Saturday 28 September 2019

Episode 7: Interview with Angel Flinn, Communications Manager of Be Fair Be Vegan (Part Two); and the animal rights music of Stephanie Valentin

This week's episode of Always for Animal Rights features Part Two of my interview with Angel Flinn, Communications Manager of Be Fair Be Vegan. As previously mentioned, Be Fair Be Vegan is an animal justice campaign that uses outdoor advertising to promote an uncompromising vegan message. Currently Be Fair Be Vegan is running two Canadian campaigns: one in Toronto and one in Montreal.

In Part One of the interview, Angel had told me why Be Fair Be Vegan's advertisements are designed the way they are, how people have reacted to the campaign, and how she explains to people who are not yet vegan why they should go vegan.

In Part Two, Angel tells me the fascinating story of how she became a vegan and an activist, how vegan activists can get involved with the campaign, and why Be Fair Be Vegan takes an uncompromising approach to their vegan message.






For more information about Be Fair Be Vegan, please visit BeFairBeVegan.com.

Today's episode also includes two of the vegan animal rights songs of French artist and musician Stephanie Valentin.

One of these songs, "Chair Amie", is told from the perspective of a non-human animal who is imprisoned in an animal exploitation industry. On Youtube you can also find the music video for this song, which includes Stephanie's remarkable artwork and the English translations of the lyrics. The video tells the tragic story of a calf who was taken away from his mother and is facing imminent death.

(As I mentioned on the show, in the dairy industry, male calves are routinely torn from their mothers so that humans can drink the mother cow’s milk. Meanwhile, the male calves are killed and their remains are sold as so-called “veal”.)

The second song, "Animal", expresses many of the feelings that we vegan activists have on a regular basis. Here is the English translation of the lyrics of the song's chorus:

Animal, I am like you
From my soul rises the same voice
Marginal, that's how they see me
But the evil will not pass by me anymore



You can see the videos for "Chair Amie" and "Animal" on Stephanie's YouTube channel (I apologize if you encounter any advertisements on YouTube).

Thanks so much to Stephanie for granting me permission to include your amazing songs in my podcast!

How to listen to this episode

There are two ways to listen to the episode.

1. Listen to the episode on CKCU's website at https://cod.ckcufm.com/programs/553/44933.html.

2. Download the mP3 file from Archive.org (in the "Download Options" sidebar, do a right-mouse click on "VBR MP3" and click "Save Link As..." or "Save Target As...") at https://archive.org/details/afarseptember252019.

The next episode of Always for Animal Rights will air on CKCU 93.1 FM in Ottawa on Wednesday, October 9th, 2019-- and, of course, it will be available to listen to afterwards, as well.

Friday 13 September 2019

Episode 6: Interview with Angel Flinn, Communications Manager of Be Fair Be Vegan (Part One)

This week on Always For Animal Rights, I aired Part One of my interview with Angel Flinn, Communications Manager of Be Fair Be Vegan. Be Fair Be Vegan is an animal justice campaign that uses outdoor advertising to promote an uncompromising vegan message. In Part One of the interview, Angel spoke to me about why Be Fair Be Vegan's advertisements are designed the way they are, how people have reacted to the campaign, and how she explains to people who are not yet vegan why they should go vegan.

Recently Be Fair Be Vegan has launched two new Canadian campaigns: one in Toronto and one in Montreal. Here is some information from Be Fair Be Vegan's press releases about these campaigns, along with some images from each.

In Toronto, “The media takeover will run from September 2nd through October 27th and focus on three transit stops: St. George Station, and the interiors of the Yonge Eglinton Centre and the Yonge Sheppard Centre. 

The BeFairBeVegan message will be broadcast across a broad range of media, including Flexity streetcar wraps, 20 bus murals and 10 transit center posters. Digital and online media images will also play a significant role in the campaign.” 

Stairs at St. George Station, Toronto


Flexity Streetcar in Toronto is covered with Be Fair Be Vegan's striking advertisements. The advertisements include images of a sheep, a pig, a turkey, a fish, and a cow. Each photo is accompanied by the words "Sentient", and "I Feel, I Think, I Know", and "Be FairBeVegan.com".
Flexity Streetcar in Toronto

Three of Be Fair Be Vegan's messages

Meanwhile, the Montreal campaign is an advertising takeover of Montreal's Berri-UQAM station along with 99 digital screens located in other key stations and hubs around the city, and will run until September 29th.

In addition to the official outdoor ads, BeFairBeVegan materials will be on display at a public vigil held by local activists on September 14th at Jardins Gamelin. The event begins at 2:00. 

Here are three examples of Be Fair Be Vegan's French-language advertisements for the Montreal campaign:




Part Two of the interview will be aired on the next episode of this show, on September 25, 2019.

For more information about Be Fair Be Vegan, please visit BeFairBeVegan.com.

How to listen to this episode

There are two ways to listen to the episode.

1. Listen to the episode on CKCU's website at https://cod.ckcufm.com/programs/553/44729.html. This version also includes the song "Wake Up Now" by Claudia Robbens. Please also read the notices in the description on the episode's page before listening. Thank you.

2. Download the mP3 file from Archive.org (in the "Download Options" sidebar, do a right-mouse click on "VBR MP3" and click "Save Link As..." or "Save Target As...") at https://archive.org/details/afarseptember112019.

The next episode of Always for Animal Rights will air on CKCU 93.1 FM in Ottawa on Wednesday, September 25, 2019-- and, of course, it will be available to listen to afterwards, as well.