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)

TRANSCRIPT: EPISODE 62

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 food events, 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 chickens 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 and 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 Lab

The amazing and fabulous Jasmin Singer is a worldwide leading expert on veganism, the co-host of the long-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

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 please sign the 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)

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

Podcast: The Reason for Vegan 4: The Turkey Meat Industry Exposed

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: Essays by Inspiring Changemakers

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

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  

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 and also wrote for network television for many years before stumbling into a career writing books that advocate for a plant based diet. His latest book, Food Is Climate, 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 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 equation. 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 was the co-host of much beloved and missed The Bearded Vegans, a podcast that was 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)

For the fourth installment in our summer Microsanctuary Series, Hope has a conversation with Rebecca Moore, the founder of the Institute 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:

2^nd 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. 

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.

Resources:

International Respect for Chickens Day

Dying for Dinner Cards (Small Chicken Educational Card)

“Do you know who chickens are?” Video

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. This new 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)

TRANSCRIPT- EPISODE 26

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?

TRANSCRIPT: EPISODE 25

In the latest episode of the 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 Clothing

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

TRANSCRIPT: EPISODE 24

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 the 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)

TRANSCRIPT: EPISODE 23

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. 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

TRANSCRIPT: EPISODE 21

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 non-profit 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 non-human 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 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

TRANSCRIPT: EPISODE 20

In 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 Reality by Karen Davis

UPC Information on Turkeys

Reason for Vegan Series 4: The Turkey Meat Industry Exposed