S3, Ep15: Redistributing Privilege in Veganism with Mikaela Loach
Jan 27, 2021
auto_awesome
In this episode, Mikaela Loach, climate justice and anti-racism activist, discusses redistributing privilege in the vegan community. She talks about her vegan journey, the importance of listening to marginalized voices, and keeping ego out of activism. Mikaela also addresses the issue of white privilege and the dangers of glorifying individuals in the vegan movement.
Recognize privilege, listen to marginalized voices, and redistribute power in veganism and social justice movements.
Avoid glorifying individuals and focus on collective efforts to create inclusive spaces that uplift marginalized voices.
Expand activism by actively listening, adapting communication, finding common ground, and pursuing shared goals for positive change.
Deep dives
The essence of the Chip Peeps podcast
The Chip Peeps podcast aims to have inclusive and open conversations that explore the interconnection of various social justice issues. By discussing topics such as the climate crisis, racial injustice, and veganism, the podcast strives to create a space where listeners can learn, share perspectives, and work towards building a better world.
Addressing Privilege and Power
The podcast emphasizes the need to listen to marginalized voices and recognize one's own privilege in order to create more inclusive movements. It encourages individuals to be open to discomfort, challenge their own perspectives, and actively work towards redistributing power and privileges within their respective communities.
Navigating Tokenization and Palatability
The podcast acknowledges the complexities of navigating tokenization and palatability within social justice movements. It highlights the importance of not glorifying individuals and instead focusing on collective efforts and inclusive spaces that uplift marginalized voices. The podcast also discusses the need to continually learn, grow, and make space for others in the pursuit of an oppression-free world.
Expanding Activism and Navigating Difficult Conversations
The podcast explores strategies for expanding activism beyond personal circles and engaging with individuals who may have different perspectives. It emphasizes active listening, adapting communication approaches, finding common ground, and seeking shared goals to foster productive conversations and effect positive change.
The Power of Veganism and Creating Change
The podcast recognizes the transformative potential of veganism in creating change. It highlights the ways in which veganism can broaden perspectives, challenge societal norms, and lead to personal growth. By advocating for a vegan lifestyle, the podcast aims to contribute to a more compassionate and inclusive world.
This season of The ChickPeeps is brought to you by our friends at Vivo Life! Use our code 'chickpeeps10' to get 10% off your order at vivolife.com.
This week, Momo and Evy have an in-depth discussion about redistributing privilege in the vegan community with the wonderful Mikaela Loach. Mikaela is a climate justice and anti-racism activist, a writer, medical student and host of The Yikes Podcast. In this episode, Mikaela shares her journey to veganism, her early days of animal rights activism and why the word ‘vegan’ is no longer front and centre in her activism. Mikaela also shares her ideas on keeping ego out of activism and how the movement will thrive when we listen to marginalised people and focus on the community as a whole rather than glorifying individuals within the vegan community.
While you’re listening, please take a moment to check out the links to our sponsors. Not only are Vivo Life a great, vegan company, but their support also allows us to continue to produce The ChickPeeps for you! We love them and their products and we think you will too.
This episode is also sponsored by the lovely people at Forager Project. Only for podcast listeners, Forager is offering a limited offer coupon for a free cup of plant-based yoghurt! Claim it here!
Also in this episode…
Mikaela talks about going vegan overnight at the age of 16 after having her eyes opened to the logical fallacies inherent in eating animals.
She shares her admiration for the young activists finding their voice in our movement and notes the importance of social media as a tool for organising and advocating for causes.
We talk about the intersection of vegan and anti-racism work and Mikaela reminds us that “being aware of how other beings are oppressed will only ever strengthen our movements, it can’t weaken them”.
Mikaela explains the importance of keeping our ego in check, especially when we’re advocating for change on behalf of non-human animals.
“If we want to disrupt the system it’s going to be uncomfortable”. Mikaela emphasises the need to accept discomfort as part of the process in creating systemic change.
How do we reach and change the minds of those who see the world so differently to us?
Mikaela gives her perspective on ‘cancelling’ people and why she believes we need to lower the bar in terms of bringing people into movements.
Mikaela talks about the upcoming season of The Yikes Podcast and explains why she likes podcasting as a medium.