Interview: Vegan Kristin Lajeunesse Will Travel For Vegan Food

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KL_red_headshot_smMost of the interviews at Weird! Why Aren’t You Vegan? are with people who are unique and different (read: not vegan). This has the normal people (read: vegans) feeling a little left out. So, to appease the masses, we now – once in a while – feature a regular old, nothin’ special, run-of-the-mill vegan. Today, we meet Kristin Lajeunesse of Will Travel For Vegan Food.

Kristin quit her job and lived in a van so she could travel around the country with the goal of eating at every vegan restaurant. She documented her journey, and has now written a book about it! I have – of course – heard of Kristin’s venture, but what brought us together for this interview was a mutual friend I know from the St. Louis improv community. It’s a small world, or at least country – and Kristin has eaten vegan food in a lot of it!

Meet Kristin Lajeunesse.

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Ask A Vegan: Do You Eat Animal Crackers?

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Animal crackers: Are they vegan? Are they even tasty? Does the box make a good purse?

One of my readers asked me recently about whether I eat animal crackers. Now you can stare at my face and delight in my videography skills while I discuss my views on the very important issue of animal crackers. Enjoy!

Click video to play.

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To ask a question for Lisa to answer, leave a comment below.

A Non-Violent Conversation About Violence

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ahimsaAhimsa is a term a lot of vegans know and love. Derived from sanskrit, it’s a term that means “compassion” and “not to injure.” I’m all for compassion and not injuring others, which is, like, totally the reason I’m vegan (it’s not because I want to fit in). But is violence ever okay? This question looms especially in the midst of the Baltimore Uprising, during which some (sooome) protesters acted violently. Some police acted violently, too. Violence is on a lot of our minds.

So, I sat down (at separate computers – thanks, Google Docs!) with my friend Allison over at The Book Wheel to discuss. This discussion is purely philosophical and does not necessarily represent our views. In other words, I think we both like to debate, so we may have played devil’s advocate a bit. We raise some controversial issues that you might agree with, or you might disagree with and actually leave me a comment. Win, win, right? Here’s our chat. Continue reading →

Review: Having a Kid and Having a Dog ARE Exactly the Same

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HappyPupBabyDisclaimer: This review is not based on personal experience but observations made over a couple hours of watching others. Totally legit.

This past week, I traveled home to the St. Louis area to visit my family and friends. While there, I stayed with my parents, who are currently dealing with the joys and “oy”s of training a new puppy. I also visited my friend, who has a one-year-old human child. After careful comparison, I discovered that, despite claims made by new parents that having a child is much harder and more rewarding, it turns out that having a kid and having a dog are actually completely the same. Continue reading →

Wanna Go Vegan But Have Cold Feet? Get Some Socks.

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bergies-socksI typically don’t do product reviews on Weird! Why Aren’t You Vegan?

But someone asked me to.

And I’m really glad to do it, because not only did I get free goodies out of this whole deal, I also get to write a snarky blog post about something new! That “something new” is Bergies socks! They were kind enough to send me five pairs to try out, and now I’m going to tell you what I think of them. Continue reading →

Interview: Vegan Alex Bury Talks About My Boss So Let’s See If I Keep My Job

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alexburyMost of the interviews at Weird! Why Aren’t You Vegan? are with people who are unique and different (read: not vegan). This has the normal people (read: vegans) feeling a little left out. So, to appease the masses, we now – once a month – feature a regular old, nothin’ special, run-of-the-mill vegan. This month, we meet Alex Bury.

Alex in-fur-i-ates me. Why? Because she’s funnier than me, and I hate that. It makes me so mad, and it makes our constant back-and-forth email sessions a nightmare. I inevitably LOL (the genuine kind, not the “I already typed ‘haha’ thirteen times so I need to switch it up” kind) and then I cry and feel shame for being “in comedy” but having zero potential to ever be as funny as Alex. In short, Alex deliberately makes other women feel bad about themselves. Anyone who knows her knows this is true.*

*But seriously, Alex is one of my absolute favorite people on the planet. She’s a feminist, an awesome advocate for animals, an incredible chef, and the spouse of my boss so I have to be nice to her.

Meet Alex Bury.

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Interview: If Lucky Johnston was Vegan, He’d Eat More Crudités

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luckyjLucky Johnston is quite possibly the most creative person I know. I have been lucky (see what I did there?) enough to perform with him in improv and sketch shows and am so impressed by his talent and hilarity. He’s a really unique person, is always fun to be around, and is the only person with funnier facial expressions than me (if I may be so bold). Also, and he doesn’t know this yet, but Lucky and I are going to collaborate on a video series, so look for that soon.

Meet Lucky Johnston.

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Interview: Vegan Marla Rose Will Punch You in the Face

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marlaroseMost of the interviews at Weird! Why Aren’t You Vegan? are with people who are unique and different (read: not vegan). This has the normal people (read: vegans) feeling a little left out. So, to appease the masses, we now – once a month – feature a regular old, nothin’ special, run-of-the-mill vegan. This month, we meet Marla Rose.

Marla Rose (you have to say her full name) is a vegan superstar. I am so pumped to have her on the blog and pretend that we’re totally friends and we hang out. I can pretend that, because you don’t know it’s not true. And Marla Rose won’t ever read this because she’s way too cool and busy and amazing to be spending time reading this little ole blog. So, yep, Marla Rose and I are best friends. She comes over to my house and we talk about her blog, Vegan Feminist Agitator, and her website, Vegan Street. We talk about non-vegans and laugh all night. And then we braid each other’s hair. For all you know.

Meet Marla Rose.

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Tip 45: Help People. By Judging Them.

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freetogoodhomefinalYou know it. I know it. They know it. Non-vegans and non-animal-advocates need our help. They’re lost souls, meandering through life making a billion mistakes. And we need to help them – not by offering solutions or support, but by judging them.

If you see a post on the internet wherein someone is moving and can’t take their dog or cat with them, don’t offer support or solutions. Offer judgment. It’s what they really need in that moment – that moment of heartbreak, of helplessness, of already feeling guilty for not being able to care for their animals. Sure, you could offer support. You could be the bigger person and express empathy for what the person must be going through. And sure, you have solutions. You’ve networked with all the leaders in animal sheltering, and you know of a few people who might be able to take in the person’s animals and find them great homes. But save it. Just judge. Judge, baby, judge.

“How to Be Vegan” Tip 45: Help People. By Judging Them. Continue reading →