Our Hen House: Vegan & Animal Rights Movement | Stories from the Frontlines of Animal Liberation

We are so pleased to welcome Kimberly Renee Barnes, Founder of Might Be Vegan, to the podcast this week for a truly one-of-a-kind episode! But first, Jasmin and Mariann speak with Chilean activist (and Our Hen House Flock member!) Soledad Robledo to tell us about an urgent extradition campaign in which Chile is seeking to bring an animal abuser from New Zealand back to Chile to stand trial and how we can all help (see the resources below). She also provides us with an overview of the animal rights movement in Chile and tells us about her podcast, Narices Húmedas (Wet Noses), that showcases animal rights and vegan activists. Soledad is also a monthly columnist for CEDA (Center for Chilean Animal Law Studies) and is currently working with two other activists, both lawyers, on a new organization called Justicia Interespecie (Interspecies Justice) which focuses on strategic litigation and education. Next, as promised, Mariann speaks with Kimberly Renee Barnes, who shares why she founded Might Be Vegan, a plant-based media and marketing consultancy. Kimberly tells us how she became increasingly overwhelmed with information early in her vegan journey and wanted to simplify things for other people who were thinking they might be vegan, but weren’t actually sure yet. Her consultancy’s latest project, Food Love, is an award-winning national plant-based hunger relief program that has introduced families impacted by the pandemic to nutritious and delicious plant-based meals. Kimberly also shares Food Love’s project partners and tells us how she successfully pitched them. Don’t miss hearing about this amazing collaboration and how it will help push veganism into the mainstream. Kimberly is the founder of Might Be Vegan, a plant-based media and marketing consultancy designed to help people live a more healthful life by eating more plants. She is the creator behind the national #FromMeatsToBeets Challenge, the web series Might Be Vegan Presents The Trap Kitchen, and the world’s largest vegan-only tailgate—#VeganAtTheGame—which served more than 1,500 people at no cost in the city of Atlanta during Super Bowl LIII. In the last year, Kimberly started the award-winning national COVID-19 hunger relief program, Food Love by Might Be Vegan, to alleviate food insecurity nationally. Today, the program is providing meals to families in need in 48 states. “There is an opportunity for us to not only continue delivering meals to families, but to look at how we can take this technological approach and address food insecurity nationally in the same way that we’re addressing temporary emergency food insecurity.” – Kimberly Renee Barnes Interview Highlights: Kimberly details what the Food Love project is and how it has helped people get through the COVID-19 pandemic The connections between food insecurity, the Food Love project, and the long-term impact of people choosing to eat plant-based How Food Love keeps folks safe during the COVID-19 pandemic through minimal in-person delivery methods Kimberly’s superpower, how she uses it to make connections, and how it helps her work to alleviate food insecurity and spread the vegan message How the food gifts that people receive from Food Love change the way they think about food How introducing people to veganism through Food Love can make them more likely to consider becoming vegan in the future Resources: Abby’s Plant-Based Cuisine Ora Organic Modern Love Omaha Mosiac Vegan Foods Splendid Spoon Connect with Kimberly Renee Barnes: Might Be Vegan Website Might Be Vegan on Facebook Might Be Vegan on Instagram Kimberly Renee on YouTube Support the Extradition Campaign: If you’re in New Zealand, please contact any of these groups: The NZ Animal Law Association, Auckland University Animal Rights Group, SAFE, and/or The Vegan Society Aotearoa New Zealand. If you’d like to join the public letter and/or share information about this campaign on social media please email contacto.cedachile@gmail.com or visit Narices Humedas on Instagram. Connect with Soledad Robledo: Narices Humedas Website Narices Humedas on Facebook Narices Humedas on Instagram Connect with Our Hen House: Our Hen House Website Our Hen House on Facebook Our Hen House on Instagram Our Hen House on Twitter __________________________ This episode is brought to you in part through the generosity of A Well-Fed World. A Well-Fed World provides the means for change by empowering individuals, social justice organizations, and political decision makers to embrace the benefits of plant-based foods and farming. Learn more at awfw.org. __________________________ You can listen to our podcast directly on our website, or subscribe on Apple Podcasts or your favorite podcatcher! Also, if you like what you hear, please rate it and leave us a comment on Apple Podcasts! Of course, we would be thrilled if you would also consider making a donation, or becoming a member of our flock (especially if you’re a regular listener). Any amount is hugely appreciated, and Our Hen House is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, so it’s tax-deductible! Thank you for helping us create quality content, and for helping us bring you a new podcast episode each week! Don’t forget to tune into Our Hen House’s other two podcasts: The Teaching Jasmin How to Cook Vegan Podcast, and The Animal Law Podcast. The Our Hen House theme song is written and performed by Michael Harren.

