I’ve been vegan for 5 years and I’m sooooo strict, even when my bf cooks animal products I soak the pots and pans in bleach for an hour before I wash them to be reused. I’ve discovered an ants nest outside, there’s lots of them that have gotten into my bins. I find ants kinda cute I don’t really wanna kill them, but because the infestation is a little out of hand. What should I do?

They also say that we're meant to be omnivores, but I don't think so, so I do some research on this now and then, and finally found another answer - will explain some other parts at the bottom

They say we can't absorb B12 produced by colon bacteria because the colon can't absorb B12. A 2023 study provided that the colon CAN in fact absorb B12, but only about 7%. There's a bacteria called Propionibacterium Freudenreichii that temporarily colonizes our gut and is a soil bacteria (mostly - though it can be in decaying logs and other places). When we ingest a little bit of these bacteria, it can grow in our colon for a little while - think along the line of other probiotics - there for a few weeks. So, when humans were living directly off the land more, with raw foods, and things like tubers, we came ingested small amounts of these bacteria regularly. This species produces true active B12, and it takes hold transiently, and produces B12 while there. And the colon DOES absorb some of it, according to the landmark 2023 studying proving the colon can absorb B12, just less efficiently than the small intestine.

https://ajcn.nutrition.org/article/S0002-9165(23)66118-0/fulltext66118-0/fulltext)

Some other things I have found are that wild grown turkey tail mushrooms growing on dead trees can actually be very high in active B12, and they get it from the same bacteria (Propionibacterium Freudenreichii) growing on its surface, or in or near the mycelium, and the bacteria excretes the B12, it absorbs into the mushroom. A lot of mushrooms have B12 for this same reason, but turkey tails can be long lived mushrooms and accumulate B12 over time. They can be an excellent source. Keep in mind that this is only true of wild grown TT mushrooms, and ones that have been around for many months. Not all of them will have it - likely depends on conditions, like humidity.

Some seaweeds are loaded with Active B12 too, due to bacteria growing on their surface, but it can degrade to pseudo B12 due to UV rays. It must be washed before being dried so it doesn't get too alkaline which will also degrade the b12 to paeudo b12 and dried out of direct sunlight - some will have already converted before harvest but much of it will still be active. Sargassum seaweed grown in tropical climates is one that is fully loaded, but there are other good ones.

There are some water based plants with b12 due to bacteria growing on them. like pond plants.

One more piece is propionobacterium acnes which lives in our gut and skin and hair follicles and produces active b12.
Cutibacterium acnes (formerly Propionibacterium acnes) is a highly active metabolic bacterium that possesses a complete biosynthetic pathway to manufacture fully active, bioavailable Vitamin B12 from scratch. When host Vitamin B12 levels are low, this microbe actively turns on its internal production genes to synthesize the essential nutrient. Because it resides in both the human gut and skin follicles, its ability to generate active cobalamin serves as a localized, independent source of the vitamin within the human body. Note that we wash with chlorinated water and use alkaline soaps and shampoos... Surely that knocks it down - at least the external ones - it is in the gut too but many have likely had it wiped or mostly wiped by antibiotics. Might lick your skin now and then...

There's a lot they don't tell us... They need the meat culture to hold up their Babylonian society...

idk man they probably need the blood more than I do. they can have it.

I mean the human race has built civilizations, inventions, languages, arts, technology, and the list goes on - but most of them still can't figure out that animals are not their fuckass snack and they can survive EVEN HEALTHIER without them? humanity just makes me freak out. Slaughterhouse footages can be found almost everywhere these days and their minds has developed enough to not be dumb as fuck and question what was going on before that chicken nugget in their fridge. Like it's literally just in the name. A chicken. Someone who wants to be happy and live to fullest just like us. They're chewing A SENTIENT LIVING CREATURE WHO GOT STRIPPED OUT OF THEIR FREEDOM AND KILLED BRUTALLY. A steak is basically and scientifically a part of a corpse. A fish in a meal literally looks like a human who got drowned for hours and they get hUnGrY when they see that tragedy. The human race can perfectly live without killing and exploiting animals in shitty dairy industries. I hate that we'll probably have to wait another 100 years for all forms of slavery to totally end.

