vegan

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Please also check out Lemmy.vg for a great set of well-run communities for vegan news, science, cooking, circlejerking. It is a nice, cozy, all-in-one space for vegans.


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Welcome

Welcome to c/vegan@lemmy.world. Broadly, this community is a place to discuss veganism. Discussion on intersectional topics related to the animal rights movement are also encouraged.

What is Veganism?

'Veganism is a philosophy and way of living which seeks to exclude—as far as is possible and practicable—all forms of exploitation of, and cruelty to, animals ...'

— abridged definition from The Vegan Society

Rules

The rules are subject to change, especially upon community feedback.

  1. Discrimination is not tolerated. This includes speciesism.
  2. Topics not relating to veganism are subject to removal.
  3. Posts are to be as accessible as practicable:
    • embedded images of text require alt-text
    • posts with an image of text should have a transcription in the body or alt-text
    • paywalled articles must have an accessible non-paywalled link;
    • use the original source whenever possible for a news article.
  4. Content warnings are required for triggering content.
  5. Bad-faith carnist rhetoric & anti-veganism are not allowed, as this is not a space to debate the merits of veganism. Anyone is welcome here, however, and so good-faith efforts to ask questions about veganism may be given their own weekly stickied post in the future.
    • before jumping into the community, we encourage you to read examples of common fallacies here.
    • if you're asking questions about veganism, be mindful that the person on the other end is trying to be helpful by answering you and treat them with at least as much respect as they give you.
  6. Posts and comments whose contents – text, images, etc. – are largely created by a generative AI model are subject to removal. We want you to be a part of the vegan community, not a multi-head attention layer running on a server farm.
  7. Posts linking to Twitter/X or any similar site will be removed.
  8. No brigading, either off-site or on-site. An incitement to brigade includes two elements: a call to disruptive action and a specific direction outside of this community in which to take that action. Exceptions include:
    • Calls to boycott.
    • Calls to in-person protest of a government, high-profile individual, or company/organization.
    • Votes provided they have a sufficiently broad target audience or provably effective controls against vote brigading.
    • Petitions.
  9. All Lemmy.World Terms of Service also apply.

Resources on Veganism

A compilation of many vegan resources/sites in a Google spreadsheet:

Here are some documentaries that are recommended to watch if planning to or have recently become vegan:

Vegan Matrix Instance:

Vegan Dating App Veggly

Iphone

Android

Vegan Fediverse

Lemmy:

lemmy.vg

vegantheoryclub.org

Mastodon:

veganism.social

Other Vegan Communities

General Vegan Comms

!vegan@lemmy.vg

!vegan@vegantheoryclub.org

!vegan@slrpnk.net

Circlejerk Comms

!vegancirclejerk@lemmy.vg

!vegancirclejerk@lemmy.world

Vegan Food / Cooking

!veganfood@lemmy.vg

!homecooks@vegantheoryclub.org

!veganrecipes@sh.itjust.works

!recipes@vegantheoryclub.org

Debate a Vegan

!debate_a_vegan@lemmy.world

Vegan Food Scanner

!openfoodfacts@lemmy.ca

Attribution

Twitter

founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
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If you're here because of the "drama", congratulations, I am too apparently. If you're also here with the position that a vegan diet is unhealthy in humans, I'm begging you for a toilet break's worth of your time. The contents of this post are wholly divorced from ethics or environmental concerns, are not here to "own you with facts and logic", and are focused solely on human health through the quoting of scientific literature. For as many of these as I can, I have provided links to the full text on the NCBI's PubMed Commons in the interest of transparency.


