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284- The kids wanna go meat-free!
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The University of Exeter has found that around half of 18-26 year olds considered ditching meat during their childhood, with the main reason being their disgust at learning about where it comes from. So is the future vegan? Or is it all just talk? This week David, Kate & Dominic discuss this news story as well as several others amongs the animal rights & vegan headlines from the last seven days.
Thanks Shane for compiling this week's show content; thanks to Anthony for editing.
Like what we do? Want to help it sound even better? Join our KoFi gang here: https://ko-fi.com/ENOUGHOFTHEFALAFEL
Thanks to Neil, Shane & Alex for their continued Ko-Fi support!
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Enough of the Falafel is a community of people who love keeping on top of the latest news in the world of veganism & animal rights. With the Vegan Week podcast, we aim to keep listeners (& ourselves) informed & up-to-date with the latest developments that affect vegans & non-human animals; giving insight, whilst staying balanced; remaining true to our vegan ethics, whilst constantly seeking to grow & develop.
Each week we look through news stories from the past 7 days in the world of veganism & animal rights.
If you spot any news stories that might catch our fancy, or have an idea for a discussion topic, get in touch via enoughofthefalafel@gmail.com.
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This week's stories:
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/jun/16/wisconsin-beagle-research-facility-shut-down
https://www.texasobserver.org/texas-fight-screwworm-cattle-agriculture/
https://unchainedtv.com/2026/06/17/carriage-horse-central-park-teen-killed/
https://vegconomist.com/gastronomy-food-service/meatless-farm-enters-wider-bidfood-network-school-sausage-launch-at-core/
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cm2djv2dyp0o?fbclid=IwY2xjawSePYBleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZBAyMjIwMzkxNzg4MjAwODkyAAEeOMjh_N5EngDAYxzEAYQACrRven5XmPDPKv71p4nhzD3NWxVMqPmsA52hYGI_aem_XNcWNrblozprYsOsLHHbOg
https://www.theanimalreader.com/2026/06/08/denmarks-pig-election-leads-to-major-reforms-for-farm-animals/
https://www.brusselstimes.com/2182753/while-europe-debates-ultra-processed-food-the-meat-industry-hides-in-plain-sight
https://plantbasednews.org/lifestyle/health/children-and-teenagers-meat-free-diets/
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Thanks everyone for listening; give us a rating and drop us a message to say "hi"; it'll make our day!
Dominic, David & Kate
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Transcript
Introduction to Vegan Week
00:00:00
Speaker
Hello, hello everybody! Welcome to Vegan Week! If you are looking for vegan and animal rights news, you have come to the right place. My name is Dominic and joining me for today's episode is David and also Kate.
Misconceptions about Veganism
00:00:19
Speaker
But that's enough of the flap-off, it's time for Vegan Week.
00:00:23
Speaker
So I think vegans go looking for trouble even when they're not looking for trouble. That's not what butter's used for! Brrr! Roaty. Take your flat-grown meat elsewhere. We're not doing that in the state of Florida.
00:00:35
Speaker
Should I call the medium and say, hi, sorry. True education. younger generation are getting to know how brutal these practices are. That leaves a lot of pizza delivery companies in problems with things.
00:00:46
Speaker
What this? What kind of movie is this? It's comedy gold, maybe. Any form of social injustice. has a connection with another as long as you don't get the wee brunions with the horns you'll be all right does veganism give him superpowers
00:01:05
Speaker
i cannot fly around the city i don't have laser vision hello everybody gersh i'm so happy to be with you all um this is kate here welcome welcome thank you for listening to the show Hi everyone, my name's David. This is our new show where we look through last week's vegan and animal rights news.
00:01:25
Speaker
And remember, you can read the original news reports for all your all these stories that we cover in the show this week. Just check out the show notes in your podcast player and follow the links. But that's enough of the falafel. Let's hear it what's been going on this week. Fantastic, fantastic.
Animal Rights Stories Overview
00:01:44
Speaker
Kate, I love how you say falafel and I say falafel. I wonder if that's a regional thing. You say it a magnificent way. I think you say it better than I say it, Kate.
00:01:55
Speaker
I have no idea how I say it I think I probably say it different every time, don't I? Do you know what? I probably do as well. I probably do. ah Listeners, if you hear it hear a little bit of kerfuffle going on, ah David and I are in the same ah area recording with not just us two, but also with some cats, some very yes troublesome cats who are making loads of noise. And hopefully their chaos will just add to the energy, the joie de vivre of our recording. Ha ha!