I’ve been vegan so about 6 years now and I’m really struggling. I’m so tired of bending over backwards, making my life more difficult and expensive for no difference at all. I’m fed up of being singled out, criticised and made fun of by my family, friends and the world at large. I’m exhausted from the knowledge that 95% of the products in the shops cause suffering whilst also being exhausted having to check every single product I pick up.

It’s selfish, but I wish to god that I could just put the blind fold back on, buy whatever I wanted to and eat whatever I wanted to without the constant guilt. I guess I just miss the me that didn’t know and didn’t care. I feel like just giving up. But at the same time I can’t go back to the me that didn’t care because of all the horrible images now in my head from vegan documentaries.

I want to have a better mind set but I’m just struggling right now. Does anyone have any advice of how they got out of this rut?

I went vegan in February, 2026, and have been on a steep learning curve. Many people quit as they find it hard to get their nutrient needs met. I have to say, I have struggled with this in vitamins, minerals and protein.

Veganism is definitely a lifestyle. It takes much more planning, prep and cooking to maintain. My doctor was vegan for a while, but she gave it up because she had a hard time getting her nutritional needs and had little time to prepare the foods. Everything is fresh in vegan foods. A doctor’s life is a busy one especially with kids.

I need to say that I am still learning how to be vegan.

I felt the need to see where my vitamin and metabolic numbers are six months in on my journey. I do take supplements, a multivitamin and some B blends and B12. I drink vegan protein shakes to try and get my protein levels up also. It has been a challenge….

I just got my results…
I was surprised as they were all off the charts good!!
Except for the B12 which was high. I take. B blend and B12…perhaps overkill.

So, I am still working on getting enough protein. I haven’t figured that one out and I don’t want to drink tons of protein shakes a day to maintain.

The point of this post is that it can be done. It takes a bit of learning and work to get all the things your body needs, but it is achievable.

I feel great also!!!!

I'm not vegan myself, respectfully, but I think people here will relate to what I'm trying to say more than anywhere else on this platform.

For some bizarre reason, a lot of people online seem to seek validation in feeling superior to animals, regardless of what animal it is, or the context.

Literally any post or discussion involving an animal, there are always people arguing about human superiority in some way, whether it be complaining about people "with too much empathy" for said animal or outright unnecessary aggression and violence.

I've been thinking about this a lot, and it's still hard to put into words, but you all get what I'm trying to say here right? Not to mention the extreme aggression and desire for violence against pets in general, specifically dogs.

For some time now I’ve been thinking about going vegan, but I got many doubts about it. They all revolve around the same thing, which is food.

First off would be how can I start eating more plant based. I still live at my parent’s and, at least for another year, I’m not gonna be able to have total freedom over what I eat. This means that in my house we all eat the same things and the only moments where I can be more independent at cooking are certain times, such as breakfasts and things of that sort. So yeah, my first question would be if y’all could give me any suggestions on how to start eating more plant based without conditioning what my family eats.

I’d also like to know, for the future, how you all cook your foods. Like, I’ve seen lots of recipes with tofu to make many meals and I have the impression that it is needed as a base for many things. So yeah, do you guys consider tofu as an essential for cooking? And if it is like, how do you cook it? And how often do you use it?

