It All Vegan With Friends

Welcome back, listeners! In our 12th episode of ItAllVeganWithFriends we (Jay, Sam, and Lindsey) are joined by "Magic Mike Live London"' Dancers....Ross Sands and Courtenay Brady, West End Actor Witney White and Commercial actor Mirry. In this final episode of series one we learn more about being vegan in an industry that is already quite high maintenance, when the pressure to look good every day is hard enough, to secure work time after time and where your reputation sometimes says more than your talent.  We ask the questions: Do the film and theatre industries allow room for performers to voice strong opinions or are they expected to keep quiet and do the job no matter what they might have to do that goes against what they believe? How do they deal with the pressure of being a vegan in the arts? What difficulties have they had to deal with and what needs to change to make it better? "You can judge a man's true character by the way he treats his fellow animals" - Sir Paul McCartney 

Welcome back, listeners! In our 11th episode of ItAllVeganWithFriends we (Jay, Olivia, Becks and Sam) are joined by Mark Eaton at FRIEND Farm Animal Sanctuary. We were lucky enough to learn more about Mark's passion for animal welfare and his ideas for the future of vegan education, with an emphasis on growing food and planting trees, which will have a positive impact on wildlife. We will share with you our experiences volunteering at Friend and The Farm Animal Sanctuary and we will discuss the importance of their existence and what it takes to keep up the work needed to be able to offer sanctuary to constantly unwanted, neglected and abused animals. We ask the questions: Who are FRIEND and how did they begin? What makes a sanctuary different from a farm or a zoo? Are Sanctuaries a long term solution and what happens to all the animals if the world did go vegan? Finally, how do they get their funding and what more can we do to support them to help animals? "My mother early on taught us to respect all animals, and I mean all animals - not just cats and dogs but rats and snakes and spiders and fish and wildlife. So I really grew up believing they are just like us and just as deserving of consideration."  - Joanna Lumley (Patron of The Farm Animal Sanctuary) 

Welcome back, listeners! In our 10th episode of ItAllVeganWithFriends we (Jay, Olivia, Becks and Sam) are joined by Nat, a protestor with Extinction Rebellion who spent some time on Waterloo Bridge throughout the recent London protests. We will share with you Nat's experience of actually taking part in the protests, our thoughts on whether Extinction Rebellion were right to take over our streets, how the media doesn't always show us the whole truth and why it might be difficult for people to know what to believe.  We ask the questions: Who are Extinction Rebellion? What do they want? Should we be part of the movement and how can we get involved? Is protesting accessible for everyone and if not what can we do to make a difference. Does the Vegan movement share similar beliefs to the movement of Extinction Rebellion and can we support one without the other? **"You are never too small to make a difference... Change is coming wether you like it or not"** **Greta Thunberg**

Welcome back, listeners! In our ninth episode of ItAllVeganWithFriends we (Lindsey, Jay, Olivia, Becks and Sam) share our thoughts on what it means to have patience, show compassion and be mindful of others but also of ourselves. We will discuss ways to clear the worries of the past, the future and returning to the here and now.  We also ask the questions: how can we, as vegans and activists, keep ourselves calm, positive and hopeful when faced with trauma on a daily basis? What does mindfullness mean to us? Why is it important to share our thoughts and can we use those thoughts to be creative, make change and heal, especially when applying it to being a vegan? **'Our prime purpose in this life is to help others and if you can't help them, at least don't hurt them"** **Dalai Lama**

Welcome back listeners! In our eighth episode of ItAllVeganWithFriends we (Jay, Becks, Sam and Lindsey) share with you our thoughts on what it means to be an animal activist. What can you do and is it ever enough. We will ask the questions: What does it mean to be an activist, is it all or nothing? should we be more accepting of peoples individual limits when it comes to being an activist or are we making excuses. How can we do more in the way of activism and how can we encourage others to take those first steps without discouraging them completely?  **"Hide me in the shadows, kill me in the darkness, and all will be forgotten. But shine a light upon my death, and I will be everywhere ….and justice will be my name"** **The Save Movement**

