In this episode of Conversations with Vegan Women Leaders, we interview Naomi Hallum, the CEO of Million Dollar Vegan, a global nonprofit dedicated to educating people about the benefits of adopting a plant-based lifestyle. 

Naomi stopped eating meat for ethical reasons aged 10, but it was another 20 years before a viewing of Cowspiracy motivated her to go vegan and redirect her career towards creating a kinder, more sustainable world.

Since then, she has worked for the Ornish Reversal Program, Animal Charity Evaluators, and Veganuary, before joining Million Dollar Vegan in its first campaign.

The campaign asked Pope Francis to go vegan for Lent in 2019 in exchange for $1 million donation to charities of his choice.

Million Dollar Vegan targeted then President Donald Trump the following year to go vegan for a day in exchange for a $1 million donation to a veterans’ organization.

Naomi was born and grew up in England, spent eight years of her life in Spain, and now lives in California with her military pilot husband Charlie and their rescue dogs.

In this conversation Naomi discusses:

• Growing up in Liverpool in the UK and refusing to eat meat from the age of 10

• How her BA in Creative Writing helped her forge a career in marketing and events

• What she did to get paid positions working within animal advocacy and vegan organizations

• The challenges of having a partner in the military and how she handles being away from her husband for long periods when he’s deployed

• What drew her to Million Dollar Vegan and its controversial campaigns, and why she believes they were helpful in furthering the cause of veganism

• Million Dollar Vegan’s food relief program that was launched in 2020 to donate 1 million plant-based meals to essential workers and underserved communities in the US and around the world by 2022

• The importance of supporting other social justice movements and why Million Dollar Vegan partnered with LGBTIQ, Black Lives Matter and other groups

• And more

Visit the Million Dollar Vegan website

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