Sustainable Vegan Activism: How to Be More Effective and Fulfilled While Advocating Animal Rights

[@doraalgarvio9717]

“…Know that this is a person who has chosen to live their values in a world that pressures them every single day to give up.This is a person who has chosen to do what they believe in, even though it’s difficult, even thought they might be ostracized, even though their relationships might suffer, even though they carry with them, every single day, the awareness of the enormity of animal suffering in the world.And, yet, every day, this person wakes up and choses to continue to practice these values, to live their truth, despite overwhelming pressure to conform.” Excellent.

[@aliciapan7063]

brought me to tears. too relatable

[@nicolefurlan]

This quote really hit me too. So powerful. I'm so proud to be part of this wonderful group of passionate, dedicated people 💙

[@harlemjoey9419]

i guess it is kinda randomly asking but does anybody know of a good place to watch new movies online ?

[@jesiahsamson2297]

@Harlem Joey Flixportal :D

[@harlemjoey9419]

@Jesiah Samson thank you, signed up and it seems like a nice service :) I really appreciate it!!

[@hematadopormenos]

Melanie Joy is simply brilliant. Her talks are fractal in nature, illuminating the profound philosophical implications of veganism and the way common themes keep coming up in every facet of the movement, while simultaneously managing to be able to effectively communicate to meat-eaters. I watched her when I was a meat-eater and I never looked back.

[@nadrndanitravojed4579]

She's the real deal. I've come to grow a lot both as a person and as a vegan after finding out about her. She's helped me tremendously.

[@diegosaur]

So keep at it [animal rights fight] and keep cool. We are not trying to achieve the impossible. We are trying to accelerate the inevitable.

[@jitidias3592]

Muy bien dicho, very well said, Diego!

[@cccc-je5rr]

where can I find the list of rights of animals so i know exactly what they are?

[@TokyoElbow]

a great comment, I made a meme of this and credited it to you,

[@imangellau]

love this!! 💚💪

[@fromeveryting29]

@@cccc-je5rr Hello. I realize this is an old comment. But the rights of animals depends on each country, and mostly, most animals have no rights. It is more like pets have protection just like peoples belongings are protected. It is mostly illigal to harm dogs, cats, horses, parrots, rabbits and other companion-animals in most western countries. Farm animals like pigs, chickens, cows, bulls, sheep and goats have 0 rights. The industry ONLY cares for their wellbeing if it makes the farmers more money. They have no right to life, joy, freedom and they have extremely little legal protection if any. So, it depends. I guess the "animal right" we truly want them to have is "right to their own existence", which is the most fundamental right, and also the most fundamental violation on another - murder.

[@sproutbliss]

So what it sounds like Melanie Joy is saying is we need to carb the fuck up! Love this woman so so much. She is so invaluable to the movement.

[@NurtureLove88]

Brilliant presentation. Although alone we are strong, together we are a movement. Let's build each other up and amplify the voices of the animals. Let's take care of each other and nurture love until every animal is free. ^_^ A hug to everyone who puts in work and who goes against the grain via veganism, activism, and in other prosocial ways. We will look back at this effort years from now and say thank goodness we pushed on sustainably. I appreciate you all so much!

[@cccc-je5rr]

are people allowed to eat meat? also do animals have more rights or the same as human rights? if so should they be locked up for killing other animals? i can't find a real short straight forward answer anywhere.

[@elizabethdean0187]

Thank you as ever, Dr. Joy, for your rational, cogent, reassuring approach to being an effective advocate in the vegan movement. You so effectively articulate many of the issues that I am confronted with daily in my professional role as a health scientist-clinician and in my personal life and relationships. One outlet that I have initiated is VEG (Vegan Enthusiast Group) with the College of Emeritus Professors at my University. It is open to ALL professors emeriti, regardless of where they are on the plant-based nutrition continuum and for what ever reasons. Your conceptualization of ‘carnism’ is brilliant and one that I describe (citing your work, of course). My international audiences are health professionals and students, and the topic is health/lifestyle behaviour change. Changing beliefs and attitudes around ‘evidence-based’ nutrition practices is not comparable to quitting smoking, sitting less and moving more, better sleep and manageable stress. That humans are ‘vegan-by-design’ and nutrition vegan-talk elicits all the emotional reactions that you describe. ‘Carnism’ needs to be raised to help contextualize the issues. Given several decades of evidence supporting vegan nutrition for individual and planetary health as well as animal welfare, national food guidelines around the world reflect attitudes/beliefs/learned cultural practices, and NOT the scientific evidence. Most if not all governments food and nutrition guidelines reflect multi-national influences, in turn, widespread chronic physical and mental disease, and horrific perpetuation and unconsciousness about the abuse and suffering of animals in factory farming. This seriously needs to change beginning with ‘awareness’ as you so eloquently point out…. Professor-Elizabeth

[@thedudethatpotatoesvodka2334]

I defo need time out. Activism is causing so much depression, stress, and worry. I am taking a year out. Outdoor instructor, Dartmoor for a year. After that I can kick ass.

