- Welcome back to Spectrum.
- Uh, that's not vegan.
- Actually, this time it is.
- Oh, well in that case, a big thanks
to Curiosity Stream for sponsoring this episode.
- Here's Spectrum Vegans.
- I'll refuse to eat at a table
where people are eating animal products.
In my mind, it's the same thing
as if like you're eating a dog or a child in front of me.
(slow music plays)
- [Woman] You can be vegan for reasons other than ethical.
Three, two, one.
(footsteps)
- I guess it's just like in the definition.
Veganism is a way of living which seeks to exclude as far
as practicable and possible all forms of animal exploitation
and cruelty to animals for any reason, clothing, food,
it's about animals being ethical for them.
- I didn't become vegan
with any sort of ethical reasoning in mind.
I just was very sick all the time
and I just had an inclination
that if I stopped eating animal byproducts
that I would feel better.
And I did, and all the ethical reasons came as a result
of me looking at my health and seeing that change.
I definitely have stayed vegan because of ethical reasons
but I became vegan for my health.
- I became vegan for health reasons
but I think the end goal of veganism is animal liberation.
So I don't, I feel
like that's more plant-based when you're vegan
for health or vegan for something else,
because at the end of the day we seek to use products
that have no animals in them at all.
- The reason why I went vegan was for the environment.
Climate change is real.
You could do more good for the environment
by being vegan than giving up your car, which is insane.
I guess the ethics came afterwards
which is why like I agree with you guys.
I feel like we're, we both think the same things
but why I started wasn't for ethics, which is why I'm here.
- [Woman] I will not buy
or cook non-vegan items for loved ones.
Three, two, one.
(footsteps)
- This one's tough because I've bought
like a chicken burrito for my brother.
He would go get it anyway
and that's maybe not the best way to go about it.
Maybe I should deter him, but the way I try
to promote my diet is just by being an example
and not by forcing it into someone else.
Because I just think that
if maybe like I had bought a vegan burrito
he would just like be resentful of veganism even more
because he didn't get what he wanted.
- Buying it or preparing animal products
or anything that's not vegan for somebody is enabling them
to fund the very oppression that I'm against.
Like for me, I've taken the liberation pledge,
so like I'll refuse to eat
at a table where people are eating animal products.
In my mind it's the same thing
as if like you're eating a dog or a child in front of me.
You're not going to want to like stay
at that table and be with that.
You're going to want to like try to change those people.
- [Elizabeth] Okay, so if you're going to try
to change people, don't you think it'd be beneficial
to sit with them
because then you could expose them to your point of view?
- [Richard] So actually every single person
that I've told the liberation pledge about,
they've had no problem changing their meals
and going to vegan restaurants with me.
If you care about me as a person,
how could you not change one meal?
- [Nikki] My approach is like leading by example, right?
All of my family knows you're not going to come to my house
and bring any animals in or ask me to prepare it.
But I do a lot of cooking,
so I think what has brought me a lot of joy
is like taking everything that I know my family loves to eat
and veganizing it
and I've seen like my mom, my dad and my brother,
who I never thought would go vegan in a million years,
go vegan.
And I do know that if I would've had the approach
of like judging them or you know, coming too aggressive,
it would not have been met
with love or understanding at all.
Not forcing it on them,
it has actually helped them come over to the dark side.
(all laugh)
- [Woman] You're still vegan
if you allow yourself an exception occasionally.
Three, two, one.
(footsteps)
- Where do you draw the line then?
I guess like you're bending your own morals
every once in a while.
It's the same thing with like meatless Mondays.
Like we don't have like homophobic free Tuesdays.
(Shawn giggles)
(Tyra laughs)
(all laugh)
Every day is homophobia free, right?
So like it's the same thing for me if like you slip up
it's like saying like, oh yeah, I just am like totally fine
with certain amounts of exploitation if I'm doing it.
- Say you're traveling
and it's genuinely hard to find like vegan food.
You can't like survive
on like just like lettuce all the time.
And in certain like cultures like say like China
like it's really hard to find something without meat.
- I've grown up in different countries
and surrounded by different cultures
and we live in a place
where veganism is almost mainstream
and it's super accessible,
but there's developing countries
where that's just not the case.
- Even though like Beyond Burgers Gardein
like those aren't accessible worldwide,
we have fruits and vegetables everywhere
and like I don't want to just tell everyone
to only eat like basic plants.
- There's food deserts though.
And in food deserts that's not necessarily always true
because I've been in these situations
where it is just not really a sustainable option
to feed yourself 100 percent vegan.
- Is it more of like a convenience thing
or is it more of a like it's really,
there's literally nothing available?
There's not a banana or an apple or a bean.
