S2, Ep20: Fearless Activism with Joey Carbstrong

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

This week, Evy speaks to full time activist and animal rights speaker, Joey Carbstrong, about his direct, no-nonsense style of activism. Joey talks about how his early life as part of a gang influenced his bold and confrontational approach to speaking up for the voiceless, and how he remains unperturbed by criticism when he focuses on his core mission of achieving animal liberation. Also on this episode...

  • Joey recounts the time in his life as a gang member, and how a particularly depressing stint in prison prompted a total lifestyle overhaul, and eventually his vegan awakening.

  • How Joey left his gang and found his calling in animal rights activism.

  • How one-on-one street activism can have the greatest impact as an activist.

  • ‘The people who say animals are killed humanely, they haven’t ever witnessed what happens inside a slaughterhouse. They’re talking merely off of their indoctrination and what they’re told.’

  • Joey talks about his experiences in slaughterhouses as being some of ‘the most horrific experiences’ of his life.

  • His mindset for dealing with the verbal and online abuse that comes with being a confrontational activist.

  • Joey explains how to avoid ever being ‘stumped’ by an anti-vegan argument in a debate.

  • How to focus and conserve one’s energy for activism: ‘I don’t let anyone get inside my head to try to make me feel guilty for standing up for animals, no matter who it is.’

  • What to say to people who accuse vegans of caring more about animals than humans.

  • Do hardcore vegan activists want people working in the animal agricultural industry to lose their jobs or evolve with the plant based food system?

  • Joey explains how he takes a more forceful approach and how Gary Yourofsky’s direct speeches about animal abuse was what he needed to hear to go vegan.

  • ‘People need to be held accountable for their contribution to something that is horrific.’

  • Robbie and Evy talk about the c-word and how we can discuss the original source of the virus,  as being consumption of wild animals, without shaming and angering people.

Links

Check out Joey’s website.

Watch Joey’s debates on Youtube.

Follow Joey on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.

Video about the origins of Coronavirus that we discuss at the end of the podcast. Please note, this video contains graphic images of animal abuse.

Social Media

Twitter: @ChickPeepsPod

Instagram: @ChickPeepsPod

Facebook: @ChickPeepsPodcast

Momoko Hill: @oh_momoko

Robbie Jarvis: @robbjarvis

Tylor Starr: @tylorstarr

Evanna Lynch: @msevylynch

S2, Ep19: Fighting Fast Fashion with Venetia La Manna

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

This week, Momo and Evy talk to the brilliant Venetia La Manna about making sustainability a factor in our wardrobe choices, and how the animals are not the only victims of the fashion industry we should be speaking up for. Venetia is a climate activist and sustainability expert, and in this episode she speaks about her journey that began with ethical veganism and evolved to her role as a slow fashion advocate which sees her speaking out passionately against the fast fashion industry, and inspiring people to embrace a lifestyle of consuming less. Also in this episode...

  • Venetia shares why she considers that going vegan was ‘one of the best decisions’ she’s ever made.

  • Venetia talks about her initial resistance to embracing slow fashion, and we talk about what makes someone ‘ready’ to learn about veganism and sustainability.

  • Beyond vegan fashion: why cutting out animal derived fabrics isn’t enough.

  • What is fast fashion?

  • ‘What we’re forgetting is that when a garment is as cheap as it is, someone somewhere is paying for that.

  • The similarities between factory farming and fast fashion factories.

  • Are vegan materials made from plastic off the table now?

  • We discuss whether or not being a sustainable vegan is a privilege or can it be accessible to all?

  • What should you do if you can only afford to shop from fast fashion brands.

  • Venetia names some of the worst offenders in the fast fashion industry.

  • Are influencers helping or hindering the sustainable fashion movement?

  • Venetia shares her non-negotiable morning routine and mindfulness practices that keep her mental and physical health in balance.

  • Listener question from Jamie about the inherent frustration of being your friends’ ‘vegan google’

Links:

Follow Venetia on Instagram, Youtube and Twitter!

Check out Venetia’s website.

Listen to Venetia’s podcast, Talking Tastebuds!

Check out Venetia’s recommendations for learning about fast fashion: 

The True Cost, 

Kristen Leo’s Youtube 

Eco-Age

Social Media

Twitter: @ChickPeepsPod

Instagram: @ChickPeepsPod

Facebook: @ChickPeepsPodcast

Momoko Hill: @oh_momoko

Robbie Jarvis: @robbjarvis

Tylor Starr: @tylorstarr

Evanna Lynch: @msevylynch

S2, Ep18: Stray Cat Alliance with Christi Metropole

This week on The ChickPeeps, Robbie, Tylor and Evy visit the Stray Cat Alliance headquarters and talk to founder, Christi Metropole about her work running a shelter that saves and rehomes 1,400 cats per year. We discuss the role of vegan advocacy in an animal welfare organisation, the inherent inner conflict vegans face when adopting a cat, and the imperfect solutions we have to the problem of overpopulation. Also in this episode...

  • Christi shares how her vegan values and her love of cats went hand in hand, and the decision to advocate for veganism through her work in animal welfare..

  • How Christi ‘trapped’ her first cat and began her mission to protect cats when she founded Stray Cat Alliance.

  • Christi explains the ‘Trap, Neuter, Return’ program and why culling animals in the wild doesn’t work to control the population.

  • Isn’t spaying and neutering our companion animals taking away the reproductive rights of that individual?

  • Christi highlights the urgency for resources for companion animals in underserved communities.

  • We discuss the inner conflict of vegans who feed their cats a meat diet.

  • Christi explains why Stray Cat Alliance is a ‘No-Kill’ organisation and why she believes the no-kill approach ‘isn’t a fantasy’.

