Definition: Vegan
Food for Thought: The Joys and Benefits of Living Vegan
Colleen Patrick-Goudreau
4.8 • 1.6K Ratings
🗓️ 7 February 2008
⏱️ 25 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
"Can you eat this?" "Are you allowed to eat that?" Can you eat bread?" These are some of the common questions non-vegetarians ask vegans, and here's the short answer: We can eat whatever we want. We're "allowed" to have whatever we want. Nobody’s stopping us. It’s not illegal. We don’t follow a set of dietary laws, and we are technically quite capable. It’s not a matter of not being "able to," it’s not a matter of "can" and "cannot." It’s a matter of not WANTING to. Being vegan is not about restriction. Or limitation. Or rules. Or doctrine. We're not forbidden to eat animals. we don’t WANT to eat animals. It's a choice - and a powerful choice that has the potential to heal the entire planet. Yes, I said it. Join me today as I define what it means to be vegan and why we should be thankful to the late Donald Watson for coining the word "vegan" and sparing us the title of "vitan," "benevore," or "sanivore." (And for the record, we eat bread.)
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | And I'm and Welcome to Food for Thought. My name is Colleen Patrick Gudreau from Compassionate Cooks. |
| 0:22.0 | I founded Compassionate Cooks to empower people, to make |
| 0:25.8 | informed food choices and to debunk myths about vegetarianism and animal rights. You can learn |
| 0:31.6 | more about us at Compassionate cooks.com or Joy of veganbaking.com and you can connect |
| 0:38.1 | with other listeners of this podcast by visiting Compassionate cooks.com and clicking on our message board under |
| 0:44.6 | podcast. So, hi everybody I was smiling as I was doing that intro because I |
| 0:50.4 | imagine some of you probably know that by heart. |
| 0:53.3 | So hi everybody, it's good to be here. |
| 0:55.8 | Today, before we get started, |
| 0:57.3 | I'd like to thank today's sponsor, Barb Deggins, |
| 1:01.1 | who recently told me why she sponsored the podcast. |
| 1:05.0 | And she wrote this. |
| 1:06.3 | She wrote, I sponsored because when I decided to begin my transition |
| 1:10.7 | to a vegetarian lifestyle, I was not given much support, |
| 1:14.0 | surprise, surprise Barb, you're not alone out there. |
| 1:16.0 | I really needed your voice on my iPod telling me that I was doing the right thing, |
| 1:21.0 | that I wasn't being too politically correct or ridiculous, that it's not |
| 1:25.7 | wrong to tell my kids the truth about the world, that I can and should be comfortable living |
| 1:31.2 | my truth, and I do not have to justify it to anyone else. |
| 1:35.1 | Of course being new to tofu I also needed information which you provide in abundance. |
| 1:40.4 | Now I'm informed and comfortable in my decision and my eating. My family has become more supportive and I've become more confident saying no to situations that are not in my comfort zone. |
| 1:52.0 | I still love the podcast and listen to each new one, |
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