The "Vegan Friend" Stereotype Is Holding Us Back!

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Foreign I'm

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Nicole Arcello, and welcome to In Behalf of Animals and

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Happy Holidays. I can't believe we've

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reached a Milestone today. Our eighth episode.

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Did you know that 90% of podcasts never make it

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to this point? Whether this is your first time

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listening or you've been with me since episode one,

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your support, your listens, and your shares

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have brought us here. This podcast is about building

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a community of people who care deeply about animals.

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And knowing that you're out there listening,

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reflecting, and taking action makes all

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the difference. It's been an incredible experience creating this podcast

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and working alongside so many of you who are passionate about

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making the world a kinder place for animals. Today's episode is one

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I've been reflecting on for a while. As vegans, we carry an incredible weight.

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We live with the knowledge of what happens to animals every

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single day. And to make matters worse,

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many of the people we love are still participating

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in the very thing we are working so

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hard to fight against. They're eating animals,

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they're wearing animals, and buying products

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tested on animals. And the list goes on.

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It's hard, it's heartbreaking, and it

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can feel lonely. For many of us,

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we've become known as the vegan friend,

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the vegan cousin, or even the weird vegan one.

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But here's the thing. We need to be more than that.

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We shouldn't normalize the notion that we vegans are

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outliers. I mean, we aren't just vegan for the heck of it

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or to be difficult or make it hard for people to invite us to dinner.

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It's an ethical stance, right? It's a commitment

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to fight for justice. And while many of us

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might choose to stay quiet at those holiday or family

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gatherings, the truth is,

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silence doesn't help the animals,

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and it also doesn't empower us to be their voice.

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Now, I'm not saying that we'd be confrontational or unpack

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the soapbox and stand up and preach. To truly make an

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impact, though, I think we need to learn how to share the whys of our

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veganism in a way that inspires curiosity and

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compassion rather than defensiveness.

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Okay, Nicole, so how do we do that?

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Well, I think it's important to approach conversations with empathy.

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We're good at that, right? Remember that most people don't

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wake up thinking, I'm going to harm animals today.

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They're simply following habits, cultural norms they've never questioned.

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So here is where we remember where we came from.

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It's hard to remind ourselves of what we were like or who we

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were in our pre vegan days. Maybe we didn't want to see the realities.

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It hurt to realize our actions cause unimaginable suffering

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and pain. And I'm not an expert or a therapist,

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but maybe people joke or tease because they feel uncomfortable

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sitting with our choices, sitting near

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us. Which means maybe that they're more

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open to listening than we think.

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I think there are more opportunities to share our vegan journeys

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than we think. Also, how many times have we heard someone

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say, oh, I could never go vegan?

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Well, I think we often allow the conversation to stop there with that

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absolute statement, right? But my answer

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has changed to well,

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after knowing everything that I know,

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I could never not be vegan.

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I find that makes the other person stop and think.

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And a great conversation can grow from that.

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Maybe talk about how cows don't have to give milk.

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They don't just give milk. They're not in the field waiting, you know,

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for someone to come milk them. A lot of people still

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think that. Talk a little bit about how the cycle of abuse

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starts, how they are forced to become pregnant over and over again,

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repeatedly to produce milk, and how their babies are torn away again and

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again. Talk about veal Cows start

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that conversation, then listen and

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answer questions as they come. And maybe

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you'll have the opportunity to elaborate more. I bet you

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have aunts and cousins who are already drinking almond or oat milk and

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this might inspire them to seek out more information on their own.

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Or they might reach out to you again, you may be surprised.

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This one might be a hard one for some people.

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I don't like to lead with health benefits,

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and I'll probably have a whole episode about that.

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But I believe you should always talk about the animals.

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Bring family pets into the conversation, and when health questions come

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up, share your journey. Answer those questions thoughtfully

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but truthfully. Don't just say statements like

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vegans never get cancer or they'll never have high blood pressure because

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we know vegans get sick too.

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But maybe talk about how you are healthy and you are standing strong

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without that dreaded protein deficiency.

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Have those high protein vegan foods at the top of your mind so you can

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list them out. But it's important to remember that advocacy can look different for

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everyone. I can stay here for hours talking about what works

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for me, but you are an individual.

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You have a history with the people you are talking to. Maybe you're

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not comfortable having direct conversations and that's okay.

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Maybe you prefer sharing content on social media, wearing activism gear.

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Those things spark conversation as well,

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maybe you support organizations doing the work and maybe you

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can purchase gifts from a vegan or animal rights

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company and that would provoke some thought. If people

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see cruelty free on items that you're buying, it aligns with

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your values, so maybe they'll start looking into it

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too. Or you can tell them why you use that soap company,

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why you use this compassionate brand of chocolates

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or clothing or whatever. Let's move beyond just being

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that vegan friend, that vegan relative, and become a voice for

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the animals every chance we get. But my number one

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advocacy tip in gatherings will always be bring

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some amazing vegan food to share. Whether it's almond

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milk, eggnog, bake up some great vegan cookies, head to

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the local vegan bakery and arrive with the most decadent

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dessert. That will spark conversations for sure.

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Always share food and that's probably another episode

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too. And don't forget to support those people as they

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begin their journeys. Maybe Aunt Sally

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was asking you about a recipe or you guys had a really great conversation.

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Send her some recipes, send her your favorite vegan recipe

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website the next day, or thank that friend and family member within

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an emoji filled text for the nice conversation you had

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with them the night before. Because we know that every

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meal, every purchase, every choice matters. So every

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interaction and every conversation is important.

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And every time we speak up, we plant a seed.

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Look, not everyone will change overnight. But the more

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we advocate, the more we create a ripple effect that spreads awareness

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and compassion. And then we start sharing why we

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are the vegan person that we are. So as

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we head into the new year, let's commit to being more than just the

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weird vegan friend relative cousin. Let's commit

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to being the kind, informed and courageous

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advocates the animals need us to be. Let's make 2025

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the year we amplify our voices even more

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for the animals. Thank you for being

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here, for caring and for doing this work. If you've

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enjoyed this episode, please follow or subscribe to the podcast,

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leave a review, a comment and share with others.

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Let's keep building this community of advocates together.

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And if you're new here, welcome. After you

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listen to this episode, I encourage you to go back and binge the first

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seven. There's so much we've already covered, from powerful

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interviews to insights about making a difference for the animals.

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And if you find something inspiring, please share it with a friend or

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post on social media. Together we can expand this compassionate

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community. Our social media and our website,

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inbehalofofanimals.org are in the show notes,

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and we would love to hear from you. Drop us a note, a comment,

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a question, a show idea. Thank you

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again for listening, for caring, and being a

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part of this journey with me. Here's to a bright and

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compassionate year ahead.

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Until next time, be a voice for the animals

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every chance you get.