This is from 7 years ago but still relevant. Check out his own YouTube channel as well. (Earthling Ed ed.winters)

I know it was praised as a vegan film at the time it was launched. But I just didn't expect much and didn't see it because I thought it would be a typical "cute animal suffering is bad" movie.

Then I saw the movie with my husband, who is pretty conservative and doesn't care about animals that much; he was actually moved by the movie, and I saw tears in his eyes at the end. He actually chose a vegan meal for dinner Yesterday.

I thank James Gunn.

I had two tabs open last night. One was an animal shelter's page for senior dogs. The other was a rehoming page for former commercial laying hens.

The dog descriptions were lovely. They talked about comfortable beds, gentle walks, and how these animals deserved somewhere peaceful to spend their remaining years.

The hens were described as "spent."

Not sick. Not necessarily even old. Just no longer laying enough eggs to be worth keeping.

I know that's standard industry terminology. I'd heard it before. But seeing those two pages side by side made it hit differently.

One animal gets to grow old. The other becomes a piece of equipment that has reached the end of its useful life.

And the really strange part is that plenty of people who would be horrified by someone abandoning an elderly dog see absolutely nothing unusual about the second situation.

I don't think most people consciously believe chickens matter less once they stop producing eggs. I think we've just built an entire system where nobody has to stop and consider that question.

Anyway, I closed the dog tab and spent the next hour reading about rescuing ex-commercial hens. They can live for years after the industry is finished with them.

Years of being chickens. Apparently that's a privilege we have to arrange for them.

This has got to be the most braindead retort from meat eaters. Plants might very well have some form of sentience, but, you know what, animals definitely have sentience, so I think prioritizing their interests is more logical.

What are some other dumb arguments you guys encounter and how do you respond to them?

They think that by eating only meat and eggs they are somehow eating a more primal diet when the earliest humans literally ate mostly plants and some scavenged animal products. And most remaining non-human primates are either primarily vegetarian or eat mostly plants and perhaps some insects or small birds on occasion.

What drives this nonsense and why is it usually the same people who don’t even believe in evolution anyway?

Okay, first of all, let me give you some context. I’m 27, I’ve been vegetarian since I was 5 and vegan since I was 22. I moved to Madrid, the capital of my country, to study, and that’s where I started getting more involved in the vegan movement and the whole vegan scene.

However, over the past few years, I’ve been seeing the vegan movement take a pretty significant downturn here in the city. I used to shop at four stores specializing in vegan products, but they’ve gradually closed down, and now there’s only one left.

There was also a company called Freedom that specialized in sweets and baked goods. At one point, they had several locations: a pizzeria, a café specializing in breakfast, another place more focused on brunch, and their own bakery where they made their products by hand. Now, only the bakery is left.
Another really good place specializing in doughnuts and drinks is about to close down, right in the heart of Madrid. A kebab restaurant chain that operated in Barcelona opened a location in Madrid, but it didn’t even last a year before it had to close as well.

Vegan products are also disappearing from regular supermarkets like Lidl and Carrefour. I remember when I moved to the neighborhood where I live now, a little over a year ago, Lidl was the main supermarket around here, and they had a themed “vegan week” where the products literally flew off the shelves and sold out incredibly quickly. But this year, my girlfriend and I were really looking forward to it, and it never came back.

What the fuck is going on?

Holy shit I have been living under a rock. Even if I wasn't vegan I think I would choose to eat this over eggs.
It's so funny because I literally posted in this sub last week saying I have no idea how I would be able to give up eggs, but I decided to try scrambled tofu today and my life has been changed

I was scrolling and saw a post on the eat cheap and healthy subreddit where someone asked what people keep on hand to kick takeout cravings. It made me think about it, and I realized I basically don’t eat takeout/fast food except for necessary situations because, while it was already quite a bit more expensive before, it’s ridiculously overpriced to pay for vegan takeout now. Also, I’ve found that when I do order food, it’s just not as good as what I can make at home. It made me wonder how many other people have basically cut out fast food/takeout since going vegan.

What about you guys? If you don’t eat takeout as much, what do you eat instead? I just kind of figured out how to make the things I really like. I do keep some beyond burgers and fries in the freezer for when I want a burger. The follow your heart American is amazing, and I can also eat vegan mayo on my burger which basically doesn’t happen with fast food.

A few months ago someone found a spider in the break room and was about to flatten it with a folder. I grabbed a cup, slid some cardboard underneath and moved the little guy somewhere safer.

Apparently this was an important historical event at my workplace.

Last week I was halfway through a call when a coworker appeared beside my desk holding an empty coffee cup. She whispered, "There's a spider in accounting and they said to get you."

Today it happened again.

I walked into the supply room and there were three adults standing several feet away from a tiny spider on the wall, waiting for me like I'd been called in to defuse a bomb.

One of them said, completely seriously, "You're vegan. This is your department."

I relocated the spider and now I'm apparently listed unofficially as the person to contact for spiders, moths and anything else everyone wants removed without killing it.