  • It is the position of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics that appropriately planned vegetarian, including vegan, diets are healthful, nutritionally adequate, and may provide health benefits for the prevention and treatment of certain diseases. These diets are appropriate for all stages of the life cycle, including pregnancy, lactation, infancy, childhood, adolescence, older adulthood, and for athletes [...] Low intake of saturated fat and high intakes of vegetables, fruits, whole grains, legumes, soy products, nuts, and seeds (all rich in fiber and phytochemicals) are characteristics of vegetarian and vegan diets that produce lower total and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels and better serum glucose control. These factors contribute to reduction of chronic disease. —Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (2016)

  • Based on this systematic review of randomized clinical trials, there is an overall robust support for beneficial effects of a plant-based diet on metabolic measures in health and disease. —Translational Psychiatry (2019)

  • In most countries a vegan diet has less energy and saturated fat compared to omnivorous control diets, and is associated with favourable cardiometabolic risk profile including lower body weight, LDL cholesterol, fasting blood glucose, blood pressure and triglycerides. —PLoS One meta-analysis (2018)

  • This comprehensive meta-analysis reports a significant protective effect of a vegetarian diet versus the incidence and/or mortality from ischemic heart disease (-25%) and incidence from total cancer (-8%). Vegan diet conferred a significant reduced risk (-15%) of incidence from total cancer. —Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition (2017)

  • The present systematic review and meta-analysis showed a 15% and a 21% reduction in the relative risk of CVD and IHD, respectively, for vegetarians compared to nonvegetarians, but no clear association was observed for total stroke or subtypes of stroke. In addition, an 18% reduction in the relative risk of IHD was observed among vegans when compared to nonvegetarians, although this association was imprecise. —European Journal of Nutrition (2023)

  • Adequate intake of dietary fiber is associated with digestive health and reduced risk for heart disease, stroke, hypertension, certain gastrointestinal disorders, obesity, type 2 diabetes, and certain cancers. According to consumer research, the public is aware of the benefits of fiber and most people believe they consume enough fiber. However, national consumption surveys indicate that only about 5% of the population meets recommendations, and inadequate intakes have been called a public health concern [...] The IOM defines total fiber as the sum of dietary fiber and functional fiber. Dietary fiber includes nondigestible carbohydrates and lignins that are intrinsic and intact in plants; functional fiber includes isolated, nondigestible carbohydrates that have beneficial physiological effects in humans. Common sources of intrinsic fiber include grain products, vegetables, legumes, and fruit. —American Journal of Lifestyle Medicine (2017)

  • Consumption of vegetarian diets was associated with lower mean concentrations of total cholesterol (−29.2 and −12.5 mg/dL, P < 0.001), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (−22.9 and −12.2 mg/dL, P < 0.001), and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (−3.6 and −3.4 mg/dL, P < 0.001), compared with consumption of omnivorous diets in observational studies and clinical trials, respectively. —Nutrition Reviews (2017)

  • [R]ecommendations to increase fruit and vegetable consumption, while decreasing saturated fat and dairy intake, are supported [for asthma] by the current literature. Mediterranean and vegan diets emphasizing the consumption of fruits, vegetables, grains, and legumes, while reducing or eliminating animal products, might reduce the risk of asthma development and exacerbation. Fruit and vegetable intake has been associated with reduced asthma risk and better asthma control, while dairy consumption is associated with increased risk and might exacerbate asthmatic symptoms. —Nutrition Reviews (2020)

  • Over the past two decades, a substantial body of consistent evidence has emerged at the cellular and molecular level, elucidating the numerous benefits of a plant-based diet (PBD) for preventing and mitigating conditions such as atherosclerosis, chronic noncommunicable diseases, and metabolic syndrome. —Nutrients comprehensive review (2023)

  • Consumption of vegetarian diets, particularly vegan diets, is associated with lower levels of plasma lipids, which could offer individuals and healthcare professionals an effective option for reducing the risk of heart disease or other chronic conditions. —Nutrition Reviews systematic review and meta-analysis (2017)

