Veganism Articles

Every year, animal shelters and individual carers around the world try to house hundreds of rescued dogs and cats. Amongst these are abandoned pets, unwanted animals, and creatures with special needs.

Animal rights is the fastest growing social justice movement of our time. Our attitude towards animals shapes our society, our belief about what is right and just, and – with climate change upon us – potentially our collective survival.

In this episode of Easy Vegan we explore Vystopia and why angry vegans, often criticised for being self-righteous and opinionated are leading the way in creating a more compassionate world – but not without a challenge on the way.

Michael and Masa, the Australian Minimalist Vegans, teach creative ways to live abundantly whilst having a light foot-print on the planet. 

Dan and Jesse Pinne started off as reluctant vegans but now embrace that veganism is a moral imperative for a kinder and more compassionate world.

This article in Live Kindly Magazine asks, “How can vegans move from the debilitating agony of vystopia to changing the world?”

In this interview with Bill Linden of Go Vegan Radio, Clare Mann discusses a similar cover-up and the trance-like collusion of the non-vegan world with a dystopian world they haven’t yet realised they are part of.

Vystopia: The Anguish of Being Vegan in a Non-Vegan World was launched on 17th May 2018 to a live audience of over 100 people and over 700 people from around the world who joined us on the livestream.

Vegans know how confronting it is to witness on a daily basis the ubiquitous use of animals.

Do you ever feel that it’s too difficult living in a non vegan world?  Despite all your advocacy, the world just isn’t changing and people are indifferent, resistant and more interested in their own needs to worry about animals?

Want help with the personal and social challenges of being vegan in a non-vegan world?  The Soul in Wonder podcast and programs provide tools and techniques to help you do just this as well as being part of a community of like-minded people.

It’s often challenging to talk confidently about veganism, especially when your buttons get pressed and you don’t have all your facts to hand.  In this podcast with Corinne Niijer, Clare Mann explores how you can improve your communication and turn the most difficult conversations into positive ones for veganism.

In this interview with the animal rights campaign group ANDA in Brazil, Clare Mann shares her work in animal social justice and her vision for a more compassionate world through collaborative and ethical leadership principles. Original article in Portugese can be read here

You may know about the Cube of Truth public rallies in cities around Australia. As part of a global movement called Anonymous for the Voiceless, animal advocates don masks and create a physical square in a public place whilst holding TV screens with images of undercover animal cruelty in abattoirs.  Reports all over the world […]

Natasha and Luca from That Vegan Couple run regular podcasts on becoming vegan, staying vegan and creating a light and minimalist lifestyle. I was honoured to be interviewed by them on the notion of Vystopia and how to create a language to explain the experience to others as well as navigate through it. CLICK below […]

Vystopia is a painful experience, particularly for those who empathise strongly with the suffering of animals. In this 30-min presentation (recorded live at World Vegan Day 2017) I explore the extent of vystopia and discuss highlight three things you can do to transmute the anguish into positive action for change. Through exquisite self-care, becoming a […]

How is it possible after sharing facts about something that has direct significance to a person, they don’t change their behaviour?  Despite showing them how their choices are making them unhealthy or unhappy, they still ignore the facts or refuse to look further.  We still see people smoking despite years of advice that it’s not […]

Whilst animal advocates and vegans struggle with living in a non-vegan world that doesn’t seem to care that animals, environment and people suffer in through unconscious- and over-consumption, it seems that veganism is on the rise.  People are waking up to the fact there is a better way to treat animals, people and the environment. […]

The Discovery of Systemised Cruelty Like many who have made the journey before me, the discovery of systemised torture and cruelty within our modern society left me horrified. My journey into veganism arose out of my eyes being suddenly opened to the large scale abuse of animals in our industrial system. It was almost impossible […]

When you become a vegan, you run a high chance of developing a mental illness. This might seem extreme and enough to make non-vegans avoid talking about the subject, so let me clarify what I mean. Firstly, someone who adopts a plant-based diet and calls themselves a vegan is unlikely to suffer in the same […]

When I embarked on the Australian Tour of the new smartphone App Vegan Voices, I anticipated collaborating with vegan around Australia to collectively create a vegan world. I was encouraged by the positive energy and connections arising out of the tour and I’ll share with you later how Vegan Voices enhances this potential.  However, unanticipated […]

