Below I’ve gathered over 100 powerful and transformational vegan quotes from celebrities, and famous vegan quotes to help inspire you on your plant-based vegan journey.

This post may contain affiliate links. That means if you purchase an item through these links, I may earn a commission at no additional cost to you. Please read the full disclosure policy for more info.

“Animals are not products. Life doesn’t have a price.” -Anonymous

“Compassion is the best side effect of being vegan.” -Anonymous

“World Peace begins in the kitchen.” -Anonymous

“If you can’t stand watching it be produced, you shouldn’t be eating it.” -Anonymous

“When you truly understand that your food choices are powerful and life-affirming, you can exercise control and restraint without deprivation.” -Marlene Adlemann

“When people ask me why I don’t eat meat or any other animal products, I say, ‘Because they are unhealthy and they are the product of a violent and inhumane industry.'” -Cassey Afleck

“There is no greater wrecking ball to the planet than the industries that turn animals into food. No single choice that we make has a bigger or more positive impact.”  -David Agranoff 

“I made the choice to be vegan because I will not eat (or wear, or use) anything that could have an emotional response to its death or captivity. I can well imagine what that must feel like for our non-human friends – the fear, the terror, the pain – and I will not cause such suffering to a fellow living being.” -Rai Aren

“Vegan food is soul food in its truest form. Soul food means to feed the soul. And to me, your soul is your intent. If your intent is pure, you are pure.” -Erykah Badu

“The sixteen hundred dairies in California’s Central Valley alone produce more waste than a city of twenty-one million people-that’s more than the populations of London, New York, and Chicago combined.” -Gene Baur 

“Let us remember that animals are not mere resources for human consumption. They are splendid beings in their own right, who have evolved alongside us as co-inheritors of all the beauty and abundance of life on this planet” -Marc Bekoff 

“Make ethical choices in what we buy, do, and watch. In a consumer-driven society our individual choices, used collectively for the good of animals and nature, can change the world faster than laws.” -Marc Bekoff 

“The question is not, Can they reason? nor, Can they talk? but, Can they suffer?” -Jeremy Bentham

“It takes 12 pounds of grain and 2,500 gallons of water to create a single pound of beef.” -Mayim Bialik 

“I don’t see why someone should lose their life just so you can have a snack.” -Russell Brand

“If your meals consistently revolve around corpses multiple times daily, you might become one sooner than you planned.” -Kris Carr 

“We cannot have peace among men whose hearts find delight in killing any living creature.” -Rachel Carson

“People eat meat and think they will become strong as an ox, forgetting that the ox eats grass.” -Pino Caruso

“I’m a vegan. I don’t want to torture anything. I guess it’s about trying to live a life where I’m not contributing to the cruelty of the world.” -Jessica Chastain

“Only when we have become non-violent towards all life will we have learned to live well ourselves.” -Cesar Chavez

“The vegan lifestyle is a compassionate way to live that supports life, supports fairness and equality, and promotes freedom.” -Robert Cheeke 

“Veganism is a brilliant approach for elevating human consciousness and avoiding the energy of death and degeneration associated with killing animals for food, which enters us when we eat their flesh and blood.” -Gabriel Cousens M.D.

“If a kid ever realized what was involved in factory farming, they would never touch meat again.” -James Cromwell

“Be the voice of those who can’t say …’stop.’ Who can’t say ‘that hurts.’ Who can’t say ‘I’m so afraid to die.’ Be the voice of the animals!” -Miley Cyrus

“My body will not be a tomb for other creatures.” -Leonardo Da Vinci

“The time will come when men such as I will look upon the murder of animals as they now look on the murder of men.” -Leonardo Da Vinci

“Nothing tastes as good as being Vegan feels” -Dawn

“There is no fundamental difference between man and animals in their ability to feel pleasure and pain, happiness, and misery.” -Charles Darwin

“The love for all living creatures is the most noble attribute of man.” -Charles Darwin

“You put a baby in a crib with an apple and a rabbit. If it eats the rabbit and plays with the apple, I’ll buy you a new car.” -Harvey Diamond

“Non-violence leads to the highest ethics, which is the goal of all evolution. Until we stop harming all other living beings, we are still savages.” -Thomas Edison

“Most people would say they love animals, but the reality is, if you’re using animals for food, clothing, or entertainment, you’re only considering the lives of certain animals, typically those of cats and dogs.” -Melisser Elliott

“You have just dined, and however scrupulously the slaughterhouse is concealed in the graceful distance of miles, there is complicity.” -Ralph Waldo Emerson

“The idea that some lives matter less is the root of all that is wrong in the world.” -Dr. Paul Farmer

“As I improved my diet, I started to learn to love myself, probably for the first time ever.” -Frank Ferrante

“Until one has loved an animal, a part of one’s soul remains unawakened.” -Anatole France

“Veganism is not a ‘sacrifice.’ It is a joy.” -Gary L. Francione

“If you really care about animals, then stop trying to figure out how to exploit them ‘compassionately’. Just stop exploiting them.” -Gary Francione

“We do not need to eat animals, wear animals, or use animals for entertainment purposes, and our only defense of these uses is our pleasure, amusement, and convenience.” -Gary Francione

“Veganism is not about giving anything up or losing anything; it is about gaining the peace within yourself that comes from embracing nonviolence and refusing to participate in the exploitation of the vulnerable.” -Gary L Francione 

“Every time you drink a glass of milk or eat a piece of cheese, you harm a mother. Please go vegan.” -Gary L. Francione

“My refusing to eat flesh occasioned an inconveniency, and I was frequently chided for my singularity, but, with this lighter repast, I made the greater progress, for greater clearness of head and quicker comprehension. Flesh-eating is unprovoked murder.” -Benjamin Franklin

“Don’t wait for a better world. Start now to create a world of harmony and peace. It is up to you, and it always has been. You may even find the solution at the end of your fork.” -Sharon Gannon

“The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated.” -Mahatma Gandhi

“Violence begins with the fork.” -Mahatma Gandhi

“The best part of being a vegan is the purity and peace of mind one experiences and the strong connection I feel to the animal kingdom.” -Uri Gellar

“Wearing cosmetics that were tested on animals makes you ugly on the inside.” -Ricky Gervais

“For me, living fully awake means embracing all species with the same level of respect and kindness. Being a joyful vegan doesn’t take willpower – just a willingness to try new things and choose mercy over misery.” -Mark Hawthorne

“Becoming vegan is the most important and direct change we can immediately make to save the planet and its species.” -Chris Hedges 

“There are no negatives to eating like this. I feel nothing but positive, mentally, and physically. I love it. I feel like it also has a kind of a domino effect on the rest of my life.” -Liam Hemsworth

“After all the information I gathered about the mistreatment of animals, I couldn’t continue to eat meat.” -Liam Hemsworth

“Veganism is beneficial to the wellbeing of all.” -Lynda Mullaly Hunt

“We choose to eat meat and have therefore built slaughter houses for the animals and hospitals for us.” -Akbarali Jetha

“If one cares about the earth—if one respects nature—it is better to consume vegetables, fruits, nuts, and grains. If you care about the planet and wish to adopt an earth-friendly lifestyle, it is advisable to focus only secondarily on the car that you drive, or recycling, or turning off lights and turning down heat, and primarily on what you buy at the grocery store. What we eat has a much greater impact on the environment.” -Lisa Kemmerer 

“Vegetarian is better; vegan is the best — A cow says.” -Vinita Kinra

“People are the only animals that drink the milk of the mother of another species. All other animals stop drinking milk altogether after weaning. It is unnatural for a dog to nurse from a mother giraffe; it is just as unnatural for a human being to drink the milk of a cow.” -Michael Klaper

“We all love animals. Why do we call some ‘pets’ and others dinner?” -K.D. Lang

“No animals need to die in order for me to live. And that makes me feel good.”  -Howard Lyman

“Killing and eating animals is a betrayal of our own core humanity…killing an innocent goes against our nature.” -Evanna Lynch

“To face animal suffering is to face our responsibility in their suffering.” -JoAnne McArthur

“If slaughterhouses had glass walls, the whole world would be vegetarian.” -Linda McCartney

“When I see bacon, I see a pig, I see a little friend, and that’s why I can’t eat it. Simple as that.”  -Paul McCartney

“I’m a vegan. It makes me feel really good and bright.” -Lea Michelle

“Behind every beautiful fur coat, there is a story. It is a bloody, barbaric story.”  -Mary Tyler Moore

“Cruelty to animals is an enormous injustice; so is expecting those on the lowest rung of the economic ladder to do the dangerous, soul-numbing work of slaughtering sentient beings on our behalf.” -Victoria Moran 

“Nobody can possibly be so hungry that they need to take a life in order to feel satisfied – they don’t after all, take a human life, so why take the life of an animal? Both are conscious beings with the same determination to survive. It is habit, and laziness and nothing else.” -Morrissey

“You either approve of violence or you don’t, and nothing on earth is more violent or extreme than the meat industry.” -Morrissey 

“One acre of land can produce either 20,000 pounds of potatoes or a measly 165 pounds of meat.” -Lindsay S. Nixon 

“If intelligence and capability are not criteria for the possession of rights, why would animals -who have the capacity to feel fear and pain- be excluded from our moral consideration?” -Jack Norris 

“Being a vegan just helps me build up my self-esteem. I feel good about it every time I eat a meal.” -Steve-O

“Do you know why most survivors of the Holocaust are vegan? It’s because they know what it’s like to be treated like an animal.” -Chuck Palahniuk 

“If the whole world went vegan, there would be less war. How you eat determines your mood and your outlook on life.” -Alexandra Paul

“Animal rights are not a gift we give to animals. They are a birthright we have taken from them.” -Ryan Phillips

“It takes nothing away from a human to be kind to an animal.” -Joaquin Phoenix

“For as long as men massacre animals, they will kill each other. Indeed, he who sows the seed of murder and pain cannot reap joy and love.” -Pythagoras

“Everyone has to find what is right for them, and it is different for everyone. Eating for me is how you proclaim your beliefs three times a day. That is why all religions have rules about eating. Three times a day, I remind myself that I value life and do not want to cause pain to or kill other living beings. That is why I eat the way I do.” -Natalie Portman

“If you think that being vegan is difficult, imagine being a factory farmed animal.” -Davegan Raza

“The horse and the cow, the rabbit and the cat, the deer and the hare, the pheasant and the lark, please us better as friends than as meat.” -Élisée Reclus

“Consider that animals, like us, have one life. It is their life, their only life, and as important to them as our own life is to us.” -Jill Robinson

“I am a vegan because I don’t want to support the cruel industry that goes on on farms every day.” -Zoe Rosenberg

“We strive for a world where every earthling has the right to live and grow. That’s why we don’t eat animals.” -Ruby Roth 

“Many people know that animals around the world are treated badly, yet they turn their minds away. To be vegan means to care deeply about how our choices help or harm animals, how we create peace or suffering in the world. Our choices are powerful. Vegan is love.” -Ruby Roth 

“How would we fare psychologically if the walls of slaughterhouses were made of glass?” -Tom Regan