  • Christi gives her opinion on open admission shelters in LA.

  • We talk about why the animal welfare community puts such a strong emphasis on the ‘Adopt, Don’t Shop’ initiative for companion animals.

  • Momo and Evy discuss listener, Samantha’s question as to when does the frustration towards one’s non vegan friends and family subside.

Links

Check out Stray Cat Alliance

Foster a cat with Stray Cat Alliance

Follow SCA on Instagram, Twitter, Youtube and Facebook.

Social Media

Twitter: @ChickPeepsPod

Instagram: @ChickPeepsPod

Facebook: @ChickPeepsPodcast

Momoko Hill: @oh_momoko

Robbie Jarvis: @robbjarvis

Tylor Starr: @tylorstarr

Evanna Lynch: @msevylynch

S2, Ep17: Your Body in Balance with Dr. Neal Barnard

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

Dr.Neal Barnard, MD, FACC, speaks to The ChickPeeps about his work in the medical field advocating for the countless health benefits and healing properties of a plant-based diet. He shares a bit about his groundbreaking work that proved that eliminating animal products from one’s diet can reverse type 2 diabetes. He also talks about his new research that explains how hormones can be brought into balance by what we eat, curing things like menstrual cramps, endometriosis, infertility, cancer, erectile dysfunction and many other conditions. Also on this episode…

  • How working as an autopsy assistant made Dr.Barnard start seeing meat as ‘dead bodies’ rather than food. 

  • ‘Getting the animals off your plate isn’t the end goal’ - how eliminating animal products is just step 1 to cultivating optimal health.

  • How Dr. Neal started a movement that succeeded in eliminating every animal lab from every medical school in the US and Canada.

  • ‘Of all the people who are taking a cholesterol drug, probably 90% of them would not need them because a diet change could accomplish this.’

  • ‘The body can heal.’

  • Dr.Neal shares stories of patients who have been fully cured of type 2 diabetes.

  • How do plant based burgers compare to meat burgers from a nutritional standpoint?

  • Robbie outs himself as a Ravenclaw once again by quoting a bunch of medical studies...

  • Dr.Neal explains how the lack of integrity in medical publishing and reporting is due to a notable conflict of interests.

  • We all rag on the nutritional and moral issues of dairy milk for a bit.

  • Should we be limiting our intake of soy?

  • How soy reduces the likelihood of getting breast cancer.

  • Dr.Barnard brands the ‘carnivore diet’ as ‘a silly, childish, macho thing’.

  • Neal shares his latest research into how a plant-based diet can actually make menstrual cramps go away!!

  • How one woman solved her lifelong infertility issues after a month on a plant-based diet.

Links

Get a copy of Dr.Barnard’s new book - Your Body In Balance: The New Science of Food, Hormones and Health.

Read more about Dr.Barnard’s work at The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine

Attend a talk by Dr.Barnard on his book tour.

Greta Thunberg article mentioned at the end of the episode.

Social Media

Twitter: @ChickPeepsPod

Instagram: @ChickPeepsPod

Facebook: @ChickPeepsPodcast

Momoko Hill: @oh_momoko

Robbie Jarvis: @robbjarvis

Tylor Starr: @tylorstarr

Evanna Lynch: @msevylynch

S2, Ep16: Building an Ethical Brand with Josh Bolding

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

This week, Robbie and Evy talk to Josh Bolding, the co-founder of Vivo Life, a plant-based health and fitness company. In this episode we talk about the role of supplements in a vegan diet, and Josh’s journey in transitioning his company to be 100% vegan. Josh is also a passionate advocate of sustainability and he shares his thoughts on how companies can grow and thrive whilst remaining environmentally friendly. Also on this episode...

  • Josh discusses how the disingenuous nature of the supplement industry inspired him to form his own vegan supplement company.

  • The orphan elephant story that broke Josh’s heart open to an ethical vegan way of life.

  • The persistent myth of protein deficiency in vegans.

  • How risky is it to transition a business to be 100% vegan?

  • Josh shares how he transitioned his packaging to be home compostable, and speculates on why more companies aren’t doing it.

  • How refining a strong ethical core for Vivo helped the business take off.

  • The milieu of conscious consumerism and why people don’t want to buy from ‘soulless companies’.

  • Shouldn’t we be aiming to eat a well-rounded diet without the need for supplements?

  • Josh shares the daily supplements he takes.

  • What kind and how much B12 should we be taking?

  • Josh weighs in on the wave of influencers denouncing veganism last year.

Links:

Follow Josh’s work at Vivo Life on Instagram, Facebook and Youtube.

Check out the Vivo Life vegan supplements.

Social Media

Twitter: @ChickPeepsPod

Instagram: @ChickPeepsPod

Facebook: @ChickPeepsPodcast

Momoko Hill: @oh_momoko

Robbie Jarvis: @robbjarvis

Tylor Starr: @tylorstarr

Evanna Lynch: @msevylynch

S2, Ep 15: Vegan Dating with Elliot Knight, Part 2

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

Please note: the content of this episode is for a more mature audience so we recommend listeners be 16+ years.

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! In Part 2 we discuss the logistics of vegans' sex lives and introduce a new Chickpeeps relationship game :) Also on this episode...

Part 2

  • Is sex vegan?

  • Vegan condoms - we discuss the non animal products included in some mainstream brands, and some alternative vegan brands.

  • How shame around sex is messing with your vegan standards!

  • Important discussion about crystal wands and natural vegan lubricants!

  • We play an epic round of our new favourite scenarios game: ‘He’s vegan but….’

  • 2 listeners experiences with bringing veganism into relationships.

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