Why This Rabbi became Vegan with Rabbi Akiva Gersh

The Frum Health Club Podcast · Feb 24, 2026 · 45m

In this episode of the Frum Health Club Podcast, I sit down with Rabbi Akiva Gersh, known to many as The Vegan Rabbi, for a real conversation about veganism, health, and living with values.

Akiva’s story is incredible. He grew up in the U.S. eating a typical American diet, felt disconnected from Yiddishkeit, and then had a major wake up call in college through environmental activism. He became vegetarian, then fully vegan at 19, and that journey unexpectedly became the doorway that led him back to Torah.

We talk about what veganism actually means, why it is still so uncommon in the Orthodox…