Anna is a passionate advocate for both her personal and professional worlds. Deeply devoted to her family and friends, she cherishes quality moments—whether it’s a casual lunch out with a friend or a few quiet drinks. Her joy, however, extends far beyond personal connections, into her work as the founder of “Hear My Voice,” a company dedicated to raising awareness for disability arts through music and drama. Anna believes everyone has a voice that deserves to be heard, and her mission is to help people reconnect with their spirit and song, especially those with dementia, cognitive challenges, or disabilities. She has seen firsthand how creative expression can boost self-confidence, alleviate anxiety, and ease depression.
Anna’s love for the natural world has also led her to reflect on larger issues like climate change and animal rights. Inspired by her husband’s passion for vegan cooking and his allotment, she has become more mindful of the environment, conducting research into the impact of the meat industry on climate change. This exploration has deepened her concern for the interconnectedness of our planet, urging us all to become better stewards of the Earth and its creatures.
Meatless Movement had the opportunity to chat with her recently.
Through both her work and personal life, Anna embodies a spirit of care, creativity, and connection.
Tell us more about yourself, please
Better for the animals, better for the planet, better for our healthThe saddest one is that the crops we are feeding to animals, we could feed directly to humans
Anna 🌱
My name is Anna, I’ve recently turned 44 and I live in Nottinghamshire with my husband, Harvey and our daughter, Seren, who is 16. Our son, Rhys ,who is 18, recently left home to study in Sheffield whilst continuing his training in athletics. Also not forgetting our 10 year old springer spaniel Dog,
Sunny!
My husband works in business and I am trained in delivering music sessions in day services across Nottinghamshire. I became vegetarian when I met my husband more than 25 years ago and he taught me how to cook! I found his cooking so tasty and as we grew in our relationship, I didn’t even
think about being vegetarian, it was just our normal. We raised both our kids on a vegetarian diet and they have both proved you don’t need meat in your diet as they have both played sport at a very high level and remained healthy into adulthood.
It is simply not sustainable to use land to feed and kill 78 billion animals a year for human consumption. We HAVE alternatives 😀🌱🌎
Anna 🌱
My husband became interested in veganism because of a close friend who had recently become one. Harvey said he knew he needed to do more reading up on the subject as he’d always been passionate about animal rights and after doing the research there was no looking back. He became
vegan over night and started introducing me to vegan & plant-based cooking.
At first, I did resist as I couldn’t see myself not being able to enjoy melted cheese on pizza or
baking using eggs but I started to see how much Harv was enjoying being vegan and I began to take more of an interest.
I also noticed positive changes in Harv as his skin improve and he no longer needed to use prescription steroids on it to cure ‘flare ups’ ( I do think its no coincidence that when he gave up drinking pints of cow’s milk, his skin improved). He also lost weight and appeared to have much more energy
and focus! Harv encouraged me to watch documentaries like ‘what the health’ but what I hadn’t realised yet was that I didn’t yet have my ‘WHY’.
I began to do research into the meat and dairy industry and the links with the climate crisis, I
also watched the documentary ‘Pignorant’. The more I researched, it felt like going down a rabbit hole with more and more evidence all pointing in the same direction. In a sense it was a light bulb moment for me as I knew ( with a deep knowing) that becoming vegan was the right decision ,
for the animals, for the planet and for my health. I joined my husband and became vegan and we will be now for the rest of our days.
WHAT IS THE HARDEST THING ABOUT BEING VEGAN?
Nature is speaking to us – we need to listen
Anna 🌱
I think things are getting so much better but occasionally eating out can be frustrating especially
when there is only one option on the menu! I think this always highlights for me that there’s still so much
change that needs to happen. Having one option on the menu is not an option, it becomes compulsory. I
also get quite cross where they charge extra for plant milk, but my hope is that this begins to change as the demand grows and it’s positive to see big businesses like Starbucks make this change. I sometimes wonder why vegans get questioned over their decisions so frequently and yet from my experience it becomes offensive if this is flipped around the other way?
HOW TO PERSUADE PEOPLE TO SERIOUSLY CONSIDER CHANGING THEIR DIETS
We didn’t feel quite so alone… THOUSANDS of people here ALL thinking and caring about the future of our planet. 🌍
Anna 🌱
I personally think the best way can be to show rather tell and I also think they have to show a genuine
interest. I think open conversations can be so positive and getting people to ask themselves what they think. I think sharing on social media can be helpful but as much as possible, trying to be positive with this. I think there is so much bad news that people tend to block it out to save their mental health and I actually believe this is nurturing your own peace. Myself and my husband feel a deep peace being vegan and hopefully this speaks for itself, our world certainly needs more peace.
Anna 🌱
There is beauty in this world… 🌱🙏🌎
Followed by chicagolandvegan, ireland_west14
all images courtesy of Anna 🌱