- I spent three months near the Arctic Circle in Iceland.
And in Iceland their diet is just, it's such a cold climate.
It's all like sheep, fish, you know?
It's really dairy and because-
- But they don't have any fruits or vegetables out there,
whatsoever at all?
- [Elizabeth] The climate doesn't allow
for that unless you're building greenhouses,
which you know is like how they're moving.
But in remote villages where there's only 20 people
you know, you can forage flowers to make tea
and like little berries here and there
but that doesn't sustain people
for the kind of climate that they experience.
- [Woman] I've been bullied for being vegan.
Three, two, one.
(footsteps)
- Where I come from, Orange County,
is just a really nice place to be vegan.
People really understand why people are vegan.
Every now and then you get the bro, you look
like you need a hamburger, but I mean it's not that bad.
- I became vegan in 2006 and I didn't know anybody else
who didn't eat meat or was vegan.
Like I got left out of like a lot
of dinner plans and stuff like that with family and friends.
They didn't want to pick somewhere that I could also eat at.
They wanted to stay with what they wanted to eat.
I don't think that I feel bullied for being vegan now
but when I first became vegan I definitely did.
- I get people who try to take like my blackness away.
They'll say, you're not black if you're vegan.
How can you be black and vegan?
And it really does mess with your head.
I'll get a lot of social media bullying to the point
where sometimes it does affect my mental health
just because I try to be a good person,
but just someone finds out you're vegan
and it's like the world hates you
and I think it's really easy to bully people online.
- [Woman] If you wear leather, you are not a vegan.
Three, two, one.
(footsteps)
- I think if you consciously consume leather and buy it
and wear it because you want to
and you're conscious of that choice, then it's not vegan.
But the way our society is structured,
there's so many accidental cases
in which you could be owning or wearing a vegan thing
like you ride a bike, a lot of bike seats are leather
and it's hard to always know exactly what you're purchasing.
- To me it's like just not fair
to the animals for us to like abuse our own ignorance
and not actually take the time to research.
- I think people do have excuses,
especially in like poor neighborhoods,
they're working so much, they don't have the time
to consciously go out and research about veganism.
I think that's more of an issue that comes
when you have more income and more choice.
- [Richard] And I
- Sorry, I just wanted to say yeah, by the way
this is fake leather.
This is fake leather.
(Tyra laughs)
- Don't tear him apart in the comments.
- Yeah, yeah, he does.
- I think it's really important though
that we like have a very clear message of what veganism is
because when we start to make excuses
then people who aren't vegan and are just learning about it,
they have a confused message of what it is.
- [Woman] You are a better person if you are vegan.
Three, two, one.
(footsteps)
- So I wouldn't say like I'm a better person
than other people in general,
but me as an individual, I am a better person
than I ever was before.
And I guarantee that anyone who goes vegan
will be a better version of themselves.
- I think I'm a better person because I'm vegan
but I know vegans who are racist and homophobic
and to me they aren't good people.
You know?
I think they make good choices
when it comes to what they consume.
- I think to be vegan,
which is why I was in somewhat disagree
because I feel like if you're racist
and you're homophobic or you're an oppressor,
I'd feel like that's very anti vegan.
Just in my personal opinion,
I feel like vegan is an anti-discrimination,
anti-oppression movement.
It's really hard to be racist and be vegan.
I would not consider you vegan if you're homophobic
or racist or something like that because we are animals.
How can you be discriminating against humans in that form?
So that's why I'm here.
Someone who's truly vegan, who is of those values.
In my personal opinion, I don't feel like they're better
but I feel like they are a good person.
(all clap and cheer)
- I love learning.
Yeah, I really get that.
- Group hug.
- Yeah, group hug, group hug.
Yay, vegans unite.
(all laugh)
- Wow. I mean, I'm a vegan,
but there's so much more past diet
that I haven't even considered.
- Definitely. Whether you are an omnivore or a vegan,
I think we can agree that the way we eat is always evolving,
which reminds me of an amazing show
on Curiosity Stream called Food of the Future,
which is a part of their dream, the Future series.
- Yeah, it's narrated by Ciger and Weaver
and it examines things like vegetable, protein,
urban farming, connected supermarkets, and so much more.
- For those of you who don't know, Curiosity Stream
is an amazing subscription streaming service
for three bucks a month or 20 bucks a year,
you can get unlimited access to all those titles
and for you good humans out there, a special offer.
Go to curiositystream.com/jubilee
promo code Jubilee and get 30 days for free.
- I've watched it on their website,
but you can also watch it
on AppleTv, Roku, Amazon Fire, Xbox
and really all of your favorite streaming devices.
- So check it out and thanks for watching.
(slow music plays)