00:02:25
Speaker
Anyway, we have got four stories in this show, which are ranging from articles in The Guardian to The Texas
Beagle Rescue: Why Necessary?
00:02:35
Speaker
Observer. And I'm going to go to David. I'm going to ask David what has been happening across the world this week. Yes, thank you, Dominic. um So, yeah, the first story centers on Ridgland Farms in Wisconsin.
00:02:49
Speaker
um It's an article from The Guardian with the headline that hundreds of dogs to be sent to rescue as US Beagle research facility shuts down. For me, the difficult part of stories like this is how easily we recognize suffering when the animal is a dog.
00:03:03
Speaker
um Most people naturally understand that a beagle deserves kindness, comfort, safety and the chance to enjoy life. But it raises a bigger question about why our compassion changes depending on the species.
00:03:16
Speaker
A dog in a laboratory, a pig in a farm or a cow in the dairy industry all have their own experiences, personalities and a desire to avoid suffering. It's wonderful that these beagles have been rescued and will hopefully have happier lives, but it's also worth asking why they needed rescuing in the first place.
00:03:36
Speaker
The happy ending should not make us forget the system that allowed their lives to begin that way.
Economic Impact vs. Animal Suffering
00:03:41
Speaker
Yeah, the second story is from the Texas Observer stating that after four decades of only being found south of the Rio Grande, the New World's screw worm has been found in castle in texas what a wonderful name for a parasite what sounds what stands out to me about stories like this is how often the conversation immediately becomes about protecting an industry rather than the individual animals who are suffering
00:04:11
Speaker
For the most part, the article discusses the cost to the Trump administration and the meat industry as a whole. The screw worm is a parasite that causes unimaginable pain to the animal. Yet the article chooses to focus on costs rather than the animal's suffering.
00:04:27
Speaker
a calf affected by screw worm isn't thinking about economics, beef prices or agriculture. They're an individual experiencing fear, pain and distress.
00:04:39
Speaker
As vegans, I think it's important that we bring the focus back to animals
Animal Exploitation for Entertainment
00:04:44
Speaker
themselves. The third article is from Unchanged TV, citing that a teen tourist has sadly died after a tragic runaway carriage horse incident in Central Park, New York.
00:04:58
Speaker
I think what makes the stories like this one especially heartbreaking is that nobody wins. A family has experienced an unimaginable loss and an animal was placed in a situation where fear and instincts took over.
00:05:11
Speaker
For me, the conversation shouldn't be about blaming the horse. Samson the horse reacted as horses naturally do when they feel frightened. The bigger question is whether we should still be asking animals to exist in environments that are stressful or unnatural simply for human entertainment.
Vegan Options in Schools
00:05:29
Speaker
And then finally, um this article is from the Vegan Business Magazine about plant-based sausages in schools. This is an important article because veganism isn't only about highlighting the problems with ah with how animals are treated. It's also about showing that another way is possible.
00:05:47
Speaker
For many children, something so something as simple as having a plant-based sausage at school could be their first introduction to the idea that we can enjoy familiar foods without animals needing to be involved.
00:06:01
Speaker
There is often a lot of resistance whenever vegan options are introduced, especially in schools, but offering more choice doesn't take anything away from anyone. It simply gives people the opportunity to make kinder choices more easily.
00:06:15
Speaker
Fantastic, David. Thank you so much for going through them. Now, our next set of stories we're going to discuss in a little bit more detail, starting with a dairy farm who are having a big fundraiser.
Dairy Farm Ethics Debate
00:06:30
Speaker
Now, this is a story from BBC, from the BBC News.
00:06:34
Speaker
And they lost a huge milk contract. Now, Wickton Farm, which runs Wild Cow Dairy, want to raise ยฃ47,000 in order to adapt its processes and continue operating. They have ยฃ50,000. cows.
00:06:51
Speaker
They were told three months ago that their 25-year contract with the same organic milk buyer was being terminated. And they're saying that their cows are 100% grass-fed. They live a slower, more natural lifestyle with calves staying with their mothers and are just milked once a day. Now, I am not sure what I think when I read about them talking about having animals in an antibiotic-free farm. They say they're working with nature.
00:07:21
Speaker
I know that if our contributor Julie was here, Julie, if you listen to our show regularly, you know, she's she's very firm on like, you know, animals are not ours to use in any way whatsoever. Let them do our thing. We're not carbs. We don't need their milk. um I'm going to ask Kate what you make of this article, because this isn't a vegan business. This isn't a vegan way of being. But they're claiming to have animal rights very close to their heart.