  • After adjusting for basic demographic characteristics, medical specialty, and health behaviours (smoking, physical activity) in model 2, participants who followed plant-based diets had 73% lower odds of moderate-to-severe COVID-19 (OR 0.27, 95% CI 0.10 to 0.81) compared with participants who did not follow plant-based diets. Similarly, participants who followed either plant-based diets or pescatarian diets had 59% lower odds of moderate-to-severe COVID-19 (OR 0.41, 95% CI 0.17 to 0.99) compared with those who did not follow these diets. —British Medical Journal (2021)

  • Current research suggests that switching to a plant-based diet may help increase the diversity of health-promoting bacteria in the gut. However, more research is needed to describe the connections between nutrition, the microbiome, and health outcomes because of their complexity and individual heterogeneity. —Nutrients systematic review (2023)

  • [T]his systematic review shows that plant-based diets and their components might have the potential to improve cancer prognosis, especially for breast, colorectal and prostate cancer survivors. —Current Nutrition Reports (2022)


  • The data discussed in this systematic review allow us to conclude that plant-based diets are associated with lower BP and overall better health outcomes (namely, on the cardiovascular system) when compared with animal-based diets. —Current Hypertension Reports (2023)


  • The present systematic review provides evidence that vegan and vegetarian diets are associated with lower CRP levels, a major marker of inflammation and a mediator of inflammatory processes. —Scientific Reports (2020)

  • Evidence strongly suggests that plant-based dietary patterns that are abundant in fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, legumes, and whole grains with less emphasis on animal foods and processed foods are a useful and a practical approach to preventing chronic diseases. Such dietary patterns, from plant-exclusive diets to plant-centered diets, are associated with improved long-term health outcomes and a lower risk of all-cause mortality. Given that neurodegenerative disorders share many pathophysiological mechanisms with CVD, including oxidative stress, inflammation, and vascular damage, it is reasonable to deduce that plant-based diets can ameliorate cognitive decline as well. —Advances in Nutrition (2019)



  • This umbrella review offers valuable insights on the estimated reduction of risk factors for cardiometabolic diseases and cancer, and the CVDs-associated mortality, offered by the adoption of plant-based diets through pleiotropic mechanisms. Through the improvement of glycolipid profile, reduction of body weight/BMI, blood pressure, and systemic inflammation, A/AFPDs significantly reduce the risk of ischemic heart disease, gastrointestinal and prostate cancer, as well as related mortality. —PLoS One (2024)

  • In this community‐based cohort of US adults without cardiovascular disease at baseline, we found that higher adherence to an overall plant‐based diet or a provegetarian diet, diets that are higher in plant foods and lower in animal foods, was associated with a lower risk of incident cardiovascular disease, cardiovascular disease mortality, and all‐cause mortality. —Journal of the American Heart Association (2019)

  • In this meta-analysis of prospective observational studies, we found that greater adherence to a plant-based dietary patterns was inversely associated with the risk of type 2 diabetes. These findings were broadly consistent across subgroups defined by various population characteristics and robust in sensitivity analyses.—JAMA Internal Medicine (2019)

  • Our findings suggest that a shift in diet from a high consumption of animal-based foods, especially red and processed meat, to plant-based foods (e.g., nuts, legumes, and whole grains) is associated with a lower risk of all-cause mortality, CVD, and T2D. Thus, a change in dietary habits towards an increment of plant-based products appears to be important for cardiometabolic health. —BMC Medicine systematic review and meta-analysis (2023)

  • Not only is there a broad expansion of the research database supporting the myriad benefits of plant-based diets, but also health care practitioners are seeing awe-inspiring results with their patients across multiple unique subspecialties. Plant-based diets have been associated with lowering overall and ischemic heart disease mortality; supporting sustainable weight management; reducing medication needs; lowering the risk for most chronic diseases; decreasing the incidence and severity of high-risk conditions, including obesity, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, and hyperglycemia; and even possibly reversing advanced coronary artery disease and type 2 diabetes. —The Permanente Journal (2016)

