Today we’d like to introduce you to Jennifer Brennan.
Jennifer, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I’m an LA-based business woman, animal rights advocate and the creator of my new blog, GreenVeganista.com. I was inspired to create my blog and website as a way to document my vegan journey (vegan for almost four years now) and to connect with those interested in a healthy and compassionate, plant-based lifestyle. And equally as a way to connect with those interested in animal rights and working towards creating a kinder, more sustainable planet. I truly believe the Future is Vegan, and I am passionate about giving a voice to the innocent, voiceless animals in this world as well as living my values.
I grew up in New York but was always drawn to the West Coast. So I eventually drove cross country with my younger brother and we landed in Seattle. I lived there for about ten years. Seattle is where I met my husband (also a NY native), and we eventually made our way to Los Angeles. The song ‘California Dreamin’ by the Mamas and the Papas had something to do with our move. 🙂 We’ve happily lived in LA for almost ten years. We ended up buying an original Hollywoodland home from the 1920’s (right under the Hollywood sign) and have been restoring it back to its original beauty and grandeur, which has been rewarding.
My background is in business, fashion and market research, and I’ve created a couple of businesses that I’ve since sold. I co-founded with my brother an active / outdoors retail concept shop in my early 20’s, with three stores located in the NY / CT area which we eventually sold. I also created a chocolate business with my husband. It was a sideline gig (as we both had full-time jobs) and we ended up getting a huge order from a national company which we needed to fill right away. Having no warehouse in the beginning, we worked out of a friend’s warehouse every night until we got the order filled. We eventually sold this business before we moved to LA. Part of the deal is that we have a lifetime supply of chocolate! 🙂
Having worked all my life as an entrepreneur as well as in the corporate world, the last couple of years I’ve taken some time to reassess what I want to do with the rest of my life. Right now, I’m doing consulting work, helping others with their business plans and market research. But I’ve also taken the opportunity to really dig deep within myself to get to my truth, or more accurately, my purpose in life.
Since childhood, I have always had a great love and affinity for animals and the natural world. Helping those without a voice and fighting injustice have all deeply resonated within me and continue to do so. It was a few years ago that I began my vegan journey. And I believe it has brought me closer to my life’s purpose of being a voice for the voiceless, innocent animals. The sad plight of countless animals is what drives me to speak up and advocate for them.
In my free time, I love getting outdoors, whether for a hike in Griffith Park, a bike ride, yoga or just being in nature. I also love travel, photography and music. And of course spending time with family and friends and my rescue dog, Cody are at the top of the list.
Has it been a smooth road?
When dealing with matters of the heart and soul, finding our truths or seeking our true purpose, I don’t know if that’s ever an easy quest. To get really honest and to peel back the layers of our societal conditioning, that takes real concentrated effort and a lot of soul searching. For me personally, to get really honest about how I was living my life out of alignment with my innermost truths, was eye opening. The realization that I was contributing to industries that use, abuse and slaughter billions of innocent, sentient animals every year for food, fashion, cosmetics, and other items was truly heart wrenching for me. But this realization awakened a fire within me to not only stop eating meat and dairy, etc. but to fight for something bigger than myself. To fight for the innocent animals and for the future of our planet. I feel truly awake and clear about how interconnected everything is, and it’s added fuel to the fire within me to try and make a difference while living on this planet.
We’d love to hear more about your work and what you are currently focused on. What else should we know?
I created the GreenVeganista.com blog as a way to spread awareness about many of the social issues facing us today, namely animal rights and environmental issues as well as to help people transition to a vegan lifestyle.
My blog and website are fairly new, having created it about six months ago. I plan on growing the blog and creating extensions to it. I have many ideas that are in the works. Also merging my fashion experience and business background with my passion for creating a vegan future is something I am focused on. Many companies will be looking to change their product mix to meet consumer demand for more sustainable, ethical and vegan products.
Much of my work has been focused on seeing trends or patterns of what consumers will want in the future. I feel confident in saying the “Future is Vegan, Sustainable and Ethical”. It has to be…..we will have no choice but to change!
How do you think the industry will change over the next decade?
The vegan movement is growing exponentially year over year. I see it continuing to pick up speed as more and more people realize the inherent cruelties of the animal agriculture industry and realize that we must change if we want a viable and healthy planet. A vegan, plant-based diet is also healthier for us in the long run. So, I see more and more vegan food options, restaurants, vegan products and so forth coming on the market in the coming years. The future is vegan! 🙂
Contact Info:
- Website: www.greenveganista.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/greenveganista/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/green.veganista1
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