Hope for the Animals

Today on the podcast it’s all about leather-free materials—fabrics that mimic leather, but are animal-free and more ecological. We have two guests with us to talk about their businesses that focus on innovations in non-leather goods. First up is Paras Doshi, founder of Doshi, that offers fashionable and durable non-leather items like belts, wallets, and purses. Then we have Troy Akin, founder of the company EcoSports. Troy makes footballs, basketballs and more using a material that is vegan, chemical free, biodegradable and that retains the feel and bounce that you would expect from a high-quality ball. Join us to hear about the future of vegan products beyond food and how these fabrics are helping to revolutionizes eco and ethical living.Hope also reminds listeners about her upcoming 6-week course on nonviolence and vegan ethics called Ahimsa, Animal Advocacy, and Veganism starting on Saturday, September 24. Resources:Hope’s Course: Ahimsa, Animal Advocacy, and VeganismDoshiEcoSportsMore about the leather industry from BiteSizeVeganSonoma County VegFestLearn More and Support this Podcast:Compassionate LivingHope for the Animals Podcast

On this episode we are joined by Christopher Jain Miller, the co-founder and Vice President of Academic Affairs of Arihanta Academy, a Jain Dharma college. He completed his Ph.D. in the study of Religion at the University of California, Davis and is the academic advisor for the global Jain Vegan Initiative. Chris and Hope dig deep into the parallel philosophies of Jain dharma and vegan living. They explore the concept of Ahimsa, Sanskrit for non-violence, and how young Jains are seeing veganism as a way to practice their principle of non-harming in a modern context.  They also discuss Arihanta Academy, a new online Jain college, and Hope’s class in starting Sept 24 called Ahimsa, Animal Advocacy and Veganism.Resources:Arihanta AcademyHope’s Class- Ahimsa, Animal Advocacy, and Veganism Chris' Classes- Jain Philosophy in Daily Life, Yoga Sūtra: The Classical Yoga of PatañjaliInstagram- @thejainveganinitiative Learn More and Support this Podcast:Compassionate LivingHope for the Animals Podcast

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 ShowAnimal Centered DesignPiedmont Farm Animal RefugeCompassion Consortium (monthly online spiritual vegan gathering) Learn More and Support this Podcast:Compassionate LivingHope for the Animals Podcast 

 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.comLearn More and Support this Podcast:Compassionate LivingHope for the Animals Podcast

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-newsSign up for Hope's online course: Ahimsa, Animal Advocacy, and Veganism with Arihanta AcademyMitali's Info:Publisher website: https://www.theveganpublisher.com/The Freedom Master Plan book website: https://www.thefreedommasterplan.com/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LetsTellYourStoryPublishingTwitter: https://twitter.com/veganpublisher   Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/veganpublisher/LinkedIN: https://www.linkedin.com/in/veganpublisher/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfrbspEvAQyN8thKIdh-ycgLearn More and Support this Podcast:Compassionate LivingHope for the Animals Podcast

Deborah Blum is the founder and executive director at Goatlandia Farm Animal Sanctuary in Santa Rosa, CA. Deborah moved to Santa Rosa to fulfill her dream of living with goats and what started as a passion grew into a non profit rescue, education organization, animal therapy, goat yoga, kid’s camp, as well as vegan catering, and much more. Deb and Hope discuss their mutual love of goats and how the rise in popularity of goat dairy has created the same cruelty and ethical issues we see with cow dairy. Deb talks about using goats to graze public lands for fire prevention, and how this other popular use of goats is on the rise and has created yet another host of ethical problems and even more goats needing rescue. They also discuss Goatlandia’s vegan catering and the power of delicious vegan food to change the world!Resources:Goatlandia Farm Animal SanctuaryLearn More and Support this Podcast:Compassionate LivingHope for the Animals Podcast 

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 RevealTransLash PodcastThe Anti-Trans Hate MachineWebsites:Them.ushttps://genderdysphoria.fyi/SingularThey.infoState Action Center - National Center For Trans EqualityBooks: A Quick & Easy Guide To Queer and Trans IdentitiesA Quick & Easy Guide To They Them PronounsQueer: A Graphic HistoryA Queer History Of The United StatesOrgs:Sylvia Rivera Law ProjectTrans LifelineThe Trevor ProjectThe National Center For Trans EqualityACLUResources from Pax (they/them/their): Website:http://funcrunch.orgBlog Posts:Dare to disarmResistance to going vegan - excuses and responsesThe Transgender District: https://www.transgenderdistrictsf.com/Office of Transgender Initiatives: https://sf.gov/transcitysfCompton Cafeteria Riots: https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2019/jun/21/stonewall-san-francisco-riot-tenderloin-neighborhood-trans-womenLearn More and Support this Podcast:Compassionate LivingHope for the Animals Podcast  

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 BohanecLearn More and Support this Podcast:Compassionate LivingHope for the Animals Podcast

We continue our celebration of International Respect for Chickens Month with a reminder about the upcoming Humane Hoax Chicken Webinar on Saturday, May 21. Then our guest is Tara Hess who spent close to a decade working as a caregiver and in shelter management roles at Farm Sanctuary. She is now the Senior Advisor at the Open Sanctuary Project where she uses her hands-on experience to help create animal care resources that are accessible and reflect the many nuances of sanctuary work. Tara and Hope talk about combating harmful information about chicken and, how the commodification of chickens demeans their worth as individuals. They  discuss the  Avian Flu epidemic that is devastating wild and domestic bird populations in the US and the risk to farmed animal sanctuary residents. Tara also talks about the new Rooster Resource from the Open Sanctuary Project, addressing misconceptions about roosters and rooster stigma.  Resources:The Open Sanctuary ProjectRooster ResourceLearn More and Support this Podcast:Compassionate LivingHope for the Animals Podcast

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 ChickensLearn More and Support this Podcast:Compassionate LivingHope for the Animals Podcast