  • It is the position of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics that, in adults, appropriately planned vegetarian and vegan dietary patterns can be nutritionally adequate and can offer long-term health benefits such as improving several health outcomes associated with cardiometabolic diseases. […] As leaders in evidence-based nutrition care, RDNs and NDTRs should aim to support the development and facilitation of vegetarian and vegan dietary patterns and access to nutrient-dense plant-based meals. Promoting a nutrient-balanced vegetarian dietary pattern on both individual and community scales may be an effective tool for preventing and managing many diet-related conditions. —Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (2025)
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There are more resources used for continuing use of animals, with taking more land and more water to raise the animals that need to be fed. There is great destruction to the environments for this, more than otherwise. It is not even better for health than just having meals with whole foods from plants all the time. There is reason to care for animals and not still use items from them. Changing for this latter is vegan, while the former issues need awareness to be responsible with and not be ignored, and many of those are supportive reasons for why being vegan is good. What are any of us doing using animals still? It is an insanity continuing with the addictions we could get over, there are healthy and tasty foods to have anyway without anything from animals.

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Based on the product title, the design of the bottle, the product description, and even the brand logo, you'd think vitamin D is vegan. Every marketing design decision on these store pages lures you into such a conclusion. But it's not! Vitamin D/cholecalciferol is a molecule that is exclusively made in animals. Almost all vitamin D in production is extracted from lanolin, the waxy secretions in sheep's wool. In theory, lanolin could be called a vegetarian product, since wool is something sheep are sheared for and not something sheep are made of. In practice, almost all lanolin is extracted from the wool waste byproduct of dead sheep slaughtered for meat. If a company doesn't claim a specific non-kill source for its lanolin on the bottle, the lanolin came from dead animals. It is up to debate whether a product that is the side product of animal slaughter that would have happened anyway is vegetarian or not. Vegan it is certainly not.

There is vitamin D for sale from vegan sources, extracted from lichen. It also costs at least 20x more. These bottles are not it! The vegan-sourced product pages go to great length to emphasize their cholecalciferol does not come from lanolin. These pages just list "cholecalciferol" in the ingredients list with no specific source. Technically, none of the language on these pages is a lie! "Veggie capsules" refers to the cellulose the pill walls are made of. If you "somehow" end up believing that the whole pill is made of vegetables, that's your own fault! If you see a brand name like "forest leaf" and think its products are made from leaves, nobody can help you! The company is blameless! The only outright lie in these screenshots is the "vegan friendly" label. Curiously, that claim only appears in the product image, and not in the text searchable description of the product itself.

Ok then, you'd say, that's innocent marketing speak, nobody would be mislead by it, we all know about cholecalciferol. Yet half of all customer comments on the "vegan friendly"-in-image-only product praise it for its vegan content! (Thanks AI summary!) Many of them bought this product because they thought it was vegan. Tsk tsk! And what is vegan-"friendly" anyway? Am I vegan friendly because I am a friend of vegans? Is that a legally-enforceable phrase?

My opinion is that while the amount of lanolin in vitamin D pills is tiny and comes from waste products, these pills are still not vegan and not vegetarian. A pure vegan lifestyle would not condone them. Yet these companies say everything short of a lie (and sometimes literally lie) to make consumes falsely think their products are vegan. And vegan consumers let them! And even praise them for it.

I would be fine if vegans/vegetarians accepted that a negligible amount of animal product to supply a vital ingredient that could not be acquired in any other way (until a few years ago when lichen cholecalciferol became available) where sun exposure alone is not sufficient for modern climates and lifestyles is acceptable. But in the meantime, these companies are exploiting the naivete and well-wishes of consumers for profit by greenwashing their products, spreading misinformation rather than knowledge. The customer reviews is proof that misinformation is happening, even if no single phrase describing the product is legally a lie. We should not allow ourselves be exploited!

Shoutout to the "kosher" and "no shellfish" labels.