“Once you come to terms with why you don’t eat cats, dogs, monkeys, and dolphins, you will begin to understand why I don’t eat cows, pigs, chickens, and lambs.” -Edward Sanchez

“To get mud off your hands, use soap and water. To get blood off your hands, go vegan.” -John Sakars

“Veganism is not about how hard it is for you. It’s about every animal’s right not to be used as a slave.” -Randy Sandberg

“It is much easier to show compassion to animals. They are never wicked.” -Haile Selassie

“I choose not to make a graveyard of my body for the rotting corpses of dead animals.” -George Bernard Shaw

“A man of my spiritual intensity does not eat corpses.” -George Bernard Shaw

“Science that fails to embrace all living beings is far more dangerous than any virus!” -Steve Simmons

“We are, quite literally, gambling with the future of our planet- for the sake of hamburgers” -Peter Singer

“Vegan is just pure love. Love for animals, love for the planet, and love for yourself.” -Mischa Temaul

“The health reasons are staggering! Do it also to take yourself out of the cycle of killing and abuse to living things. Show some compassion, and act on it.” -Ed Templeton

“Animals are not ingredients.” -Barbara Thompson

“We have plenty of good things to satisfy hunger without bringing corpses upon our table to compose our bill of fare.” -Ellen G. White

“We don’t live like our ancestors did, so why should we base our diet and ethics on how they may or may not have lived? Let’s evolve into a more peaceful, compassionate species and respect all life forms.” -Mango Wodzak

“Being vegan isn’t about restricting oneself in any way, it’s simply about ceasing to take things which clearly are not ours.” -Mango Wodzak

“Most people just want to be left in peace to eat their bacon, not realizing that there is no peace behind bacon.” -Mango Wodzak 

“Invalid food choices lead to invalid people.” -Mango Wodzak

“Cows scream louder than carrots.” -Alan Watts

“No other animal on Earth has portrayed such a disregard for life than mankind.”  -Anthony Douglas Williams

“The problem is that humans have victimized animals to such a degree that they are not even considered victims. They are not even considered at all. They are nothing; they don’t count; they don’t matter. They are commodities like TV sets and cell phones. We have actually turned animals into inanimate objects – sandwiches and shoes.” -Gary Yourofsky

Let me know your favorite quotes below!

Stephanie Mantilla

Plant-Based Diet & Vegan Lifestyle Expert

Stephanie is the founder of Plant Prosperous, a plant-based vegan living, and parenting blog. She has been eating a plant-based diet for over 24 years along with a B.S. in Biology & Environmental Science. She also has over 14 years of experience working in the environmental and conservation sectors. Stephanie is currently raising her son on a plant-based diet and hopes to help others who are wanting to do the same. You can read more about her here.

The post 107 Inspirational & Powerful Vegan Quotes appeared first on Plant Prosperous.

If you love those beautiful milk bath pictures but hate the thought of sitting in actual milk, you’re not alone.

This tutorial was created for vegans and anyone looking for a dairy-free way for milk bath photos. Follow the steps below for your own DIY milk bath photography without milk.

This post may contain affiliate links. That means if you purchase an item through these links, I may earn a commission at no additional cost to you. Please read the full disclosure policy for more info.

Milk Bath Photo Shoot Preparation

One of the first things to think about is how you want to set the scene.  Which things catch your eye while browsing through other people’s photos.

Through your research, you’ll need to decide on your:

• Outfit -dress, hair, floral crowns, undergarments
• Flowers – colors and type
• Makeup
• Location
• Lighting – enough natural light or is additional studio light needed
• Timing – so that baby is most cooperative.

What Do You Wear To A Milk Bath Photo Shoot?

For me, it was a lace gown and a floral crown.  You can pick up the gown and the floral crown inexpensively.

If you go with a sheer gown, don’t forget to add matching undergarments.

The gown I chose was sheer so I wore nude underwear and a purple bra that matched the flowers.

Tip: Mix and match multiple dresses and crowns for a customized look.

Decide On A Milk Bath Location

If you’re doing this photo shoot at home, chances are you only have one or two baths that your photo shoot can take place.

You’ll want a large tub that is deep enough for most of your legs to get submerged in water. There also needs to be enough space for your photographer to be on a step stool. The best angle for a milk bath photo is with the photographer looking down from above.

Our master bathroom has a large garden tub with jets that we decided to use.  If your tub has visible jets, make sure that the water level is filled to right above the jets.  

A milk bath would work in a standard tub as well but it would probably be tight and may be hard to add extra lighting.

How To Light A Dark Bathroom

The best lighting is going to be natural light. Many tubs in master bathrooms have windows above them.

If your tub has a window, then having your photo shoot in the morning before the sun gets too harsh is the best.

For bathrooms without windows or if the natural light seems too dark, your best option will be to add additional lighting with softboxes. Here is the set I recommend.

How To Make A Milk Bath For Photography Without Milk

The best option for a vegan milk bath is going to be a dairy-free creamer. Creamer’s are thicker than almond or soy milk so it gives the water more opacity.

I used one quart of Silk Soy Creamer in the tub and it gave the water that perfect milky look but without using actual milk. This creamer is in the refrigerated section of the grocery store and is only $4 total.

Picking Flowers And Greenery

The last items you’ll need are flowers and greenery.  This can quickly become expensive if you aren’t careful.

When going with fresh flowers, wildflowers and daisies tend to be less expensive than roses or orchids.

Keep this in mind when choosing a floral crown as well since you’ll want your flower types and colors to match.

The floral crown I chose had daisies and wildflowers in it so I looked for bouquets that had the same.  

Thankfully, wildflowers are considerably less expensive than the other flowers. I was able to snag two bouquets of daisy wildflowers for $10 each at my local grocery store.  

Can you use fake flowers for a milk bath?

Yes, you can. Fake, synthetic, or silk florals from the craft store are a great option. Fake flowers generally cost less than fresh flowers too.

Tip: If you Scotch guard the back of the flower’s they’ll repel water and not sink as quickly.

This brings the grand total of supplies up to……..*drumroll please*…….. $59!

If you already owned a dress or if floral crowns aren’t your thing, then your costs would be even less.  I’ve had luck re-selling photoshoot outfits so I do end up recouping part of those costs.

Tips For Setting The Milk Bath Scene

If your bathroom has natural light, it is best to have the session in the morning or evening to avoid harsh shadows.  Consider putting a white sheet up over the window to filter the light even more.

Plan to have the photo shoot around 10AM for the best natural light. This also works best if this is close to your baby’s nap time.

Babies are less fussy if they’re sleepy but not exhausted. Finding your window of time is essential.

Fill the tub with warm bathwater that is safe for baby.  I filled our tub to over the jets so they wouldn’t show in the photos. Then add an entire quart of dairy-free soy creamer.

Note: If you add the creamer while the tub is still filling it may get slightly frothy.  If that happens then wait until the bubbles go away before starting.

Take The Photos

It’s now time for mom and baby to safely enter the tub. Before adding the flowers, take some test shots to make sure the lighting and camera settings are right.

Lastly, add the flowers to the water so they don’t start sinking or wilting too quickly.

Babies can get slippery so it’s best to make sure mom always has a good grip on her baby before starting.

The best angle for the photographer is going to be at a slightly elevated angle. This way you’ll have a full view of the but and get a lot of the creamy white water in the shots.

How To Do Baby Only Milk Bath Photos

If you want to have some photos of only your baby in the milk bath, then I suggest getting all of the pics with mom and baby first.

Generally, baby only photos are taken with the water level lowered but that will drain most of the milky water away.

Another option is to use a baby bath seat to help position your baby. Here is one that would work.

No matter how deep the water, it is essential to never leave your baby unattended or get distracted checking photos in order to prevent drowning.

For baby milk bath photos, lower the water to a level where the majority of their body is out of the water when using the bath seat.

Then have the photographer take the photos while you are keeping a close eye on your baby, making sure they never submerge. Never be both the photographer and baby watcher!

Editing Milk Bath Photos

After your pics are done, you’ll most likely need to edit them. The one trick I use is to edit the white balance.

Adjusting the white balance will get the milky white water to really pop.

Conclusion

Milk bath photography has a lot of ways you can customize it to your unique style. If flowers aren’t your thing, you could do all greenery with ferns.

It also doesn’t have to be expensive. This vegan milk bath photoshoot cost right under $60.

If you follow this tutorial, I’d love to hear how your photos turn out!

Stephanie Mantilla

Plant-Based Diet & Vegan Lifestyle Expert

Stephanie is the founder of Plant Prosperous, a plant-based vegan living, and parenting blog. She has been eating a plant-based diet for over 24 years along with a B.S. in Biology & Environmental Science. She also has over 14 years of experience working in the environmental and conservation sectors. Stephanie is currently raising her son on a plant-based diet and hopes to help others who are wanting to do the same. You can read more about her here.

Pin for Later:

Vegan Milk Bath Photo Shoot With No Milk

The post Vegan Milk Bath Photography Tutorial (Dairy-Free) appeared first on Plant Prosperous.

This extends beyond just food products, with people becoming more conscious of where their clothing-related products are made.

One of the materials that are first in line for questioning is Sherpa. Everyone loves Sherpa. You don’t need me to tell you that.

So, is sherpa vegan? Yes, sherpa is made from either cotton, acrylic, or polyester fabric making it completely vegan.

How can something so comfortable not come from animal fur?  

Trust me; I was asking the very same question. I love being cozy, but if that meant supporting a horrible and corrupt industry, then I was going to have to go without my favorite sherpa-lined coat. 

Luckily, for both you and me, that isn’t the case at all. 

This post may contain affiliate links. That means if you purchase an item through these links, I may earn a commission at no additional cost to you. Please read the full disclosure policy for more info.

Is Sherpa Vegan?

Yes, sherpa is entirely vegan.

What I found misleading was the name. Sherpa doesn’t strictly refer to the material coming from a sheep, though. Instead, it’s named “sherpa” because it resembles the wool-lined clothes that the Sherpa people of Nepal wear. 

Those warm and fluffy bumps you feel when you wear it aren’t actually clumps of wool. They’re just designed that way to mimic it, and in turn, help keep me and you warm. 

Therefore, if it’s not made from wool, then how exactly does all that cushiony goodness come about?

Here are some of my favorite vegan sherpa items:

• Oversized Sherpa Coat
• Sherpa-Lined Joggers
• Cozy Sherpa Blanket Throw
• Memory Foam Sherpa Slippers

How Is Sherpa Made?

Sherpa is sometimes called faux shearling. It is a type of fabric that is made from polyester, or it can be a polyester that’s blended with another material like cotton or acryclic. Either way, there are no animal products involved. 

Not only is this going to help vegans feel better about wearing it, but it’s actually a more practical material to use than actual shearling. 

First off, the faux material is a heck of a lot less bulky than the real deal. If you’ve never worn sheep’s wool, that stuff is surprisingly heavy. 

You might worry that a side-effect of this is that faux shearlings are colder than the real alternative. This is false though. Polyester blends are designed to help keep you warm, so while you may be lacking the “authentic” warmth that wool gives you, science picks up the slack with sherpa. 