Ana Bradley joins the podcast today, and this is an episode that no one is going to want to miss! Ana is the Executive Director at Sentient Media, a non-profit journalism organization seeking to create transparency around the role of animals in our daily lives. In her conversation with Jasmin, she shares the most significant challenges she and her colleagues face as they usher issues of animal equality into mainstream media. She also fills us in on her incredibly useful digital marketing strategies and offers insight into the sometimes intimidating, but crucially important world of “Search Engine Optimization” for writers and animal activists who want to make their voices heard loud and clear online.  A true media expert, she discusses how attitudes toward animal rights have changed within media and gives invaluable advice for young, emerging writers who want to champion animals to a mainstream audience. Ana Bradley is the Executive Director of Sentient Media, and has an extensive background in content production and startup consultancy. Under Ana’s direction, Sentient Media is working to create transparency regarding non-human animal lives and the impact of animal agriculture on our planetary crisis. Before leading Sentient Media, she managed social impact within Black communities in her role as Digital Director of the open innovation organization Do it Now Now. “If you’re new to writing or if you’re new to animal advocacy, actively have open conversations with people and try to engage in different communities that aren’t wholly vegan.” – Ana Bradley This Week’s Highlights in Our Hen House: Sentient Media’s core mission, goals, and how they work with news outlets and writers The six stages of the transtheoretical model of behavioral change, with a particular focus on the stage people are in when they begin to question their beliefs How Sentient Media finds and investigates its stories, given that animal rights issues are often deeply buried How to work with up-and-coming young writers and engage more seasoned ones Causes of COVID-19 and other zoonotic infections and how we should go about tackling them The stories that Ana is most proud of having placed in prominent publications Resources: How to Have a Good Day: Harness the Power of Behavioral Science to Transform Your Working Life by Caroline Webb Animal Justice Academy Rescue Dogs: Where They Come From, Why They Act the Way They Do, and How to Love Them Well by Gene Stone and Pete Paxton “Why Factory Farming’s Pandemic Risk is Being Ignored” by Jessica Scott-Reid Connect with Ana Bradley: Sentient Media Website Sentient Media on Facebook Sentient Media on Instagram Sentient Media on Twitter Connect with Our Hen House: Our Hen House Website Our Hen House on Facebook Our Hen House on Instagram Our Hen House on Twitter __________________________ This episode is brought to you in part through the generosity of A Well-Fed World. A Well-Fed World provides the means for change by empowering individuals, social justice organizations, and political decision makers to embrace the benefits of plant-based foods and farming. Learn more at awfw.org. __________________________ You can listen to our podcast directly on our website, or subscribe on Apple Podcasts or your favorite podcatcher! Also, if you like what you hear, please rate it and leave us a comment on Apple Podcasts! Of course, we would be thrilled if you would also consider making a donation, or becoming a member of our flock (especially if you’re a regular listener). Any amount is hugely appreciated, and Our Hen House is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, so it’s tax-deductible! Thank you for helping us create quality content, and for helping us bring you a new podcast episode each week! Don’t forget to tune into Our Hen House’s other two podcasts: The Teaching Jasmin How to Cook Vegan Podcast, and The Animal Law Podcast. The Our Hen House theme song is written and performed by Michael Harren.

