Hope for the Animals

In Episode 12, Hope starts us off with a discussion about language. Our use of language shapes how we perceive the world. Our language around animals is especially important because it can influence how society thinks and feels about animals. Hope offers some suggestions for changing and improving our language to help people see animals as individuals. To recognize them beyond mere property, and see animals as sentient beings deserving of our protection and respect. Next on the podcast we have the fun and fabulous, Jasmine Leyva. Jasmine is an actress and filmmaker who created the documentary The Invisible Vegan. This 90-minute independent documentary brings to light the health and wellness possibilities for the African-American community with a plant-based vegan diet and lifestyle. The Invisible Vegan offers both historical and contemporary perspectives on dietary trends among African-Americans. Hope and Jasmine talk about the importance of supporting vegan voices from black communities and all communities of color to help create the diverse, compassionate, interconnected vegan world we all want to see. Resources and Links:Understanding Euthanasia: When Life and Words Become Worthless by Karen DavisWatch The Invisible Vegan on:Amazon Prime (Free with Prime subscription) Tubi TV (Free) KweliTV (Black female-owned streaming service) 

On this Hope for the Animals Podcast, we have another installment of Glimmers of Hope. In this recurring segment, Hope shares positive stories about animals from around the globe. The Glimmers of Hope segment features good news for animals that you might have missed with so many other news stories dominating 2020. We can use a little good news in these challenging times so we hope you enjoy Glimmers of Hope! Next we have an informative interview with Food Empowerment Project’s lauren Ornelas. lauren talks about her three decades of dedicated activism for animals. She founded the Food Empowerment Project in 2006 to bridge food justice issues by exposing injustices in our food system for humans and nonhuman animals. In this podcast, we hear about her undercover investigations of animal agriculture in the 1990s and her more recent work exposing food deserts in vulnerable communities. Hope and lauren also discuss vegan food accessibility, child slave labor in the chocolate industry, and much more. Join us for this informative and important interview with one of the most powerful voices in the animal rights movement today. Resources:www.FoodIsPower.orgwww.VeganMexicanFood.comwww.VeganFilipinoFood.comlauren’s TED Talk 

In this series of short shows, Hope will focus in on specific aspects of animal agriculture and answer the question of why are we vegan. In this seventh installment of the Reason for Vegan Series she talks about goat dairy, goat yogurt, sheep cheese and the unfortunate new tread of non-cow animal dairy. Hope explains the rise in popularity of using non-traditional animals for dairy production and how breeding and using lactating mothers for dairy is fundamentally cruel, no matter which animal species is used or the size of the farm. The Reason for Vegan Series is supplemental to our regular episodes and is perfect for pre-vegans who want to learn more about animal agriculture and veganism, so please share this series with your non-vegan friends. This series is also great for new and existing vegans to get in-depth information about the animal farming industry so they will be excellent advocates for all farmed animals. 

For “Episode 10” of the Hope for the Animals Podcast, Hope announces UPC’s upcoming Humane Hoax Chicken Webinar, the first-ever webinar dedicated solely to chickens, and offers a brief overview of the featured presentations. The Humane Hoax Chicken Webinar will be on Saturday, September 12 and you can sign up for free by going to www.humanehoax.orgNext on the show, we have chicken advocate and rooster rescuer extraordinaire Justin Van Kleeck of Triangle Chicken Advocates. Justin will: Expose the hidden issues with backyard chicken keeping and how roosters are affected by the egg industry. Introduce us to the concept of a microsanctuary and the importance of supporting small-scale rescue and lifetime care of non-traditional animals. Share how the experience of rescue and caregiving has the potential to expand what it means to be vegan.Resources and Links:Humane Hoax Chicken Webinar (sign up for free! September 12, 2020)Triangle Chicken AdvocatesMicrosanctuary Resource Center 

In the latest episode of the Hope for the Animals Podcast, Hope will answer the question, “Can there be ethical eggs?” Some people are learning that humane labels like “cage-free” and “free-range” are misleading consumers about the treatment of the animals, yet they believe there are still other ways to find “ethical” eggs. Some think they can find a “better” egg at a farmer’s market, a small farm, or from a neighbor. But are those eggs truly ethical? Next we have an informative interview with the Animal Legal Defense Fund’s Kelsey Eberly. Kelsey is a Staff Attorney with the ALDF who will share her experience exposing humane-washing in animal agriculture. On behalf of ALDF, Kelsey files false advertising lawsuits that uncover cruel farming practices hidden behind humane labels. Hope and Kelsey explore the fascinating world of animals and the law, new plant-food product label restrictions, and ag-gag laws. 

