The Vegan Report

The first vegan who walked the earth was Abu l-'Ala' Al-Ma"arri أبو العلاء المعري In today's episode, I invite you to discover the extraordinary life of this genius who was thinking of animal ethics long before we were born. A Legend who I want to commemorate and from whom I want to draw insight and inspiration in our current fight for animal rights.To discuss this topic, I have with me Dr Kevin Blankinship, THE scholar on the life of Al-Ma'ari. He is a professor of Arabic and Islamic studies at Brigham Young University and is currently writing "Steal No More from Nature: Al-Maʿarrī and Animal Ethics in Classical Arabic Literature", a book I am looking forward to reading.Visit Dr. Blankinship's website: https://kblankinship.com/Concerto for Chorus on texts of Abu l-'Ala' Al-Ma'arri (William C. White): https://youtu.be/yrnVjKz4oww?si=YVqkFuxsHliLMWtg&t=938Read "The Epistle of Forgiveness": https://nyupress.org/9780814763780/the-epistle-of-forgiveness/Read "A Culture of Ambiguity" by Thomas Bauer: https://cup.columbia.edu/book/a-culture-of-ambiguity/9780231170659Read Colin Spencer's "The Heretic's Feast": https://www.amazon.com/Heretics-Feast-History-Vegetarianism/dp/0874517605Read Reynold A. Nicholson's translations: https://www.librarything.com/author/nicholsonreynoldaFollow the show on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/veganreportpodcast/

The Art of Compassion Project is an international art collective supported by over a hundred artists from 28 countries that aims to support the compassionate lifestyle of veganism by donating 100% of proceeds from various art projects to non-profit vegan organizations. Through this effort, it also aims to build a strong international community of vegan artists who share the same vision—to use their art as a means to spread the vegan message.Get the Book "The Art of Compassion" Now: https://artofcompassionproject.com/book/Get the Art of Compassion Oracle deck cards Now: https://www.makeplayingcards.com/sell/marketplace/art-of-compassion-oracle.htmlFollow Helen on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/helen.ara/Follow Francisco on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vegan.frank/Follow the show on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/veganreportpodcast/

Today is a very special episode, because we are welcoming one of the "15 most influential vegan athletes" according to VegNews. Our guest, Robert Cheeke, is an American bodybuilder and vegan activist, whose most recent book THE IMPACTFUL VEGAN caught my attention. It is a dose of clarity on everything related to vegan and animal advocacy.Pre-order "The Impactful Vegan" Now: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/739384/the-impactful-vegan-by-robert-cheeke/Are Social Media Undermining Vegan Advocacy? https://animalsvoice.com/are-social-media-undermining-vegan-advocacy/Follow the show on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/veganreportpodcast/

Overcoming depression or an addiction, overcoming PTSD, stimulating creativity, and more to the point of this podcast, gaining a sense of connection with nature, a higher level of empathy towards others (including animals) and even a willingness to become vegan are all transformations that can be triggered by a psychedelic experience.Then, maybe psychedelics are the powerful ally that the vegan movement needs. Maybe we should fight for them to become legal and more readily available, as they might provoke the cultural reset we need to overcome speciesism.To discuss this topic, I have with me Elin Pöllänen. She is the co-author of the only study examining the link between the use of psychedelics and how we treat animals. The study is titled "Classic Psychedelics and Human-Animal Relations". Read the study: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9266040/Access Kieli's music on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/2SZafIXhqrZdZg4VAFI6cl?si=QUvf1RWQT76OdAO5HTrhXQSpecial thanks to Cynthia, Adam (https://www.easyforanimals.com/), Astrid, Christopher (https://nolumberjacks.com/) and Andreas for voicing the testimonies!