[@Chris-V2011]

Brilliant expose Melanie,thank you for saying so clearly what we all feel and giving us ways to deal with all those issues ♥

[@ferrygirl100]

I am depressed daily, some days worse than others, depending on footage I have viewed that day. I am struggling on however because every one of us helps!

[@craggerrs]

Stop watching the footage every day if it makes you depressed!!! You being depressed is not helping the animals so please look after yourself first

[@amberv4223]

I don’t watch the footage, I hold the laptop xxx

[@hypnosis-wise5325]

are you coping better these days?

[@sacmakiz]

Ahh so good to see her here 😊😊

[@kellemese6252]

my burnout syndrome resulted in giving up my beliefs and going with the crowd (standing in the line) because i was bumping into walls too many times as i tried -not just/only spreading but-standing up for myself also made me question everything because people were coming at me..the truth is teh stronger you are the people feel more "encouraged" to break you down..

[@ladyfaye8248]

excellent. at times, hard to accept, but I do appreciate the necessity of sharing these insights.

[@veganbackpacking-8559]

Amazing talk Melanie! :) I was in this position months ago and climbed out due most of the tips you gave now. Now I can finally back it up with this amazing source and so hopefully others will climb out of their unsustainable activism. Take care and thanks again!

[@veganbackpacking7869]

+Mark H Hi Mark, sorry I missed your reply. I can only speak for myself on this one since not all vegans I know take the misery onto their own shoulders too much. But no, I did not go back eating meat hehe. At the point where I saw I had to make a change I dialed down my activism and started looking for ways that both motivated/fueled me ánd contributed to a better world. But this might be different for everyone. As Melanie shows, there are plenty of elements that we can change in order to feel (more) at peace. I hope I could be of any help. Take care Mark!

[@The40yearoldVegan]

Just as relevant today thank you

[@MsBrutus64]

Great talk. Thank you Dr Joy. I will never eat the cookie with traces of secretions though lol :)

[@amberv4223]

Me neither!

[@mariatiqwah]

LOVE this! Thank you Melanie

[@SamiDolls]

Fantastic presentation. Thank you so much!

[@selmamariaj]

Thank you Melanie 🥹🤍

[@lyraalves3125]

Thank you for this brilliant talk!

[@zuzahicks2913]

Thank you so much for this video!!! ❤

[@aaronverran1360]

"alone a mere soldier together an unstoppable phalanx"

[@elianaposada]

Brilliant! As always! Thank you so much!

[@brandonowen3856]

Hysterical!!!

[@leedianar]

Grate speach ! Congratulations!

[@osamuyoshida1060]

Nirvana is the best way to still, see, and straighten karma. Mindfulness (stilling, seeing, straightening karma) is cultivated in it.

[@mariemai2902]

Hi Melanie please could you talk about how to care for fellow activists and vegans?

[@rosebw1077]

That was really helpful thank you very much love you vegan family

[@JolandaAdelaar]

very helpfull, thank you!

[@user-vi6tv9hp8q]

Thank you!

[@johnny_veritas]

It did not made sense that she said to eat the cookie with cheese from the grandmother. We must take things seriously. Because od the direct damage caused to animals and not giving social validating to animal abuse. The part of not giving social validation to carnism, to actually disrespect such ideas and practices, just passed over her head.

[@veganvision3365]

I know your comment is old but I agree with almost everything she's saying here except this cookie situation. It seems to be a point of contention for vegans to be able to eat their dear sweet grandmother's cookie, but saying "no" to grandma's cookie, while probably inconvenient and uncomfortable, is not necessarily traumatic. The basic principle of veganism is to avoid the use of animals as much as possible and saying no in these kinds of situations really is a small ask of ourselves, even when striving for self care. I never understood "cheating" on your ethics just because it feels like the path of least resistance in that moment, and we don't need to contribute to the normalization of carnism just to keep in good mental health as vegans. Passing on grandma's cookie isn't nearly the same as watching Dominion 15 times and having weekly slaughterhouse vigils.