In this series of short shows, Hope will focus in on specific aspects of animal agriculture and answer the question of why are we vegan. In this sixth installment of the Reason for Vegan Series she talks about cows exploited in the dairy industry and the hidden cruelties of cow’s milk, yogurt, cheese, and other dairy products. 

In Episode 8, Hope offers her thoughts about the seemingly inescapable question posed to vegans, “Don’t plants feel pain?” She then interviews Lisa Levinson, director of In Defense of Animals’ Sustainable Activism Campaign. Lisa is also the founder of Vegan Spirituality, a group that explores veganism as a spiritual practice. More recently, she co-founded the Interfaith Vegan Coalition, a group that fosters an inter-religious collaboration to address animal cruelty. In this episode, Lisa and Hope discuss faith-based vegan advocacy, compassion fatigue, and spiritual support for vegans. Lisa also talks about her work with the National Goose Protection Coalition, which provides resources to help stop the slaughter of wild geese.  Resources and LinksInterfaithvegancoalition.org Interfaith@idausa.orgwww.idausa.org/veganspiritualitywww.idausa.org/compassionfatigue TheSpiritualForum.org/vegan-retreatVegan Spiritually FaceBook Pagegeese@idausa.org

Duck, Duck, Goose!  In this series of short shows, Hope will focus in on specific aspects of animal agriculture and answer the question of why are we vegan. In this fifth installment of the Reason for Vegan Series she talks about ducks and geese exploited in industry and the hidden cruelties of down, feathers, foie gras, and duck meat. Ducks and geese are waterfowl who not only desire to be in water, they need water for their health and well-being. When waterfowl are commodified in the industry, they are kept in filthy dark sheds without sufficient water to submerge themselves in. If they can’t bathe in water, they experience miserable conditions that are unique to their evolutionary need for water. 

Hope starts us off by exposing the contradictions inherent in labeling meat “humane.” Classifying the flesh of slaughtered animals as humane, or implying in the product marketing that the animals had a happy life, is a cognitive dissonance that most people don’t think about or don’t want to think about.She then has an informative interview with journalist and animal activist Martha Rosenburg who talks about her decades of reporting on the use of pharmaceuticals in animal agriculture. Martha and Hope discuss numerous aspects of animal agribusiness including: meat treated with ammonia gas, arsenic in turkey feed, antibiotic abuse and the potential impending catastrophe of human antibiotic resistance, and how conditions are so bad in slaughterhouses that even prisoners won’t work there.  “It is impossible to reconcile the principles of humane treatment with the inherently inhumane act of sending animals to slaughter, irrespective of how “good” a life they may have had.”  –Hope Bohanec, The Ultimate Betrayal: Is There Happy Meat? 

The latest episode of the Hope for the Animals Podcast is all about birds! We begin with an exploration of the wealth of scientific research revealing avian intelligence, emotional complexity, and sentience. Then we have an inspiring interview with Elizabeth Young, founder and director of Palomacy Pigeon and Dove Adoptions. Elizabeth shares the fascinating history of pigeons and inspiring stories about Palomacy’s rescue and adoption program. Elizabeth Young loved all animals but had no particular interest in pigeons. That is, until years ago, when she started volunteering at the San Francisco Animal Care & Control shelter, where she learned it was common for pigeons to come into shelters but never leave. The other animals—dogs and cats, rabbits and rats, parrots and snakes, farmed animals and wildlife—all had at least one rescue group to help them, but pigeons had none. Now with Palomacy Pigeon and Dove Adoptions, Elizabeth has saved the lives of more than 1,000 birds directly and helped countless others across the U.S. and beyond. She has come to know these charming birds and is mesmerized by their sweet nature. Listen to her moving story in Episode 6 of the Hope for the Animals Podcast.  Palomacy Pigeon and Dove Adoptions Palomacy FaceBook Help Group