S2, Ep15: Vegan Dating with Elliot Knight, Part 1

This episode is brought to you by Vivo Life! Use our code 'chickpeeps10' to get 10% off your order at vivolife.com!

In anticipation of Valentine’s Day, this week Evy, Momo and the incomparably spangly guest-host and actor, Elliot Knight, are tackling the thorny issue of dating in and out of the vegan community! Often when people transition to veganism, their close relationships are challenged by this dramatic shift in their partner’s outlook. In part 1 of this extra, in-depth episode we discuss the many common dilemmas faced by vegans in navigating intimate relationships. Also on this episode...

Part 1

  •  Dating vegans vs. non vegans.

  • ‘Just because someone’s vegan doesn’t mean that they’re a great person’

  • Is veganism more openly accepted by the queer community?

  • How to deal when you’re dating someone who is more hardcore vegan than you.

  • Kissing non vegans - yay or nay and what is the social vegan etiquette of kissing people who eat animals.

  • We discuss our personal relationship non-negotiables with non vegan partners.

  • What do you do if your date rocks up in a Canada Goose jacket?

  • Should I try and convert my partner to veganism?

  • Momo braves the vegan dating apps! 

  • The vegan bio cliché you should avoid in your online profile!

  • Should you let them know you’re vegan before the first date?

  • What do you do when you match with someone with a tiger selfie?

Links

Follow Elliot Knight on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter!

Vote for The ChickPeeps to win the Vegan Food and Living Reader Awards!

Social Media

Twitter: @ChickPeepsPod

Instagram: @ChickPeepsPod

Facebook: @ChickPeepsPodcast

Momoko Hill: @oh_momoko

Robbie Jarvis: @robbjarvis

Tylor Starr: @tylorstarr

Evanna Lynch: @msevylynch

S2, Ep14: The Vegan Masterchef Way with Dino Luciano

This episode is brought to you by Vivo Life! Use our code 'chickpeeps10' to get 10% off your order at vivolife.com!

‘I’ve got a plan to save the world’, promises Dino Luciano, the talented and dynamic chef who broke new ground when he became the first vegan to win Masterchef in 2017 -  and we’re inclined to believe him! In this in-depth interview Dino speaks candidly to the ChickPeeps about his experiences as a vegan competing in the world’s biggest cooking show, why he chose to compete in the first place knowing he’d have to cook meat, and whether or not veganism can heal the world. Also in this episode...

  • ‘I wanted to be a vegetarian ever since I could remember’. Dino explains how, despite his traditional italian upbringing, he always felt at heart that he didn’t agree with consuming animals.

  • His earliest experiences working in restaurants and getting fired a lot when he wouldn’t taste the food.

  • Dino’s rationale for being ‘a little more stealth’ about his vegan advocacy now.

  • Dino talks about how his need to save his family’s health pushed him to learn how to make healthy vegan food taste as good as and better than animal products.

  • 10 points to you if you can guess which Hogwarts house Dino is!

  • Dino speculates on why being a vegan chef would be controversial on network tv in America.

  • ‘My vegan food actually is a little bit better than my meat, and my meat is the best meat anyone in the world can cook.’

  • Dino shares his theory on how cooking could be the solution to ending racism.

  • How and why Dino’s OCD and anxiety lessened when he switched to a plant based diet.

  • How visualisation and the law of attraction was a key component to his winning Masterchef.

  • One person Dino would like to see go vegan.

Links:

Follow Dino on Instagram, Youtube and Twitter!

Check out Dino’s website and have him cater your next plant-based event or dinner!

Vote for The ChickPeeps in the Vegan Food and Living Reader Awards!

Social Media

Twitter: @ChickPeepsPod

Instagram: @ChickPeepsPod

Facebook: @ChickPeepsPodcast

Momoko Hill: @oh_momoko

Robbie Jarvis: @robbjarvis

Tylor Starr: @tylorstarr

Evanna Lynch: @msevylynch

S2, Ep13: Australian Bushfires - What Next for Animals with World Animal Protection

This episode is brought to you by Vivo Life! Use our code 'chickpeeps10' to get 10% off your order at vivolife.com!

This week we are also sponsored by Veestro! Use code PEEPS at checkout for 25% off your first order at https://try.veestro.com/chickpeeps! 

This week on The ChickPeeps we take time out of our vegan-focused discourse to discuss the wildfires that broke out across Australia causing unimaginable devastation to Australia's wildlife. Evy speaks to Simone Clarke and Lena Aalby of World Animal Protection Australia to get an insight into what daily life is like now for the animal advocates in Australia, working to protect perhaps the most vulnerable victims of disasters. Simone and Lena share about the challenges faced in recovering from the fires, what’s happening to the rescued animals and why they believe in prioritising long-term recovery work to best protect animals in disasters. Also on this episode…

  • Simone and Lena discuss how charities spring into action and coordinate their strategies to approach all aspects of protecting animals affected by disasters.

