Vegan Resources: Movies, Books, Who to Follow, Subreddits

The idea behind this article is to act as the ultimate resource page where you can find the most important resources for vegans, plant-based individuals, and everyone who wants to adopt a healthier, less cruel, and more environmentally-conscious way of living.

In this article, you will be able to find the best movies and documentaries, books, and people to follow online, including experts like doctors, nutritionists, and scientists, Youtube channels, podcasts, and even subreddits.

We’ll also share some of the most important actionabile guides from our site on how to plan a healthy meal, be sure you’re getting enough macro and micronutrients, and generally live a happy and healthy plant-based lifestyle.

It will be regularly updated to reflect the latest information and releases.

Movies and Documentaries

In this section, we will highlight a couple of crucial vegan movies you should watch.

Thanks to their visual format, documentaries about animal suffering and the decay of our planet can be very powerful in sending a message, but also extremely hard to watch.

Watching the hidden reality in which we mostly engage but choose not to see, can be unpleasant.

Nevertheless, these movies are essential if we want to make the world a slightly better place (and most of them are available on Netflix), so keep on reading.

Forks Over Knives (2011)

This documentary follows two doctors searching for the cause of the rapid development of degenerative diseases among the human population, including young people, and the rise of pharmaceutical drug use.

Dr. T. Colin Campbell and Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn conducted a great number of scientific studies and concluded something quite controversial at the time (remember this was more than 10 years ago).

Their research showed that type 2 diabetes, heart disease, some cancers, and other degenerative diseases can be avoided if we change the way we eat—instead of eating dead animals we should shift to a plant-based diet and save our health.

The Game Changers (2018)

Oscar-winning directors Louie Psihoyos and James Cameron come together to help us debunk the widespread myth of protein.

UFC fighter James Wilks, in collaboration with professional athletes, special ops soldiers, and medical and scientific experts, reveals the truth about protein and meat.

Featuring the talented Lewis Hamilton, Novak Djokovic, and other sports champions who follow a plant-based diet, this movie will motivate you to change your lifestyle if you haven’t already.

What the Health (2017)

From the filmmakers of Cowspiracy (see more in the section below), we are faced with another conspiracy. A conspiracy that includes the government, the pharmaceutical industry, and global health organizations.

This movie proves that most of what we knew about modern illnesses such as diabetes, heart disease, and cancer was a lie.

It shows us the sly work of some organizations that aim to help with diseases but are often funded by the very industries that cause these illnesses.

Watch this documentary to discover what’s going on behind the scenes in all the industries that are supposed to be concerned with human health and well-being.

Cowspiracy: The Sustainability Secret (2014)

Watch this movie and you will find out what is one of the biggest causes of the environmental problems we are facing today.

Spoiler alert—the answer is animal agriculture. The simple solution to the environmental crisis is to dismiss the meat and dairy industry.

A lot of celebrities changed their lifestyle and became more sustainable with a plant-based diet after watching Cowspiracy.

Cowspiracy discovers the sustainability secret and helps us realize that a plant-based diet is not only good for our health and the liberation of animals, but also a necessary step to make for the wellbeing of our planet.

Seaspiracy (2021)

After watching Kip Andersens’ Cowspiracy you will be tempted to learn more about the secrets he disclosed.

While Cowspiracy was focused on the damage that the animal industry leaves on land, Seaspiracy is taking us to the oceans and the ravaging effects of the fish industry.

This movie also debunked some myths, like the one that the biggest polluters of the oceans are plastic straws, when in fact, fishing has a far bigger impact on our oceans and the entire marine life.

Books

In this section, we will outline some of the most important books written on veganism, human health, and a plant-based diet.

Go to the nearest bookstore or download them on your Kindle, we promise it will change the way you see things and it will not be a waste of time.

How Not to Die, by Michael Greger

Behind this humorous title lies a scientifically based book that helps us implement a diet and lifestyle that are proven to prevent early death, illnesses, and disabilities.

This international bestseller is at its core a medical book, but it is not what you might imagine.

With tons of useful and practical suggestions and a writing style that makes it understandable for everyone, this book is a helpful guide for those who are seeking a healthier and happier life.

The China Study by T. Colin Campbell

Scientific truths tend to change over time, and that is why this book has been regularly updated with new research and conclusions since 2005. when it was first published.

Full of scientific facts about the importance of diet to our overall health, this book provides us with all the issues that we’ve been googling and trying to comprehend for years.

One of the scientific facts it points out is there are established links between consuming a lot of animal protein and cancer rates.

This is Vegan Propaganda, by Ed Winters

Ed Winters, a famous vegan educator also known as Earthling Ed, will show you veganism and its philosophy from an ethical and environmental angle.

His book includes some unusual parts, such as interviews with slaughterhouse workers and farmers, among others.