Troy Vettese joins us on the podcast this week for an insightful, and sometimes provocative, conversation about the intersections of animal rights and Marxism. Troy shares why he believes all vegans need a Marxist worldview, and you may be surprised by exactly what he means by this assertion. He also discusses how various political and economic systems can help, or deter, the furthering of animal equality, and, in particular, how capitalism has been and will continue to be a disaster for animals in its relentless, and inevitable, prioritization of profit. Given that we are on the cusp of a global crisis, there is no time to waste in reforming the way we treat animals, and the earth. Troy Vettese is an environmental historian and a William Lyon Mackenzie King research fellow at Harvard University’s Weatherhead Center. His academic focus is the study of energy, animals, and neoliberal environmental thought. His writing has also appeared in n+1, Jacobin, New Left Review, and In These Times. Troy’s book Half-Earth Socialism: A Manifesto to Save the Future, co-authored with Drew Pendergrass, will be published by Verso in 2022. “It should be easy to see the personhood and the suffering of other creatures. If you’re a socialist and you’re motivated by the outrage of injustice, then that should extend to other creatures as well.” – Troy Vettese This Week in Our Hen House: What will happen to the world if we continue to find domesticated roles for all animals Why the capitalism requires growth, and why that is such a disaster for animals The link between domestication of animals and disease What we mean by the humanization of nature theory and where it comes from The moving story of an act of human kindness on a factory farm and how presence of compassion amongst so much cruelty can help us think about a new way to exist Troy’s upcoming book, Half-Earth Socialism: A Manifesto to Save the Future, written with Drew Prendergast, and why they felt compelled to write it The link between the theories explained in Half-Earth Socialism: A Manifesto to Save the Future and Frankenstein’s monster Resources: Porkopolis: American Animality, Standardized Life, and the Factory Farm by Alex Blanchette Jacobin Magazine E O Wilson Foundation On Fire: The (Burning) Case for a Green New Deal by Naomi Klein Connect with Troy Vettesse: Troy Vettesse’s website Troy Vettesse’s research Troy Vettese on Twitter To Freeze the Thames by Troy Vetesse Connect with Our Hen House: Our Hen House Website Our Hen House on Facebook Our Hen House on Instagram Our Hen House on Twitter __________________________ This episode is brought to you in part through the generosity of A Well-Fed World. A Well-Fed World provides the means for change by empowering individuals, social justice organizations, and political decision makers to embrace the benefits of plant-based foods and farming. Learn more at awfw.org. __________________________ You can listen to our podcast directly on our website, or subscribe on Apple Podcasts or your favorite podcatcher! Also, if you like what you hear, please rate it and leave us a comment on Apple Podcasts! Of course, we would be thrilled if you would also consider making a donation, or becoming a member of our flock (especially if you’re a regular listener). Any amount is hugely appreciated, and Our Hen House is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, so it’s tax-deductible! Thank you for helping us create quality content, and for helping us bring you a new podcast episode each week! Don’t forget to tune into Our Hen House’s other two podcasts: The Teaching Jasmin How to Cook Vegan Podcast, and The Animal Law Podcast. The Our Hen House theme song is written and performed by Michael Harren.

Hakeem Jimo joins us this week for an insightful and inspiring conversation about Nigeria’s growing vegan movement and the meat alternative making a splash there: Vchunks. Hakeem tells us all about developing Vchunks specifically for the Nigerian palate. Not an imitation of meat substitutes commonly found in European and US markets, Vchunks—Hakeem shares—are designed to serve the needs of vegans in Nigeria without sacrificing traditional flavors. Originally from Germany and now based in Lagos, Hakeem has a unique perspective on the global African diaspora and tells us how it is trending meat-free, including how Black vegans in the US are leading the country’s vegan movement. Hakeem is a vegan entrepreneur and co-founder of Nigeria’s first plant-based restaurant, Veggie Victory. After he introduced VChunks to the restaurant’s menu, the innovative product went on to become the first commercially produced meat alternative in Nigeria. Hakeem comes from a Nigerian-German background and has previously worked in journalism and public relations in West Africa. “This battle of winning the plant-based war will be decided in developing worlds.” – Hakeem Jimo This Week in Our Hen House: How and why Hakeem and his wife founded the Veggie Victory restaurant in Lagos, Nigeria Why Hakeem is so proud of veganizing traditional Nigerian cuisine and some of the dishes they offer at the restaurant, which tempt locals to try a plant-powered diet Hakeem’s work in vegan outreach in schools and churches and why he feels it is so vital to educate people in Nigeria on the benefits of the plant-based lifestyle Why it can be so challenging for people to get animal products out of their diet and how Hakeem and Vchunks provide the link between traditional African food and the modern day diet The trends in