  • Lena shares about the emergency relief work she personally partakes in to rescue and rehabilitate injured  and orphaned animals.

  • 1 billion animals perished: Is this statistic accurate and what does it mean for the future of the Australian wildlife?

  • Can these animals be rehabilitated and released into the wild after so much of the land was destroyed?

  • The resilience of the Australian landscape.

  • Why World Animal Protection believe in advocating for policy change as part of their strategy to protect animals.

  • What is the point of saving farm animals affected by disasters when ultimately people are going to kill them to eat?

  • Is veganism included in World Animal Protection's disaster prevention strategy?

  • Is fundraising the only thing we can do to help Australia heal?

  • Isn’t climate change only going to make the fires increase and is there hope for handling this problem?

Links:

Donate or get involved with World Animal Protection’s work: WorldAnimalProtection.org.au

Follow World Animal Protection Australia’s recovery relief efforts on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.

Listener Sarah recommends The Vegan Society’s Vegan Passport for great vegan tips when traveling.

Social Media

Twitter: @ChickPeepsPod

Instagram: @ChickPeepsPod

Facebook: @ChickPeepsPodcast

Momoko Hill: @oh_momoko

Robbie Jarvis: @robbjarvis

Tylor Starr: @tylorstarr

Evanna Lynch: @msevylynch

S2, Ep12: Vegan Travel with Brighde Reed

This episode is brought to you by Vivo Life! Use our code 'chickpeeps10' to get 10% off your order at vivolife.com!

This episode is also sponsored by Kinder Beauty! Use code CHICKPEEPS at checkout to get a free bonus item worth up to $24 in your first box.

This week we are exploring the topic of traveling abroad as a vegan and the many challenges that presents when away from your familiar local vegan haunts and comforts. Brighde Reed, vegan activist and co-founder of World Vegan Travel, joins Evy this week to discuss her wealth of experience in organising vegan-friendly trips and to share some practical tips in how we can enjoy stress-free, ethically minded adventures all over the world. Also on this episode...

  • Aside from food, Brighde discusses some of the common things vegans need to consider and prepare for when planning a trip abroad.

  • What to do when a restaurant or hotel is less than accommodating towards veganism.

  • Brighde mentions some animal related activities we should avoid when traveling and shares some ethical alternatives.

  • Activist travels: how to incorporate vegan and animal rights activism into your travels.

  • How does one justify time out as an activist?

  • Brighde shares some practical sustainability tips to implement when staying in hotels and eating out.

  • How should vegans deal with the global emissions of long-haul flights?

  • Which city is the most-vegan friendly place to visit at the moment?

  • What is the one language that doesn’t have a word for vegan?

  • What are the travel essentials vegans should pack for a holiday.

  • Momo and Evy answer a listener’s question on whether or not pescatarian is a positive step towards veganism.

Links

Check out Brighde’s tailor-made vegan trips on World Vegan Travel!

Follow World Vegan Travel on Instagram, Facebook and Youtube.

Check out Brighde’s podcast!

Some verifiably ethical elephant sanctuaries in Thailand, as recommended by Brighde: Elephant Nature Park, Phuket Elephant Nature Sanctuary, BLES.

Seaspiracy

Social Media

Twitter: @ChickPeepsPod

Instagram: @ChickPeepsPod

Facebook: @ChickPeepsPodcast

Momoko Hill: @oh_momoko

Robbie Jarvis: @robbjarvis

Tylor Starr: @tylorstarr

Evanna Lynch: @msevylynch

S2, Ep11: Turning Adversaries into Allies with Leah Garcés

This episode is brought to you by Vivo Life! Use our code 'chickpeeps10' to get 10% off your order at vivolife.com!

This week we are also sponsored by Veestro! Use code PEEPS at checkout for 25% off your first order attryveestro.com/chickpeeps!

How do a lifelong animal rights activist and a chicken factory farmer become friends? How does working with the oppressors of animals help the vegan movement? Leah Garcés, president of Mercy For Animals and author of Grilled, has made it her life’s mission to advocate for animal rights by crossing enemy lines and working with the world’s largest food corporations to change the system. In this episode she speaks to Tylor and Evy about her dedication to protecting animals from a young age, how meeting a factory farmer radically altered her outlook and approach to activism and how she navigates relationships with the people killing the animals she’s trying to save. Also on this episode...

  • Leah shares how the ducks in her backyard awakened her urge to protect animals.

