Colleen Patrick-Goudreau (1970-)
I’ve been vegan for two years now, and before that I had been vegetarian for ten. I’ve read books by many people and watched YouTube channels, listened to podcasts, and what have you. There are a few different types of vegan I’ve seen.
1. The Stereotypical Militant Vegan: This is exactly what you expect of vegans. These are the folks who picket outside clothing stores and fast food places, and they make angry videos about how horrible it is that humans kill animals. They are right of course, but sometimes aggressive in their messaging… too aggressive for many. And a few have taken their message too far, attempting to invalidate other forms of activism for unrelated causes.
2. The Vegan For Weight Loss I Don’t Need Vegan: These are the super-restrictive vegans who promise health benefits that are barely obtainable. Veganism is fantastically good for you, but these are the folks who lost 10 lbs and now can wear their bathing suit on the beach. They don’t mention animals or compassion at all.
3. The Check Out My Muscles, Bro Vegan: They are always, I mean always working out. They promote veganism as a part of what helps them stay so fit. Generally they are in it for the animals, but the results they achieve are from long-term, persistent dedication. It can take many hours to arrive at what they do. It’s impressive, the exercise could not be better for them, but it isn’t always a realistic goal.
4. The Everything Will Kill You Vegan: This includes the raw food vegans, as well as those who insist on being gluten-free in spite of evidence that one only needs to do that if suffering from celiac disease. It’s those who misuse the term GMO, and definitely those who overanalyze every minute aspect of their own lives.
5. Normal People Vegans.
Colleen Patrick-Goudreau is someone I ran across on YouTube. I was familiar with her vegan cookbooks, but not really her as a person. She is definitely one of the Normal People Vegans. She is clear that veganism is about preventing cruelty to animals, but she makes that argument directly and clearly. She never tries to scare people into it. Her podcasts are great. She is an excellent educator. She’s definitely worth checking out.
Colleen Patrick-Goudreau’s Website. Includes her blog, links to her podcasts, and videos.
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