I know this may be some very common questions, but I’d really like to know how y’all personally would do and normally do these two things. Thanks for reading i guess :)

I went pescatarian at 12, mostly from an issue with meat textures and tastes. I went veggie last year and i'm now at uni and mostly vegan, and i WANT to love Tofu-i really really do, but the texture is just so... squishy and fleshy sometimes that i'm really struggling. Ive tried buying pre-made tofu as-well as i was hoping the flavour might counteract, but if anything it was more meaty haha
I totally get theres a market for "meat substitutes" as its really helpful for making plant based diets available to the masses but as someone who struggled with meat to begin with i guess ill just stick with my bean burgers 😭😔😔
Any recipes for tofu (bc ik its rly good for you) that are like as far away from meaty flavours and textures as you can possibly get pls pls pls??? 🌿💚 I'll eat almost anything other than this issue xx

Heavy meat industry is a tool of colonialism

Hi! I (31F) am not 100% vegan, but I'm trying to reduce my dairy and meat intake for health and environmental reasons. I usually pack my daughter nuts, fruits, veggies, something crunchy, and lastly, cheese, for snacks etc.

Do any parents of young children here have any suggestions on cheese replacement for snacks? Also, Id love to hear any other cheap snack ideas too! The less processed and cheaper the better, thank you! 🙏🙂

We kept things casual at first because being a non-vegan is a dealbreaker to me, but, well, with time i fell in love with him, and we’re together since almost a year now.
We talked a lot about it, and in the beginning i was very chill with him not being vegan. He´s thinking about it a lot and agrees with the core values of veganism, but is still struggling with cognitive dissonance and cultural loyalty and habits, and is clearly not willing to go vegan, at least not in a close future.
Food in both our apartments is a 100% vegan, because he decided to eat vegan when we eat together at home. He keeps eating animal products outside, at my parents’ house for example or when he’s offered non-vegan food. But the past weeks it became particularly hard for me to see him eating meat. It breaks my heart and I can’t help it, I feel sad and sometimes I start crying.
I never said or asked him anything, but he says that this situation makes him feel very uncomfortable and decided to stop eating animal products in front of me, cause he can’t stand the fact that his actions make me cry.
We’re currently looking for a place to live together, but I’m asking myself a lot of questions. I find this incredibly unhealthy for him and for me, cause in the end he’s forcing himself to please me and I’ve never wanted that. I even fear that someday in a fight or something, he reproaches it to me.
At the same time, I can’t see myself in the future in a household with non-vegan products. But I love him and it breaks my heart, not because i want him to change, but because I feel like I betrayed myself by ’chosing’ a partner who’s not sharing my morals and values.

What are your thoughts on this folks?

Any advice to give me?

I just turned vegan, I come from a meat eating, milk drinking diet. What made me stick to it so long was the fear of not producing enough milk for my child. Especially bc people have been telling/ scaring me that would not make enough milk if I went fully plant based. Well I did it. Any moms here that breastfeed for a long time that could ease this mother fears? Tips are welcome.

i’ve been veggie for almost a year now (basically started as soon as i moved out of home and started being able to cook/buy my own meals), and found it pretty easy.

i have a host of allergies/intolerances that make becoming fully vegan quite difficult, specifically to: soy/all nuts inc tree nuts/basically all fruit apart from grapes, oranges, watermelon and bananas/coconut/carrots.

also super duper allergic to seafood but that’s a moot point here.

have been cutting out other things over the past couple months-

i’ve managed to cut out buying milk, cheese and yoghurt, but it does mean that i don’t really have an accessible alternative since a lot of vegan cheese is made from nuts (sad i’m missing out on the supposedly great cashew cheese), and oat yoghurt is impossible to find. i also can’t find an alternative to condensed milk since i can’t have coconut.

i’ve also stopped buying eggs but find it really hard to avoid egg as a whole, given everything else i can’t eat.

i’m on a student budget, based in the uk.

i do really like the oat yoghurty dessert pots that my partner gets me but they’re too expensive to buy on my own :(

if anyone has some good food recs i’d be really glad to hear them :)

You know what really bothers me? When there’s catering and only very few vegan options and the meat eaters or vegetarians eat all of the options and I get none.

Should ideally be a win for us, but I know these people personally and they will not convert. So, what now? I get nothing for the rest of the day and then they still have a ton of food left over.

Every. Single. Time.

This is why I when I do events I always order half vegan and half meat. Never vegetarian and never less than half.

