An Animal Rights/Vegan Activists' Strategies Article used with permission from All-Creatures.org

Brenda Palmigiano shares the work of herself and others in bringing information about whole-food, plant-based nutrition to the Deaf community. She explains why ASL-accessible education is so crucial and the goals she and other advocates have for future outreach.

Bringing Whole-Food, Plant-Based Living to the Deaf Community
From Brenda Palmigiano
September 2025

Images from Canva

I give thanks to God for the rich soil, the seeds, and the bounty of vegetables and fruits that nourish our bodies. His goodness inspires me to share the healing power of a Whole-Food, Plant-Based (WFPB) lifestyle with the Deaf community—a message many have never encountered.

Doctors and researchers continue to show that a WFPB diet can help prevent and even reverse chronic illnesses such as diabetes, cancer, and heart disease. Yet countless Deaf individuals remain unaware of these possibilities. Deaf Literacy barriers are part of the challenge: the average reading level in our Deaf community is around 3rd to 6th grade, making it hard to navigate books or medical articles about plant-based nutrition. What’s needed is clear, culturally relevant information in visual American Sign Language (ASL).

Several passionate advocates are working to close this gap:

• Brenda Palmigiano, who resides in Rochester, NY, is a Deaf Vegan Chef and Forks Over Knives culinary-arts graduate. She leads the Deaf Rochester VLF Whole-Food Plant-Based group on Facebook and dreams of publishing an ASL-accessible cookbook.


• Sandria Graham is a Deaf nutritionist and the founder of ASL Vegan Nutritionist, where she empowers Deaf clients nationwide through nutrition guidance and coaching in American Sign Language (ASL). Based in Michigan, Sandria is also an admin of the Deaf and ASL Vegan Unity Facebook group and actively engages with the community through her ASL Vegan Nutritionist presence on Facebook and Instagram.


• Dr. Kim Scheuer, a hearing doctor in Colorado who works at Lifestyle Telemedicine, is conversant in ASL, contributes to Forks Over Knives, and bridges medical knowledge with the Deaf community.

Together, we’ve hosted WFPB workshops in ASL, including past events in Rochester.

At one gathering of about 60 Deaf attendees, only six came forward eager to learn more. Many others doubted that diet could reverse diabetes or cancer—proof of how much outreach is still needed.

Our next goal is to hold another ASL-accessible WFPB workshop in Rochester, NY. Funding, however, remains a challenge. We hope Forks Over Knives will consider supporting this effort so Sandy Graham and Brenda Palmigiano can continue educating Deaf individuals across the country in their own language.

God’s glory is revealed in every seed that grows and every life that is healed. By bringing WFPB education to the Deaf community, we can help more people experience that abundant health.

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Posted on All-Creatures.org: September 26, 2025
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