#1152 - John Joseph

John Joseph (0:00)

be from New York.

Joe Rogan (0:01)

Yeah, well, you can definitely tell that.

Four, three, two, and we're live, John Joseph. What's happening? How are you, man?

John Joseph (0:10)

Yo, this is like...

Joe Rogan (0:11)

I'm excited.

And I'm excited, too, for, I think it could set a nice precedent, because there's so much fucking toxic energy between vegans and non-vegans. Even if we're just joking around, people get so fucking angry, and it's not necessary.

John Joseph (0:27)

Absolutely, I mean, where's the humor? Where's the comedy?

I mean, the other thing is, I don't sit around calling, like, I'm not defined by what the fuck I eat. Like this dude said, how come you don't call yourself a vegan? I'm like, because I do a lot more shit than just eat plant-based food. It's part of what I do.

Joe Rogan (0:46)

But don't you call yourself a vegan? I mean, you are a vegan, right?

John Joseph (0:49)

I practiced that lifestyle for sure, but I don't call myself a vegan.

Joe Rogan (0:55)

That's interesting.

John Joseph (0:59)

I would say, people say, I don't like to put any type of material label on myself. And if somebody says to me and pushes the issue, I'm like, I'm more of a Hare Krishna, Bhakta yoga person than I am a vegan.

Even though I don't wear animal products, I don't use animal products, I eat a plant-based diet 100%, but to call myself that just puts me in some shelf, oh, it's just another vegan or whatever the fuck.

Joe Rogan (1:33)

Well, it seems to me as people are always searching for an identity. And if they have an identity that I'm a carnivore, I'm on the carnivore diet, which is all the latest trend, and then people get really hopped up on that, and that's all they wanna do is talk carnivore diet.

The difference between what's happening right now with this carnivore diet and the vegans seems very similar to me in that they're very into the identity of their food. Not their food choices, but certainly into the fact that this is how they identify. They talk about it all the time. And I just think there's pitfalls in that. There's like traps that people fall into where they lock their identity into a group.

And this is what happens with vegans, it happens to hunters, it happens with Republicans, it happens with Democrats. It just becomes a group thing. And then you automatically oppose people of the other group and you have conflict with them, you have hate with them.

John Joseph (2:26)

Do we need more walls?

Joe Rogan (2:28)

We don't need more walls.

John Joseph (2:29)

And I'll tell you what really got it for me, and I started doing this in 81 before anybody, I came out of incarceration, I came out of abusive foster homes, my father was a professional fighter, tried to murder my mom, beat her continuously. I didn't even find out that I was conceived out of a rape from him on my mom.

So getting locked up, hitting the streets, and then meeting the bad brains in 1980, and seeing them and who they were surrounded by. It was a lot of people who were into very metaphysical stuff. So I got into the yoga, and I know you've been doing yoga now too. So one of the first tenets of the yoga practice, which slams all this label shit, is a hambra masmi, that I'm actually, my identity is a spirit soul, beyond anything in the material world, any label you want to put on yourself. So that's really where I come from with the whole thing. And I think the toxicity level that is existing now, just because of what people fucking choose to eat. I mean, I have my issues with certain things that are being done because of the condition of the planet, and we're not being good custodians of this planet that we're in charge for kids and future generations, what's being done now. There's industries that are destroying the planet.

Like, you know, some of it is irreparable damage being done. But I really try to keep it metaphysical with everything I do and who I help. I mean, I'm working on a documentary right now. I hear 30 a Life with hardcore fucking ex-cons that just did 20, 25 years, 30 years. If I go in there trying to preach some vegan shit to them, I'm coming at them like a fucking, like, yo dude, this is where I've been. I've been where you are. People help me and I'm here to help you. We didn't start out, you know, we don't even say, you know, we say, you know, we're gonna put you on a plant-based diet.