Deficient Vegans

In this episode, we discuss animal welfare concerns in wool and down production, cardio guidelines, recipes for rice crispy treats and stuffing, and our book club’s next pick after *Tender Is the Flesh*.

Chapters
0:02 Plant-Based News
3:21 Wool and Down: The Debate
4:38 Wool Industry Basics
6:39 The Reality of Sheep Shearing
11:27 Mulesing and Merino Sheep
16:09 The Cost of Down
18:22 Vegan Alternatives to Wool and Down
23:50 What to Do With Animal-Based Gifts
30:34 Bite-Sized Coaching: Cardio
35:34 High-Protein Holiday Recipes
39:06 Book Club and Community Updates
40:12 Thanks for Li...

REPLAY of episode 50.

Save a cow, ride a soy boy. We get into the weird history of gendered food marketing, what 40+ studies say about soy and testosterone, and why vegan men keep having to justify their existence. Plus, a myth of the week on complete proteins.

References:

Real Men Don't Eat (Vegetable) Quiche: Masculinity and
the Justification of Meat Consumption

Chapters
0:06 Veganism, Masculinity, and the Marketing Behind Meat
2:54 Selling Food as Masculine
7:39 The Rise of the “Soy Boy”
10:22 Does Soy Affe...

We're on a break this week, so this is a replay of episode 23! We hope you enjoy!

Chapters
0:05 Stocking a High-Protein Vegan Kitchen
1:27 Soy Protein Pantry Staples
5:16 Seitan, Protein Pasta, and More
9:02 Nutritional Yeast and Silken Tofu
11:23 Protein Powders and Peanut Butter
13:47 Beans, Lentils, and Protein Tortillas
15:58 Grab-and-Go Vegan Protein Snacks
21:56 Fridge Staples: Tofu, Tempeh, and More
26:42 Freezer-Friendly Meals and Meat Alternatives
28:49 Staying Fueled at Home and On the Go
31:53 Myth of the Week: Healthy Eating and Fat Loss
32:53 TVP Apple Muffins and...

This week we are talking about vegan Halloween candy and non-food treats, and ways to help vegan kids participate in Halloween activities. We also cover participating as an adult.

Links

Chapters
0:02 Vegan Halloween: Candy, Costumes, and More
0:22 Food Security and Plant-Based News
2:17 A Vegan Strongwoman Takes the Title
3:45 Halloween Candy Ingredients to Watch For
6:37 Vegan Gummies and Nostalgic Treats
11:37 Accidentally Vegan Candy to Hand Out
18:44 Vegan Chocolate Worth Splurging On
23:08 Teal Pumpkins and Non-Candy Treats
25:18...

In this episode, we talk about signs of progress in vegan advocacy across food, institutions, policy, and culture.

New news

Chapters
0:02 Vegan Progress Check
1:28 School Food Gets Plant-Based
4:11 Label Confusion Survey
5:33 Burger Chains Ranked
12:41 Measuring Vegan Progress
16:40 Grocery Store Expansion
25:30 The End of Surcharges
29:57 Happy Cow Changes Everything
34:21 Vegan Numbers Hold Steady
38:55 Veganuary's Growing Reach
45:59 Hospitals Choose Plants<...

This week we discuss what to do if someone cares about animals but cannot go fully vegan yet due to family, health, or practical limits. 

New news

Mentioned in the episode

This week we discuss why ex-vegan stories get so much attention and define different kinds of former vegans. 

Chapters
0:02 Podcast Kickoff
0:32 Animal Testing Reform
2:40 Cottage Cheese Update
4:31 Olympia Vegan Athlete
6:05 Ex-Vegan Debate
11:21 Vegan Vs Plant-Based
17:29 The Ex-Vegan Study
24:25 Why People Quit
31:44 Leaving And Belief Shifts
36:35 Meat Reduction Results
39:54 What Makes People Quit
47:20 Health Diets And Identity
54:49 Plant-Based To Vegan
56:28 Veganuary Success Stories
58:30 Why People Stay Vegan
1:03:18 Ego In Activism
1:06:54 Viral Ex-Vegan Videos
1:12:50 Infighting And Public Perception
1:15:39 W...

