Jed Gillen is the former owner of Vegan Cats and the author of Obligate Carnivore: Cats, Dogs & What it Really Means to be Vegan. I bought his book for two reasons: to help an entry I was writing about vegans with vegan pets, and to laugh at veganism at its most extreme. A vegan who argues that we should raise our miniature carnivorous felines as herbivores? Obligate Carnivore would surely represent the fringe of the fringe.

But I was wrong. On both counts. Rather than help my entry about vegan pets, it made me rethink it entirely until I decided not to write it at all. And yes, the book did make me laugh, but not by taking veganism to higher heights of absurdity. Obligate Carnivore uses vegan cats merely as a jetée to write hilariously about veganism and life in general; it is legitimately (and intentionally) amusing.

Far from being the fringe of the fringe, Gillen is veganism at its best. His ultra-logical and humorous take on animal-product-free living gave me the first and probably only sustained nostalgia I’ve had for veganism since quitting two years ago. It wasn’t enough to make me vegan again — I can’t imagine anything outside of convoluted hypotheticals that would accomplish that — but Obligate Carnivore reminded me why I had been vegan in the first place.

I liked Gillen’s writing so much, I took the next step and Googled him. Through Gillen’s Facebook profile, I learned he was no longer in the vegan cat food business, and was now making short funny videos through his company Liv Films. I emailed Gillen, told him about this site and asked if he would agree to be interviewed.

It shouldn’t be too hard to figure out by now that he agreed.

Most vegan books are grim, somber and dull. That is not the case with Obligate Carnivore. Your own work aside, do you find veganism to be an ultra-serious movement?

Jed Gillen: Definitely, but this is true of any social movement.  It’s not like feminists or pro-lifers are a bundle of laughs either.  I think this has more to do with the activist mindset than veganism specifically. To some extent, I think it’s just that activists feel very strongly about their chosen cause and think that humor would dilute their message (incidentally, they are 100% wrong about this).  I also believe that, just as pedophiles are drawn to the priesthood, many people are drawn to activism as an outlet for unrelated psychological issues.  The fringes of every movement, both on the left and on the right, could all probably benefit from some group counseling.

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A while back, a vegan emailed me to say that she didn’t hate my blog. In fact, given that she had a big problem with what she called the 90 percent of vegans who make veganism look bad, she kind of liked it. She seemed almost as annoyed with vegan foibles as some omnivores can be, but the source of her angst was different; she thinks veganism is too important to be besmirched by the type of vegans I like to quote on this site.

After I did a few interviews with ex-vegans, readers suggested that an interview with a current vegan might help give some semblance of balance on the site. When Invidia emailed, it seemed appropriate for my first vegan interview to be with an anti-vegan vegan of sorts.

“Of sorts,” because, despite her wanting to punch, pummel or otherwise damage 90 percent of the vegans in the world, she is no less passionate than the average vegan. She just happens to think that a lot of vegans are obnoxious.

My cynicism regarding the long-term viability of the vegan diet makes me think that just about any vegan I interview could eventually sit down with me for a follow-up ex-vegan interview. (Unless they happen to be a vegan leader with a legacy to protect.) So does that mean that I will one day be posting “Interview With An Ex-Vegan: Invidia Tempestarri”?

I honestly don’t think so.

But don’t worry, she hasn’t tempered my skepticism. As you’ll see right away, there are very good reasons to believe that Invidia actually will be vegan for life.

Let Them Eat Meat: In your initial email to me, you mentioned being allergic to meat. Which ones? Is it the meat itself, or something in it, like antibiotics?

Invidia Tempestarii: All of them. Not just all meat, but all animal products. Nobody’s been able to figure it out but chances are I can’t handle animal protein. Antibiotics are no problem, same goes with just about every insane additive in the world… as long as they’re vegan, of course.

Pasture-raised won’t help you, then?

Meat where I live isn’t allowed to be as hormone-stuffed as other places and most meat here is in fact mostly pasture raised, and it still is out to kill me, so nope, definitely not.

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