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When I decided I must be vegan I had already been going without meat, several years. I was glad thinking I did not contribute to harm to animals being used for meat. I was wrong as I did not know more about it. I learned when online and found communication about it that there were all these issues, all of them. I did not stop caring about issues to animals, but knowing all the issues, except, at that time, about the healthiness of a way without animal crossing, which I would have wanted, mattered, as I saw. So I made efforts to be vegan, and have been now for the last twelve years. I only found there is the very healthy way, which I started using, earlier in the year back in 2016.

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In a fairly bipartisan bill too (but also does because it does other stuff besides this)

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The abuse and slaughter of animals is a primary reason for any to be vegan. But there are the environments being ruined with animal agriculture, so there is environmental reason to take being vegan seriously. Likewise with all the more resources being used for animal agriculture, and all the water, and all the land, for it, and there is the contribution to emissions associated with climate change with the warming of this planet. Having just all whole food from plants is also very healthy for us. Being vegan is done for the animals but all these things as more reason make a strong argument for it. And I found it is not hard at all.

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Bit unexpected with everything going with the national park service, but welcome. Appears the decision might have been made by the contractor?

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The U.S. government is preparing to breed billions of flies and dump them out of airplanes over Mexico and southern Texas to fight a flesh-eating maggot.

That sounds like the plot of a horror movie, but it is part of the government's plans for protecting the U.S. from a bug that could devastate its beef industry, decimate wildlife and even kill household pets. This weird science has worked well before.

Carnists would rather breed the next plague and cover the planet in flies than stop torturing and murdering animals. It's a great plot for a horror movie except in real life.

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New Vegan, here and I have a serious hole in my first two weeks into giving up genocide. I need something that fills the niche of nabs, Lance peanut butter and toast"chee" crackers.

I'm a mechanic with a strict schedule, and I will need a snack of that calibur at 7:30am mid-way through my morning workday, lest I get hunger pains, distracted by it, and a little bit pissy over the entire situation.

Chips, for me are the only thing I don't really consider any sort of solution to my hunger. I need calories so I can go-go-go. Chips are kinda hollow to me as utility goes. Nuts with some raisins would be a solid solution.

Anyway, snack thread. Preferably room temperature and camping snacks. Nuts are easily on the board, what else?

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submitted 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago) by Teppichbrand@feddit.org to c/vegan@lemmy.world
 
 

Legumes are the best! Let's share some easy meals. I eat pasta with canned baby broad beans once a week. Here's the recipe:

BABY BROAD BEANS SAUCE
Pasta sauce or spread
Servings: 4

Ingredients:

  • 2 tbsp neutral oil
  • 2 onions
  • 1 smoked tofu, diced
  • 1 jar of broad beans
  • 2 tablespoons of tahini
  • 1 dash of soy sauce
  • 1 teaspoon vegetable stock powder
  • Optional: 1 teaspoon cumin
  • Optional: More vegetables, like strips of white cabbage, diced carrots or green bush beans

Instructions:

  1. Add oil, fry the onion well, add the smoked tofu. Add broad beans including the water and bring to boil.
  2. Maybe add more vegetables.
  3. Stir in the tahini, soy sauce and vegetable stock powder and you're done.
  4. You can blend everything into a paste or simply mash a few beans with a fork or masher to make the sauce even creamier. Then serve as a pasta sauce or even as a sandwich spread.

Shared with Broccoli

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Mrs and I tried lab grown fois gras quail, apparently the first in Australia. Amazing to be able to buy this in a restaurant, after hearing about it year after year.

It was certainly meaty, a flavour you simply don't get with any meat-free chicken, really pungent and distinct (not that I've ever had dead quail).

A place called Bottarga in Brighton, Melbourne. Wasn't cheap, but I'd pay top dollar to support the transition.

