Welcome to Small Bites, Sound Bites, a midweek segment of food for thought podcast where I share short, succinct, thoughtful responses to typical questions, myths, and misconceptions related to plant-based eating, veganism, and animal protection.

You can get written transcripts of this podcast by going to joyfulvegan.com slash donate.

We often hear that being vegan is incongruent with being, well name it, I'm German, I'm Irish, I'm Mexican, I'm Danish, there isn't one cultural group I haven't heard cited as one whose food traditions are antithetical to being vegan.

Most cultures have a history of heavy meat and or dairy consumption. Food is indeed a significant expression of culture, but we have to ask.

Number one is my cultural heritage, reason enough to not make some modifications that are in alignment with my current values.

Number two are there other ways, including through food that I can express and preserve the traditions of my ancestors while still honoring my desire to be vegan.

After all, despite meat, dairy, and eggs being prevalent in many cuisines, so are plant foods. With a vegan's eye view of the world, we can just as easily and legitimately celebrate our family history and cultural traditions through the plant foods.

The vegetables, the fruits, the grains, the beans, the lentils, the fungi, the herbs, the spices that characterize the cuisine of our heritage, whatever that heritage might be.

For the animals, this is Colleen Patrickadro. Thanks for listening, you can find more at joyfulvegan.com.