Leigh-Chantelle from Viva la Vegan! gives her Ethics Beyond the Plate presentation at the 2nd Bali Vegan Festival. Sunday 9 October Ubud, Bali, Indonesia The blurb: With the mainstream media watering down the meaning of veganism with it's dietary, fitness and weight-loss focus, is the vegan movement losing its core ethics? There are many reasons and benefits to go - and stay - vegan. Including the environment, labour rights, human rights, animal rights, ethics, feminism, and other intersectionality issues. How can we learn from other social justice movements to move forward in a more inclusive and intersectional way? If more people stay vegan long-term due to ethical reasons, how can we promote consciousness-raising, non-oppression, non-objectification, and anti-consumerism for and beyond the vegan lifestyle? Find out more about how we can work together as vegans and activists to promote inclusivity, learn from other movements, and lead by example to promote compassion to ALL we encounter. Learn how to become a more effective activist and make these much-needed changes with Leigh-Chantelle's Ethics Beyond the Plate talk.

1. Ethics Beyond the Plate
Leigh-Chantelle
Bali Vegan Festival: 9 October, 2016
Source: imtj.com

2. My Background
Content Creation & Social Media since 2009
NOW Appraisals, Consulting & Training for
Events, Businesses & Corporate
Give lectures, workshops, consultations and
coaching on the following topics:
Online Marketing & Social Media
Online Etiquette & Effective Communication
Tech Tips & Online Security
Writing and Releasing your own Book or eBook
Vegan Health & Lifestyle
Staging Effective Events & Engaging Volunteers
EpicentreEquilibrium.com
Leigh-Chantelle.com
VivalaVegan.net
Published Author, International Speaker & Consultant

3. My Vegan Journey
Went Vegetarian in 1994
Dairy and Egg industries…
Vegan for 20 years in January

4. VivalaVegan.net
Viva la Vegan! website
started in 2005 to promote
recipe calendars
10 years or Blogs, Articles,
Podcasts, Videos,
Interviews, Recipes, How-to
Videos, FAQs, Talks etc
Been giving talks on the
vegan lifestyle for over 10yrs

5. Books & eBooks
NEW Vegan Athletes Book
Many other eBooks
VeganAthletesBook.com

6. Core Ethics
Most of the top internet searches online focus on health and diet
Mainstream media focuses predominately on health, diet,
weight loss, and food terms e.g. raw vegan
Mainstream media focus on middle-class, mostly white and thin
(females)
Stock image

7. The Past 20 years
Many changes
Not many vegan options
Had to “give up” things
Scarcity mentality
Knew what a “vegan” was

8. Vegan, Vegan, Everywhere
SO MANY:
Products
Businesses
Shops
Restaurants
SO EASY to go - and stay - vegan
Source: toledolibrary.org

9. Mainstream Media
Past 4-5 years
Using the term “vegan”
more
Mostly on eating - or not
eating - certain foods
Weight loss & Control
Allergens e.g. gluten-
free, egg-free, dairy-free
Food Terms e. g. raw till
4, HCLF, paleo
Source: collective-evolution.com

10. Some Ideas Beyond Food
Ethics
Intersectionality
Oppression
Privilege
Compassion
Effective
Communication
Source: nymgamer.com

11. Plant-Based
Food-related aspects are only ONE part of being
vegan
The term “plant-based” should be used
Words and Meanings change over time
More in common with meat eaters who are
interested in Social Justice, than with vegans
who simply want to lose weight

12. What IS a Vegan?
Vegans choose to not consume any:
Animal Flesh - including sea creatures
Animal Secretions - dairy, bile, hormones
Animal Products - eggs, honey, fat, blood, casein
Animal By-Products - gelatine, isinglass, rennet
But, it’s NOT just a diet

13. What IS a Vegan?
The word "vegan" was coined in 1944 by Donald
Watson of the Vegan Society of the UK.
This definition states:
Veganism is a way of living that seeks to exclude,
as far as possible and practicable, all forms of
exploitation of, and cruelty to, animals for food,
clothing and any other purpose.

14. What IS a Vegan?
Non-Dietary areas
Vegans choose NOT to use:
Animals for Clothing - wool, silk, leather
Animal products for Cosmetics or Household Goods -
lanolin, beeswax, glycerine, tallow
Animals for Testing - experiments, research, defence
Animals for Entertainment - zoos, circuses, aquariums,
rodeos

15. What IS a Vegan?
Set of ethical guidelines
Commitment to ethics
Source: vegannook.com

16. Why Vegan?
MANY reasons to go - and stay - vegan
Including:
Animal Rights & Ethics
Health, Fitness & Diet
Environment & Land Rights
Human & Labour Rights
Feminism
Social Justice issues

17. Why I’m Vegan
Veganism encompassed everything I believe in:
Consciousness-Raising
Non-Oppression
Non-Objectification
Anti-Consumerism

18. Why I’m Vegan
I went vegan primarily for animal rights
Have also been involved in feminist, and
environmental movements
Now I’m interested in how ALL Social Justice issues
relate/intersect with Veganism
MY way of leading by example to promote peace, love
and compassion
I enjoy bringing this message to others

