In Episode 88 I sit down with Seb Alex to talk about the importance of animal welfare and what life looks like through the lens of an Animal Activist.Specifically we cover:Normalising veganismThe impossible burger: Does he eat it and what does he think about their practices?Things to consider when supporting large chains like Hungry Jacks who have added vegan burgers onto their menuWhat is a vegan?What is a sentient being?Different levels of sentienceAre oysters sentient beings?What is speciesism?Growing up in Lebanon and his transition to a vegetarian diet and then ultimately a vegan dietIs veganism extreme?Developing the courage to be an activistThe notion of 'humane' slaughter - does it exist?Ag-Gag laws protecting the animal agriculture industryand much much moreI completely understand this episode and the topic of animal welfare is often a little uncomfortable (I totally get it) and perhaps you have a stereotypical view of an animal activist being angry, weird and violent. I know I used to. Today’s guest, Animal Activist Seb Alex, is anything but that and I urge all of you, vegan or not, to listen to this conversation with an open mind. Even if you’re not interested in veganism it’s interesting to listen to what people from different walks of lives have to say…how they see the world. 10 years ago if I came across this podcast - I would probably keep scrolling. In fact I definitely would of. I often think about my early University days and why I never stopped to think about eating animal products. I grew up loving dogs and farm animals…but I never once fully appreciated the connection between my food plate with an animals life and how my consumption affected their happiness. The odd thing is I look back on myself a decade ago and I see the same person…the values and beliefs were there but I was closed. I was not in a place to allow new ideas to challenge the way I had been programmed.Now that I understand the power of opening your mind I have discussions with people all the time who see things differently to me not just about nutrition but all things in life. I can escape the echo chamber that we so often comfortably find ourselves in. A place where there is the natural tendency to only surround yourself with people who share your thoughts. I always walk away from these conversations. Happy that they give me the opportunity to challenge my beliefs and think a little deeper. Happy they gave me an opportunity to learn something new. It’s these types of conversations that allow our minds to expand. You may find todays message resonates with you. You may find it takes you to places in your mind that you have never visited. You may find it doesn’t. The point is, you will be better informed with regards to how an animal activist sees the world, you will better understand their perspective and then with that you can do what you want! If this isnt an episode for you right now -thats completely fine, jump over to any number of previous episodes on nutrition and come back to this one when it feels right.RESOURCES:DominionEarthlingsMeet the MeatAuthentic Food Choices by Melanie JoyVegan BootcampIf you enjoyed the episode please let Seb and myself know on social media - we would love to hear from you. Also, if you do get time & are an Apple phone user - you can leave a review here. All reviews are greatly appreciated!Simon HillInstagram - @plant_proofCreator of Plantproof.com - your FREE resource for plant based nutrition informationIf you want to receive FREE nutritional information to your inbox subscribe to the Plant Proof NewsletterBook coming out 2020 published with Penguin that I cannot wait to share with you (all proceeds being donated to charity)