If there's one thing that I think is common to all vegans (other than committing to a life of compassion and non-violence, of course), is the desire to seek out other vegans, to share their experiences and expertise, and to learn as much as we possibly can about vegan life, lifestyle, advocacy, and not least, food. One of the best places to find an incredible range of information to suit just about any taste, is YouTube. Even if you're not sure, exactly, what you're looking for, just type the word "vegan" into their search engine and you'll instantly have millions upon millions of vegan-themed videos right at your fingertips. This is not to say that all videos are created equal - far from it, in fact. While there are plenty of truly amazing content creators out there, there are also plenty of click-baity attention seekers that are best avoided in your quest for valuable information. So, I'm going to share my current take on the best of the best of the vegan YouTubers (at least for today), along with links to their channels and sites in the hopes of making your search just a bit easier!
NutritionFacts.org: If you're looking for the most recent, most thoroughly researched, and most accessible nutrition information on the web, then look no further than NutritionFacts.org. On this channel, you'll reap the benefits of Dr. Michael Greger and his team tirelessly reading, comparing, and testing all of the nutrition studies published in English-language medical journals each year. Why do they do this? So we don't have to! NutritionFacts.org does an incredible job of breaking down complex studies into easily-digestible chunks, and presenting the findings in a way that is perfectly accessible to all of us without medical degrees. Dr. Greger's presentation is concise, knowledgeable, and always entertaining. He also adheres to a WFPB (whole foods, plant-based) diet, which gives him both the theoretical and the practical knowledge to make evidence-based multi-faceted recommendations. In addition to the NutritionFacts YouTube channel, you can also find a wealth of information on the NutritionFacts.org website. Christine and I are also fans of Dr. Greger's Daily Dozen app, which helps us to track how well and how consistently we're meeting our nutritional needs through whole plant foods.
Plant Based News (PBN): Dollars to vegan donuts, Plant Based News is probably my #1 resource for keeping up with the realms of vegan culture, business, media, legislation, and animal advocacy. In fact, rarely a day goes by that I don't check in with PBN to see what's happening in the world. As the channel is UK-based, they tend to have their fingers on the pulse of the evolution of mainstream veganism a bit more fully than do many US-based news sources. With everything from op-eds, to interviews, to newscasts, to the annual release of VEGAN: The Film, Plant Based News offers an engaging and well-rounded look at the global impact of animal agriculture and how the adoption of a vegan lifestyle can help to combat that impact.
The Happy Pear: Do you look for irrepressible energy and enthusiasm in your YouTube videos? Do you want to be shown exactly how nutritious, delicious, and simple vegan cooking can be? Would you be happy watching (and listening to) a pair of ridiculously good-looking, friendly, upbeat Irish identical twins speak passionately about food, travel, philosophy, and life in general? If your answer to any (or in my case, all) of these questions is a resounding "YES!!," then The Happy Pear is for you! Brothers Stephen and David Flynn (aka The Happy Pear) began spreading the vegan word in 2004 through their café and grocery of the same name located in Greystones, County Wicklow, Ireland. Since then, they've published several cookbooks, developed a line of vegan products that are sold in supermarkets across Ireland, created an impressive range of Plant-Based Cooking and Lifestyle Courses, and managed both a successful podcast and YouTube channel. The Happy Pear was one of the very first vegan YouTube channels I investigated, and I'm still a loyal subscriber four years later. Christine and I had the bad luck to just miss meeting Dave and Steve when we last visited their café in 2019, but we hold out hope that we'll catch them on a future trip. Oh yes, Happy Pear - we'll be back!
Pick Up Limes - Sadia, the face and voice of Pick Up Limes is an exceptionally talented chef who presents both her recipes and her practical advice on self-care, minimalism, and organization in such a calming and engaging manner, that PUL has become my go-to channel when I'm looking to binge-watch vegan content. Based in the Netherlands, Pick Up Limes offers recipes that are simple, economical, wonderfully flavorful, nutritious and absolutely beautiful. Seriously, if you're looking for the best vegan food design and presentation on the internet, look no further than Pick Up Limes.
Ok, so I really wanted to do a Top Five, but as any of you who listen to our podcast know, I often have trouble narrowing down my favorites to just five. The four channels I've already mentioned are without a doubt, and in no particular order, my top four - but I just can't seem to choose a single channel to fill the number five spot. Instead, I'm going to give you a short list of contenders and acknowledge that any one of them could easily make the top five on any given day. Here we go (again, in no particular order):
Now, this is by no means an exhaustive list of worthy vegan YouTubers - these are just my regular go-to's. No matter what your tastes or interests, there is a YouTuber (or twenty) out there for you! Happy Hunting!
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