Since she first presented it, Colleen Patrick Goudreau‘s rousing talk on The Rise of the Excuse-itarian has reached hundreds of thousands of viewers and listeners, and we love it so much that we’re inspired to reshare it here as a tool for empowering all of us to live our own values of compassion and wellness.

This inspiring, entertaining and information-packed talk provides responses to everything from “I don’t have time to chop vegetables,” and “I tried being vegetarian, but I just craved meat,” to “I could give up everything, except cheese,” and, “Vegans don’t get enough protein.” The first 35 minutes of the video are devoted to the talk and the remaining 20 minutes cover a Q & A session. If you’ve ever contemplated the ethics of our daily food choices, set aside half an hour to watch at least the talk itself. You won’t be disappointed, and you might be changed forever.

Topics covered include:

Turning away: “When we turn away from the reality of what we do to animals for our gustatory pleasure, we play a game of pretend, like the child who covers her eyes and thinks you can’t see her. And yet, there she remains. Closing our eyes doesn’t make violence disappear; it only closes our minds and hearts and enables the violence to continue.”

Nutrition: “The phytochemicals, antioxidants, and fiber— all of the healthful components of plant foods— originate in plants, not animals. If they are present, it is because the animal ate plants. And why should we go through an animal to get the benefits of the plants themselves? To consume unnecessary, unseemly, and unhealthy substances, such as saturated fat, animal protein, lactose, and dietary cholesterol, is to negate the benefits of the fiber, phytonutrients, vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants that are prevalent and inherent in plants.”

Ethics: “Just because we can doesn’t mean we should. Just because we always have doesn’t mean we always have to. Once we know better, we should choose better.”

Visit our page on Common Justifications for Eating Animals for more thoughtful engagement with some of the most frequent defenses of eating animal products.

Interested in learning more of the many reasons to go vegan? Visit and share our Why Vegan? page.