Hope for the Animals: Recent Episodes
Hope Bohanec
Longtime animal advocate, Hope Bohanec, covers a variety of farmed animal issues including the ethical, environmental, spiritual, heartbreaking and heartwarming aspects of living vegan. Hope has engaging conversations with inspiring guests focusing on critical reasons for living a vegan lifestyle and covering current topics such as the humane hoax, environmental impact, speciesism, and effective outreach advocating for chickens, turkeys, cows, pigs, goats and other farmed animals. Hope is a 35-year vegan, animal rights activist, and author. This podcast is a project of Compassionate Living.
On this episode we explore Buddhism with Forrest Tierce,U.S. Project Director for Dharma Voices for Animals (DVA). DVA works to raise awareness on the connection between the ecological crisis caused by animal agriculture and Buddhist ethics—helping individuals and communities align their food choices with sustainability and compassion for all beings.
Forrest has been a dedicated vegan for 18 years and draws from two decades of Buddhist practice across multiple traditions, with a deep commitment to the heart of the Buddha’s teachings—especially the Five Precepts—as guiding principles for compassionate and ethical living.
Forrest’s story of transformation is inspiring. He grew up in Texas, his father worked in poultry industry, and in this youth, he hunted and fished animals. Forrest shares how he transformed to a life of nonviolence through Buddhism and vegan living. He talks about how practitioners of the teachings of the Buddha strive to reduce the amount of suffering in the world, but how that can too often leave out animals exploited for food.
His new campaign with DVA is called the Sustainable Sanga Collative That supports Buddhist sangas and retreat centers in serving plant based foods. Forrest also tells us about when he was a park ranger and how he would incorporate vegan ethics into his presentations for park visitors.
Resources:
Dharma Voices for Animals
Sustainable Sanga Collative
Ahimsa Living Circle
Support this podcast:
Hope for the Animals Podcast
Compassionate Living
Social Media:
Facebook
YouTube
Joining us today is Dr. Faraz Harsini, the founder and CEO of Allied Scholars for Animal Protection (ASAP). Faraz shares with Hope the importance of creating ongoing infrastructure on US college campuses that students can utilize for continued outreach. They discuss various vegan education tactics such as the use of graphic imagery and its effectiveness. Faraz also talks about encouraging changes to dining halls and how student activists should focus on increasing vegan options and not distractions like cage-free egg transitions.
Dr. Faraz Harsini is a food systems and biomedical scientist. He holds a degree in Chemical Engineering with a focus on environmental research and nanobiotechnology, an MSc in cancer research, and a PhD in Cell Physiology and Molecular Biophysics. As the founder and CEO of Allied Scholars for Animal Protection (ASAP), he is building permanent infrastructure in university to protect animals. Through ASAP, Faraz empowers students, promotes veganism, advances alternatives to animal testing in universities and medical schools, and helps dining halls transition to plant based food systems. He also lectures at many universities educating students on the benefits of a vegan diet.
Resources:
www.alliedscholars.org
www.instagram.com/alliedscholars
www.instagram.com/dr_faraz_harsini
www.youtube.com/c/DrFarazHarsini
https://twitter.com/DrFarazHarsini
Website:
www.alliedscholars.org
Ahimsa Living Circle Registration
Support this Podcast:
Hope for the Animals Podcast
Compassionate Living
Hope is right at home this episode talking about one of her favorite subjects, humanewashing. Lia Wilbourn joins Hope for a conversation about their mutual frustration with the humane hoax and the deceptive marketing and cover-up tactics employed by the animal farming industry. They explore the detrimental impact of continuing to use the term “factory farming” and argue that the animal advocacy movement should phase it out. Lia and Hope also discuss the cage-free egg industry transition, challenging the notion that this industry shift is a positive development for animals. They also address the criticism of using the word “vegan” and how some people are saying that we shouldn’t use the word as it has too many negative connotations. There are lots of strong opinions on advocacy in this one, we unpack it all for you!
Lia Wilbourn has been active in a wide range of animal rights activism, including street outreach, demonstrations, writing, social media, speeches and art as activism. She is currently the Farmed Animals Campaign Coordinator at In Defense of Animals, advocating via articles, petitions, videos, etc. and co-hosting a monthly online Vegan Mentor Support Group. She also works with Allied Scholars for Animal Protection, is a volunteer on the Humane Hoax Project team, and is certified in Plant-Based Nutrition through Cornell University.
Resources:
Lia’s Contact/Instagram: @liaforanimals
The Humane Hoax Project
Article: Fixating on Factory Farms...
Article: Stop (Saying) Factory Farming
The Ahimsa Living Circle monthly online gathering: info and registration
Support this podcast:
Hope for the Animals Podcast
Compassionate Living
Farmed animal sanctuaries are the heart of the animal advocacy movement. Our guest today, Zoe Novic, Executive Director of CAPE (Center for Animal Protection and Education), knows this well as she grew up on a sanctuary in the Santa Cruz hills. Zoe has a diverse background that includes two years in the Peace Corps in Indonesia, a Master’s in Public Health, and leadership roles at The Humane League, Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, and Greener by Default, Zoe has expertise in grassroots organizing, public health policy, and advocacy.
On the podcast, Zoe discusses the significance of the human-animal connection in comprehending and understanding nonhuman animals. She talks about how sanctuaries serve as acts of resistance, providing physical spaces where we can shape the world as we envision it. She and Hope also discuss how sanctuary and rescue efforts have been devalued in recent years, with current animal advocacy funding and philanthropy philosophies moving away from funding direct animal care and how that is impacting the movement. Zoe emphasizes the importance of emotion in advocacy, highlighting how it can often prompt action more effectively than logic or reason. She further explains how sanctuaries deeply evoke emotions. Additionally, Zoe shares her public health background, underscoring the intricate connections between this sector and animal agriculture.
Resources:
CAPE: Center for Animal Protection and Education
Sonoma County VegFest, September 27, 2025
Film: Called to Rescue
Support this podcast:
Hope for the Animals Podcast
Compassionate Living
Some advocates in environmental and animal activism argue that we should solely focus on changing the system through government and corporate campaigns, discouraging grassroots action and personal change. Our guest, Janet O’Shea (informally known as Jay), co-authored an article in Newsweek in response to an environmental author’s piece arguing that going vegan is ineffective. Jay systematically debunks the faulty argumentation and refutes its flawed analogies. She offers insightful perspectives on veganism as a boycott, a social justice issue, and the history of vegetarianism, highlighting its differences from the current context.
Then, continuing the conversation about the importance of individual action, Jay talks about Gandhi and the Kahdi (homespun cotton) movement, comparing the British cotton boycott during the British occupation of India to the boycott of animal products today. Jay is incredibly knowledge and reveals some fascinating insights into this issue, please share this episode!
Full Bio:
Janet (Jay) O’Shea is author of Risk, Failure, Play: What Dance Reveals about Martial Arts Training (2019) and At Home in the World: Bharata Natyam on the Global Stage (2007). She is currently writing a book, entitled Bodies on the Line: Physicality, Sentiment, and Social Justice, which focuses on utility cycling advocacy, border solidary efforts, and farmed animal rescue. She has also written book chapters and articles on veganism, animal rights, and environmentalism. She is part of the teaching team for the freshman cluster course Food as a Lens for the Environment and Sustainability at UCLA, is on the advisory board of Climate Diet, and is a board member of New Roots Institute. She is a regular volunteer with animal rights, border solidarity, and food justice organizations. She is a Professor and Chair of the department of World Arts and Cultures/Dance at UCLA.
RESOUCES:
Jay’s Newsweek Article
Related Podcast: The Cage-Free Conundrum
Support this podcast:
www.HopeForTheAnimalsPodcast.org
www.Compassionate-Living.org
Patty Leon and Rich Winograd both grew up as animal lovers…or so they thought. It was during the pandemic that they came across documentaries, books, and articles that removed their blindfolds and led to the light switch moment to make a change for the better. Today they continue to learn and grow, sharing, their insight as animal rights, vegan and social justice activists. They actively volunteer for various organizations and have written a young adult novel titled “True Justice 4 All.” Rich and Patty share with Hope how they awakened to the hypocrisy of our relationship with animals and the detrimental impact of the food production system on animals, humans, and the planet as a whole.
Resources:
Rich and Patty's Book: True Justice 4 All
InstaGram: @truejustice4all
Sonoma County VegFest, September 27, 2025
On this episode we are sharing the recording from the Humane Hoax Project Panel Discussion: Egg Prices Are Not the Only Crisis, The Current Political Situation and Animal Agriculture.
The political climate has left many feeling frustrated as we witness the dismantling of government oversight and structure. This is further compounded by the avian flu crisis and its impact on the food system. Hope Bohanec hosts a panel of experts who will examine the current situation, navigate the political turmoil, and discuss the effects on farmed animals, our advocacy strategies, and the food industry.
Panelists
Vasile Stanescu, PhD, is an Associate Professor and Chair of Communication at Mercer University. He received his Ph.D. in the program of Modern Thought and Literature (MTL) at Stanford University. Stanescu’s research focuses on greenwashing by animal agribusiness, critiques of humane meat, in vitro meat, and consumerist options for social change. He is the author of numerous publications on the study of animals and the environment including publications in the Journal of American Culture, Rhetoric of Health & Medicine, the American Behavioral Scientist and Animal Studies Journal. Stanescu is also the co-founder of the North American Association for Critical Animal Studies (NAACAS).
Kathryn Gillespie, PhD, is a writer and researcher dedicated to uncovering the harms done to animals in industrial and so-called "humane" systems of production. She is VP of Research and Strategy at Farm Forward and Associate Director for the Center for Food Systems Transformations at the University of San Diego. She is the author of The Cow with Ear Tag #1389 (University of Chicago Press, 2018), a book about the lives of cows in the U.S. dairy industry. .
John Sanbonmastsu, PhD, is Associate Professor of Philosophy at the Worcester Polytechnic Institute in Massachusetts and a charismatic, internationally recognized authority in animal ethics. He is the author of The Postmodern Prince and editor of the book Critical Theory and Animal Liberation. His latest book, The Omnivore’s Deception, offers a bold new way of thinking about human purpose in the context of our troubled relations with animals and food.
Resources:
Related Podcasts:
The Cage-Free Conundrum with Hope Bohanec
Greenwashing and Animal Agriculture with Vasile Stanescu
The Omnivore’s Deception with John Sanbonmatsu
Books:
On Effective Altruism: The Good it Promises the Harm It Does
The Omnivore’s Deception by John Sanbonmatsu
Cow with Ear Tag #1389 by Kathryn Gillespie
Article: Trump’s tax bill is a win for Big Ag
On this episode, we switch things up and our host, Hope Bohanec, is interviewed by Michele Granberg of Animal Activism Collective, AAC. Today we are sharing with you a recording of Hope being interviewed by Michele for the Animal Liberation Hour Podcast where they talk about Hope’s activist origin story, why she started her nonprofit Compassionate Living, and her thoughts on exposing humanewashing and speciesism. Hope also gets into the spiritual aspect of veganism and nonviolence revealing parallels to Dharma traditions and she talks about Ahimsa, a Sanskrit term meaning non-harming.
Resources:
Animal Activism Collective
The Animal Liberation Hour Podcast
Humane Hoax Project Online Panel Discussion, July 19, More info and registration here.
Hope’s books:
The Ultimate Betrayal: Is There Happy Meat?
The Humane Hoax: Essays Exposing the Myth of Happy Meat, Humane Dairy, and Ethical Eggs
On this episode Hope talks with author John Sanbonmatsu about his new book The Omnivore’s Deception: What We Get Wrong about Meat, Animals, and Ourselves. This engaging book covers a variety of philosophical aspects of meat-eating culture, offers insight into our fraught relationship with farmed animal and explores the importance of incorporating love into our ethics. John and Hope discuss humanewashing and the deception around the reality of animal farming, the cognitive dissonance of loving and eating animals, and how eating meat is an aspect of the US culture wars. They also debate a pessimistic vs. optimistic view of the trajectory of the last few decades of vegan and animal activism.
John Sanbonmatsu is a Professor of Philosophy at the Worcester Polytechnic Institute in Massachusetts, where he teaches ethics and politics, among other topics. He is the author of The Postmodern Prince and editor of the book Critical Theory and Animal Liberation. His new book, The Omnivore’s Deception: What We Get Wrong about Meat, Animals, and Ourselves (New York University Press) challenges the myth of "enlightened" omnivorism and the idea that we can have our meat and our conscience too.
MUSICAL BONUS:
At the conclusion of the episode, we share with you a new song by vegan musician Brent Ratkovich titled “Trying.” This beautiful song is a heartfelt love letter to farmed animals that conveys a profound vegan message.
Resources:
Book: The Omnivore’s Deception
Humane Hoax Panel Discussion: July 19, information and registration here: https://www.humanehoax.org/upcoming-event
Brent Ratkovich: preview and purchase music: brentratkovich.bandcamp.com
Support this Podcast:
Hope for the Animals Podcast
Compassionate Living
In this episode, we explore the psychological aspects of living vegan on our social, emotional, and even spiritual psychology. Angela Crawford, the author of “The Vegan Transformation: A Journey to Heal Yourself and the World,” shares her research having interviewed hundreds of vegans to uncover common themes related to the benefits and challenges of living vegan. She talks about value alignment, the different stages of readiness for people to hear the vegan message, and the importance of including ourselves in our circle of compassion.
Angela Crawford, Ph.D. is a psychologist, vegan educator, and author of The Vegan Transformation: A Journey to Heal Yourself and the World (Lantern, 2025). She holds a doctorate in clinical psychology and previously worked as a psychotherapist for 25 years, empowering clients toward greater holistic well-being. She is certified as a Master Vegan Lifestyle Coach and Educator (MSVA), licensed PCRM Food for Life instructor, and Transformational Coach.
Resources:
Angela’s Website
Buy the Book from Lantern
Social media links: @angelacrawfordphd on Facebook and Instagramand LinkedIn
Support this Podcast:
Hope for the Animals Podcast
Compassionate Living
Fires, hurricanes, floods—animals are also victims of recent unprecedented natural disasters. Diana Hulet, an environmental writer and animal photojournalist, shares her experience documenting the destruction of the recent LA fires and its impact on animals. She witnessed distressed wildlife, people risking their lives to protect animals, and participated in animal rescues. Diana and Hope discuss the climate crisis and how all these recent “un-natural” disasters are fueled by human actions. Diana also shares her personal contemplative practice, which helps her navigate the difficult subject matter she encounters in her work.
Diana Hulet is a Pacific Northwest and Colorado-based environmental writer, animal photojournalist, and yoga teacher with over three decades of experience in yoga philosophy and contemplative traditions. After establishing her own Yoga studio and leading trainings and retreats internationally, Diana pivoted her attention and received a Bachelor of Science degree at Oregon State University in 2017, focusing on environmental ethics, ecology, and climate change. Diana's growing concern for the well-being of animals prompted her to pick up a camera and begin documenting the details of their lives. Her ongoing project, What if We Saw Them, encourages reflection on our relationship with animals in various contexts, advocating for compassion as a catalyst for systemic change. She is a contributor to two animal photojournalist nonprofits We Animals and Sanctuary Doc, where she also serves as the Board Vice President.
Resources:
Diana Hulet Website
Sanctuary Doc
What If We Saw Them Project
Support this podcast:
Hope for the Animals Podcast
Compassionate Living
Erin Wing is currently serving as the Deputy Director of Investigations for Animal Outlook and previously worked as an undercover investigator. Erin completed four investigations in the dairy, chicken and aquaculture industries, including the first-ever undercover expose of salmon aquaculture in the U.S. Her work has been featured in The Washington Post, The Guardian and The New York Times.
Erin’s investigations and her advocacy work shed light on the interconnection of human and animal exploitation that occurs on farms in the animal agriculture system. Erin shares personal accounts from her compelling investigations to illustrate the dangers speciesism poses to all sentient beings on the planet. She also shares what it’s like to live on a farmed animal sanctuary and the stark contrast of the animals’ experience from industry to freedom. Erin said, “When it comes to learning how to process trauma, my greatest teachers have been animals.”
