*Timestamps below* Sub to Taiki: ruclips.net/channel/UCNT94PIFbFQZK6xbu9u1u7A If you enjoy my videos help me out and become a team member, you'll also get access to exclusive previews and other members only content: www.patreon.com/davidramms Subscribe for more free content: ruclips.net/user/DavidRamms Get a FREE vegan starter pack from qualified volunteers: bit.ly/getveganhelp Timestamps 00:00 Going vegan in Japan 08:21 Was it hard? 20:44 Japanese think veganism is a cult 27:28 Are there vegans in Japan? 32:16 Are your friends/family supportive? 36:15 Activism in Japan 53:25 Japanese anti-vegans 01:02:41 Success stories 01:07:21 Future of veganism in Japan 01:09:57 Q&A
13:56 That blows my mind that whole foods are pricier than processed foods in Japan. It must be something to do with the agriculture import and export market there
It was because of my Japanese girlfriend at the time 30 years ago, Yoko, that I was inspired to eat plant based which in turn quickly led me to live vegan.
WOW this was so eye-opening! I had no idea going vegan was so hard in Japan... I have so much respect for Taiki and other Japanese activists. I'd love to see interviews with vegans from other parts of the world. I heard there was an AV chapter in Uganda! It's incredible. I live in Poland where veganism is not very popular, but it's 100% easily accessible. Produce is still relatively cheap and every store had a vast selection of groats like bulgur, buckwheat, millet, barley and more. I live in a city with a population of ~250,000 and there's at least 5 different plant-based venues around me with burgers, hot-dogs, sushi, pizza and anything you want. Come to Poland and you won't be disappointed. :)
Mag, thank you for the information! People like meat and animal products way too much, so the government knows their investment in those can increase so much of the wealth of the country, which is why there are usually more animal ingredients outnumbering vegan-friendly products. Now Poland sounds like heaven to me xD
I'm not surprised about veganism not being very popular in Poland. What's the movement like there? And is it easy to veganize Polish food? My grandparents are from Poland (they moved to the U.S. after WWII), and many Polish people who immigrate here tend to at the very least keep the Polish food culture. I'm interested in making vegan alternatives to Polish food, but I don't know where to start.
@@smudge8882 It's very easy to veganize Polish flag dishes, especially if you live in Poland. We have soy cutlets that imitate schabowy (breaded pork cutlet). You can make pierogi (ravioli) with Veggs or any other egg replacement. You can make gołąbki (rice and meat wrapped in cabbage leaves) with kasha and lentils. I live next to a vegan store that sells dewolaj (chicken breast rolls stuffed with cheese and ham) made out of stuffed potatoes. My favorite though is vegan "Fish a'la Greek" (it's actually a Polish dish lol; fish fillet with minced vegetables) made with tofu, nori and celery. Any plant-based sausage is better than the meat ones imho, I never even liked sausage before going vegan. The vegan movement is growing slowly. There's already a large community of vegetarians but we all know how stubborn they are lol. Polish people internalized this Western idea of personal freedom over collective responsibility so the most popular anti-vegan argument is of course "muh choice tho" and "don't force me". I found many vegan friends through AV, which is very active in Poland. On Saturday we're all going to Animal Liberation March in Warsaw, can't wait. :)
Great Polish dish is sour cabbage with mushrooms and lots of spices. Is actually traditional dish for Christmas in my home. I live in China now and I introduced this here and people really like it. I serve it together with nicely fried potatoes.
Yes!! There's a saying: "Americans lead and the world will follow!" We always do! I hate to admit how much we have been affected by Hollywood and fast-food chain advertisements in the past 20-30 years... It's time to unveil the curtains to reveal the hidden information (I have NEVER heard of another vegan in my life before me and my friends decided to go vegan) that all these companies and government lobbying, which are still going strong and steady in even very developed Asian countries.
Really enjoyed watching this and hearing Taiki’s story. Going to head to his channel and subscribe. Being an activist is admirable, and doing so in a second language is amazing.
