Topics and Subtopics

Tech Note: On the frontend, we replace WordPress’ “Category” nomenclature with “Topic” because it is more descriptive. The word “Category” is still used in the backend admin, and it’s the same.

Introduction

This article explains the concepts of Topics and Subtopics, and how they are used to organize briefings and create short titles for briefings. Understanding the information in this article is essential to assigning briefings to Topics in a way that promotes clear navigation.

Topics organize briefings and define how they are grouped. They are hierarchical, with subtopics sitting within parent topics, refining them into more specific areas while remaining part of the broader grouping.

Our approach is unconventional in how we sometimes use subtopics for short titles, as explained further down.

Note: the screenshots in this article show how they looked at the time they were taken. Because subtopics are fluid, what you see on the website will likely vary, but the discussion of the concepts remains valid.

Where Topics Appear

Topics Panel

Assigned topics appear in a Topics Panel on the left sidebar of the home page and on all briefing listing pages, as shown in the screenshot below. On a mobile device, the Topics Panel will appear in a single column above the briefing list, rather than in the left sidebar.

Notice that each topic is accompanied by either a list icon or a document icon, as will be explained shortly.

Clicking a topic or subtopic takes the user to a list of briefings assigned to it. If only one briefing is assigned to the topic or subtopic, the list will be bypassed, and the user will be taken directly to the assigned briefing.

Note that publishing a new briefing often requires creating new topics.

Breadcrumbs

Topics also appear in breadcrumbs, which provide a navigational trail. To illustrate, if you click on Sentience under the top-level topic Animals and Exploitation, above, you will be taken to a list of briefings assigned to the topic Sentience, as shown below.

Notice that under the Briefing List title in the right column, the user now sees a clickable breadcrumb. Sentience is not clickable because the user is already viewing the Sentience briefings list. Because sentience is a subtopic of Animals and Exploitation, you can click on Animals and Exploitation to get a list of all briefings in that topic, which is a top-level topic. Clicking All Topics takes you back to the home page, where all topics are listed.

Breadcrumbs also appear on individual briefing pages, as shown in the following screenshot’s header. Notice that “Sentience” is now clickable, which takes you to a list of briefings for that subtopic.

List Icons vs Document Icons

Top-Level Topics

The following describes the top-level topics. Top-level topics should remain stable, as they form the foundation of the structure. Changes to this overall structure affect all subtopics beneath it. As new briefings are added over time, adjustments may be needed at the subtopic level to maintain clear and logical organization.

• Core briefings are foundational to understanding or practicing veganism. Briefings in Core Briefings often serve as entry points for those beginning to explore veganism.
• Objections examine common criticisms, questions, or challenges raised about veganism. Briefings in Objections carefully analyze the objection and presents well-supported responses grounded in evidence and reasoning.
• Philosophy and Society explores the ideas, belief systems, and social influences that shape how humans think about and treat animals. These briefings examine moral reasoning, philosophical perspectives, psychological tendencies, cultural norms, and religious viewpoints, helping readers think more deeply about issues of harm, responsibility, and justice.
• Animals and Exploitation describes how animals are used within various human industries and practices and examines the conditions they experience. This category also includes information about animal sentience and the scientific understanding of animals’ capacity to feel, perceive, and experience their environment, helping readers better understand the moral significance of animal use.
• Environment examines the environmental impacts associated with animal agriculture and related practices. Briefings in Environment may address climate change, land use, biodiversity loss, water pollution, and resource efficiency, drawing on scientific research to explain these connections.
• Human Health explores the health implications of dietary patterns and food systems. Briefings in Human Health examine scientific evidence related to plant-based diets, disease risk, nutrition, and public health considerations.
• Advocacy focuses on communication strategies and practical considerations for discussing veganism and animal ethics with others. Briefings in Advocacy provide guidance, framing ideas, and tools that can help make conversations more thoughtful, constructive, and effective.

Second-Level Topics (Subtopics)

Directly under the six top-level topics are the second-level topics or subtopics. Currently, there are only two levels, Top-Level Topics and Second-Level Topics (subtopics). As the number of published briefings grows, an additional level in the hierarchy may become useful. See the Topics Panel screenshot above to get a feel for this.

