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Sandra describes herself as a vegan foodie, content writer & editor and wife on a mission to empower others to make small, meaningful decisions and actions that will help make the world a better place. She is co-host of VEG Networking Canada, a place where plant-based and vegan companies connect and collaborate. Sandra is the author of the book “Vegan Marketing Success Stories“.
We discuss:
00:00 Welcome
01:15 Sandra’s Intro
- Filipino-canadian
- Literature, PR, marketing, writing
- Meditating: “This booming voice came to me… & said you’re vegan now & you’ll always be writing”
- Sandra’s “The Content Doctor” business
- Writing “#vegan Marketing Success Stories”
03:41 What’s Real?
- “A very #catholic household”
- Catholicism in the #phillipines due to #colonisation by Spain
- 13 years of Catholic school
- Church every Sunday
- Sermons: Fundraising & “We don’t really welcome gay people” #homophobia “Two of my best friends had just come out”
- “That was the last service”
- “I never did believe in heaven & hell… metaphors”
- “I do believe in an afterlife”
- “There’s a problem with the whole [Catholic] institution”
- Intuition & connecting to past ancestors “they’re giving me signs… still here & watching over us”
- Why do colonially imposed religions retain such popularity?
- The Filipino disapora, challenging colonial restrictions, reclaiming indigenous practices (e.g. tattooing)
- Joining #nxivm… later discovered to be a dangerous #cult “If it feels painful – move towards it!”
- A clear image from a recently deceased grandfather
- Being guided by a deceased cousin in Montreal
- “From the little I know of #quantumphysics physics this is all very possible… that’s why we have #ghosts “
- “The big bang… earliest atoms… that’s my definition of god… the creator”
- “The potential… of love… we all come from stardust”
- Risks of religious & spiritual beliefs
- Scams, cults, crystals, alt-medicine, #antivaxx
- “Critical thinking caps” & #redflags
- #Conspirituality podcast. #Yoga #wellness #spirituality
33:46 What & Who Matters?
- “Be a good person as much as you can vs. just being consumers”
- “I did not care very much for animals”… now vegan
- Documentaries: “Watching #earthlings … hit me really hard… stop eating meat”
- “As soon as the idea of becoming vegan hit my brain… this is it!… it took me 11 years”
- #Humanewashing #cognitivedissonance , denial, avoidance
- “I just had to learn how to cook”
- #biocentrism #ecocentrism
- Michelle S Wright: “Listening to vegetables telling her how they’d like to be grown”
- Plant sentience?
46:54 A Better Future?
- “Consideration for all sentient beings & the environment… a vegan lifestyle can get us closer”
- “I do believe in personal impact… ripple effects”
- #humanrights , clean water access, education, health-care (including #mentalhealth , addiction)
- Ethical clarity & righteousness vs. encouraging people along their own “journey”
- Messaging effectiveness
- The bad & good roles of #marketing
- “Vegan Marketing Success Stories” the first vegan marketing book
- Normalising #veganism
- #capitalism & the consumer economy, #ethicswashing & #greenwashing
- “It’s on the consumer to be smart”
- Marketing with integrity
- @Patagonia as an example, but they still use animal derived inputs
- If people have ethics & values then why shouldn’t companies?
- #millenials & #genz & values alignment
Sentientism is “Evidence, reason & compassion for all sentient beings.” More at Sentientism.info.
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Thanks to Graham for the post-production and to Denise for funding this episode via our Sentientism Patreon.