Episode 106: Discussing vegan animal rights history, ethics, and activism with vegan sociologist Roger Yates

This week, I am pleased to present my eighth interview with the sociologist and long-time animal rights advocate Roger Yates, PhD, who has been a vegan for four and a half decades. 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. He is currently the organizing volunteer for the Vegan Information Project, a group that he co-founded in Ireland in 2013. He also has a blog, social media, and YouTube channel, where he advocates for veganism and animal rights from an abolitionist perspective.

In this discussion, Roger and I explore the history and values of the vegan, animal rights, and anti-vivisection movements. Roger explains what he means when he says that veganism is the Great Refusal, and we discuss tactical and theoretical issues and debates within modern-day animal advocacy. Roger also shares his idea about how vegans could collectively purchase land that could be used to advance the goals of the vegan social movement.

This interview was recorded during November, World Vegan Month.

Many thanks to Roger for being a guest on the show again!

During this interview, we discussed the essay, "Autobiography of a Vegan" (1964), by the early vegan advocate and conscientious objector Rubin Abramowitz. The essay can be found on Archive.org here.

 

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!

Poster by Vegan Information Project (VIP)