I was talking to my sister last night who is a vegan (I am a vegetarian) and the topic of invasive species came up since my state (in the US) has recently had spotted lantern flies arrive and the official recommendation is to kill them and report them as they are extremely invasive and kill local plants. I said that when I have to I squish them but I don't take any joy in it, I think that doing what I can to preserve our local ecosystem is more important than the life of these insects. She said she hasn't come across any where she lives yet but would likely take the same stance as me.

I was wondering how other vegans feel about this? Or about instances where institutions might be killing invasive species but you are not directly being asked to do so (for instance, invasive Lion Fish are killed but you aren't personally doing the killing).

I think it's complicated because invasive species are always introduced by human error or ignorance, so it isn't their fault they are there but at the same time are so detrimental to the ecosystems they are introduced in that for the greater good they should be limited somehow, and while somehow limiting the breeding population would be ideal imo sterilization isn't really feasible so for me it lands on a utilitarian tilt of what the greatest good or least harm would be in the big picture. I often see vegans talk about being against the exploitation of animals and I think this creates an additional layer since it isn't necessarily exploitation (although often times these animals were introduced due to some sort of exploitation)

Do you think that meat is addictive? I feel like even with hard logic, being around people eating meat is hard for me. I’ve watched documentaries and reasoned with I don’t feel animals look like food to me nor could I find it in me to kill anything. It doesn’t make sense.

I have my days where I don’t even think about it, but I relapsed recently from being around it and it doesn’t even digest that well. It feels heavy and I didn’t want it in my body anymore. It really feels like an addiction. I also wonder if women find it harder to stay on a plant-based diet than men.

I’d appreciate any help, insight, perspective and honesty.

Thank you.

A lot of vegans say that the only supplement you need on a vegan diet is b12, but how important is it to supplement iodine?

I've been vegan since July and am actively in the midst of a so far 3 week long period(walk in dismissed me and told me to go to OB/GYN im waiting for an appointment) since my mom brought it up i thought I'd ask the group if this was at all a plausible route as it's the only distinct change I've had recently. I'm still getting used to the different things I need to look at nutritionally with veganism, so I'd like to make sure this isn't something a supplement(outside of the iron I already take for my cycle) could help with.

This is probably the most ridiculous, stupid question ever.. but I’ve been wondering for ages.

Let’s say you have a pet hen and it lays its eggs naturally as it typically does then you consume it. Would that be considered wrong? Obviously I know it wouldn’t be vegan as it’s a still an animal product, but to my knowledge there’s no harm involved.

Please do elaborate and educate me!