Hope for the Animals

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 TibbottEugene VeganFestSupport this podcast:Hope for the Animals PodcastCompassionate 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 BohanecThe Humane Hoax ProjectSupport this podcast:Compassionate LivingHope for the Animals Podcast 

Can you use some positive news for the new year? We’ve got you covered with this interview!  Matthew Halteman has 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 HaltemanAhimsa Living CircleSecond Saturday of the MonthNext Circle: Saturday, February 8, Register hereLantern Voices: Lantern Publishing and Media's new podcastSupport this Podcast:Hope for the Animals PodcastCompassionate 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 CircleSecond Saturday of the MonthFirst Circle Starts on Saturday, January 11, 202510:00 – 11:30am PT / 1 – 2:30pm ETRegister here for this free virtual eventSupport this podcast:Hope for the Animals PodcastCompassionate LivingSocial Media:FacebookInstagramYouTube 

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 RobbinsonAphro-ism: Essays on Pop Culture, Feminism, and Black Veganism from Two Sisters by Aph Ko & Syl KoSista Vegan edited by A. Breeze HarperBrotha Vegan edited by Omowale Adewale Please support this podcast:Hope for the Animals PodcastCompassionate 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 RisingSupport this podcast:Compassionate LivingHope 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 MicrosanctuaryBooks 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 LivingHope 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 DocSupport this podcast and learn more:Hope for the Animals PodcastCompassionate Living