Great interview! 🙂 Taiki seems like a really great guy! I traveled to Japan for two weeks in 2010, it was soo amazing!! I can highly recommend it to anyone thinking about going there! We started in Tokyo and then went to several places all the way down south west. We bought a really good vegan guide book, written by some vegan dude who I believed traveled to Japan. Maybe he lived there, I can’t remember, but he wasn’t from Japan. It was a fun adventure, trying to find all these places, from known to tiny places. It wasn’t hard at all, we ate so much delicious food and met a lot of nice people. We never cooked a single meal, but was a bit surprised to hear him say that processed is cheaper. Like rice, beans and stuff, is it really that much more expensive? Or is it more so fresh produce?
Hi @Sergio! My whole channel is built on this concept. I have interviewed vegans and activists from over 26 countries, so far. Please check it out! Thank you!
I wonder why processed food is cheaper than non processed. It would be a lot harder for me if I couldn't get as much fruit and veggies, but I'd still be vegan 💚 . Makes me happy to know veganism is growing all over the world!
"I wonder why processed food is cheaper than non processed" What? Fruits, Vegetables, Mushrooms, Nuts, Grains, Legumes and Seeds isn't more expensive than processed vegan food.
It's not really but it depends on what you're comparing. A packet of cookies are mostly flour, refined sugar, and oils, which they buy cheaply through economies of scale, but it's not as cheap as if you were to buy the ingredients yourself and have enough to make cookies for months. Unless of course you only want one packet of cookies, then it would be cheaper. If you're comparing the packet of cookies to berries or other fruits, however, of course you won't get as much for your money but the nutritional value of these foods are better.
@@icykenny92 I was talking about what Taiki said in the interview, I haven't been to Japan yet, so I assume what he said about the prices is true. In the western country where I live unprocessed foods are cheap.
1:17:39 I don’t know if it’s helpful to say that a vegan world won’t happen in our lifetime, even If that turns out to be true...we’re in agreement that everyone needs to be vegan now...that’s what we need to push for...if we convince ourselves we can’t win 99% of the population to our side, perhaps that sets us up for failure
If subsidies end for the meat and dairy industry, and those subsidies get redirected to plant based foods, there would be an immediate shift in a country’s diet
Greg Cipes' Beast Boy is vegan. Greg is vegan. The character you play in The Wii Ring Fit drink a lot of plant shakes to fit the fitness theme of the game. There's a game called Voltaire the Vegan Vampire.
Not so smart you mean… They seem to have forgotten about their buddhist history. Shojin ryori refer to buddhist dishes that have been long consumed by Japanese monks even before the West discovered veganism
Watch NHK Japan on a Japanese nun making vegan meals. 21:33 Even if some people think veganism is a cult why is it hard to understand some people don't want to kill, harm, or use animals? That's logical and reasonable. Or wanting to eat vegan for health or sustainability. Just following tradition, like with animal products, can be blind trust too. 25:12-25:29 It's false and irresponsible for David to say all wars were about religion. That's also insulting to victims of nonreligious wars, and making people turn a blind eye to other nonreligious problems people war over. Such as greed, land, colonization, to end slavery, racism, superiority, dominance, culture, vanity, etc. How do you explain violence or violent groups from atheists or largely atheist countries? Idk if most wars are religious, but people shouldn't state that as fact if they don't know. Also, just because some religions are terrible doesn't mean all of them are. Some religions helped people to be more peaceful too. 25:31 There has been vegans who physically attacked people or their property, or gave death threats. Even David covered a Ukrainian man who fired at cops. 31:12 Actually, there's a lot of toxic fans who attacked or stalked people. Such as stalking Daisy Ridley at her home, a jealous fan shooting dead Christina Grimmie, a jealous fan who tried to kill Bjork, and toxic fans saying death threats to Adam Driver's baby cause they wanted him to be in a relationship with Daisy's character Rei. 35:21 There were vegans in the bible. 55:57 That is a legit criticism towards Tash Peterson and it's terrible and wrong she got nude in public and where kids could see too. If vegans claim to be for morality and against hypocrisy or even vegans making veganism look bad then they should be against Tash acting like that. Tash acting terrible is counterproductive and just distracting from veganism. Trying to hook people with cheap gimmicks won't make them stay vegan in the long term cause they did it for swallow reasons. Yet some vegans complain about vegans being vegans for health or the environment which are better, stronger, more noble, and lasting reasons. Just because you think someone say some good things doesn't mean they're above criticism or flawless like you said about Sadhguru. 57:50 There's also a lot of anti-vegan atheists. Partly cause there's a lot of atheists and nonveganism is predominant. Just because some people are nonreligious doesn't mean they can't be cultist about something that they grip to. You talked about ridiculous reasoning from nonreligious nonvegans too. Like them saying plants are sentient. That's sounds outlandish and cultish. Just because for example a christian says something about the bible doesn't mean it's accurate about the bible. You can use the bible to make a case for veganism too. 58:47 Christians don't think they will be punished if they don't eat meat. Those christians just like eating animals products. I don't think everyone who says they're christians are one. That's why the bible had terms like wolves in sheep clothing for fake christians. I don't think being hostile to religion helps convincing people to be vegans.