This week we discuss the differences between the perception of veganism based on online conversations versus the (fairly boring) reality of being a vegan in day to day life.

Chapters
0:06 Vegan Online vs Real Life
0:18 EU Label Ban News
1:48 Otter Comeback Story
3:08 Fall Flavor Season
4:30 Online Vegan Reality
11:38 Algorithm Rewards Drama
13:41 Backlash to Vegan Advice
20:52 Reducing Harm Matters
26:39 Different Vegans, Same Space
29:49 Policing the Vegan Police
36:26 Purity Tests Everywhere
37:35 Shame and Perfect Vegans
43:31 Deficient Vegans Explained
47:58 Vegan Basics Are Easier
50:52...

This week we cover the discussion around whether or not fish is "meat". We tackle this from multiple angles like the history, the emotions and connections around fish, pain response in fish, intelligence/sentience and more.

Chapters
0:06 Fish, Meat, and Myth
2:48 Daring’s New Meals
4:08 Beans Beat Beyond
5:57 Beyond’s Protein Pivot
8:03 Fish Are Not Dolphins
11:55 Lent, Loopholes, and Fish
16:50 Government Splits Seafood
19:13 Words About Vegetarians
20:50 Pescatarians and Labels
27:11 Fishing Versus Hunting
32:22 Catch, Release, and Death
37:46 Fish Feel Pain
43:23 Fish Are Smarter
...

The episode covers information about leather like its status as a by-product, environmental concerns, human rights concerns, and what vegans do with their old leather from before they were vegan.

Versa Gripps affiliate link (includes link to 10% discount)

Chapters
0:02 Leather and Tofu News
6:17 Why Leather Matters
9:54 Byproduct or Co-Product?
20:25 Deforestation and Tanning
30:35 Vegan Leather Options
34:11 Leather Alternatives Emerge
39:04 What To Do With Old Leather
42:45 Should Vegans Buy Secondhand Leather?
46:05 Why Fur Feels Worse
51:04 Leather, Ethics, and Impacts
53:19 When To Use Lifting Straps<...

This week we do a second round of rapid fire vegan myth busting as a continuation of the previous episode. 

Chapters

0:06 Myth-Busting Round Two
0:26 Dominion Study News
3:49 Testing Alternatives Advance
4:30 Venus Williams Returns
5:27 Protein Digestibility Myth
8:18 Almonds, Avocados, and Environment
10:19 Grass-Fed Beef Truth
11:48 Livestock Feed Reality
15:23 Monocropping Misconceptions
18:13 Manure and Vegan Crops
20:48 Harmlessness and Hypocrisy
22:09 Farm Animals and Extinction
24:46 Loving Animals, Killing Them
28:10 Cage-Free Egg Labels
29:57 Excess Animal Products
33:59 Ants Versus Humans
35:30 Pets and V...

The episode reviews vegan myths on nutrition, health, and cost, plus vegan news on emissions, water pollution, Huel, athletic results, and a coaching Q&A.

Myth-busting Sources

In this episode we talk about ethical vegetarians, and information that may be a blind spot. This includes an overview of dairy and egg production and the ethical concerns involved in those processes. We also briefly discuss protein timing in our bite sized coaching segment.

New News

References for episode claims and stats

This week is a replay of one of our most popular episodes. Is veganism actually a privilege? We dig into the five most common versions of that argument (cost, access, time, culture, and nutrition) and check each one against the data. Spoiler: the cheapest thousand calories you can buy in almost every country on Earth are plant-based. 

Chapters
00:00 Replay Introduction
01:09 Cost of Vegan Eating
04:17 Whole Foods Save Money
08:05 Budget Vegan Strategies
15:23 Food Access Barriers
19:59 Surviving Food Deserts
27:24 Time and Labor Costs
32:34 Fast Vegan Meal Prep
36:35 Meal P...

This week is a replay of one of our favorite episodes about going vegan! We cover lots of cooking and food tips and tricks since that is usually the part that people have the most practical trouble with. We also discuss a few other elements about going vegan. 

