Main Street Vegan

What might Catholic spirituality have to say about veganism, compassion, and our relationship with other animals?
In this fascinating conversation, Victoria Moran speaks with Fr. Daniel Mascarenhas, SJ, a young Jesuit priest and vegan, about Catholic teachings, contemplative prayer, spirituality, and the possibility of a kinder world.
The conversation begins with a deeper exploration of Catholicism and the Jesuit tradition. Fr. Daniel shares insights into contemplative prayer and the teachings of St. Ignatius, founder of the Jesuit order, including his understanding that the world remains inherently good despite the suffering and hardship we encounter.
Victoria and Fr. Daniel also explore the remarkable range of perspectives within the Catholic Church. They discuss how the same spiritual tradition can be home to figures as politically different as Dorothy Day and J.D. Vance, and what that says about the breadth and complexity of Catholicism.
Then the conversation turns to veganism. Fr. Daniel explains why he sees compassion for animals and a vegan way of living as a natural conclusion for a follower of Christ, even though veganism remains uncommon within the Catholic community.
Together, they consider what could happen if religious communities became more engaged with animal compassion and the movement toward a kinder food system.
In This Episode
Catholic teachings and their relationship to compassion
What it means to be a Jesuit
Contemplative prayer in the Catholic tradition
The spiritual teachings of St. Ignatius
How Catholicism can encompass very different worldviews
Why Fr. Daniel became vegan
The connection between Christianity, compassion, and veganism
How faith communities could help create a kinder world
The potential for Catholic institutions to move toward greater compassion for animals
About Our Guest
Fr. Daniel Mascarenhas, SJ is a Jesuit priest whose work explores spirituality, faith, compassion, and the call to live more consciously. A vegan himself, Fr. Daniel brings a thoughtful perspective to the relationship between Christian teachings and compassionate living.
In this conversation, he shares his experience of the Jesuit tradition and explains why he believes veganism can be a natural expression of the teachings of Christ.
🍽️ A Special Visit from Chef Mark Reinfeld
Chef Mark Reinfeld, founder of Vegan Fusion, makes a special pop-in appearance during the episode to share information about his upcoming culinary course.
If you're interested in taking your plant-based cooking to the next level, listeners can receive 30% off the course through Victoria's special link.
Learn more and claim your 30% discount: https://veganfusion.com/
More from Fr. Daniel & the Compassion Consortium
Watch Fr. Daniel's appearance as a Special Spiritual Guest for the Compassion Consortium:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hTJEL7XzGm0
Victoria also spoke with Swami Chidananda of the Compassion Consortium about his spiritual calling and the journey from a successful secular career toward a life of spiritual service:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aYscIyFRH8s
And watch Victoria's 2019 film, A Prayer for Compassion:
https://watch.unchainedtv.com/videos/a-prayer-for-compassion
Main Street Vegan Academy
The 39th cohort of Main Street Vegan Academy begins in October 2026 via Zoom. If you've ever wanted to deepen your knowledge of veganism, compassion, nutrition, advocacy, and the vegan movement, this could be your opportunity.
Podcast listeners can receive $250 off with the code VEGCOACH250.
Subscribe, rate, and review the Main Street Vegan Podcast to help more people discover the joy of living with vitality, spirituality, and compassion.
Sign up for the Main Street Vegan blog and newsletter at https://www.mainstreetvegan.com and receive your FREE e-book, Recipes to Help You Age Like a Yogi.
And become an insider by joining the Main Street Vegan Podcast Listeners Group on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/207997266555049

