A celebrity in the plant-based space, Chef AJ is known for her wildly popular YouTube programming, as well as summits and bundles on weight loss and health. Recently, she has also been applauded for her brave "coming out" with a lung cancer diagnosis. In this powerful and engrossing episode, AJ and Victoria, both vegans of 40+ years, discuss navigating the tough times with faith and good humor.

Chef AJ's Website

YouTube channel

Cookbook: Unprocessed: 10th Anniversary Edition

Cookbook: Sweet Indulgence: Guilt-Free Treats Sweetened Naturally With Fruit

Facebook

Instagram

What if half of American meals were plant-based? Discover how this shift could help end factory farming and transform our food system for good.

Andrew DeCoriolis is executive director of Farm Forward, dedicated to ending factory farming and encouraging people to eat "as few animals as possible, ideally none." In addition to sharing the rationale of this approach, DeCoriolis updates us on the bird flu threat and the dangers of antibiotic use in animal agriculture.

Farm Forward website: https://www.farmforward.com/who-we-are/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/farmforward/?hl=en

When owner Georges Hayek went vegan in 2021, so did his business: Hayek Hospital in a suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, serves only plant-based meals, and there are no wool blankets, no leather furniture. This inspiring guest also speaks eloquently on humanity's crisis of empathy and the need for unity among vegans.

Website (hospital): https://hayekhospital.org

Website (organization): https://lebanesevegans.org

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hayekhospital/?hl=en

Jim Mason, attorney, author, and activist, grew up on an Ozarks farm in the mid-20th century. He witnessed and participated in animal cruelty that traumatized him as a child and motivated him as an adult. His latest book is Madness, combining memoir, investigative journalism, and persuasive nonfiction.

Books:

Madness: The Deep Driver of Our Climate Crisis, Lesson from My Family Farm (This important book sells for only $10)

An Unnatural Order: The Roots of Our Destruction of Nature

Animal Factories: What Agribusiness Is Doing to the Family Farm, the Environment and Your Health, with Peter Singer, the classic book on factory farming

Website: http://www.jimmason.website

Bluesky: @jimmasonauo.bsky.social

Also alluded to in this episode:

The term misothery (accent on the second syllable, as in with misogyny), means hatred of or disgust for animals.

Main Street Vegan Academy, https://www.mainstreetvegan.com (use the code FRIEND for 50% off, autumn 2025 course only)

Holistic Holiday at Sea, all-vegan Alaska cruise August 31-September 7. Tell them that you heard about the cruise from the Main Street Vegan Podcast and earn a $50 onboard credit. Presenters include Michael Greger, MD, Chris Werk (Chris Beat Cancer), Koya Webb, Columbus Batiste, MD, Adam Sud, Robert Cheeke, and Victoria Moran.

If mice, ants, or other little folks are a problem, Kevin Newell of Humane Wildlife Solutions has the answer. While his award-winning company is based in Scotland, vegan and animal advocate Newell works with individuals and businesses around the world. In this episode, he shares practical solutions for getting your home back -- and nobody gets hurt. (This episode was originally aired January 29, 2025.)

Website: https://www.humanewildliesolutions.co.uk

Instagram and Facebook: @humanewildlifesolutions

Callum Weir, UK nutritionist and global influencer (Plant Fuelled Podcast), joins us to address dethroning protein as the only nutrient that matters, what it takes to eat healthfully in the real world, how different people sometimes need a different approach, and how to deal with current online insanity around seed oils and veganism as a processed-food diet.

Website: https://plantfuelled.co.uk

Substack: @callumweir

Podcast: Plant Fuelled Podcast on Spotify

Without almost no images of actual animals, Censored Landscapes, a photo book depicting the landscapes of modern animal agriculture, sends a powerful message about the realities of raising animals for food. Its creator and today's guest, artist and photographer Isabella La Rocca Gonzalez, discusses art, activism, and what she learned exploring the architectural structures of animal ag.

Book: Censored Landscapes: The Hidden Reality of Farming Animals

Website: https://www.censoredlandscapes.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/eyelarocca/

Bluesky: @eyelarocca.bsky.social

Also in this episode:

• We honor the life and legacy of John Robbins, with his family requesting donations to the Food Revolution Alliance in his memory.
• Join Victoria this July 18-20 at the Omega Institute in Rhinebeck, NY, for a soul-nourishing Age Like a Yogi Retreat focused on mindful, compassionate living.
• Enrollment is open for the 2025 Main Street Vegan Academy—a 55-hour live Zoom training to become a certified Vegan Lifestyle Coach & Educator; use code FRIEND to receive an exclusive 50% discount for this year only.

As Kathy Stevens, at the helm of Catskill Animal Sanctuary for over 25 years, moves to her next chapter, she gives up the inside scoop on what it's like to run a sanctuary, what the sanctuary movement means in the overall animal rights movement, and how we can save the most animals and move the most people veganward during these challenging times.

Website: https://casanctuary.org/visit/

Books: Where the Blind Horse Sings: Love and Healing at an Animal Sanctuary; and Animal Camp: Lessons in Love and Hope from Rescued Farm Animals;

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/catskill_animal_sanctuary/?hl=en

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/catskillanimalsanctuary/

Also alluded to in this episode: the unprecedented opportunity for podcast listeners to take the Autumn 2025 Main Street Vegan Academy course for a whopping 50% off by using the code FRIEND. MSVA has been training and certifying Vegan Lifestyle Coaches & Educators since 2012. Our classes are live and interactive via Zoom, and our faculty includes the best and brightest from the vegan and plant-based worlds. Check out the Academy at https://wwww.mainstreetvegan.