Would you like kind accountability and productivity support? (+ positive vegan news)
Affordable, vegan-friendly group coaching is now available. Your first call is free, and scholarships are available.
Hi friend,
Before we get into the latest positive vegan and animal advocacy news, I wanted to share about this new project I have been working on.
If you could benefit from compassionate, vegan-friendly group support and accountability, this might be for you: I'm starting an online accountability community called the Soulful Productivity Club! (You can read more about this here.)
While this community is not exclusively for vegans and animal advocates, I want to make it as vegan-friendly as possible. For instance, if we do breakout groups, I could put pro-animal people together, if you like. We already have a few animal advocates who expressed an interest in joining, so that’s really exciting. 🤗
And I’m making full/partial scholarships available for ethical vegans and animal advocates who otherwise couldn’t join.
What is soulful productivity?
It's a way of being productive that feels good and honors your entire being. After years of being a productivity coach, it dawned on me that a lot of regular productivity advice can be quite toxic. For instance, it can help sustain the idea that our worth depends on our doing (our actions, accomplishments and achievements) rather than our being (we are worthy simply because we exist).
So, I came up with the idea of soulful productivity as the antidote to that.
Toxic productivity is when you take action
on the wrong thing,
for the wrong reason, or
in the wrong way.
Soulful productivity is when you do
the right thing,
for the right reason, and
in the right way.
Toxic productivity takes energy. Soulful productivity gives you energy.
How this might connect to veganism
Soulful productivity might actually be rooted in vegan philosophy. After all, veganism is based on caring and compassion for all. It rejects the idea of treating living beings as a commodity.
Well, toxic productivity treats living beings as a commodity — whether it’s a cow in a factory farm, a poor woman in a sweatshop, or an engineer at a social media company that shall not be named. (Of course, the degree to which they are getting mistreated differs, and humans — especially privileged humans — have a lot more agency than animals to escape bad situations.)
Many evils in society stem from this single cause: treating living beings as a commodity.
Because this is so pervasive in our culture, we tend to internalize toxic productivity and treat ourselves the same way. For people who are advocates at heart, there’s the additional pressure of really wanting to make a positive difference in the world. (If you are an ethical vegan in current society, you are an advocate at heart.)
But here’s the thing: A cow is worthy, just because she exists. Her worth does not depend on her ability to produce something humans can use. The same is true for you.
That said, if you are like me, you probably still want to create and contribute to society… so let’s do it on our own terms, and in a way that feels good!
My intention for this community is to help us move from toxic productivity to soulful productivity. You will get accountability that is compassionate and caring, and that helps you improve your life (not just your productivity).
The work you are doing to help animals (however big or small) is important. It’s also important that you take care of yourself, and that you have the life you want to have. 🌻
Hopefully, this club can help you along the way.
The details
We will meet every first and third Tuesday of the month at 12:00pm Eastern (recordings will be available if you cannot make the call).
You can join anytime.
You can try before you join. :) Your first call is free, so you can try it out without any obligation. My gift to you! 🎁 Just sign up here to get the call-in information.
I'm offering this to founding members for $25/month. Simply join by March 6 (my wedding anniversary! ❤️).
Partial and full scholarships are available for ethical vegans and animal advocates who otherwise couldn’t join (simply sign up for the first call and hit reply to the email you will get).
Alright, with that out of the way, let’s get started!
Positive Vegan and Animal Advocacy News:
Norway ended fur farming ahead of schedule
At its peak, Norway had almost 300 fur farms. But in 2018, due to the shifting public opinion, the Norwegian government decided to phase out fur farming. Farmers had until the end of February 2025 to close down their operations.
So, that probably means we can celebrate that a lot of fur farms are closing down this month, right? No, because the last fur farms actually closed ahead of schedule, with the industry shutting down in January 2023. So, Norway has been fur farming free for over a year!
This is a great reminder that change can sometimes come more quickly than expected. All it takes is getting started.
You can read more about this here.
Speaking of getting started…
UK becomes first country in the world to sell cultivated meat for pets
The UK became the first country in the world where cultivated pet food is now available: Meatly, a London-based startup, received regulatory approval in July 2024 to sell cultivated chicken meat for pet food, making it the first company worldwide to reach this milestone.
This month, Meatly launched the world's first commercially available cultivated pet treats. While they are currently only available in limited quantity in one location, this is a great first step.
Meatly Chicken is produced from a single sample of cells taken from one chicken egg. Even though cultivated meat is generally not considered vegan, it can still drastically reduce animal suffering.
The global pet population, particularly dogs and cats, consumes a significant amount of meat. In the US alone, dogs and cats are estimated to contribute about 25-30% of the environmental impact of meat consumption.
You can read more about this here.
Speaking of dogs…
Greyhound racing banned in Wales
Remember how I wrote about greyhound racing getting banned in New Zealand a while ago?
Greyhound racing is now set to be banned in Wales as well, making it the first nation in the UK to do this. The Welsh government has announced plans to phase out the sport "as soon as practically possible" following a petition with over 35,000 signatures. Deputy First Minister Irranca-Davies, who announced these plans, pointed to bans in other countries, including New Zealand.
The Welsh announcement is a great example of how a win for the animals is more than just a win, it’s a positive ripple effect waiting to happen. So while there are currently no plans to ban greyhound racing elsewhere in the UK, I’m hopeful this will eventually ripple out.
You can read more about this here.
Speaking of positive ripples:
The 5 biggest US coffee chains have now ended their non-dairy surcharge
Dunkin' has ended its milk surcharge for non-dairy milk alternatives. Starting March 5, 2025, customers will no longer be charged extra for using plant-based milk in their beverages at any Dunkin' location in the US. This decision follows similar moves by other major coffee chains like Starbucks and Tim Hortons.
Dunkin’ is the second-largest coffee chain in the US, and this decision will impact nearly 10,000 storefronts in the country. It also means that customers won’t have to pay extra for plant-based milk at the 5 biggest US coffee chains!!!
You can read more about this here.
Warmly,
Louise