What does it take to challenge one of the most deeply entrenched systems of animal suffering and what can each of us do to help end it?
In this powerful conversation, Victoria Moran speaks with animal rights advocates Gretchen Primack and Ella Magers, co-founders of the March to Abolish Animal Testing, about their fight to end the use of animals in laboratories.
The two are coming together to undertake a 200-mile march calling attention to the millions of animals used in experimentation and to demand a future beyond animal testing. Ella shares the story of Jane, a beagle bred for the laboratory industry who came into her life following the open rescue effort at Ridglan Farms. Jane's transformation from a laboratory animal to a beloved family member offers a deeply personal reminder of what is at stake.
Gretchen and Ella also talk about why they chose a march as their form of activism, how their work with farmed animals led them toward the fight against animal experimentation, and what they would say to anyone who cares about animals but feels powerless in the face of such a massive system.
This is a conversation about courage, compassion, direct action, and the belief that change becomes possible when ordinary people decide that the status quo is no longer acceptable.
In This Episode
Why Gretchen and Ella created the March to Abolish Animal Testing
How the fight for farmed animals led Ella toward animal testing advocacy
The story of Jane, a beagle rescued from the laboratory industry
What happened at Ridglan Farms
Why a 200-mile march?
What Gretchen and Ella hope the March will accomplish
How grassroots activism can create meaningful change
What you can do if you care about animals but feel powerless
Why ending animal experimentation requires both courage and collective action
About Our Guests
Gretchen Primack is a poet, author, and animal rights advocate. She is the co-founder and co-lead of the March to Abolish Animal Testing. Her books include Kind, a poetry collection exploring the relationships between humans and other animals, and The Lucky Ones: My Passionate Fight for Farm Animals, which she co-wrote with Woodstock Farm Animal Sanctuary founder Jenny Brown. Gretchen also taught in maximum-security prisons for 20 years.
Ella Magers, MSW is an internationally recognized animal rights advocate, professional speaker, and holistic fitness coach. A vegan for more than 30 years, she has spent her career encouraging people to embody fierce compassion through education, coaching, public speaking, and grassroots activism. Ella serves on the founding Board of Directors of Hogs & Kisses Farm Sanctuary and is co-founder of the March to Abolish Animal Testing.
Ella's connection to the fight against animal experimentation became deeply personal after the open rescue at Ridglan Farms, when she adopted Jane, a beagle who had been bred for the laboratory industry.
The March to Abolish Animal Testing
The March to Abolish Animal Testing is a 200-mile march calling for an end to the use of animals in experimentation and for meaningful change in the systems that allow animal testing to continue.
Learn more and follow the March at:
Website: https://www.marchforanimals.org
Connect with Gretchen & Ella
Gretchen / March to Abolish Animal Testing: https://www.marchforanimals.org
Ella Magers: https://ellamagers.com/
Ella on Instagram: https://instagram.com/sexyfitvegan
March to Abolish Animal Testing on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/marchforanimals/
Subscribe, rate, and review the Main Street Vegan Podcast to help more people discover the joy of living with vitality, spirituality, and compassion.
Sign up for the Main Street Vegan blog and newsletter at https://www.mainstreetvegan.com and receive your FREE e-book, Recipes to Help You Age Like a Yogi.
And become an insider by joining the Main Street Vegan Podcast Listeners Group on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/207997266555049

Every vegan is a spokesperson for the movement, whether they want the job or not. The good news is there's a version of that role for exactly who you already are. Felicia Greenfield found hers creating Friends Not Food, a farcical sitcom pilot filmed at a Florida farm sanctuary.

A former marketing manager for MLB and the NHL, Felicia knows no single pitch connects with everyone and when she recognized that protests weren't the right method for her, she built something that didn't exist instead. She shares that vegan advocacy isn't just about protests and boycotts, it exists in forms you're allowed to invent, and yours might resonate with someone the existing options never would.

Together, Victoria and Felicia explore narrative transportation, the reason people let their guard down inside a story in ways they never would inside a debate, and why comedy can deliver a message that a lecture would only repel. Felicia also gets into Friends Not Food itself, a show built inside Cli-Fi, the climate fiction genre already dramatizing flooded cities and dystopian hellscapes, but one that has left out the industry actually driving the crisis it exists to depict: animal agriculture.

