Food For Thought: The Joys And Benefits Of Living Vegan

An outspoken advocate for animals, Mark Twain publicly came out against such abuses as bullfighting and vivisection, and animals were a part of his writing from the first story that earned him renown ("The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County") to the published and unpublished pieces he wrote up until his death in 1910. In addition to his short story, "A Dog's Tale," read back in July 2009, I've taken great delight in Twain's essays, letters, and other short stories also dedicated to animals and his conclusion that they are superior to humans - evidenced in today's essay: The essay I’m going to read, “Man’s Place in the Animal World” is similar in content to “Letters from a Dog to Another Dog Explaining and Accounting for Man, though it is decidedly lighter in tone, as evident by the full title: “Letters from a Dog to Another Dog Explaining and Accounting for Man by Author, Newfoundland Smith. Translated from the Original Doggerel by M.T.” This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this wit

A tribute and memorial to Simon Pieman, the bravest cat who ever lived, this episode is also the story of my transition from a "dog person" to a "cat person (and “goat person,” “chicken person,” “cow person,” “turkey person,” “pig person,” but that's another story). The most profound transformations I’ve experienced have all revolved around animals – whether it was through the animals I stopped eating or the animals with whom I’ve shared my home and life. This is a universal story about loving and letting go with a very special musical ending. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit colleenpatrickgoudreau.substack.com/subscribe

The tools we use in the kitchen are key to making it fun, making it easy, making it successful, and making it safe. I think this has everything to do with using the right tools. If you don’t like what you’re using to cook, if you don’t feel comfortable or if you find it difficult or if you find it dangerous, then you’re going to be less inclined to do it! No matter what the hobby or activity, there are appropriate tools or accoutrements and inappropriate or inadequate ones. Listen to this episode to discover my Five Favorite Kitchen Tools and how they inspire and empower. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit colleenpatrickgoudreau.substack.com/subscribe

If you’ve ever stared at the “Nutrition Facts” label on the back of food products wondering what to make of it, then this episode is for you. Learn about how to read the label, what to look for to ensure you're avoiding such unnecessaries as trans fats, how to identify animal products in the ingredients list, and how to understand the health claims made by manufacturers. Even though this episode is U.S.-specific, we're certain you'll get a lot out of it wherever you live. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit colleenpatrickgoudreau.substack.com/subscribe

In 1903, Mark Twain published the short story “A Dog’s Tale” in Harper’s Monthly Magazine, and the following year, it was released it as a book. Though it tends to be overshadowed by his more famous works, the story received public and critical acclaim, and as Diane Beers writes in her book, For the Prevention of Cruelty,it “is to this day a persuasive literary weapon for animal advocacy.” And I agree with her when she writes, “Twain’s deceptively simple little tale gave a powerful voice to the voiceless and laid bare human cruelty and arrogance.” A lovely sad tale worthy of remembrance. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit colleenpatrickgoudreau.substack.com/subscribe

The campaign against "plumaged headwear" was one of the most successful in the early animal advocacy movement in the United States, ultimately creating legislative protection for birds and a cultural shift in terms of how the public viewed feathered hats. A once-coveted fashion item became the symbol of cruelty and selfishness as the result of a boycott against it. Today, feathers and down - cruelly-begotten products of an incredibly lucrative industry - show up stuffed in our comforters and puffed up in our coats. Though geese and ducks are the primary victims, ostriches, too, suffer immense pain and distress as the result of humans taking their soft down and colorful plumes. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit colleenpatrickgoudreau.substack.com/subscribe

In celebration of the three-year anniversary of our podcast, I feature the letters of listeners who have been transformed by "Food for Thought." The stories are as diverse as the listeners and reflect varied ages and backgrounds, but they all share common threads of hope and transformation. I hope you are as moved by the letters as I am humbled by them. If you ever once thought that "people don't change," then you're in for quite a treat. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit colleenpatrickgoudreau.substack.com/subscribe

When I talk about eating healthfully “in a recession” or on a budget, I'm referring to “eating healthfully affordably.” I’m not talking about eating cheap food. I’m talking about eating whole food. I’m talking about considering all the costs of our food consumption – costs to our health, costs to the Earth, costs to the people who produce it, costs to the animals, costs to our spirits. Join me as I offer five suggestions for eating healthfully while being budget-conscious. (This episode is part of our "Compassionate Series," which features favorite companies/organizations/products/experts in the context of the topic. Enjoy!) This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit colleenpatrickgoudreau.substack.com/subscribe

Though rabbits inform our consciousness and culture in so many ways, they are one of the most exploited domesticated animals: raised and killed for human consumption, hunted for "sport," used for experiments in vivisection labs, farmed and killed for their fur, sold in pet stores, and so much more. Given all this, it’s a wonder how a dismembered rabbit foot could possibly represent “good luck.” Join me as I frame our exploitation of and relationship to rabbits within pop culture and literature. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit colleenpatrickgoudreau.substack.com/subscribe

Because memorials aren’t really a lamentation of death as much as they are a celebration of life, I want to emphasize that this episode is not at all sad. In it, I read several poems by celebrated writers (Robinson Jeffers, John Galsworthy, Eugene O'Neill, William Cowper), who memorialize their lost animal companions with whom they lived and loved. May you find joy and solace in their words. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit colleenpatrickgoudreau.substack.com/subscribe

