About

Vegan Thesis inspires, connects, and supports students globally to conduct research with real-world impact for a more ethical and sustainable future.

By facilitating collaboration between students, advocacy organizations, startups, companies, and research institutions, we envision a world where every motivated student contributes to impactful research that accelerates plant-based food system transitions for the betterment of all living beings.

Guiding Your Research Journey

Join us in a collaborative mission to explore and expand the horizons of plant-based and pro-animal research.

Meet Our Team

The shared commitment to impactful research, especially in areas of animal welfare, advocacy, and alternative proteins, has led to a close partnership between Effective Thesis and Vegan Thesis from launch to the present.

Yuxi Xia

Co-founder, Vegan Thesis

Joël Christoph

Co-founder, Vegan Thesis
Director, Effective Thesis

Vegan Thesis Board

Supporting, mentoring, and monitoring

Our Advisors and Supporters

Sebastian Joy

Sebastian Joy is the Founding President of ProVeg International, a food awareness organization working to transform the global food system by replacing conventional animal products with plant-based and cultivated alternatives. He also helped kickstart 50by40.org, an international alliance of over 80 NGOs working to reduce the global consumption of animals by 50% by 2040, where he served as the Executive Chair. In addition, he is Vice President of the European Vegetarian Union, a partner of V-label Ltd., a mentor at Charity Entrepreneurship, and was a lecturer in Nonprofit Management at the Berlin School of Economics and Law for several years.

Faraz Harsini

Dr. Faraz Harsini is the Founder and CEO of Allied Scholars for Animal Protection (ASAP), a non-profit which mentors and supports animal advocates, especially student organizations, to effectively advocate for human and non-human animals alike. Dr. Harsini is also a Cultivated Meat Bioprocessing Senior Scientist at the Good Food Institute. His extensive background as a biomedical scientist in pharmaceutical companies, involvement in clinical trials, as well as cancer and inflammation research, makes him a very effective advocate for alternatives to animal testing. Dr. Harsini has a doctorate in Biomedical Sciences focusing on Cell Physiology and Molecular Biophysics. He turned down a post-doctoral opportunity at MIT to work in a biotech company, to advance clinical research. Prior to his doctorate, he received a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering, concentrating on biotechnology and process design, and an M.Sc. in biotechnology concentrating on cancer research.

Dr. Melanie Joy

Melanie Joy, PhD, is a Harvard-educated psychologist specializing in relationships, communication, and social transformation. She is the award-winning author of six books, including the bestselling Why We Love Dogs, Eat Pigs, and Wear Cows and Getting Relationships Right: How to Build Resilience and Thrive in Life, Love, and Work. Joy is also an internationally recognized speaker and trainer who’s presented her work in fifty countries across six continents. Joy is best known for her groundbreaking theories on the psychology of violence and nonviolence and building healthy relationships. Her analyses have helped explain why people engage in “nonrelational” behaviors—behaviors that harm other people, animals, the planet, and themselves—as well as how to change this pattern. Her work has been featured by media outlets around the world, including the New York Times, BBC, NPR, and ABC Australia. She is the eighth recipient of the Ahimsa Award—previously given to the Dalai Lama and Nelson Mandela—for her work on global nonviolence; and she also received both the Peter Singer Prize and the Empty Cages Prize for her work developing strategies to reduce the suffering of animals. 

FAQs

  • Vegan Thesis is a global marketplace for impactful research questions, curated in collaboration with NGOs, startups and companies, academics, and other experts in our movement. We match high-potential students to conduct impactful thesis research with supervisors and/or mentors. We also offer educational workshops tailored for vegan and pro-animal researchers.

  • Vegan Thesis was incubated by the ProVeg Incubator, the world’s first incubator and accelerator program aimed specifically at nonprofit organizations, impact initiatives, and social startups working on transforming the food system. Under the mentorship of a team of experts, such as Sebastian Joy, our co-founders came together to found the platform. Our team is comprised of students and professionals with experiences in academia as well as vegan and animal advocacy across the world. Additionally, our initiatives are guided and supported by an advisory board consisting of renowned experts and academics in fields relevant to vegan and animal advocacy and sustainable food systems, ensuring that our approach remains informed, innovative, and impactful.

