Episode 105: Interview with vegan sociologist Matthew Cole about critical animal and media studies, speciesism and veganism in the media, and an update on the Donald Watson Archive

This week, I am pleased to present my fourth interview with the vegan sociologist Matthew Cole, Senior Lecturer at The Open University. Matthew has been a vegan since 2005 and is the author and co-author of a number of academic articles and book chapters about the sociology of veganism and human-nonhuman animal relations. With his partner, the vegan sociologist Kate Stewart, Matthew co-authored the 2014 book, Our Children and Other Animals: The Cultural Construction of Human-Animal Relations in Childhood. In 2016, an anthology was published that was edited by Matthew Cole, Núria Almiron, and Carrie Freeman, titled, Critical Animal and Media Studies: Communication for Nonhuman Animal Advocacy.

In this interview, we discuss critical animal and media studies, and Matthew tells me about his research with Kate Stewart about human cultural attitudes towards urban-dwelling foxes in the UK. We also explore the place of environmental arguments in vegan advocacy, the use of mainstream and independent media to promote animal rights, how veganism tends to be portrayed by the mainstream media, and Matthew’s more recent writing on the similarities between a Batman storyline and a campaign to rename two species of aquatic animals in the UK. Then Matthew shares an update about the Donald Watson Archive Research Project.

Matthew Cole's Academia.edu page can be found here (please write to him if you'd like to read his writings that are listed there). Matthew's work on OpenLearn, including his short interactive course about veganism and speciesism, can be found here.

Thanks to Matthew for being a guest on the show again!

You can listen to the episode above or on CKCU 93.1 FM's website. You can also download the MP3 file from Archive.org.

You can find Always for Animal Rights on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.

Go vegan, stay vegan, and let's remember to advocate for animal rights today and every day. Thanks for listening to the show!

Episode 104: Interview with Ronnie Lee, co-founder of the Animal Liberation Front, about consistency and vegan ethics

This week, I am pleased to present my third interview with the long-time animal liberation activist Ronnie Lee. Ronnie has been a vegan for more than five decades and is best known for co-founding the Animal Liberation Front in the 1970’s. Currently he works to educate the public about the importance of becoming vegan. He also encourages vegans to become more involved in vegan education initiatives, in order to work towards the abolition of the exploitation and oppression of our fellow animals.

In this interview, Ronnie describes what it was like trying to obtain vegan-friendly food in the 1970’s. Then we discuss why war, environmental destruction, and human rights violations are not in alignment with the vegan ethic; why it’s important to challenge speciesism and human supremacism, rather than focusing primarily on cruelty; and how we can more effectively interact with the mainstream media. Ronnie also speaks about the role of anti-vivisection campaigning within the animal rights movement over the years, and he shares his views on celebrity culture within the vegan community.

After listening to this episode, you may be interested in tuning in to the two latest episodes of Still Alive!, the online talk show that Ronnie co-hosts with Roger Yates: The Media and the Message and Vegans and War.

You can listen to the episode above or on CKCU 93.1 FM's website. You can also download the MP3 file from Archive.org.

You can find Always for Animal Rights on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.

Go vegan, stay vegan, and let's remember to advocate for animal rights today and every day. Thanks for listening to the show!

Episode 103: Discussion with animal rights advocate Jeremy Hess about engaging in vegan advocacy conversations, recognizing pigs as individuals, and challenging speciesism in the media

Rosebud

This week, I am pleased to present my fourth interview with Jeremy Hess. Jeremy has been a vegan since 2014 and has been involved in various forms of animal rights advocacy over the years. On his website (which will be back online soon) and YouTube channel, he provides resources to help advocates use accurate and non-speciesist language and learn about animal rights theory. He is a co-founder and former co-panellist on The Animal Rights Show on YouTube. With his partner Nisha-Taylor Hess, Jeremy runs a microsanctuary, Respect Animal Sanctuary, in Georgia in the United States.

In this interview, Jeremy and I use an abolitionist animal rights perspective to examine three articles that were published on mainstream media websites, and we explore how we can move away from speciesist language use. We also discuss whether the words that we use in our vegan advocacy are understood by the general public. As well, Jeremy tells me about the experiences of the pigs Rosebud and Daisy at the microsanctuary.