Many companies boast that their personal care and household products are "cruelty-free" and "not tested on animals," a label more and more consumers are seeking. Today's episode addresses the fact that neither the FDA nor the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, which regulate cosmetics/personal care and household products, respectively, require animal testing to ensure the safety of their products. In other words, there is no law that mandates animal testing for cosmetics and household products. Learn about the common animal tests used to test safety, the alternatives that are slowly replacing these tests, and some fabulous companies whose products deserve a place in every compassionate person's bathroom. (This episode is part of our "Compassionate Series," which features favorite companies/organizations/products/experts in the context of the topic. Enjoy!) This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit colleenpatrickgoudreau.subs

According to the World Health Organization, people who live in high-income countries and middle-income countries predominantly die of chronic "lifestyle" diseases or "diseases of civilization"(Alzheimer's disease, atherosclerosis, asthma, cancer, chronic liver disease, Type 2 diabetes, heart disease, hypertension, osteoporosis, stroke, depression, diverticulitis, gallstones, and obesity). In low-income countries, people predominantly die of infectious diseases, such as HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria, and influenza. we’ve come so far in learning how to prevent infectious diseases. We should all be very grateful that we don’t have to contend with malaria on a daily basis – that we wake up and have little chance of contracting whooping cough. But what have we traded this for? We have all the information we need to prevent 80% of premature deaths and we do nothing. For what? This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit colleenpatrickgou

Today’s episode is part of our "Compassionate Series," which features favorite companies/organizations/products/experts in the context of the topic.) If you’re seeing this episode after the “holidays” have already passed, please don’t tune it out. The information is relevant ANYTIME and ALL the time, and you’ll be happy you listened to hear about these fabulous companies and their equally fabulous products for healthful, happy, humane living. There's lots of information here about tea - the difference between green, white, black, and oolong - and about wax used for candles. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit colleenpatrickgoudreau.substack.com/subscribe

Whether you’re packing lunches for your children for school or your partner for work or for yourself to take to the office; whether you're a teenager packing your own lunch or a college student looking for quick and easy meals; whether you're someone who works outside - as a gardener or landscaper, carpenter or construction worker; whether you're going on a picnic, going camping, or taking a road trip or a plane ride, you may want to listen to this episode. Packed with ideas and suggestions for a number of different sandwiches, snacks, and salads (grain, pasta, noodle, fruit, bean, tofu, or tempeh), Food for the Road leaves no stone unturned. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit colleenpatrickgoudreau.substack.com/subscribe

At Animal Pharm, an anomaly is born. Whether a piglet with the hands and feet of a human baby or a human baby with the head and tail of a piglet, Ziggy only wants to find what we all seek. It is my pleasure to read this moving tale by the talented Shad Clark. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit colleenpatrickgoudreau.substack.com/subscribe

Cow's milk contains calcium because cows eat grass. Calcium is a mineral that comes from the ground, which means, like grass, all green leafy vegetables are teeming with this nutrient. Let's explore the rationale behind human adults drinking another animal's milk when we don't even drink our own species' milk into adulthood. Perhaps all the calves are laughing at us, for even they stop drinking their own mothers' milk when they become adults. In other words, I think we have a lot to learn from the cows. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit colleenpatrickgoudreau.substack.com/subscribe

When we closely examine the traditions of such holidays as Thanksgiving and Halloween, we see that we can honor their deeper meanings while still honoring our ethics and our values. Much of what informs our consciousness about these holidays is myth, which is fine. It’s fine to use myth to create rituals and traditions, but the point I make in this episode is that we pick and choose our cultural and personal traditions all the time, and these choices don't necessarily reflect some historical fact. I also spend a great deal of time talking about how vegan children can partake in all the fun of Halloween without being deprived. Finally, I offer some suggestions for using Halloween as an opportunity for advocacy. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit colleenpatrickgoudreau.substack.com/subscribe

What if I had my own hens and ate her eggs? What if I had my own cow or goat and drank her milk? What about honey? Is it considered "vegan"? These are some of the questions people ask as they begin to consider the ethical issues of consuming animal products. Though I don't pretend to have the one definitive answer, I am happy to share my thoughts. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit colleenpatrickgoudreau.substack.com/subscribe

With a penchant for romanticizing their consumption of animals, many people declare that they "pray over meat" or "weep over the animals who sacrifice themselves for us - just like the Native Americans." Not only does this attempt to assuage our discomfort make no difference to the animals we kill (for naught), I wonder: who's praying for the animals who are still alive? Who's weeping for those who need our help? And if it's so compassionate to pray over an animal while we slit her throat, isn't it even MORE compassionate to pray over an animal and NOT slit her throat? Join me as I explore what's really underneath this third-rail issue and as I suggest that it is not only insulting to the animals but to the Native Americans themselves. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit colleenpatrickgoudreau.substack.com/subscribe

With his keen understanding of human behavior, Benjamin Franklin once remarked: "So convenient a thing it is to be a reasonable creature, since it enables one to find or make a reason for every thing one has a mind to do." We tend to be quite adept at finding ways to justify our behavior, especially when it is either unnecessary or ethically questionable. When it comes to eating animals, we don't only justify it on the grounds that it benefits US; we actually have the nerve to justify it on the grounds that it actually benefits the animals. Focusing on a few of these common assertions ("cows need to be milked or they'll fall ill," "we give animals life," and "dying by our hands is better than dying by the hands of violent predators."), I offer my own perspective in response. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit colleenpatrickgoudreau.substack.com/subscribe