Martin is vegan, just like you and me. One day, he thought "I want to do more for the animals" And so he picked up his guitar and started making clever, witty, funny and enjoyable songs about veganism and the animal rights cause under the stage name of "Vystopia". He streams his music online, and all the profits he gets from them go to animal rights organizations, sanctuaries and shelters.Join Vystopia's Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/vystopiaStream Vystopia's music on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/0J9x6SxkPWa8IBmpUHqog9?si=u0JvfIrlRIWSpmDTtsPEowFollow Vystopia on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vystopiaofficial/Follow the Show on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/veganreportpodcast/

Animal rights organizations tend to be hyperactive on social media and this is nothing to say of the army of vegan influencers out there. Yet, is it the right way to go? Can't we be just a little bit critical of this proximity with social media, and self-reflect on what it means for veganism on the long-term?To discuss this topic, I have with me someone who is not afraid of playing with daring ideas. A public commentator and vegan influencer, whose insights and critical thinking I find valuable. His name is George Martin, but you also know him as Carnism Debunked.Visit Carnism Debunked Website: https://www.carnismdebunked.com/Carnism Debunked on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCBa4PFp85WLj6T6HYVF0FdQFollow the Show on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/veganreportpodcast/

Donate to Vietnam Animal Aid & Rescue now ➡️ https://www.vnanimalaid.org/donate/Vietnam Animal Aid & Rescue is an organization in the front line of fighting for animal rights. The dog and cat meat trade, bad veterinary care, and a growing consumption of animal products are some of the issues this vegan sanctuary is working on resolving. Join Rayane and Catherine, Founder and Director of Vietnam Animal Aid, in discussing the dire state of animal rights in Vietnam.Follow the Show on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/veganreportpodcast/

In French, work or job translates to travail and travail stems from the word tripalium, which was a medieval torture instrument consisting of three sticks to which you were tied in order to receive a beating. Needless to say for many cultures, working meant suffering.But nowadays, things are different. There is a variety of jobs out there with different levels of pleasantness. Still, it is rare to come across people who are truly passionate about their jobs, who find meaning in their job, the kind of job that aligns with your most deeply held convictions, a job that makes a difference, a true positive impact in the world.If you are vegan and looking for that kind of job, then this episode is for you since we will be talking with Ben Bramman, the founder of veganjobs.com.Apply for a Vegan Job now: https://veganjobs.com/Visit The Vegan Feed : https://veganfeed.com/Follow the Show on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/veganreportpodcast/

There are maybe hundreds if not thousands of vegan outreach initiatives out there. But among them, there are relatively very few seeking to open dialogue with religious leaders. Yet, strategically, I believe it is more valuable to share the vegan message of compassion with religious leaders than school children, college kids or random people in the streets, since those religious leaders will influence the hearts and minds of believers for decades to come. For this week's episode, I want to turn my attention to Buddhism, The fourth most practiced religion with approximately 500 million followers worldwide. To give you an idea of how big this number is, think that the global vegan population, this is you and me listener, is of approximately 79 million people. Imagine what the world would look like if those 500 million Buddhists considered adopting veganism?To discuss this topic, I have with me a vegan monk, Bhikkhu Sunyo who resides at Bodinyana Monastery in Australia.Visit Dharma Voices for Animals: https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-1-d&q=dharma+voices+for+animalsListen to the Metta Sutta Chant: https://bswa.org/practices/chanting-dhamma-ajahn-vayama/Follow the Show on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/veganreportpodcast/

Back in 2003, the highest grossing movie was Finding Nemo, and that year Finding Nemo was competing with Pirates of the Caribbean, The Matrix Reloaded and the third Lord of the Rings movie. And it is understandable: the Pixar animation work is genius. The characters are funny and touching at times.The storyline is thoughtful and speaks to a wide audience.But what really compels me about the story of Finding Nemo is its animal rights dimension. For the first time ever, we had a movie depicting fish and other sea life as individual sentient creatures. Of course, they were anthropomorphized to a certain degree, but still, for once they were represented as more than food.More than that, the whole plot of the movie revolved around an act of animal abuse. The capture and captivity of Nemo in an aquarium. The habit humans have of turning marine life into decoration. And this is the topic of today's episode. And to discuss this issue, I have with me Gwendolyn Church, the founder of Friends of Phillip, a fish and aquatic animal sanctuary based in Reno, Nevada in the United States.Follow Friends of Philip Sanctuary on Instagram➡️ https://www.instagram.com/friendsofphilip_fishsanctuary/?hl=enFollow Friends of Philip Sanctuary on Facebook ➡️ https://www.facebook.com/friendsofphilip/Instagram ➡️ @veganreportpodcast (https://www.instagram.com/veganreportpodcast/)YouTube ➡️ @veganreportpodcast (https://www.youtube.com/@veganreportpodcast)Music: "Nemo Egg" by Thomas Newman