It also wicks moisture and dries quicker, so if you ever get caught out in the rain wearing sherpa, you’re not going to have to wait days for it to dry out like you would with shearling. 

What Are The Uses Of Sherpa?

Thanks to the benefits that I listed above, Sherpa finds use in a lot of different clothing items and accessories. Typically, you’re going to see a lot more of it around Christmas time. Things like gloves, hats, boots, slippers, blankets, and so on are all usually lined with Sherpa. 

Having said that, it should be noted that something using Sherpa does not immediately guarantee quality. The material is particularly tricky to work with, and a poorly made piece of Sherpa clothing is going to become matted or peel on you pretty quickly. 

When Is Sherpa Not Vegan?

While Sherpa is entirely vegan 99.9% percent of the time, there are individual high-end bits of Sherpa clothing that use wool in the polyester blend. 

If you have any doubts about the piece of clothing that you’re buying, check the tag. That should be able to tell you the fabric makeup of the item, as well as whether or not there is any wool in it. 

Coming across something like this is exceedingly rare, although not impossible. You shouldn’t concern yourself with it on a day to day basis, but if you’re ever splurging for something exceptionally cozy, consider giving the tag a quick check. 

What Is Sherpa Made Of?

There are two primary sources of polyester, both of which are vegan. The first is the chemically synthesized kind.

Polyester refers to a large group of synthetic fibers. These fibers are usually derived from petroleum. 

Alternatively, certain types of polyester can be found in plant matter. Cutin is located in a cuticle and contains a waxy polyester that is sometimes used in the makeup. 

Regardless of which type is used, both are vegan friendly. Polyester isn’t the only ingredient that goes into Sherpa, though. 

Acrylic is also popularly used in the fabric composition. Acrylic isn’t just the name for records; it’s actually a fiber fabric that is made from a type of synthetic polymer called polyacrylonitrile.

All you need to know about that mouthful is that it’s produced by burning particular coal or petroleum-based substances with a bunch of other sciencey things thrown in there. The result of that is a fossil-fuel based fiber, which, unless you consider extinct dinosaurs to constitute not being vegan, is perfectly acceptable to use. 

The last common ingredient you might find in Sherpa is cotton. As a vegan, you don’t need me to explain about cotton. It’s become my best friend over the last few years, and I’m sure it holds a similar place in your heart. 

It is an entirely natural ingredient that comes from the cotton plant and is unbelievably soft and comfy. 

Conclusion

To summarize, Sherpa is vegan. It is made from a fiber blend of polyester, acrylic, and cotton. There are rare occasions when wool might be used, so be sure to check the tags. 

I hope that this article has answered your questions. Sticking to a vegan lifestyle is challenging. Not only because of the things you have to give up, but you’re constantly navigating a landmine trying to avoid other animal-based products.

If you liked what you read, you could check out the other posts on the site for more vegan lifestyle questions, queries, tips, and tricks. 

Stephanie Mantilla

Plant-Based Diet & Vegan Lifestyle Expert

Stephanie is the founder of Plant Prosperous, a plant-based vegan living, and parenting blog. She has been eating a plant-based diet for over 24 years along with a B.S. in Biology & Environmental Science. She also has over 14 years of experience working in the environmental and conservation sectors. Stephanie is currently raising her son on a plant-based diet and hopes to help others who are wanting to do the same. You can read more about her here.

The post Is Sherpa Vegan? [A Cruelty-Free Alternative] appeared first on Plant Prosperous.

The food your dog eats should be part of this care and attention, as it plays a role in their overall health and happiness. 

Today’s dog food industry is a lot like the human food industry. The products marketed as necessary foods for a healthy diet are usually processed, unnatural, and artificial.

While these foods have some components to being healthy, some ingredients can undermine the overall healthful value.  

As you try to keep you and your family away from the unnatural foods that take a serious toll on your health, wouldn’t you want the same for your dog? 

There are several vegan dog food companies out there that advertise to dog families that want to enhance their dog’s well-being with clean and wholesome ingredients. Wild Earth is one of these companies. 

Before you transition your dog’s diet to a completely new one, without meat, this review can help you make sure that vegan dog food is quality nourishment for your family’s dog.

I also investigate Wild Earth so that you can decide whether their vegan dog food is the best choice. Even if you decide they’re good, always check with your veterinarian before switching your dog’s food.

This post may contain affiliate links. That means if you purchase an item through these links, I may earn a commission at no additional cost to you. Please read the full disclosure policy for more info.

About Wild Earth

Wild Earth started in 2017 when the founders became fed up with the dog food industry. They researched the unhealthy additives and unnatural supplements that ended up in factory-produced dog food. 

The creators of Wild Earth also got inspired by a study from UCLA. It concluded that 64 million tons of carbon dioxide permeate into the atmosphere because of meat-based pet food production. 

With that, Wild Earth assembled a team of veterinarians, nutritionists, scientists, and more to create cruelty-free and sustainable vegan dog food.  

The company even featured its product on Shark Tank, where they received a $550,000 investment for a 10% stake in the company. 

Dog Food Ingredients

Wild Earth takes pride in its clean, plant-based ingredients they use in every product. They say that protein is an essential part of your dog’s diet, just as it is in the human diet.

Factory-produced pet food often uses meat as their protein source. But, we, as humans, can understand that factory-produced meat is not trustworthy. 

In response, Wild Earth creates all its products with naturally grown plant-based ingredients. They are FDA approved and pass the AAFCO guidelines.

Wild Earth dog foods have 31% protein in their kibble, without meat. Their primary source for protein is yeast. Full of plenty of essential amino acids, yeast is very easy to grow and implement into your dog’s food. 

There are also several sources of fiber within the food. Fiber is critical in keeping your dog’s gut healthy and clean. 

Overall, Wild Earth is self-proclaimed to be free of all things artificial. That goes for preservatives, colors, and flavors. Plus, its products are free from corn, soy, and rice. 

Want to try it out for yourself? Go here to order your first bag or use this link to save 50% off your first subscription order.

Here are the ingredients Wild Earth puts into their food products:

• Blueberries
• Calcium carbonate
• Calcium iodate
• Canola oil
• Chickpeas
• Choline chloride
• Copper proteinate
• Cranberries
• D-calcium pantothenate
• Dicalcium phosphate
• Dried aspergillus oryzae fermentation product
• Dried yeast
• Flaxseed meal
• Folic acid
• Fructooligosaccharide
• Inulin
• Iron proteinate
• L-carnitine
• Manganese proteinate
• Marin microalgae
• Niacin supplement
• Oats
• Pea protein
• Pumpkin
• Pyridoxine hydrochloride
• Riboflavin supplement
• Rosemary extract
• Salt
• Sodium selenite
• Spinach 
• Sunflower oil
• Sweet potato
• Taurine
• Thiamine mononitrate
• Vitamin A supplement
• Vitamin B12 supplement
• Vitamin D2 supplement
• Vitamin E supplement
• Wheat germ
• Zinc proteinate

When I look for food for myself, I tend to look for foods with ingredients I can pronounce. Reading through the ingredients for Wild Earth, there are some hard-to-pronounce words, some with chemical names like “hydrochloride” and phosphate.” 

Though some ingredients may seem artificial and nonessential, according to the Wild Earth website, they do serve a purpose.

For example, calcium carbonate is a natural ingredient that supports strong bones and teeth. Calcium iodate adds essential iodine into your dog’s diet, which strengthens and supports the thyroid. 

Therefore, before you start to get nervous about the unrecognizable ingredients in dog food, keep in mind that they do serve an essential purpose by adding healthy nutrients to your dog’s diet. 

All the ingredients are reviewed and approved by the company’s resident veterinarian. Likewise, trustworthy experts are playing a part in the production of food that goes from Wild Earth and into your dog’s stomach. 

Wild Earth Products

Based on the ingredients, it is evident that Wild Earth likes to keep things simple. This is also true of their product selection.

They offer only one kind of dog food, but they cater to different sized dogs by offering two bag sizes: a 4-pound and an 18-pound bag.

If you worry about undoing all the healthy benefits of Wild Earth’s dog food, it also offers dog treats. Sticking to the mantra of “less is better,” Wild Earth only has three different kinds of treats- peanut butter, banana and cinnamon, and strawberry and beet. Again, all the food is clean, natural, and, of course, vegan. 

All the treats are proudly made with Koji. The word “Koji” is even placed in the treats’ names. Wild Earth describes Koji as an ancient mushroom super-food that acts as a fantastic source of sustainable protein. A lot of people include Koji in their diets, and you can add it to your dog’s diet, as well. 

Additionally, if you are a Wild Earth fanatic, the company also offers merchandise to show support for plant-based, vegan dog food. You can choose between a t-shirt, a beanie, or a snap-back hat. However, if you are having a hard time choosing, you can get all three! 

Wild Earth consistently follows its belief in quality over quantity. Shown not only in the number of products offered, but Wild Earth also sticks to this in their ingredients list. For dog parents, it is relieving to know that the dog food company follows this in their content and their products.  

How Much Does Wild Earth Dog Food Cost?

The prices for natural foods can be higher than factory-made products generated in bulk. Since more care and attention goes into organically sourced dog meal, prices are higher than the cheap foods you can buy with filler ingredients. 

For a four-pound bag of Wild Earth’s signature food, it costs $29. As for an 18-pound bag, it costs $70. Keep in mind that all this food comes from healthy, plant-based foods that can improve your dog’s diet. 

If you want to save the most, use this link for amazing savings on a subscription. New customers will currently save 50% off their first bag.

All the packs of dog treats cost $10 for five ounces of treats. Remember that there are no additives, preservatives, or fillers that go into them. Therefore, despite being seemingly high priced, the quality is what you pay for, not quantity. 

If you truly enjoy Wild Earth products and are happy with the positive effects the food has on your dog, then you can take part in the membership program that the company offers. Getting a subscription membership means reduced prices and other added benefits like:

• 50% off your first purchase
• 10% off on every purchase
• Free shipping

The 50% subscription savings is only for a limited time for large dog food bags so take advantage of it quickly! Get yours here.

With a membership for Club Wild, you get to take a quiz, helping you find the ideal meal plan for your pup. Then, you can create a customizable delivery schedule. Your dog’s food gets delivered to your doorstep without having to click, order, and pay every time you run out. 

Wild Earth allows you to cancel your membership at any time. You can only sign up and redeem the benefits of your Wild Earth membership through the company’s website. Luckily, it is easy to navigate, shop, and purchase all your vegan dog food essentials. 

The Advantages of Vegan Dog Food

There are several reasons to make the switch to vegan dog food. If you transitioned to veganism in your everyday routine, then you can understand the health advantages to it all. 

Firstly, vegan dog food tends to be allergy-friendly. Sometimes, our furry friends have upset stomachs and unexplainable reactions to what they eat.

Wild Earth is exceptionally friendly to dogs with dairy allergies. Your dog can have a happier tummy and a more comfortable lifestyle. 

Feeding your dog vegan food can also boost their energy levels. This is because all of its nutrients come from natural sources, rather than by-products of meat, which can do more harm than good. You may have experienced this energy increase when you made the switch to a meatless diet. 