Welcome back listeners! In our seventh episode of ItAllVeganWithFriends we (Jay, Lindsey, Sam, Becks and Olivia) return  for the first episode of 2019 after a short Christmas break. Together we will share with you our thoughts on Traditions. From celebrating Christmas, Easter and Valentines Day to preparations for Weddings, birthdays and pancake day. We will ask the questions: Is it time to change our traditions and if so how can we make them vegan and encourage others to make the same changes? Do new traditions like Veganuary work and have our old traditions passed their sell-by date? Do our current traditions hold us back from moving forward? **“we can’t plead ignorance, only indifference. Those alive today are generations that came to know better. We have the burden and the opportunity of living in the moment when the critique of factory farming broke into the popular consciousness. We are the ones of whom it will be fairly asked, What did you do when you learned the truth about eating animals?"** **Jonathan Safran Foer, Eating Animals**

Welcome back listeners! In our sixth episode of ItAllVeganWithFriends we (Jay, Sam, Becks and Lindsey) invite Lauren, our first non-vegan to the mix. Together we will share with you our thoughts on the beverage company, Cranes: their refreshingly natural ciders as well as our thoughts on some of the best vegan party snacks and drinks. We will ask the questions: what popular alcoholic beverages are vegan? How are some beers, wines and liquors NOT vegan? What do we need to be aware of when ordering and celebrating in a new public venue.  **"Always look on the bright cider life" ** **CRANES**

Welcome back listeners, In our fifth  episode of ItAllVeganWithFriends we (Jay, Sam and Olivia) return and together we will share with you our thoughts on the company **allplants, **their 100% plant-powered meals and discuss our favourite places to eat in and out of London. Get ready to feel hungry. We will ask the questions - What are the benefits of a plant based diet?How can we be more environmentally conscious? and, what changes do we need to happen to create a bigger vegan community? **"Busy people need great food that heightens their mood and fuels their energy. It should be delicious, nutritious and colourful, while not costing the earth. Be kind to yourself and the planet"** **allplants**

Welcome back listeners! In our fourth episode of ItAllVeganWithFriends,  we make a phone call to India where we speak to our very own vegan friend Lindsey. You may recall Lindsey speaking in episode one about her upcoming trip and now it's time to hear her experience. She talks to us from the comfort of The Little Buddha Cafe in Rishikesh and with the ambience of the cafe in the background Lindsey tells us how it has been living as a vegan in India, her experience with sacred cows, not drinking alcohol, the culture, her yoga training, the food, Ahimsa and more. Even if you don't like yoga Lindsey will make you want to book that flight. **"Everything can change in a moment, in just one month there is so much time to change, form new habits and start becoming the person that you actually want to be"** Lindsey (ItAllVeganWithFriends)

Welcome back listeners, In our third episode of ItAllVeganWithFriends we (Jay & Becks) return and introduce you to actor, Olivia. Together we will share with you our experience at taking part in The London Animal Rights March where you can hear live (out of time but passionate) recordings of the protest chants and emotional speeches including the words of the very inspirational, Earthling Ed. We will ask the questions - why is it so important to march? should we be less angry? and what more can we do? **"Change is coming, it exists in the hearts and minds of all of us. Now we are a movement that exists in millions of individuals but together we move as one."** **Earthling Ed**

Welcome back listeners, In this second episode of ItAllVeganWithFriends we (Jay, Becks and Sam) return. You can hear Jay interview film Director Chris Delforce on the Documentary "Dominion" and ask Chris when did he first become vegan, what future does he envision and how can we look after ourselves when fighting for animal rights. We share our expeirneces of watching the film and why it is important to watch, even if you don't think you need to.  We will introduce you to Nik, a school headmaster and a family member to both dogs Dhilly & Dolly. Listen to Nik tell us his personal difficulties and rewards of spreading vegan awareness in school and share with us his touching stories that lead us to ask the questions - should we avoid pet shops and only rescue dogs in need? and how can we choose one animal worthy of life over another.  *"If we can get to a point that society does consider it wrong to exploit and kill animals, it's no longer legally done for profit. I think that would be a realistic possibility and that's what I fight for" * - Chris Delforce, Dominion film Director

In this first episode of ItAllVeganWithFriends We introduce ourselves as the first four members of our vegan awareness group: London based creatives - Jay, Becks, Sam and Lindsey. We talk about our journey to becoming vegan and how we have had our own individual journeys, as well as revealing what has helped us along the way. We will share with you our honest experiences and laugh about some of the stories we have to tell. We will talk about our favourite books, documentaries, apps, activists, sanctuaries, restaurants, as well as tips on handling the dreaded questions of why it's important, how u can be vegan and what more we can do to create awareness with compassion and kindness. **"If we were to one day encounter a form of life more powerful and intelligent than our own, and it regarded us as we regard fish, what would be our argument against being eaten?" ** **- Jonathan Safran Foer, Eating Animals**