Let me, your host, be your guide as we venture into this exciting journey, where we'll question the cognitive dissonance many animal lovers face when it comes to eating meat. Together, we'll challenge preconceptions, uncover the nitty-gritty of veganism - its culture, diet, and health choices. This isn't about converting you to veganism, it's about understanding and appreciating a culture and lifestyle.
We'll delve deeper into the roles animals play in our existence, stirring thought-provoking conversations and shedding light on different perspectives. But that's not all. We'll be dissecting veganism in various sectors - from lifestyle, clothes, comedy, exercise, to parenting, philosophy, and food.
So, buckle up, set aside any preconceived notions and join us in this enlightening exploration. You never know, you might find yourself reconsidering a vegan lifestyle.
Let me, your host, be your guide as we venture into this exciting journey, where we'll question the cognitive dissonance many animal lovers face when it comes to eating meat. Together, we'll challenge preconceptions, uncover the nitty-gritty of veganism - its culture, diet, and health choices. This isn't about converting you to veganism, it's about understanding and appreciating a culture and lifestyle.
We'll delve deeper into the roles animals play in our existence, stirring thought-provoking conversations and shedding light on different perspectives. But that's not all. We'll be dissecting veganism in various sectors - from lifestyle, clothes, comedy, exercise, to parenting, philosophy, and food.
So, buckle up, set aside any preconceived notions and join us in this enlightening exploration. You never know, you might find yourself reconsidering a vegan lifestyle.
Those who have listened to the podcast regularly will have picked up on two things.
Speaker 1:
Well, hopefully more than that, but I'm talking about two particular things.
Speaker 1:
The first is that my personal interest in the connection between humans and animals has been going on since I was very young, and a lot of my guests, as well as a lot of you, feel the same way, and yet less than a quarter of you are probably vegan or vegetarian.
Speaker 1:
And here's the second thing Vegan and vegetarianism comes up A LOT in this podcast, not for any particular purpose. This isn't specifically an advocacy podcast. I think the reason for this is that anyone who has an interest in the connection between humans and non-human animals will have had thoughts around the subject. There's a cognitive dissonance surrounding loving animals and also eating animals, and for a while these thoughts can be set aside. But as soon as you truly let yourself think about it, you may start to get uncomfortable. One of my first experiences thinking about this cognitive dissonance was when I read the book Some we Love, some we Hate, some we Eat by Hal Herzog. You can hear more from Hal on episode 21. But yet reading this book didn't really phase me. I didn't really think about it, though I understood that it concerns some animal lovers. Gently, though, my ideas were challenged further when I joined the animal welfare and sheltering movement. Many in the sheltering world were vegan or vegetarian, and many felt that if you were saving animals, why only save SOME animals? What made cats and dogs inherently more worthy of saving than pigs or cows? But what really kick-started me into eating less meat was taking the master's course in anthrozoology at the University of Exeter and this wasn't the goal of the program, obviously, but the number of arguments and the depth of thought that had gone into many of the views in the articles I read gave me many new perspectives to pull from, and starting this podcast a couple years ago has only made me realize more and more how the connection between humans and animals and the question of whether we should eat other animals has really become a question that I see in just about every field of study and research and profession that I have talked to. I'll link some of these more obvious episodes in the show notes.
Speaker 1:
So why does veganism come up so often when studying the connection between humans and other animals? Well, in series 9, we're going to try to find out. We've danced around it long enough. It comes up in just about every series, if not every episode. So let's tackle this question head-on. What is veganism? What does it really mean to be vegan, and why do people do it? Do vegans have a stronger connection with animals than those of us who still, for better or worse, eat meat? Is this a moral question, an ethical question or simply a question of personal choice? And finally, what is being a vegan really like? There are plenty of memes and jokes about vegan lifestyles, but, setting those aside, what do vegans actually eat? Are they healthy? What do they wear? How do they live? In series 9, we're going to look at vegan culture. My goals for this series are not for you to become a vegan, but I'm simply wondering what would it take for us to want to become vegan? What is it like? So let's approach this as scientists, try to set aside our biases and really observe. What do we see, and could we really see ourselves doing the same? We're going to dive deep into vegan culture. Learn about the lifestyle, clothes, the comedy, the exercise, the parenting, the philosophy and, of course, the food.