Lessons from psychology that assist vegan advocacy Clare Mann – Barefoot Vegan 2017 With a background in organisational psychology, I have seen people in organisations working in silos on different projects and only engaging with other groups when absolutely necessary.  Members of each different group identify primarily with their own group and often resist collaborating […]

My Home Planet, a series of podcasts by Natasha Milne, shares the stories of people who wake up each day and work for the betterment and future of our beautiful earth and those we share it with. Clare Mann had the pleasure of contributing to this series to talk about veganism, communication and animal social justice and […]

Where are you in your vegan journey?  Are you a new vegan who excitedly wants to share veganism but feel thwarted by those who ridicule you, think you’re odd or who show no real interest?  Have you become aware of animal cruelty and are outraged when others don’t become vegan when you tell them about […]

There are numerous situations when vegans feel unable to participate, such as dining at certain restaurants or eating when others are eating animal products.  Vegans vary in the extent to which they can tolerate being around others eating non-vegan food; some are satisfied to eat a special meal whereas others feel so uncomfortable being around […]

Twelve years ago, my partner and I left Sydney for an adventure.  My partber, a social disrupter and avid believer in renewable energy use, and myself embracing the opportunity to ‘live the dream’, moved to New Zealand to build an ‘Off the Grid’ house and experience lowering our environmental footprint.   Like most plans, they don’t […]

Imagine you are a part of an international sales team who have been tasked with the job of selling the most amazing solution the vast majority of the world’s problems?  You hold the solution to the current global challenges to human health, environment, social justice, the economy, conscience, spiritual growth etc.  The customer is every […]

Whilst I don’t specialise in child psychology, over the years I have been invited into the lives of thousands of people who share their childhood experiences with me. Undoubtedly, their experiences influence how they see themselves, others and the world. I would like to share some anecdotal experiences with you about human beings’ capacity to […]

How can you politely deal with invitations to non-vegan dining or family events?

So someone asks you a question about veganism and you don’t know all the information. What do you do? Do you try your best, wishing you had more facts to hand or do you ramble on talking about things you think they should know, even if it’s not what they’re asking. Listen to this radio […]

When a person becomes a vegan because of a philosophical standpoint that the use and exploitation of animals is unacceptable, they often experience an increasing amount of pain. This is because not only do they have become aware of our society’s specieisism and abuse of animals in the industrial process, but also have to deal […]

Good communications principles can help ethical vegans answer this question with more impact. Instead of responding with lots of information, check out your audience so you can tailor your response in a way that gets them saying ‘That’s interesting. Tell me more’.  

Many ethical vegans suffer from anxiety and trauma. This is because they have learnt about the cruel treatment of animals in society, especially those who are part of industrial production. In this interview on Freedom of Species Radio, Clare Mann talks about what ethical vegans can do to manage their anxiety, live in a non-vegan […]

When people become vegan they are often bewildered at the strength of the resistance or criticism they receive from others, particularly their family. They may have faced resistance to many other choices before, but when it comes to veganism there is none of the usual open-mindedness and willingness to embrace change, and little sign of […]

Over the last year, a large number of clients have told that medical professionals advise them that that their lifestyles and eating choices are tantamount to mental illness and should be categorised as eating disorders. Their choice to not eat any animal products or limit their consumption to non-flesh based content is viewed as extreme […]

Vegans can find it very difficult to respond to the multitude of reactions they receive from their family members about their vegan lifestyle choices. The extent of the difficulty depends on why they have chosen veganism. If the choice is one of adopting a healthy diet, reducing food costs or because of the impact of […]

Why animal activists and vegans don’t feel understood by other people by Clare Mann As a psychologist with over twenty years experience, I admit that I have a mental health disorder. Some professionals might say I have an eating disorder because I am vegan. Others would show concern that I regularly feel anxious, depressed, experience […]

People become vegans for numerous reasons; a desire to be physically healthier on a plant-based diet, concern for how food production damages the environment, a strongly held belief in social justice for all living beings and/or because they have learnt about the abuses of industrialised animal cruelty and wish it to stop.  It is the […]