It's a conversation about finding a lane that's actually yours, and what happens when you let an animal just be itself and call it activism.

In This Episode
Why every vegan can find their own form of advocacy
How Felicia created Friends Not Food
Why traditional protest wasn't the right fit for her
The power of storytelling to reach people differently
What narrative transportation means and why it works
How comedy can open people up to difficult ideas
Why animal agriculture belongs in the climate fiction conversation
Finding an advocacy approach that feels authentically yours

About Our Guest
Felicia Greenfield is a former marketing manager for Major League Baseball and the NHL who found her own creative approach to vegan advocacy through storytelling and comedy. She is the creator of Friends Not Food, a farcical sitcom pilot filmed at a Florida farm sanctuary that brings animal agriculture and veganism into the world of climate fiction.

Felicia's work explores how stories can create connection and open conversations that traditional advocacy approaches sometimes cannot. Her message is simple: vegan advocacy doesn't have to look one particular way. There is room to find the form that fits who you are.

About Friends Not Food
Friends Not Food is a sitcom pilot filmed at a Florida farm sanctuary. The project uses humor, storytelling, and the relationships between humans and animals to explore veganism and animal agriculture in a way that invites audiences in rather than talking at them.

The project also sits within the growing world of Cli-Fi, or climate fiction. While many stories imagine the consequences of climate change, Friends Not Food asks us to consider the role of animal agriculture in that conversation.

Connect with Felicia
Friends Not Food: https://www.friendsnotfood.tv/
Instagram: www.instagram.com/feliciag.nyc/

Subscribe, rate, and review the Main Street Vegan Podcast to help more people discover the joy of living with vitality, spirituality, and compassion.

Sign up for the Main Street Vegan blog and newsletter at https://www.mainstreetvegan.com and receive your FREE e-book, Recipes to Help You Age Like a Yogi.

Become an insider by joining the Main Street Vegan Podcast Listeners Group on Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/207997266555049

Complement are supplements made by vegans, Pamela Fergusson, RD, PhD, Matt Frazier, and Joel Kahn, MD, to enhance diet. Check out their new product Sulfora, and enter 'MAINSTREET' in the discount box to save yourself 10%.

Can meaningful progress happen when people who care deeply about animals disagree on the path forward?

In this thought-provoking episode, Victoria Moran welcomes veterinarian Dr. Larry Carbone, author of The Hidden Lives of Lab Animals: A Vet's Vision for a More Humane Future. For most of his career, Dr. Carbone has cared for animals used in medical research, placing him at the center of one of the most ethically complex issues in animal advocacy.

Victoria approaches this conversation from her long-held abolitionist perspective, shared by many Main Street Vegan listeners. Nevertheless, she believes that meaningful dialogue requires listening to thoughtful people whose views differ from our own. Rather than debating from opposite corners, she and Dr. Carbone explore the difficult questions surrounding animal research, scientific progress, and our shared desire to reduce suffering.

Together, they discuss emerging alternatives such as organ-on-a-chip technology and artificial intelligence, as well as the legal protections currently in place for laboratory animals. They also consider what consumers can do to encourage more humane practices while supporting continued investment in alternatives that may one day eliminate the need for animal experimentation altogether.

Whether you agree with every perspective presented or not, this episode invites thoughtful reflection on a challenging subject. Above all, it reminds us that compassion can coexist with honest conversation.

In This Episode

Why Victoria chose to have this important conversation
Dr. Carbone's journey as a veterinarian in medical research
The promise of AI and organ-on-a-chip technology
Current laws protecting laboratory animals and where they fall short
Practical ways consumers can support alternatives to animal testing
The role of ethics committees in laboratory research
Finding common ground between animal welfare and animal rights advocates

About Our Guest

Dr. Larry Carbone is a veterinarian who has devoted his career to caring for animals in medical research laboratories. He is the author of The Hidden Lives of Lab Animals: A Vet's Vision for a More Humane Future, which examines the ethical challenges surrounding animal research while advocating for improved welfare and continued progress toward replacing animals in science. Throughout his career, Dr. Carbone has maintained strong relationships with both scientific and animal protection communities, seeking dialogue where others often find division.

