In Episode 112 I sit down with Harvard-educated Pyschologist and best selling author Melanie Joy to discuss how we form our beliefs about food and how vegans can have healthier, more productive, conversations with non-vegans. An episode that I believe will be highly instructive regardless of the diet that you follow.In this episode we cover:Melanie's personal journey to studying Pyschology at Harvard and writing her award winning book "Why We Love Dogs, Eat Pigs, and Wear Cows: An Introduction to Carnism" Why our food choices matterThe carnism ideaologyCarnistic defense systems and the three N's: 'Normal, Natural and NecessaryEffective vegan advocacy: how to communicate better as a veganShame vs guiltThe idea of thinking about process vs content when communicating with someone who holds a different opinion to youWhy the debate format sets us up to failHow you can be a part of the solutionWhat a 'vegan ally' isThe idea of watering the right seedsand much moreWhile my episodes usually focus on nutrition science I found this exchange fascinating and believe many of the learnings hold true for our communication in general, whether that be related to food choices and the exploitation of animals or not. My plan is to extend this into a 3-4 part series, with Melanie to return and another high profile vegan activist in the coming months so we can continue exploring this topic together.Resources:The 3 minute video on Carnism created by Melanie and her team Beyond Carnism that I referred to in this conversationConnect with Melanie on Instagram @beyondcarnismCarnism.org websiteMelanie's Book Why We Love Dogs, Eat Pigs, and Wear Cows: An Introduction to Carnism, 10th Anniversary EditionThe Vegan Matrix - another book written by Melanie exploring what she believes is a serious problem with the vegan movement: unexamined privilege.Melanie's 2015 TedX Talk Toward Rational, Authentic Food ChoicesMy Book:My book is coming out early 2021 published with Penguin - I cannot wait to share with you. In the lead up the launch I am going to share information about the title, cover, ways to win a copy, live event dates, free e-books etc. Register your email here so I can keep you up to date.Want to support the show?The single best way you can support the show is by leaving a review on Apple podcast app - it only takes a few minutes and would be much appreciated.Simon Hill, Nutritionist, Physiotherapist Creator of Plantproof.com and host of the Plant Proof PodcastConnect with me on Instagram and Twitter @plant_proof