2025-12-31 - VEGAN VICTORIES: Monthly Edition #32
Happy new year!
This month’s edition takes 3 minutes to read :)
1. Fur Bans in Poland & New York
Poland 🇵🇱, New York, United States 🇺🇸
Viva! Poland campaigned against fur farming for over 20 years. With the help of Open Cages, It paid off.
Why it matters:
Poland is the world’s second largest exploiter for fur behind China.
Over 3 million Foxes, Minks, and Raccoons live their whole lives on metal wires until they’re killed.
Poland deciding to ban fur is a huge win for these animals!
How it happened:
Thousands of Polish citizens sent hand written cards to their president with one message: end fur farming. It might’ve been the nail in the coffin.
The backstory:
“Cezary Wyszyński, a trustee of Viva! Poland, has fought tirelessly for a ban at great personal risk, investigating farms that can only be described as hell on earth and lobbying politicians to support the Bill.”
— Juliet Gellatley, Founder and International Director of Viva! UK and Viva! Poland.
Dig deeper:
I know I said just one big win, but did I mention that New York Fashion Week also banned fur? It’s not like the The Council of Fashion Designers of America can get fur from Poland anymore anyways. :)
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2. Major City Makes Plant-Based Default
Minnesota, United States 🇺🇸
Fellow Vegan Activist Björn is going to like this one:
1.2 million Minnesotans will now get plant-based meals as the default option at county meetings and events! Animal-based “food” is now only available upon request in Hennepin County!
Minnesotans asked for it:
A public opinion survey conducted earlier this year in Hennepin County found…
69.5% of respondents supported increased government purchasing of plant-based foods.
86.3% of respondents said local government should act to reduce the environmental impact of food consumption.
With the help of Mercy for Animal’s Civic Plate and Wholesome Minnesota, thousands of animals will be spared from being exploited for lunch time sandwiches.
3. 1st Ever Vegan @ Mr. Olympia
Alexandria, Virginia, United States 🇺🇸
I think fellow Substacker Connor Jennings may like this one:
The only Vegan reaching Peak bodybuilding!
Torre Washington, 50+ year old IFBB Pro and Vegan since 1988, will be the first Vegan to go to the Olympics of bodybuilding. He’ll face head to head with bodybuilders on the biggest bodybuilding stage in the world.
Winner of the 2025 Ben Weider Naturals Pro Bodybuilding Competition and now going to the Olympia, Torre is a 30+ year Vegan and 10+ years older than his competition!
A legendary example of Vegan performance. — DL
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Recipe tested and approved by me, DANI LINAVI, VEGANWORLD.NOW founder and Vegan Registered Dietitian Nutritionist.
🥦 Creamy Broccoli Soup
(Rainbow Plant Life)
I made this for my mother in-law this month. We loved it! I added TVP to the Crispy Nutty Crumbles for extra protein and it was delicious. — DL
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4. Army Banned from Killing Goats and Pigs
United States 🇺🇸
US Army Medics trained by operating on goats and pigs shot with high caliber rifles. Since 1984, the US Army has shot thousands of goats and pigs in these “wound labs.”
Activists fought for alternatives:
In 2017, PETA and PCRM backed the BEST Practices Act. This tried to make the military use Human simulator tech, and failed.
The PETA and PCRM backed 2018 National Defense Authorization Act won. They made human-simulation technology the trauma training gold standard!
The US Coast Guard switched to using the tech, but the other military branches didn’t follow.
Now, the 2026 National Defense Authorization Act orders ALL US millitary branches:
(1) ensure that live animals, including dogs, cats, nonhuman primates, and marine mammals, are not used in any live fire trauma training conducted by the Department of Defense; and
(2) in conducting such training, replace such live animals, to the extent determined necessary by the Secretary, with advanced simulators, mannequins, cadavers, or actors.
This is a major VEGAN VICTORY for thousands of Goats and Pigs. — DL
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🗓️ This month, last year: India’s first cultivated meat tasting was held!
🧥 That’s interesting: Tax-deductible donations for donating old fur clothing?
🗞️ Newsletter: Björn writes about how making plant-based foods the default are the most consistent way to influence institutions. Subscribe and see the latest evidence → here.
🍗 New: Taste-testers preferred the new Just Meat over conventional Chicken?
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“Non-violence leads to the highest ethics, which is the goal of all evolution. Until we stop harming all other living beings, we are still savages.”
— Thomas Edison
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Until every animal is free,
DANI LINAVI ✊
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Dani, This is all such wonderful news! Sometimes it can be really challenging to feel like we're making progress, so I'm really grateful to find such inspiring stories. Thanks so much for sharing this heartwarming info! ❤️
The Poland fur ban is massive considering they were the second-largest producer globally. What stands out is the grassroots pressure through handwritten cards, which shows how tactile activism still has serious impact in an era of digital petitions. This ripple effect into NYFW policy is intresting too cause it shifts the conversation from ethics to pure market reality once the supply chains actuallly collapse.