00:07:55
Speaker
i I honestly, Kate, I don't really know what I make of this story. Do you know, Kate, what you make of this story? Yeah, I think I do. Go on, go on. It's good to be opinionated. go for Oh, I'm nothing if not opinionated. What an interesting story. Number one, they're a business. Other businesses are allowed to fail. What makes them think, well, makes them...
00:08:21
Speaker
think they have the right to ask the general public to support their business, which clearly their business model is not working. And it just goes to prove, doesn't it, that actually it being slightly kinder to your animals and farming organically and all those sort of things just isn't viable financially. You know, it is greenwashing, it's welfare washing. You know, they talk about reject they they're being regenerative, they're looking after the soil and all that. that We know all of that is nonsense. Grazed gracezed animals, they give off far more methane and stuff. They're actually terrible for the environment, aren't they? And yet they say, oh we're we're doing a great thing for the fart for the future. If you if you click onto their donation page, and no, I wasn't tempted to give them any money.
00:09:23
Speaker
um ah there's a There's a film, I mean, it looks a beautiful place, but they're kind of walking around with this baby in front of them like, yeah, it's all for for children and the future and we're looking after the planet. No, they're not looking after the planet. And also the organic thing, you know, I've heard Alice Brough, you know, the the lovely vegan vet that who's a pig vet. I mean, she's often she said that she's been on to organic farms and actually she's often seen more suffering there because the animals need treatment, but they're not necessarily given treatment. Apparently, if an organic cow has three lots of regular pharmaceutical treatments in a year, they can no longer be classed as organic.
00:10:10
Speaker
Oh, my goodness. Have either of you guys looked at their shop? No. No, go on. Tell us about their shop. Oh, they're sharp. Lovely. Well, they sell like cow cuddles and things like that. Fine. But they're also selling colostrum, which just makes me go, yuck. I don't know what colostrum is. What is that, Kate? Oh, God. It's when a mammal has their baby, the first milk...
00:10:41
Speaker
is colostrum and it's really thick and it's really full of antibodies and stuff like that. Especially for the newborn calf. Especially for the newborn cfo calf. And they're telling you, oh, we have the calves alongside the mothers. It's just like...
00:10:57
Speaker
who I mean, just the concept now, when as a vegan, milk is weird, isn't it? But that's like really weird. and And I think it's some people think of it as being incredibly nutritious and God only knows what, who knows what, I don't know. But they also sell raw milk.
00:11:17
Speaker
which is incredibly, well, it's pretty dangerous. And I just think that that's pretty weird as well, isn't it? ah you Apparently you're more 840 times more likely to get sick from raw milk versus pasteurized milk. and 45 times more likely to go to hospital with it. So, you know, I think i think it's still not that often, but only a tiny, tiny ah proportion of the population actually drink raw milk, don't they? So, I don't know. They've got veg boxes.
00:11:50
Speaker
They grow vegetables. They do veg boxes. I propose... that they grow more vegetables, do more veg boxes and just ditch the the the dairy farming. hey here Yeah, what you've said about them offering the ah the milk, you know, the first, I forget that long technical word. Colostrum. Yeah, that and I mean, to have that sat alongside calf cuddles,
00:12:14
Speaker
Yeah. It's the way we can compartmentalise things and they're at odds with each other because the idea of cuddles, I mean, yes, there's a whole separate argument to the cows want cuddles, but let's say for the sake of argument that they do and they're really up for being part of this embracing of humans. Like if we're arguing that's a nice thing and a friendly thing and being close to the calves, then in the very next sentence, it's like denying them, you know, something that is really, really essential. and
00:12:45
Speaker
And yeah, the I guess I hope that bringing attention to this brings attention to the fact that that it's not the norm for cows to be grass-fed. It's not the norm for cows to be outside. It's not the norm for cows to not be pumped full of antibiotics as a precautionary matter. Because most people do think of, oh, well, you know, the cows look happy to me when they're wandering around just...
00:13:12
Speaker
breathing in the fresh air and it's like well that's not all cows is it that's that's that's not most cows that's not the most uh commonly found sources of beef and yeah yeah exactly and that's not financially viable that's the thing and yet that is the image isn't it if you go to the supermarket that's the image you see you see cows in a lovely green field with with buttercups and stuff you know yeah and But, you know, they guess what? They sell meat as well, though. of course they do Have a cuddle and then eat what you've been cuddling. Yeah, course they do. course they do. Well, Kate, you've you've you've you've made me have an opinion, Kate. You've made me have an opinion. Yes, but fantastic. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
00:14:00
Speaker
Our advice is more of your veg boxes. That's enough. Yeah. Yeah. more edge Absolutely. More veg boxes, more veg for all. Thank you, Kate. Thank you. Well, that was our story about the ah dairy farm fundraiser here in the UK. We're going to look to the animal reader next and leaving the UK, going over to Denmark. So there is what's being referred to as a as a pig election.
