What if there were a one-stop marketplace where every purchase could align with your values?

Today, we’re joined by Jonathan Faran, co-founder of Vegan America, a rapidly growing plant-based marketplace that’s been described as a vegan version of Amazon and Costco. Although the platform launched just last November, it already features hundreds of sellers and tens of thousands of products spanning food, fashion, cosmetics, household goods, gifts, and services.

Jonathan shares the personal experience that inspired the idea for Vegan America: the surprisingly difficult search for a pair of vegan dress shoes. That challenge led him to a broader realization that living vegan extends far beyond food, with animal-derived ingredients often hidden in everyday products consumers rarely think about.

We also explore Jonathan’s own journey: from becoming vegetarian at age four after watching Chicken Run to being vegan for the past decade, and how those experiences shaped his entrepreneurial mission. He explains Vegan America’s rigorous product-vetting process, free vendor onboarding, and the company’s latest expansion efforts, including Plant Preferred, a Prime-like membership program, and a growing directory of mission-aligned service providers such as vegan therapists.

Throughout the conversation, we discuss how everyday purchasing decisions can serve as a form of activism and unpack the business “flywheel” behind Vegan America’s vision: supporting vegan businesses increases accessibility and consumer demand, creating a cycle that helps more people choose plant-based options while reducing animal suffering.

In this episode, Jonathan offers an inside look at the future of values-driven commerce and how conscious consumers can help build it.

Thank you for following along and listening to the Vegan Squad Pod! Please leave a review, share this episode with a friend, and subscribe!

Check out Vegan America here!

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From protein deficiencies to “you can’t be vegan” warnings, plant-based diets are surrounded by persistent myths. Dr. Matthew Nagra - a naturopathic doctor, nutrition science communicator, and vegan of more than 15 years - has spent years examining what the evidence actually shows.

In today's episode, Matthew shares how he first adopted a plant-based diet for health and athletic performance before becoming ethically motivated after watching Earthlings. He discusses facing pushback in naturopathic medical school, how that challenged him to study the research more deeply, and why he ultimately adopted a more objective approach that acknowledges healthy animal-food dietary patterns are possible, though not necessary.

We also explore medical ketogenic diets for intractable epilepsy, protein requirements and sources, the limitations of raw diets, common nutrient concerns such as protein, iron, and calcium, the uncertainty surrounding vitamin D recommendations, the claims behind “I was told I can’t be vegan,” and practical advice for effective activism, including consistency, diverse approaches, and avoiding perfectionism on social media.

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Looking to improve your vegan activism? Join us as we discuss effective vegan activism with vegan activist & Vegan Squad Coaching client Sergio Pinedo! Sergio shares how documentaries like Earthlings pushed him from five years vegetarian to vegan, and how attending LA Animal Save vigils changed his perspective by confronting the reality of animal transport and slaughter, documenting animals’ lives, and providing brief relief like water and gentle touch. Sergio describes why vigils matter for both vegans and pre-vegans, the scale of slaughter, and how activism can include Cubes of Truth, marches, social media, sanctuaries, and self-care to avoid burnout. Sergio also shares his journey of gaining weight after going vegan, which lead him to working with John and losing 30+ lbs in 6 months to build confidence and become a better activist, emphasizing the important of fitness and wearing vegan shirts as a form visible vegan representation/advocacy.

Thank you for following along and listening to the Vegan Squad Pod! Please leave a review, share this episode with a friend, and subscribe!

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Today we interview Juliet, founder of Viva! Charity, the UK’s largest vegan campaigning organization! Juliet shares about her mission to make the world vegan and Viva!’s four pillars: animal investigations, health, environment, and helping people change through resources like the free Vegan Recipe Club. Juliet recounts Viva!’s Hogwood investigation of a UK mega pig farm, including the horrific conditions found, the team's rescue of a sow and piglets, a cinema ad Viva! created contrasting sanctuary life with factory farming, and sustained supporter actions that led Tesco to stop selling from Hogwood and the farm becoming financially unviable and slated for demolition. She shares her early activism, going vegetarian at 13 and vegan at about 28, her work with the UK Vegetarian Society before founding Viva! in 1994, and lessons from filming a pig slaughterhouse and speaking with slaughterhouse workers. Our discussion emphasizes meeting people where they are, the power of public opinion, politics, outreach, and individual influence through everyday conversations and purchasing choices! We hope you enjoy this amazing episode & are inspired to start speaking up for animals yourself!