Finally, vegan dog food is good for your furry friend’s gut. As natural products, the food is easy to digest. Plus, there are a lot of sources of fiber in plants. For this, you can have healthier and more regular stool from your dog. 

Is Vegan Dog Food Safe?

Though the advantages of vegan dog food seem to outweigh the disadvantages, some have speculated whether canines should avoid a carnivorous diet.

For generations, families relied on meat-based dog food. However, people have wondered whether veganism is a healthy decision for dogs. 

According to veterinarians at Tuft’s University, many dogs do great on a vegan diet. While dogs originated from wolves, a close look at their genome shows that dogs have evolved to eat a lot more carbohydrates than wolves.

Some people may worry that vegan diets can offer the short end of the stick when it comes to protein. Wild Earth emphasizes the importance of protein, 31% of its product being made from protein sources. Moreover, there is no need to fear for your dog’s protein intake. 

According to this veterinarian, dogs also need a significant amount of vitamin D3, not D2, a product of plant-based foods. Unfortunately, Wild Earth does not feature vitamin D3 in their ingredients list. 

Ultimately, here’s a list of what to do and not do when feeding a vegan diet to your dog:

• You should only feed them vegan food that complies with the AAFCO. Fortunately, Wild Earth meets the organization’s requirements.
• Do not switch to veganism if you want to breed your dog. The lack of certain nutrients can get in the way of healthy reproduction.
• Meet with your vet regularly for tests and wellness exams. Seeing the vet for things like blood work at least twice per year can ensure that your dog’s diet is safe and healthy. 

According to the FDA, pet food that meets AAFCO standards is usually considered “complete and balanced.” While AAFCO isn’t a regulatory agency, FDA staff serves on the AAFCO board of directors and act as scientific sources for the AAFCO pet food recommendations.

Where to Buy Wild Earth Dog Food

Wild Earth products are available on the company’s website. The Wild Earth website is easy to manage and navigate, so shopping here is a breeze. It is also the site where you can activate your membership and take advantage of all its benefits. 

Amazon also sells this vegan dog food but I prefer to buy my dog food straight from Wild Earth. When ordering from warehouses, you never know how the food was stored or if the kibble is counterfeit. It’s not a risk I’m willing to take.

Wild Earth’s Refund Policy

According to the Wild Earth website, the company cares a lot about their customer service. If you do not like what you paid for, send it back, and Wild Earth gives you a full refund. It is a part of their Happiness Guarantee. 

Also, don’t forget that you can get even more savings from Wild Earth as a member of its Club Wild subscription. You can create a customizable delivery plan based on your dog’s portion sizes with reduced prices. There are no strings attached, other than being a loyal customer. 

Ready to order? Use this link to save 50% off the large dog food bag subscription. You can’t get a better deal than that!

Will You Try Out Vegan Dog Food?

Although veganism is not as dangerous for dogs as it is for cats, you should still monitor your furry friend’s health while feeding them a vegan diet. Of course, you would do this no matter what. 

With all vegan concerns aside, Wild Earth seems to be a reliable and legitimate source for vegan dog food. The creators understand that living a vegan lifestyle can mean forgetting about protein.

Amidst all the turmoil as the earth gets more polluted, Wild Earth offers a sustainable meal source for dogs that is clean and healthy.

Wild Earth makes sure that man’s best friend gets fed like a best friend. 

Next Steps

Learn more about being vegan with a carnivorous pet here.

Stephanie Mantilla

Plant-Based Diet & Vegan Lifestyle Expert

Stephanie is the founder of Plant Prosperous, a plant-based vegan living, and parenting blog. She has been eating a plant-based diet for over 24 years along with a B.S. in Biology & Environmental Science. She also has over 14 years of experience working in the environmental and conservation sectors. Stephanie is currently raising her son on a plant-based diet and hopes to help others who are wanting to do the same. You can read more about her here.

The post Wild Earth Dog Food Review [Is Vegan Dog Food Safe?] appeared first on Plant Prosperous.

These aren’t your boring everyday Starbucks drinks! (Although I’m sure you’d enjoy them every day as well.)

Many of your favorite Starbucks drinks can be made vegan with a few substitutions. While not every drink can be vegan (RIP pumpkin spice latte), there are plenty that can by changing to non-dairy milk and skipping the whipped cream.

Below I will show you the best vegan drinks at Starbucks including some from the Secret Menu. I will also show you how to create your very own personalized vegan Starbucks drink.

This post may contain affiliate links. That means if you purchase an item through these links, I may earn a commission at no additional cost to you. Please read the full disclosure policy for more info.

How To Create Your Own Vegan Starbucks Drink

Below I’ll go over how to create a personalized vegan drink at Starbucks. Knowing which specific syrups and drink bases are vegan allows you to evaluate any of the new drinks they put out.

I found the ingredients information from the Starbucks website but they state:

We cannot guarantee that any of our products are free from allergens (including dairy, eggs, soy, tree nuts, wheat and others) as we use shared equipment to store, prepare and serve them.”  Probably best to avoid if allergic.  

If you have an allergy to dairy then it’s probably best to avoid Starbucks altogether since there’s the chance of contamination.

Vegan Dairy-Free Milk At Starbucks

The conversion to plant-based/vegan is even easier now that Starbucks carries non-dairy milk.  Gone are the days when soy milk was the only option if you want a dairy-free beverage.  

Starbucks has almond milk and coconut milk as well. I will mention that their soy and coconut milk contain carrageenan for those who are trying to avoid that additive.

For all of the drinks listed below, a substitution of soy, almond, or coconut milk can be done if asked to make it vegan/ dairy-free.  

Does Starbucks have dairy-free whipped cream?

As of now, Starbucks does not have a dairy-free whipped cream so order your drink with no whip. Hopefully this changes in the near future.  

Is Starbucks Hot Chocolate Vegan?

Yes, Starbucks hot chocolate is vegan as long as you order it with non-dairy milk (almond, coconut, or soy) and skip the whipped cream.

Dairy-free and Vegan Starbucks Syrups:

• Hazelnut Syrup
• Mocha Sauce
• Vanilla Syrup
• Classic Syrup
• Creme Frappuccino Syrup
• Caramel Syrup (not drizzle)
• Hazelnut Syrup
• Almond Syrup

Vegan Drink Bases:

• Drip coffee
• Espresso shots
• Nitro Cold Brew
• Iced Coffee
• Cold Brew
• Steamed Apple Juice
• Hot Chocolate

Non-Vegan Ingredients To Avoid:

• Cinnamon Dolce Topping (contains dairy)
• Caramel Drizzle Sauce (contains dairy)
• Java Chips (contains dairy)
• Whipped Cream (contains dairy)
• Protein Powder (found in smoothies, contains dairy)
• Cloud Foam (found in cloud macchiatos, contains egg)
• Pumpkin Spice anything (contains dairy)
• Chai Mix (contains honey)
• Carmel Brulee anything (contains dairy)
• White Mocha anything (contains dairy)

Best Starbucks Drinks With Almond Milk

• Almond milk mocha with no whip
• Matcha green tea latte with almond milk
• Hazelnut latte with almond milk, no whip
• Cinnamon almond milk macchiato with no caramel drizzle or cinnamon dolce topping

Best Starbucks Drinks With Coconut Milk

• Iced matcha green tea latte with vanilla syrup and coconut milk
• Any Refresher or Infusion with coconut milk substituted
• Iced or hot coffee with coconut milk

Vegan Refreshers & Infusions

In the heat of the summer sometimes you want something to cool you off.  Starbucks has been expanding and promoting its offerings of iced teas.

Frappuccinos are still popular but, admit it, they are calorie bombs.  Basically a dessert shake.

Tip For Making Refreshers At Home: Pick up Instant Refreshers to always have them at home. These are the secret!

Every time I enter one of their stores it seems like they’re promoting a new Refresher or Infusion concoction.  

Are Starbucks Refreshers and Infusions Vegan?

All of the Starbucks Refreshers and Infusions are vegan but skip adding any honey.

Refreshers are fruit juice with a Green Coffee Extract. Infusions are Teavana iced tea infused with fruit and sweetened.

 Both are wonderful! Geared towards millennials with their picture-worthy appeal, they don’t cost you a huge amount of calories either.  

5 Best Starbucks Refreshers & Infusions From The Secret Menu

Want something creamy without being a nuisance to your health goals?  

The following drinks add coconut milk to a base of Infusion or Refresher.  The end result is delicious!

1) The Pink Drink

Strawberry açaí refresher with berries and coconut milk instead of water.

This is getting a lot of notoriety with breastfeeding mammas for boosting milk supply due to the coconut milk and superfood açaí.  

Does Starbucks Pink Drink Increase Milk Supply?

Possibly. Coconut is a galactagogue that is thought to increase breastmilk supply. The Starbucks pink drink contains a base of coconut milk.

Related: Other foods you can eat to increase breastmilk supply.

2) The Purple Drink

Passion iced tea, soy milk, vanilla syrup, and berries.

3) The Violet Drink

Very Berry Hibiscus Refresher base mixed with coconut milk.  

4) The Ombre Pink Drink   

Cool Lime Refresher, coconut milk, and a splash of Shaken Iced Passion Tango Tea.

5) Teavana Shaken Iced Piña Colada Tea Infusion

Shaken Iced Pineapple Black Tea Infusion and coconut milk.

Vegan Starbucks Frappuccinos

Make sure to order ALL these vegan frappuccinos without whipped cream and choose non-dairy milk. Also, make sure none of the non-vegan additives aren’t added.

• Cafe vanilla frappuccino
• Caramel frappuccino with no caramel drizzle
• Cinnamon dolce frappuccino with no cinnamon dolce topping
• Coffee frappuccino
• Espresso frappuccino
• Green tea creme frappuccino
• Midnight mint mocha frappuccino
• Salted caramel mocha frappuccino made with caramel syrup instead of caramel drizzle sauce
• Strawberries and creme frappucino

Conclusion

Once you know which sauces and coffee and tea flavorings are vegan, it’s easy to mix and match them to create a truly unique vegan Starbucks drink.

Starbucks is becoming more vegan-friendly as time goes on. As interest in vegan items grows, they add more to their menu.

Let me know what your favorite drink is in the comments below.   

Stephanie Mantilla

Plant-Based Diet & Vegan Lifestyle Expert

Stephanie is the founder of Plant Prosperous, a plant-based vegan living, and parenting blog. She has been eating a plant-based diet for over 24 years along with a B.S. in Biology & Environmental Science. She also has over 14 years of experience working in the environmental and conservation sectors. Stephanie is currently raising her son on a plant-based diet and hopes to help others who are wanting to do the same. You can read more about her here.

Pin for Later:

Ultimate Vegan Starbucks Drink Guide

The post Best Vegan Drinks At Starbucks & Secret Menu appeared first on Plant Prosperous.

Deciding whether or not to travel with a lap infant is a question that parents often face.

On one hand, plane tickets are expensive and airlines allow babies under 2 years old to fly for free on a parent’s lap.

On the other hand, your flight length or temperament of your child may not be the best for a lap child.

