In Defense of Animals held our fifth Carnivores Anonymous meeting on Monday, November 27 in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, California. 

Our guest speaker this month was Nicole Derseweh, who has a culinary background from Le Cordon Bleu and comes from a long heritage of family chefs. She is building a worldwide, conscious media empire to inspire new vegans with her entertaining YouTube channel as one of the cornerstones. 

Her passion is to share the love, excitement and compassion of vegan living through decadent dishes. Nicole shared with us her amazing journey, from starting with a tremendous family history of disease and cancer, to facing liver distress at the young age of 21, to discovering the truth about our health through documentaries, and finally going vegan. There many really great informative documentaries out there, and we highly recommend What the Health, Cowspiracy, Vegucated, Sick, Fat and Nearly Dead, Blackfish, Earthlings and Unity.

We invite you to listen to her story here. 

After listening to Nicole’s story, everyone was invited to discuss how their Thanksgiving went. Some within our group were lucky enough to enjoy a completely plant-based Thanksgiving, while others had more difficult times dealing with family members who did not respect their choices or outright refused to celebrate with them if deceased animals were not served.

At Carnivores Anonymous, we are all too familiar with the reality of unsupportive friends and family. As a resource we recommend Vegan Kit for information on how to deal with your family and how to answer questions they may have. We also have a Carnivores Anonymous Facebook group, which is a safe space to share your successes and challenges, and feel supported in your choice to improve your health, save animals and the planet. Finally, if you feel you need one-on-one support, we invite you to find a Vegan Mentor through Vegan Outreach. Mentors are here for fellow members, from helping you choose a delicious plant-based alternative when you're having cravings for animal products, to learning strategies to navigate family events, to taking part in activism. 

Whether you are a omnivore, vegetarian, vegan, or somewhere in-between, we invite you to join us as we move through our plant-based eating journeys together. If you’re in Los Angeles, we invite you to join our next meeting on December 18. You can view the event page here. If not, please sign up at www.carnivoresanonymous.org to join or start a Carnivores Anonymous group near you. We hope to see you soon!