00:14:28
Speaker
What is a pig election, I ask? ah There's a lot of discussion about leading to major reforms for
Reforms in Danish Pig Farming
00:14:35
Speaker
farm animals. ah David, what's this story all about?
00:14:39
Speaker
So, yes, thank you, Dominic. So despite the the title of it being a pig election, I don't think they've actually elected a pig in the the Danish government. But essentially, um following campaigning from animal protection groups and growing public concern, the Danish government has essentially promised reforms to the country's intensive pig farming system.
00:15:02
Speaker
ah These include addressing practices such as routine tail docking, extreme breeding and confinement, as well as giving pigs more space. For a country with such a large pig farming industry, this is being seen as a significant moment where the treatment of farmed animals become became important enough to influence national politics.
00:15:25
Speaker
So I think what is powerful about this story is that it challenges the idea that people simply don't care about farmed animals. When people are shown the reality of these industries and the individuals behind the products, many people do actually want change.
00:15:42
Speaker
Pigs are incredibly intelligent emotional animals. They can feel fear, stress, comfort, curiosity and joy. Yet within farming systems, they are often discussed in terms of numbers, productivity and profit rather than as individuals.
00:15:59
Speaker
While these reforms... could reduce some suffering from a vegan perspective. It also raises the bigger question of whether making exploitation less harmful should be the final goal or whether it should be a step towards questioning why we use animals at all.
00:16:15
Speaker
At the same time, I think it's important to recognise hope when it appears. This happened because people spoke up, campaigned, challenged what was considered normal and refused to accept that things could never change.
00:16:30
Speaker
Social progress often starts with people saying we can do better. Yeah, thank you, David. Thank you. um I've never been to Denmark. I'm not so familiar with ah what goes on over there. Have you been to Denmark, Kate? No, I haven't actually, but I've watched quite a few Danish noir.
00:16:51
Speaker
crime dramas if that counts also there was a really great programme I don't think it was like a series of three called I think it Borgen which was about the Prime Minister did you see that in it No. So that was quite it was quite interesting because it was about um you know government and ah you know what goes on behind the scenes. And their government seems to be quite different in that they have a lot of coalitions. And I think it's a coalition that's come in.
00:17:24
Speaker
And from what I can gather, it seems to be that this whole thing has been supported, you know, from left leaning to right leaning across the board, you know, and apparently there were like three, because um I tracked down ah a guard, there was a Guardian article as well. And they said that been three shocking documentaries on the mainstream TV. On Danish mainstream television. Yeah, on Danish, I guess the equivalent of the UK BBC and what have you. And um a really hard hitting book on the, quote, brutal conditions for animals. And ah there was a ah citizens petition which quickly reached 50,000 signatures.
00:18:11
Speaker
uh within 72 hours you know so uh demanding a debate on the subject so i find it really interesting because i i guess you guys have you have you been like uh following along with like project slingshot well i don't know i i don't know what project slingshot is what's that kate you're you're too busy You're too busy performing all your gorgeous poetry,
Project Slingshot
00:18:36
Speaker
aren't you? That's what it is. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Being trampled on by all these cats. They're the things that are the screen. Yeah, yeah.
00:18:42
Speaker
What's Project Slingshot? So, yeah, it's ah it's it's something that's being led by ah Matthew Glover, you know, from the, who, old as was the, I don't know if he still is, the Veganuary.
00:18:55
Speaker
oh yes. Yeah. Yeah, and theyre they're they're doing like a like a ah massive campaign against factory farming. And it seems to be involving quite a few organisations, including led by donkeys, who doing projections onto parliamentary buildings, onto Buckingham Palace, of pigs in gas chambers. Oh, yes, yes. Zach Polanski has been drawing attention to this. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Green Party leader, yeah.
00:19:24
Speaker
Exactly. And all the ads in the in on the underground and there's like tons of stuff. And ah it seems to me that ah there's a lot of organisations, Fever and Animal Justice Projects and various people that are communities against factory farming that are all...
00:19:42
Speaker
trying to get behind the factory farming is hideous thing, which is similar, i guess, to what Denmark's done here. They haven't said let's end all facty end all animal ag. They've said let's...