I understand religious people can be frustrating to talk to but don't loose hope .There are a number of vegan Christians. A lot of Christians have great compassion to all God's creatures and just need to see the truth. If you put it this way: Do you think God is pleased that you hurrt and torture animals, and you show them the horrid footage, it can really change a person. It sure changed me. I felt convicted of sin when I realized the horrors of animal agriculture.
*Timestamps below*
Sub to Taiki: ruclips.net/channel/UCNT94PIFbFQZK6xbu9u1u7A
If you enjoy my videos help me out and become a team member, you'll also get access to exclusive previews and other members only content: www.patreon.com/davidramms
Subscribe for more free content: ruclips.net/user/DavidRamms
Get a FREE vegan starter pack from qualified volunteers: bit.ly/getveganhelp
Timestamps
00:00 Going vegan in Japan
08:21 Was it hard?
20:44 Japanese think veganism is a cult
27:28 Are there vegans in Japan?
32:16 Are your friends/family supportive?
36:15 Activism in Japan
53:25 Japanese anti-vegans
01:02:41 Success stories
01:07:21 Future of veganism in Japan
01:09:57 Q&A
I think vegan in Japan is spread by budhhism
13:56 That blows my mind that whole foods are pricier than processed foods in Japan. It must be something to do with the agriculture import and export market there
It was because of my Japanese girlfriend at the time 30 years ago, Yoko, that I was inspired to eat plant based which in turn quickly led me to live vegan.
Great discussion, I found Taiki’s channel a few months ago and thought it was super interesting.
WOW this was so eye-opening! I had no idea going vegan was so hard in Japan... I have so much respect for Taiki and other Japanese activists. I'd love to see interviews with vegans from other parts of the world. I heard there was an AV chapter in Uganda! It's incredible.
I live in Poland where veganism is not very popular, but it's 100% easily accessible. Produce is still relatively cheap and every store had a vast selection of groats like bulgur, buckwheat, millet, barley and more. I live in a city with a population of ~250,000 and there's at least 5 different plant-based venues around me with burgers, hot-dogs, sushi, pizza and anything you want. Come to Poland and you won't be disappointed. :)
Mag, thank you for the information! People like meat and animal products way too much, so the government knows their investment in those can increase so much of the wealth of the country, which is why there are usually more animal ingredients outnumbering vegan-friendly products. Now Poland sounds like heaven to me xD
I'm not surprised about veganism not being very popular in Poland. What's the movement like there? And is it easy to veganize Polish food? My grandparents are from Poland (they moved to the U.S. after WWII), and many Polish people who immigrate here tend to at the very least keep the Polish food culture. I'm interested in making vegan alternatives to Polish food, but I don't know where to start.
@@smudge8882 It's very easy to veganize Polish flag dishes, especially if you live in Poland. We have soy cutlets that imitate schabowy (breaded pork cutlet). You can make pierogi (ravioli) with Veggs or any other egg replacement. You can make gołąbki (rice and meat wrapped in cabbage leaves) with kasha and lentils. I live next to a vegan store that sells dewolaj (chicken breast rolls stuffed with cheese and ham) made out of stuffed potatoes. My favorite though is vegan "Fish a'la Greek" (it's actually a Polish dish lol; fish fillet with minced vegetables) made with tofu, nori and celery. Any plant-based sausage is better than the meat ones imho, I never even liked sausage before going vegan.