Resources:
Animal Outlook
Animal Partisan
Eugene VeganFest
Erin’s first episode on Hope for the Animals
Support this Podcast:
Hope for the Animals Podcast
Compassionate Living
Today’s show is a replay of an earlier episode with the amazing lauren Ornelas, founder of Food Empowerment Project. Food Empowerment Project is a vegan food justice nonprofit that promotes veganism, works to bring attention to the rights of farm workers, highlights the lack of access to healthy foods in Black and Brown communities, and raise awareness about the worst forms of slavery, including child labor, in the chocolate industry. Lauren has been deeply involved in animal rights activism since 1987 and was the director of VivaUSA before founding Food Empowerment Project.
Lauren and Hope talk about the connections between food, veganism, and human rights with issues like child and slave labor chocolate production, food deserts and access to produce and healthy food, and Food Empowerment Project’s Fight for the Oceans campaign highlighting the struggles of the ocean and her sea creatures. Lauren will be speaking at Compassionate Living’s upcoming Eugene VeganFest on May 4, 2025.
Resources:
Food Empowerment Project
Lauren’s TEDx Talk: The Power of our Food Choices
About child labor and slavery in chocolate production and the FEP’s recommended chocolate list
Eugene VeganFest, 5/4/25
We are honored to have a legend on the podcast today, Seth Tibbott founded Turtle Island Foods in 1980, now the “Tofurky Company.” For 15 years Seth pursued his dream as a pioneer of the early plant-based foods movement. In 1995, Seth introduced the first nationally marketed vegan holiday roast named “Tofurky” which soon became the most well-known meat alternative brand in the US. Tofurky is now a household word (even spell check knew what I was trying to type!) It has been mentioned on numerous TV shows, including The X-Files, The Tonight Show, and even as the answer to a $400 question on Jeopardy. Seth has chronicled his “40-year overnight success story” in a new book, In Search of the Wild Tofurky.
On this episode, Seth talks about the history of plant based foods in the US (going back farther then you think!) as well as the history of the iconic Tofurky. He then takes us into the future as well with innovations in mock meats with advances like alt protein fermentation and 3D printed steak!
Resources:
Book: In Search of the Wild Tofurky by Seth Tibbott
Eugene VeganFest
Support this podcast:
Hope for the Animals Podcast
Compassionate Living
On today's show, author and host Hope Bohanec is flying solo and offering a new analysis of the Humane Hoax. She will break down humane meat marketing jargon, unpack and categorize the harms of the humane hoax, and talk about language, labeling, speciesism, and more.
Resources:
BOOK:
The Humane Hoax: Essays Exposing the Myth of Happy Meat, Humane Dairy, and Ethical Eggs by Hope Bohanec
The Humane Hoax Project
Support this podcast:
Compassionate Living
Hope for the Animals Podcast
Can you use some positive news for the new year? We’ve got you covered with this interview!Matthew Haltemanhas written a book called Hungry Beautiful Animals: The Joyful Case for Going Vegan and it is full of positive vegan vibes. Matthew is a professor of philosophy at Calvin University in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and fellow in the Oxford Centre for Animal Ethics, UK. He is the author of Compassionate Eating as Care of Creation and coeditor of Philosophy Comes to Dinner: Arguments About the Ethics of Eating.
Matthew puts a hopeful spin on going vegan in his new book and helps us to frame the issue with positivity and joy. Hope and Matt explore veganism as a philosophy and how we can deepen the vegan conversation to apply to every aspect of life. Matt shares how he feels that love is a crucial component to a vegan life, both self-love and love for others. They also get into the psychological aspects of vegan arguments and confrontations and effective communication.
Resources:
Book:
Hungry, Beautiful Animals: The Joyful Case for Going Vegan by Matt Halteman
Ahimsa Living Circle
Second Saturday of the MonthNext Circle: Saturday, February 8, Register here
Lantern Voices: Lantern Publishing and Media's new podcast
Support this Podcast:
Hope for the Animals Podcast
Compassionate Living
Welcome to 2025! For our first podcast of the year, we dive into spiritual veganism with Hope and her husband Cogen Bohanec. They start with their genesis stories of their spiritual journeys and how they have evolved in their 25-year marriage. Then they introduce a new project, the Ahimsa Living Circle, an ongoing monthly virtual gathering to support the community of veg-curious, pre-vegans, and vegans focused on the Dharma traditions and in particular Jain Dharma, in a circle of encouragement and compassion. The Ahimsa Living Circle is a collaborative event co-hosted by Arihanta Institute and Compassionate Living.
Hope and Cogen also talk about the importance of changing our culture and evolving our fundamental nature of who we are, and not just changing what we do. They also explore veganism beyond the boycott and talk about philosophical and spiritual veganism.
Ahimsa Living Circle
Second Saturday of the Month
First Circle Starts on Saturday, January 11, 2025
10:00 – 11:30am PT / 1 – 2:30pm ET
Register here for this free virtual event
Support this podcast:
Hope for the Animals Podcast
Compassionate Living
Social Media:
Facebook
YouTube
Isabella La Rocca González is an award-winning artist, author, and activist. Her work is part of a long tradition in art and photography: to bring to light and find beauty in the hidden, unconscious, or disregarded. As the daughter of emigrants from Mexico and Italy, she strives to reconcile values from her Indigenous roots with her European heritage.
Her photographs have been exhibited internationally including a solo show at the Center for Photography in Woodstock, NY. Awards for her work include the Ferguson Grant from the Friends of Photography in San Francisco, CA for excellence and commitment to the field of photography. She received her BA in Fine Arts from the University of Pennsylvania, and her MFA in Photography from Indiana University.
Isabella’s new book, Censored Landscapes: The Hidden Reality of Farming Animals, is a photographic exploration that tells a story in which the central characters are innocent of any crime and yet are condemned to imprisonment, torture, and death. It’s a true story of ecological destruction, of worker exploitation—mostly people of color—and of secretive corporations protected by laws and enriched by government subsidies and lobbies. It is also a story that offers insight and healing.
Isabella discusses how the photographs she took after a rescue of thousands of hens in Turlock, California became the inspiration for this project. She and Hope discuss how farming animals is a colonial import, the myth of grass-fed and other humane hoax labels, and the importance of photography to tell a story in a vivid and authentic way.
Resources:
Buy the Book-
Censored Landscapes: The Hidden Reality of Farming Animals
Support this podcast:
Compassionate Living
Hope for the Animals Podcast
Do you love Halloween? Do you like to dig deep into philosophical discussions of life and death? This episode might just be for you. Today’s show is a Halloween special with something a little different. In the first half, Hope explores the theme of cannibalism in zombie, vampire, and other fantasy and horror movies and shows how these stories actually underscore our speciesist tendencies. Then, in the second half of the show, Hope and her husband Cogen, have a conversation about why people love horror movies and ask the question, could it be that our society likes to eat meat because it’s a socially sanctioned murder? Or can horror movies help us to empathize with farmed animals that are experiencing the same horrors as the victims in the movies?
In this episode, we will delve into the discord between human rights and animal rights. This friction has been featured in various spheres: academic studies, the media, food and culture literature, food security issues, and the law which is where we will focus on today.
Maneesha Deckha is Professor and Lansdowne Chair in Law at the University of Victoria in British Columbia where she directs the Animals & Society Research Initiative. Her research expertise includes critical animal law, vegan ecofeminist theory, and postcolonial theory. She is the author of Animals as Legal Beings: Contesting Anthropocentric Legal Orders and has directed an open access documentary series designed for high school and undergraduate students called A Deeper Kindness: Youth Activism in Animal Law.
Maneesha gives real world examples of legal cases to show that there are cultural, racial, and indigenous rights concerns for extending legal rights to nonhuman animals and how we can mitigate these tensions. One example is the case brought on behalf of Happy the Elephant at the Bronx Zoo by the Nonhuman Animal Rights Project. She unpacks some of the history of these apprehensions and offers a framework for solidarity to move us forward for everyone’s benefit.
RESOURCES:
Books:
Trickster Trilogy by Eden Robbinson
Aphro-ism: Essays on Pop Culture, Feminism, and Black Veganism from Two Sisters by Aph Ko & Syl Ko
Sista Vegan edited by A. Breeze Harper
Brotha Veganedited by Omowale Adewale
Please support this podcast:
Hope for the Animals Podcast
Compassionate Living
The humane hoax is alive and well all over the globe and today we are leaning how it is used in the UK. Rose Patterson is the Co-Director and Actions Coordinator for Animal Rising. After getting a masters in Animal Welfare Science, Ethics, and Law and working for World Animal Protection she joined Animal Rising in 2020. She has worked on the strategy for multiple campaigns, designed and coordinated dozens of actions and led large complex projects mobilizing hundreds of people, including the disruption of the Grand National horse race which garnered a great deal of press and most recently the largest investigation into animal farming in UK history targeting RSPCA Assured farms.
Rose shares Animal Rising’s work exposing humanewashing by the RSPCA and how as Rose says, the RSPCA is failing farmed animals. She also tells the story of Animal Rising’s infamous disruption of the Grand National Horse Race in Great Britain that got huge media coverage. Hope and Rose also talk about strategy and the importance of the grassroots in animal advocacy.
Resources:
Animal Rising
Support this podcast:
Compassionate Living
Hope for the Animals Podcast
Tracey Winter Glover is an animal caretaker, activist, author, and filmmaker. She is the co-founded and Executive Director of a non-profit intersectional pro-vegan animal rights group, Awakening Respect and Compassion for all Sentient Beings. She also startedSweet Peeps Microsanctuary, which is now home to over 50 unique and personable individuals. Tracey created and released a short award-winning documentary entitled “Until All Are Free,” is the author of Lotus of the Heart: Living Yoga for Personal Wellness and Global Survival. Her first children’s book, inspired by the chickens at Sweet Peeps, is called Chickens Are Animals Too! Fannie Goes to Washington.
Tracey shares the stories of Fannie and other chickens that are in her new children’s book and how they helped her to shatter her misconceptions about chickens that most of us share. Tracey tells some of the rescue stories of the chickens at the sanctuary and shares how she wanted to offer an accurate and authentic voice to the characters in her book. She and Hope also talk about Eastern religious philosophies and how her other book, Lotus of the Heart, has helped her to awaken a deep reverence and respect for all life on the planet and how these ancient teachings can help us heal our world.
Resources:
Sweet Peeps Microsanctuary
Books by Tracey Winter Glover:
Chickens are Animals Too, Fannie Goes to Washington
Lotus of the Heart: Living Yoga for Personal Wellness and Global Survival
Thank you for your support!
Compassionate Living
Hope for the Animals Podcast
Tomas Machowicz is a photographer and filmmaker focusing on animal rescue efforts and social issues. He started documenting animal rescue in 2018 after a visit to Seebu Sanctuary in Costa Rica. Along with Molly Condit, Thomas co-founded Sanctuary Doc, a non-profit multimedia project that illuminates the major issues facing our world today by focusing on animals and the people who rescue them. Thomas considers himself a conduit for stories meant to raise the consciousness of humanity and uses photography, film, lectures, and workshops as tools to explore and share the human experience. Thomas' work has been published by BBC News, The Associated Press, Reuters, Vox, and he is a regular contributor to We Animals Media.
Thomas shares his experiences at a wild animal sanctuary in Costa Rica and how that experience started his journey to being a photojournalist telling non-human animal’s stories. He then tells us about a popular short film produced by Sanctuary Doc called Transfarming that documents animal farming transitions to plant farms and animal sanctuaries in Switzerland. He also talks about another Sanctuary Doc project focused on houseless people and their companion animals. Thomas shared that he feels it’s important to create, “a sanctuary in your mind” and discusses mindfulness and the connection to living a fulfilled life.
Resources:
Sanctuary Doc
Support this podcast and learn more:
Hope for the Animals Podcast
Compassionate Living
When Kimbery Carroll was first becoming an animal activist, she asked herself “Who is caring for the caretakers?” She has since dedicated herself to helping build resilient, mentally and emotionally healthy advocates.
Kimberly is a coach for changemakers, campaigns strategist with Animal Justice, director of Animal Justice Academy, and a director with the Toronto Vegetarian Food Bank. With over 14 years as a coach and almost 20 years as an activist, Kimberly works with mission-driven leaders, social entrepreneurs, and other activists on high-performance habits and strategies to make them unstoppable. She’s helped empower thousands of activists and counseled those in high-stress positions like undercover investigators. She’s also passionate about environmental activism, democratic reform, and amplifying Indigenous and Black voices.
Resources:
Vegan Studies Initiative at Arihanta Institute: https://www.arihantainstitute.org/vegan
Monthly Speaker Series: New Ethical Issues in Contemporary Veganism with Dr. Cheryl Abbate, July 15: Register for free
4-week Course- Debunking the Myth of Sustainable and Humane Animal Agriculture with Dr. Vasile Stanescu: Enroll with COUPON CODE for 25% off tuition fee: DEBUNK25!
Kimberly Carroll
WEBSITES
Coach for Changemakers: www.kimberlycarroll.com
Sign-up for Animal Justice Academy (FREE): www.animaljusticeacademy.com
Animal Justice: www.animaljustice.ca
Toronto Vegetarian Food Bank: www.vegfoodbank.com
SOCIALS
Facebook: facebook.com/KimberlyCarrollPage
Instagram: @coachkimberlycarroll
YouTube: www.youtube.com/@kimberlycarrolltv
SIGN-UP (free) FOR THE CHANGEMAKER SESSIONS: https://kimberlycarroll.com/changemakersessions
- every second Wednesday at 7pm ET
Kimberly's FREE VIDEO MINI-COURSE - Power Tools for Changemakers: https://kimberlycarroll.com/power-tools-changemakers
KIMBERLY'S FREE MEDITATIONS:
www.kimberlycarroll.com/meditations
Happy PRIDE! Joining us on this special Pride episode is Honey LaBronx, The Vegan Drag Queen. Honey stared in her own YouTube vegan cooking series and traveled the world with her one-woman drag show, raising funds for local LGBTQ and animal organizations along the way. She is committed to bringing discussions about animal rights, racism, and social justice to new audiences. In 2011, she was one of eight activists arrested for blocking New York City traffic while demonstrating for marriage equality alongside her drag mother, Bob The Drag Queen (winner of Season 8 of RuPaul’s Drag Race). Out of drag, Ben Strothmann is an actor, singer, playwright, and theatrical photographer, originally from Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Hope and Honey cover an assortment of fascinating topics-- how her sobriety journey led her to veganism, why she chose her drag name, how fat is beautiful, and embracing radical compassion. They also talk about the challenges within the gay and drag community with emboldened conservatives supporting legislation, violence, and oppression against the LGBT community. Hope and Honey laugh, lament, theorize, and bring a little joy to us all.
Resources:
@HoneyLaBronx
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@HoneyLaBronx
Video: Rachel Wiley, The Fat Joke
Thank you for supporting this podcast:
Compassionate Living
Hope for the Animals Podcast
Today on the podcast we have Joanne Kong and Chirstoph Wagner, and they are the Vegan Virtuosiz. Joanne and Christoph weave together live music, reflections, and the arts in inspiring events that illuminate how embracing the connections we have to the natural world and all beings can bring about transformative spiritual growth, positive change, and planetary healing. They will be featured in the upcoming documentary, Taking Note, about vegan musicians and the history of animal rights as seen through music.
Pianist Joanne Kong’s performances have been praised for “great finesse and flexibility” (The Washington Post), and “superb artistry” (San Antonio Express-News) in works “sensitively played” (New York Times). She is currently director of chamber music ensembles at the University of Richmond. Dr. Kongspeaks around the world as an animal, environmental and vegan advocate. Her TEDx talk, The Power of Plant-Based Eating,has over 1 million views, she is editor of Vegan Voices: Essays by Inspiring Changemakers, and appears in the major documentary, Eating Our Way to Extinction.
Christoph Wagner, a native of Germany, is a sought-after cellist who has played on four continents. Mr. Wagner holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from Rice University, and his current research focuses on the role of nutrition in musical peak performance. He is a Certified Nutrition Coach and Certified Personal Trainer through the National Academy of Sports Medicine, and holds a Certificate in Plant-Based Nutrition from Cornell University through the T. Colin Campbell Center for Nutrition Studies. Currently Dr. Wagner is Assistant Professor of Cello at the University of New Mexico.