00:19:57
Speaker
you know stop the hideousness of factory farming, let's stop more being built, let's you know stop their expansion, let's improve welfare. I mean, we've got to start somewhere, haven't We we really have. What do you think? I mean, you know, I've said that I'm not familiar with ah Danish politics at all. But here in the UK, where we're based, we've had so much going on in our politics with the rise of the very, very right wing party reform. And it feels so depressing to be debating stuff like
00:20:35
Speaker
is racism wrong? Yeah, it is. Yeah, yeah, yeah. But for that to be like a huge, huge debate, as you may infer from my tone, I'm not a fan of reform. And it's interesting to hear that you say that the right wing and left wing parties in Denmark are really on board with talking about this, because the problem that we have is that animal rights can be put pushed aside and not seen as a priority when we are taking such backward steps to being like, oh, hold on, hold on.
00:21:07
Speaker
Maybe sexism and mistreatment of women is a really good thing. And when you're having these conversations, like, oh, my word, we're we're we're we're we're taking such leaps backwards.
00:21:19
Speaker
And that is so much to the detriment of the the vegan movement. And it's, ah I mean, that's the intent of the right wing, isn't it? all a massive, ah ploy to distract us from so many things and I'm really yeah I am now aware of Project Slingshot I've seen Zach Polanski supporting it and it's it's fantastic that despite our problems in politics and the regressive policies put forward it's still having this large scale support.
Challenges for the Vegan Movement
00:21:55
Speaker
Hooray for that, Kate. Hooray for that. Yeah. Hooray, hooray. And I i think also, I just think that maybe then, I don't know how, why they' they've done so well. Maybe it's just that the fact that they've managed to, you know, educate educate people or or i actually bring it into people's awareness. which is perhaps what, you know, the Slingshot campaign and some of these, they're trying to bring all this stuff into people's awareness, which wasn't there before. So I'm hoping we're just a little bit behind there. But I get, I know exactly what you mean. It's so depressing, these conversations, which are so...
00:22:34
Speaker
um backwards that you know so and so hateful and so unkind if we can't even be kind to each other as human beings how can we get people to be kind to animals it's yeah it's depressing isn't it really Do you know what I'm tempted to do? I'll tell you what I'm tempted to do, Kate. i tell you what I'm tempted to do, David. well I'm tempted to dangerously swerve from the order of, ah you know, we've got a lovely ah falafel contributor, Shane, who lives over in the US. And Shane's worked very, very hard behind the scenes, putting together the news stories from around the world. But I think rather than going to story three, I feel like skipping on story four,
00:23:22
Speaker
And I'll tell you for why I feel like doing that. You are radical. I am a radical. I am pure chaos. I've been around the cats for too long. They've rubbed off their influence on me. I'm i'm a wrong and through and through for deviating from well orchestrated arrangements. Here's why, here's why, right? What we're saying is, ah should women be badly treated? Should people who are not white be badly treated? Should animals be badly treated? Like they're kind of things that if I, you know, I, if you've not heard this podcast before, my job is a poet. I go into schools, I work with children. And if I saw a child being racist, I would be like, oh, don't do that. That's wrong. And I would be supported. But if we see a really moneyed person, a person in power being racist, we've got to be like, oh, well, let's see the argument from all sides. Let's consider. it It's like, nah, surely there's a bottom line that what's wrong is wrong. Now, the reason I'm saying let's go to our story from Plant Based News is Plant Based News have covered a story that there's a study finding children and teenagers are ah more open to meat-free
Children's Empathy and Diet Choices
00:24:30
Speaker
diets. And this is because young people have such disgust at learning that meat comes from animals. That's the main reason that so many children think about giving meat up. So i'm going to ask David, well, you've you've been aware of this story. what What's your reaction to it?
00:24:46
Speaker
Yeah, thank you, Dominic. Yes, um so um yes a research found that many children, as Dominic said, um have moments where they make the connection between the animals they care about and the food on their plates.
00:25:00
Speaker
But however, maintaining a meat-free diet can be difficult without support, especially when family habits, convenience and social pressure influence what young people eat. So yeah, I think what is really interesting about this is the idea that making Sorry, that maybe compassion towards animals is something many children naturally understand, but society gradually teaches us exceptions. Many children don't start by separating animals into categories of friend and food.
00:25:30
Speaker
They often see animals as individuals who can feel, play, suffer and want to live. It's only later when we learn the the the rules humans have created around which animals we love and which animals we use.