Chapters
00:00 Podcast Intro
00:27 Methane News
06:00 Mushroom Farm Switch
11:49 Melon Leather Upcycling
13:56 Vegan Basics
17:29 Cheese Alternatives
24:37 Condiments and Sauces
26:30 Meat Substitutes
30:03 Egg Replacements
32:17 Vegan Dining Out
37:30 Vegan Cooking Tips
44:37 Tofu Texture Tips
45:25 Seitan and Vital W...

In this episode:

New News

UK prisons must now treat vegan beliefs as protected under the Equality Act, with a guaranteed vegan main-menu option and The Vegan Society consulted on the rules

The Bezos Centre for Sustainable Protein and Imperial College London launched a future food accelerator

Tufts researchers found people are far more...

Pigs can solve mirror puzzles, hold grudges, and comfort a friend who's having a bad day. So why do we call them dumb?

Last week we covered what factory farming does to the water and the air. This week we cover what it does to the pig. 

In this episode:

• Where "dirty, dumb, eats anything" came from and why every one of those is something we did to them, not something they are

• Seven of eight pigs found food they could only see in a mirror, in an average of 23...

Why are pig factory farm waste lagoons bright pink and why should you care even if you're not vegan?

We get into how America stores millions of gallons of untreated pig waste in open-air lagoons, and the fallout for neighbors, rivers, and the workers nearby.

In this episode:
• Why the lagoons turn bright pink and why the waste is not treated like human sewage
• The toll on nearby communities: asthma, odor plumes, contaminated wells, and "blue baby syndrome"
• A 25-million-gallon spill that dwarfed Exxon Valdez, plus the invisible H2S gas th...

Episode 57 revisits why honey is not vegan and replays a previous discussion. We also discuss some new news and have a bite-sized coaching segment about working out with minimal equipment.

New News

Chapters
0:06 Podcast News and Honey Teaser
0:40 UK Farmed Chicken Misconceptions
2:51 Beyond Meat Steak Debut
4:26 Plant Milks Gain Ground
18:52 Honey Isn’t Vegan
27:17 Beekeeping Exploits Bees
31:05 Honey Hurts Native Pollinators
35:00 Honey Alternatives an...

The episode covers the difficulties and benefits of finding a vegan community. Whether it's online or in-person, a community is helpful to answer questions, provide guidance, and help you feel supported.

New News

References from Episode

Chapters
0:02 Opening News and Community
3:12 Tofu Sales Are Rising
4:31 Cultivated Meat and Public Views
8:24 Why Vegan Life Feels Lonely
21:32 Former Vegans...

This week we are talking about something that is often unappreciated, which is gym and lifting safety. We also discuss why honey isn't vegan.

New News

Chapters
0:02 Podcast Intro and News
4:22 Gym Safety Basics
8:01 Pain or Progress
14:31 Fixing Form Mistakes
21:38 Warm Up Smart
25:10 Solo Lifting Risks
30:27 Bench and Squat Safety
35:55 Kids, Pets, and...

This week we talk about mono-cropping, and why the Internet thinks that all the negative consequences of it are because of vegans. We also dive into cold plunging and have a new bite sized coaching segment.

Referenced in Episode

New News:

Sources:

Chapters
0:08 New News and Nonsense
4:09 Carnivore Masculinity Myths
5:46 When Kids Question Meat
9:12 Defining Monocropping
10:39 Vegans and Monocrop...

The episode distinguishes veganism as an ethical philosophy from plant-based as a diet, and notes overlap between vegan and LGBTQ+ communities.

Chapters
0:06 Plant-Based Versus Vegan
1:08 Foie Gras Ban Update
2:17 Protein From Air
4:09 Beer Waste Protein
9:19 Main Topic Begins
15:22 Two Movements, Different Roots
20:41 Why Labels Get Mixed
25:13 Veganism Gets Lost
34:12 Animals Disappear from View
41:17 Plant-Based vs Vegan
1:04:20 Pride and Vegan Community
1:15:06 Mean Tweets and Announcements

How to Get In Touch

Deficient Vegans

We talk about how many of our traditions and memories growing up are tied to food, and how that usually means animal products specifically. Then, we offer up some ideas for how to keep the same traditions and bonding opportunities with vegan swaps.