19. Veganism is a great way of…
Putting compassion into action
Living in line with your beliefs
Leading by example
Showing others how you want our world to be

20. SO Many Reasons
Always be open to learning other reasons
May change your reasons
Hopefully you can add many more great reasons
why veganism is important

21. Vegans do NOT partake in…
The Use
The Abuse
The Exploitation
of non-human animals for ANY reason
More focus needs to be on things beyond what
we do - or don’t - eat

22. Just One Step
To me, veganism is just one step
An awesome and important one
But still just one step
Source: Suranjan Mukherjee, National Geographic

23. Get Involved & Share Info
Great work by many vegan, and animal rights
groups, organisations, and NFPs
Use their content and information to share
e.g. undercover investigations, fact sheets,
studies, recipes, interviews, videos, rescue
stories etc

24. Some New Ideas
Some ideas I’d like you to think about
Do your OWN research
Think about how we can:
Learn More
Do Better
Become better examples of compassion in action

25. What IS Intersectionality?
Linking ALL Social
Justice movements
to each other
Working together to
make changes
Examples intersectionality addresses include: racism,
sexism, speciesism, homophobia, ableism, classism, ageism
Source: scottishwomensaid.org.uk

26. Health
The vegan diet CAN be healthy
Focus on the 4 staples:
Whole grains
Fruits & Vegetables
Nuts & Seeds
Beans, Legumes & Pulses
A lot of not-so-healthy vegan foods
A lot of restrictive/controlling eating under the guise of healthy eating
SO many vegan diets e.g. high-carb low-fat, oil-free, gluten-free, sugar-free,
paleo vegan, low-carb, raw, beegan, whole foods, low-fat raw (80/10/10),
raw till 4

27. Health - Some Questions
Should veganism still be promoted as a healthy diet?
Should veganism be promoted as a cure-all?
What can we do to encourage others to be flexible and
open to all types of healthful vegan foods?
What more can we do to encourage long-term
commitment to the vegan lifestyle?
How can we show the different types of vegans that
exist?

28. Environmental Impacts
of Animal Products
Inefficient as a food source
Massive scale of the industry - 10s of billions of animals killed each year
Land clearing & Degradation
Green House Gases (GHG) - including carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous
oxide
GHG emissions range 20%-50%
Many official measures of GHG emissions from livestock are under-reported
READ: Paul Mahony’s articles on these issues online
A Vegan DIET doesn’t contribute to any of the above

29. The Environment -
Some Questions
Where does your Food come from?
What are the growing, producing & packaging processes?
How far have your favourite packaged vegan foods
travelled?
What are the Food Miles?
What about Food Scarcity & Food Security?
Do you support in-season, non-GMO, organic and locally-
grown produce?

30. People
Humans are animals TOO
Unskilled and undocumented workers work in
abattoirs in horrific conditions with bad pay
Vegans are NOT supporting this

31. People - Some Questions
Think about your vegan clothing, vegan shoes,
favourite brands.
What are the ethics & conditions involved in the
manufacturing processes?
Do you know how your favourite products are
produced?
Do the people who make these items get paid a fair
wage?

32. What About?
Feminism?
Human Rights?
Reproductive Rights?

33. People & Feminism
Feminists are against the objectification &
commodification of their bodies
Feminists are against their bodies being seen as a
product
Do you think defending ONE type of female body
while using & abusing another is okay?
Do you think different types of bodies and people
should be used to promote veganism?

34. People & Violence
Domestic Violence is a BIG issue
Harming of non-human animals when younger
is seen as something that can lead to harming of
people when unchecked
Should we dismiss certain types of behaviour
just because of someone’s age, sex, position in
society, or class?

35. Privilege
Most of us have privileges we can never really understand or
appreciate - unless they are taken away
It’s important to be mindful of others
It’s important to exercise compassion
It’s easy to be judgemental - it’s important NOT to be
We may think we have all the answers and solutions for others,
but we DON’T
We all have choices, Some people have much better choices than others.

36. Is Everyone Able to…
Access spaces, events?
Access transportation to events?
Afford to attend meetups, restaurants, events?
Be Comfortable in a space, and around one another?
Get through their day? (Some need treatments & drugs)
Understand what is being communicated?