meat consumption across Africa and how the situation there differs from that in the US and Asia How religion plays a role in encouraging people to move toward veganism and why that is such an exciting development Why climate change is also a hugely important food security issue in Nigeria Connect with Hakeem Jimo: Veggie Victory website Veggie Victory on Facebook Veggie Victory on Instagram Veggie Victory on Twitter Connect with Our Hen House: Our Hen House Website Our Hen House on Facebook Our Hen House on Instagram Our Hen House on Twitter __________________________ This episode is brought to you in part through the generosity of A Well-Fed World. A Well-Fed World provides the means for change by empowering individuals, social justice organizations, and political decision makers to embrace the benefits of plant-based foods and farming. Learn more at awfw.org. __________________________ You can listen to our podcast directly on our website, or subscribe on Apple Podcasts or your favorite podcatcher! Also, if you like what you hear, please rate it and leave us a comment on Apple Podcasts! Of course, we would be thrilled if you would also consider making a donation, or becoming a member of our flock (especially if you’re a regular listener). Any amount is hugely appreciated, and Our Hen House is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, so it’s tax-deductible! Thank you for helping us create quality content, and for helping us bring you a new podcast episode each week! Don’t forget to tune into Our Hen House’s other two podcasts: The Teaching Jasmin How to Cook Vegan Podcast, and The Animal Law Podcast. The Our Hen House theme song is written and performed by Michael Harren.

Jamie Woodhouse joins us this week for an intriguing, dare-we-say captivating, conversation about “sentientism,” a philosophical worldview that encompasses vegan values. First developed and named in the 1970s, sentientism, quite simply, grants moral consideration to all sentient beings. Jamie tells us what he believes are the two central pillars of sentientism and what sentientists think about compassion, consciousness and morality. He also dissects the common issues that arise within sentientism, such as the burden of proof (who should we consider to be sentient and why?), the connection between levels of sentience and moral action (how should we behave towards beings with differing levels of sentience?), and questioning the sentience of plants. Jamie also shares how and he is working to bring sentientism into the mainstream, connect with others, and further build the movement around this worldview. Jamie is a sentientist, humanist, and vegan who believes in compassion for all sentient beings. He left a 23-year career as a management consultant in 2017 to concentrate on working to refine sentientism as a potentially unifying, baseline ethical philosophy, and is currently focusing his efforts on building a fully fledged movement. Jamie’s papers and seminar materials on sentientism are available to read on Academia.edu, ResearchGate, and PhilPeople, and he hosts the Sentientism podcast. “Use evidence and reason and have compassion for all sentient being. Even a minimally sentient being still warrants meaningful moral consideration.” – Jamie Woodhouse This Week in Our Hen House: How to define morality from from a sentientist point of view Where to place the burden of proof and how to weigh the evidence in deciding  who is sentient Whether levels of sentience matter in determining what is a moral action, e.g., should behave differently toward a shrimp than we should to a pig or a dog Could plants be meaningfully sentient and what would that mean for vegans? How and why sentientism can make sense to both people of faith and to atheists Anthropomorphism and anthropocentrism from a sentientist perspective How the human ability to project our own experience on to others adds or subtracts from our knowledge of other sentient creatures Jamie’s personal perspective on sentience and how he became interested in the idea Connect with Jamie Woodhouse: Jamie Woodhouse’s website Sentientism website Jamie Woodhouse on LinkedIn Sentientism on Facebook Sentientism on Instagram Sentientism on Twitter Sentientism on YouTube Connect with Our Hen House: Our Hen House Website Our Hen House on Facebook Our Hen House on Instagram Our Hen House on Twitter __________________________ This episode is brought to you in part through the generosity of A Well-Fed World. A Well-Fed World provides the means for change by empowering individuals, social justice organizations, and political decision makers to embrace the benefits of plant-based foods and farming. Learn more at awfw.org. __________________________ You can listen to our podcast directly on our website, or subscribe on Apple Podcasts or your favorite podcatcher! Also, if you like what you hear, please rate it and leave us a comment on Apple Podcasts! Of course, we would be thrilled if you would also consider making a donation, or becoming a member of our flock (especially if you’re a regular listener). Any amount is hugely appreciated, and Our Hen House is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, so it’s tax-deductible! Thank you for helping us create quality content, and for helping us bring you a new podcast episode each week! Don’t forget to tune into Our Hen House’s other two podcasts: The Teaching Jasmin How to Cook Vegan Podcast, and The Animal Law Podcast. The Our Hen House theme song is written and performed by Michael Harren.