We also cover our myth of the week this week, which is that vegans can't get enough Omega-3 fats.

Chapters
0:02 Podcast Intro and News
3:56 Oatly’s Pee Fertilizer Project
9:47 Veganizing Sports Traditions
25:17 Hunting, Hiking, and Nature
37:06 Plant-Based Date Nights
45:17 Thanksgiving Food Traditions
49:41 Christmas an...

The episode discusses whether vegan food is “processed junk,” and addresses the myth that carbs at night cause weight gain.

Chapters
0:02 Podcast Kickoff and News
3:39 Processed Food Myth
6:03 Veganism Through the Years
12:36 Vegan Foods Go Mainstream
18:52 Ancient Plant-Based Staples
24:39 Seitan to Tempeh
27:36 TVP and Burger History
34:25 Vegan Cheese Evolution
39:06 Why Vegans Seem Processed
42:36 Why Vegan Foods Seem Processed
55:44 Making Milk at Home
59:40 What Counts as Processed?
1:02:42 Vegan Junk Food Reality
1:12:25 Why People Resist Veganism
1:15:04 Myth: Carbs at Night
1:20:44 Book Club...

Save a cow, ride a soy boy. We get into the weird history of gendered food marketing, what 40+ studies say about soy and testosterone, and why vegan men keep having to justify their existence. Plus New News and a Myth of the Week on complete proteins.

References:

Real Men Don't Eat (Vegetable) Quiche: Masculinity and
the Justification of Meat Consumption

Chapters
0:08 Veganism and Masculinity
0:44 In the News
5:56 Masculinity Marketing Origins
15:22 Soy Myths Debunked
20:47 Vegan Athletes Shine
23:55 Meat, Manhood, and History
26:31 Who...

This week we break down protein density. We walk through why "protein per 100 grams" falls apart for anything with water or fat in it (looking at you peanut butter). Our Myth of the Week tackles the "I only eat humanely farmed meat" claim, including the data on how widespread factory farming actually is, what labels like free-range, cage-free, and grass-fed do (and don't) mean

Chapters
0:02 Welcome to the Podcast
0:37 Billie Eilish Controversy
5:48 Celebrity Reactions
10:25 Beyond Meat's Struggles
10:46 Protein Density Explained
19:52 Examples of Protein Sources
26:20 Misleading Comparisons
31:20 Closing...

Is veganism actually a privilege? We dig into the five most common versions of that argument (cost, access, time, culture, and nutrition) and check each one against the data. Spoiler: the cheapest thousand calories you can buy in almost every country on Earth are plant-based. Plus our myth of the week: do microwaves kill nutrients?

Chapters
0:05 Welcome to Deficient Vegans
0:31 Billie Eilish's Hot Take
4:00 Is Veganism Privileged?
10:08 Cost of a Vegan Diet
18:43 Access to Vegan Food
30:44 Time and Labor Constraints
46:28 Vegan Resources and Community Support
57:28 Cultural and...

This week we break down why even regular gym sessions don't fully cancel out a sedentary workday, and share the practical tricks we've actually tried (and which ones stuck) to add 3,000-5,000 steps without restructuring your life. We also discuss our myth of the week which is that animal-based leather is more environmentally friendly than vegan leather.

Meta-analysis discussed in the episode

Chapters
0:06 Welcome to the Podcast
0:40 New News
2:20 Walmart's Legal Trouble
4:59 Ann Esselstyn's Record
7:25 The Active Couch Potato Effect
11:05 The Myth of 10,000 Steps
13:33 Practical Tips...

This week we talk about pre-workout carbs, and when they make sense to prioritize. Our myth of the week covers soy-free vegan options.

Chapters
0:02 Welcome to the Deficient Vegans Podcast
0:16 Forks Over Knives Closure
2:17 Animal Rights Activism
4:47 Plant vs. Animal Protein
7:05 Pre-Workout Nutrition
21:10 Carbs During Workouts
24:28 Myth of the Week: Soy Allergy

How to Get In Touch

Deficient Vegans

Muscle Deficient Vegan - Fitness & Nutrition

Protein...