In this post, I’ll go over important factors to consider when deciding whether you should buy your baby a plane ticket. I’ll also cover baby airplane travel tips that we use on our trips.

This post may contain affiliate links. That means if you purchase an item through these links, I may earn a commission at no additional cost to you. Please read the full disclosure policy for more info.

Why An Airplane Seat For Your Baby Is The Safest:

Here are 3 reasons why getting your child their own plane seat is best.

1) Turbulence Is Always Unexpected

It’s a federal law that any child over the age of 2 is restrained in their own seat but before then you’re allowed to carry your child in your lap.

On the surface, this seems like a great way to save some money on already expensive plane tickets.  

Even though flying is still statistically safer than driving, carrying a child on your lap really isn’t the best idea.

Turbulence happens unexpectedly and it is unlikely you’ll be able to hold onto your child if there’s a sudden forceful drop.

If you decide to wear your baby in a soft body carrier, you’ll need to take them out and hold them during takeoff and landing.  

This seems counterintuitive since takeoffs and landings are the most dangerous parts of a flight.

2) Your Car Seat May Get Damaged

Most people plan on driving once they reach their destination so you’ll need a car seat.  Some car rental companies have car seats you can rent but you have no assurance that the seat was taken care of properly.  

The saying “it’s a rental, don’t be gentle” may come into play.  Some seats may not even come with the manual leaving you hoping that you installed it correctly.

If you decide to bring your own car seat and didn’t buy your baby a seat you have two options:  baggage check or gate check.

While gate checking seems like the safer option, there is still no way of knowing whether your car seat was dropped from a height or tossed around.  We’ve all seen how damaged our checked bags come out.

Car seats in an accident are required to be replaced due to potential micro-fracture formation that could compromise the shell.  This can cause the seat to fail or work improperly during an accident.

While airlines try their best, things happen, timelines need to be met, and you’re unlikely to know if your $200 car seat was mishandled.  

3) Airplane Seats Are Cramped

Since the ’80s airplane seats have been getting smaller.  An average of 2 inches each in seat width and legroom has been lost during this timeframe.  Now add in a lap child.

Traveling with a baby is already stressful. Their napping, eating, and play schedule is thrown off.  

By the time you get to your seat, you typically want to relax and take a breather. Not possible if you’re in charge of holding a 20 lb baby for a 4 hr flight.  

Planes are filling their cabins up to help with costs so it’s unlikely you’ll be fortunate enough to have an empty seat next to you.  

If you don’t get a window seat with your baby then you’ll be getting up more frequently to let your row mates walk around and use the restroom.  

Imagine having to stand upright after your baby fell asleep.

Tips For Airplane Travel With A Baby:

1) Keep A Lookout For Ticket Deals

We started planning vacation knowing we wanted our baby to have a seat of their own.  

This additional cost was factored into our budget from the very beginning. Southwest is our airline of choice so we keep an eye out on their Wanna Get Away fares.

 Even though the Southwest website says they offer affordable infant fares, when we called them up the prices they quoted could not beat any of the Wanna Get Away fares.  We purchased three of the Wanna Get Away.

You do need to call Southwest after the purchase to straighten out the age on the baby’s ticket. The youngest age option was 2yrs old since I guess most people will do a lap child before then.  

Overall it was less than a 10-minute call so not an inconvenience.

2) Travel With A Carseat Easily

Now that your baby has a ticket, you don’t need to check the car seat.  If you don’t want to bring a stroller, instead, use a hiking backpack carrier.  

Carry your baby through security in the carrier. They’ll probably love being up high and able to see everything.

Instead of getting a car seat backpack bag or one with wheels, I recommend this strap to attach the car seat to our carry on luggage.  

Attaching the car seat to luggage made it one less loose item to worry about. I’ve even seen some photos of toddlers being transported in the car seat attached to the luggage.

3) Load Onto The Plane Without Stress

While we love Southwest’s prices and friendly employees, their mode of getting seats isn’t the easiest for family travel.  

There isn’t assigned seating so it’s on a first come first serve basis. It depends on the number you were assigned when you checked in for the flight.    

When we’ve checked in pre-baby, we usually end up in the late B seating group. That means there are close to 80 people loading on the plane before us.

EarlyBird Checkin Strategy

In order to ensure a row all together, we purchased the EarlyBird check-in for my husband only.  It is $15 but ensures that he gets an A group boarding.

We chose to forgo getting EarlyBird for my ticket. I’ve read that some people have been denied bringing their baby on board early if the baby didn’t also have EarlyBird check-in.  

It seems unnecessary to pay $15 extra for the baby to be EarlyBird too. It’s not like you can leave them in line by themselves.

Family boarding is immediately after Group A anyways so it wasn’t that much of a wait difference.

The benefit of having one adult with the EarlyBird check-in is that they can get on the plane and set up the car seat. Meanwhile, the other adult isn’t blocking the aisle holding a baby.  

You’re technically not allowed to save seats on Southwest BUT it’s highly unlikely someone in A boarding would insist on sitting in a middle seat between a baby and an adult.

Set up the car seat in the window seat and then sit in the aisle seat. This leaves only the dreaded middle seat open until the person with the baby arrives.  

Also, by the time my husband got the car seat installed in the plane, it was time for family boarding.  I walked straight onto the plane and placed our baby in his car seat without holding up the loading process.

4) Baby’s Comfort Means Everyone Is Relaxed

Not really a solution but it is something that is important.  Our baby has been using this car seat for months.

It is a place he is used to and feels comfortable enough to take naps.  We have special car seat toys that he only gets to play with while riding in the car seat which keeps them interesting.

Had we carried our baby, he would want to play, to stand up and look around, to grab our hair, to peek through the crack between the seats, to try to crawl on the airplane floor, to grab all of the papers out of the seatback.  

You get the idea. Nothing about that scenario sounds like something we wanted to endure for 4 hours.

Instead, our baby was safely tucked into his car seat, giggling and laughing while playing with his toys.  Part of the flight we had him in our laps and walked up and down the aisle for his entertainment.

Mostly he was content people-watching in his seat or peering out the window.  The hum of the airplane ventilation acted like a white noise machine.

It lulled him to sleep after his initial excitement wore off. He even slept through the landing.

Conclusion

Overall, buying your baby a plane ticket drastically cuts down on the stress of travel and is the safest.

I hope that you can use my baby travel tips and strategize on how to get an affordable plane ticket for your family trip.

Let me know how you’ve traveled with your baby in the comments below.

Related Articles:

• How To Bring Healthy Food On An Airplane (without sneaking it)

Stephanie Mantilla

Plant-Based Diet & Vegan Lifestyle Expert

Stephanie is the founder of Plant Prosperous, a plant-based vegan living, and parenting blog. She has been eating a plant-based diet for over 24 years along with a B.S. in Biology & Environmental Science. She also has over 14 years of experience working in the environmental and conservation sectors. Stephanie is currently raising her son on a plant-based diet and hopes to help others who are wanting to do the same. You can read more about her here.

Pin for Later:

Purchasing Your Baby A Plane Ticket Makes Traveling Less Stressful

The post Should I Buy My Baby A Plane Ticket? Why It’s Worth The Cost appeared first on Plant Prosperous.

Smooth and silky pillowcases have a huge impact on your hair and skin. Your fair is less frizzy and breaks less. Your skin stays more hydrated and you don’t wake up with pillow crease wrinkles.

But if you’re a concerned vegan, you may be wondering what the best vegan silk pillowcase alternatives are? Luckily, you don’t have to deprive yourself of a luxurious pillowcase because there are many silky and sateen options.

Below, I’ll go over which pillowcases are the best for vegans as well as the pros and cons of each.

This post may contain affiliate links. That means if you purchase an item through these links, I may earn a commission at no additional cost to you. Please read the full disclosure policy for more info.

Why Vegans Don’t Use Silk

Vegans don’t use silk because it is a product created by an animal. One of the main beliefs of veganism is to not exploit animals in any way which means they don’t wear leather or wool either.

How is silk made?

Silk is made from the cocoons of the silkworm raised on silk farms. The caterpillars of the silk moth are fed mulberry leaves until they’re ready to pupate and create a cocoon.

This cocoon is what contains the silk threads that are used in silk fabric. Another name for silk from these worms is mulberry silk.

Is silk vegan?

No, silk is not vegan because for most mass-produced silk, the silkworm cocoons are boiled or steamed while the silkworms are still inside, thus killing them.

An estimated 15 silkworms are killed to make 1 gram of silk thread. This goes against veganism which aims to live a life without causing harm to animals, even insects.

Luckily, there are tons of vegan silk pillowcases available so you don’t have to go without. Below are the best silk alternative pillowcases I’ve found on Amazon.

Lyocell Bamboo Pillow Cases (Set of 2)

This set of 2 zippered queen size pillowcases is made entirely out of Lyocell bamboo fiber and comes in white or gray. Bamboo is a fast-growing grass and doesn’t need a lot of pesticides to keep it pest-free, unlike cotton.

While generic viscose bamboo uses a harmful solvent to extract the bamboo fibers, Lyocell bamboo fiber doesn’t. Regular bamboo viscose uses a lot of water in order to produce.

The Lyocell process is closed-loop which saves significantly on water. It also uses a non-toxic solvent to extract the bamboo fibers.

This set of pillowcases is awarded the Standard 100 by Oeco-Tex which means the production of this product produced no harmful waste at all.

Pros:

• Eco-friendly production
• Comes in a set of two pillowcases
• Available in queen, king, or standard sizes

Cons:

• Limited colors available.

Rivet Half Moon Sateen Cotton Pillowcase Set

The Rivet half moot pattern of this Amazon brand pillowcase set is made from cotton sateen and is completely vegan. Unlike traditional pillowcases, this set uses an envelope-style closure on the back.

These pillowcases come in a set of two and are 100% cotton but still have the sateen feel. The design is the most modern of the pillowcases that I found.

Cotton is a vegan fabric but cotton production can use a lot of pesticides which creates toxic runoff. Try to stick to organic cotton if you can.

The benefit of cotton fabric is that the fibers are hollow which sicks away moisture to keep you warm in the winter and cool in the summer.

Sateen is a weave used with cotton that gives the fabric strength but also allows cotton to shine like satin. This weave gives cotton the satin silkiness.

If you prefer solid colors, then the Stone & Beam HygroCotton sateen set is a better option. You’re getting the same cotton sateen but in a smoother solid colored weave.

The solid color options are rose, regatta blue, sea spray, stone, and white.

The cotton sateen pattern comes in peach-pink/white, white/peach-pink, and white/pewter. The pillowcase set comes in king size or standard. If you want, you can get an entire sheet set in this gorgeous pattern.

Pros:

• Modern design
• Patterns and solid color options
• Crisp and cool sateen

Cons:

• Non-organic cotton uses a lot of pesticides
• Manufacturing uses a lot of water

Bedsure Cooling Bamboo Pillowcases Breathable Set

The Bedsure cooling bamboo pillowcase set is made out of viscose bamboo. This set includes two pillowcases and comes in the colors grey, black, ivory, beige, navy blue, silver gray, teal, and white.