This week, plant-based pediatricians Dr. Reshma Shah and Dr. Yami Cazorla-Lancaster join Jasmin to share their thoughts on how both adults and children can best transition from a standard diet to a plant-based diet, and discuss how they each made that change themselves during their medical careers. Dr. Yami shares how she got lost in a plant-based rabbit hole on her search for facts, while Dr. Shah provides insight into how veganism helped her connect to her roots. They discuss how the medical community often adopts an extreme point of view in regards to veganism, and whether this dissuades people from trying to live more plant-based. Both doctors also give their number one tip for advocating for veganism and share how we can change society as we know it if we all go vegan. Dr. Reshma Shah is a board-certified pediatrician with nearly two decades of experience caring for children and families in the San Francisco Bay Area. She has a Master’s degree in Public Health and also received additional training in plant-based nutrition, leading her to write Nourish, a guide for plant-curious families who want to support their health and well-being. Also a board-certified pediatrician, Dr. Yami Cazorla-Lancaster is a lifestyle medicine physician, a health and wellness coach and a passionate champion of the power of plant-based diets for the prevention of chronic disease. The founder of  VeggieFitKids,  she also hosts the podcast Veggie Doctor Radio where she explores plant-based nutrition and healthy living. This Week in Our Hen House: Why, as adults, we have to be more aware of how we behave around food in front of children Why and how we should avoid becoming too anxious about our diet Why the plant-based offerings at fast-food restaurants are a great way for people to explore plant-based diets Why both doctors are so outspoken on the issues of veganism and plant-based living Their go-to resources for up-to-date information Intuitive eating, what it is, and why Dr. Yami created her parent’s guide to intuitive eating from a plant-based standpoint Why Dr. Shah decided to sit down during a global pandemic and write a book about eating and feeding your family a vegan diet The current, inadequate role of nutrition in medical training How to use nutrition to manage your health from a lifestyle medicine perspective How we can most effectively advocate for veganism from a social justice perspective Connect with Dr. Shah and Dr. Yami: Nourish website Yami website Nourish on Facebook Yami on Facebook Reshma Shah on Instagram Yami on Instagram Connect with Our Hen House: Our Hen House Website Our Hen House on Facebook Our Hen House on Instagram Our Hen House on Twitter __________________________ This episode is brought to you in part through the generosity of A Well-Fed World. A Well-Fed World provides the means for change by empowering individuals, social justice organizations, and political decision makers to embrace the benefits of plant-based foods and farming. Learn more at awfw.org. __________________________ You can listen to our podcast directly on our website, or subscribe on Apple Podcasts or your favorite podcatcher! Also, if you like what you hear, please rate it and leave us a comment on Apple Podcasts! Of course, we would be thrilled if you would also consider making a donation, or becoming a member of our flock (especially if you’re a regular listener). Any amount is hugely appreciated, and Our Hen House is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, so it’s tax-deductible! Thank you for helping us create quality content, and for helping us bring you a new podcast episode each week! Don’t forget to tune into Our Hen House’s other two podcasts: The Teaching Jasmin How to Cook Vegan Podcast, and The Animal Law Podcast. The Our Hen House theme song is written and performed by Michael Harren.

