PODCAST · education
The Vegan Option
by The Vegan Option
Stories, Science, and Analysis from a Vegan PerspectiveiTunes reviews: "Informative, fun, and well produced ... really worthwhile and entertaining listen" - Dan; "Best vegan podcast on iTunes! Recommended." - Richard; "Witty, informative, calm presentation and entertaining. I've learned a lot." - McKous; "not too heavy, not too light, refreshing and serious at the same time. Perfect length for a commute" - Daisy vegan.Presented and produced by Ian McDonald. Theme music by Robb Masters (Idiotech on Soundcloud).
Episodes
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Spillover Diseases
Covid-19 is only the most serious disease to emerge from human interactions with other animals - from wildlife markets to factory farms. Ian talks with LJ Smith, a vegan physician on the front line against Covid-19, Peter Kemple Hardy from World Animal Protection, pandemic-hunter veterinarian...
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Ep 15: Liberation (Vegetarianism: The Story So Far)
This final episode recounts the growth of veganism, vegetarianism, and the modern animal advocacy movement. Ian treads in the footsteps of the handful of pioneers who set up the vegan movement in the 1940s, and meets a life vegan born in 1951. He investigates the sixties counterculture that...
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Ep 14: Diet Reform (Vegetarianism: The Story So Far)
As animal agriculture industrialises and meat consumption rises, the ways that food reformers respond are familiar to people today - the plant-based meat, the celebrity athletes, and the reformers who worship nature, sunshine, and fresh air. Ian goes to the shops to discover just how many...
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Ep 13: The Vegetarians (Vegetarianism: The Story So Far)
After their foundation in 1847 and 1850, the vegetarian societies in Britain and America rose swiftly faced new challenges - Britain's imperial moment, and in America the fight against slavery that escalated into a long civil war. Dr Adam Shprintzen, author of the history of US vegetarianism...
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Ep 12: Radicals & Romantics (Vegetarianism: The Story So Far)
After the American and French revolutions, the sects and philosophies that embrace a "vegetable diet" multiply - from New England cults to Grahamite crusades, to Alcott's utopian community to Salford's radical congregation. No longer are they isolated groups - they connect with each other in…
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Ep 11: Enlightenment (Vegetarianism: The Story So Far)
Ian traces a winding path of vegetarian inspiration from the personal diary of an Indian vegetarian working for the French, to the darkest corner of British imperial propaganda, to the Enlightenment's favourite Paris café, to a rural retreat that inspired a social revolution, and to the squares...
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Ep 10: Revolution (Vegetarianism: The Story So Far)
In England, the 1600s are a century of revolution. The artisans and yeomanry are picking up books – and the New Model Army is picking up pikes and muskets to turn the world upside down. Ian meets Dr Ariel Hessayon, a lecturer in the radicals of the English Civil War at a Thameside pub that was...
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Ep 9: Renaissance (Vegetarianism: The Story So Far)
Old medieval certainties about the hierarchy of God over man over beast are cracking under the combined assault of new sciences and rediscovered classics. It's an age when "natural philosophers" combine scientific discovery with philosophical treatises, and when their Republic of Letters…
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Ep 8: Contacts (Vegetarianism: The Story So Far)
From the middle ages, some Indian vegetarians are ruled by Muslims; from the sixteenth century, Christians. This episode, Ian examines not just how the conversation between east and west changes Indian vegetarianism; but how the rulers are changed in return. Ian visits a shrine in Agra to when a...
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Ep 7: Heresies (Vegetarianism: The Story So Far)
In the Middle Ages, a string of religious groups across Eurasia held one common belief: that this world was a terrible place; and to escape its cycle of rebirth and redeath you needed to join an order following a pure life abstaining from violence. They all have some level of abstention from…
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Ep 6: Hinduism (Vegetarianism: The Story So Far)
How did vegetarianism permeate Indian society? Ian tracks the changes in India’s religious life during the first millennium, following the vegetarian strands of the tapestry that we now call Hinduism. Ian travels to a temple to Vishnu in eastern India to understand the importance of vegetarianism...
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Vegan Shadow Farming Minister Kerry McCarthy on #EUREF (Vegan Politicians)
In this special short extra edition of the Vegan Option, Ian catches up with longstanding vegan MP, and main official opposition spokeswoman on farming and the environment, Kerry McCarthy. How does she think animals would vote? (And, for that matter, how will Ian?) Full show notes at:...
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Ep 5: Flesh & Spirit (Vegetarianism: The Story So Far)
In the eastern Roman Emmpire, different faiths and philosophies agree on one thing; that you need to eschew flesh to live a life of the spirit. Music by Robb Masters, and Michael Levy. The actors were Jeremy Hancock and Yasser Sha'aban. Michael Levy tracks: * Sacred Flame of Vesta, by Michael…
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Ep 4: Ashoka (Vegetarianism: The Story So Far)
In the third century BCE, the Mauryan empire covers almost the entire Indian subcontinent. From Afghanistan to the Bay of Bengal, royal edicts proclaim now just law and propaganda, but a Buddhist-inspired ethic, and opposition to animal slaughter and abuse. Because Ashoka Maurya, the most…
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Ep 3: Pythagoreans (Vegetarianism: The Story So Far)
In Ancient Greece, vegetarianism belongs to a secretive subculture - amongst the mystery religions of Orpheus and the musical mathematical cult of Pythagoras. Music by Robb Masters (@idiotech), Michael Levy (@ancient-lyre), and Stefan Hagel. The actors were Jeremy Hancock, Sandeep Garcha, Orna...