00:25:44
Speaker
It also shows why support is is so important. If a child says they don't want to eat animals anymore, that can be really meaningful moment of empathy. Rather than dismissing it as ah as a phase, maybe we should listen to what they're actually expressing.
00:25:59
Speaker
As vegans, I think this challenges the idea that veganism is something we force onto children. We could equally ask whether teaching children that some animals are products despite their natural compassion towards them is also teaching them a particular worldview.
00:26:15
Speaker
Children asking questions like, why do we eat animals, shouldn't be seen as a problem. Maybe those questions are exactly the kind of curiosity and kindness we should encourage.
00:26:27
Speaker
Absolutely, David. Well put, well put. So this is all from the University of Exeter, who surveyed more than a thousand young people. And it really correlates with my own experience. I became vegan as a very young person. And ah regular listeners will know I've hopped on about my experience before, that my mum really wanted to stop eating meat and I was a really fussy eater as a kid and she couldn't afford to ah go non-meat eating, while supporting my adoration of McDonald's and hamburgers and all that.
Personal Journey to Veganism
00:27:03
Speaker
But yeah, it was me seeing animals
00:27:07
Speaker
and putting two and two together and saying to my mum, I don't want to do this anymore. And my mum saying to me, well, you know, Dominic, if you're going to try this, you've got to stick at it. I can't afford to buy in a load of bean burgers and then for you to go, I don't want it anymore. Like, we're going to have to stick at this. was I will, mum, I will. and i did way all these decades later here i am here i am and i think that so often people are forced into unpleasant employment situations where they're made to compromise their ethics on So many things in order to receive their paycheck, in order to support their families, in order to keep themselves out of poverty. The morals become a luxury. Ethics become a privilege. And children, yeah, children are so wise. Children are so wise and children so often know that.
00:28:03
Speaker
what is wrong. It's when, you know, I 100% agree with your wording, David, that we could be seen as extreme if we go to children, hey, be vegan. But it's the other thing that's extreme. It's like, you know, oh, you know, this suffering that you will inherently dislike, that you will inherently go, no, no, no, I don't want to see an animal go through this.
00:28:22
Speaker
Well, that's the norm. Deal with it. It's awful, isn't it, Kate? Yeah, it is. Yeah, i really love what you said as well, David. It's the, you know, pepper pig paradox as well, isn't it? You know, when when kids, they have like the the pepper pig lunchbox and they got ham sandwiches for their lunch. I mean, that is so weird, isn't it? And yet, you know, and when they, I see, ah I also remember, I think I was probably about 11 when I did become vegetarian for a while. And sadly, like the majority of people, I didn't keep it up, even though my mum was actually quite supportive of it. But she was like, you must eat your eggs and cheese to get your protein, you know, um you know, but even so, um yeah, I slipped up. just because is so hard in in you want to you want to fit in with your friends don't you you don't want to appear to stand out you don't want to be difficult and all the rest of it
00:29:24
Speaker
Absolutely. And also fit in with the school system. So as I mentioned previously, I take poetry around schools and some schools are really equipped for children with different dietary needs or
Social Media's Role for Young Vegans
00:29:40
Speaker
desires. And some really aren't. And it is a money thing. is an investment thing.
00:29:45
Speaker
I want to rage about reform again, again about reform councillors. I can't remember which of our British ah ah ah counties it is, but there's one county that for ages now has had a policy of having meat-free meals for council meetings and reform won the council vote. And the first thing they've done is like reintroduce meat, British values, British values. And It could be really hard when people with money, people without power come in with these sorts of ideologies. And it's anti-kindness. It's anti what we feel as children. and it's they're so loud with it. And a lot of people do not feel ah empowered to speak out against it either when people come in all loud and shouty about stuff. And they are, aren't they? They're forceful. But, you know, it has made me think, hmm, what can I do? Some of these kids, you know, they fail yeah because there isn't like a support system. I don't know. i know the Vegan Society um does have a programme where they try and support vegan kids and their parents. But you need a supportive parent in order to kind of try and get the help from the vegan society. If your parents aren't even with you, then yeah it's hard, isn't it? But it has to be. Do you know what, Kate? do you know what? you know what? I'm going to go from criticising reform to
00:31:16
Speaker
criticizing the Labour Party. So here in the UK, we've currently got a Labour government. Our Prime Minister is Keir Starmer and his boo and his big thing. The reason I'm saying boo, his big thing is that he wants a social media ban here in the UK for under 16s that they can't use TikTok, they can't use Facebook, they can't use Instagram. And course, course, there's really strong arguments for protecting children from the really ah many, many harmful aspects of social media. Social media is a problem. I'm not being dismissive. For vegans who don't have the support of families, who don't have the support of their school, online media
00:32:02
Speaker
groups and connections to people with good intent is a lifeline. I wish that I, growing up in the countryside, I mean, I happen to be a man who is gay. I happen to be a man who is autistic. There were so many things that made mainstream schooling a living hell for me. And when I look at the children with whom I work, who have got Really healthy connections with online groups, really healthy. A blanket ban on social media is not a great thing because there isn't the money there to make. Youth clubs happen to make. Sports centres happen. There's no other alternative. Just go, oh, this is bad, which it can be, and take it away without any meaningful addition is not helping at all. You're so right, actually. You're so right. You're so right. All the youth clubs and stuff that have been cut and what have you. Yeah, um totally. And if it wasn't for, oh, God, I'd be so lonely. you've met Well, I've met so many, many fellow vegans through social media, but also we've got podcasts as well, have we not, that ah really help connect people, you know, that are living...
