About Me (Stray Vegan)

My name is Bryce. I wrote this blog to explore veganism and related topics through a harm-reduction lens shaped by animal welfare, ecological limits, and the realities of human motivation and behavior. Like many vegans, I carry some difficult feelings that stem from having at least some awareness of the harms we inflict on other sentient beings. So why Stray Vegan? Why not just vegan? Well, Bad Vegan was taken and Shitty Vegan had its own issues, but largely because I’m not perfect and I don’t intend to be. In fact, I not really a vegan by many people’s standards.

My approach is guided by some very subjective but carefully considered ideas about what actually mitigates harm to and exploitation of animals, but I’m not much for strict rules around what I put in my body. I aim to avoid increasing demand for animal products and supporting industries built on animal exploitation, but I will occasionally eat animal products accessed through other means: food that would otherwise be thrown out, harvested roadkill, or the occasional egg from someone raising birds in a way that doesn’t distress me. I own a few second-hand hide goods, and I appreciate folks who save animal products from the landfill by repurposing them. When a host offers me something with dairy in it, sometimes I quietly and gratefully accept it. Most egregiously, I’ve been known to slip up, especially when traveling. It’s been a while, but it’s not great, and I’m working on it. Process over perfection is a principle that I take seriously.

My perspective comes from both my lived experience and educational background. I’ve worked on farms and have witnessed agricultural realities in many countries that have disturbed and distressed me. Friends and previous partners have contributed to my growing awareness of animal exploitation through their own lifestyle choices and their vocational projects. I hold a BSc in neurobiology, which has shaped my thoughts on sentience, suffering, and the limits of simple morality applied to complex contexts high in nuance. I did an MPA specializing in environmental policy that informed my understanding of systems: incentives, trade-offs, political context, unintended consequences, and the unfortunate fact that good intentions don’t always lead to good outcomes. I also hold a few diplomas in ecological and social science fields, which have deepened my appreciation for the complicated interactions between human social behaviour and the environments in decline that support us.

For me, it comes down to this: I believe progress beats purity, small changes add up, and the world needs more thoughtful, imperfect people trying to reduce harm than it needs people more interested in gatekeeping than supporting others through moral development. Don’t get me wrong – I love the passionate ones and I think radical and sometimes selectively violent activism has been necessary and instrumental to meaningful change. But I also think many of us do a poor job of channeling outrage into durable results-oriented action. And that’s exactly my aim. I’m trying to do better, however imperfectly, while recognizing and encouraging others who are doing the same.