Most subtopics serve as short titles, but some function as groupings. The reason for using subtopics as short titles will be explained shortly. The following table shows some representative examples.

Topic	Subtopic	Purpose	Briefing Assignment(s)
Core	Veganism	Short Title	Veganism 101: An Introduction
Objections	Unnatural B12	Short Title	B12 Information for Humans
Human Health	Protein	Short Title	Plant Protein: Abundant, Complete, and Healthier
Human Health	Nutrients of Concern	Grouping	Plant Protein: Abundant, Complete, and Healthier B12 Information for Vegans

We will discuss assigning a briefing to multiple subtopics later, but for now, notice that both the B12 and protein briefings are both in two different top-level topics.

Using subtopics as short titles is an unconventional use of hierarchical taxonomies and calls for explanation. The goal is to make the Topics Panel easier to scan so users can quickly find the desired briefing.

Imagine if the full titles of the briefings in Core Briefings and Objections were listed in the Topics Panel. That would make the panel harder to scan and make it more difficult to find a specific briefing.

Core Briefings Assignments

The briefings in Core Briefings are foundational to understanding veganism and practicing it. For this reason, their number is intentionally kept small. To ensure direct access from the Topics Panel, each core briefing is assigned a concise subtopic that serves as a short title.

The subject areas of the three core briefings covering the environment, human health, and animals and exploitation also exist as separate top-level topics, each with additional briefings providing more detailed coverage.

This is illustrated in the table below.

The core briefings associated with these areas are included in both places:

• Under Core Briefings as foundational content
• Under their respective topic areas as overview briefings

The following table shows additional subtopic assignments for three of the five core briefings.

Briefing Title	Top-Level Topic > Assigned Subtopic (Short Titles)
Veganism 101: An Introduction	Core Briefings > Veganism
Getting Started with Going Vegan	Core Briefings > Getting Started
Animal Agriculture: Cruel and Unjust	Core Briefings >Injustices Animals and Exploitation > Injustices Overview
The Environmental Impact of Animal Agriculture	Core Briefings > Environment Environment > Environment Overview
A Vegan Diet Supports Good Health and Reduces Chronic Disease Risk	Core Briefings > Health Human Health > Health Overview Human Health > Diets of Concern > Vegan Diet

Objections Briefings

Briefings under the top-level topic Objections are likely to be assigned to multiple objection subtopics to provide multiple short titles. This is because one briefing may address a group of related objections.

Examples:

Briefing Title	Assigned Subtopics (Short Titles)
Nature-Based Objections to Veganism	Circle of Life, Food Chain, Natural, Predators
“Humans Are Omnivores with Canine Teeth and Front-Facing Eyes”	Omnivore, Canine Teeth, Carnivore, Frontal Eyes

To keep related information together, an objection may sometimes be addressed in the Counterclaims section of another non-objection briefing. For example, the briefing “B12 Information for Vegans” would logically fall under the top-level topic Human Health.

But there is a related objection: “A vegan diet is not natural because vegans need to supplement with B12.” There is a common objection that is related: “A vegan diet is not natural because vegans need to supplement with B12.” This could be addressed in a separate briefing, but because the topics are closely related, it is better to address the objection in the B12 briefing.

So we create two subtopics that both serve as short titles, one under Human Health and another under Objections. The short titles are named differently, as shown below.

Briefing Title	Assigned Subtopics (Short Titles)
B12 Information for Vegans	Human Health > B12 Info Objections > Unnatural B12

The word Unnatural in the Objections short title reflects the nature of the objection regarding B12.

As a user-friendly platform enhancement, when the user clicks Unnatural B12, they are taken not to the top of the briefing but to the section that addresses that objection.

Subtopics as Groupings

So far, we have mostly discussed using subtopics as short titles. Subtopics are also used to group briefings.

Top-Level Topic	Subtopic	Briefing Assignment(s)
Animals and Exploitation	Sentience	Chicken Sentience and Cognition Cow Sentience and Cognition Fish Sentience and Cognition Pig Sentience and Cognition
Animals and Exploitation	Chickens	Chicken Injustices and Suffering Chicken Sentience and Cognition
Human Health	Protein	Plant Protein: Abundant, Complete, and Healthier
Human Health	Nutrients of Concern	Plant Protein: Abundant, Complete, and Healthier B12 Information for Vegans