The vegan movement is growing slowly. There's already a large community of vegetarians but we all know how stubborn they are lol. Polish people internalized this Western idea of personal freedom over collective responsibility so the most popular anti-vegan argument is of course "muh choice tho" and "don't force me". I found many vegan friends through AV, which is very active in Poland. On Saturday we're all going to Animal Liberation March in Warsaw, can't wait. :)
Great Polish dish is sour cabbage with mushrooms and lots of spices. Is actually traditional dish for Christmas in my home. I live in China now and I introduced this here and people really like it. I serve it together with nicely fried potatoes.
There are some buddhist in Japan who are vegan
Yes!! There's a saying: "Americans lead and the world will follow!" We always do! I hate to admit how much we have been affected by Hollywood and fast-food chain advertisements in the past 20-30 years... It's time to unveil the curtains to reveal the hidden information (I have NEVER heard of another vegan in my life before me and my friends decided to go vegan) that all these companies and government lobbying, which are still going strong and steady in even very developed Asian countries.
I heard Europeans lead and Americans follow later lol. I'm from the U.S.
Japan is probably the most modern but least vegan country in the world
yup
most japaneese people live in depression ,they are unhappy
Much love and respect to Taiki. I'd probably collapse and die under the pressure because of the culture in Japan.
Really enjoyed watching this and hearing Taiki’s story. Going to head to his channel and subscribe. Being an activist is admirable, and doing so in a second language is amazing.
Great interview! 🙂 Taiki seems like a really great guy!
I traveled to Japan for two weeks in 2010, it was soo amazing!! I can highly recommend it to anyone thinking about going there! We started in Tokyo and then went to several places all the way down south west. We bought a really good vegan guide book, written by some vegan dude who I believed traveled to Japan. Maybe he lived there, I can’t remember, but he wasn’t from Japan. It was a fun adventure, trying to find all these places, from known to tiny places. It wasn’t hard at all, we ate so much delicious food and met a lot of nice people. We never cooked a single meal, but was a bit surprised to hear him say that processed is cheaper. Like rice, beans and stuff, is it really that much more expensive? Or is it more so fresh produce?
Taiki is such a brave fella!
This was cool! You should interview more vegan activists from places people don't expect to see them
Hi @Sergio! My whole channel is built on this concept. I have interviewed vegans and activists from over 26 countries, so far. Please check it out! Thank you!
13:20 Actually tofu is not from Japan; like so much in Japanese culture, it came from China.
I wonder why processed food is cheaper than non processed. It would be a lot harder for me if I couldn't get as much fruit and veggies, but I'd still be vegan 💚 . Makes me happy to know veganism is growing all over the world!
"I wonder why processed food is cheaper than non processed" What? Fruits, Vegetables, Mushrooms, Nuts, Grains, Legumes and
Seeds isn't more expensive than processed vegan food.
It's not really but it depends on what you're comparing. A packet of cookies are mostly flour, refined sugar, and oils, which they buy cheaply through economies of scale, but it's not as cheap as if you were to buy the ingredients yourself and have enough to make cookies for months. Unless of course you only want one packet of cookies, then it would be cheaper.
If you're comparing the packet of cookies to berries or other fruits, however, of course you won't get as much for your money but the nutritional value of these foods are better.
Subsidies. Though you could still get by with rice,noodles and tofu.
@@icykenny92 I was talking about what Taiki said in the interview, I haven't been to Japan yet, so I assume what he said about the prices is true. In the western country where I live unprocessed foods are cheap.
I first saw Taiki on Create with Carmina's channel, he is so sweet and a great activist!
Would be great to see Taiki back on again.
This was an amazing interview! I never new how hard it was to be vegan in Japan, this was really eye opening!
Wow, Taiki is a legend!
Great point you're both making about realistic expectations. That's the spirit that prevents you from getting a burn-out or losing basic motivation.
way to go Taiki much support!
1:22:49 you and LVL starting a podcast together is music to my ears!
Tofu isn't specifically from Japan. It's from Far East Asia
I quite like your mug, I am interested in purchasing one from you. (I am a vegan myself). Do you have an online shop?
🌱💚
1:17:39 I don’t know if it’s helpful to say that a vegan world won’t happen in our lifetime, even If that turns out to be true...we’re in agreement that everyone needs to be vegan now...that’s what we need to push for...if we convince ourselves we can’t win 99% of the population to our side, perhaps that sets us up for failure
If subsidies end for the meat and dairy industry, and those subsidies get redirected to plant based foods, there would be an immediate shift in a country’s diet
Very interesting interview. Out of pure curiosity: are there any vegan cartoons or videogames?