[@johnny_veritas]

@@veganvision3365 After you tell your family you are vegan, your family will get used to it. Hopefully being understanding and will not even offer you non-vegan food. My grandmother made me great vegan lasagna, she would not have done so if I ate the meat lasagna made for the rest of the family.

[@veganvision3365]

@@johnny_veritas How amazing would be if we denormalized carnism so much that we create completely new traditions amongst our families and our society? Vegans play a crucial role in bringing these morals to environments where people wouldn't have given them a second thought otherwise. Everyone should have their beliefs challenged, no matter how old or how much you love them. I would go so far as to say that not consigning the unethical behavior of your loved ones is even more loving than silently playing a part in their ignorance.

[@amberv4223]

Yeah no way that cookie going in my mouth.

[@craggerrs]

Can anyone tell me the book she recommend for effective communication? TIA

[@hypnosis-wise5325]

messages, the communication skills book

[@Jackbkwiq]

I enjoyed this content

[@talitaza8862]

💚

[@amberv4223]

I don’t want to eat any animal products; no debate there.

[@osamuyoshida1060]

Cultivation is verification, verified best in sitting still, stilling karma, seeing dharma, serving and saving all.

[@osamuyoshida1060]

Nirvana, no-wind (of karma), is the way to go beyond slavery, samsara, and suffering. Zazen, sitting meditation, stills karma, sees dharma (truth/law), serves and saves all.

[@amberv4223]

💚I have the guilt. I can’t enjoy my kids. I feel I have no right to when calves are taken from their mums. I’m in pain all the time.

[@hypnosis-wise5325]

are you managing better now?

[@johnny_veritas]

"Good people eat animals and it does not make them bad people." That makes no fucking sense. There are no good people that choose to unecessarily eat animals. If they do that they are not good people. You can only asssess caracter by the observing the totality of behavior. If someone murders for fun on a daily basis, that person cannot be entitled a "good person".

[@Jackbkwiq]

+Johnny Veritas it helps to empathize with others to not think of them as either good or bad. Just like we don't believe that one animal is bad and one is good, no individual human animal is inherently good or bad. Their actions and subsequent consequences can be judged as good or bad (murder is bad, kindness is good). When you stop seeing the world as murders and non-murderers, and start to see murder a bad thing which humans, who are neither good nor bad, sometimes participate in, you give yourself permission to let go of guilt and anger which don't benefit you. Some SDS is good, it motivates. But if you are at a point where you can't continue to be a effective activist, maybe one thing to re-evaluate is how judgmental you are of people, versus their actions. But if you're can be a happy, effective activist while holding onto misanthropy and character judgments, more power to ya :-)

[@nadrndanitravojed4579]

It does make sense, if you think about it. Supposing you were not vegan from birth (99% of us didn't have that privilege), could you honestly say you were a bad person back in the days you still ate meat? Assuming your answer is no, I guess that settles the case. It's simply a lack of awareness, not an intentional act of misconduct, a category most of us could fall into. No need to be so harsh on other people. Yes, what they participate in is not, by any means, right, reasonable or preferable, but what of it? Why don't we give it our all to make a suitable environment for such people to advance and emerge into introspection? Let us not lose our heads here and admit we're all humans, we all make mistakes, and emphasize the importance of self cultivating and reconnecting with the lost parts of ourselves. Veganism is not a death sentence, but a lovely journey, so let us enjoy it and rejoice!

[@suzyvegalicious5646]

As long as we are ignorant of the facts it is not our fault, but many people are made aware of the facts around cruelty, health and environment and still continue to eat animals and use their products. To me this is selfish behaviour and I'm afraid I don't have tolerance or patience for this kind of attitude.

[@nadrndanitravojed4579]

Suzy Vegalicious Melanie herself said the same thing - always turn to those who would listen and acknowledge the message you're trying to convey. There's no point in proving anything to those who're not willing to admit solid facts.

[@johnny_veritas]

Moral or immoral are not measured by the level one's awareness by the results of one's actions. People in the past with human slavery, gladiators, discrimination... their goodness was not measured by the average on a sick society, but by the impact on the experience of others, by coercing or not others, in contract with what is possible. The moral status of a person being the balance on the totality of positive and negative actions. Not good intentions, smiles and praying for world peace.

[@barb0138]

Ok so you have been in the movement for 20 years. Not sure if the movement is doing such a great job. I just heard of the movement this year. Not sure why the movement is so silent among the common people. Where is this movement. The closest movement around me is in the city of Milwaukee and it has about 1500 people. Not a lot going on here.

[@amberv4223]

Piss off