Hope for the Animals

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

Happy Earth Day! Today we have a special Earth Day episode where we are exploring solutions. Hope starts us off with some inspiring green living ideas and then we have a fascinating conversation with Karthik Sekar, PhD. Karthik has a doctorate in Chemical Engineering from Northwestern University researching bioreactor design and systems/quantitative biology. He works as a Senior Data Scientist at Climax Foods and has written the book After Meat: The Case for an Amazing Meat-Free World. In this episode, Karthik uncovers the inherent inefficiencies of animal products and how we need “disruptive technology” to replace meat, dairy, and eggs. He debunks regenerative animal agriculture and reveals the important innovations in fermentation-based products that can revolutionize plant-based eating. Join us for an inspiring discussion about solutions.Resources:Website: AfterMeatBook.comMore Podcasts for Earth Day:  Reason for Vegan Series 10: The Environmental Impact of Animal AgricultureEpisode 25: Greenwashing our Food: Exposing Sustainable LabelsLearn More and Support this Podcast:Compassionate LivingHope for the Animals Podcast

The amazing and fabulous Jasmin Singer is a worldwide leading expert on veganism, the co-host of the -running Our Hen House podcast, a longtime contributor to VegNews magazine as well as the author and editor of numerous books. Hope and Jasmin had a ton of fun covering a lot of territory starting with reminiscing about being vegan in the 90s, Jasmin’s journey writing her memoir, and her evolution coming from the LGBTQ movement into the animal rights space and how that overlaps and connects. They talk the groundbreaking anthology that Jasmin recently edited about anti-racism in the animal rights movement, they discuss thin privilege and discrimination against larger bodied people and how that manifests in the vegan community, as well as the adventure of making her new home in upper state New York net zero. Resources:Website: https://jasminsinger.comBlog: Jasmin’s JargonPodcast: Our Hen House Books: The VegNews Guide to Being a Fabulous Vegan,Always Too Much and Never Enough: A Memoir Anthology: Antiracism in Animal Advocacy: Igniting Cultural TransformationEpisode 24: Fat Justice and Veganism with Andy TabarWhat We Don’t Talk About When We Talk About Fat by Aubrey GordenLearn More and Support this Podcast:Compassionate LivingHope for the Animals Podcast 

Hope starts us off with some news on a case of blatant greenwashing from a long-time vegan company that has sparked a Compassionate Living Campaign. Then we are honored to have vegan and human rights activist Christopher Soul Eubanks on the podcast. Soul is a climate, human, and animal rights activist in Atlanta, Georgia and has dedicated himself to doing advocacy work that combats all forms of injustice. After becoming vegan, Soul helped co-organize Atlanta’s first ever animal rights march, started a YouTube channel, and is a contributing author to two anthologies. He is also contributing a chapter to Hope’s upcoming Humane Hoax anthology that will be published early next year by Lantern Publishing and Media. Hope and Soul talk about the importance of shifting animal advocacy to one of inclusion with a broader perspective for more effective activism. They discuss Soul’s new non-profit, APEX Advocacy, the term People of the Global Majority, delicious vegan southern-style food, and how animal rights can help achieve collective liberation for all. Resources:APEX AdvocacySoul’s YouTube ChannelBlack Vegan EverythingLearn More and Support this Podcast:Compassionate LivingHope for the Animals Podcast

This episode we are joined by Reverend Sarah Bowen. Rev. Sarah is an award-winning author, animal chaplain, and multifaith spiritual educator. She is also one of the co-founders of the Compassion Consortium, a monthly interfaith, interspecies online spiritual gathering. Hope and Sarah discuss how for many, there is a paralleled path between a spiritual journey and a vegan journey. Sarah shares what it means to be an Animal Chaplin and discusses the existence of animal’s spiritual lives. Sarah also shares that she will be starting an Animal Chaplaincy program in the fall for anyone who is interested in the intersection of animal protection, animal relationships, and spirituality. Resources: Sarah’s Book: Sacred Sendoffs: An Animal Chaplain’s Advice For Surviving Animal Loss, Making Life Meaningful, & Healing The PlanetCompassion ConsortiumLearn More and Support this Podcast:Compassionate LivingHope for the Animals Podcast