Resources:
Joanne Kong: www.JoanneKongMusic.com
Vegan Virtuosiz Tour Information:
Vancouver, Washington, May 17, 2024
Salem, Oregon, May 19, 2024
(Book) Vegan Voices: Essays By Inspiring Changemakers by Joanne Kong, PhD
Please support this podcast:
Compassionate Living
Hope for the Animals Podcast
In this presentation, Hope will explore the recent trajectory of the animal advocacy movement toward encouraging industries to transition to cage-free systems and other animal welfare campaigns. Cage-free eggs are now 40% of the US egg market and both the industry and animal advocates are promoting this as a major victory…but is this something to celebrate? Hope talks about social justice strategy, Effective Altruism, incremental change, and propose that our movement’s focus is out of balance. She cautions that we are relying too heavily on impractical strategies and fragile legislation that may not lead us to farmed animal freedom.
Resources:
(Book) The Good it Promises, the Harm It Does: Critical Essays on Effective Altruism
(Podcast) Episode 76– Measuring Our Movement with Krista Hiddema, podcast focused on Effective Altruism
(Podcast) Reason for Vegan Series #3- Cage-Free and Free-Range Explained with Hope Bohanec
(Article) Which Eggs Are Ethical to Eat? By Hope Bohanec
Bite Size Vegan, Emily Moran-Barwick
Please support this podcast:
Compassionate Living
Hope for the Animals Podcast
Happy Earth Day! This is an important time of year where we focus our attention on the perils facing the planet and get inspired to help her. So today our guest is Dr. Richard Twine, author of, The Climate Crisis and Other Animals (Sydney University Press, 2024). He is a professor in Sociology and Co-Director of the Centre for Human- Animal Studies (CfHAS) at Edge Hill University, UK. He also co-editor of The Rise of Critical Animal Studies – From the Margins to the Centre (Routledge, 2014) and author of Animals as Biotechnology – Ethics, Sustainability and Critical Animal Studies (Routledge, 2010). Richard has also published articles on ecofeminism, vegan transition, the food system, and the animal-industrial complex.
Richard tells us about Critical Animal Studies and how it is inspiring many areas of academic study to consider human-animal relations. We then discuss Richard’s new book and how climate disruption is affecting wild animals, marine animals, birds and even insects and microorganisms. He talks about the impact on farmed animals who now face events like frequent flooding, fires, and heatwaves due to a changing climate. We also get into the weeds of the confusing, controversial, and politicized animal agriculture emissions numbers and why there is a wide range of percentages from different sources and how to decipher what is most accurate. We also cover climate justice, food justice, the importance of a social science viewpoint of the climate crisis and much more.
Resources:
Richard’s website: http://www.richardtwine.com
Humane Hoax Chicken Webinar details and free registration
Support this Podcast:
Compassionate Living
Hope for the Animals Podcast
National Animal Rights Day is a unique event coming up on June 2, 2024 and today we have the creator of this day of action, Aylam Orian. Aylam is a Hollywood actor, filmmaker and animal rights activist. With his non-profit "Our Planet. Theirs Too." he has established The National Animal Rights Day (N.A.R.D.) – a day of moving events dedicated to animals and their rights, which are held simultaneously in major cities every June. NARD events are now held in 50 countries around the world. He is also the creator of The Declaration of Animal Rights – a vegan, animal liberation document that details the rights all animals have as living beings on planet Earth – which has been translated to 23 languages. As an actor, he has appeared in numerous known films and TV shows (30 Rock, Code Black, NCIS: LA, The Informer, Strargate Origins), and he wll be seen next in the new TV show about The Holocaust, “We Were the Lucky Ones.”
Aylam tells the story of how he started The National Animal Rights Day in 2011 and how the day of action has grown every year and spread across the globe. He also tells us about the inspiration behind the creation of The Declaration of Animal Rights, how it reflects the UN declaration of human rights, and how it’s a roadmap for a future of compassionate human-animal relations. Hope and Aylam also get into a discussion on best strategies for animal advocates and how the trajectory of the movement, in our opinion, is out of balance. Aylam also gives us some insight into just how vegan-friendly Hollywood really is and some hopeful signs of veganism on a soap! Join us for this inspiring discussion.
Resources:
National Animal Rights Day (NARD) June 2, 2024
Humane Hoax Chicken Webinar
Hope speaking in Portland, OR. on April 21
Support us:
Compassionate Living
Hope for the Animals Podcast
Today on the podcast we are joined by Faik Bourik, founder of Vegius, a provider of vegan services to support farmed animal sanctuaries worldwide. Faik is a mathematics, physics, and astronomy college instructor who combines his academic background with his roles as a professional writer and entrepreneur. Passionate about animal rights and gender equality, he founded Vegius to provide much needed financial support to farmed animal sanctuaries.
Faik talks about how he fell for the humane hoax and bought humanely labeled products when he was first thinking about farmed animal issues. He shares how little meat he ate growing up in Algeria and how the traditional diets of so many cultures around the world are predominately plant-based. He talks about the importance of farmed animal sanctuaries to open people’s hearts and to make emotional connections to animals. We also discuss karma theory and how this is an important concept to bring to western culture, which brought us to some interesting history lessons from Faik.
Resources:
Vegius
Support this podcast:
Hope for the Animals Podcast
Compassionate Living
Connecting veganism to other justice causes is critical to our success and our guest today recognized this at a very young age. Zane McNeill is a scholar-activist, chair of the National Lawyers Guild’s Animal Liberation Committee, and was the co-manager of the collective Right for Animal Rights Activists. They have worked closely with the Institute of Critical Animal Studies (ICAS) and have published chapters in ICAS collections, including Vegans on Speciesism and Ableism: Ecoability Voices for Disability and Animal Justice and Expanding the Critical Animal Studies Imagination: Essays on Solidarity and Total Liberation. They have also edited Queer and Trans Voices: Achieving Liberation Through Consistent Anti-Oppression, Vegan Entanglements: Dismantling Racial and Carceral Capitalism, and Building Multispecies Resistance Against Exploitation: Stories from the Frontlines of Labor and Animal Rights (forthcoming, Peter Lang Publishing).
Zane will help us to unpack new terms like “consistent anti-oppression” and “total liberation” as well as “carceral veganism” where animal activists align with agencies to criminalize and deport people in marginalized communities of color when we should be targeting the system of oppression itself. They discuss the parallels of body autonomy issues for humans and non-humans. Zane addresses everything from micro aggressions experienced by animal activists within the movement to larger, structural issues of oppression. Join us for this important discussion.
Resources:
Zane’s Book Vegan Entanglements
Hope for the Animals Podcast
Compassionate Living
Compassionate Living’s YouTube Page
Do you want to know the truth about grass-fed beef? Regenerative grazing? Free-range eggs? This episode is jam packed with the jaw-dropping reality of greenwashing. Vasile Stanescuis an Associate Professor and Chair of Communication at Mercer University. He received his Ph.D. in the program of Modern Thought and Literature (MTL) at Stanford University. Vasile’s research focuses on greenwashing in animal agribusiness, critiques of humane meat, in vitro meat, and consumerist options for social change. He is the author of numerous publications on the study of animals and the environment including in the Journal of American Culture, Rhetoric of Health & Medicine, the American Behavioral Scientist, and Animal Studies Journal. Vasile is also the co-founder of the North American Association for Critical Animal Studies (NAACAS).
Vas talks about what is really behind regenerative grazing and the false messaging around supposedly “new” methods of animal farming. We also talk about the detriment of chicken farming, how beef is so often cited as the worst culprit for the environment, and the myth that if you just switch to chicken, it’s so much better. Vas dives deep into how interconnected all animal farming industries are and how the supposed “green” meat movement is just another marketing tool for industrial agribusiness. He also shares how he feels that it is critical to reverse the stigma on veganism and have Vegan Pride.
Resources:
Humane Hoax Online Conference details and free registration
Learn more and support this podcast:
Hope for the Animals Podcast
Compassionate Living
Studies cited in this episode:
Joseph Poore, University of Oxford
Tara Garnett, Food Climate Research Network at Oxford University
News media that is sympathetic to animals is critical in creating a compassionate world. A 2023 von Liebig Award Winner, Nina Jackel is a journalist and activist known for effecting change for animals around the world through her non-profit media organization that she founded called Lady Freethinker. Nina leads numerous divisions at the organization that expose cruel and illegal activities through undercover operations and galvanizing ordinary citizens to make a difference.
Hope and Nina discuss the importance of news media for animals and Nina offers advice about what makes good media that has the potential to reach wider audiences. She also talks about Lady Freethinker’s important campaign targeting social media posts that abuse animals, such as fake “rescue” videos where abusers put animals in distressful situations just for clicks. They also discuss how to reach people who care about animals, but haven’t made the connection to compassion for farmed animals and veganism.
Resources:
Lady Freethinker:
Website
William von Leibig Foundation Award Winner
Humane Hoax Online Conference details and free registration
Learn More and Support this Podcast:
Compassionate Living
Hope for the Animals Podcast
Renee King-Sonnen is the Founder and Executive Director of Rowdy Girl Sanctuary that transformed from a cattle ranch to a sanctuary for more than 120 animals—the first documented beef cattle ranch converted to a 100% vegan sanctuary in history. Rowdy Girl sanctuary is changing the world for farmed animals with programs like the Rancher Advocacy Program (RAP), an educational program that inspires cattle ranchers and animal farms to consider alternatives to animal farming, and Families Choosing Compassion that offers a compassionate alternative to Future Farmers of America and 4-H programs. Most recently, Renee has been the subject of a documentary, Rowdy Girl, that had its World Premiere in Toronto at Hot Docs, and the U.S. Premiere at the Hampton Film Festival. She has just completed a memoir with the working title of Secret Diary of a Cattle Rancher’s Wife, slated to be published in 2024. Renee tells her fascinating story of transformation from cattle rancher’s wife to vegan animal activist.
We would like to thank A Well-Fed World (AWFW) for their generous support of this podcast! A Well-Fed World is an international hunger relief and food security organization advancing plant-based foods and farming to create a sustainable, nourished, and climate-friendly future. Learn more at awfw.org.
Resources:
Hope’s Book: The Humane Hoax: Essays Exposing Happy Meat, Humane Dairy and Ethical Eggs
Donate to Compassionate Living
Rowdy Girl Sanctuary and Film:
https://www.rowdygirlfilm.com
https://rowdygirlsanctuary.org
https://www.facebook.com/rowdygirlsanctuary
https://www.instagram.com/rowdygirlsanctuary/
https://twitter.com/RowdyGirlRanch
https://www.youtube.com/rowdygirlsanctuary
https://www.tiktok.com/@rowdygirlsanctuary
https://rancheradvocacy.org
https://www.facebook.com/rancheradvocacyprogram/
https://www.instagram.com/rancheradvocacyprogram/
https://twitter.com/RancherAdvocacy
Learn More and Support this Podcast:
Compassionate Living
Hope for the Animals Podcast
This is a special short episode just for dedicated listeners. In this time of giving, I hope you will consider supporting grassroots vegan education.
Please donate to Compassionate Living to support the continuation of this podcast. Thank you!
This episode is dedicated to the legendary Karen Davis, PhD, founder and president of United Poultry Concerns (UPC). Karen died on Nov. 4th 2023 of cancer. Vegan since 1983, Karen was an activist, author, outspoken animal advocate, and had a sanctuary for rescued birds on the Eastern Shore of Virginia.
United Poultry Concerns was the first sponsor of this podcast and our host, Hope Bohanec, worked with Karen at UPC for close to a decade from 2012 - 2021. Karen started United Poultry Concerns, the first ever organization focused on chickens, in 1990. She wrote numerous books on chickens and turkeys and advocated for an end to not only the farming of these birds, but also cock fighting, down, foie gras, Kapporos, birds used in experimentation, and many other exploitive practices involving chickens and other birds.
This episode is a compilation of highlights from the four times Karen was on the podcast. Karen tells the story of how she was inspired by the animal rights movement in the 1980s and how she started United Poultry Concerns. Karen shares some of her philosophies and unique thoughts about chickens and animal advocacy. She also talks about the plight and delight of turkeys. She discusses the importance of language and reveals how she believed chickens, and all animals, have Earth Rights. Rest in Power Karen, we will carry on in your honor.
Resources:
United Poultry Concerns
Learn More and Support this Podcast:
Compassionate Living
Hope for the Animals Podcast
Many compassionate people and vegans are drawn to the concept of ahimsa, the Sanskrit word for non-harming or non-violence. Today we explore this concept with Dr. Jonathan Dickstein, Assistant Professor of Jain Studies at Arihanta Institute. Johnathan received a PhD in Religious Studies from the University of California, Santa Barbara and his areas of research include Jain Studies, religion and ecology, comparative ethics, and South Asian religions. Jonathan and Hope discuss the spiritual reasons for living vegan through the Jain lens. He offers some history and context for the Jain religion and how their highest concept, ahimsa, or non-harming, is core to their belief. He also discusses karma theory and how that relates to ahimsa and defines Transnational Veganism.
Resources:
Ahimsa Vegan Conference Videos
Learn More and Support this Podcast:
Compassionate Living
Hope for the Animals Podcast
Did you know that your veggies, fruit, beans, nuts, and seeds were probably grown with the blood, ground up bones and/or manure of farmed animals? Or the ground up bodies of fish? This episode we are talking about Veganic farming, growing food without animal products and inputs, with Meg Kelly. In 2008 Meg co-founded the Veganic Agriculture Network to promote fully plant-based food systems that are not fertilized with the byproducts of farmed animals. She now teaches the Learn Veganic online gardening course to empower people around the world to grow their own fruits and veggies at home using sustainable vegan techniques. On this episode, she shares how to get started gardening veganically, how to create compost, how to consciously and compassionately co-exist with wildlife while gardening, and more. Meg has been gardening veganically for 15 years and explains the myriad of good reasons for the world to go vegan AND veganic!
Resources:
Veganic Summit (November 10 – 12th 2023): https://veganicsummit.com/
Veganic Agriculture Network: https://goveganic.net/
Learn Veganic Gardening Course: https://learnveganic.com/
Free Guide to Veganic Gardening: https://learnveganic.com/materials/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LearnVeganic/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/learnveganic/
Food Empowerment Project’s Chocolate List
Learn More and Support this Podcast:
Compassionate Living
Hope for the Animals Podcast
Steven Rouk is the founder of Connect For Animals, a platform for people who want to help end animal farming. He has been in the animal advocacy movement for the last decade working on data analysis, strategy, community building, and grassroots activism. Steven and Hope discuss the importance of building vegan community to help people feel supported and connected in veganism and animal advocacy. They explore the psychological and social reasons for recidivism and the fascinating concepts of social network theory and how we spread information through our social networks.
Resources:
- Website: http://connectforanimals.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/connectforanimals
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/connectforanimals
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/connectforanimals/
Book Recommendation:
Change: How to Make Big Things Happen by Damon Centola
Learn More and Support this Podcast:
Compassionate Living
Hope for the Animals Podcast
Are you curious how to feed your companion animals vegan? Have you been considering switching your dog or cat to a vegan diet? Maybe you already do feed your companion plant based but want to be sure it’s the most nutritious vegan diet? Our guest today, Jan Allegretti, has answers.
Jan Allegretti, D.Vet.Hom, has been a consultant and educator in holistic health care for nonhuman animals since 1988, specializing in nutrition, homeopathy, and lifestyle assessment. She is the author of The Holistic Animal Health Series, which includes the bestselling The Complete Holistic Dog Book: Home Health Care for Our Canine Companions, and The Fresh & Flexible Meal Plan: The Easiest, Most Nutritious Way to Feed Your Dog and Cat. She works with home caregivers, shelter and rescue organizations, and veterinary professionals on nutrition for our companions. Jan talks about the detrimental impact commercial dog and cat foods have on our planet and on farmed animals, and how feeding our companion animals a vegan diet can benefit not only our global ecological crisis, but support our dog’s and cat’s health so they can thrive.