  • How Leah’s dream of being a vet evolved when she realised she wanted to tackle the very root of animal suffering.

  • ‘Once I discovered that there was this world where you could advocate for farmed animals, and that could be a job, I never stopped advocating for animals, it was my professional job from day 1’.

  • How having her first child inspired Leah to deeply consider her work and life’s purpose.

  • Leah talks about the initial inner conflict of being a vegan working in a welfare space, and how she reconciled herself with fighting for animal welfare.

  • ‘Conversations and empathy do not equal endorsement.’ We talk about the fact that many vegans see working with people in animal agriculture as a betrayal of one’s vegan values.

  • Leah explains how her unique friendship with farmer, Craig Watts, radically shifted her approach to animal rights advocacy.

  • How farmers become trapped as ‘indentured servants’ in the factory farming system

  • ‘Hate the oppression, not the oppressor,’ Leah explains the Martin Luther King philosophy that inspires her activism.

  • If farmers are not the enemy, then who is?

  • How Leah built a rapport with and earned the trust of farmers in the first place.

  • The role of protesting in animal welfare activism and when is the right time to stage a protest.

  • MFA’s Transfarmation project

  • Leah talks about being a vegan mom and how much of her work she chooses to share with her children. 

  • Leah weighs in on whether or not a fully vegan future is plausible.

Links:

Buy Leah’s book, Grilled: Turning Adversaries into Allies to Change the Chicken Industry.

Read more about MFA’s Transfarmation Project: Empowering Farmers for a Better Food System.

Check out Leah’s work at Mercy For Animals.

Follow MFA on Instagram, Twitter, Youtube, Pinterest and Facebook.

Social Media

Twitter: @ChickPeepsPod

Instagram: @ChickPeepsPod

Facebook: @ChickPeepsPodcast

Momoko Hill: @oh_momoko

Robbie Jarvis: @robbjarvis

Tylor Starr: @tylorstarr

Evanna Lynch: @msevylynch

S2, Ep10: Do Good & Look Incredible with Stacey Chang

This episode is brought to you by Vivo Life! Use our code 'chickpeeps10' to get 10% off your order at vivolife.com!

This episode is also sponsored by Kinder Beauty! Use code CHICKPEEPS at checkout to get a free bonus item worth up to $24 in your first box.

The future is female and made out of apples! Or at least our shoes will be! This week Evy speaks to vegan entrepreneur and sustainable fashion guru, Stacey Chang, the founder of Veerah. Disillusioned by the lack of non-animal, stylish shoe options, and the fashion industry’s disregard for sustainable practices, Stacey decided to design the world as she’d like to see it when she defied all the obstacles and founded the first apple leather shoe brand in 2016. Stacey considers veganism a core value of her brand and is determined to the fashion industry that beauty and compassion can coexist. Also on this episode…

  • How Buddhism nurtured Stacey’s compassion towards all creatures and led her to veganism.

  • Stacey shares about her early experiences in the mainstream fashion industry and how working at big-name brands showed her what she wanted to do differently.

  • What gave the Stacey the inspiration to try making shoes with apples.

  • Where do all the apple skins come from?

  • Do vegan leathers have a greater carbon footprint than their animal leather counterparts?

  • ‘Non leather materials - such as cotton fabric, polyesters - are found to have less than half the environmental impact than their animal derivative counterparts.’

  • Is it even possible to be sustainable and fashionable?! Stacey shares her tips for making the most of your wardrobe.

  • What it takes to create a thriving vegan business.

  • ‘Being vegan should be your core value, that’s something you should never compromise on.’

  • Will vegan textiles ever be price-competitive with their animal counterparts?

  • We talk about being a woman in a leadership role and how sensitivity can be an asset in intuiting what the customer needs.

  • Stacey emphasises the importance of tending to one’s own needs to fully unlock our naturally compassionate nature: ‘When we’re in a better state both inside and out then naturally we will be more compassionate’.

  • Tylor and Evy discuss many vegans’ discomfort about eating vegan options from places like Burger King and McDonalds, and whether or not we should be supporting these options.

  • A listener question prompts discussion about whether disgust is the appropriate response to taxidermied animals.

Links

  • Use code “Chickpeeps” to save $50 on your first order of regular priced shoes on Veerah!

  • Follow Veerah on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.

  • Learn more about the environmental impact of different materials here.

  • Veerah’s summary of the cradle-to-gate environmental impact of materials.

Social Media

Twitter: @ChickPeepsPod

Instagram: @ChickPeepsPod

Facebook: @ChickPeepsPodcast

Momoko Hill: @oh_momoko

Robbie Jarvis: @robbjarvis

Tylor Starr: @tylorstarr

Evanna Lynch: @msevylynch