Workshop with Animal Advocate Melanie Joy: Approach Christmas Time Calmly and Confidently

In this workshop hosted by The Danish Vegetarian Society, psychologist and author Melanie Joy will equip you with the right communication tools to create a warm, open dialogue about plant-based food. Lunch is provided.

Christmas is filled with delightful scents, cozy traditions, and long dinners. For those of us who eat plant-based, it also means sitting at the table with dishes that look a little different – and perhaps answering curious questions from family members.

But this can introduce an interesting opportunity. Your plant-based dish can spark meaningful conversations that bring you and your loved ones closer together. It’s not just about what’s on the plate – it’s about the conversations we have when we share thoughts and ideas with one another.

On November 30, you can gain practical tools to strengthen your conversations around the Christmas table. We are proud to be able to present Melanie Joy, who will lead the workshop “Approach Christmas Lime Calmly and Confidently.”

Over four hours, you will learn how to present your plant-based choices in an inviting and calm way, and how to handle questions and comments from family and friends in a calm and constructive fashion.

When you bring a delicious, classic “brun sows”, a spiced nut roast, or a colorful salad to the Christmas dinner, you’re not just giving your own meal a green twist. You’re inviting your family to taste, ask questions, and engage in conversation.

Eating plant-based can become a way to connect. It can open the door to discussions about sustainability, love for animals, health, and flavor. Unfortunately, these conversations can also become confrontational – and that’s where Melanie Joy can help you navigate them.

About Melanie Joy 
Melanie Joy is a psychologist trained at Harvard University who has significantly contributed to understanding the psychological mechanisms behind our eating habits. She is the author of several books, including the popular Why We Love Dogs, Eat Pigs, and Wear Cows, available in the bookshop of The Danish Vegetarian Society. Note: If you become a member of our association through this link, you will receive Joy’s book for free with your membership and save 251 DKK on the workshop registration.

Joy is known for her work on the concept of carnism and for developing practical tools that help people who eat plant-based communicate constructively – even when conversations are difficult.

Melanie Joy is a fascinating and original thinker who has expanded my understanding of how extreme exploitation of animals is hidden from us, and how we all carry a deeply ingrained and irrational tendency to discriminate based on species. She has exposed and articulated the carnist ideology and has been a major inspiration in my journey toward seeing the fight for animal rights as one of the most important issues of our time. I highly recommend listening to her. – Carl Valentin, member of The Danish Vegetarian Society and the Danish Parliament for Socialistisk Folkeparti

About the Danish Vegetarian Society (DVF)

At DVF it’s not about who you are but about what you do. We welcome anyone who is interested in making changes for our environment, for the animals, the climate and for the public health. Please join us for a day focused on bringing people together.