Nov 17, 2020
In episode 214, Kestrel welcomes Isaias Hernandez, the creator of Queer Brown Vegan, to the show. As a Queer, Brown, and Vegan environmentalist, Isaias makes accessible environmental education content, showcased on his platform Queer Brown Vegan, and seeks to provide a safe space for other like-minded environmentalists to engage in the discourse of the current climate crisis.
“I really believed in creating a space as Queer Brown Vegan to
discuss everything that I learned and just put it out there so
people can have information to themselves and not have to feel
ashamed for asking questions … I really push for the narrative of
'you are your own environmentalist' that includes Indigenous
experiences, ancestral knowledge if you are Indigenous,
cultural-based experiences for BIPOC individuals or just lived
experiences that you've had that you don't resemble to
environmentalism.”
-Isaias Hernandez, Founder of Queer Brown Vegan
On this week’s show, Isaias shares more of his story, and how when he was studying environmental science at UC Berkeley, he was finally able to reconnect a lot of the experiences he had growing up with the terminology he was learning. This led him to realize the importance of education and access to education — which is partly what inspired him to create Queer Brown Vegan.
Also, Isaias and Kestrel explore more depth on some of the topics that have been featured on Queer Brown Vegan in the past including “The Gentrification of Thrifting”, “Drop Shipping”, “Sustainable Activism” and more.
The below thoughts, ideas + organizations were brought up in this chat:
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“I think that any BIPOC environmentalist doing this type of work realizes how heavily the environmental movement has misrepresented a lot of these voices.” -Isaias
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Eco-Learners, free downloadable e-book
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What Is The Gentrification Of Thrifting? - post on Instagram
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What is Drop Shipping? - post on Instagram
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“I think that creating boundaries is a form of kindness to me, and not necessarily a form of being rude.” -Isaias
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“I think change starts locally with our own loved ones.” -Isaias
Thanks to this week's sponsor ECO-STYLIST — a
marketplace for sustainable men’s clothes, Eco-Stylist helps you
dress like you give a damn and allows you to look sharp without
compromising your values. Check out more at https://www.eco-stylist.