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 97: Interview with animal rights author Joan Dunayer about speciesism and language

This week, I am pleased to present my interview with the writer and animal rights advocate Joan Dunayer, who has been a vegan since 1989. Joan is the author of two books: Animal Equality: Language and Liberation, published in 2001, and Speciesism, published in 2004. Additionally, a number of her essays about speciesism and language have appeared in anthologies and other publications, including the books Critical Animal and Media Studies (edited by Núria Almiron, Matthew Cole, Carrie P. Freeman) and Animals and Women: Feminist Theoretical Explorations (edited by Carol J. Adams and Josephine Donovan), among others.

In this interview, Joan tells me about what led her to become a vegan and write her first book. She describes what speciesism is, how it manifests in everyday language use, how we can challenge speciesism through language, and how speciesism and sexism are connected through derogatory language. She also speaks about the moral status of insects; speciesist attitudes within the animal advocacy movement; and the legal rights that she advocates nonhuman animals ought to have.

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/553/61427.html.
   
2. Listen to or download the podcast from Archive.org at https://archive.org/details/afar-july-26-2023.
   

You can also find Always for Animal Rights on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook. If you'd like to receive an e-mail every time there is a new post on the AFAR blog, feel free to enter your e-mail address into the appropriate box in the right-hand sidebar of this site.

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!

Episode 71: Interview with Marlene Narrow, host of Vegan Nation radio show and podcast

Art by Lynda Bell

This week, I am pleased to present my interview with the vegan radio show host Marlene Narrow. Marlene is the host of Vegan Nation, a vegan music and talk show that has been broadcast weekly at a community radio station in Worcester, Massachusetts, since 2015.

In this interview, Marlene and I share our stories of how we started our vegan radio shows, and Marlene tells me about what led her to become a World Peace Diet Facilitator. We discuss the concepts of deep veganism and the Boomerang Effect; why there is no compassionate way to exploit and kill animals; why it’s important to incorporate vegan advocacy into our everyday lives; how we can find the courage to speak out about important yet controversial topics; and what gives us hope for the future. Marlene also speaks about what she has learned from her experience hosting a vegan radio show. 

It was awesome to have the opportunity to speak with this dedicated, insightful, and courageous vegan activist.

Other things we mentioned during the episode:

"Other Uses" page on Be Fair Be Vegan's website

Tao Te Ching, chapter 67: https://terebess.hu/english/tao/gia.html#Kap67

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/553/54804.html.
   
2.  Listen to or download the podcast from Archive.org at https://archive.org/details/afar-january-5-2022.
   

You can also find Always for Animal Rights on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook. If you'd like to receive an e-mail every time there is a new post on the AFAR blog, feel free to enter your e-mail address into the appropriate box in the right-hand sidebar of this site.

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!

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.
   

You can also find Always for Animal Rights on Facebook and Instagram. If you'd like to receive an e-mail every time there is a new post on the AFAR blog, feel free to enter your e-mail address into the appropriate box in the right-hand sidebar of this site.

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!

Episode 54: Interview with vegan rights advocate Dr. Jeanette Rowley

This week, I am very happy to present my second interview with Dr. Jeanette Rowley, a leading expert in the field of vegan rights law. Jeanette is the author of a book titled, “Towards a Vegan Jurisprudence: The Need for a Reorientation of Human Rights”, which shares its title with her PhD on the same topic. In 2012, she founded the International Vegan Rights Alliance, which has since become the International Rights Network of the Vegan Society.

In this interview, Jeanette speaks about the importance of advocating for vegan rights, and she outlines some instances in which vegans have needed to advocate for our rights. She also tells me about the significance of veganism being deemed a protected belief under the UK Equality Act, whether veganism could be considered a “creed” under Ontario human rights law, and how the philosophy of Emmanuel Levinas can inform our approach to vegan rights. Finally, we discuss whether vegans may be exempt from mandatory vaccines, the marginalization of vegans in society, and vegan rights within the education system. 

These are fascinating and important topics, so I hope you'll tune in!

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/553/52108.html.
   
2. Listen to or download the podcast from Archive.org at https://archive.org/details/afar-may-26-2021.
   

You can also find Always for Animal Rights on Facebook and Instagram. If you'd like to receive an e-mail every time there is a new post on the AFAR blog, feel free to enter your e-mail address into the appropriate box in the right-hand sidebar of this site.

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!