37. Privilege - Keep in Mind…
Some people can’t choose to NOT eat particular foods
Some people can’t afford do buy new vegan clothes or vegan shoes
Some people can’t access transportation to support vegan restaurants
Some people can’t afford to attend vegan events
Some people aren’t mentally or physically able to attend protests or demos
Some people don’t feel comfortable amongst another sex
Some people feel they don’t belong - as there’s no one who looks like them
in the movement
Some people don’t feel their opinion is valid enough to share it

38. Black Vegans
Not props in
discussions/debates or
marketing
No need to use and
commodify a group of
people to further the
vegan/Animal Rights
agenda
Illustration by Steffany Brown

39. The Dreaded Comparison
“The Dreaded Comparison: Human
and Animal Slavery” by Marjorie
Spiegel
“Eternal Treblinka: Our Treatment of
Animals and the Holocaust” by
Charles Patterson
Good examples of the connection of
slavery, and human supremacy AND
uses language respectfully

40. Be a Good Ally Against
Racism & Speciesism
TIPS:
by Justin Van Kleeck, StrivingWithSystems.com

41. Why is it Racist?
“Material designed to provoke a white audience is also liable to
alienate a Black audience. By using slavery as a tool to promote vegan
values, vegan activists make clear that vegan spaces are frequently
racist spaces. As is often the case in predominantly white spaces
where racism goes unchecked, there is little room for people of colour.
This marginalisation results in the perception that veganism is a
movement by and for white people, which certainly isn’t the case.”
- Claire L. Heuchan (@ClaireShrugged)
Article: “Veganism has a serious race problem”, MediaDiversified.org

42. Why is it Racist?
“Imagery of chattel slavery is popular amongst white vegan communities. The relegation of black
people as less than human was at the core of the ideologies that justified that system of enslavement.
Because of this, many black people are understandably triggered and offended by white people’s casual
use of this imagery and arguments that continue to compare our ancestors with nonhuman creatures.
White vegans often argue that our desire to separate ourselves from nonhuman animals is a “speciesist”
argument. What these people fail to recognize is that black people are still fighting to be recognized as
fully our own species. As equally human. What does it mean when these white vegans argue against
our demand to be viewed and represented as fully human, rather than as props in their version of
nonhuman liberation?
The problem with this imagery is not only that it compares our ancestors to nonhuman animals, but that
it erases our contemporary experiences where the effects of such comparisons continue to justify our
oppression in this country…
We are still being dehumanized by the systems that oppressed our ancestors, yet white vegans find no
problem stealing imagery that is deeply personal and traumatizing to us in order to, yet again, compare
us with nonhuman animals for their art and causes.”
- Steffany Brown, Op-Ed on AfroPunk.com

43. Websites to Check Out:
BlackVegansRock.com
Food Empowerment Project: foodispower.org
TheIntersectionalVegan.Tumblr.com
Sistah Vegan Project: sistahvegan.com
VeganFeministNetwork.com

44. Always Be Learning
Our way is NOT the only way
Learn from other movements
LGBTQI movement is a great example of including
and welcoming allies
Source: socialcontrol.com

45. Social Justice - Questions
How can we participate in other Social Justice
movements and support their causes?
How can we encourage others to support our
movement - whether or not they are vegan?
How can we promote veganism in the most
inclusive way

46. Planting Seeds
At best vegans are 1-2% of the population - this
figure hasn’t changed for 20 years
Find out other people’s passions & motivations
See how you can plant the seeds of change

47. Why people Stay Vegan
Animal Welfare is the most effective way to get
people to eat less meat
Health reasons are the second best
READ: Nick Cooney’s books “How to be Great at
Doing Good,” “Veganomics” & “Change of Heart”
SUBSCRIBE: HumaneLeagueLabs.org - informing on
advocacy strategies through actionable research on
their effectiveness

48. Make Some Changes
Vegans don’t ONLY care about non-human
animals
Let’s ACT like it
Learn more about each other and the world
around us
ALL systems of oppression need to be changed

49. There’s only 24 hours in a day
There’s SO much information
There’s SO much to learn
Only limited time
Start with what resonates the most for you
What are you most passionate about?
What are you best at communicating?
Start here
Always aim to Listen & Learn More
Focus on More Good, Less Harm
Source: blog.hubspot.com

50. Online
Be Nice, Be Kind
You can still disagree with someone without using
negative words, names, judgement
Remember - wrongly or rightly - that you maybe
the ONLY vegan someone comes into contact with
What you do and how you do it reflects the whole
movement - so ACT like it!

51. Top 10 Tips for Online Etiquette

52. Be Mindful
What language do you use when promoting veganism?
Positive/Negative? Encouraging/Discouraging?
Empathetic/Judgemental? Preaching/Teaching?
Do you use racist language when you talk about other
countries and cultures? E.g. Japan and dolphins/whales,
China and dog meat? The Middle East and live export
Do you use trigger words that might truly upset someone?
Words such as slave, rape, concentration camps
Do you give unsolicited health advice/tell terminally ill or
disabled people that they will be “cured” if they go vegan?

53. Some Advice
Do your own research
Investigate and Read more
Focus on finding out what connects us to each
other - not on the things we disagree on
Lead by example, and be consistent
Be the best version of yourself

54. Small Steps
Once you learn something, it can’t be unlearned
- maybe ignored, and maybe for some time
Small steps still get to the same destination
What works for you might not for others
We are all made up of the same things, but we
are not all the same

55. And Another Thing…
Focus on Encouragement - instead of Judgement
Focus on Education & Planting Seeds - instead of
Preaching & trying to Convert
Always remember Kindness
Always remember Compassion
Be the Best Vegan you can be. Start from NOW

56. Connect with Me
VeganAthletesBook.com