Resources:
Sonoma County VegFest, September 23, 2023
Jan’s Website
The Holistic Animal Health Series Books By Jan Allegretti:
The Complete Holistic Dog Book: Home Health Care for Our Canine Companions
The Fresh & Flexible Meal Plan: The Easiest, Most Nutritious Way to Feed Your Dog and Cat
Listen to the Silence: Lessons from Trees and Other Masters
Vegan Supplements for Dogs and Cats:
Compassion Circle
Learn More and Support this Podcast:
Compassionate Living
Hope for the Animals Podcast
We open today’s episode with Hope sharing some thoughts on the destructive EATS Act making its way through US legislation and then we have JH Burnett joining us from South Africa. JH spent years farming in both the sheep industry on his family’s sheep farm in South Africa as well as in the dairy industry. The experience sent JH into a deep depression and he left farming to dedicate himself to animal liberation and recently released a vegan memoir and offering services as a life coach. Join us for this incredible story of transformation.
Resources:
Veganism Has Won
Ruchika Chitrabhanu was born and raised in a Jain family and pursued her Master’s in Philosophy in Jainism. Inspired by Gurudev Chitrabhanu and Smt. Pramoda Chitrabhanu, Ruchika has been a vegan for over seventeen years, and she raises awareness about animal compassion and the benefits of following a vegan lifestyle through events and festivals in India. She is a co-founder of Ahimsafest, India's largest vegan festival, she also co-founded The Earthen One, an events platform to help people transition to a vegan lifestyle, and she is a board member of Jain Vegan Initiative. Ruchika will be a keynote presenter at our upcoming Ahimsa Vegan Conference.
Resources:
Ahimsa Vegan Conference
Gurudev Chitrabhanu and Smt. Pramoda Chitrabhanu
AhimsaFest in India
Dr. Tushar Mehta practices Emergency Medicine in the Toronto area and is the co-founder of Towards Ahimsa and Plant Based Data, a free database which organizes academic and institutional literature regarding plant-based diet health, environment, food security, and zoonotic pandemic risk. Tushar will be speaking at Compassionate Living’s upcoming Ahimsa Vegan Conference.
Tushar joins us to discuss the environmental impact of animal agriculture and thoroughly debunks “regenerative” grazing. He also addresses common arguments for eating local and other “sustainable” meat, dairy, and eggs. He warns of animal farming’s resource intensive use of land and water and offers solutions that we so desperately need as we swelter in the new normal of extreme summer heat, floods, and fires. This is a rebroadcast of an interview with Tushar in 2021.
Resources:
Ahimsa Vegan Conference
Another Industry Attempt to Greenwash Beef
Plant-Based Data
Today on the podcast we are talking about an issue that affects so many, but is rarely talked about—discrimination because of the size of our bodies. Britty Mann joins us to break it down. Britty is the Founder and Executive Director of Planted Society, a U.S. nonprofit that makes plant-based eating more accessible to ensure a better future for the planet and all living beings. With over 15 years of experience in supply chain and community advocacy, Britty believes that we all have the capacity to help change the global food system, starting by fostering relationships with our own bodies and enacting change in our local communities.
Bitty shares with Hope her thoughts on fat bias in the animal and vegan advocacy movement and how certain campaigns and protocol can be exclusionary and hurtful. She talks about the concept of “healthism” and how it affects the experience and contribution of larger bodied people in the vegan movement.
Resources:
Planted Society
Ending Anti-Fat Bias Resources and References
Episode 24: Fat Justice and Veganism with Andy Tabar
Today on the podcast we have Brialle Ringer joining us. Brialle is a breathwork, yoga, and meditation guide, vegan fairy goddess, and embodied leadership coach on a mission to support changemakers lead with greater ease, joy, and passion. Drawing from her degree in Social Work, certifications in Yoga, Integrative Energy Healing, and Plant Based Nutrition, Brialle takes a trauma-informed, healing centered, and holistic approach to her work.
Brialle share with Hope how her wholistic healing journey expanded into a service for the vegan community. She talks about the importance of feeling the grief and anger around the state of the world and channeling those feelings in a supportive system and healing environment. Brialle offers suggestions on ways to ground yourself emotionally and physically so we can break free of “grind culture” and embody a more sustainable work/life balance. She also talks about the work she does with the Global Majority Caucus focused on supporting black, brown, and indigenous people of color who are working in animal and vegan advocacy.
Resources:
Brialle’s Website
Animals and Vegan Advocacy Summit (July 27 – 31, 2023)
Colleen Patrick-Goudreau is known as the joyful vegan. She is a recognized expert and thought leader on the culinary, social, ethical, and practical aspects of living compassionately and healthfully. A long-time animal advocate and vegan, Colleen is a bestselling author of seven books, an acclaimed speaker, producer of one of the longest running vegan podcasts, a regular contributor to National Public Radio, and the host of luxury vegan trips around the world. Colleen shares her thoughts on living joyfully as a vegan, how to cultivate joy and say “yes” as a vegan, how traveling to other countries with her vegan travel tours brings her joy, and the challenges and triumphs of her zero waste journey.
Recourses:
JoyfulVegan.com
Food for Thought Podcast
Lisa Barca is a lecturer in the Honors College at Arizona State University, where she teaches humanities, writing courses, and seminars on the ethics of humans’ relationships with other animals. Her current research centers on critical animal studies, media ethics, rhetoric and ideology, and the intersections of feminism and animal rights. She holds a Ph.D. in Romance Languages and Literatures and is a contributing author to the volume Meatsplaining: The Meat Industry and the Rhetoric of Denial and also to The Humane Hoax: Essays Exposing the Myth of Happy Meat, Humane Dairy, and Ethical Eggs.
Lisa and Hope talk about how animal farmers are treated favorably in media and how stories of farmers using alternative and “better” farming methods are featured and praised without question or an opposing view. Lisa explores the “absent referent,” or the erasing or hiding of animal’s identities and how it relates to the humane hoax. She also talks about how the new “humane” do-it-yourself slaughter normalizes violence toward animals and she offers advice to journalists, and to us all, on language that helps the animals to be seen and heard in media stories about them. We also hear about Lisa’s band Scarlet Rescue and her musical outlet for the vegan message. BONUS: We end the episode with one of Scarlet Rescue’s songs, BBQ Protest.
Resources:
Order the Book! The Humane Hoax: Essays Exposing the Myth of Happy Meat, Humane Dairy, and Ethical Eggs
Lisa’s Music Videos:
BBQ Protest
Keycard to Hell (Monkey experimentation at Arizona State University)
Sign the petition: Change.org petition for the monkeys
Hope’s Upcoming Events:
June 8, 2023- Online Presentation about the book for Animal Activist Mentorship. Register here.
June 10, 2023- In Person Book Release Presentation for The Humane Hoax in Eugene, Oregon. Info here.
On this episode we have our second session of the Humane Hoax Book Club with two of Compassionate Living’s Humane Hoax Team volunteers Marian Erikson and Fireweed. We talked about a few of the chapters from the new anthology, The Humane Hoax: Essays Exposing the Myth of Happy Meat, Humane Dairy, and Ethical Eggs. A fascinating chapter we examine is called “Murder She Wrote” about the memoirs of Femavores, woman who own farms and dominate and kill animals in an attempt to gain equality in the male dominated spaces of farming, hunting, and butchery. We explore other chapters that focus on speciesist language, the cognitive dissonance of consuming animals, and we expose foodie culture for its celebration of violence.
Resources:
Order the Book! The Humane Hoax: Essays Exposing the Myth of Happy Meat, Humane Dairy, and Ethical Eggs
Humane Hoax Online Conference, May 20: Register here
Marian Erikson’s Plant Based Briefing podcast
On this episode we are featuring one of the contributing authors to the new book, The Humane Hoax: Essays Exposing the Myth of Happy Meat, Humane Dairy, and Ethical Eggs, Nicholas Carter. Nicholas is an ecologist and co-founder of PlantBasedData.org, a library of peer-reviewed studies calling for plant-based diets. He has his Master’s in Environmental Practice and his thesis focused on the global estimates of greenhouse gas emissions attributed to animal agriculture. He also works with Plant Based Treaty as a Science & Policy Analyst and Plant Based News as a Data Scientist & Lead Researcher.
Nicholas’ chapter is called Grazing Vs. The Planet and in this episode, he unpacks sustainable animal agriculture and labels like carbon negative and carbon neutral beef. Nicolas tells us about how he recently debated representatives of While Oak Farms and exposed them for their greenwashing. He also shares some solutions like rewilding and veganic agriculture and how we have the tools we need to heal this planet, we just need the will to implement them. Nicholas says, “Veganic farming is the real regenerative agriculture.”
Resources:
Buy the Book! The Humane Hoax: Essays Exposing Happy Meat, Humane Dairy, and Ethical Eggs
Humane Hoax Online Conference, May 20: Register here
Nicholas Debates White Oak Farms
Film: Rewilding a Mountain
The wait is over! Hope Bohanec’s book is finally out! Our host of the Hope for the Animals Podcast, Hope Bohanec, has released an anthology called The Humane Hoax: Essays Exposing the Myth of Happy Meat, Humane Dairy, and Ethical Eggs published by Lantern Publishing and Media. As humanewashing and greenwashing become more prevalent and pervasive, this volume, with 18 contributing authors, activists and academics, exposes the humane hoax from every angle.
We have two guests on the podcast today for our first session of the Humane Hoax Book Club to discuss the book. Alastor Van Kleeck has a Ph.D. in English and co-founded the Triangle Chicken Advocates Sanctuary as well as The Microsanctuary Movement. Alastor also co-founded The Humane Hoax Project with Hope and wrote a chapter for the new book. Much of Alastor’s writing is available at strivingwithsystems.com. Also joining us is Sena Crutchley. Sena is an associate professor and long-time animal rights and environmental activist. She is a founder and board member of Piedmont Area Vegan Educators and also founded and runs Ruby’s Refuge, a microsanctuary for chickens and fishes. Sena is a volunteer on the Humane Hoax Team.
Resources:
ORDER THE BOOK! The Humane Hoax: Essays Exposing the Myth of Happy Meat, Humane Dairy, and Ethical Eggs.
Register: Virtual Book Launch Party, April 29
The Humane Hoax Project
Happy Easter! In honor of spring, today we are featuring rabbits and welcome Mark Hawthorne to the podcast. Mark is the author of numerous books on animal rights and social justice, including: A Vegan Ethic: Embracing A Life Of Compassion Toward All and the bestselling Striking at the Roots: A Practical Guide to Animal Activism. His most recent book is called The Way of the Rabbit which is a joyful celebration of rabbits, both wild and domestic. Mark is a longtime rabbit lover who has fostered and rescued many bunnies over the years, eight of whom he adopted. He also volunteers with the vegan food justice group Food Empowerment Project, that was founded by his partner Lauren Ornelas.
Mark tells us some stories of the rabbit in history and myth, shares interesting insights about rabbits, talks about the rise in popularity of using rabbits for meat in the US, and also talks about his other book Bleating Hearts: The Hidden World of Animal Suffering.
Resources:
Book Launch Party for The Humane Hoax: Essays Exposing the Myth of Happy Meat, Humane Dairy, and Ethical Eggs edited by Hope Bohanec.Register Today!
Some of Mark’s Books:
The Way of the Rabbit
Bleating Hearts: The Hidden World of Animal Suffering
Striking at the Roots
IPCC, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s new report: “Climate Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability”
Today on the podcast we dig into the philosophy and practice of Effective Altruism (EA) and how it permeates and influences the animal rights movement. Krista Hiddema, Executive Director of For The Greater Good, has written a chapter in the new anthology, The Good It Promises, The Harm It Does: Critical Essays on Effective Altruism edited by Carol Adams, Alice Crary, and Lori Gruen. Krista offers a broad introduction to EA and how in the last decade, it has informed and now enveloped the animal advocacy movements strategy and tactics and why this may be a detrimental path for the animals. She shares stories of how campaigns that are unquantifiable can have profound impact and should not be pushed aside by the EA trend.
Krista holds a doctorate in social sciences where her research focused on the need to utilize ecofeminist principles in matters of board governance within the animal rights movement. She holds five other degrees in areas of leadership, human resources, and organizational development, she teaches strategic planning and board governance, she is a fellow with the Animals & Society Research Initiative, and a reviewer for the Journal of Critical Animal Studies, and much more. She resides in outside Toronto, Canada.
Resources:
Book:
The Good It Promises, The Harm It Does: Critical Essays on Effective Altruism edited by Carol Adams, Alice Crary, and Lori Gruen
Krista:
· www.DrKristaHiddema.com
· https://drkristahiddema.com/blog
· https://drkristahiddema.com/blog/2022/12/14/effective-altruism-the-impact-is-fear-corruption-and-it-is-also-not-good-for-animals
· https://www.facebook.com/Krista.Hiddema
Naijha Wright-Brown is the Executive Director of the Black Veg Society, a 501c3 non-profit organization that educates predominantly Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) communities on the benefits of holistic living, the plant-based diet, and veganism. She is also the co-creator of Vegan Soulfest and Maryland Vegan Restaurant Month. Naijha shares her journey creating a soul food restaurant called The Land of Kush as well as an incredibly successful Black-focused vegan festival all while running the Black Veg Society. Naijha is on a mission to help people find their vegan soul!
Resources:
Naijha Speaks- YouTube
Black Veg Society
Vegan SoulFest- August 19 & 20, 2023
About the Egyptian Kingdom of Kush
Soul of Ahimsa: Vegan Spiritualty Retreat in NY
On today’s episode we have a recurring guest joining us, Hope’s husband, Cogen Bohanec. Hope and Cogen start us off with a big announcement and then Cogen discusses his work as a constructive theologian in the Dharma Traditions and how he connects Hindu, Jain, and Buddhist Dharma with environmental and animal rights issues. He talks about eco-psychology, eco-theology, karma theory, and the dangers of “human exceptionalism.” Cogen also talks about his recent writings regarding animal personhood, animals’ intrinsic value, and how we can remove systems of oppression through religious and cultural transformation.
“It is a false binary to say that we are either altercentric (other centered) or egocentric. That’s a false binary. Actually it's more of a dialectic, care for ourselves is care for the other. Care for the other is care for the self. It’s a both/and solution.” – Cogen Bohanec, PhD
We would like to thank A Well-Fed World (AWFW) for their generous support of this podcast! A Well-Fed World is an international hunger relief and food security organization advancing plant-based foods and farming to create a sustainable, nourished, and climate-friendly future. Learn more at awfw.org.
Resources:
Ahimsa, Animal Advocacy, and Veganism is an online, self-study course with Hope Bohanec, offered by Arihanta Academy. Learn more and register for the spring semester here.
Other Episodes with Cogen:
Episode 48: Vegan Love and Rescue with Cogen and Hope Bohanec
Episode 57: The Vegan Hypocritical Imperative with Cogen and Hope Bohanec
Ryuji Chua is an animal activist and filmmaker who is currently working as a video producer at Surge Activism, an advisor for the Vegan Hacktivists, and was recently featured on The Daily Show with Trevor Noah to talk about animal rights and his latest independent documentary "How Conscious Can A Fish Be?" Hope and Ryuji talk about the importance of including fish in our advocacy and discuss fish pain, fish sentience, and fish farms. Ryuji offers advice about effective communication as a vegan, how focusing on the animals is critical for our messaging, and how protecting wild animals is often seen as preserving the species or ecosystem, without consideration to the individual animals.
Resources:
Ryuji’s YouTube Channel
Ryuji on The Daily Show
Video: How Conscious Can a Fish Be?
Today Hope starts us off with some interesting information about lobsters, crabs, oysters, and other marine life. Then we have Kathy Stevens joining us. Kathy is the founder & director of Catskill Animal Sanctuary, a 150-acre refuge in New York’s Hudson Valley for 11 different species of farmed animals. She was an educator for many years and in 2001, she co-founded Catskill Animal Sanctuary, where her love of teaching, her belief that education has the power to transform, and her love of animals come together. One of the world’s leading sanctuaries for farmed animals, Catskill has saved more than 5,000 non-human individuals through direct rescue — and even more through programming that encourages humans to adopt veganism.
Hope and Kathy talk about Kathy’s journey starting Catskill Animal Sanctuary, how elderly farmed animals are so rare and only found on sanctuaries, and how Tucker the cow has changed thousands of lives with his love of people.