After reading it, you will realize that a small act, such as choosing what you place on your plate every day, is one of the most important things we can do to make the world a better place.

Eating Animals by Jonathan Safran Foer

This piece of work originated from a relatable problem that arouses once we are no longer responsible only for ourselves.

When the author got a child he had to decide if he was going to feed him with meat. Then the issue of speciesism came up. How is he going to explain to his child that we eat some animals and not others?

This book focuses on the meat industry and clearly explains to its readers where the meat on their plates came from.

Animal Liberation by Peter Singer

Animal Liberation clearly shows us the cruelty of humankind and its true treatment of nonhuman animals.

It exposes the way we use animals for food, testing, and the fashion industry… The moral aspect of veganism is the essential idea of this book.

We are confronted with speciesism and the devastating conditions in which most animals live and die, thanks to the way humans treat them.

Read this book and face the awful truth we all know, but tend to disregard.

The Starch Solution by John A. McDougall

After so many depressing, environmental, and morally conscious books, we have a pleasant one for you.

The Starch Solution has great news. Carbs are not as bad as we’ve been taught.

Based on scientific evidence, this book gives us unusual inputs on how carbs should be consumed more than protein and fat in order to be fit and healthy.

Filled with specific suggestions, recipes, and nutritional information, this book is a hidden gem for everyone who wants to try a plant-based diet that consists mostly of delicious food rich in carbs.

Why We Love Dogs, Eat Pigs and Wear Cows by Melanie Joy Ph.D.

The title says it all. A book about speciesism, consumerism, and the neverending terror of humankind towards most non-human animals.

Melanie Joy invented the word “carnism” to explain the worldview that has taught us to consume only some kinds of animals and not others. As the title says, we treat dogs like family members but slaughter and eat pigs.

She also indicates the environmental issues that animal farming is causing and the poor conditions in which the workers operate in the meat industry.

Finding Ultra by Rich Roll

An inspiring transformation story of a middle-aged, overweight, and unhealthy man called Rich Roll who decided to change his life and become a strong and healthy athlete.

Thanks to his plant-based diet, training, and overall change of lifestyle, Rich became one of the fittest men in the world and a famous advocate for plant-based food.

This book is a motivational and practical source that can aid anyone who decides to change their life and become a happy and healthy person that thrives on a plant-based diet.

Who to Follow

Thanks to social media and the internet we can choose who we follow daily, whose recommendations we trust, and who we turn to when searching for solutions to our health and diet problems.

Doctors

In this section, we picked out some of the people whose work you should follow. They are all doctors, so they dedicated their life and work to the correlation between a plant-based lifestyle and human health.

Find them on social media (Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, whichever you prefer), read their books and articles, check their official websites and watch them in the documentaries they are featured in.

Dr. Michael Greger

He is the author of the book we recommended called How Not to Die. An expert in plant-based, and whole-food diets and their implications on our overall health, Dr. Greger is a big advocate of never using any animal-based food products.

He is a member of The Vegan Society, he worked at Farm Sanctuary and you can learn much more about his teaching on the website he established called NutritionFacts.org.

Dr. Neal Barnard

A Fargo-based medical expert, Dr. Barnard focused on preventive medicine. And of course, the best tool in this branch of medicine is plant-based nutrition.

He appears in the documentaries that we suggested, Forks Over Knives and What the Health. His book You Body in Balance is one of 19 books he wrote on health and nutrition, and how they intertwine. Also, he has an impactful podcast called The Exam Room, which we will discuss more in the Youtube Channels and Podcasts section.

Dr. Colin Campbell

Dr. Campbell is a biochemist best known for his work on nutrition. He wrote The China Study (read more about it in the section on books) with his son Thomas M. Campbell II. He also appears in the documentary Forks Over Knives.

He clearly and practically debunks the myth that animal protein has more quality than plant-based protein, and proves that a protein from milk and dairy products called casein causes cancer.

Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn

Dr. Esselstyn is best known for advocating that whole food, plant-based nutrition prevents cardiovascular problems. Besides avoiding all animal-based products he also states that oils, soybeans, nuts, and avocados should be reduced in order to be healthier.

He gained a wider audience when Bill Clinton publicly announced that he follows Dr. Esselstyn’s diet. He is one of the participating doctors in Forks Over Knives and The Game Changers.

Dr. Michael Klaper

Born in 1947. and went vegan in 1981. Specialized in acute care medicine, urgent care, family medicine, and of course nutrition.

Thanks to his long experience in veganism and nutrition, Dr. Klaper became a famous health educator and public speaker, as well as an author of numerous articles and two books: Vegan Nutrition: Pure and Simple, and Pregnancy, Children, and the Vegan Diet. He also appeared on Cowspiracy and What the Health.

Follow the work of someone who’s been a vegan for more than four decades and is a reputable medical and nutrition expert.