00:33:19
Speaker
um in very sort of um un-vegan, unfriendly places and feeling isolated lonely. And hello, we feel your pain if you're out there.
00:33:31
Speaker
lovelyly Lovely fellow vegans. We really, really do. So extra big virtual hug for all those people. So... Extra big virtual hugs for all those people. Definitely, Kate. Definitely, Kate. All right, we've got one more story, and this one's on quite a different
Criticism of Processed Vegan Foods
00:33:48
Speaker
topic. I'm going to ask you, Kate, for your opinion on this one.
00:33:51
Speaker
So we've talked quite a bit in the past about the ethics of veganism, but this story is more to do with ultra-processed foods I believe the abbreviation is UPFs, UPFs, Ultra Processed Food. Now, we're always hearing about how veganism is all vegan burgers. And I absolutely have just been enjoying vegan burger for my dinner. So I'm not saying that they're things that don't exist in my life. But something that we've got a story here from the Brussels Times is saying all
00:34:30
Speaker
Well, yeah, there's ultra processed food in the meat industry too. And all these attacks on ah vegan foods having so much factory processed stuff isn't exclusive to a vegan diet. What do you make of it all, Kate? to know I really ah thought, wow, this is a great take on you know as something I'm not really looked into as ah deeply as maybe some other things. But it's based on a food watch report um from people based in Berlin, I believe. It's so interesting, that the narrative of all this ultra-processed plant-based foods being lumped in with ah with the, you know, the double fried donuts with sprinkles and goo all over them and stuff as if it's the same thing, which it isn't because, you know, mostly, you know, the plant-based stuff is actually healthier than meat anyway. But they are, they highlight all the stuff that goes into producing
00:35:42
Speaker
meat as it is and also the processed meats as well which are class one carcinogens yay so um and and all the many things that do not make it to the ingredients list on the meat packets because you know it's stuff that's like fed to all the animals um I've forgotten how many things. What is it a hundred Oh, yeah. 140,000 feed additives you know that can be fed to animals in their food.
00:36:20
Speaker
They don't make it to to the ingredients list. You've got all the embedded soy protein, much of which is a GMO, which has been imported from like South America, Canada,
00:36:34
Speaker
from deforested or previous deforested land and all the water that's embedded into all of that and everything. So apparently each person in the eu who eats meat is on average eating 60 kilograms of embedded soy in you know per year I'd like you know can you imagine trying to eat 60 kilograms of soy yourself hasn't gone via the body of an animal but you know um just even always think of of meat anyway as just being food that has been processed through the body of an animal and then you know with all the other
00:37:18
Speaker
crap that go literal crap and salmonella and botulism and god knows what else and all the other things and it's inherently unhealthy and anyway i just really i like the way and they they've compared it with the with the the the mythology and the the fictions that come from the lobbyist groups and then they particularly mentioned COPA can you pronounce that COG or something of' I can't read my writing but there we are never mind but yeah so you know all the rubbish that they spout and and actually it's like let's turn the spotlight on them instead so yeah so that that's my response to this article think you make a really good point about meat being inherently processed. I remember being on the cusp of veganism and having some friends from a theatre group come over and the different members, some were from quite disadvantaged backgrounds and some were really moneyed. And there was one annoying gentleman who was from a very privileged background. And I was cooking dinner for everyone. And I decided to make a vegetable bolognese. But I was worried that they wouldn't like just mushrooms and beans. So I bought some ah veggie burgers and I fried them up and I was chopping them up. Just there was something of a different texture because I was worried they think it was a bit too hippy dippy if there wasn't something a bit tougher in there. And he saw me do that and he laughed at me. Autistic people rarely like being laughed at. He laughed at me and he was like, gosh, you've made this big deal of doing a home cooked meal and you're just adding a processed burger to it. And I was so annoyed because I thought if I'd have gone out to the butchers and just bought a load of mince, which he would do because he was a meat eater.