Bamboo is made from sustainably grown grass but the fiber extraction process for viscose can create some environmental waste. As mentioned above, Lyocell bamboo is no-waste but this general bamboo viscose may or may not use a solvent that creates some waste.

Bamboo fabric is moisture-resistant, odor-resistant, and breathable, making it perfect for all seasons. The sateen prevents your hair from frizzing and breaking and is good for your facial skin.

Pros:

• Made from sustainable bamboo
• Shine is great for hair and skin
• Breathable all-weather fabric

Cons:

• Bamboo viscose may create waste during production

Kitsch 100% Satin Pillowcase, Vegan Silk

This light pink satin pillowcase by Kitch is made of 100% satin polyester. This set only contains one pillowcase so if you need two, you’ll have to buy a second.

Satin polyester is a vegan fabric but isn’t the most sustainable and may contribute to the microplastics problem. Recycled satin polyester is more sustainable but I’d check out the other options on this list first before going with this one.

The plus is that this style has the most luxurious patterns for vegan silk pillowcases coming in pink, leopard, gray, and white. The satin keeps you cool at night so you sweat less.

You can also get a matching set of satin sleep scrunchies to put your hair up at night.

Pros:

• Has the most colors and patterns of the pillowcases
• Keeps you cool while you sleep

Cons:

• Only one pillowcase per order
• Satin polyester isn’t eco-friendly and contributes to microplastics

Bedsure Satin Pillowcase for Hair and Skin

This Bedsure satin pillowcase set is made from 100% polyester. You get two pillowcases in this set and can order them in standard, queen, or king sizes.

Polyester is a vegan fabric but it isn’t sustainable. This pillowcase is great for someone who wants the closest feel to real silk.

One of the issues with polyester involves the microplastics it creates during washing and using. There’s really no getting around this when using polyester.

This pillowcase features an envelope closure design so your pillow doesn’t slide out. It also comes in 23 luxurious solid colors.

Pros:

• Comes in 23 solid colors
• Great for hair and skin
• The most silk-like alternative

Cons:

• Polyester fabric creates microplastics
• Chemicals used in production create waste

Vegan Silk & Sateen Pillowcase Buying Guide

Trying to figure out which fabrics are vegan isn’t always the easiest since there’s a lack of transparency and information on the topic.

Below I’ll go over some of the best vegan silk alternative fabrics.

Lyocell Bamboo

Lyocell fabric is the best vegan silk alternative because the waste created to make it is almost completely recycled.

Lyocell takes the cellulose fibers from bamboo to create fabric. This closed-loop production cycle creates the bare minimum of waste.

Viscose

Viscose is another fabric created from bamboo but with a slightly different process than Lyocell. For the production of viscose bamboo, a solvent is used to dissolve the fiber pulp. This may or may not create waste that isn’t good for the environment.

Unfortunately, with most products labeled viscose, you can’t tell whether there was waste created during the production.

Cotton

Cotton is a plant-based fiber that is renewable. Unfortunately, it takes 5,000 gallons of water to make 2.2 pounds of cotton (equivalent to one t-shirt and pair of jeans). This is an extremely resource-heavy fabric.

Organic cotton is better to use than non-organic due to the pesticides used.

Polyester

Polyester is also called satin polyester. While this is a vegan-friendly fabric, it’s made from plastic. The environmental impact of polyester is significant.

I personally try to avoid polyester if I can but understand if there are no other options available.

Why is bamboo a good vegan fiber?

Bamboo is a fast-growing grass that can grow one inch every 40 minutes. Because of its fast growth rate, bamboo can be harvested and regrown without a detrimental environmental impact.

It’s also hardy and doesn’t require fertilizers or pesticides to grow well. As long as native forests aren’t being cleared for bamboo, it’s very eco-friendly.

If you stick with Lyocell bamboo over viscose, you’ll have have the most non-toxic and environmentally friendly fabric you can find.

Conclusion

Traditionally mulberry silk is not vegan, even if it’s non-violent or compassionate silk production. Instead of giving up silk altogether, by using a vegan-friendly silk or satin alternative, you can still enjoy your silk pillowase.

Overall, I recommend the Luxurious Lyocell Bamboo pillowcase set as the best vegan silk pillowcase alternative. It’s sustainably made and eco-friendly in addition to being vegan. Can’t get much better than that!

Let me know what your favorite silk or satin pillowcase is below.

Stephanie Mantilla

Plant-Based Diet & Vegan Lifestyle Expert

Stephanie is the founder of Plant Prosperous, a plant-based vegan living, and parenting blog. She has been eating a plant-based diet for over 24 years along with a B.S. in Biology & Environmental Science. She also has over 14 years of experience working in the environmental and conservation sectors. Stephanie is currently raising her son on a plant-based diet and hopes to help others who are wanting to do the same. You can read more about her here.

The post Luxurious Vegan Silk Pillowcase Alternatives appeared first on Plant Prosperous.

You booked your trip and are so excited until you realize that your layover may pose an issue to your meal schedule.

What is someone who is eating plant-based or vegan supposed to do on long flights or layovers? The easiest option is to plan ahead and bring your own vegan food.

The following guide will show you how to bring vegan food on an airplane so that it successfully passes through airport security.

This post may contain affiliate links. That means if you purchase an item through these links, I may earn a commission at no additional cost to you. Please read the full disclosure policy for more info.

What Travel Food Restrictions Are There For Vegans?

After too many meals consisting of an overpriced out of season fruit cup, I decided to look up the Transportation Security Administration restrictions on food items.

The TSA website states:

Solid food items (not liquids or gels) can be transported in either your carry-on or checked bags. Liquid or gel food items larger than 3.4 oz are not allowed in carry-on bags and should be placed in your checked bags if possible.

All food that you want to carry on to the plane must be checked in the X-ray machine at the TSA security checkpoint. The food you bring through security must be wrapped or inside a container.

Creative Vegan Travel Meal Ideas For The Plane

Be creative while still following the TSA food restrictions. Solid and whole food items are mainly unrestricted but there’s a gray area when it comes to creamy dips and spreads.

For instance, hummus in a container will fall under the 3.4 oz liquids restriction but hummus on a sandwich with other veggies do not as long as the sandwich toppings are substantial enough that it doesn’t look creamy.

These are the perfect leak-proof options for taking dips and dressings with you.

Can You Bring A Greens Salad On A Plane?

Yes, you can with some slight modifications. If you want to bring a salad with greens, it’s best to bring the dressing separately in case you run into any issues.

The lettuce and greens fall under solids so those should be fine. The dressing falls into the 3.4 oz liquids restriction.

If you want more flavor without dressing, you can do that with additional toppings.

Add beans, such as chickpeas, and non-juicy vegetables (sorry tomatoes). Drain all excess liquid from them before adding them to the salad.

Guacamole falls under the creamy liquid restriction BUT you can bring a whole avocado through no problem.

Use a knife from the after security food court to cut the avocado open and add it to your salad before getting on the plane.

Can You Bring Hummus On A Plane?

Already prepared hummus can be brought on a plan in a 3.4 oz container or smaller. Anything larger than that is not allowed.

If you’re feeling adventurous, bring a whole uncut lemon and a container of drained whole chickpeas. After you go through security, mash the chickpeas with a spoon and squeeze the lemon on top.

Voila! You just made some airport hummus.

Can You Bring Guacamole On A Plane?

Yes, guacamole is allowed on a plane but it falls under the 3.4 oz liquids rule.

If you’d prefer a larger amount of guacamole, you can bring a ripe, uncut avocado and whole lime through airport security.

Once in the terminal, mash the avocado in a bowl, squeeze lime on top, and add some garlic salt.

Can You Bring Pasta On An Airplane?

Plain pasta tossed with a small amount of oil isn’t an issue. If you start adding more liquid such as sauce, it will fall under the 3.4 oz rule so it’s better to keep the sauce separate.

I had success bringing rotini noodles through security with just enough sauce to coat the pasta and not have any liquid pooling at the bottom.

Pasta salads can work too if they’re drier and are mixed with other veggies.

Additional Vegan Plane Meal Ideas

The main takeaway with anything you want to bring is to make sure there isn’t pooling liquid or a creaminess if it’s already mixed in.

Sauces, dressings, and condiments fall under the 3.4 oz liquid restriction. You can still bring them but it’s a good idea to have them in a separate container until after you get through airport security.

• Quinoa salad
• Tabouli
• Rice and beans
• Vegetable Wraps
• Burritos
• Hummus sandwiches
• Lentil salad
• Baked tofu
• Peanut butter and banana sandwich

Vegan Travel Snacks For The Plane

The most obvious travel snacks to bring are whole produce items.

Self-contained fruits and vegetables make great vegan travel snacks. They’re easy to pack and healthy.

• Baby carrots
• Apples
• Bananas
• Oranges
• Blueberries
• Cherry Tomatoes
• Sugar snap peas
• Grapes
• Whole mangos work if you give yourself enough time to find a plastic knife to slice them open in the terminal.

Some other healthy vegan travel snacks are:

granola, protein bars, dried fruits, fruit leather, kale chips, popcorn, vegan jerky, and tortilla chips.

How Do You Pack Vegan Food When Traveling?

TSA WILL check your food so make it easy for them. You will need to remove your food from your carry on bag before it goes through screening.

All foods should be wrapped and not left open. For whole produce items, I’ll place them in a bag to comply with this rule.

Here are the best ways to pack your food while traveling:

1. Silicone Zip Bags

FDA grade certified PEVA silicone reusable zip bags. These bags are PVC, BPA, chloride and lead-free.

They are easy to close, leakproof, and completely washable. A great way to eliminate single-use plastic zip bags.

2. Individual Condiment Containers

These stainless steel condiment containers are leak-proof due to their silicone lid.

This set comes with three containers, each holding 3.4 oz which is the liquid limit for travel. Perfect for dressings, sauces, and dips.

When not traveling, I use these containers to hold snacks in my purse and for my son’s daycare lunch.

3. Glass Dishes

I find that glass dishes hold up better over plastic in our household. I use the same ones at home as I do for travel.

These glass dishes are “meal prep” size and can hold 36 oz of food. The lids are plastic but have a snap lock to keep them from leaking everywhere.

While my food was being inspected, they picked up a dish and flipped it over to inspect the underside. That is when I found out my dish lids weren’t leakproof. Also, glass dishes are heavy.

4. Bento Boxes & Tiffins

Bento boxes and tiffins are a compact way to carry all your food. Bento boxes are one box with different compartments separated.

Tiffins are multi-layered stackable dishes. Each dish is a compartment of its own.

I recommend going with leak-proof versions since TSA agents will tip your containers upside down during inspection.

5. Reusable Utensils

Don’t forget to bring reusable silverware with you! I’d leave the knives at home though.

This travel utensil set is made from bamboo. Additionally, it comes with a travel case and reusable metal straws and straw brushes.

How To Keep Food Cold On A Plane

One good thing about vegan food is that many of the meals can be made and stored at room temperature.

Without needing to worry about eggs, dairy, and meat food safety, the biggest food safety hurdles are overcome already.

Just like you would pack a lunch for work, the same precautions should be taken to keep your food cold and within temperature safety standards.

