Tag Archive | Veganism

Cats: Ethics. With Erin Red, Evolution Diet’s Eric Weisman, and vets Lorelei Wakefield, Andrew Knight, and Jean Hofve

cat licking lips

Cats: Ethics

Last show’s investigation of whether cats can be vegan leaves us with an ethical quandary. What should vegans feed cats?

Erin and I reflect on listener’s comments. The three expert veterinarians examine the moral issues. And I ask Eric Weisman, CEO of major US vegan cat food brand Evolution, some tough questions.


(30 min) Play or download (18MB MP3(via iTunes)

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Ideas and Plans for 2013

Thank you for your tweets and comments about recent changes and the latest show.

In January 2012, I blogged about plans, and asked what you thought.

Let’s look at how those plans have gone, mention some ideas and plans for upcoming shows, and find out what resonates.

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Cats: Can they be vegan? With vets Lorelei Wakefield, Andrew Knight, and Jean Hofve; and special guest Erin Red

Listen to the show! (pic: Tortoiseshell cat)

Cats: Can they be vegan?

Three experienced veterinarians with experience of vegan cats say whether and why they think cats can thrive on a vegan diet.

Jean Hofve argues – out of bitter experience – that cats need meat.

Andrew Knight advocates a vegan diet for cats – if you do it right.

Only Lorelei Wakefield has published a peer-reviewed study to try to discover who is right.


(23 min) Play or download (15MB MP3(via iTunes)

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Farewell, Diana

After fifteen great shows, Diana is leaving The Vegan Option. She’s continuing to talk about evolution, animals and ethics – blogging at Sentientist.org and tweeting as @Sentientist. (“Sentience” means the capacity for feeling and consciousness, so the name captures both her academic interests and ethical principles.)

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Extended interviews on iTunes, starting with Dr Julia Minson

If you’re like most of our listeners, you get The Vegan Option show via the podcast feed – an automatic index of shows that’s read by iTunes, Stitcher and other “podcatchers”. (If you haven’t heard any of the shows – what are you waiting for? Use the “Listen” menu at the top, pick a show that piques your interest, and press play. That’s the other way of hearing episodes.)

The shows usually focus on topics rather than individual interviewees – talking to a range of people to get a full picture. This can mean that only a few minutes out of an hour-long interview gets into the show. (This isn’t unusual for public radio documentaries.)

Some full interviews are posted on the website – such as our conversations with Peter Singer and Gary Francione for the episode “Peace on Earth”. But should they go in the podcast feed as well? Diana asked on the Facebook page and “yes” not only won the vote, but for some people it was the only way to get the extended interviews.

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South East Asia: Finding Vegan Food in Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and Cambodia

Peppers, green leaves and mock meat in an orange sauce

Travelling Vegan in SE Asia

In 2009, I travelled through South East Asia from equatorial island to the far north of Thailand, discovering the vegetarian threads running through the region. Hear Diana and I banter about my trials and triumphs on everything from missing passports to cheeky elephants.


(25 min) Play or download (MP3 26MB) (other formats) (via iTunes)

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Judgemental: with Colleen Patrick-Goudreau, Dr Julia Minson, and Marla Rose

Finger pointing to the viewer. Everything behind the tip is out of focus.

Judgemental!

Those judgemental vegans. A charge you’ve probably heard (or perhaps even uttered).

But what is “judgement”? How does it really affect the relationships between vegans and others? What can scientists say about it? And how do vegan activists react to the charge?

Dr Julia Minson explains the science.

Marla Rose explains exactly how Bacon Loving Hipsters Can Kiss Her Vegan Ass.

And Colleen Patrick-Goudreau discusses the psychology and experience of “judgemental vegans”.


(30 min) Play or download (29 MB MP3(other formats) (via iTunes)

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London Olympics: hunting vegan food

Listener Helen Louise is going to the Paralympics – which take place two weeks after the Olympics – and wants to know what the vegan options have been at the games.

Vegan spectators have shared their successes and failures at finding vegan food with the world on social media – and with us directly.

So here is the story of vegan food at the Olympics, as heard in our third and final Olympics show, told via Twitter.

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London Olympics: Closing Update with Vx, Animals in the Opening Ceremony, and Vegan Food

Olympic Stadium from Victoria Gate

London Olympics: Closing Update

As the athletes celebrate their victories and defeats, and the Spice Girls rock the closing ceremony, we look back over the Olympics and update you on the vegan stories behind the games.

This show:

  • We catch up with the vegan stories behind the Olympics, like Sandra Hood, Pogocafe, and Frys
  • Ian updates you on the use of animals in the Opening Ceremony
  • Rudy tells us who’s been coming to Vx, the little vegan shop that was braced for a difficult Olympics
  • We sum up the experience of vegans looking for food at the Olympic Venues


(15 min) Play or download (14MB MP3(other formats) (via iTunes)

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Vegan Olympians: Too Good to Check?

Misleading or false stories (eg an offensive video game based on a real manhunt for a serial killer) can spread across the media because, with pressure on journalists to find good stories quickly, they were  “too good to check”.

So if professional journalists don’t always check their facts, it’s no surprise that bloggers can relax their criteria, especially when motivated to show that athletic feats can be powered by a plant based diet.

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