A Meatless Interview With A Real Life Vegan

This week I had the opportunity to interview Hannah Pullman (center in the picture below) who is part of the team behind Fresh Nation Farmers Market.

Fresh Nation's strategy is to partner with shopping centers in order to bring local food to the masses. So far, the company has one location in Connecticut's Danbury Fair Mall -- you can learn more about the company on its website.

Below, Hannah and I discuss Fresh Nation and her choice to become vegan.

When did you become vegan?

I was 18, so five or six years ago.

What were your reasons?

Definitely moral reasons -- I could no longer ignore the horrible living conditions that meat and dairy animals endure and the torturous slaughter methods used by the meat industry. Why support suffering, mass cruelty and murder when I don't have to?

What influences shaped those reasons?

I was always uncomfortable with eating meat, but it wasn't until I went to sleepaway camp at age 10 that I discovered the existence of vegetarian options. I never knew there was such a thing as meatless dinner options, and I loved it! Over the next few years I cut out different animals from my diet until I was vegan. I had a few vegetarian friends along the way whose choices influenced me. Then I joined a vegan club as a freshman in college and that was it -- I just had to become vegan. Also there is a great documentary "Earthlings" that influenced my final decision to become vegan. Such a compelling movie!

How did family/friends react at the time? Has anybody ever challenged you about it?

My dad hated it. People challenged me all the time. Every time I walked into a room of people I knew I felt attacked for my choice of diet. It sucked. Also I was so passionate about being vegan that I welcomed all conversation about it and tried to convince everyone I knew to stop eating animal products. There are also a lot of ignorant assholes who used to come up to me (and sometimes still do) and say "Bacon is awesome... I loved tortured animal meat" or something like that. I'm now a lot better at recognizing those people and I avoid having the vegan conversation with them.

What is your vegan "pitch? How do you sell it to someone who is interested?

Vegan pitch...For me it is "Why should I take part in such cruelty when I can live a perfectly happy and healthy life without doing so." Animals obviously understand pain, suffering, and pleasure (think of a pet dog or cat) -- why abuse them when we don't have to. If the person really doesn't care about animal feelings, then I would appeal to the environmental aspect of veganism.

Why do you think farmer markets are important?

Support local businesses! Small-scale farms are suffering today. And large-scale farms are mostly mono-crop farms. This mono-crop style of farming is destroying the land and forces farmers to increase the use of toxic pesticides that pollute the air and our bodies. Plus, vegetables from grocery stores take a week or more to ship to the store and then sit on the shelf. By that time they lose most of their nutritional value. Local produce from a farmer's market is fresher, tastier and more nutrient dense.

How is your market different to ones like it?

We are located within super regional malls so a larger demographic and population can access the market. We also provide a more formal and aesthetic aspect to the market that other farmer's markets do not offer.

Do your vendors just sell their own goods, or do some have contracts with companies?

Each farmer's market is different. Market operators usually enforce certain standards for their vendors. Fresh Nation Farmers Markets enforces a 95 percent policy -- 95 percent of all products sold by vendors must be grown, made or produced by the vendor.

What's your vision for this farmer's market? Where would you like to see it in 10 years?

I would like to see farmer's markets in malls across the country.

And what's the one vegan dish that everyone should try?

Seitan!

Check back next week to read about my visit to the Fresh Nation farmer's market in Danbury.