During this discussion we explored some of the ideas of the animal rights scholar-activists David Nibert and Joan Dunayer (see also here). You can find the Unlearning Speciesist Language Facebook group, of which Jeremy is an admin, here!

News articles that we discussed on the show:

• "Two giant pandas from China to arrive at US National Zoo", The Guardian, 29 May 2024
• "Concerned about cruelty, animal rights group wants police at bull-riding event", CBC News, 31 May 2024
• "Water-hungry golf courses plague Arizona’s native javelina-filled landscape", Vox, 25 October 2023
  

At the end of the episode, we'll hear some excerpts from the song, "Creatures Great and Small", by the vegan singer-songwriter Ellie Sarty.

 

You can listen to the episode above or on CKCU 93.1 FM's website. You can also download the MP3 file from Archive.org.

You can find Always for Animal Rights on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.

Go vegan, stay vegan, and let's remember to advocate for animal rights today and every day. Thanks for listening to the show!

Jeremy the Ape and
Daisy the Pig

Episode 102: Interview with Wendy McGovern about vegan ethics and language, anti-consumerism, ecofeminism, and anti-vivisection

This week, I am pleased to present my second interview with the long-time animal rights advocate Wendy McGovern. Wendy has been a vegan since about 1997. She has been involved in a variety of vegan and animal advocacy initiatives over the years, including hosting the London Animal Rights March in 2021. She is the host of the Thrive Vegan World podcast and a co-panelist on the Animal Rights Show on YouTube.

In this interview, Wendy and I discuss the importance of viewing veganism as a holistic paradigm shift rather than only a diet, and we explore the issue of consumerism in relation to vegan ethics. Then Wendy speaks about how we can challenge speciesism through our language use, and how ecofeminist perspectives can help us to think critically and holistically about intersecting oppressions. We also discuss why the animal advocacy movement has shifted away from its previous focus on anti-vivisection activism. Finally, Wendy shares her thoughts on advocating for veganism and animal rights in our everyday lives.

Links:

Thrive Vegan World podcast: https://thriveveganworld.libsyn.com/

The Animal Rights Show on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLwKCH_ItjqELgL3NE35hj70YazgZBHfZB

 "Mexico's female matadors return to the world's largest bullring", Archived from NPR.org: https://web.archive.org/web/20240324134816/https://www.npr.org/2024/03/09/1236728490/mexico-bullfighting-women-bullfighters 

Wendy McGovern in discussion with Roger Yates and Ronnie Lee about why the movement's focus shifted away from anti-vivisection activism: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UTniWsitwSo

Unlearning Speciesist Language Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/553752208470902

Roger Yates and Ronnie Lee's Still Alive! show discussing vegan activism ideas: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z__CQhXkoUM

You can listen to the episode above or on CKCU 93.1 FM's website. You can also download the MP3 file from Archive.org.

You can find Always for Animal Rights on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.

Go vegan, stay vegan, and let's remember to advocate for animal rights today and every day. Thanks for listening to the show!

Episode 101: Interview with Roger Yates about the Vegan Information Project, veganism as holistic social justice, and the importance of grassroots activism

Poster from the Vegan Information Project

This week, I am pleased to present my seventh interview with the vegan sociologist and animal rights advocate Roger Yates, who has been a vegan since 1979.

Roger’s 2005 PhD dissertation focused on the social construction of speciesism. In the 1980's, he was a Press Officer for the Animal Liberation Front, and in 2013 he co-founded the Vegan Information Project (also known as VIP) in Ireland. He has a blog, social media accounts, and a YouTube channel, where he advocates for veganism and animal rights from an abolitionist perspective.

In this interview, Roger outlines the history and philosophy of the Vegan Information Project, and he emphasizes the importance of understanding and challenging cultural speciesism as vegan advocates. He also speaks about the ethical and practical issues surrounding money in the animal advocacy movement, and why vegan advocates are sometimes accused of "forcing" our views on non-vegans. We discuss the importance of viewing veganism as a movement for holistic social justice, and we share our views about some of the things we'd like to see the vegan movement do differently in 2024 and beyond.

You can listen to the episode above or on CKCU 93.1 FM's website. You can also download the MP3 file from Archive.org.

You can find Always for Animal Rights on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.

