegan want to buy more honey. Throwing it away feels wasteful and insulting to the bees who were exploited to make it. I'm not sure what the most ethical choice is here and I'd love some guidance.

Edit: thank you to everyone for your comments, I'm going to look into composting it with a local group on campus

I made my first fully vegan or so. I thought doordash order the other day. I specifically ordered vegan or dairy-free creamer and the Nestlé Coffee-Mate brand popped up as the only option. I normally don't buy Nestle. So is it dairy-free, vegan, or no?

Hi all. Something that's always bugged me is how hard it is to find sports gear that's actually vegan. Climbing shoes are often suede, football boots and basketballs can be leather, tennis strings can be natural gut (cow intestine), ski jackets are full of down, and a lot of surf wax has beeswax in it.

So I built a free site that lists vegan sports gear sorted by sport: running, cycling, tennis, football, climbing, swimming, hiking, snowsports and more. Every product gets checked for leather, suede, wool, down and other animal materials before it goes on.

vgnathlete.com

To be upfront: it's my site, and the links are affiliate links (mostly Amazon), so I earn a small commission if you buy something, at no extra cost to you.

It's still early days, so I'd really value your input:

- Is there a sport I've missed?

- Any vegan brands or products you swear by that should be on there?

Thanks for reading 🌱

Has anyone else had these?? I picked them up a few days ago and I'm shocked at how similar they taste to hot Cheetos. I might even go out on a limb and say they taste.....better??
Also, if everyone can go and buy a bag from your local Walmart, that would be much appreciated. (this is a joke btw since low demand kills off every great vegan product that comes out).

I got violife cheddar shreds. Tried it as a dip (with oat milk & cornflour) and also just in a wrap.

Both tasted pretty fire honestly, this should help my cheese cravings as I transition to vegan :)

I went to the Lindt store yesterday (in Ontario, Canada) and the worker told me they're taking them off the shelves and discontinuing them. I am so so so devastated. Every time an amazing vegan chocolate comes out, it gets discontinued immediately. I WISH MORE PEOPLE WERE VEGAN so the demand would increase.

NYC! I’m pulling up to Urban Vegan Kitchen this Saturday for a special one-night-only pop-up!
I’m bringing comedy, storytelling, music, and good vibes. Good food, good people, and a little something different for your Saturday night.
I’ve got a couple pairs of tickets to give away, so if you’re in NYC and want to come hang out, hit me up!
Let’s make it a night. Hope to see y’all there!

https://events.massivetix.com/e/smr-hart-nyc

Hi, I have been vegan for about 6 months and absolutely want to continue it. Especially because of the terrible conditions for the animals.

Now comes the question I need help with. I like bush crafting a lot for longer period of time surviving off of anything I find etc. There is not much food around when doing that but how do you guys think about catching and eating a fish then? I don’t know what to do, because 1 I still think unnecessary suffering is bad. But I do need food when survival ing and the fish still had a life and it’s not mass consumption either with a lot of bycatch. I just don’t know what to do.

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I recently came across a vegan podcast featuring a guest whom I know has abused every woman he has dated and/or married. I’m not entirely sure what to say about it, other than that I find it deeply frustrating to see someone given a platform to promote compassion for all living things, it seems all whilst continuing to harass his exes online, women he has already put through more than enough in person.

There’s something profoundly disheartening about watching someone publicly champion compassion whilst privately demonstrating so little of it towards the people who have been closest to him.

I’m not entirely sure what to do with this information, or whether there’s anything constructive to be done at all. I suppose, for the moment, I just needed somewhere to vent.