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Animals should not be going through the abuse for what any of us would have. Why should not any care to have the healthiest way, which could be learned, that would be without contribution to any of that? Many continue on for their preferences even with it possibly being shown as inconsistent with their values or their thinking. That is unfortunately too common, though it was not in my own experience. Being vegan is not hard, there are easy ways to become vegan, I know about this. This Mango Chickpea Salad is refreshing, crunchy and perfect for summer.
Recipe:-https://www.jcookingodyssey.com/mango-chickpea-salad/

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About half a week ago, I became self aware of my state as a piece of shit regarding the animal populations of Earth and their wellbeing. It was sparked by a video of animal abuse I saw online that I refuse to describe beyond serial-killer-level psychological torture to a poor, defenseless being.

I realize, there's a set, and a mic, and props. This ain't the first time, this has fucking followers and people will mimic it. We're this shit as a species?! Where is the bottom? Is there one?!

I generally consider myself a fairly strong willed person, and my former diet wasn't too dissimilar from dishes I could make vegan, so, I figure, why not? I saw Blue Planet 3. I know we're fucking up. I had a few holdout food items but, pizza is my favorite food, and I believe replicating it will be fun. There's apparently a few vegan roux recipes with some ways to mimic cheese flavor for mac and cheese. I'm into it.

Anyway, do share any tips with me that you wish you'd known when you started out. What's a good brownie recipe?

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There can be thought for change in living for the sake of abused animals, the great harm to the earth, the greater use of resources, and even a better healthy way possible for any of us that is not costly, with not using animal products still. There are ways not really hard to do that, with finding alternatives that will really be liked. I know some things I really like very much and will stay this way gladly.

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My current working strategy is a ham hock and chicken stock. I would like to switch to something that doesn’t involve dead animals.

(As a side note - I’ve noticed that if I leave my beans soaking for a little longer, they seem to bubble and ferment. Could I possibly make alcohol this way?)

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Whole food plant-based eating is indeed healthy, and I have had this way nearly a decade, though I have been vegan longer. I notice the benefits. Animal agriculture is contributing more to problems in the world including loss of environments and extinctions of species. Why need animals kept abusively and slaughtered for what we would still have from them?

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I didn't. What the fuck!

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My problem: chicken drumsticks are very cheap - like five bucks for enough I can divide up and make three meals out of. I marinate them in different hot sauces, then I can wrap them in foil and put them in the oven. For extra dopamine I eat them with blue cheese sauce.

The other cheap options are things like velveeta with canned chicken or fish, or chef Boyardee ravioli.

I don’t like eating meat or dairy for the clear ethical reasons and would like to go vegan. I was vegan for about a year or so, but I also have the kind of ARFID where I will let myself starve if there are not those kinds of “high dopamine” foods available.

I’d like some kind of close, cheap, easy approximation. When I was vegan, I had the financial resources to buy a lot of prepared food that met that quick/stimulating need, but I no longer have those resources to do so.

The closest to making something like that work for me is soy curl + coconut milk + curry seasonings. I don’t have the capacity to eat vegetables most days - this is not healthy, but I also physically cannot force myself to do so.

I know lentils are good and don’t require soaking, but I cannot get them to taste good. Indian restaurants make them perfect, but I can’t do it myself.

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Studies are not showing animals do not feel pain, but to the contrary, any being used do. Rather than deal with the cognitive dissonance it is better for even just mental health to decide to avoid the contribution to suffering with just choosing nothing taken from animals for what to have or to eat. And the extinction rate of species is related to food choices, that alone gives very great reason to not use products from animals anymore. Of course there is the healthiest way without products from animals when avoiding processed stuff that gets added in things, I have tasty meals with this way.
https://www.biologicaldiversity.org/programs/population_and_sustainability/food/ Really it is about finding other things as alternatives to eat which you really love having, especially any that are healthy. Treat yourself to those often. You can then pretty much forget those things that you saw good reason to give up. I have gone through a number of changes that included this way, it's been working really well.

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