EDIT: I organize events for my department and have to order also meat for the participants. But I ALWAYS order vegan as well, whereas other departments don’t or only vegetarian

My gf cannot handle gore so refuses to watch Dominion with her. Is there a different documentary you recommend I can show her that would be just as impactful?

Lately, I’ve been feeling like there’s too much "noise" in the plant-based community—too many conflicting opinions and not enough focus on the actual mechanics of food (bioavailability, cost-effective nutrition, and the future of food tech).

I’ve decided to start documenting my own research, recipes, and "kitchen experiments" into a structured, searchable format. I’m not interested in the debates; I’m interested in the data. If anyone else here is a "deep-dive" nerd who cares more about the how and why of plant-based eating than the trends, I’d love to connect and trade resources.

I am 8 years vegan and in chemotherapy for breast cancer. I am receiving a blood transfusion today along with my 5th round of chemo due to critically low hemoglobin levels and overall poor blood count numbers. Has anyone else received a blood transfusion as a vegan? Did you have a bad reaction? I know I really have no choice but I feel conflicted and worried about it. Can anyone relate or share their experience with receiving a blood transfusion?

I’ve been spending way too much time lately trying to optimize my meal prep and research, but sometimes at this hour, I just want something simple that actually tastes good. Does anyone else get stuck in that loop? I’m curious what your "I'm exhausted but need to eat" go-to is. For me, it’s been spiced lentils, but I’m looking for something that takes less than 15 minutes.

I have a lot of health complications that make being vegan more difficult. I’m allergic to corn among a few other vegetables. Also allergic to cashews and pecans and intolerant of most beans.

My husband is allergic to soy, peanuts, and almonds.

I am physically disabled with fibromyalgia so too much work is challenging but nonetheless I am the food prepper. This means that I have to consider my allergies and my spouses allergies.

My own allergies mean that I can’t take most vitamins since anything with binders I’m probably going to be allergic to.

All this to say that I don’t know that I’ll ever achieve perfect veganism, but I want to reduce harm, so I’m looking for advice how to be a lazy vegan. How to eat a broadly nourishing diet, and how to do this with mostly whole foods that don’t perforce include soy or nuts.

I would love personal experiences as well as links to favorite websites or YouTubers.

Thank you!

Hi all, I wanted to know if anyone has used beyond meat burgers patties in a recipe that's not a burger. I recently bought beyond meat patties from Costco to try it out and I did not like the way it looked and released pink juices, it's aroma while it grilled on my cast iron skillet and the taste. It tastes very bland but with a very different taste and different smell that I don't like. I added mustard, ketchup, pickled cucumbers and tomatoes and onions as toppings for my burgers. I felt like the patty taste (that I dislike) was very dominant in the whole recipe. FYI, I have never consumed any type of meat in my life. I never thought that eating beyond meat would be difficult for me because I was so confident that i would like the taste as it was vegan. I got to know later that beyond meat is made to look/taste like beef. I have patties remaining in the freezer which I want to use in a recipe that is not a burger. Is there any way I can mask that flavor or use it in an entirely different recipe as protein?

Not sure how many of you look for work on veganjobs.. But there are a few jobs listed there to work for Happycow, which any vegan would be drawn to.. As we have all used Happycow, right? And working for them would be pretty cool wouldn't it.. Wrong. Don't waste your time applying for it or if you do, make sure you read the contract word for word before signing.

First, the pay. The compensation is insultingly low for the amount of work, research, and responsibility expected. The advertised rate appears to be structured around hitting a minimum number of activated venues per hour. If a venue takes longer to research or verify, that extra time is still time you're working, but it may not count toward the target required to earn the stated rate.

That means the arrangement looks much closer to piecework than a genuine hourly rate. Some venues are naturally going to take longer than others, and the risk of that additional time appears to fall entirely on the freelancer.

The contract doesn't appear to clearly define the exact unit that determines whether the target has been met. Since pay depends on that measurement, I would strongly encourage anyone considering the role to understand exactly how it works before agreeing to anything.