Resources:
Catskill Animal Sanctuary
Kathy’s books:
Where the Blind Horse Sings
Animal Camp
Happy New Year! Today on the podcast we have Sangita Iyer joining us. She is a journalist, biologist, award-winning filmmaker, National Geographic Explorer, and founder of Voice for Asian Elephants Society. Sangita was born and raised in Kerala, India, home to captive elephants used in temple ceremonies, documented in her award-winning film Gods in Shackles and now her new book called Gods in Shackels: What Elephants Can Teach Us About Empathy, Resilience, and Freedom. Considered the “Blackfish for elephants,” the film exposes the heartbreaking plight of these amazing gentle giants in India. From her home in Canada, Sangita now oversees teams on the ground in India who combat elephant poaching, illegal trade, habitat loss and more. Hope and Sangita discuss the precarious situation for elephants in India, for both the wild population and for the captured elephants used in rituals.
“Elephants are the largest animals on earth, and they are literally designed to play a vital role in the ecosystem. Climate change has no borders, so what happens to elephants in India and Africa reverberates and impacts other countries at a devastating pace.” -Sangita Iyer
Resources:
Gods in Shackles (website)
Gods in Shackles (film)
Gods in Shackles (book)
Voice for Asian Elephants Society
Happy Holidays! In this episode, Hope is flying solo and wanted to share with you some exciting things coming up in the new year for Compassionate Living and our signature projects, the Humane Hoax Project and the Ahimsa Living Project. She also talks about the mixed message of the holidays with tidings of love and peace wrapped up with overconsumption and meat eating.
“If we haven’t changed our hearts and we just change our habits, then any progress is built on a flawed foundation” -Hope Bohanec
DONATE TO COMPASSIONATE LIVING’S MATCHING CHALLENGE
Elly Nakajima is the founder and director of Animal Alliance Asia – a movement building organization dedicated to empowering and training animal justice activists across Asia. Born in Japan and currently based in the UK, Elly is passionate about building a more inclusive, culturally relevant, and effective movement across Asia. She was one of the first Japanese language educational content providers for vegan advocates in Japan.
Hope and Elly discuss the need for vegan advocacy to adapt and change for different cultures and different audiences in Asia. Elly explains why truly local leadership across Asia is critical for the ideas of veganism and animal rights to thrive. Elly is on a mission to empower woman and people of the global majority to embrace leadership roles in animal rights and to feel confident advocating for animals in their countries and regions.
Resources:
Animal Alliance Asia
DONATE TO COMPASIONTE LIVING’S MACTHING CAMPAIGN
This episode is a rebroadcast of a solo show from last year at this time where Hope explores the Thanksgiving holiday in the US, the malleability of tradition, and the plight of the millions of turkeys that suffer and are killed for the holidays. We hope you enjoy this episode replay. Happy ThanksLiving!
Dr. Jason Hannan is Associate Professor in the Department of Rhetoric, Writing, & Communications at the University of Winnipeg. He is the editor of Meatsplaining: The Animal Agriculture Industry and the Rhetoric of Denial. Jason and Hope talk about this edited volume and about “meatsplaining” as a PR tactic of the animal agriculture industry. They talk about how animal exploiters use the law, social media, anti-vegan trolling, and the humane hoax to justify and sanitize atrocities in animal farming. They also talk about Jason’s current book project, New White Saviors: The Colonial Mythology of Meat, which examines the meat industry as a form of cultural and ecological imperialism. He is also the Chair of the Winnipeg VegFest, the largest vegan and animal rights festival in central Canada.
Resources:
Meatsplaining: The Animal Agriculture Industry and the Rhetoric of Denial
Episode 48: Love and Rescue with Hope and Cogen Bohanec
Welcome to our spooky and fun episode where Hope explores the connection between Halloween, horror movies, and veganism. Then we have Marla Rose joining us. Marla and her husband, John Beske, own Vegan Street Media, a full-service marketing, design, and communications company for vegan businesses and nonprofits. Marla also co-founded Chicago VeganMania, a popular festival that ran for ten years, and the author of several books including Fun, Festive and Fabulous: Vegan Holidays for Everyone and Humane Halloween: 22 Quirky, Fun and Bewitching Vegan Recipes for the Spirit of the Season.
Hope and Marla talk about being vegan around the holidays, explore why it seems that so many vegans love Halloween, and overcoming the feeling of isolation during the holidays and the joy of finding like-minded community to celebrate with!
Resources:
Vegan Street
Vegan Street Media
Humane Halloween: 22 Quirky, Fun and Bewitching Vegan Recipes for the Spirit of the Season
Humane Halloween FaceBook Page
Vegan Festival Season is here! Today Hope chats with Erika Hazel. Erika is a popular social media influencer and food blogger known as the Bizerkeley Vegan. Erika became The Bizerkeley Vegan after she transitioned to the vegan lifestyle and the name comes from her love of everything others see as bizarre or unique about Berkeley, California. Erika organizes the Bizerkeley Food Fest and she and Hope talk about the importance of vegan food fests for building community, supporting small businesses, and showing pre-vegans how good plant-based food can be.
“Going through the stomach is my form of activism.” -Erika Hazel, The Bizerkeley Vegan
Resources:
Instagram: The Bizerkeley Vegan
Today on the podcast it’s all about leather-free materials—fabrics that mimic leather, but are animal-free and more ecological. We have two guests with us to talk about their businesses that focus on innovations in non-leather goods. First up is Paras Doshi, founder of Doshi, that offers fashionable and durable non-leather items like belts, wallets, and purses. Then we have Troy Akin, founder of the company EcoSports. Troy makes footballs, basketballs and more using a material that is vegan, chemical free, biodegradable and that retains the feel and bounce that you would expect from a high-quality ball. Join us to hear about the future of vegan products beyond food and how these fabrics are helping to revolutionizes eco and ethical living.
Hope also reminds listeners about her upcoming 6-week course on nonviolence and vegan ethics called Ahimsa, Animal Advocacy, and Veganism starting on Saturday, September 24.
Resources:
Hope’s Course: Ahimsa, Animal Advocacy, and Veganism
Doshi
EcoSports
More about the leather industry from BiteSizeVegan
Sonoma County VegFest
On this episode we are joined by Christopher Jain Miller, the co-founder and Vice President of Academic Affairs of Arihanta Academy, a Jain Dharma college. He completed his Ph.D. in the study of Religion at the University of California, Davis and is the academic advisor for the global Jain Vegan Initiative. Chris and Hope dig deep into the parallel philosophies of Jain dharma and vegan living. They explore the concept of Ahimsa, Sanskrit for non-violence, and how young Jains are seeing veganism as a way to practice their principle of non-harming in a modern context. They also discuss Arihanta Academy, a new online Jain college, and Hope’s class in starting Sept 24 called Ahimsa, Animal Advocacy and Veganism.
Resources:
Arihanta Academy
Hope’s Class- Ahimsa, Animal Advocacy, and Veganism
Chris' Classes- Jain Philosophy in Daily Life, Yoga Sūtra: The Classical Yoga of Patañjali
Instagram- @thejainveganinitiative
Did you know that ducks like to take a swim before breakfast and that cows like to have a view? Paul Drake is the designer and construction leader of the animal housing at Piedmont Farm Animal Refuge, where he is helping to pioneer a new process called animal-centered design. Paul has a Master’s of Architecture and has a passion for designing sustainable structures that can improve the lives of animals. Lenore Braford is the Founder and Animal Care Director at Piedmont Farm Animal Refuge in Pittsboro, North Carolina. Lenore has nearly a decade of experience working with and enriching the lives of animals. On this episode, we will hear all about the new process of animal-centered design and how this unusual animal refuge is innovating sanctuary life and creating unique spaces designed for each individual species of farmed animal to feel safe and thrive.
Resources:
Ryuji Chua on The Daily Show
Animal Centered Design
Piedmont Farm Animal Refuge
Compassion Consortium (monthly online spiritual vegan gathering)
Why not dog meat? Molly Elwood is the vegan activists who created the website, Elwood’s Organic Dog Meat which launched in August 2021 and has gone super viral with over 1.3 million unique views. The Facebook page has over 42k followers, and one post has reached nearly 10 million people and has 21k comments and 42k shares! This fictional farm raises dogs for meat with claims like “local,” “organic,” “free-range" and "ethical." The idea was to satirize meat industry's messaging, encouraging consumers to explore their cognitive dissonance around the animals they choose to put on their plates. Molly and Hope discuss the emotional and visceral reactions that this unique campaign has created, the use of satire in political action and change, and how Molly herself fell for the humane hoax before going vegan.
Resources:
www.elwooddogmeat.com
Mitali Deypurkaystha is a British-Indian woman based in the UK. A vegan of 10 years, Mitali has a book publishing company called The Vegan Publisher, using a hybrid book publishing model to help vegan and plant-based experts write books to amplify the voices of ethical entrepreneurs. Mitali tells Hope about her experiences with racism as a child and in particular an aspect of racism called colorism. She goes on to talk about her love of writing, choosing it as a career path, and how the passion of vegan entrepreneurs inspired her to start a vegan publishing company. Mitali explains what a mind map is and how this new method of organizing thoughts can help beyond writing books. She also tells Hope why she wrote her book, The Freedom Master Plan, and how it can help ethical entrepreneurs write and promote their books to catapult their businesses or organizations to the next level.
Resources:Sign Up for Compassionate Living's E-news
Sign up for Hope's online course: Ahimsa, Animal Advocacy, and Veganism with Arihanta Academy
Mitali's Info:
Publisher website: https://www.theveganpublisher.com/
The Freedom Master Plan book website: https://www.thefreedommasterplan.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LetsTellYourStoryPublishing
Twitter: https://twitter.com/veganpublisher
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/veganpublisher/
LinkedIN: https://www.linkedin.com/in/veganpublisher/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfrbspEvAQyN8thKIdh-ycg
Deborah Blum is the founder and executive director at Goatlandia Farm Animal Sanctuary in Santa Rosa, CA. Deborah moved to Santa Rosa to fulfill her dream of living with goats and what started as a passion grew into a non profit rescue, education organization, animal therapy, goat yoga, kid’s camp, as well as vegan catering, and much more. Deb and Hope discuss their mutual love of goats and how the rise in popularity of goat dairy has created the same cruelty and ethical issues we see with cow dairy. Deb talks about using goats to graze public lands for fire prevention, and how this other popular use of goats is on the rise and has created yet another host of ethical problems and even more goats needing rescue. They also discuss Goatlandia’s vegan catering and the power of delicious vegan food to change the world!
Resources:
Goatlandia Farm Animal Sanctuary
HAPPY PRIDE MONTH! We are celebrating Pride today with two amazing people, Mckenzee Griffler and Pax Ahimsa Gethen. Mckenzee holds a certification in Animal Sanctuary Management and is the Executive Director at the Open Sanctuary Project. Mckenzee is a trans woman and shares with us some basics of trans etiquette, unpacks some of the most pressing issues facing the trans community, and conveys why respecting and supporting trans people and trans kids saves lives. Pax Ahimsa Gethen is a blogger, photographer, Wikipedia editor, and long-time vegan. Pax shares their thoughts on the connection of being trans and being vegan, some San Francisco trans history, proposing gun abolition, and the story of their connection with a neurodivergent alpaca at VINE animal sanctuary.
Resources from Mckenzee (she/her/hers):
Podcasts:
Gender Reveal
TransLash Podcast
The Anti-Trans Hate Machine
Websites:
Them.us
https://genderdysphoria.fyi/
SingularThey.info
State Action Center - National Center For Trans Equality
Books:
A Quick & Easy Guide To Queer and Trans Identities
A Quick & Easy Guide To They Them Pronouns
Queer: A Graphic History
A Queer History Of The United States
Orgs:
Sylvia Rivera Law Project
Trans Lifeline
The Trevor Project
The National Center For Trans Equality
ACLU
Resources from Pax (they/them/their):
Website:
http://funcrunch.org
Blog Posts:
Dare to disarm
Resistance to going vegan - excuses and responses
The Transgender District: https://www.transgenderdistrictsf.com/
Office of Transgender Initiatives: https://sf.gov/transcitysf
Compton Cafeteria Riots: https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2019/jun/21/stonewall-san-francisco-riot-tenderloin-neighborhood-trans-women
This episode we welcome back to the podcast Hope’s husband Cogen Bohanec. Cogen and Hope reminisce about giving vegan talks together in the early 2000’s, how enchanted they were with each other’s integrity and ethical values, and how some (almost) raw sushi was a symbol of their love. They then explore some vegan philosophies they have debated over the years. The first is what Cogen calls the Hypocritical Imperative, arguing that it’s better to be hypocritical than complacent. They also discuss vegan vs. plant based labels and if plant based offers a more inclusive option or a watered down ethic. They also investigate a philosophy they call Directional Ethics, which examines whether or not to support a restaurant or store or product based on their vegan “direction.” They also discuss quantifiable and unquantifiable measures of effectiveness for veganism and activism.
Resources:
Episode 48: Vegan Love and Rescue with Cogen and Hope Bohanec
We continue our celebration of International Respect for Chickens Month with a reminder about the upcoming Humane Hoax Chicken Webinar on Saturday, May 21. Then our guest is Tara Hess who spent close to a decade working as a caregiver and in shelter management roles at Farm Sanctuary. She is now the Senior Advisor at the Open Sanctuary Project where she uses her hands-on experience to help create animal care resources that are accessible and reflect the many nuances of sanctuary work. Tara and Hope talk about combating harmful information about chicken and, how the commodification of chickens demeans their worth as individuals. They discuss the Avian Flu epidemic that is devastating wild and domestic bird populations in the US and the risk to farmed animal sanctuary residents. Tara also talks about the new Rooster Resource from the Open Sanctuary Project, addressing misconceptions about roosters and rooster stigma.
Resources:
The Open Sanctuary Project
Rooster Resource
Humane Hoax Chicken Webinar- May 21, 2022- Information & Registration
On this episode our guest is Alene Anello, founder of Legal Impact for Chickens, a litigation nonprofit dedicated to fighting for farmed animals. Alene graduated from Harvard Law School, clerked for a federal judge, and then started litigating for animals. Hope and Alene chat about why it’s important to focus on chickens, starting a legal non-profit, and what her organization’s unique litigation strategies can do to help the billions of birds bred and killed for food. Alene is committed to helping chickens and creating a vegan world to honor the memories of her two beloved avian family members, Conrad and Zeke.
Resources:
Legal Impact for Chickens
Humane Hoax Chicken Webinar Info and Registration
Happy Earth Day! Today we have a special Earth Day episode where we are exploring solutions. Hope starts us off with some inspiring green living ideas and then we have a fascinating conversation with Karthik Sekar, PhD. Karthik has a doctorate in Chemical Engineering from Northwestern University researching bioreactor design and systems/quantitative biology. He works as a Senior Data Scientist at Climax Foods and has written the book After Meat: The Case for an Amazing Meat-Free World. In this episode, Karthik uncovers the inherent inefficiencies of animal products and how we need “disruptive technology” to replace meat, dairy, and eggs. He debunks regenerative animal agriculture and reveals the important innovations in fermentation-based products that can revolutionize plant-based eating. Join us for an inspiring discussion about solutions.
Resources:
Website: AfterMeatBook.com
More Podcasts for Earth Day:
Reason for Vegan Series 10: The Environmental Impact of Animal Agriculture
Episode 25: Greenwashing our Food: Exposing Sustainable Labels
The amazing and fabulous Jasmin Singer is a worldwide leading expert on veganism, the co-host of the -running Our Hen House podcast, a longtime contributor to VegNews magazine as well as the author and editor of numerous books. Hope and Jasmin had a ton of fun covering a lot of territory starting with reminiscing about being vegan in the 90s, Jasmin’s journey writing her memoir, and her evolution coming from the LGBTQ movement into the animal rights space and how that overlaps and connects. They talk the groundbreaking anthology that Jasmin recently edited about anti-racism in the animal rights movement, they discuss thin privilege and discrimination against larger bodied people and how that manifests in the vegan community, as well as the adventure of making her new home in upper state New York net zero.