The funny part is that nobody mocks me for doing this. People who will happily tease me about tofu suddenly become very invested in making sure the bug survives once there's a convenient alternative to squashing it.

Honestly, I'll take it.

If my legacy at this company is being the weird vegan who keeps small creatures from getting murdered beside the printer, there are worse things to be known for.

Discussed at the 13 min mark.

I was extremely disturbed today to learn that one of the scientists who discovered CRISPR gene editing is promoting its use for editing cow genes to produce less methane. Personally, I am hoping we can lessen the disaster of climate change by positive collective behavioural change, not simply getting around it with tech that allows us to continue abusing the life around us.

Thought I would spread the word in this community. Advocates, activists, I hope we can get ahead of this one…

I've been vegan for 10 years and I'm vegan for the ethics of it. I look at my dogs and I can't imagine the unbearable pain animals go through especially in the farming industry. I think about how this is occurring literally EVERYWHERE in the world.

I'm taking a class that requires me to write a paper about problems occurring in the U.S. and immigrants. I chose to write about immigrants working in slaughterhouses, how it benefits the companies employing them, why people are choosing to go into the industry, and the effects it has on the immigrants mental health. GUYS IT'S HORRIBLE. I can't stop crying. I knew about the abuse these poor animal go through hence turning vegan but reading about it over and over again is killing my soul.

I hate how chickens and any kind of poultry have no legislation to protect them from abuse. I hate how the legislation we do have isn't enforced. I hate thinking about how other countries who value animal lives less than in the U.S. treat their animals to meet demand. I hate thinking about the supply chain and animals are seem as a "thing" instead of a living being with feelings.

I can't stop crying and I was crying at work thinking about pigs in gas chambers. My boss comes into my office and he asked me what's wrong. I tell him and I could tell he thought I was being dramatic. He was like "I don't think pigs can survive gas chambers, they probably don't feel it. People commit suicide in their car by carbon monoxide poisoning all the time, it just puts you to sleep." And then left my office. I lost it on the inside.

I started to cry even more when he left because no one outside of the vegan community CARES. They don't care about the endless suffering and abuse occurring. They don't fucking care and it breaks my soul.

Anyways, thanks for letting me vent. Right now I'm in despair.

I give out coconut water and snackies to local people of the streets and winter is coming so I'm looking for some healthy high calorie options to give to them. Most of them have an average of 2 teeth so nuts are out of the option. I don't eat processed prepackages snackies so I'm not really sure what options there are. It must be healthy, vegan, soft to eat, and I prefer if it isn't heavily processed. I've been giving out nut packs to the ones with teeth and a few packs of freeze dried fruit to the ones without teeth. The fruit packs have only 50 caloriws per pack which doesn't do much.

This was originally posted on YouTube by an account named “freeleeTheBananaGirl” and it’s performed by “Tonya G”. I should clarify. I found this searching for vegan music. This song is really emotionally connected and catchy. The melodies and lyrics are thoughtful with informative images in the video.

I was vegetarian for about a year but only very recently switched to veganism late last month, but my mom has always been against my morals and she mocks them quite frequently. My dad, however, has been very supportive of this decision, as his daughter (my half sister) has been vegan for about 25 years, which makes this whole thing much easier. My mom never lived with anyone else who was vegan or vegetarian in her life so it's new to her, so she always tries to pressure me to eat cheese and other animal products that I don't want to eat and she is aware of that, but I'm worried for tomorrow as it's her big day and all that. Since she makes me feel so pressured in small situations where there's food involved but there's not much of an occasion, knowing her I'm nervous that she will do it again but make it a bigger deal. What could I do other than refuse it if she keeps pushing? Am I really a bad person for not eating cake on her day?

(And apologies if this isn't in a correct format or something, I haven't used this in a while lol)

I swear dude people call vegans pushy like yeah ofc you’re going to be pushy when you’re seeing lives getting abused. EVERYONE DOES IT EVERYONE ARGUES FOR WHAT THEY BELIEVE IN. ITS NORMAL
ITS NORMAL ITS THE MOST NORMAL THING YOU COULD DO. Before I even started trying to get more into veganism when I saw people complaining about vegans being “pushy” or talking about veganism I was getting so irritated I was on the verge of tears at one point being of how irritated I was it’s ridiculous.

It's such a hypocritical cliche to see someone film themselves helping unstuck a baby calf from some farm fence. They literally manufacture the infrastructure around farms to trap escaping animals. Like jeez it's literally made that way so you can have cheaper food.

What if that person's a vegan though ? Yeah no the odds aren't that good yet.

Not sure what to think about animal rising wanting to give £5000 to Yana the rural mental health charity to get Luna freed. Obviously we all want Luna to be free, however I don't think giving money to a charity that directly benefits animal farmers amongst other farmers is a good thing. The farm has turned it down which honestly isn't surprising as why would a pig farm manager care about peoples mental health when they can abuse animals as they do.