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A Vegetarian Animal Rights Protest in Iron Age India?
Is this the first animal rights protest in history? In this four minute clip from "Vegetarianism: The Story So Far", Ian introduces a full dramatisation of an early Buddhist story about a clash over meat-eating. The Buddhist chroniclers complain about a Jain protest over (in these texts from one...
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Ep 2: The Middle Path (Vegetarianism: The Story So Far)
Buddhism emerged from the diverse philosophies of the ancient Indian kingdom of Magadha. Ian travels to its most sacred site - the tree under which the Buddha is said to have attained enlightenment - to expore its contradictory and sometimes paradoxical attitude to vegetarianism. Music by Robb...
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Ep 1: Ahimsa (Vegetarianism: The Story So Far)
In India in the middle of the first millennium BCE, the idea of "ahimsa" - non violence - emerges, with the vegetarian order of Jain monks and nuns as its torchbearers. Where did it come from? Ian goes to the intellectual hub of iron age India, the Kingdom of Maghada, to find out. Pic is public...
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Digital Vegans: Picking up the Tab
As the internet transforms the media landscape, how can vegan organisations and businesses survive and thrive? In the midst of the Kickstarter to crowdfund a radio history of vegetarianism, Ian talks to vegan digital marketing consultant Stephanie Redcross.
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Trailer - really interesting radio that just happens to be vegan
So The Vegan Option is a series of shows, each investigating a topic in depth. "Science, stories, and analysis from vegan perspectives". But is it any good? Here are some clips and iTunes reviews to give you a taster. The clips are taken from Cats, Ethics, Veganism in Politics, Born Vegan,...
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Palm Oil - Sep 2013
Palm oil is everywhere - from cooking oil to soap to vegan margarine. Equatorial rainforest and peatland are cleared and replaced with serried ranks of oil palm trees. The biodiversity of Borneo and Sumatra, including the iconic Orang Utan, is threatened by habitat loss. Some vegan activists say…
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The Doctor Who Sketch (Extended Version) - Jul 2013
In this skit from the episode "Animals and Science Fiction", the Doctor tries to convince an invading alien not to attack and consume humanity. Somehow, the conversation turns to veganism. For more information, see Animals and Science Fiction at theVeganOption.org. The sketch was written by Ian...
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Science Fiction and Animals - Jul 2013
From Jonathan Swift’s talking horses to Star Trek’s Vulcans, from HG Wells to Doctor Who, science fiction has tackled the big questions about our relationship with other animals. Join the experts who investigate the nexus of media theory and animal studies. Discover the themes in famous books,...
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Cats: Ethics - Mar 2013
Last show’s investigation of whether cats can be vegan leaves us with an ethical quandary. What should vegans feed cats? Erin and I reflect on listener’s comments. The three expert veterinarians examine the moral issues. And I ask Eric Weisman, CEO of major US vegan cat food brand Evolution, some...
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Cats: Can they be vegan? - Feb 2013
Three experienced veterinarians with experience of vegan cats say whether and why they think cats can thrive on a vegan diet. Jean Hofve argues – out of bitter experience – that cats need meat. Andrew Knight advocates a vegan diet for cats – if you do it right. Only Lorelei Wakefield has…
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
Stories, Science, and Analysis from a Vegan PerspectiveiTunes reviews: "Informative, fun, and well produced ... really worthwhile and entertaining listen" - Dan; "Best vegan podcast on iTunes! Recommended." - Richard; "Witty, informative, calm presentation and entertaining. I've learned a lot." - McKous; "not too heavy, not too light, refreshing and serious at the same time. Perfect length for a commute" - Daisy vegan.Presented and produced by Ian McDonald. Theme music by Robb Masters (Idiotech on Soundcloud).
HOSTED BY
The Vegan Option
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does The Vegan Option have?
The Vegan Option currently has 25 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is The Vegan Option about?
Stories, Science, and Analysis from a Vegan PerspectiveiTunes reviews: "Informative, fun, and well produced ... really worthwhile and entertaining listen" - Dan; "Best vegan podcast on iTunes! Recommended." - Richard; "Witty, informative, calm presentation and entertaining. I've learned a lot." -...
How often does The Vegan Option release new episodes?
The Vegan Option has 25 episodes. Check the episode list to see recent publication dates and frequency.
Where can I listen to The Vegan Option?
You can listen to The Vegan Option on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts The Vegan Option?
The Vegan Option is created and hosted by The Vegan Option.
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