00:39:17
Speaker
And, you know, he'd asked earlier that evening, he'd been like, oh, so you don't use a mince then? That's what I would be using for a bolognese. So he'd outed himself as someone who'd use mince, which he would see as a natural ingredient. Oh, mince that you get from the mince tree. No additives in mince. No nastiness in mince. That's pure and natural and fresh as the air. You know, nonsense. Yeah. And the fact is, you're only doing it for his benefit as well. Oh, my yeah Oh, dear. Yeah.
00:39:50
Speaker
Yeah. Well, if nothing else, recording this podcast gives me a big chance to rage at all the many people who've wronged me through my whole life.
Engaging with the Podcast Audience
00:40:02
Speaker
Well, listen, people, if you have enjoyed this podcast or we have said something that resonates with you, or if you just want to join us in raging against anyone who's wronged you in your past or present, let us know. We're happy to hear your opinions and you can always get in touch with us by direct messaging Instagram or Facebook or by emailing us. David, what is our email?
00:40:31
Speaker
So yes, thank you, Dominic. Our email address is enoughofthefalafel at gmail.com. We read and respond to each email sent by listeners and feature them on our mailbag show, unless you tell us not to.
00:40:44
Speaker
Start getting those emails in as we have a mailbag show later this summer. Fantastic, fantastic, fantastic. If you like our show and you have a few extra pounds or dollars or whatever your currency is that you would love to throw our way, you can donate to our Ko-Fi page. That is Ko, spelt Kikinka, O, hyphen F for Freddy. Yes. I, so co-fi.com forward slash enough of the falafel. Enough of the falafel is all one word. It's all uppercase. Now, you don't have to donate a lot. We accept us as little as a pound a month. It's really helpful to us if you are in a position to support us financially. We don't have any marketing team. We don't have any sponsors. So ah Co-Fi is a brilliant thing that makes us able to do just that little bit more. Kate, are there any other ways in which folks can support the show? Yes, there are. So you can subscribe to the show, which is always a great thing to do. And you can rate us on your podcast player. And um if you could tell people about the show and share it like I did yesterday a vegan ah festival, then... Woohoo!
00:42:09
Speaker
then we would we would be really, really grateful. That would be wonderful. Thank you. It is wonderful indeed. Well done. Well done. This is the same vegan festival run by Victoria and Wes that I've been along to performing my poems. I was absolutely thrilled, Kate, hear that you took part in one. They were lucky to have you, Kate.
00:42:29
Speaker
Lucky to have you. were lucky to have you as well. So, yes. They're really good people. They do them nationwide. And I really recommend going along. There's always free samples of food. There's grand people like Kate or me or all kinds of people doing talks about various aspects of veganism. It's wonderful if you're wondering what can you eat? There's always a wide variety of lovely grub there.
00:42:55
Speaker
on offer. But what about a wide variety of vegan talk episodes? Kate, where's our next one going be?
Upcoming Episode Announcement
00:43:04
Speaker
Well, yeah, our next one is available from Thursday, the 25th of June. And it's with Anthony and Carlos. And they are discussing Ahimsa Milk.
00:43:16
Speaker
Anyway, that's enough of the falafel for this episode. Thanks to Kate and Dominic for your contributions. And thanks again, everyone, for listening. I've been David and you've been listening to Vegan Week from Enough of the Falafel Collective.
00:43:33
Speaker
This has been an Enough of the Falafel production. We're just a normal bunch of everyday vegans putting our voices out there. The show is hosted by Zencaster.
00:43:44
Speaker
We use music and special effects by zapsflat.com. And sometimes, if you're lucky, at the end of an episode, you'll hear a poem by Mr Dominic Berry. Thanks all for listening and see you next time.
00:44:14
Speaker
This episode may have come to an end, but did you know we've got a whole archive containing all our shows dating back to September 2023? twenty twenty three That is right, Dominic. There's over 100 episodes on there featuring our brilliant range of different guests, people's stories of going vegan, philosophical debates, moral quandaries, and of course...
00:44:36
Speaker
around a dozen news items from around the world each week so check back on your podcast player to hear previous episodes and remember to get an alert for each new episode simply click like or follow and also subscribe to the show thanks for your ongoing support wherever you listen to us from