Food for Thought with Colleen Patrick-Goudreau

Granted, this may not be the sexiest topic in the world, but understanding our basic requirements for optimum health is important. Despite what many people believe, vitamin B12 is not animal-derived. Take a listen to find out everything you've always wanted to know about this water-soluble vitamin.   This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bo...

I’ve heard some people say that they’re not vegan because they don't want to make their non-vegan friends and family uncomfortable, they don’t want to appear difficult, they don't want to appear different. Noble though it sounds, I think we underestimate our friends and family in the guise of "protecting them" from any discomfort, and in doing so, we’re not only denying our own ethics and perpetua...

I highly encourage vegans, vegetarians, and non-vegans to engage in respectful dialogue about the issues that are not often in the public discourse. As vegans and vegetarians, we need to create a safe space for the comments and questions we hear — even if we've heard them a million times. As non-vegans / non-vegetarians, we can expand our perspective by asking genuine questions. In this episode, I...

If you've never met them, turkeys are magnificent animals, full of spunk and spark and affection. I've introduced many people to the critters at farmed animal sanctuaries, and the animals with whom people have the most transformative experience are the turkeys. Every time. Never fails. Join me as I tell some stories of special turkeys I've had the privilege of meeting and as I explain why I'm stil...

After hearing our earlier podcast episodes on chicken's eggs, many of you have written to tell me you have eliminated them from your diet. On behalf of the 290 million hens being kept (and eventually killed) for their eggs, I thank you. This new path, however, has left you with questions about how to cook and bake without them. Join me as I give away all my secrets for eggless baking and offer my...

Even if you're not planning on transitioning to a vegan diet, I think you'll find this episode very helpful. Packed with helpful tips and shortcuts, this episode addresses the pragmatics of eating and cooking healthfully, offers suggestions for eating locally, speaks to those who say they are hungry when they eat vegan, and provides insight into why people react with anger and/or hostility when yo...

I've heard every excuse in the book for eating animals, but I've yet to hear a convincing reason. The consumption of meat, dairy, and eggs is so ritualized, rationalized, disguised, and romanticized that an entirely new group of people has emerged: the "excuse-itarians." These are the people who spend enormous amounts of time and energy romanticizing the consumption of animal products and who have...

I have yet to meet a non-vegan who didn't care about the treatment of animals raised and killed for human consumption, and I have yet to meet a non-vegetarian who didn't declare that they're eating "humanely raised" meat, dairy, and eggs. When you factor in the breeding, transporting, and slaughter, is it possible to have "humane" animal products? —————— Join our awesome community and support this...

Some people are afraid that their social lives will suffer when they eliminate meat and dairy from their diet, since social occasions and food tend to go hand in hand. For anyone who has ever thought it's difficult as a vegan / vegetarian / plant-based person to dine out or to eat at the home of non-vegetarian friends, I hope this can be a guide and a resource. It also includes suggestions for hav...

Despite the popular depiction of non-dairy milks being "alternatives" to cow's milk, it's really the other way around when you consider the fact that the milk from nuts and soybeans has been used for thousands of years. Join me as I explore the many commercial (and homemade) milks available to those of us who've weaned ourselves from the milk of cows. —————— Join our awesome community and support...

The practice of eating animals is a culturally ingrained habit. If you're in the U.S., you might dine on pigs, cattle, and chickens; if you're in Mexico, you might feast on goats; if you're in parts of Asia, you might devour dogs and cats. We humans have a funny way of judging other cultures for what we think is cruel, despite our own commitment to cruelty. To the animals, it's all the same. —————...

Some people mistakenly think being vegan is about trying to attain perfection, so they resist any considerations of this lifestyle lest they have to "give something up." Being vegan is about living compassionately, consciously, and expansively; it's not about deprivation or being certified 100% pure. —————— Join our awesome community and support this podcast through Patreon or as an Apple Subscrib...

