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Yannick Haldenwanger

220 posts

Hi, I'm Yannick. Meat has been off my plate since I was six, and I have lived vegan for more than ten years. Animal protection has been part of my life for as long as I can remember, and I have always stood up against injustice, whether it hits people or animals. Guilt-tripping was never my approach. I would rather show how well vegan works day to day. At the same time I stay honest and show what happens behind the scenes of the industry. With This Is Vegan and the Plantbased Podcast I want to make animal protection, veganism and environmental protection visible, so that more people get started themselves.

Veganuary 2027: How to Do the 31-Day Vegan Challenge

Frisches Gemüse von oben auf der Küchenarbeitsplatte: Spargel, Avocado, Kirschtomaten, Pilze, Salat und eine Salatschüssel neben einem Handy mit Rezept

Veganuary is a free pledge to eat vegan for the 31 days of January. Here is how sign-up works, a week-by-week plan, the nutrients to sort out on day one and what the survey numbers say about February.

A knife spreading pale margarine on a slice of white toast

6 min

Is Margarine Vegan? Usually, but These Ingredients Are the Exceptions

Usually yes. But buttermilk, whey, fish oil or vitamin D3 from sheep’s wool can turn a margarine non-vegan. A brand check for the UK, Germany and the US, as of 27 September 2026.

Offenes Glas mit stückiger Erdnussbutter auf einem Holzbrett, daneben ein Löffel, Zimtstangen und Erdnüsse

6 min

Is Peanut Butter Vegan? Almost Always. Here Are the Exceptions

Peanut butter is almost always vegan: peanuts, salt, sometimes oil and sugar. Honey, whey and even fish oil do turn up, though. An ingredient check with brands and sources.

Schale mit dunkler Sojasauce und Essstäbchen auf einer Bambusmatte

6 min

Is Soy Sauce Vegan? Usually Yes, With a Few Catches

Classic soy sauce is soybeans, wheat, salt and water, so it’s vegan. Honey teriyaki, oyster sauce, bonito soup bases and some restaurant dips are where animal products sneak in. A brand check with sources.

Moby hält zwischen Anna Schubert und Hendrik Haßel ein Pappschild mit der Aufschrift Tierleid zeigen ist kein Verbrechen

6 min

Moby backs Germany’s slaughterhouse trial: “Undercover investigation is not a crime”

Moby stands with two German activists who filmed CO₂ stunning of pigs and were sued by the slaughterhouse. Photos by Aglaja Brix.

Meeresschildkröte taucht an der Küste an der Wasseroberfläche auf

4 min

High Seas Treaty: Germany Joins as 94 Countries Have Now Ratified

Germany has ratified the UN High Seas Treaty, bringing the total to 94 states plus the EU. What the treaty covers, who is missing and when the first protected areas could come.

Seb Alex und Yannick Haldenwanger stehen nebeneinander im Podcast-Studio auf Bali

20 min

Seb Alex Interview: The Animal Rights Activist Who Feeds Animals Under Airstrikes in Lebanon

He left architecture and the UN to film slaughterhouses, founded the Middle East Vegan Society and went into Beirut’s most bombed neighbourhood to feed cats and dogs. On the Plantbased Podcast, Seb Alex talks about halal, hotels, mental health and the sentence that made him quit his job.

Large blue and white striped circus tent with flags on top, photographed from outside across a meadow

7 min

Germany is the only EU country with no rules for circus wild animals. This week it boiled over

Three activists climbed a circus tent in Hamburg. Both sides filed assault charges. Behind the scuffle sits a fact most Europeans find hard to believe: 26 of 27 EU states regulate wild animals in circuses. Germany does not.

Dunkle Labormaus sitzt auf der Handfläche einer Person mit blauem Einmalhandschuh

5 min

Swiss animal testing hits a record low. Severe suffering hits a 26-year high

Switzerland used 507,863 animals in experiments in 2025, the lowest figure since records began in 1983. At the same time, 29,413 animals went through the most severe category of experiments, more than in any year since 1999.

Close-up of a large bird of prey's talons with leather straps on its legs, resting on a falconer's glove

5 min

Animal cruelty suspicion: German police search wildlife park with birds of prey centre

Around 800 animals, some 140 species and a court-ordered search: investigators in Rhineland-Palatinate suspect the operator of a wildlife park of breaking Germany’s Animal Welfare Act. What we know, what we don’t, and the rules for such parks.

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