  • Subscribe to our newsletter, sign up to conduct thesis research, provide new research questions, become a student mentor/advisor or our partner, or fund vegan thesis projects. Stay tuned for more details!

  • We’re currently in the process of improving our user interface. We plan to display all the research questions in our database in the format of a board, where each question is displayed as an individual “tab” with a link to sign up to pursue / supervise / fund / collaborate on that particular research. Stay tuned for when we launch that feature. Meanwhile, you can always reach out to us via our contact form or email us at info@veganthesis.org.

  • At Vegan Thesis, we recognize the value of diverse linguistic contributions. Students who do not have to write their theses in English are encouraged to explore our database for inspiration and pursue their research in the language that maximizes the impact of their work. For instance, a student in Poland might find a question relevant to a local NGO and decide to write their thesis in Polish to better address local issues and audiences. This approach ensures that the research is directly applicable and accessible to the intended community, making the language choice an integral part of the thesis’s effectiveness and reach. Our goal is to facilitate impactful research, irrespective of the language in which it is conducted.

  • Vegan Thesis focuses on connecting motivated students with impactful thesis questions and experienced mentors who can support them during the research process. We maintain an internal database of funding opportunities. If you’re interested in a specific research question but face funding constraints, we encourage you to apply to work on the project and contact us via email so that we can support you further in searching and applying for funding.

  • Effective Thesis (ET) and Vegan Thesis (VT) share the common goal of empowering students to undertake research that can potentially make a significant positive difference in the world. However, their focus areas differ. While ET encompasses a broader spectrum of research topics, ranging from global catastrophic risks to space governance, VT is specialized, focusing specifically on issues related to vegan and animal advocacy. The difference in scope notwithstanding, their shared commitment to impactful research, especially in overlapping areas concerning animal welfare, advocacy, and alternative protein, has led to a partnership between ET and VT.

  • Absolutely! We welcome volunteers and collaborators who share our vision of advancing research for a plant-based world. Please get in touch via our contact form.

Our Sustainability Policy

At Vegan Thesis, we are dedicated to minimizing our environmental impact as we strive to advance academic research in plant-based food system transitions and animal ethics. Recognizing the urgent need to address climate change and environmental degradation, we commit to sustainable practices in all aspects of our operations.

Our Commitment to Sustainability

We understand that our activities, particularly in convening international dialogues and research collaborations, can have environmental implications. As an organization working towards a more ethical and sustainable world, it is imperative that we align our operations with our values and mission.

To reduce our ecological footprint and promote sustainability, we adhere to the following principles and guidelines:

  1. Virtual Engagement: Wherever possible, we prefer online events and virtual meetings to in-person gatherings. This approach not only reduces travel-related carbon emissions but also increases accessibility and inclusivity.

  2. Mindful Travel: In cases where travel is necessary, we opt for environmentally friendly modes of transportation. We encourage travel by train or road for journeys feasible within 8 hours and advocate for sustainable transport options among our staff and event participants.

  3. Carbon Offsetting: We aim to offset carbon emissions generated by necessary travel, subject to funding provisions. This includes supporting environmental initiatives such as reforestation or renewable energy projects.

  4. Digital-First Approach: Embracing digital technologies, we minimize our reliance on printed materials, sharing our research and resources primarily through digital platforms.

  5. Sustainable Catering: Recognizing the significant impact of diet on the environment, we ensure that plant-based options are the default at all events and meetings we organize or sponsor.

  6. Advocacy for Environmental Responsibility: We advocate for environmental responsibility within our network, encouraging partners, funders, and fellow organizations to adopt sustainable practices.

  7. Transparency and Accountability: We commit to monitoring and reporting our environmental impact, setting an example and encouraging transparency in the broader academic and non-profit sectors.

By implementing these practices, Vegan Thesis aims to contribute positively to the global effort to combat climate change and promote a more sustainable future for all.

Enhance Your Academic Journey with Vegan Thesis

  • Connect with researchers

  • Access our resources

  • Be a part of an evolving world of plant-based and animal advocacy research.