Angela Grimes, the CEO of Born Free USA, joins us for this week’s episode on a very timely and crucially important subject — the highly problematic and cruel conditions within wildlife wet markets. She and Mariann discuss the connections between these hideous markets, which are found all over the world, and human disease outbreaks, including, of course, the COVID-19 pandemic. Angela also talks about other ways in which human behavior is devastating wildlife, including poaching, trapping, trophy hunting, and roadside zoos, and tells us about Born Free’s Global Nature Recovery Investment Initiative. She reveals what she believes to be the most critical current threat to animals, but also shares with us significant progress and why she is optimistic for the future. In her role as Chief Executive Officer of Born Free USA, Angela upholds a vision of a co-existent future where humans no longer exploit wild animals. She was previously Executive Director and Chief Operations Officer of Wildlife Rescue and Rehabilitation and has more than 25 years of experience in the nonprofit sector. “There are any number of diseases out there, which is why, simply put, the wild animals belong in the wild, they don’t belong in our homes, on our dinner plates, hanging in markets, hanging on our walls. It’s in everyone’s interest to let them live in the wild, and just stay clear.” – Angela Grimes This Week in Our Hen House: How Born Free USA started, the main focuses of the organization, and its primate sanctuary in Texas The horrors of the wild animal trade, as well as the reasons people want to own wild animals The links between the COVID-19 pandemic and wildlife wet markets all over the world and how they contribute to the spread of disease Why many wildlife markets include animals bred for sale and why their living conditions equate to a perfect storm for viral transmission Why people aren’t more concerned about the prevalence of wet markets and how we can take steps to ban them globally The most significant threats to wild animals right now The Global Nature Recovery Investment Initiative and the incentives for individuals to support the initiative Angela’s hopes for saving the wild and why she is optimistic for the future The Born Free programs in Africa and how a free mobile phone app is helping to protect wild animals The main drivers of poaching in Africa, why the ivory trade is still a huge problem, and the other species that are a part of the wild animal trade Eastern traditional medicine and its role as a driver in the trade in exotic wild animals Issues that Born Free focuses on in the USA including trapping on public land, trophy hunting, and roadside zoos Fighting the fur trade, the connection between mink and COVID-19, and how it has impacted the fur industry Connect with Angela Grimes: Born Free USA Website Angela Grimes on LinkedIn Born Free USA on Facebook Born Free USA on Instagram Born Free USA on Twitter Connect with Our Hen House: Our Hen House Website Our Hen House on Facebook Our Hen House on Instagram Our Hen House on Twitter __________________________ This episode is brought to you in part through the generosity of A Well-Fed World. A Well-Fed World provides the means for change by empowering individuals, social justice organizations, and political decision makers to embrace the benefits of plant-based foods and farming. Learn more at awfw.org. __________________________ You can listen to our podcast directly on our website, or subscribe on Apple Podcasts or your favorite podcatcher! Also, if you like what you hear, please rate it and leave us a comment on Apple Podcasts! Of course, we would be thrilled if you would also consider making a donation, or becoming a member of our flock (especially if you’re a regular listener). Any amount is hugely appreciated, and Our Hen House is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, so it’s tax-deductible! Thank you for helping us create quality content, and for helping us bring you a new podcast episode each week! Don’t forget to tune into Our Hen House’s other two podcasts: The Teaching Jasmin How to Cook Vegan Podcast, and The Animal Law Podcast. The Our Hen House theme song is written and performed by Michael Harren.

This week, we have such a powerhouse interview! Newly elected New York State Senator Jabari Brisport joins us to explain how he successfully showcased his strong support for animal rights and veganism (yup!) while running for election. In fact, he points out, it actually created a platform for discussing all of the social justice issues he is passionate about. He shares his thoughts on why people want to pit human rights against animal rights, and how and why they so often fail to realize that animal agriculture deeply harms marginalized communities. Perhaps best of all, Senator Brisport tells us why he believes we are at a watershed moment — older mindsets are shifting fast, and we are on the cusp of making real progress for both human and non-human animals. Senator Brisport is a third-generation Caribbean-American Brooklynite who represents New York’s District 25 in the state senate.  His experiences as a Black LGBTQ+ man, socialist, union member, child of an immigrant father, and a former public school teacher have shaped his drive to make his community more just and equitable. As a newly elected state senator and passionate vegan, he intends to use his platform to advocate for rights, dignity, and protection by the law for all living beings and create a state where humans and animals can safely coexist without exploitation and abuse. “Whenever we don’t fight for the most marginalized, we end up harming ourselves.” – Senator Jabari Brisport This Week in Our Hen House: Why Senator Brisport ran for the New York State Senate How he first became involved with animal activism, why he became a vegan, and the moment he decided to make a stand against cruelty Why Senator Brisport is so proud to support Black Vegfest, to center Black voices, and why he jumped at the chance to discuss the intersectionality of animal rights and human rights Whether Senator Brisport expects the Democratic Socialist Party to expand their thinking regarding justice for animals, why the Left—in general—has been rather slow to champion the cause of animals, and whether the tide is turning How his fight for same-sex marriage in New York