Dr. John McDougall

Dr. McDougall is a bit of a controversial figure since some people feel like he has taken his nutritional teaching to an extreme. It is discussed that his diet is too limiting and might lead to food deprivation.

On the other hand, Dr. McDougall promotes a plant-based diet, which implies avoiding not only animal products but also unhealthy food items such as processed food, alcohol, and caffeine.

Follow the work of this famous doctor and decide if you agree with his teachings or not.

YouTube Channels and Podcasts

Our fast-paced lifestyles sometimes interfere with our desire to watch feature-length documentaries and read professionally-written books. That is why we are suggesting a couple of youtube channels and podcasts about plant-based nutrition.

Since we are living in the age of podcasts, you can find much more of them available online, but here we listed a couple that you should definitely listen to while doing your everyday chores.

Make the most of running your errands and learn something new that will help you live a happier and healthier life.

Rich Roll

Earlier we talked about Riches’ book Finding Ultra and his real-life transformation story. So a podcast with his insights, personal experience, practical suggestions, and amazing guests is a must.

Play this impactful podcast whenever you feel like you need some inspiration, a couple of laughs, and motivation to better yourself every day and create a happy and healthy, plant-based life for yourself.

No Meat Athlete Radio

Rich Roll is also one of many guests on one of the most famous podcasts called No Meat Athlete Radio. If you need an easy and informative way to learn some tips on training, running, physical health, and plant-based nutrition, this one is for you.

Find out how to be a stronger, faster, healthier athlete and how to improve your overall health with nothing but plants.

Vegan Body Coach

After listening to Rich Roll and No Meat Athlete, check out another vegan fitness podcast. Vegan Body Coach is hosted by Jaxon Burton, has interesting guests, and covers all the topics that a fit and healthy vegan needs to know.

Learn how to avoid nutritional mistakes, how to achieve your protein intake goal, how to create a strong and healthy vegan body, and so much more.

The Exam Room

Dr. Neal Barnard, who we already mentioned in the Doctors section, and Chuck Carroll, also known as “The Weight Loss Champion” (he lost 265 pounds), come together to help us easily understand the medical aspects and advantages of a plant-based diet.

If reading medical books and googling experts’ opinions on health and vegan issues sounds boring, we have a solution. Play this podcast while doing your everyday chores and learn everything you need to know to thrive on a plant-powered lifestyle in a fun and easy way.

Just Beings

Hosted by Dr. Melanie Joy (the author of Why We Love Dogs, Eat Pigs and Wear Cows) and Evanna Lynch, the ambassador of Veganuary, Just Beings is a gentle nudge for us to start changing the way we think and behave, and make the world a better place.

Through interesting conversations, this podcast will motivate us to start bettering ourselves, taking care of the animals and environment that surround us, and developing compassion and empathy.

World Vegan Travel

If you are already familiar with the wellness and fitness aspects of a plant-powered life, as well as the ethical side of veganism, we have a podcast for you. It is centered around one of the greatest human experiences—traveling.

World Vegan Travel will give you all the necessary tips and tricks, the newest updates from the world of travel, and personal experiences from vegan travelers, among other information.

If you are wondering what vegan food you can take to an airplane while traveling, we’ve got you covered.

Subreddits

For those who are not familiar with Reddit, it’s a massive social news aggregation, content rating, and discussion website.

Subreddits are part of it covering a specific topic, in our case vegan, vegetarian, and plant-based diet-related topics.

Here are our four recommendations on Subreddits you should follow and eventually participate in.

/r/Vegan

With more than 1.2M subscribers, /r/Vegan is the largest vegan community online.

This subreddit does not gather only those who follow a plant-based diet, but the members who live a vegan lifestyle so the topics are diverse.

/r/PlantBasedDiet

When it comes to a healthy plant-based diet, /r/PlantBasedDiet is a place to be. This community has 300k members and is actually not only about a plant-based diet, but a Whole Food Plant Based Diet.

They have some strict rules in place, such as: “A Whole Food Plant Based Diet does not make use of added oils.”

No matter if you’re a novice or experienced with a WFPL diet, this is a subreddit to follow.

/r/veganrecipes

Need an idea for Sunday dinner or a quick plant-based breakfast? Or have you prepared something really tasty and good-looking you’d like to share with fellow vegans?

Well, you should check /r/veganrecipes/ then.

We all need inspiration on what to cook, and this massive subreddit is very useful.

It’s a very active community with more than 425k subscribers.

/r/vegetarian

This is another large Reddit community with more than 500k members.

As you can imagine, /r/vegetarian is the community for vegetarians – people who don’t eat meat include dairy and/or eggs in their diet.

You’ll find here everything from vegetarian news, over asking for tips and tricks and sharing those, to vegetarian recipes.