Resources:
Website: https://jasminsinger.com
Blog: Jasmin’s Jargon
Podcast: Our Hen House
Books: The VegNews Guide to Being a Fabulous Vegan,
Always Too Much and Never Enough: A Memoir
Anthology: Antiracism in Animal Advocacy: Igniting Cultural Transformation
Episode 24: Fat Justice and Veganism with Andy Tabar
What We Don’t Talk About When We Talk About Fat by Aubrey Gorden
Encompass
Hope starts us off with some news on a case of blatant greenwashing from a long-time vegan company that has sparked a Compassionate Living Campaign. Then we are honored to have vegan and human rights activist Christopher Soul Eubanks on the podcast. Soul is a climate, human, and animal rights activist in Atlanta, Georgia and has dedicated himself to doing advocacy work that combats all forms of injustice. After becoming vegan, Soul helped co-organize Atlanta’s first ever animal rights march, started a YouTube channel, and is a contributing author to two anthologies. He is also contributing a chapter to Hope’s upcoming Humane Hoax anthology that will be published early next year by Lantern Publishing and Media. Hope and Soul talk about the importance of shifting animal advocacy to one of inclusion with a broader perspective for more effective activism. They discuss Soul’s new non-profit, APEX Advocacy, the term People of the Global Majority, delicious vegan southern-style food, and how animal rights can help achieve collective liberation for all.
Resources:
APEX Advocacy
Soul’s YouTube Channel
Black Vegan Everything
Boycott Comic Bliss Ice Cream Campaign and Petition
This episode we are joined by Reverend Sarah Bowen. Rev. Sarah is an award-winning author, animal chaplain, and multifaith spiritual educator. She is also one of the co-founders of the Compassion Consortium, a monthly interfaith, interspecies online spiritual gathering. Hope and Sarah discuss how for many, there is a paralleled path between a spiritual journey and a vegan journey. Sarah shares what it means to be an Animal Chaplin and discusses the existence of animal’s spiritual lives. Sarah also shares that she will be starting an Animal Chaplaincy program in the fall for anyone who is interested in the intersection of animal protection, animal relationships, and spirituality.
Resources:
Sarah’s Book: Sacred Sendoffs: An Animal Chaplain’s Advice For Surviving Animal Loss, Making Life Meaningful, & Healing The Planet
Compassion Consortium
(Please note: the audio in the interview has some “Zoom twang.” Apologies for the audio quality.) Our guest this episode is Emily Moran Barwick, who will also be presenting at the Humane Hoax Online Conference on Saturday, February 26, 2022. Emily is an animal-liberation activist, educator, writer, artist, and international speaker. She founded Bite Size Vegan where she provides free educational videos, essays, eCourses, and resources on all aspects of veganism. Communication has never come easily to Emily as she is Autistic, but she credits her Autism for her deep and empathetic connection with nonhuman animals, and believes that by seeing the world differently, she’s better able to help others begin to think differently. Hope and Emily dig deep into the humane myth and Emily’s unique perspective on the issue. They discuss the contradictory nature of humane labeling and how even well-meaning animal and vegan advocates can fall victim to its allure.
Resources:
BiteSizeVegan.org
Humane Hoax Online Conference (2/26/22)
Hope for the Animals Patreon Page
Allison Argo is a filmmaker known for her emotionally-charged, intimate portraits of abused and endangered animals. The nearly two dozen films she’s produced, directed, and written have all been broadcast by PBS and/or National Geographic and have won over 100 awards internationally. Her most recent film, The Last Pig, premiered on PBS last year after appearing at 42 film festivals. The Last Pig is about the poignant journey of a pig farmers who, after 10 years of raising and killing pigs, decided he couldn’t do it anymore. Allison shares how documenting this heart wrenching and life-changing story affected her and her own life choices. She also discusses her new film, still in production, about farmed animal sanctuaries and a new concept called Animal Centered Design where animal rescue facilities are creating spaces for the resident animals that are more attentive to their physical and emotional needs. This new film continues Allison’s mission to provide a voice for those who are not heard—and to deepen understanding and respect for all beings.
Resources:
ArgoFilms.com
The Last Pig
The Humane Hoax Online Conference (Saturday, February 26)
AfroVegan Society- Veguary Campaign
Happy Holidays! Hope’s guest for this special holiday episode is her husband and best friend of 21 years, Cogen Bohanec. Over the years, Cogen and Hope have come across numerous animals in distress and have jumped into action to help animals both wild and domestic. In this episode, they recall some of their exciting, touching, and harrowing rescue stories to share them with you.
A little about Cogen. He received his PhD from the Center for Dharma Studies (CDS) in the History and Culture of Religions with an emphasis in Hindu Dharma and ethics. He also holds an MA in Buddhist Studies and has spent over 20 years studying, practicing, and teaching Eastern Religions (Yoga, Buddhism, Hinduism, and Jainism). He has translated and taught Sanskrit for nearly ten years and has studied both Yoga and Sanskrit in India. He has also assisted Hope for two decades in her animal rights work as well as co-authoring the book, The Ultimate Betrayal, with Hope.
Resources:
Episode 40: Rescuing Kukkuta: A New Level of Love
Film: Turlock
Vegan Voices Series 6: Did you know that chickens purr? Learn about purring chickens and so much more in this wonderful conversation with Karen Davis, President and Founder of United Poultry Concerns. Karen is the author of numerous essays and books and cares for over 100 rescued birds at the UPC sanctuary in Virginia.In this episode, Karen shares the story of some hens recently released from a laboratory who are the newest residents at UPC sanctuary. Karen also discusses her essay in Vegan Voices: Essays By Inspiring Changemakers where she talks about the tragic phenomenon of the considerable decline of wild bird populations as the number of farmed birds increases. She also discusses the nature of suffering and reveals the deep connection between physical and psychological suffering. Karen then invites us into the world of the chickens’ vibrant voices and how rich and varied their sounds and expressions are. Join us for this in-depth exploration of all things chicken.
Resources:
United Poultry Concerns
Book: Vegan Voices: Essays by Inspiring Changemakers
Other episodes with Karen:
Episode 28: Celebrating Chickens with Karen Davis
Episode 14: Talkin’ About Turkeys with Karen Davis
Vegan Voices Series 5: Hope starts us off by announcing the Vegan Voices Contest winners and a breakdown of Facebook’s animal abuse content policy. Then she has a conversation with Larry Weiss, a retired attorney who practiced law in California for 36 years. He was a criminal defense attorney and then moved to the field of animal law, specializing in the defense of animal activists. Larry wrote a poem for the anthology Vegan Voices: Essays by Inspiring Changemakers. Larry reads an excerpt from his poem and talks to Hope about the importance of kindness in activism. He also shares some history of the animal rights movement going back to the 1980s. Larry and Hope talk about how critical undercover investigative video is to the vegan movement, his unique insight as a lawyer into ag-gag laws, and the power of the animal farming lobby.
Resources:
Book: Vegan Voices: Essays by Inspiring Changemakers
Today on the podcast, Hope digs into traditions. With the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday, compassionate people are thinking of the millions of beautiful turkeys destined for the holiday dinner table. The iconic Norman Rockwell image of the decapitated dead bird on a platter is a tradition in the U.S. that we hold on to as dearly as the last biscuit in the basket. But traditions are actually more malleable than one might think and Hope offers some examples are how traditions come and go and why the tradition of the Thanksgiving turkey must be scrutinized and left behind in an ethical and compassionate society.
Resources:
UPC Turkey Info
Book: More Than a Meal, the Turkey in History, Myth, Ritual, and Reality by Karen Davis of UPC
Hope for the Animals Podcast: Reason for Vegan 4: The Turkey Meat Industry Exposed
Vegan Voices Series 4: Hope starts us off with an update from one of our recent Glimmers of Hope segments and some thoughts on the climate summit in Glasgow. She then has a conversation with Rae Sikora who has been a spokesperson for animals, the environment, and human rights for over forty years. Rae is the co-founder of The Institute for Humane Education, VegFund, Santa Fe Vegan, and Plant Peace Daily. She is the author and co-author of numerous books and has also contributed an essay in the new anthology Vegan Voices: Essays By Inspiring Changemakers. Her essay, called “There is No Other,” is a reflection on how our proximity to and relationship with others, human and nonhuman, can determine how we treat them. Hope and Rae have an inspiring conversation about how important it is to recognize each individual and not judge any being with our preconceived notions of the group they are part of. They discuss the culture of animals and Rae also offers some thoughts for combating compassion fatigue and despair with selfcare.
Resources:
Vegan Voices: Essays by Inspiring Changemakers
Plant Peace Daily
DOVE Retreat Center
Book: Little Jew on the Soul Train
Santa Fe Vegan FaceBook Group
Vegan Voices Series 3: Twelve years ago, Stephanie Redcross-West started the company Vegan Mainstream which provides tools, training, and support for the brave individuals who identify themselves as vegan professionals. Stephanie has contributed an essay to the anthology Vegan Voices: Essays by Inspiring Changemakers, edited by Joanne Kong, that explores her work inspiring others to turn their vegan passion into successful businesses. She talks to Hope about how anyone can align their career with their vegan values and how to get started. Stephanie dreams big and is helping business entrepreneurs to transform their dreams and ideas into tangible goals to create a just, sustainable, vegan future.
Resources:
Vegan Mainstream
Vegan Voices: Essays by Inspiring Changemakers
Vegan Voices Series 2: Thomas Wade Jackson is the director of the award-winning, feature-length documentary, A Prayer for Compassion and the founder of The Compassion Project, a multi-media production company. He also has an essay in the new anthology Vegan Voices, Essays by Inspiring Changemakers, edited by Joanne Kong. Thomas and Hope have a wonderful conversation about the connection between spirituality and veganism, what the Bible says about our relationship with animals, his latest film project, and his essay in Vegan Voices called Vegangelism and the Gospel of Spiritual Alignment. Thomas explains why he calls himself a Vegangelist and shares with us the “good news” about veganism.
Resources:
Vegan Voices: Essays by Inspiring Changemakers
A Prayer for Compassion (film)
Interfaith Vegan Coalition
Compassion Consortium
Vegan Voices Series: Dr. Joanne Kong has been praised throughout the world as one of the most compelling advocates for veganism today. She has given presentations at numerous vegan events, summits, and conferences. Joanne has written books and has a TEDx talk called The Power of Plant-Based Eating. Her new anthology, Vegan Voices: Essays by Inspiring Changemakers, is the inspiration for our new Vegan Voices Series where we will be featuring selected authors from this book throughout the fall. Join us to hear all about this ambitious book with over 50 animal advocacy writers, all with different journeys, experiences, and unique forms of activism.
Resources:
Link to Buy the Book: https://lanternpm.org/books/vegan-voices/
Website: www.vegansmakeadifference.com
TEDx Talk: The Power of Plant-Based Eating, Joanne Kong
Hope’s flying solo today with a sweet story of rescue. Kakkuta the rooster was covered with blood when Hope found him in a parking lot. This rescue story will touch your heart and open your eyes to the plight of roosters in the egg industry. Hope explains why Kakkuta almost died because people believe the myth that backyard chicken keeping is a more ethical way to obtain eggs. Wherever there is a situation where hens are being kept for their eggs, we must always ask, “Where are their brothers?” Join us for this powerful story of rescue and get ready to open your eyes and heart to the truth that eating eggs, no matter the label, causes suffering.
Resources:
United Poultry Concerns- Backyard Eggs Info
The Reason for Vegan Series: “Cage-Free” and “Free-Range” Eggs Explained
Hope starts us off today with a review of the Netflix show Sweet Tooth. She delves into the animal rights themes of hunting, experimentation, and speciesism that are explored in this thoughtful new show.
Then Hope has a conversation with Gopi Om (Nicole Sopko) who has been teaching yoga for over a decade and has completed the advanced level Life of a Yogi teacher training at the Dharma Yoga Center in New York. A vegan for over 20 years, Gopi works alongside her partner, Dan, as Vice President of the natural foods company, Upton's Naturals. Gopi and Hope talk about yogic philosophy and how it relates to protecting animals. They also discuss Gopi’s company Upton’s Naturals and their focus on minimally processed, whole food ingredients for meat alternatives. Upton’s was a plaintiff in a lawsuit against the state of Mississippi for its insidious proposed law limiting what plant-based food companies could label their products with a possible two-year jail sentence for violators selling vegan meat alternatives.
Resources:
Uptons’ Naturals
Episode 23: Ahimsa and the Spiritual Path
On this episode, we have Glen Merzer joining us. Glen has authored and co-authored eleven books about veganism. He was a playwright who also wrote for network television for many years before stumbling into a career writing books that advocate for a plant-based diet. In his latest book, Food Is Climate, he argues that the best way to reverse climate change is a global shift to a vegan diet. Glen talks to Hope about how rewilding millions of acres of grazing land is our best chance for a fast and effective drawdown of carbon emissions. Glen also debunks the proposed new farming methods of “regenerative” animal agriculture and "grass-fed" meat, and enlightens us about how important the oceans are to the climate crisis. Join us for an important discussion about the future of the planet and how we can save it.
Resources:
Get the Book! Food is Climate
www.glenmerzer.com
Antiracism in Animal Advocacy: Igniting Cultural Transformation
Vegan Voices: Essays By Inspiring Changemakers
We begin todays show with another Glimmers of Hope Segment where Hope shares some good news stories for animals from around the world. Then we are joined by Dr. Leila Dehghan. Leila is a medical doctor turned plant-based nutritionist. After transitioning to a whole food, plant-based lifestyle, she earned a Plant-Based Nutrition Certificate and obtained a Master’s of Science in Clinical and Public Health Nutrition. Her focus is to find effective ways to address racial and socio-economic issues that affect health. Her project "Athletes, Food & Diversity" seeks to introduce a plant-based diet to people of the global majority (a new term coined to refer to Black, Indigenous and people of color). Leila talks to Hope about racism’s negative effect on health, the importance of creating inclusive content in the vegan movement, and veganism as a social justice issue.
Resources:
Athletes, Food & Diversity
Facebook: Dr Leila D.- Plant-Powered Qi Nutrition
Instagram: @plantpowered_qi_nutrition
Website: drleilad.com
Leila recommends this important article from Sentient Media
Book from Encompass: Antiracism in Animal Advocacy: Igniting Cultural Transformation
For the fifth and final installment of our Microsanctuary Series, we are joined by Quincy Markowitz. Quincy is the co-founder of Farm Bird Sanctuary, a bird-only sanctuary located in southern Wisconsin. They have been caring for chickens for over ten years and also engage in community action, including a campaign against a yearly “chicken toss” event at a local “Pioneer Days” festival where chickens are thrown from the second story roof of a building to crowds of people. Quincy tells Hope about the challenges and joys of rescuing roosters, problems with free ranging hens bred for their eggs, and their first love, a rooster named Sunny.
Resources:
Farm Bird Sanctuary
Microsanctuary Resource Center
Our guest today is joining us from Ireland! James O'Donovan is a long time vegan and environmentalist. He is the chair of the Cork Environmental Forum and he runs an online magazine called Vegan Sustainably. James is working on projects that redirect government funding and subsidies from animal agriculture to ecosystem restoration and plant farming. He explains the damaging impacts of subsidizing animal agriculture and the detrimental harms of regenerative grazing. James explores the connection between the mindset of European colonizers and our speciesist views today and what he calls the colonialism of land and the colonialism of seed. He also shares his journey with Buddhist meditation that has helped expand his views of compassion and nonviolence.
Resources:
Vegan Sustainability Online Magazine
Grazed and Confused YouTube Video
Avoiding Meat and Dairy is the Single Biggest Way to Reduce Your Impact on the Earth- Article
On this episode, Andy Tabar joins us again to have a conversation with Hope about effective online communication for vegans and animal advocates. Andy is the co-host of The Bearded Vegans, a podcast in its fifth year dedicated to discussing the ethical grey areas of living a vegan life. Andy is also the owner of Compassion Co, an organic, USA made clothing line. Hope and Andy discuss online trolls, self-confirmation bias and the backfire effect, the detriment of misanthropy, and the importance of being culturally and racially sensitive. They offer tips and suggestions for making your social media experience the most positive and effective it can be.
