3 Powerful Games to Introduce a Discussion About Veganism
This year our get-togethers won’t be as usual. Despite that, it’s still relevant to have some vegan games and activities in our pocket to share with our friends and family. In this way, we can spark a healthy discussion about veganism and ethical lifestyles. Besides, you can also play most of these games over a zoom call, and I’ll explain to you both in-person and virtual alternatives!
About these Vegan Games
These vegan games are, what is called as “non-formal education activities”. Basically, they are a playful way people can use to learn with each other about a certain topic, without getting bored. Generally, people use these kinds of activities in projects and events for youth. They are created to inspire thought-provoking discussions and motivate learning new skills and knowledge, in a funny way. So, here are the 3 vegan games you can challenge your friends and family to play, so they can learn a bit about veganism. All of this in a way where they can participate actively and enjoy time together!
1. Guess the Vegan
- Choose a person to be the leader of this vegan game, who will present pictures of vegan celebrities. Following this, the other participants will have to guess which one is vegan. All of you can do this in-person or online, with an app like Kahoot.
- After that, you should introduce a discussion about vegan stereotypes. The aim is to motivate a reflection about what characteristics of each person made people think that they were vegan or not. These can include characteristics like muscly, skinny, clothes style, etc.
Goal: The goal of this game is for people to break stereotypes and prejudices about vegan people. In this way, they’ll understand that there are different types of vegans just like everyone else. Also, to address common beliefs and myths about veganism.
2. Take a Step Forward
You should give to each participant the role of an animal and their situation, in the form of a card. In the beginning, people should stand in a line, and you will ask them questions like “were you able to move freely?”. (You’ll have to prepare these questions beforehand). They will answer based on the information on their role card. Every time they can answer “yes” to the statement, they should take a step forward. Otherwise, they should stay where they are and not move. In the end, everyone should take note of their final positions.
Goals: To raise awareness about the living conditions of farm animals and inspire empathy and compassion towards animals. Note: This can also inspire a reflection on intersectional veganism, as the differences among animals’ lives can represent also differences among humans’ lives.
How to play this game online: Instead of taking a step forward, the participants in an online call can just take note of the number of times they answer yes to the questions. After that, people should compare their number among everyone.
3. “Ethical consumerism” – Who’s responsible?
This one is very easy to play online or in-person!
- First of all, you should make up a situation and tell a story, based on the real world, that represents how markets work. Your story can include people who manage companies that explore animals, its workers and the environment. It should also include different kinds of customers. The story should include ethical dilemmas: for example, a consumer who only buys vegan & fair-trade; one who doesn’t have a choice for money reasons; farmers; animal rights activists, etc.
- Give a list of the characters from your story to the participants. They should rate the characters from 1 to 5 (guilty to less guilty). After, they will exchange their opinions and different perspectives on these issues and who’s responsible to take action to change them.
Goals: To reflect on the complexity of the market and systems and think critically about one’s choices and responsibility about ethical issues.
Conclusion
As you could see, these are excellent activities to use to keep yourself and your friends and family entertained. They are powerful tools to keep people engaged in the conversation and making them feel like they can have a voice in the subject. You can even do it online, as a way to motivate people to maintain contact when in quarantine! You can organize an online party and suggest some of these activities. Just don’t forget to be a mediator and always have some tolerance for different opinions, especially when they come from people you love.
And you can’t have a party without food and drinks, consider these recipes to make the night extra special:
About the author: Ana Barreiro is a Portuguese animal lover who’s passionate about using her creativity to make a positive change in the world. Besides her work as a digital marketer, she also loves writing and illustration. Check out her portfolio here.