This is a common comment that seems fair enough on the surface, but what if we dug a little deeper? —————— Join our awesome community and support this podcast through Patreon or as an Apple Subscriber for bonus material, early access to episodes, and other perks, depending on the option you choose.  Support this podcast today at JoyfulVegan.com/Donate Visit my website: JoyfulVegan.com Join me on a...

Despite the stereotype that characterizes vegans as "angry," I call myself a "joyful vegan" and find that most everyone I know who lives this way also radiates with a joy and peace that comes with being fully awake and open. —————— Join our awesome community and support this podcast through Patreon or as an Apple Subscriber for bonus material, early access to episodes, and other perks, depending o...

Join me as I address some of the tenuous arguments against vegetarianism. The arguments that try to catch vegans in some kind of state of hypocrisy are particular favorites of mine, such as accusing them of torturing plants or not caring about insects. "Don't do nothing because you can't do everything. Do something. Anything." —————— Join our awesome community and support this podcast through Patr...

It seems that most of our excuses for eating animals have more to do with how we want to perceive ourselves and less to do with what is actually true. Explore this idea with me as we look at a couple popular justifications for eating animals. —————— Join our awesome community and support this podcast through Patreon or as an Apple Subscriber for bonus material, early access to episodes, and other...

Cow's milk is indeed a natural food — for calves, just as human milk is made for humans, rat's milk is made for rats, and dog's milk is made for dogs. Calves stop drinking cow's milk when they're weaned, and humans stop drinking human milk when they're weaned, but somehow we've all been convinced that humans should continue drinking cow's milk — and never wean. —————— Join our awesome community an...

Let's examine the physiological differences between carnivores and herbivores and see who humans resemble most. Check out Part I if you haven't already. —————— Join our awesome community and support this podcast through Patreon or as an Apple Subscriber for bonus material, early access to episodes, and other perks, depending on the option you choose.  Support this podcast today at JoyfulVegan.com/...

If you've ever heard this or said it yourself - even once - you might want to listen to this episode. And then follow up with Part II. —————— Join our awesome community and support this podcast through Patreon or as an Apple Subscriber for bonus material, early access to episodes, and other perks, depending on the option you choose.  Support this podcast today at JoyfulVegan.com/Donate Visit my we...

Perhaps the biggest, most persistent myth is that the nutrients we need are animal-based. We're told we should get calcium from cow's milk, omega-3 fatty acids from salmon, and protein from meat.  In fact, the nutrients we need are plant-based. Not animal-based.  Listen to this podcast episode about why it makes absolutely no sense nutritionally, ethically, or ecologically to go through an animal...

Join me as we journey to two different egg-laying facilities who label their eggs "organic, free-range, and cage-free" and discover that, though the hens may not be in "battery cages," everything else remains the same. —————— Join our awesome community and support this podcast through Patreon or as an Apple Subscriber for bonus material, early access to episodes, and other perks, depending on the...

Marketing language is a powerful thing, and we're all being duped. Let's take a look at the mystique and myths around free-range eggs. —————— Join our community and support this podcast through  Patreon or as an Apple Subscriber for bonus material, early access to episodes, and other perks, depending on the option you choose.   Support this podcast today at  JoyfulVegan.com/Donate Visit my website...

However much we want to believe it, hens don’t produce eggs because they figured out they were good binding ingredients for baked goods. Products of a chicken's reproductive cycle, eggs are simply the waste produced when they go unfertilized. Not as appetizing as what the egg industry tells us. What else are we not being told? —————— Don't forget to support this podcast through Patreon or as an Ap...

Because this prevailing myth continues to cause even the most independently minded person to ask where vegetarians and vegans get their protein, our first episode is dedicated to debunking this myth. Support this podcast today at Patreon.com/ColleenPatrickGoudreau Visit my website: JoyfulVegan.com Join me on an all-inclusive vegan trip: JoyfulVeganTrips.com AFFILIATE PARTNERS: Nama Juicer — Use th...