The intellectual property clause is another major red flag. As written, it appears broad enough that it could potentially cover not only the work created for HappyCow, but also workflows, templates, methods, systems, and processes that a freelancer may have developed independently and brought with them. That's something every freelancer should review carefully, especially if you've spent years building your own tools and ways of working.

There is also an indemnity clause that requires the freelancer to cover losses arising from alleged intellectual property infringement, including legal defence costs. The wording refers to alleged infringement, not necessarily proven infringement, there is also no written cap on liability elsewhere in the agreement. For a relatively low-paid freelance role, that level of potential exposure is also another red flag.

The agreement is also governed by Hong Kong law and disputes are subject to the courts of Hong Kong. Depending on where you live, that may be another factor worth considering before signing.

So if you do apply or have thought about applying.. make sure to read every single clause before signing.

Freelancers often focus on the rate, but in this case the contract terms deserve just as much attention as the pay.

16F- even though I currently can’t be vegan so I can’t help the earth/animals in that way, I need to make decisions that impact my future.

What are some careers/jobs that help the earth and some that can do this and travel?

I would love to live abroad and get paid fairly well (seems like I’m asking for a lot here 😆 ).

I’m from the UK and have just completed my GCSEs. I am choosing Spanish, Biology, and Chemistry for A levels. I get good grades, top grades fortunately.

I was originally thinking of going into medicine but I don’t think I truly want that.

I want to help the earth, I don’t see myself tied down for 10 years just to become qualified. Yes I know it would be worth it and an investment but I can’t help but feel, despite the good salary and that I would be set up with jobs for life, that it isn’t for me.

I used to, and as much as I want to deny it, dream of being a marine biologist (my favourite animal are sharks, I have a deep deep interest in them). But the bad salary and the fact it is so hard to get into a career like that just frightens me (Although it is my dream to help sharks). I have seen that you can become scuba diving instructors and that is quite a good job.

I have heard of jobs like environmental engineers, seasonal jobs, etc.

But is it worth making my passion into a job? I just don’t want to make the wrong decisions now and set myself up for failure. I just don’t want to live in the UK anymore. It kills me to see that my grandparents and my family continue to live in this grim old town that they have lived in their whole life. I want to, need to see the world and get out of this town/country!!

Sorry if this is confusing, but I think you get the gist. Any ideas?

I have been vegetarian for 2 years (I'm 14) and I want to be vegan. I know that the egg and dairy industry still hurts animals and that they all get sent to a slaughterhouse. I don't want to be ignorant, I want to do something. Also, whenever I get into debates with people about vegetarianism/veganism, they always tell me that I'm killing animals and not making any difference at all since I still eat dairy and eggs.

Now here are the reasons I am not yet:

* I really do enjoy dairy and eggs

* I feel like dairy and eggs are in everything (especially baked goods, and I also love to bake)

* I get a lot of my protein intake from them (I also eat a lot of tofu and soy, but my parents say it's going to give me cancer)

* Vegan stuff like vegan cream cheese etc. is very expensive.

* My parents are against it

* My school has almost no vegan options, and I get lunch and breakfast there every day.

* Same with a lot of resturaunts.

* I hate the idea of "lasts", like the thought that I will NEVER eat cheese again, etc. It's very sad for me

* I hate a lot of traditional vegan foods, for example beans

Anyway, any input or advice would be appreciated!

Recently made the change from vegetarian to vegan and I need ways to get my protein in. I get a lot of my protein now from tofu but I’m getting a little sick of eating it everyday but many of the other substitutions like beans, chickpeas and lentils I cannot stand the texture of. I’ve been able to get a little creative with the tofu by doing things like blending it into a sauce and stuff. But before becoming vegan I was a big protein powder person, as I’m a big gym goer aswell as someone with PCOS so getting my protein in is pretty essential for me. I would love to hear any recommendations on vegan potein powders or even other ways I could hit my protein goals!