Speaker 1:
Those who have listened to this podcast regularly will have picked up on two things. Well, hopefully more than that, but I'm talking about two particular things. The first is that my personal interest in the connection between humans and animals has been going on since I was very young, and a lot of my guests, as well as a lot of you, feel the same way, and yet less than a quarter of you are probably vegan or vegetarian. And here's the second thing Vegan and vegetarianism comes up a lot in this podcast, not for any particular purpose. This isn't specifically an advocacy podcast, although hearing some of my guests talk it can certainly sound that way. I think the reason for this is that anyone who has an interest in the connection between humans and non-human animals will have had thoughts around the subject.
Speaker 1:
There's a cognitive dissonance surrounding loving animals and also eating animals, and for a while these thoughts can be set aside, but as soon as you truly let yourself think about it, you may start to get uncomfortable. One of my first experiences thinking about this cognitive dissonance was when I read the book Some we Love, some we Hate, some we Eat by Hal Herzog. You can hear more from Hal on episode 21. But yet reading this book didn't really phase me. I didn't really think about it, although I understood it concerns some animal lovers. Gently, though.
Speaker 1:
My ideas were challenged further when I joined the animal welfare and sheltering movement. Many in the sheltering world were vegan and vegetarian, and many felt that if you were saving animals, why only save some animals? What made cats and dogs inherently more worthy of saving than pigs or cows? But what really kick-started me into eating less meat was taking the master's course in Anthrozoology at the University of Exeter and this wasn't the goal of the program, obviously. But the number of arguments and the depth of thought that had gone into many of the views in the articles I read gave me many new perspectives, has only made me realize more and more how the connection between humans and animals and the question of whether we should eat other animals has really become a question that I see in just about every field of study and research and profession that I've talked to.
Speaker 1:
I'll link some of these more obvious episodes in the show notes. So why does veganism come up so often when studying the connection between humans and other animals? Well, in series 9 we're going to try to find out. We've danced around it long enough. It comes up in just about every series, if not every episode. So let's tackle this question head-on.
Speaker 1:
What is veganism. What does it really mean to be vegan, and why do people do it? Do vegans have a stronger connection with animals than those of us who still, for better or worse, eat meat? Is this a moral question, an ethical question or simply a question of personal choice? And finally, what is being vegan really? There are plenty of memes and jokes about vegan lifestyles, but, setting those aside, what do vegans actually eat? Are they healthy? What do they wear? How do they live?
Speaker 1:
In series 9, we're going to look at vegan culture. My goals for this series are not for you to become vegan, but I'm simply wondering what it would take for us to want to become vegan. What is it like? How do vegans live? So let's approach this as scientists. Try to set aside our biases and really observe. What do we see, and could we really see ourselves doing the same? We're going to dive deep into vegan culture. Learn about the lifestyle, clothes, the comedy, the exercise, the parenting, the philosophy and, of course, the food.
Speaker 1:
But before we jump into series 9, I want to let you know about some things coming up. First of all, if you haven't yet, please sign up for the TDWA Monthly Newsletter. The newsletter includes show links, sneak previews and upcoming events, as well as some of my favorite books and podcasts. Also, please share your favorite episode with your friends. If you can do this as soon as this trailer is over, please do. It helps so much with building the audience and you can discuss the ideas you've learned at holiday dinners. If you can't get enough TDWA, you can also head over to Patreon and become a TDWA Patreon member. That's where I'll be posting bonus content, along with everything you get from the newsletter and the website. Become a member for just $3 a month less than a cup of coffee at Starbucks. And finally, if you're interested in learning about starting your own podcast, join me at susanclothiercom in January. Registration will be in the show notes and on the blog. Of course, all the other places. I'll be sharing with you all the tips and tricks I've learned while producing the deal with animals, along with strategies to clear any barriers you have in starting your own podcast. Podcasting is a great way to share your message with your clients or your mission with your community. I hope you enjoy the two December specials and I look forward to seeing you in the new year for Series 9.
Speaker 1:
I'm Marika Bell, anthrozoologist, cptt, dog trainer and an animal myself. Thank you for joining me for Series 9 as we try to answer the question what's the deal with vegans? I love this question. What's the deal with animals? What do I think is the deal with animals? I think the deal with animals for one is awesome. I think the deal with animals is awesome. What is the deal with animals? Oh gosh, what's the deal with animals? So the deal with animals? You know what the deal with animals is. Is that it's really the deal with animals for us? So what do you think is the deal with animals?