and his ongoing efforts to defend the LGBTQ+ community and, particularly, queer people of color, relate to his fighting for animal equality Why he feels he is the right person to tackle issues of over-policing that emerged from the housing crisis and a lack of well-funded education Senator Brisport’s legislative priorities regarding animals, both short and near term, including current proposed legislation that would encourage people to adopt, not shop How he managed to become part of the State Senate Agriculture Committee and what he expects to accomplish there Why there is now a real possibility of ending the dairy industry while still providing a safe landing for dairy farmers How Senator Brisport, a former public school teacher, frames his strong support of humane education in schools and his thoughts on the best ways to introduce children to the reality of how we treat animals Connect with Senator Brisport: Senator Brisport website Senator Brisport on Facebook Senator Brisport on Instagram Senator Brisport on Twitter Email Senator Brisport Connect with Our Hen House: Our Hen House Website Our Hen House on Facebook Our Hen House on Instagram Our Hen House on Twitter __________________________ This episode is brought to you in part through the generosity of A Well-Fed World. A Well-Fed World provides the means for change by empowering individuals, social justice organizations, and political decision makers to embrace the benefits of plant-based foods and farming. Learn more at awfw.org. __________________________ You can listen to our podcast directly on our website, or subscribe on Apple Podcasts or your favorite podcatcher! Also, if you like what you hear, please rate it and leave us a comment on Apple Podcasts! Of course, we would be thrilled if you would also consider making a donation, or becoming a member of our flock (especially if you’re a regular listener). Any amount is hugely appreciated, and Our Hen House is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, so it’s tax-deductible! Thank you for helping us create quality content, and for helping us bring you a new podcast episode each week! Don’t forget to tune into Our Hen House’s other two podcasts: The Teaching Jasmin How to Cook Vegan Podcast, and The Animal Law Podcast. The Our Hen House theme song is written and performed by Michael Harren.

Kim Stallwood is truly one of the founders of the modern animal rights movement, and we are thrilled to have him join us this week on the podcast. He and Mariann discuss the long term history of the movement, the recent extraordinary acquisition of Kim’s collection of books and artifacts by the British Library, and what the Library selected to preserve for posterity. He shares some of his past heroes and some of the characters throughout history, such as Topsy the elephant, who was electrocuted on Coney Island for not being kinder to the humans who brutally exploited him. Kim also emphasizes why it is essential not only for the humans in the animal rights movement, but also for the animals themselves, to preserve and safeguard historical materials. Vegan for more than 40 years, Kim is not only an animal rights advocate, but an animal rights theorist who has worked with or alongside some of the world’s foremost animal advocacy organizations. He is a speaker, independent scholar, and author of Growl: Life Lessons, Hard Truths, and Bold Strategies from an Animal Advocate. Kim is on the board of directors for Culture and Animals Foundation and, as noted, recently worked with the British Library to curate a collection on the history of the animal rights movement. “It’s important that we know our history, because how else can we understand where we are now, and where we want to go in the future? ” – Kim Stallwood This Week in Our Hen House: How Kim’s quirk of collecting information pertaining to the animal rights movement began What Kim has in his collection, including pamphlets dating back to the 1800s and original reel to reel footage, the often weird and wonderful places he has found historical information, and why he has preserved it so carefully for so long Inspirational figures in the early animal rights movement, including Frances Power-Cobbe and Anna Kingsford, influential anti-vivisectionists of the Victorian era Kim’s favorite pieces, including a model belonging to the globe-trotting vet who founded World Animal Protection Why reflecting on the past gives him hope for the future for animals Why Kim is inspired to write a biography of Topsy the elephant and how he hopes it will shine a light on how we treat animals today Kim’s hush-hush negotiations with a second institution about building a library for the history of the animal rights movement The things that are currently giving Kim genuine hope for the future of our relationship with animals Connect with Kim Stallwood: Kim Stallwood Website Growl: Life Lessons, Hard Truths, and Bold Strategies from an Animal Advocate by Kim Stallwood Kim Stallwood on LinkedIn Kim Stallwood on Facebook Kim Stallwood on Instagram Kim Stallwood on Twitter Connect with Our Hen House: Our Hen House Website Our Hen House on Facebook Our Hen House on Instagram Our Hen House on Twitter __________________________ This episode is brought to you in part through the generosity of A Well-Fed World. A Well-Fed World provides the means for change by empowering individuals, social justice organizations, and political decision makers to embrace the benefits of plant-based foods and farming. Learn more at awfw.org. __________________________ You can listen to our podcast directly on our website, or subscribe on Apple Podcasts or your favorite podcatcher! Also, if you like what you hear, please rate it and leave us a comment on Apple Podcasts! Of course, we would be thrilled if you would also consider making a donation, or becoming a member of our flock (especially if you’re a regular listener). Any amount is hugely appreciated, and Our Hen House is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, so it’s tax-deductible! Thank you for helping us create quality content, and for helping us bring you a new podcast episode each week! Don’t forget to tune into Our Hen House’s other two podcasts: The Teaching Jasmin How to Cook Vegan Podcast, and The Animal Law Podcast. The Our Hen House theme song is written and performed by Michael Harren.

