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

This week, Brenda Sanders returns to the Our Hen House Podcast to talk to Jasmin about successfully opening The Greener Kitchen, and how it became a model for other vegan businesses in the area. They also discuss Vegan SoulFest, why community-based activism is as important as national campaigns, and why creating an affordable, accessible plant-based food system is vital to vegan activism. Brenda Sanders is a Food Justice activist who promotes veganism as a solution to many of the problems that face marginalized communities. She’s the founder and Executive Director of Afro-Vegan Society, a non-profit organization that works on campaigns that encourage people from marginalized communities to explore vegan living, as well as Co-Founder of Thrive Baltimore, a community resource center that offers classes, workshops, cooking demos and other resources to help people transition to veganism. Brenda is also Co-Creator Vegan SoulFest, one of the largest vegan festivals in the U.S. and co-owner of The Greener Kitchen, Baltimore’s first and only 100% vegan deli. In the intro to this episode, Jasmin and Mariann discuss Jasmin’s recent interview with Tig Notaro for VegNews and what the future of space food might be, using social media to encourage restaurants to carry more vegan options, and a humorous issue of gendered income discrepancy. After the interview, Mariann brings us some Rising Anxieties. More info in the show notes! As always, the award-winning weekly Our Hen House podcast is hosted by Mariann Sullivan and Jasmin Singer. 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 iTunes or your favorite podcatcher! Also, if you like what you hear, please rate it and leave us a comment on iTunes! 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! The Our Hen House theme song is written and sung by the incredible Michael Harren, who is also OHH’s Director of Communications! 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.

This week, Mariann interviews Nick Halla, the Senior Vice President for International at Impossible Foods. As we’re sure you’ve heard, the company made a huge announcement this week that Burger King would be serving the Impossible Burger! You’re not going to want to miss this great and wide-ranging interview about the mission of Impossible, their national and international launch, and even some of the controversy surrounding animal testing and the Impossible Burger. In the intro to this episode, Jasmin and Mariann discuss more about the Impossible Burger’s huge announcement and the issues covered in the interview, and they each go on to recount separate interesting theater experiences they had this week. We also have a very special dedication from No Meat May. After the interview, Mariann brings us some Rising Anxieties. More info in the show notes! As always, the award-winning weekly Our Hen House podcast is hosted by Mariann Sullivan and Jasmin Singer. 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 iTunes or your favorite podcatcher! Also, if you like what you hear, please rate it and leave us a comment on iTunes! 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! The Our Hen House theme song is written and sung by the incredible Michael Harren, who is also OHH’s Director of Communications! 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.

This week, Mariann interviews visual artist and activist Sue Coe about her new book, Zooicide. They discuss how a trip to the zoo with her sister as a child informed her views on animals in captivity, why people continue to go to zoos and what happens when they see someone drawing the animals, and the dangers rampant capitalism poses for the planet. Sue Coe is a visual artist with a particular focus on the atrocities committed by people against animals. Coe is the author of many books, including Dead Meat, and her work has appeared in the New York Times, The New Yorker, and Rolling Stone. In the intro to this episode, Jasmin and Mariann discuss episode 438 guest Ryan Bethencourt’s appearance on Shark Tank representing Wild Earth, how we can address the issue of veganism putting people like dairy farmers out of work, and the bizarre story of a man who ate a pig’s head at a Veg Fest.  After the interview, Mariann brings us some Rising Anxieties. More info in the show notes! As always, the award-winning weekly Our Hen House podcast is hosted by Mariann Sullivan and Jasmin Singer. 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 iTunes or your favorite podcatcher! Also, if you like what you hear, please rate it and leave us a comment on iTunes! 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! The Our Hen House theme song is written and sung by the incredible Michael Harren, who is also OHH’s Director of Communications! 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.

This week, Jasmin interviews Berto Calkins about the intersections of veganism and fitness, how a visit to an animal sanctuary helped him make a vital connection to animals as beings, the importance of representation across the veganism and animal rights movements. Berto Calkins is a fitness professional that promotes mental and physical wellness as well as the vegan lifestyle. His mission is to make people aware of controllable influences on their lives, so that they can make decisions that better themselves and the world. He is a certified personal trainer, certified fitness nutrition specialist and also serves on the board of directors for Woodstock Farm Sanctuary. Check out his YouTube channel here. In the intro to this episode, a flu-ridden Jasmin and Mariann discuss the South Korean drama Little Forest and the recent New York Times article about an escaped calf on the New York Expressway and how it focuses surprisingly well on the experience of escaped animals. Plus, Jasmin brings us a great chat she had during the recent Expo with Seth Tibbott of Tofurkey about his work developing tempeh. After the interview, Mariann brings us some Rising Anxieties. More info in the show notes! As always, the award-winning weekly Our Hen House podcast is hosted by Mariann Sullivan and Jasmin Singer. 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 iTunes or your favorite podcatcher! Also, if you like what you hear, please rate it and leave us a comment on iTunes! 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! The Our Hen House theme song is written and sung by the incredible Michael Harren, who is also OHH’s Director of Communications! 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.

This week, Mariann Sullivan interviews Lisa Feria, CEO of Stray Dog Capital, about how her venture capital firm works to fund projects that offer alternatives to animal supply chains, and why this is so different from typical venture capital firms. She also tells Mariann about how her firm is addressing the changing vegan-friendly landscape. Lisa and Mariann also discuss the benefits of vegan companies being bought by larger companies, and what she envisions to be the future of “meat.” Lisa Feria is the CEO of Stray Dog Capital, a mission-driven Venture Capital firm that drives alternatives to the use of animals in the supply chain through investments, expertise, and support. She is a seasoned business manager with over 15 years of experience running organizations and businesses. She has worked with blue chip companies such as Procter & Gamble and General Mills and on businesses ranging from $350 MM to $2.5 BN. Lisa has an MBA from the University of Chicago where she was voted “one of the 25 most influential MBA students,” and a Bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology. In the intro to this episode, Jasmin and Mariann talk about Jasmin’s recent trip to Expo and how she witnessed the boom of vegan products being represented everywhere throughout the event. Also, Jasmin has started shooting the upcoming short film she’s in and she tells us about serving vegan food on set. Mariann recounts the story of going to see her niece in a production of Mary Poppins and realizing how many pop culture figures are vegan. After the interview, Mariann brings us some Rising Anxieties. More info in the show notes! As always, the award-winning weekly Our Hen House podcast is hosted by Mariann Sullivan and Jasmin Singer. 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 iTunes or your favorite podcatcher! Also, if you like what you hear, please rate it and leave us a comment on iTunes! 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! The Our Hen House theme song is written and sung by the incredible Michael Harren, who is also OHH’s Director of Communications! 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.