Connect with Dr. Carbone

Website: https://larrycarbone.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/larry.carbone.7

Subscribe, rate, and review the Main Street Vegan Podcast to help more people discover the joy of living with vitality, spirituality, and compassion.

Sign up for the Main Street Vegan blog and newsletter at https://www.mainstreetvegan.com and receive your FREE e-book, Recipes to Help You Age Like a Yogi.

Become an insider by joining the Main Street Vegan Podcast Listeners Group on Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/207997266555049
Complement are supplements made by vegans, Pamela Fergusson, RD, PhD, Matt Frazier, and Joel Kahn, MD, to enhance diet. Check our their new product Sulfora, and enter 'MAINSTREET' in the discount box to save yourself 10%.

What can the American Vegan Society teach us about living compassionately for a lifetime?
In this heartwarming conversation, Victoria Moran welcomes Anne Dinshah, CEO of the American Vegan Society, for a discussion about vegan living, community, and carrying forward a remarkable legacy. As the daughter of vegan pioneer Jay Dinshah, Anne has spent a lifetime showing that veganism is not about perfection. Instead, it's about living with kindness, curiosity, and joy.
This episode is especially personal for Victoria. She shares how Jay Dinshah and the American Vegan Society helped launch her own vegan journey decades ago. Together, Victoria and Anne reflect on the early days of the movement. They also discuss the friendships that have sustained it and why building a welcoming vegan community remains just as important today.
Anne also offers practical wisdom for anyone considering a plant-based lifestyle. She explains why many people overestimate the difficulty of going vegan. In addition, she shares simple ways to begin living more compassionately. Along the way, the conversation explores voluntary simplicity, healthy aging, and the value of lifelong curiosity.
Above all, this episode celebrates the American Vegan Society and its mission to make vegan living welcoming, accessible, and joyful for everyone.
✨ In This Episode
How Jay Dinshah influenced Victoria's own vegan journey
The history and mission of the American Vegan Society
Why veganism can be simpler than many people imagine
Building a compassionate vegan community
Living your values while maintaining strong relationships
The benefits of curiosity, movement, and lifelong learning
The American Vegan Center and upcoming educational retreats
👤 About Our Guest
Anne Dinshah is a lifelong vegan and the CEO of the American Vegan Society. As the daughter of U.S. vegan movement pioneer Jay Dinshah, she continues his legacy by helping people discover vegan living through education, community, and compassionate outreach. Anne is also the coauthor of Powerful Vegan Messages. Through her warm and approachable style, she has inspired countless people to embrace a more compassionate way of living.
🌱 About the American Vegan Society
Founded in 1960, the American Vegan Society has spent more than six decades promoting vegan living through education, advocacy, and community. Its long-running "Welcome to Veganism" program has introduced countless people to the vegan lifestyle. Likewise, its "Building National Vegan Community" initiative continues to connect and inspire people across the country.
Another highlight is the American Vegan Center in Philadelphia, where visitors can explore the history of veganism in the United States. This fall, the American Vegan Society will also reopen its headquarters for weekend and weeklong living-learning retreats. These experiences will include cooking workshops, ethical discussions, wellness activities, and opportunities to connect with fellow vegans.
🔗 Connect with Anne
Website: https://americanvegan.org
Facebook: American Vegan Society
Instagram: @AmericanVeganS
LinkedIn: American Vegan Society
Subscribe, rate, and review the Main Street Vegan Podcast to help more people discover the joy of living with vitality, spirituality, and compassion.
Sign up for the Main Street Vegan blog and newsletter at https://www.mainstreetvegan.com and receive your FREE e-book, Recipes to Help You Age Like a Yogi.
Become an insider by joining the Main Street Vegan Podcast Listeners Group on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/207997266555049