Thank you Pala for such a kind portrait. I had a lot of media interest around the time of my imprisonment, and again when I was suspended, including from the medical press. There seems to be a fascination with a doctor doing activist stuff that lands them in jail, but I wish the conversation could be more about the climate emergency, and particularly what caring people can do as individuals when they often feel helpless and without agency. I always mention that I'm vegan and how changing one's diet is something open to EVERYONE which has such a powerful effect. It doesn't get much media attention, but I'll keep plugging on. It's often said that if people go vegan for reasons other than the animals, that they often go back; but I've come across a good number of people who have changed their diet for planetary or individual health and then once they have broken their dependence on consuming animal products, have explored the facts around animal agriculture without needing to look away and blanket themselves in cognitive dissonance, been horrified, and then gone completely vegan if they weren't quite there, and/or realised they could never go back. Folk in the environmental space should be low hanging fruit for encouraging into veganism... not always the case, but becoming more the norm.
Hi Sarah, thank you so much for your feedback, and for sharing all these valuable insights about your life and activism with us! I’ve had exactly the same experience: I went vegan after getting just a glimpse, and only then learnt about the true horrors of animal agriculture. I was shocked to learn all this, and couldn’t understand how nobody had told me before. People may initially be drawn to veganism for different reasons - but their position often solidifies when they learn about the huge breadth of issues involved.
I agree that folk in the environmental space are (often) low hanging fruit. I’ve been involved in organizing vegan blocks at climate protests - and we will do it again soon! Have a great day, Sarah, I’m looking forward to staying in touch :)
Thank you Pala for such a kind portrait. I had a lot of media interest around the time of my imprisonment, and again when I was suspended, including from the medical press. There seems to be a fascination with a doctor doing activist stuff that lands them in jail, but I wish the conversation could be more about the climate emergency, and particularly what caring people can do as individuals when they often feel helpless and without agency. I always mention that I'm vegan and how changing one's diet is something open to EVERYONE which has such a powerful effect. It doesn't get much media attention, but I'll keep plugging on. It's often said that if people go vegan for reasons other than the animals, that they often go back; but I've come across a good number of people who have changed their diet for planetary or individual health and then once they have broken their dependence on consuming animal products, have explored the facts around animal agriculture without needing to look away and blanket themselves in cognitive dissonance, been horrified, and then gone completely vegan if they weren't quite there, and/or realised they could never go back. Folk in the environmental space should be low hanging fruit for encouraging into veganism... not always the case, but becoming more the norm.
Hi Sarah, thank you so much for your feedback, and for sharing all these valuable insights about your life and activism with us! I’ve had exactly the same experience: I went vegan after getting just a glimpse, and only then learnt about the true horrors of animal agriculture. I was shocked to learn all this, and couldn’t understand how nobody had told me before. People may initially be drawn to veganism for different reasons - but their position often solidifies when they learn about the huge breadth of issues involved.
I agree that folk in the environmental space are (often) low hanging fruit. I’ve been involved in organizing vegan blocks at climate protests - and we will do it again soon! Have a great day, Sarah, I’m looking forward to staying in touch :)