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

New news

• https://foe.org/news/ca-budget-invests-healthy-school-meals/
• https://bryantresearch.co.uk/insight-items/uk-consumers-understand-that-meat-free-products-do-not-contain-meat/
• https://mercyforanimals.org/mcmissing/patty-battles/
• https://www.greenqueen.com.hk/mcdonalds-mcplantus-vegan-friendly-burger-chains-ranking-plant-based/

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
50:02 Hospital Meals Go Plant-Based
53:39 Vegan Options Change Menus
59:22 Progress in Cosmetics and Media
1:07:30 Shifting Views on Animals
1:19:01 Welfare Wins and Bans
1:25:32 Helping Vegan Progress Continue
1:29:59 Warm Up the Right Way
1:34:03 Book Club and Wrap-Up

How to Get In Touch

• ⭐️ Deficient Vegans Discord ⭐️

Deficient Vegans

• Website
• Instagram
• YouTube
• Deficient Vegans Sub-reddit

Muscle Deficient Vegan - Fitness & Nutrition

• Online Coaching
• Blog
• Instagram
• YouTube
• TikTok

Protein Deficient Vegan - Food & Recipes

• Recipe Blog
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• YouTube
• TikTok

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

• Those Vegan Cowboys' animal-free casein sports nutrition project (Nutrition Insight)
• 2026 VegNews Restaurant Awards winners
• WalletHub's 10 best US cities for vegans and vegetarians (VegNews)

Mentioned in the episode

• Animal slaughter numbers (Our World in Data)
• The Vegan Society's definition of veganism
• The Vegan Society's guidance on medications
• What the Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act changed for non-dairy milk in schools (Green Queen)
• Animal Advocacy Careers (skills-based volunteering and jobs)
• The Humane League
• The Impactful Vegan by Robert Cheeke

Chapters
0:05 Welcome
0:30 Precision Fermentation News
1:21 Vegan Awards Roundup
3:40 Best Vegan Cities
5:17 What If You Can’t Go Vegan?
10:34 Medication Exceptions
11:33 Food Constraints
16:21 Holidays and Family Meals
19:15 Health Diet Limits
20:49 Beyond Food Choices
23:13 Vegan Personal Care
25:25 Supporting Animal Alternatives
31:25 Vegan Business Support
33:50 Advocating at Work
37:31 Spreading Vegan Media
42:55 Supporting Vegan Community
48:54 Food Access and Donations
55:09 School and Dissection Choices
58:28 Workplace Advocacy Matters
1:01:05 Research, Testing, and Ethics
1:03:05 How to Donate Effectively
1:10:40 Small Steps, Big Impact
1:15:16 Protein Myths Explained
1:19:22 New Recipes and Book Club

How to Get In Touch

• ⭐️ Deficient Vegans Discord ⭐️

Deficient Vegans

• Website
• Instagram
• YouTube
• Deficient Vegans Sub-reddit

Muscle Deficient Vegan - Fitness & Nutrition

• Online Coaching
• Blog
• Instagram
• YouTube
• TikTok

Protein Deficient Vegan - Food & Recipes

• Recipe Blog
• Instagram
• YouTube
• TikTok

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 What Ex-Vegans Reveal
1:19:47 Anti-Vegan Communities
1:22:42 Fixing Vegan Dropout
1:26:37 Long-Term Support Matters
1:34:45 Coaching And Breakfast Sausage
1:41:46 Book Club And Wrap-Up

How to Get In Touch

• ⭐️ Deficient Vegans Discord ⭐️

Deficient Vegans

• Website
• Instagram
• YouTube
• Deficient Vegans Sub-reddit

Muscle Deficient Vegan - Fitness & Nutrition

• Online Coaching
• Blog
• Instagram
• YouTube
• TikTok

Protein Deficient Vegan - Food & Recipes

• Recipe Blog
• Instagram
• YouTube
• TikTok