Solutionary [suh-LOO-shuh ner-ee]. Noun. a person who identifies inhumane, unsustainable, and unjust systems and then develops solutions that are healthy and equitable for people, animals, and the environment.

To be truly solutionary, a solution must significantly and strategically address the underlying causes of the problem, and it must do so without causing harm to people, animals, or the environment.

Solutionary vegans level up by:

• questioning the “true-price” of their actions, by asking, “what are the impacts of my everyday choices on  other humans, non-human animals, and the planet?” 

• diving deep for accurate information (truth)

• (inclusive) building coalitions by supporting and amplifying the many important, beautiful, diverse voices for change 

• Prioritizing high-impact strategies that revolutionize systems 

...so that we can effectively advocate for all beings. 

A1. We don’t believe you. Think about the human connection to factory farming, for instance:

Who benefits?  Lobbyists, politicians, university ag programs, pharmaceutical companies, healthcare providers, CAFO and feed companies, transportation providers, producers of non-food animal products, grocery stores. Who’s on this list? The government, corporations, and people in power.

Who suffers? People who live near factory farms, people who rely on cheap, subsidized protein, particularly those who don’t have access to affordable healthcare, slaughterhouse workers, local farmers, environmental refugees. Who’s on this list? Black, indigenous, and people of color, undocumented immigrants, low income families - people with limited access to housing, quality food and healthcare bear the human cost of animal exploitation. 

So back to the question, do you really not care about this human suffering? If you do care, might these people have some ideas about and vested interest in transforming our food system?

A2. Further, animals desperately need us to attend to our shared ecosystem.

Consider the loss of biodiversity, water contamination, air pollution, carbon emissions and deforestation that is catastrophic to animals and humans alike.

A3. And finally, it’s all tied together and it’s tightly wound (see A). Animals will continue suffering until we reform the systems that are keeping them, and our human brothers and sisters, at a disadvantage. 

To truly ally, we must step out of our silos and understand how we’re connected so that we can transform these systems at the roots, together with the humans most impacted by the injustices, and for the animals.

Maybe—But can the 2% of us who are vegan get us there on our own? 

 What if we work together with others who care about the consequences of our unjust food system—to fight the powerful forces who want us to keep eating animals?  

LEVEL-UP Podcast is Solutionary Vegan’s launchpad. Several other projects are in the development phase.

That’s our friends Ryz & Evan, The Wake Up Experience. Check out the full video (can you find Ella?). We chose it because it makes us feel like we can change the world!