Haha I would love that :D Like a cartoon or a game where you rescue animals from farms! Somebody needs to make that!
Wouldn't all video games technically be vegan? Unless, like, the case or disc material was made of goat flesh or something.
@@Sergio-nb4hj - PETA has some games fitting that description on their website. They aren’t very fun though
Tetris is Vegan lol
Greg Cipes' Beast Boy is vegan. Greg is vegan. The character you play in The Wii Ring Fit drink a lot of plant shakes to fit the fitness theme of the game. There's a game called Voltaire the Vegan Vampire.
Veganism has been a part of Japan’s culture even long before European contact. Shojin ryori has been practiced by Japanese buddhists
1:05:54 have you considered taking people’s contact information to follow up with them?
Great guy love to you and everyone who stands up for the animals 💚💪
ty
20:44 wow Japanese people are super smart
Haha vegan is popular in Japan due to Buddhist
Not so smart you mean… They seem to have forgotten about their buddhist history. Shojin ryori refer to buddhist dishes that have been long consumed by Japanese monks even before the West discovered veganism
💚🌱🌏👍
Watch NHK Japan on a Japanese nun making vegan meals.
21:33 Even if some people think veganism is a cult why is it hard to understand some people don't want to kill, harm, or use animals? That's logical and reasonable. Or wanting to eat vegan for health or sustainability. Just following tradition, like with animal products, can be blind trust too.
25:12-25:29 It's false and irresponsible for David to say all wars were about religion. That's also insulting to victims of nonreligious wars, and making people turn a blind eye to other nonreligious problems people war over. Such as greed, land, colonization, to end slavery, racism, superiority, dominance, culture, vanity, etc. How do you explain violence or violent groups from atheists or largely atheist countries?
Idk if most wars are religious, but people shouldn't state that as fact if they don't know. Also, just because some religions are terrible doesn't mean all of them are. Some religions helped people to be more peaceful too.
25:31 There has been vegans who physically attacked people or their property, or gave death threats. Even David covered a Ukrainian man who fired at cops.
31:12 Actually, there's a lot of toxic fans who attacked or stalked people. Such as stalking Daisy Ridley at her home, a jealous fan shooting dead Christina Grimmie, a jealous fan who tried to kill Bjork, and toxic fans saying death threats to Adam Driver's baby cause they wanted him to be in a relationship with Daisy's character Rei.
35:21 There were vegans in the bible.
55:57 That is a legit criticism towards Tash Peterson and it's terrible and wrong she got nude in public and where kids could see too. If vegans claim to be for morality and against hypocrisy or even vegans making veganism look bad then they should be against Tash acting like that. Tash acting terrible is counterproductive and just distracting from veganism. Trying to hook people with cheap gimmicks won't make them stay vegan in the long term cause they did it for swallow reasons.
Yet some vegans complain about vegans being vegans for health or the environment which are better, stronger, more noble, and lasting reasons.
Just because you think someone say some good things doesn't mean they're above criticism or flawless like you said about Sadhguru.
57:50 There's also a lot of anti-vegan atheists. Partly cause there's a lot of atheists and nonveganism is predominant. Just because some people are nonreligious doesn't mean they can't be cultist about something that they grip to.
You talked about ridiculous reasoning from nonreligious nonvegans too. Like them saying plants are sentient. That's sounds outlandish and cultish.
Just because for example a christian says something about the bible doesn't mean it's accurate about the bible.
You can use the bible to make a case for veganism too.
58:47 Christians don't think they will be punished if they don't eat meat. Those christians just like eating animals products. I don't think everyone who says they're christians are one. That's why the bible had terms like wolves in sheep clothing for fake christians.
I don't think being hostile to religion helps convincing people to be vegans.
Chiba
Sigma male
I understand religious people can be frustrating to talk to but don't loose hope .There are a number of vegan Christians. A lot of Christians have great compassion to all God's creatures and just need to see the truth. If you put it this way: Do you think God is pleased that you hurrt and torture animals, and you show them the horrid footage, it can really change a person. It sure changed me. I felt convicted of sin when I realized the horrors of animal agriculture.