At a minimum, a thermal insulated bag should be used to store cold food items during travel.

Can You Bring An Ice Pack Through Security?

According to TSA guidelines, a frozen ice pack can go through the security checkpoint as long as it is still completely frozen.

If the ice pack has started to thaw, is slushy, or has pools of liquid, then it must meet the liquid restrictions.

Tips to help keep your icepack frozen:

• Leave it in the freezer until the last minute before you go.
• Pair the ice pack with frozen foods you planned on eating such as frozen peas or grapes.

Conclusion

Bringing vegan food on an airplane isn’t as difficult as you may have thought.

With only a little creativity and an understanding of the security food restrictions, you can easily bring your healthy vegan meals with you during travel.

I’d love to know what your favorite vegan meals you had while flying.

Stephanie Mantilla

Plant-Based Diet & Vegan Lifestyle Expert

Stephanie is the founder of Plant Prosperous, a plant-based vegan living, and parenting blog. She has been eating a plant-based diet for over 24 years along with a B.S. in Biology & Environmental Science. She also has over 14 years of experience working in the environmental and conservation sectors. Stephanie is currently raising her son on a plant-based diet and hopes to help others who are wanting to do the same. You can read more about her here.

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How To Travel With Vegan Food

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Can cats, dogs, and other pets go vegan? Cats cannot go vegan but dogs can due to their biological differences. For other pets, it depends on their natural history and biological needs.

As a former carnivore zookeeper for over 12 years, I have a lot of hand-on experience with feeding and caring for canids and felids of all kinds. There is a lot of misinformation out there about whether certain pets can live a healthy vegan life. Here I’ll cover some of the most common questions.

There are many points to this question, including nutrition, digestive health, energy levels, and the ethical side of it. Both sides of the spectrum are turning toward research to know if it is safe to feed a vegan diet to their pet.

Dogs and cats are different animals, so it stands to reason that having a vegan pet is determined by their make-up and what they can eat to remain healthy. Though meat-based meals are often the go-to for a lot of animals, a plant-based diet could be safe. 

Meat is absolutely necessary for obligate carnivores to eat and keeping that from them leads to health issues and nutrient deficiencies. Therefore, as a vegan pet owner, it’s important to focus on the right pet food.

I know it’s hard to determine whether you should have a vegan dog or not, but it is possible. Vegan cats might be another story.

Below I’ll go over all your common questions about being vegan with a carnivorous pet as well as what the current research shows on whether having a vegan pet is healthy.

This post may contain affiliate links. That means if you purchase an item through these links, I may earn a commission at no additional cost to you. Please read the full disclosure policy for more info.

Do Vegans Allow Their Pets to Eat Meat?

Some vegans do permit their pets to eat meat, though they may not like doing so. If I’m a vegan, and I have someone non-vegan over to my house, I’m not likely to prepare meat for them.

For one, I don’t really know how, and I’d be worried that I might make them sick by cooking it wrong. Plus, I’m not going to buy foods that I am not going to eat.

However, if I go to a friend’s house who is non-vegan, I’m going to steer clear of the meat dishes and only eat what I can on my vegan diet. I don’t expect them to give up their meat-loving nature for me, and they don’t expect me to prepare foods that I don’t feel ethically able to make. 

That being said, as a vegan, I want to make sure my friends are healthy. If one of them requires a diet that’s meat-based, I’m not going to belittle them for that fact. The same applies to my pets. They are my friends, so I’m going to ensure that they get the food they require.

Not all vegans feel or think the same way. Some of them do not allow their pets to eat meat at all. This is not necessarily a bad thing or cruel – as long as the pets are healthy and getting a diet full of nutrients. If you’re going this route then it’s absolutely necessary to do this under the supervision of your pet’s veterinarian.

Is It Cruel to Feed Dogs Vegan?

Whether you are vegan or not, many issues crop up around vegan animals. If you want to have a vegan dog, it is possible for the most part. It isn’t considered cruel, based on science.

However, the thing you must consider is whether or not the vegan diet is safe for them. Dogs need the right nutrients to live healthily. This includes amino acids, vitamins, vegetable matter, fruits, and everything else. In a sense, animals eat similarly to humans.

So is it cruel to feed dogs a vegan diet? No, not if you’re feeding them an AAFCO approved dog food that has all the nutrients they need. Your dog’s veterinarian should also run bloodwork to make sure all their values are healthy.

Nutrients Your Vegan Dog Needs

One argument against feeding your dog a vegan diet is that they won’t get the proper nutrients. Dogs often eat kibble, which has protein, vegetables, and the appropriate amino acids.

Some of the most important nutrients to watch for include:

• Taurine 
• Arachidonic Acid: This is a polyunsaturated fatty acid, and it’s found in phospholipids, such as phosphatidylinositides, phosphatidylcholine, and more. It’s generally found in the muscles, liver, and brain. As an omega-6 fatty acid, it is often seen as better than fish and other seafood.
• Protein: Protein is an essential macronutrient required to build muscle mass. It’s often found in meat, as well as canned pet food. You can get protein from other sources, which is what vegans often do. 
• Arginine: This nutrient is used to bio-synthesize proteins. It can also help to release insulin and hormones and get them where they need to go. It can also be used in humans as a treatment for blood vessels and heart conditions – both in pets and humans.
• Lysine: Lysine is a building block for protein. Generally, an amino acid is there to help the body process protein. Though it doesn’t matter where the protein comes from, it’s much harder to get enough of it from a vegan diet. While vegans can choose other sources, it’s harder to do for dogs and cats. Pets don’t often have the same food needs as humans.
• Valine: This amino acid is found in a variety of proteins. It can enhance your energy, increase endurance, and even help with muscle repair and recovery.

You can clearly see why these things are so important. Therefore, whatever foods you give to your pet must have these and other nutrients in it.

Vegan diets often fall short for humans if they aren’t careful. It’s so easy to get stuck in a loop of eating vegan junk food that is nutrient-poor. You don’t want the same for your dog.

Though you can choose to eat what you want and withdraw protein and foods that come from animals, your pet still needs the right foods to get the right nutrients.

What Do Vegans Think of Carnivorous Animals?

Veganism itself is a stance against exploiting and killing animals unnecessarily. Vegans feel it is unethical to eat animal products because they have the choice not to eat them and still be healthy.

Carnivores don’t have that same choice. They must eat meat to get the nutrients they require. As humans and omnivores (eating both meat and vegetables), it’s easy to become vegetarian or vegan over time.

However, many carnivores rarely eat anything but meat. Putting them on a vegan diet almost seems to be the wrong choice. You’ve also got to consider that cats and dogs are different and require different nutrients.

Cats are considered obligate carnivores which means that meat is biologically essential for their survival. There’s no getting around this. Cat’s simply cannot be vegan and be healthy.

Veganism makes exceptions to its rules for survival, and animals that must eat other animals to survive. Dogs have evolved to be more omnivorous so some of them can do well eating some grains and other protein sources.

Many animals don’t understand the moral implications of eating other animals and it’s in fact how they’ve evolved over time. Animals don’t have morals, so there is no need to worry about ethics.

Where ethics come into play is the question of whether vegans owning pets moral? Yes, vegans owning pets is moral as long as they take proper care of them. If a pet was adopted and needed a home, and you’re not breeding them yourself, you’ve given that homeless animal a safe place to live.

Some vegans do believe that they should be moving toward a world where no animals are held captive. This clearly indicates pets.

However, domesticated animals should stay cared for and respected as companions, at least in my opinion. People have had pets for forever, and it’s impossible to ignore the fact that they are a part of our lives.

They make us feel better after a long day, and some studies have shown that dogs can actually help people feel better and be healthier.

Can Cats Eat Vegan?

No, cats can absolutely not eat a vegan diet. They are entirely meat-eaters, so depriving them of meat or giving them meat alternatives will cause painful health issues and nutritional deficiencies.

Some believe that cats shouldn’t have to eat a vegan diet because they can’t get the nutrients they require from it. Others feel that cats are so strong-willed and independent that it must be their choice, or else they would not do it. 

Though dogs can eat certain ‘human’ foods, cats cannot. Therefore, you shouldn’t give your cats vegetables. Also, cats require certain nutrients to stay healthy that often can’t be found with your own research. You’re going to have to buy cat food that is fortified with those nutrients in order for them to stay healthy.

One of the most common deficiencies for a cat on a vegan diet is taurine deficiency. A cat who doesn’t get enough taurine will over time get impaired vision leading to blindness as well as muscle and heart tweaking.

The problem is that this deficiency is slow to develop and show symptoms. Often by the time you realize it, it’s too late and long-term damage has been done. So do your cat a favor and feed them an AAFCO approved diet full of meat or don’t adopt a cat to begin with.

Why Cats Can’t Eat A Vegan Diet

Cats, on the other hand, are impossible to switch to a vegan lifestyle. While a vegan dog is relatively easy because they can digest vegetables and grains, cats are different.

Cat food must be fortified with certain proteins, including taurine. Cats can’t produce this protein themselves and must get it from food. Of course, fish, chicken, and beef are all great sources. If they don’t get enough taurine, they could develop DCM (Dilated Cardiomyopathy).

Vegan cat food is available, and it is free of animal-based products but overall it is not healthy for them. While it says it has all the nutrients that cats need, cat digestive tracts are built differently.

Their intestines are much shorter which means food passes through quickly and they aren’t able to absorb the nutrients from plant-based foods effectively.

So while the food is often fortified with essential proteins like taurine, cats aren’t able to digest it. Most vets believe that cats can’t thrive on diets without meat.

How to Feed Your Omnivorous Dog a Vegan Diet

Veganism is on the rise. Between 2014 and 2017, it rose to about 600 percent in just the United States. Therefore, it’s no wonder that many people want to feed their cats and dogs a vegan or vegetarian diet, as well. 

You can find vegan dog food, so it is possible to own a vegan dog. Still, you have to ensure that they’re getting the right nutrients. Owners of pets find it natural to give them regular pet foods. They need meat, but that can cause problems if you are living a vegan life.

You can continue to feed your pet regular food like they are used to having. As a carnivore, they are going to be good with that and have probably been fed it for many years.

Those who do want to consider vegan food for their pets should think about the appropriate requirements. You can find vegan dry dog food for your dogs. Wild Earth is my favorite vegan alternative. You can read my review of them here.

Many companies are now offering such products but I recommend sticking to AAFCO-approved foods since they have strict guidelines on nutrients. Dogs tend to prefer meat, but they can live healthily on vegetables and fortified dog food. 

Why Some Dogs Thrive On A Vegan Diet

While some dogs may have trouble switching to a vegan diet, other dogs can easily switch. Many dog owner’s who have switched to a vegan protein source for their dog have done so due to allergies rather than for personal beliefs.

A lot of the most common proteins in dog foods are chicken, turkey, beef, eggs, or other animal-based sources. If you’ve ever looked at a dog food specifically for dogs with allergies, many times the protein sources are more exotic like duck, venison, rabbit, lamb, or even bison.

This is because vets have found that many dogs with skin and allergy problems do best on varied protein sources they haven’t built up an allergy to yet.

