Food For Thought: The Joys And Benefits Of Living Vegan

What does it actually mean to be vegan? For most people, the answer is simple—until it isn’t.This week on Food for Thought (celebrating 20 years!), I explore what happens after someone stops eating animal products…when the (seemingly) neat definition starts running into the messy reality of the world we live in.Most of us don’t actually live by strict definitions, but when real-life scenarios arise that defy simple answers, conflict and confusion can follow, leading to questions like:What about plant-based foods made on shared equipment?What about burgers cooked on the same grill as meat?What about taking life-saving medications that may have been tested on animalsWhat about sugar filtered with bone char?And then there’s the bigger question underneath all of it: Who gets to decide what “counts” as vegan? After all, this isn’t the Boy Scouts, where you take a pledge, earn merit badges, and defer to a Scoutmaster. Why does it feel like that to some people?In this episode, I talk about how an intention rooted in