Resources:
The Bearded Vegans Podcast
Compassion Co
Episode 24: Fat Justice and Veganism with Andy Tabar
The Social Dilemma (film)
Coded Bias (film)
or the fourth installment in our summer Microsanctuary Series, Hope has a conversation with Rebecca Moore, the founder of theInstitute for Animal Happiness, a non-profit chicken rescue in Hudson Valley, New York. While working at large farmed animal sanctuaries for over 10 years, Rebecca found herself repeatedly bringing home chickens who required more special, individualized care, and realized there was a critical need for greater advocacy and education on behalf of chickens. Empowered by the Microsanctuary Movement, Rebecca turned a small rented backyard into a non-stop busy advocacy hub that is fiercely dedicated to a mission of care, activism, and change.
Rebecca shares her years of expertise caring for special needs birds and the innovative approaches she has created for their care and recovery. She also talks about the need to deconstruct the current sanctuary model that mimics a farm environment and the importance of letting the chickens themselves be seen, heard, and allowed to tell their individual stories. Rebecca explains how even someone of little means and few resources can rescue and offer care to animals in need.
Resources:
Institute for Animal Happiness
Facebook: Institute for Animal Happiness
Microsanctuary Resource Center
Today on the podcast we welcome environmental activist and earth warrior, Diana Oppenheim. Diana tells us about her love for the Point Reyes National Seashore on the coast of Northern California and the fight for the fate of the Tule Elk who live there. Ranchers lease the public land to use for breeding, grazing, and killing cows for their “grass-fed” flesh and “local” dairy products. The ongoing Tule Elk conflict is a fight for resources, water, and the very lives of the sensitive elk species. Diana founded the grassroots campaign forELK.org to help save the Tule Elk .She just completed a trip to Washington, D.C. to present over 100,000 petitions to Secretary Haaland at the Department of the Interior to end ranching in Point Reyes and stop the proposed killing of the endangered tule elk on public land. Hope and Diana discuss the issue with the elk as well as the larger environmental impacts of regenerative animal agriculture and local, grass-fed animal products.
Resources:
Website: ForELK.org
Facebook: Save The Tule Elk
Facebook: Hope for the Animals Podcast
Continuing our Microsanctuary Series, we are joined on the podcast by Gwendolyn Church, founder of Friends of Philip Fish Rescue. Friends of Philip is an aquatic animal rescue and sanctuary in Sonoma County, California. Their goal is to expand the animal rescue conversation to include fishes and all aquatic animals, and to foster the connection between people and aquatic lives through sharing the stories and vibrant personalities of their rescued fishes.
Gwendolyn shares sweet stories of rescue and recovery. She also talks about the wide range of emotional and social behaviors she has observed, the environmental impacts of wild caught tropical fishes for the “pet” fish and aquarium trade, and how anyone who is interested could rescue fishes!
Resources:
Friends of Philip Fish Rescue
Creating Sanctuary for Aquatic Animals
Vegans with Fishes Facebook Group
The Dark Hobby (film)
Today on the podcast, we are joined by Gwenna Hunter. Gwenna is the creator of Vegans of LA and Vegans for Black Lives Matter. She also manages several vegan food aid programs that provide local communities in Los Angeles with nutritional support. Gwenna shares with us the growing awareness of veganism in the Black community, her work bringing vegan food to marginalized communities, and her spiritual receptiveness that led her to have a powerful lucid dream of becoming one with a cow. Join us for this important discussion on evolving our activism to include equity and compassion for everyone.
Resources:
Plant Based Briefing Podcast
Vegans for Black Lives Matter
Vegans of LA
Compassion Consortium
Microsanctuaries reshape the traditional, large farm sanctuary model and challenge us to rethink how we can provide care for farmed animals. Microsanctuaries demonstrate that almost anyone can offer sanctuary and be a caregiver to animals in need. Our Microsanctuary Series will feature a different small sanctuary each month through the summer of 2021.
This episode we are joined by Justin Van Kleeck, co-founder of the Microsanctuary Movement. This grassroots movement broadens the definition of sanctuary to encompass more regions, different properties, a smaller number of animals, and also other species than we might typically find in a sanctuary. Smaller scale rescue gives people access to caregiving who might have smaller spaces, fewer resources, less money, or otherwise can’t or don’t want to mimic the current farm sanctuary model. Justin takes us deep into this exciting new trend in farmed animal rescue and caregiving.
Resources:
2nd Annual Humane Hoax Chicken Webinar
The Microsanctuary Resource Center
Triangle Chicken Advocates
Episode 10: Rooster Rescuer Justin Van Kleeck
Moving into May, we are celebrating two milestones. This month we recognize International Respect for Chickens Day and also the one-year anniversary of the Hope for the Animals Podcast. One year ago, life was drastically changing and our in-person outreach events were all abruptly cancelled due to the pandemic. Meanwhile, the chickens continued to suffer, so we knew we had to do something. We moved our message online and created the Hope for the Animals Podcast. In the past year, our podcast has grown considerably and has reached over 6,000 downloads in at least 15 countries.
To help us celebrate, today on the podcast we have UPC’s founder and president, Karen Davis. Karen dives deep into the ethical philosophies that she has developed over four decades. She talks with Hope about the origin of International Respect for Chickens Day, the importance of being conscious of our language when speaking and writing about farmed animals, UPC’s innovative sanctuary aviary, and the importance of recognizing and promoting Chickens, Earthrights.
Happy one-year anniversary to Hope for the Animals Podcast and Happy International Respect for Chickens Month!
We wrap up our Earth Day themed podcasts for April with a conversation with Dr. Tushar Mehta. Dr. Mehta is a practicing emergency medicine physician and co-founder of Plant Based Data, an online database that collects and organizes the most important academic and institutional literature regarding the impacts of a plant-based diet on health, the environment, and food security. Hope and Tushar have an in-depth conversation about the deception of regenerative grazing, how ranchers are manipulating the science, and the extensive inefficiencies of animal products, no matter how they are produced.
Resources:
Another Industry Attempt to Greenwash Beef
Plant-Based Data
Hope begins with a review of the popular documentary Seaspiracy. Thisnew film on Netflix exposes human impacts on our oceans and all marine lives. Then, we have the first interview in our new series called the Microsanctuary Series. On these podcasts we will explore how animal rescuers are having a large impact in small spaces. Our first featured Microsanctuary is Sweet Peeps Sanctuary in Alabama. Founder Tracy Glover shares how each of the chickens in her care have individual personalities and how she has learned that chickens are incredibly social, gentle, curious, and smart. The Microsanctuary Series will feature a different small sanctuary once a month through the summer of 2021.
Resources:
Seaspiracy the Movie
Reason for Vegan Series 9: The Fishing Industry Exposed
Sweet Peeps Sanctuary (Facebook)
Chicken Farming in America: A Webinar Series (ARC)
Until All Are Free (Film)
In honor of Earth Day, this episode exposes the environmental impact of animal agriculture and the new “sustainable” labels that are becoming more prevalent on meat, dairy, and egg products. On the podcast today, Hope will be flying solo and sharing her knowledge about this issue. She has written a book on humane-washing and greenwashing called The Ultimate Betrayal: Is There Happy Meat? Hope will reveal the truth about labels like local, organic, free-range, and grass-fed.
Resources:
Countdown to Year Zero
EndGame 2050
Reason for Vegan Series 10: The Environmental Impact of Animal Agriculture
The Ultimate Betrayal: Is There Happy Meat?
In the latest episode of UPC’s Hope for the Animals Podcast, we have Andy Tabar joining us to talk about anti-fat biases and veganism. Andy is the co-host of The Bearded Vegans, a podcast in its fifth year dedicated to discussing the ethical grey areas of living a vegan life. Andy is also the owner of Compassion Co, an organic, made in the USA clothing line. In Episode 24, Andy educates us about the prevalence of fat phobia in the vegan community and why not addressing it harms activists and hinders animal liberation. He shares how we can support body diversity and fat justice so all are welcome in the vegan space.
Resources:
The Bearded Vegans Podcast
Compassion Co
Chelsea Lincoln on Instagram: @FatVeganVoice
Fearing the Black Body: The Racial Origins of Fat Phobia, by Sabrina Strings
Aubrey Gordon-
Instagram: @YRFatFriend
Book: What We Don’t Talk About When We Talk About Fat
Podcast: Maintenance Phase
We start off the podcast with Hope offering some perspective and depth into the concept of Ahimsa. This Sanskrit word is being utilized in the vegan community to help consider non-violence and veganism in a deeper context than just food choices. Later in the podcast, we will have long-time animal activist, author, podcaster, and yogi Victoria Moran. Victoria and Hope discuss veganism and spiritualty, training vegan lifestyle educators through Victoria’s Main Street Vegan Academy, and the new Compassion Consortium, which is bringing together people of faith for vegan-focused spiritual services.
We are excited to announce that UPC’s Hope for the Animals Podcast will now air on the Vegan Broadcasting Network (VBN). The podcast will be featured on Sundays at 10:00 AM (PST) and Tuesdays 6:00 PM (PST). Vegan Broadcasting Network (VBN radio) is a webcast radio station that streams both live and automated programming worldwide. VBN was created as a place where listeners can tune in and hear conscious music and the latest news on vegan, animal rights, and social justice issues.
Resources:
Main Street Vegan
Compassion Consortium
Veganism and the Spiritual Life Retreat
A Prayer for Compassion
Vegan Broadcasting Network (VBN)
Animal advocates have primarily relied on a seemingly simple strategy of reducing the demand for animal products and expecting this will result in fewer and fewer farmed animals bred and killed in animal agriculture. But we are learning that it’s not so simple. Government policies protect animal agribusiness and billions of dollars are given to offset costs and losses to the meat, egg, and dairy producers, as well as to the farmers who grow animal feed.
Laura Reese of the Agriculture Fairness Alliance (AFA) has dedicated herself to dismantling this rigged system. Laura breaks down the intricacies of the government subsidies and bailouts that keep animal agriculture doing business as usual even when demand for their product drops, undermining consumer choices and the free market. Laura tells us about AFA’s pilot program called the At-Risk Farmer Incentive that would offer financial assistance to farmers who want to transition away from animal agriculture to plant farming. She also talks about AFA’s plans for the upcoming Farm Bill. Listen to Episode 22 and learn about this important aspect of advocacy so we can shift to plant-forward farming policies and bring a vegan voice to agricultural government programs.
Resources:
Agriculture Fairness Alliance
Liberation 360
State Level Legislation in New York: Voters for Animals Rights
State Level Legislation in California: Social Compassion in Legislation
Podcast Episode 4: Unjust Farm Subsides with Connie Spence
In Episode 21 we have a special interview with Mary Finelli, founder and president of Fish Feel. Fish Feel was the first advocacy organization to focus on fishes. Hope and Mary discuss how fishes are caught and killed in the ocean by the trillions every year and how the fishing industry is also notorious for human slavery. Mary talks about aquaculture and the cruelties to the fish in this industry as well as the ecological damage caused by fish farms. She shares her insights into the killing and eating of other marine life such as lobsters, crabs, oysters, and clams and also educates us on the fish oil supplement industry, the caviar industry, and the exciting new trend in advocacy of fish rescue. Listen in for a breadth of knowledge about our underwater relatives and share this episode with those who need to hear it.
Resources:
Fish Feel
Vegans with Fishes FaceBook Group
The Dark Hobby Film
Reason for Vegan Series: Fish Podcasts-
Sentience, Emotion, and the Latest Science on Fish
The Fishing Industry Exposed
In recognition of Black History Month, we have some recommendations of awesome activists and platforms to check out and then an enlightening interview with the Managing Director of Encompass, Michelle Rojas-Soto. Encompass is a nonprofit fostering racial equity in animal advocacy. Their mission is to help make the farmed animal protection movement more effective by fostering racial diversity, equity, and inclusion.
Michelle guides us into the worldview of anti-oppression work for humans and nonhuman animals simultaneously. She also explains the importance of evolving language and of using the term “global majority” instead of people of color. Join us in helping to advance 21st century activism that brings systematic oppressions together and recognizes the vital connections between justice issues.
Resources:
Encompass
Encompass Webinar
Vegans Against All Oppressions
Did you know that Israel has the highest percentage per capita of vegans and vegetarians in the world? Join us on for this upbeat interview with Israeli vegan food blogger and cookbook author Ori Shavit about how a culinary revolution is changing Israel and the world. Ori offers her insights into how and why Israel is embracing veganism at such a fast pace and in such high numbers. She offers tips on living vegan and how bringing a smile and a good attitude into the kitchen will make the great vegan food taste even better!
Resources:
Ori’s Website
Ori’s TED Talk
Why is Israel Leading the Word in Veganism?
Vegan Challenge 22
An Unshakable Call To Action
At just 25, Erin Wing started investigating facilities that breed and raise chickens, dairy farms, and the aquaculture industry. For two years, she faced isolation and fear of discovery in order to document the reality of animal agribusiness and to show those images to the world. Erin tells the stories of the animals she encountered and also talks about the importance of self-care after witnessing the trauma of animal abuse. She now uses her experience and expertise to guide other investigators in the field today. Join us in bearing witness with this amazing young woman to the true, brutal cruelty of the animal agriculture industry.
Erin said, “As investigators, we put ourselves in the cages with the animals, for years in most cases, and no one understands what those animals are going through more than the investigator does. We exist in solidarity with them, we see them every single day, we think of them when we’re awake, and when we are trying to fall asleep. Every single day they are on our minds and even when we leave the field and go back home, we’re still there with them.”
Resources:
Animal Outlook Investigations
In the tenth and final segment of the Reason for Vegan Series, Hopetalks about the environmental impacts of animal agriculture. Hope exposes the detrimental effects of breeding and raising billions of animals and how this significantly contributes to climate disruption, massive energy and fossil fuels consumption, deforestation, water waste, and water pollution. She also explains why switching from beef to chicken flesh is not a better ecological choice. Hope lays out why a vegan diet is by far the most positive action we can take for the planet.
Ready for some good news in the new year? In Episode 17 we bring your more Glimmers of Hope. The Glimmers of Hope segment features uplifting animal stories from around the globe. Good news tends to go under the radar these days, but there are encouraging accounts and positive steps forward for animals that we want to share with you, offering inspiration as we move into a new year.
Up next on the podcast is an interview with long-time activist Unny Nambudiripad. Unny talks about his many years of animal activism, cultural vegetarianism in India, and creating equity, diversity, and inclusion in the animal rights movement. Unny’s upcoming workshop, Our Wellness and Liberation Virtual Retreat, brings self-care to the animal activist space by helping cultivate wellness for advocates through physical, emotional, social, and spiritual health.
Resources:
Our Wellness and Liberation Virtual Retreat, February 27, 2021
Encompass
On the latest Hope for the Animals Podcast, we have an interview with long-time author and activist Judy Carman. Judy talks to Hope about her work connecting veganism with spirituality and the inspiring books she has written over the years. Judy is the author of the popular Peace to All Beings: Veggie Soup for the Chicken’s Soul and her latest book is Homo Ahimsa: Who We Really Are and How We Are Going to Save the World. She talks about co-founding the Interfaith Vegan Coalition, the importance of the Golden Rule, and her Animal Peace Prayer Project creating prayer flags for animals.
Resources:
Judy's Website: http://www.peacetoallbeings.com
Judy's Book: Homo Ahimsa
Animal Peace Prayer Project
Vegan Spirituality Forum 2021
On this podcast we have an interview with Sarina Farb who was actually born vegan. There is a growing number of young adults today who were born and raised vegan. Not only did these children have the benefit of a healthy start in life, but they were taught compassion in a deep and fundamental way from an early age. Sarina shares her story about growing up vegan in Kansas and her journey to becoming an animal rights and climate activist. Sarina and Hope have an interesting discussion on the importance of critical thinking and the scientific method, effective activism, and being vegan in Midwest farm country.
With the holiday season upon us, we would like to encourage listeners of the podcast to support vegan businesses when buying gifts. In this episode, Hope has a quick chat with the creator of Vegan Dreams Gifts, Jacinda Virgin. Vegan Dreams Gifts is a fun new online shop of gift boxes with a variety of vegan products. They are perfect for introducing someone to veganism with a box full of vegan goodies, animal themed gifts, eco items, and other fun things. Some examples of the themed boxes are the coffee lovers, the hot chocolate lovers, the yum box, and more. Be sure to check out Vegan Dreams Gifts and support vegan businesses for all your holiday shopping.
