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Sandra describes herself as a vegan foodie, content writer & editor and wife on a mission to empower others to make small, meaningful decisions and actions that will help make the world a better place. She is co-host of VEG Networking Canada, a place where plant-based and vegan companies connect and collaborate. Sandra is the author of the book “Vegan Marketing Success Stories“.

We discuss:
00:00 Welcome

01:15 Sandra’s Intro

• Filipino-canadian
• Literature, PR, marketing, writing
• Meditating: “This booming voice came to me… & said you’re vegan now & you’ll always be writing”
• Sandra’s “The Content Doctor” business
• Writing “#vegan Marketing Success Stories”

03:41 What’s Real?

• “A very #catholic household”
• Catholicism in the #phillipines due to #colonisation by Spain
• 13 years of Catholic school
• Church every Sunday
• Sermons: Fundraising & “We don’t really welcome gay people” #homophobia “Two of my best friends had just come out”
• “That was the last service”
• “I never did believe in heaven & hell… metaphors”
• “I do believe in an afterlife”
• “There’s a problem with the whole [Catholic] institution”
• Intuition & connecting to past ancestors “they’re giving me signs… still here & watching over us”
• Why do colonially imposed religions retain such popularity?
• The Filipino disapora, challenging colonial restrictions, reclaiming indigenous practices (e.g. tattooing)
• Joining #nxivm… later discovered to be a dangerous #cult “If it feels painful – move towards it!”
• A clear image from a recently deceased grandfather
• Being guided by a deceased cousin in Montreal
• “From the little I know of #quantumphysics physics this is all very possible… that’s why we have #ghosts “
• “The big bang… earliest atoms… that’s my definition of god… the creator”
• “The potential… of love… we all come from stardust”
• Risks of religious & spiritual beliefs
• Scams, cults, crystals, alt-medicine, #antivaxx
• “Critical thinking caps” & #redflags
• #Conspirituality podcast. #Yoga #wellness #spirituality

33:46 What & Who Matters?

• “Be a good person as much as you can vs. just being consumers”
• “I did not care very much for animals”… now vegan
• Documentaries: “Watching #earthlings … hit me really hard… stop eating meat”
• “As soon as the idea of becoming vegan hit my brain… this is it!… it took me 11 years”
• #Humanewashing #cognitivedissonance , denial, avoidance
• “I just had to learn how to cook”
• #biocentrism #ecocentrism
• Michelle S Wright: “Listening to vegetables telling her how they’d like to be grown”
• Plant sentience?

46:54 A Better Future?

• “Consideration for all sentient beings & the environment… a vegan lifestyle can get us closer”
• “I do believe in personal impact… ripple effects”
• #humanrights , clean water access, education, health-care (including #mentalhealth , addiction)
• Ethical clarity & righteousness vs. encouraging people along their own “journey”
• Messaging effectiveness
• The bad & good roles of #marketing
• “Vegan Marketing Success Stories” the first vegan marketing book
• Normalising #veganism
• #capitalism & the consumer economy, #ethicswashing & #greenwashing
• “It’s on the consumer to be smart”
• Marketing with integrity
• @Patagonia as an example, but they still use animal derived inputs
• If people have ethics & values then why shouldn’t companies?
• #millenials & #genz & values alignment

Sentientism is “Evidence, reason & compassion for all sentient beings.” More at Sentientism.info.

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Thanks to Graham for the post-production and to Denise for funding this episode via our Sentientism Patreon.