Learn more about Viva! here: https://viva.org.uk/

If you’d like to gain lifetime free access to the Vegan Squad Online Community, learn more here: https://vegansquadcoaching.com/community

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Today we are joined by Felicia (Fee) Hanson, owner of Break Free Candy and Sweet Hazel and Co.! Through creating vegan versions of classic candy bars and using food as activism, Fee is a pioneer in the vegan community. Fee shares how seeing a dairy farm video sparked her vegan journey in August 2019, and how she then used her culinary background to recreate vegan versions of typically animal-based candy bars like Twix, Snickers, Milky Way, and more! Fee’s goal: to win over vegans and non-vegans by taste, while avoiding stigma. She describes starting Break Free through selling bars out of her trunk during COVID, moving into commissary and brick-and-mortar operations, and then navigating the challenge of staying afloat financially. As a vegan activist in her own right, Fee emphasizes the importance of community, inclusivity, and hiring marginalized groups. Enjoy this episode from your favorite vegan candy creator!!

Use code “SQUAD” on your next order to get an additional FOUR candy bars for FREE! Get your bars here: https://breakfreecandy.com/discount/Vegansquad

If you’d like to gain lifetime free access to the Vegan Squad Online Community, learn more here: https://vegansquadcoaching.com/community

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Today we're joined by James Hoot, an Indonesia-based activist, filmographer, and musician. James discusses running Fauna Films, through which he is creating localized pro-vegan visual media in the Global South, including a four-part Indonesian series hosted by a well-known comedian that highlights naturally plant-based Indonesian foods, colonial influences on animal product consumption, and issues like widespread dairy intolerance and imported dairy cows. James shares his background from a non-vegan family, including a mother who lobbied for animal agriculture, and describes pivotal experiences: accidentally entering a Bolivian slaughterhouse, an ayahuasca trip centered on slaughterhouse suffering, extensive vigils and documentation with the Animal Save Movement, and creating the Planet Vegan series. We hope you enjoy our thought-provoking conversation on burnout, self-care, making activism sustainable and paid, psychedelics’ role in empathy, trust and self-kindness, and James’s pantheistic spirituality connecting veganism to reconnection with Earth and reducing violence.

Thank you for following along and listening to the Vegan Squad Pod! Please leave a review, share this episode with a friend, and subscribe!

Learn more about Fauna Films here: https://www.faunafilms.org/

Follow James' Spotify & check out his music!: https://open.spotify.com/artist/5wOaBCzLNu0J8I7r6n61nz?si=OrxsjYB8Rde88MR51pf6OQ

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👉 https://vegansquadcoaching.com/resources

Today we're joined by the incredible Jay Yontz, co-founder of Ziggy’s Refuge animal sanctuary, to discuss vegan activism through animal sanctuaries. Jay shares how meeting his wife Kristen and her pet pig, Ziggy, in St. John led him toward veganism, traveling the U.S. in an RV with “Ziggy the Traveling Piggy,” and founding Ziggy’s Refuge Farm Sanctuary in 2016. Jay explains their current work caring for nearly 100 residents, specializing in disabled animals with a prosthetics lab, wheelchairs, and advanced veterinary care like stem-cell therapy! Our conversation emphasizes the importance of veterinary care, adoption, and keeping bonded families together. The residents at Ziggy's Refuge are ambassadors for the vegan movement and we hope you enjoy learning more about their stories and are inspired to vegan or to support animals like them by volunteering!

Please support Ziggy's here: https://www.patreon.com/ziggysrefuge

Learn more about Ziggy's Refuge here: https://www.ziggysrefuge.org/

We're so excited for you to listen to this amazing episode and we'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments! Thank you for following along and listening to the Vegan Squad Pod! Please leave a review, share this episode with a friend, and subscribe!

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Today, vegan activist Tiffany recounts her experience taking part in the world’s largest open rescue at Ridglan Farms - a coordinated effort to save beagles from a facility with documented violations. She describes the severe cruelty the dogs endure, including confinement in small cages and invasive procedures such as cherry eye surgery and vocal cord cutting performed without anesthesia. Tiffany also details the intense response faced by activists during the rescue, including hours of tear gas and pepper spray, the use of rubber bullets, as well as arrests and injuries.

Please keep pressure on officials and continue outreach to secure the dogs’ release before July 1.

HOW TO DEMAND THE RIDGLAN DOGS BE RELEASED:

• Call WI AG Josh Kaul at (608) 266-1221 → Dial 4
• Say: “Investigate Ridglan Farms and release the beagles into safe homes.”

Form: joshkaul.org/contact-us

Email: County_Board_Recipients@danecounty.gov

Call. Submit. Share.

To sign the petition & donate to the cause, visit: savethedogs.io

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