By going with a commercial vegan dog food like Wild Earth, the protein source is from yeast and is completely clean and sustainable. They also meet AAFCO guidelines so you know your dog is getting all the nutrients they need. If you’re interested in learning more, check out my Wild Earth dog food review.

History of Dogs

Generally, dogs became domesticated because humans offered them food from their campfire, which wasn’t always meat. Wolves, of course, eat meat, but they also eat grass and berries if they are lacking in a particular vitamin.

Throughout the years, dogs adapted to a diet with more plant starches and less meat. They have the right genes to digest it.

Therefore, dogs are at an advantage over cats when it comes to moving them closer to a vegan or vegetarian diet. Still, it is not easy to get a dog to switch to a vegan lifestyle. Lots of close work with your veterinarian should be done before switching over.

It’s often best to use a veterinary nutritionist to ensure that you’re doing things correctly. However, that can get expensive and be a challenge to you.

Though there are companies offering vegan dog foods, you still need to research them and ensure that they are providing the right nutrients. This is often difficult to do and requires you to spend hours online trying to figure out the difference between all of the amino acid requirements and more.

Can Vegans Own Snakes?

Vegans can technically own any animal they want, but if they want the pet to be on a vegan diet, then a snake is not the best choice. Generally, snakes only eat meat and do not eat vegetables and fruit.

It’s nearly impossible to keep a snake healthy on a vegan diet and you shouldn’t try. Their diet consists of eating small animals, such as mice. If you can’t allow them to eat meat, then it is best not to buy or try to care for a snake.

Are you no longer vegan if you feed your pets meat?

Yes, you are still considered a vegan if you feed your pets meat. It’s their biologically appropriate diet, for goodness sakes.

Veganism means different things to different people. If someone wants to judge you for doing whats best for your furry friend, then it’s best to ignore them.

You are not eating meat and are advocating against it. But if you already owned cats before turning vegan, that doesn’t mean you should re-home or abandon your pets.

Caring about animals is part of being a vegan so abandoning or giving your pets medical issues can’t be farther from the essence of veganism.

Herbivorous Pets Vegans Should Consider

If you’d rather have a pet that is naturally vegan, consider the options below. I always recommend adopting pets rather than buying them from breeders or pet stores. There are millions of pets in need of homes.

Here are 12 vegan pet options:

• Rabbits
• Hamsters
• Guinea Pigs
• Rats
• Mice
• Gerbils
• Tortoises
• Some Reptiles
• Goats
• Alpaca
• Small Fish
• Certain birds

Before adopting any animal, make sure you do additional research to truly understand the long term care each pet needs. Many tortoises and reptiles can get to quite a large size despite being small for many years.

Also keep in mind how long the pet lives. For instance, African Gray parrots can live upwards of 80 years and require constant one-on-one attention. Do you want the commitment for basically your entire life?

Is it wrong for vegans to own pets at all?

I don’t consider it bad for vegans to own pets. In fact, I have a dog, three cats, and a cockatiel at home. All of them were either found abandoned on the street or adopted from sad situations.

There are vegans who are against pet ownership because it means that animals are in captivity. On the flip side, where would these animals bee if they weren’t in people’s homes?

They’d most likely be euthanized or in stressful conditions on the streets. Domestic cats and dogs are not natural in any way and can’t be release “into the wild.”

Domestic cats kill an estimated 4 billion wild birds and 23 billion wild mammals ANNUALLY. If they aren’t adopted into people’s homes, the only other option is euthanasia. I’d rather adopt them and give them a happy indoor home life, personally.

While this is a complicated issue, it comes down to your mindset. If you don’t think of your animals as “things” and try to give them as many choices as possible, they can live a happy life.

Conclusion

Whether you own a dog or cat, you may be thinking of turning them onto a vegan lifestyle. This can be very difficult to do, and cats absolutely cannot eat a vegan diet. They require nutrients only found in protein and meat.

Despite being a vegan myself, all three of my cats are fed a high-quality all-meat diet that follows AAFCO guidelines. There’s no getting around it; it’s what is best for their health.

Your dog might be a little easier to switch to a vegan protein source because they have already adapted to eating grains, vegetables, and diets lower in protein. If you plan to get your pet away from eating meat, it might be best to search for products, such as vegan dog food.

If feeding your pets like snakes, cats, or other animals who are carnivorous meat bothers you, then you should rethink adopting them. Instead, focus on adopting a pet that is naturally vegan such a rabbit or rodent.

Stephanie Mantilla

Plant-Based Diet & Vegan Lifestyle Expert

Stephanie is the founder of Plant Prosperous, a plant-based vegan living, and parenting blog. She has been eating a plant-based diet for over 24 years along with a B.S. in Biology & Environmental Science. She also has over 14 years of experience working in the environmental and conservation sectors. Stephanie is currently raising her son on a plant-based diet and hopes to help others who are wanting to do the same. You can read more about her here.

The post Vegan With A Carnivorous Pet: Can Cats and Dogs Be Vegan? appeared first on Plant Prosperous.

Oysters can create multiple pearls over their lifetime. On pearl farms, oyster are protected from predators by being placed in nets that can be raised and lowered.

That begs the question, are pearls vegan? No, pearls are not vegan because they are a product from an animal. Many oysters die during the pearl-making process so pearls are not vegan-friendly.

Below I’ll cover the pearl making process and give examples of vegan-friendly pearl substitutes.

This post may contain affiliate links. That means if you purchase an item through these links, I may earn a commission at no additional cost to you. Please read the full disclosure policy for more info.

How are pearls made?

Natural pearls are exceedingly rare so most pearls on the market considered “cultured.” Pearls are made by placing a small round bead or piece of oyster shell inside of an oyster.

Some of the oysters die during the nucleation process. Clams can create pearls too but it’s less common so they aren’t used in commercial pearl farming.

This shell piece is an irritant to the oyster so they start producing a protective crystalline nacre that coats and encapsulates the foreign object. Over time this builds up and it creates the pearl that is then harvested.

It can take between 2-5 years for a pearl to be formed to the desired size. In order to speed up the nacre process, the oyster farmers may change the water type or temperature in order to stress the oysters.

Do oysters feel pain when making pearls?

Oysters are invertebrates and don’t have a central nervous system like humans do. There isn’t a scientific consensus yet as to whether oysters feel pain and irritation like we do.

The nacre that oysters create is an autoimmune response to a foreign object, much like the white blood cells our own bodies send out when we get a splinter.

Even if pearl creation isn’t painful to oysters, the biggest vegan issue lies with pearl harvesting.

Do oysters die when you remove the pearl?

A pearl is harvested by opening up the oyster’s shell and removing the pearl. If the oyster produces excellent pearls and is young, this will be done carefully so that the oyster can repeat the pearl-making process again.

If the oyster has stopped producing valuable pearls, it is discarded and dies. An oyster that is in this system will make pearls until they can’t anymore and then will be killed.

Every harvesting season an estimated 1/3 of oysters are discarded for meat and shell usage rather than being released into the ocean.

Are pearls cancer to clams?

This is a question that became popular on social media. The short answer is no, pearls are not cancer to clams.

Clams are a type of mollusk similar to oysters. Clams aren’t used in commercial cultured pearl productions because pearls are not a common occurrence in clams.

For a pearl to be formed in a clam, a foreign object like a piece of sand or debris has to have gotten lodged into the clam. This creates an autoimmune response by the clam.

The clam creates a protective nacre around the foreign object so that it won’t cause irritation or harm to them. This response is more similarly equated to a human with a splinter rather than cancer.

Are pearls ethical?

The pearl creation process involves exploiting oysters for human use. Many of the oysters die during the pearl culturing process so pearls cannot be called ethical.

When the oysters have outlasted their usefulness in pearl creation, instead of being release back into the sea, they’re harvest for food usage and shell usage for mother of pearl.

Is Mother of Pearl vegan?

Mother of Pearl is the iridescent layer inside the shell of a mollusk such as a pearl oyster, abalone, and freshwater mussels. The iridescent layer is created by the same nacre that gives pearls their beauty.

No, mother of pearl is not vegan. In order to harvest mother of pearl, the oyster is killed for the shells to be used.

Is abalone shell vegan?

Similar to mother of pearl, abalone shell is the colorful nacre that coats the inside portion of a mollusk’s shell. Abalone shell is not vegan since the mollusk must be killed in order to harvest the shell.

Are faux or synthetic pearls vegan?

Some faux pearls are vegan while other synthetic pearls are not. Let’s look at some of the most common types of cultured pearl alternatives more closely.

Majorica Pearls

Majorica pearls are sometimes called Majorca pearls. They are a brand registered in Spain who’s faux pearls most closely resemble real pearls.

You can find this brand of synthetic pearl at department stores.

They achieve this similarity by coating each bead in a fish scale or mother of pearl mixture thus making them not vegan.

Verdict: Majorca Pearls Are Not Vegan

Glass Bead Faux Pearls

It can be difficult to tell if a generic faux pearl is vegan or not. Most faux pearls are made from glass beads and coated in a paint or lacquer.

If the pearl bead has any iridescence then it may also be coated in a non-vegan fish scale or mother of pearl coating.

Verdict: Glass Bead Faux Pearls Are Hard To Tell

Swarovski Pearls

Swarovski pearls are made with a crystal core and have a proprietary vegan-friendly iridescent coating.

These crystal pearls are so similar to cultured pearls that most people won’t be able to tell. Swarovski’s pearl designs are high end and hold up well. I emailed the company myself to confirm.

Verdict: Swarovski Pearls Are Vegan

Vegan-Friendly Jewelry To Wear Instead Of Cultured Pearls

Now that you know that cultured pearls are not vegan, what jewelry can you wear instead? A combination of Swarovski pearls, vintage pearls, and beaded jewelry is your best option.

Vintage Pearls

Wearing vintage pearls is an option for someone who really wants authentic pearls but doesn’t want to contribute to the new pearl market.

Borrowing friends’ pearl jewelry is a way to temporarily have pearls for a special event. Many vegans don’t want to wear any animal products, even borrowed, so this isn’t an option for anyone.

Swarovski Pearls

Swarovski pearls will be the closest you can get to authentic pearls but without the animal cruelty. Their pearl jewelry designs are modern and fun.

Swarovski sells loose pearls in the bead market so you can make your own pearl design or have someone make you what you envision.

Beaded Jewelry

If it’s the look of a beaded necklace you’re going for, you can achieve this without pearls. Stone beads come in every color and size so you can recreate the look you were going for without pearls.

Conclusion

There is sometimes confusion on whether pearls are vegan but they are clearly not vegan since they come from an animal. Luckily, there are pearl alternatives vegans can use to get the same look of pearls.

Stephanie Mantilla

Plant-Based Diet & Vegan Lifestyle Expert

Stephanie is the founder of Plant Prosperous, a plant-based vegan living, and parenting blog. She has been eating a plant-based diet for over 24 years along with a B.S. in Biology & Environmental Science. She also has over 14 years of experience working in the environmental and conservation sectors. Stephanie is currently raising her son on a plant-based diet and hopes to help others who are wanting to do the same. You can read more about her here.

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