Michelle Graham joins the podcast today and we love this conversation! Michelle is the Executive Director of Wild Animal Initiative (WAI), where she focuses encouraging and facilitating research on wild animal welfare. We talk to Michelle about why we must focus on wild animal welfare, even when so many domesticated animals continue to suffer at the hands of humans. She also discusses the inherent problems in weighing welfare against beauty and how we must balance the trade-offs necessary to being responsible humans. Among the questions she examines in her work are how to ensure we are not doing more harm than good in the natural world as animal activists, and what steps researchers can take to develop and support safe interventions. In addition to her work at WAI, Michelle is a Ph.D. student in engineering mechanics at Virginia Tech. Her research brings data together to tell the story of the jumping and gliding locomotion of flying snakes and their relatives, ultimately focusing on the physical requirements and different approaches to navigating their arboreal habitats. In addition to her research, Michelle, an avid vegan, has worked with animals in shelters, veterinary offices, farms, and zoos. “I am not only a wild animal welfare advocate. I am not only an animal advocate. I am not only any one thing. I care about realizing the best possible world that we can achieve and that world does not have racism in it.” – Michelle Graham This Week in Our Hen House: How to consider the perspectives of wild animals The kinds of research that can show us how to better help wild animals How we can extend whole species’ protections to individual wild animals Whether extinction in and of itself is a problem System-level consequences, what they are, and why the WAI is looking at long- and short-term research into them Interventions that can be implemented right now to protect individual animals What whitetail deer and pigeons have in common How to develop safe interventions and avoid destructive ones, and the activities we can engage in to safely improve wild animal welfare How Michelle’s Ph.D. in engineering mechanics relates to her animal advocacy work and how she reconciles her research with animal ethics principles The link between welfare for wild animals and farmed animals and how advocates can learn from continued collaboration Why Michelle is spearheading efforts of diversity, equality, and inclusion (DEI) in the animal advocacy space Effective altruism and how it relates to animal rights Connect with Michelle Graham: Wild Animal Initiative Website How Racism in Animal Advocacy and Effective Altruism Hinders Our Mission by Michelle Graham Michelle Graham on LinkedIn Wild Animal Initiative on Facebook Wild Animal Initiative on Twitter Connect with Our Hen House: Our Hen House Website Our Hen House on Facebook Our Hen House on Instagram Our Hen House on Twitter __________________________ This episode is brought to you in part through the generosity of A Well-Fed World. A Well-Fed World provides the means for change by empowering individuals, social justice organizations, and political decision makers to embrace the benefits of plant-based foods and farming. Learn more at awfw.org. __________________________ You can listen to our podcast directly on our website, or subscribe on Apple Podcasts or your favorite podcatcher! Also, if you like what you hear, please rate it and leave us a comment on Apple Podcasts! Of course, we would be thrilled if you would also consider making a donation, or becoming a member of our flock (especially if you’re a regular listener). Any amount is hugely appreciated, and Our Hen House is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, so it’s tax-deductible! Thank you for helping us create quality content, and for helping us bring you a new podcast episode each week! Don’t forget to tune into Our Hen House’s other two podcasts: The Teaching Jasmin How to Cook Vegan Podcast, and The Animal Law Podcast. The Our Hen House theme song is written and performed by Michael Harren.