Go vegan, stay vegan, and let's remember to advocate for animal rights today and every day. Thanks for listening to the show!

Posters from the Vegan Information Project

Episode 100: Reconnecting with the work of Marti Kheel, author of Nature Ethics: An Ecofeminist Perspective and co-founder of Feminists for Animal Rights

Over the past several months, I've been exploring the old newsletters of Feminists for Animal Rights, a group that was active in the United States from the early 1980's to the 2000's. As they stated in their literature, Feminists for Animal Rights sought to "raise the consciousness of the feminist community, the animal rights community, and the general public regarding the connections between the objectification, exploitation, and abuse of both women and animals in patriarchal society." In addition to producing a newsletter, members of Feminists for Animal Rights tabled at events and conferences; gave presentations and workshops; created opportunities for like-minded women to connect, study, and learn from one another; and participated in a variety of other activist initiatives. The group was quite influential within the animal rights movement at the time.

One of the co-founders of Feminists for Animal Rights was the vegan ecofeminist scholar and activist Marti Kheel, who developed the FAR slide show and wrote a number of important essays about ecofeminism. She was the author of the 2008 book, Nature Ethics: An Ecofeminist Perspective. Sadly, Marti passed away in 2011.

On the show this week, we'll be listening to an abridged version of an interview with Marti that was originally broadcast in 2009 on the show Hear Me Raw, based at Joy Radio in Australia. In this episode, the interviewer, Sue, asked Marti to describe the key principles of ecofeminist philosophy. They also discuss the limitations of mainstream environmentalist theory, why feminists should embrace veganism, how vegaphobia is related to homophobia, and what’s wrong with using sexist tactics in animal advocacy.

Marti's insights are very much worth listening to and considering. I hope you'll listen in!

At the end of the show is the song, "Vegan World", by the vegan musician Katie Veg.

You can listen to the episode above or on CKCU 93.1 FM's website. You can also download the MP3 file from Archive.org.

You can find Always for Animal Rights on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.

Go vegan, stay vegan, and let's remember to advocate for animal rights today and every day. Thanks for listening to the show!

Episode 99: Interview with Lee Hall about vegan ethics, the history of the American vegan movement, self-rewilding, and being vegan in a non-vegan world

This week, I am pleased to present my second interview with the author and public speaker Lee Hall, who has been a vegan advocate since 1983. Lee is the author of On Their Own Terms: Animal Liberation for the 21st Century, the creator of the blog Vegan Place, and a writer for CounterPunch. Lee previously taught immigration and animal law at Rutgers University in New Jersey and now holds a Master of Laws in environmental law with a focus on climate change.

In this interview, Lee speaks about the history of the vegan movement in England and the United States. In particular, Lee highlights the significance of the annual Vegan Summerfest to the American vegan movement, as well as the abandonment of integrity by corporate animal advocacy groups such as PETA. We discuss the importance of viewing veganism as an ethic rather than just a diet, why Lee has decided to stop driving a car this year, and what it means to re-wild ourselves. Then Lee outlines how vegan menus are inclusive for everyone, gives advice for vegans who struggle during non-vegan holiday celebrations, and discusses how we can find hope even during difficult times.

This was an excellent discussion!

At the end of the episode, we'll hear the new version of the song "Vegan World" by Katie Veg.

You can listen to the episode above or download the MP3 file from Archive.org. This episode will be broadcast on CKCU 93.1 FM in two parts over the coming weeks, starting on Wednesday 25 October at 4:30 pm Eastern. The entire episode is also now available on CKCU's website.

Additional links:

• Lee Hall's article, "Self-Rewilding: Becoming a Committed Pedestrian"
• "Those Cute Lambs? Here's Who They Are, Without Us" by Lee Hall
  
• "Veganism Defined", written by Leslie Cross in 1951
• "Chapter 3: The Singer Model · Is It Really Animal Liberation?" (audio) by Lee Hall (also includes an image of Peter Singer's 2005 letter to Whole Foods)
• "Chapter 11: From Food to Friends? Troubles With Cuteness and Meme-Sharing" (audio) by Lee Hall

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You can find Always for Animal Rights on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.

Go vegan, stay vegan, and let's remember to advocate for animal rights today and every day. Thanks for listening to the show!