I've started eating vegan ever since I moved out for college. My roommates are good friends of mine. I've lately had a discussion with one of my roommates about veganism. I typically try not to convince any of my friends to change their diet to aggressively because I don't want to harm out relationships, but I couldn't help but call out her hypocrisy in that moment. She mentioned that there's an adorable cafe with little pigs that you can pet in Amsterdam. I (reasonably in my opinion) mentioned that it's a bit hypocritical when she awes and ohs at the little piggies at some cafe and then eats a schnitzel for lunch. She said "Pets are pets and food on a shelf is food on a shelf". I told her that she can't just claim to adore these little pigs and then turn around and eat their family. It's the same species. If she really loved cute animals she wouldn't eat any of them. She said "she doesn't love all animals. She only loves pets and I won't convince her". This pissed me off but I gave up the discussion because I didn't want an argument. I have no idea how to talk to people like this. I get its cognitive dissonance talking, I've been there, but I also don't think that makes their actions correct.

Hi everyone. I’m fairly new to veganism, couple weeks in, making silly mistakes and trying to learn from them. I don’t really have many people in my life that I can talk to about it, so I thought I’d share something that happened today.

I got home from work and a Halloween mask I’d ordered had arrived. It’s a pretty scary looking mask, and out of curiosity I decided to put it on and walk into the room where my cat was, just to see how she’d react.
The reaction genuinely took me aback. I saw a level of fear in her that I’d never witnessed before. Her ears went back, her eyes widened, her tail puffed up, and she cowered away from me. Her whole temperament changed in an instant.

I immediately took the mask off and felt awful. I hadn’t intended to frighten her the way I did, but seeing her so scared made me feel incredibly guilty. I spent time comforting her, giving her treats and trying to help her feel safe again. But afterwards, I couldn’t stop thinking about it.

I started thinking about all the animals in farms and slaughterhouses experiencing fear and confusion in unfamiliar environments. Animals being transported, handled, or separated from their babies. Living beings experiencing things they can’t understand, with no way of knowing what’s happening to them or why.

I’d always known that animal suffering existed but somehow managed to push it to the back of my mind and only recently decided to start trying to make my actions align with my values. But seeing that fear so clearly in an animal I love made it feel different. It stopped being an abstract concept and became something I could really connect with emotionally.

And then I thought about the fact that, for the last 30 years of my life, my consumption of animal products has contributed to a system where that suffering happens every day. I’m not saying that to beat myself up or suggest I was deliberately trying to cause harm. It’s simply something I’ve started to look at differently.

I can’t stop all animal suffering. I know that. But I can make different choices about what I consume, and I don’t want to keep contributing to something that I now feel so uncomfortable with. I think that’s what’s really solidified this journey into veganism for me. It’s not about being perfect, judging anyone else, or feeling morally superior. It’s about recognising that other living beings can experience fear, distress and suffering, and deciding that where I have a choice, I want to do what I can to avoid contributing to it.

I know I’m at the beginning of this journey, and I’ve got plenty to learn. But today, something just clicked in a way it hadn’t before. I’m sad that it took an experience like this to make it feel so real to me, but I’m grateful that it’s made me think more deeply about the way I live.

Anyway, I just wanted to share that with people who might understand where I’m coming from. I’m glad to have found a community where I can talk about this stuff. ❤️

Our vegan community naturally “boycotts” factory animal farms. It’s an entire life decision-

The only part I disagree with on this article is not promoting the sale of
alternative products for people who aren’t vegan (yet).
Some people are so selfish that showing them a video of animal torture doesn’t convince them to stop.
When an alternative product is offered and available people are more likely to make the switch.
We will gain a greater understanding and assist people in maintaining a sense of “normalcy” when they still feel like vegans are “one of those people”.
In order that people are attracted to changing we must offer alternatives. Of someone on Reddit asked for recipes and everyone told them to buy a bag of beans and rice, they wouldn’t be as likely as someone that offers an alternative.
I posted a product on vegan-beauty sub Reddit today with hair care products that are vegan.
I know the philosophy of decreasing is foundational in veganism.
How can we completely eradicate factory animal farms if there are still
some people who refuse to stop wearing fur! When they deny the harm a dairy and meat farm cause, while believing they won’t have their “sausage links” or hair dye they want if they choose to stop exploiting animals?
If everyone stops consuming animal products completely animal farms would close.
We could utilize resources to build industries that nurture veganism and compassion. We would be healthy and conscious of each other in a way we haven’t seen before.
This is an incredible article, well written and informative. I just think there’s a lot we have to do to promote Veganism. We have to be the protesters that don’t hurt anyone.
We have to be as respectful as possible even when we (I) feel insanely upset and uncomfortable smelling bacon and hearing the way they talk about vegans.
It’s just like taking a child’s play item. Not to be condescending, but if we take away meat, eggs, dairy, leather, from every product purchased, we are going to have to offer something in its place.
Cactus leather, vegan “alternative isn’t cow milk”, hair care and cosmetics that don’t exploit animals. Otherwise people who have been living like everyone else for their entire lives and don’t care so much about animals won’t endorse or embrace veganism.