Episode 56: Why animal rights advocates should promote veganism instead of animal welfare reforms

This week, I am pleased to present my third interview with Elizabeth Collins. Elizabeth, who lives in New Zealand, has been conducting street stalls to educate the public about veganism since 2009, and she is the host of the New Zealand Vegan Podcast. Her advocacy is based on the principles of Gary Francione's Abolitionist Approach to Animal Rights.

In this interview, Elizabeth and I discuss why animal welfare reforms are counterproductive to our goal of ending animal exploitation. Specifically, we speak about the problems with the following campaigns: so-called “bans” on live export in New Zealand and the shredding of male chicks in Germany (you can find the Guardian article I mentioned here, and a more recent Wall Street Journal article here); a Canadian company’s decision to stop using fur (but continue using feathers); and a campaign that aims to convince a world-famous leader to eat fewer animal products in order to help the environment.

We also discuss the use of environmental and health arguments in vegan advocacy, and then Elizabeth explains the importance of engaging in abolitionist vegan education in our everyday lives.

At the end of the show, we will listen to the song "My Vegan Friend" by the vegan singer-songwriter Gülce Özen Gürkan.

As we discussed in this episode and on past episodes, eating/using eggs or other animal products will never be ethical, no matter how many animal welfare measures are put into place. I recommend the following essay by Gary Francione and Anna Charlton: Why Welfare Reform Campaigns and Single-Issue Campaigns Necessarily Promote Animal Exploitation.

How to listen to this episode

There are two ways you can listen to this episode.

1. Listen to the episode on CKCU FM's website at https://cod.ckcufm.com/programs/553/52574.html.
   
2. Listen to or download the podcast from Archive.org at https://archive.org/details/afar-june-30-2021.
   

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