Grey Area: Recent Episodes
VSA Amsterdam
Grey Area is a VSA Amsterdam podcast. We discuss topics within veganism that could be interpreted in different ways or are seen differently by vegans.
In this episode, Nadia is joined by Roos and Alice to discuss the subject of Feminism and Veganism! We explore what intersectional feminism means to us and the importance of coming together for a common cause. We also critically discuss the issues with vegan activism in feminist marches and the issue with using certain emotionally charged words to describe animal suffering.
In this episode, Polly, Nadia and Elianne discuss the Grey Area: “Can you "cheat" on your plant-based diet?" We explore what “cheating” means, whether a person who cheats on their diet can still identify as a vegan, where we draw the line between cheating and not being vegan, discuss our listeners' interesting input from social media and finally, in which scenarios "cheating" could be acceptable in our view - if at all.
In this episode, Nadia, Polly & Elianne discuss the Grey Area: "Is it a privilege to be vegan?" Do we feel privileged to be vegan? Does one need to be financially privileged to be vegan? And what about the argument "A vegan diet is cheap, just eat fruits, veggies and legumes." - why do vegans use it, and should we be using it in our advocacy? Listen to this episode where we tackle issues of financial and mental privilege, education, class and accessibility.
In this episode, Nadia, Polly and our special guest Oskar from VSA Groningen revisit and debate our previous Grey Area episodes. Is it okay to sugarcoat when talking about veganism? Is it morally insensitive to compare the animal industry to slavery/Holocaust when you are not part of the group that was affected by it? Can a non-vegan consider themselves as an environmentalist? And are vegans actually more prone to believing conspiracy theories? Oskar listened to all of our episodes and found a few points he disagrees with, so we sat down, discussed and debated our opposing opinions related to all grey areas of veganism.
In this episode, Nadia, Polly and Elianne discuss the Grey Area: “Should vegans (re-)watch graphic videos of animal suffering?” This episode touches on interesting topics such as to what extent graphic videos of animal suffering are a useful tool for non-vegans and vegans, whether activists should ask for consent when showing these videos and what happens if they don’t, if non-vegans can make “the connection” without watching these videos, the importance of sustainable activism and also the mental health of vegans: PTSD, compassion fatigue and what to do when experiencing secondary trauma.
Link to a helpful resource for vegan self-care that talks about avoiding and recovering from burnout, compassion fatigue and sustainable activism: https://plantbase.berlin/vegan-self-care-resources/
In this episode, Polly and Nadia discuss the Grey Area: “Is Veganism Political?”
This episode touches on interesting and grey topics such as the reasons why some vegans might perceive veganism as political and some might not, why some vegans spread the message that veganism is apolitical and why veganism is more attractive for people on one side of the political spectrum. And is that actually a good thing or can there be bad consequences in the long run? Should the vegan community be inclusive to everyone no matter their political ideology? These questions and many more were the key focus of our eleventh episode!
In this episode, Nadia, Polly and Elianne discuss the Christmas holidays and everything a vegan might wonder about: what to do when you receive a non-vegan gift, what vegan dish should you prepare and how to deal with family members who don't understand veganism or refuse to try a vegan meal this Christmas? All of these questions as well as the questions you asked us on Instagram are answered in this Christmas-special episode!
In this episode, Polly, Nadia and our special guest Nakisa discuss the Grey Area: “The Psychology of Veganism: A Talk with a Psychology Major”. This episode touches on interesting topics such as watching violent videos from slaughterhouses and its negative and positive effects on (non)vegans, cognitive dissonance among non-vegans & ex-vegans, reasons why there are more vegan women than men and so much more!
In this episode, Nadia, Polly & Elianne discuss the Grey Area: “Should we be marketing Veganism as a Cure-All?” This episode touches on interesting topics such as advertising the plant-based diet as a cure for everything, bringing the health aspect to your conversations with non-vegans, dangerous health claims, the documentary What the Health and our personal experiences with health & veganism.
In this episode, Polly and Nadia discuss the Grey Area: “Are vegans more prone to believing conspiracy theories?” This episode touches on interesting (and a bit controversial) topics such as conspiracy theories, false information and truth-seeking in vegans. Are vegan actually more likely to believe conspiracy theories? If so, why is that? And why is it especially harmful when vegans share false information and conspiracy theories online? And what can you do about it?
In this episode, Polly, Elianne and Nadia discuss the Grey Area: “should all vegans be healthy?”This episode touches on interesting topics such as vegan fitness influencers, health advocacy in veganism, going vegan for health reasons, vegans aiming for optimal health and whether it is a good thing or even if all vegans should be healthy and fit.
In this episode, Nadia & Polly discuss the Grey Area: “Relationships and Veganism”! This episode touches on interesting topics such as romantic relationships, potential dating struggles, relationship deal breakers and how to have the conversation with that ex-vegan friend! How is it to date a non-vegan? Should we strive to date vegans-only? Should you add "vegan" to your online dating bio? And more! We will provide several perspectives regarding the struggles that vegans encounter when creating and maintaining relationships. The TEA is HOT in this episode but we hope you stick around for it.
In this episode, Polly, Elianne and Nadia discuss the Grey Area: “Extreme Vegans and Extreme Arguments”! This episode touches on interesting topics such as extremism in veganism such as "meat is murder" or comparing dairy to sexual assaults, effective communication, marketing and the human mind are discussed in depth.
In this episode, Polly, Elianne and Nadia discuss the Grey Area: Should all vegans be environmentalists and Should all environmentalists be vegan?
The episode touches on interesting topics such as the zero waste community and whether they should be vegan, if all vegans must be advocating for all causes, including reducing plastic and not supporting fast fashion and finally, questions and suggestions from listeners such as "Can vegans have kids?" are discussed in depth.
In this episode, Polly, Elianne and Nadia dive even deeper into the discussion of where it is necessary to be 100%. With the definition of Veganism in mind, different scenarios in which a vegan may find themselves that challenges one's vegan "status" is explored and considered.
Are you still vegan if you consume medication that includes animal products? What’s the difference between cruelty free and vegan cosmetics? Are you still vegan if you buy vegan products but not cruelty free? What about secondhand leather? Stay tuned in this episode to hear their thoughts on these grey areas!
In this episode we discus if it is necessary to be 100% vegan. In the last 2 years there has been an increase in understanding the benefits of the vegan lifestyle. However, many people believe that it is not necessary to be “100% vegan” because any step counts or can be compensated with other acts of compassion. Some might disagree and believe that you are either 100% vegan or you are not vegan at all. Nadia, Polly and Elianne dive into this controversial subject and begin to pick apart their own views.
With the rise of social media the amount of vegan influencers grew. They show their diets and share information. With this they accumulated a big following. Furthermore, these past years we also saw a rise in ex-vegans. We discuss this topic and questions arise. Were they healthy to begin with? Should they promote their new 'diet'? Is raw veganism even healthy? This and more in Grey Area episode one.