Resources:
Vegan Dreams Gifts Website
Vegan Dreams Gifts Store in Esty
Born Vegan YouTube Channel
Climate Diet Summit 2020
In honor of the millions of turkeys bred and killed for the upcoming holidays, this episode features United Poultry Concerns President Karen Davis sharing her many years of research and knowledge about turkeys. This in-depth discussion includes the fascinating and tragic history of the turkey in the Americas and how far turkey hen mothers will go to protect their young. Karen tells Hope about modern turkey farming and how every newborn turkey in the mechanical hatchery longs for her mother and siblings and will always feel lost without the comfort and security of her family. Karen also talks about some of the turkeys she has met in her many years of rescue work, and how each turkey has expressed his or her own unique personality.
Resources:
Book: More Than A Meal, The Turkey in History, Myth, Ritual and Realityby Karen Davis
UPC Information on Turkeys
Reason for Vegan Series 4: The Turkey Meat Industry Exposed
In this series of short shows, Hope focuses in on specific aspects of animal agriculture and answer the question of why are we vegan. In this ninth installment of the Reason for Vegan Series she talks about fish and the fishing industry. Hope explores the different commercial fishing methods and how they affect fish. She explains how fish farming can be even worse than wild caught fish for individual fishes and the environment. She also dives into the environmental impact of fishing and the state of our oceans.
Resources:
www.fishfeel.org
What A Fish Knows by Johnathan Balcombe
In Episode 13, Hope reviews two new documentaries focused on climate change and the environmental impact of animal agriculture. Countdown to Year Zero and EndGame 2050 are both powerful films with eco-vegan themes, but they resonate in different ways. Hope will break down what she thought of the two films and why she recommends them both.
Next on the podcast is a lively interview with Jane Velez-Mitchell of Jane Unchained. You might remember Jane from her network TV show many years ago where she tackled hard-hitting animal rights issues. She continues the fight for animals today with Jane Unchained News, a Facebook Live video series, a vegan cooking show called New Day New Chef, and more.
Jane tells the story of her transition from working in mainstream media to being a full-time activist. She also talks about her ingenious project, Plant-Based Neighbor, a social media app that connects vegans with other veg-neighbors in their area.
Also on the podcast, Jane tells Hope about the new season of her vegan cooking show New Day New Chef:Support and Feed Edition. The Support and Feed Edition offers hope for vegan restaurants that are struggling in the pandemic. The show features celebrities supporting plant-based restaurants so they can offer meals to hungry kids, doctors and nurses on the frontlines, and others in need.
Resources:
VegMovies.com
Jane Unchained News
New Day, New Chef
Plant-based Neighbor
Countdown To Year Zero
EndGame 2050
In this series of short shows, Hope will focus on specific aspects of animal agriculture and answer the question of why we are vegan. In this eighth installment of the Reason for Vegan Series she talks about fish; who they are, what their lives are like, and why we should care about them. Hope will uncover the emotional, cognitive, and complex life of fish. Science is discovering so much about our underwater cousins and Hope will dive into that research and help us answer questions about pain, parenting, emotion, communication, memory, and more.
Resources:
www.fishfeel.org
FaceBook: Let Fish Live
What A Fish Knows by Johnathan Balcombe
In Episode 12, Hope starts us off with a discussion about language. Our use of language shapes how we perceive the world. Our language around animals is especially important because it can influence how society thinks and feels about animals. Hope offers some suggestions for changing and improving our language to help people see animals as individuals. To recognize them beyond mere property, and see animals as sentient beings deserving of our protection and respect.
Next on the podcast we have the fun and fabulous, Jasmine Leyva. Jasmine is an actress and filmmaker who created the documentary The Invisible Vegan. This 90-minute independent documentary brings to light the health and wellness possibilities for the African-American community with a plant-based vegan diet and lifestyle. The Invisible Vegan offers both historical and contemporary perspectives on dietary trends among African-Americans. Hope and Jasmine talk about the importance of supporting vegan voices from black communities and all communities of color to help create the diverse, compassionate, interconnected vegan world we all want to see.
Resources and Links:
Understanding Euthanasia: When Life and Words Become Worthlessby Karen Davis
Watch The Invisible Vegan on:
Amazon Prime (Free with Prime subscription)
Tubi TV (Free)
KweliTV (Black female-owned streaming service)
On this Hope for the Animals Podcast, we have another installment of Glimmers of Hope. In this recurring segment, Hope shares positive stories about animals from around the globe. The Glimmers of Hope segment features good news for animals that you might have missed with so many other news stories dominating 2020. We can use a little good news in these challenging times so we hope you enjoy Glimmers of Hope!
Next we have an informative interview with Food Empowerment Project’s lauren Ornelas. lauren talks about her three decades of dedicated activism for animals. She founded the Food Empowerment Project in 2006 to bridge food justice issues by exposing injustices in our food system for humans and nonhuman animals. In this podcast, we hear about her undercover investigations of animal agriculture in the 1990s and her more recent work exposing food deserts in vulnerable communities. Hope and lauren also discuss vegan food accessibility, child slave labor in the chocolate industry, and much more.
Join us for this informative and important interview with one of the most powerful voices in the animal rights movement today.
Resources:
www.FoodIsPower.org
www.VeganMexicanFood.com
www.VeganFilipinoFood.com
lauren’s TED Talk
In this series of short shows, Hope will focus in on specific aspects of animal agriculture and answer the question of why are we vegan. In this seventh installment of the Reason for Vegan Series she talks about goat dairy, goat yogurt, sheep cheese and the unfortunate new tread of non-cow animal dairy. Hope explains the rise in popularity of using non-traditional animals for dairy production and how breeding and using lactating mothers for dairy is fundamentally cruel, no matter which animal species is used or the size of the farm.
The Reason for Vegan Series is supplemental to our regular episodes and is perfect for pre-vegans who want to learn more about animal agriculture and veganism, so please share this series with your non-vegan friends. This series is also great for new and existing vegans to get in-depth information about the animal farming industry so they will be excellent advocates for all farmed animals.
For “Episode 10” of the Hope for the Animals Podcast, Hope announces UPC’s upcoming Humane Hoax Chicken Webinar, the first-ever webinar dedicated solely to chickens, and offers a brief overview of the featured presentations. The Humane Hoax Chicken Webinar will be on Saturday, September 12 and you can sign up for free by going to www.humanehoax.org
Next on the show, we have chicken advocate and rooster rescuer extraordinaire Justin Van Kleeck of Triangle Chicken Advocates. Justin will:
- Expose the hidden issues with backyard chicken keeping and how roosters are affected by the egg industry.
- Introduce us to the concept of a microsanctuary and the importance of supporting small-scale rescue and lifetime care of non-traditional animals.
- Share how the experience of rescue and caregiving has the potential to expand what it means to be vegan.
Resources and Links:
Humane Hoax Chicken Webinar (sign up for free! September 12, 2020)
Triangle Chicken Advocates
Microsanctuary Resource Center
In the latest episode of the Hope for the Animals Podcast, Hope will answer the question, “Can there be ethical eggs?” Some people are learning that humane labels like “cage-free” and “free-range” are misleading consumers about the treatment of the animals, yet they believe there are still other ways to find “ethical” eggs. Some think they can find a “better” egg at a farmer’s market, a small farm, or from a neighbor. But are those eggs truly ethical?
Next we have an informative interview with the Animal Legal Defense Fund’s Kelsey Eberly. Kelsey is a Staff Attorney with the ALDF who will share her experience exposing humane-washing in animal agriculture. On behalf of ALDF, Kelsey files false advertising lawsuits that uncover cruel farming practices hidden behind humane labels.
Hope and Kelsey explore the fascinating world of animals and the law, new plant-food product label restrictions, and ag-gag laws.
In this series of short shows, Hope will focus in on specific aspects of animal agriculture and answer the question of why are we vegan. In this sixth installment of the Reason for Vegan Series she talks about cows exploited in the dairy industry and the hidden cruelties of cow’s milk, yogurt, cheese, and other dairy products.
In Episode 8, Hope offers her thoughts about the seemingly inescapable question posed to vegans, “Don’t plants feel pain?” She then interviews Lisa Levinson,director of In Defense of Animals’ Sustainable Activism Campaign. Lisa is also the founder of Vegan Spirituality, a group that explores veganism as a spiritual practice. More recently, she co-founded the Interfaith Vegan Coalition, a group that fosters an inter-religious collaboration to address animal cruelty.
In this episode, Lisa and Hope discuss faith-based vegan advocacy, compassion fatigue, and spiritual support for vegans. Lisa also talks about her work with the National Goose Protection Coalition, which provides resources to help stop the slaughter of wild geese.
Resources and Links
Interfaithvegancoalition.org
Interfaith@idausa.org
www.idausa.org/veganspirituality
www.idausa.org/compassionfatigue
TheSpiritualForum.org/vegan-retreat
Vegan Spiritually FaceBook Page
geese@idausa.org
Duck, Duck, Goose! In this series of short shows, Hope will focus in on specific aspects of animal agriculture and answer the question of why are we vegan. In this fifth installment of the Reason for Vegan Series she talks about ducks and geese exploited in industry and the hidden cruelties of down, feathers, foie gras, and duck meat.
Ducks and geese are waterfowl who not only desire to be in water, they need water for their health and well-being. When waterfowl are commodified in the industry, they are kept in filthy dark sheds without sufficient water to submerge themselves in. If they can’t bathe in water, they experience miserable conditions that are unique to their evolutionary need for water.
Hope starts us off by exposing the contradictions inherent in labeling meat “humane.” Classifying the flesh of slaughtered animals as humane, or implying in the product marketing that the animals had a happy life, is a cognitive dissonance that most people don’t think about or don’t want to think about.
She then has an informative interview with journalist and animal activist Martha Rosenburg who talks about her decades of reporting on the use of pharmaceuticals in animal agriculture. Martha and Hope discuss numerous aspects of animal agribusiness including: meat treated with ammonia gas, arsenic in turkey feed, antibiotic abuse and the potential impending catastrophe of human antibiotic resistance, and how conditions are so bad in slaughterhouses that even prisoners won’t work there.
“It is impossible to reconcile the principles of humane treatment with the inherently inhumane act of sending animals to slaughter, irrespective of how “good” a life they may have had.” –Hope Bohanec, The Ultimate Betrayal: Is There Happy Meat?
The latest episode of the Hope for the Animals Podcast is all about birds! We begin with an exploration of the wealth of scientific research revealing avian intelligence, emotional complexity, and sentience. Then we have an inspiring interview with Elizabeth Young, founder and director of Palomacy Pigeon and Dove Adoptions. Elizabeth shares the fascinating history of pigeons and inspiring stories about Palomacy’s rescue and adoption program.
Elizabeth Young loved all animals but had no particular interest in pigeons. That is, until years ago, when she started volunteering at the San Francisco Animal Care & Control shelter, where she learned it was common for pigeons to come into shelters but never leave. The other animals—dogs and cats, rabbits and rats, parrots and snakes, farmed animals and wildlife—all had at least one rescue group to help them, but pigeons had none. Now with Palomacy Pigeon and Dove Adoptions, Elizabeth has saved the lives of more than 1,000 birds directly and helped countless others across the U.S. and beyond. She has come to know these charming birds and is mesmerized by their sweet nature. Listen to her moving story in Episode 6 of the Hope for the Animals Podcast.
Palomacy Pigeon and Dove Adoptions
Palomacy FaceBook Help Group
Reason for Vegan Series: In this series of short shows, Hope will focus in on specific aspects of animal agriculture and answer the question of why are we vegan. In this fourth installment of the Reason for Vegan Series she talks about turkeys, tells the story of her first amazing encounter with a turkey, and exposes the turkey meat industry for its hidden cruelty.
In Episode 5, Hope will inspire us with some good news for animals! Launching the new Glimmer of Hope segment, she will share a collection of recent positive advancements and media stories for animals that have been underreported with all that is going on in the world. In these trying times, we can all use some uplifting news.
Then we have an interview with Melanie Joy, PhD. Melanie is a Harvard-educated psychologist, organizational consultant, trainer, and relationship coach. She is the author of six books including the award-winning book Why We Love Dogs, Eat Pigs, and Wear Cows: An Introduction to Carnism, as well as Beyond Beliefs: A Guide to Improving Relationships and Communication for Vegans, Vegetarians, and Meat Eaters. Melanie has given her acclaimed carnism presentation and trained vegan advocates on six continents. Her work has been featured in major media outlets around the world.
In this podcast, Melanie and Hope talk about the concept of carnism, how it informs society’s relationship with farmed animals, and the distinction between carnism and speciesism. They also discuss the most effective communication methods for vegans encouraging pre-vegans to explore an animal-free diet. Don’t miss this episode with one of the most sought-after speakers in the animal rights movement today, Melanie Joy.
Recommended Reading:
Why We Love Dogs, Eat Pigs, and Wear Cows: An Introduction to Carnism
Beyond Beliefs: A Guide to Improving Relationships and Communication for Vegans, Vegetarians, and Meat Eaters
Powerarchy: Understanding the Psychology of Oppression for Social Transformation
In episode 4 we talk with Connie Spence, an outspoken vegan and anti-oppression activist whose work addresses a range of justice issues. In this podcast we will discuss using creative tactics in vegan activism, systemic racism in the food system, and unjust farm subsidies.
Connie Spence is the founder of Vegan Justice League and the Agriculture Fairness Alliance. The Vegan Justice League educates vegan advocates about the issue of farm subsidies, and the Agricultural Fairness Alliance is a federal lobbying group influencing legislation to bring fairness back to farm policy by ending subsidies and bailouts.
Connie has utilized creative tactics in her vegan activism. Using a large stage light, Connie has projected vegan messages onto buildings that could be seen from half a mile away. These seven-story tall projections have been shown in diverse locations such as on the Staples Center, on Las Vegas hotels, on freeways in Los Angeles, and many other prominent locations.
Now, through her two sister organizations, she is dedicated to educating the community about how the food system is monopolized and rigged by livestock farmers and what we need to do to solve it. Agriculture Fairness Alliance is sponsoring federal legislation that will divert subsidies to programs that help struggling animal farmers transition to sustainable, plant-based, cruelty-free farming. Learn more about how to support this legislation here.
Reason for Vegan Series: In this series of short shows, Hope will focus in on specific aspects of animal agriculture and answer the question of why are we vegan. In this third Reason for Vegan Series she will expose the truth behind egg industry labels like “cage-free” and “free-range.” These labels are gaining in popularity, but are they really better for the birds? To understand these labels, we must first look at the standard battery cage system and the multiple cruelties that all hens endure in the egg industry. These labels suggest that the hens are “happy,” but does cage-free really mean cruelty-free?
On this episode, Hope digs into the Farm System Reform Act introduced by Elizabeth Warren and Cory Booker. The bill is being pushed as an end to factory farming, could it be true? Then she has a conversation with Climate Healer’s Sailesh Rao about his campaign Vegan World 2026, overhauling society by seeing it as an engineering problem, and exploring what it would take to change the system to create a vegan world in just six years.
In this episode, Hope will discuss the current pandemic crisis and how it is affecting our food supply, meat industry workers, and animals. Then we will activist and author Robert Grillo talking about his book Farm to Fable and his work with Slaughter Free Cities shutting down slaughterhouses in Chicago. Robert is the founder and director of Free from Harm, a non-profit dedicated to helping end animal exploitation. www.hopefortheanimalspodcast.org
Reason for Vegan Series: In this series of short shows, Hope will focus in on specific aspects of animal agriculture and answer the question of why are we vegan. In this second Reason for Vegan Series she will expose the cruelty of the chicken meat industry, explore why we should care about chickens, and what you can do to help stop the suffering.
Reason for Vegan Series: In this series of short shows, Hope will focus in on specific aspects of animal agriculture and answer the question of why are we vegan. In this first Reason for Vegan Series she will expose the brutal killing of millions of baby chicks in the egg industry, explain why they do it, and what you can do to stop the massacre.
On our very first podcast, Hope Bohanec will discuss Speciesism and the Covid-19 crisis and then we will have the legendary founder and president of United Poultry Concerns (UPC), Karen Davis, joining us for an inspiring discussion on UPC’s 30 year anniversary, wet markets, International Respect for Chickens Day and more. www.HopefortheAnimalsPodcast.org