Claim OwnershipAnimal Voices
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Your animal advocacy and vegan lifestyle show
25 Episodes
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Too often we see the mainstream framing of black veganism or indigenous veganism as an assimilation into white veganism. Veganism is painted as a white person thing, when it isn’t and never has been. That is why creating spaces for the narratives of black vegans to grow and flourish is extremely important. I hope with this interview, our listeners reflect on their role in dismantling racism in animal rights by centering and celebrating POC who are in the movement. One celebratory digital media space where this is taking place is Black Vegans Rock. Created by the creative Aph Ko who is an activist engaging in several independent digital media projects. Aph also launched a new blog site called Aphro-ism with her sister Syl where they provide critical analysis from a black feminist vegan perspective. After she wrote the first list that spotlighted 100 Black Vegans who were doing incredible work to dismantle the stereotype that veganism was a “white person’s” thing, Black Vegans Rock was created as a digital space that seeks to spotlight everyday Black vegans who are looking to get their work, art, music, restaurant, book or other projects in front of other vegans. We talk to Aph about why she decided to create such a […]
In February 2015 we interviewed No New Animal Lab about their campaign to stop the expansion of the University of Washington’s research lab while pressuring the private construction firm, SKANSKA into terminating their contract with the university. U of W has been a long time animal research facility, using thousands of animals as research tools. Activists, students and federal authorities have all been concerned with these practices, especially when in 2014, the USDA, which enforces the law governing the proper treatment of animals in laboratories, cited Washington, the Oregon Health & Science University, and the University of California-Davis for failing to care properly for the animals. In April of 2014, the USDA found that the majority of monkeys at Oregon were suffering abnormal hair loss, potentially caused by psychological factors. In a November 2014 report, the USDA reprimanded Washington officials for the deaths of three infant monkeys, who were attacked by older male primates. Stop Animal Exploitation NOW! says an additional four monkeys have died since 2012, according to documents they obtained through a public record request. The facilities at U of W currently have room for 650 primates, but the new building will allow for 280 more and hundreds of other species. We talk with […]
Our current age called the Anthropocene – climate change, super-diverse societies, and other expressions that are occurring at such magnitude – “change” permeates our contemporary societies, public opinion and our scientific and political imagination. For thousands of years most species, including homosapiens have been migrating. Nowadays, it happens so much faster and it’s causes are often a result of climate change, war, and a cumulation of political decisions that seem like a domino effect. In current public discourse these cumulative effects are not taken into account and the plight of immigrants, migrant workers and refugees are misunderstood and scapegoated as a burden to receiving countries. As much as the concepts of immigrants are socially constructed and there is a false dichotomy between citizen/non-citizen, it is important to look at how human mobility has shaped identity and our environments. Cristóbal Pizarro does this work finding the connections between human mobility, place and biodiversity, and how birds can help immigrants adapt to change. In our interview with Cristóbal we discuss how he began seeing the connections in his own life. Through understanding the different historical processes of colonization as a Latin American – the formation of nation states and national identity, and the erasure of Indigenous […]
Bif Naked, Canadian singer-songwriter, writer and motivational speaker has been quite active in speaking out against poverty. Partnering with Vancouver Raise the Rates, she recently participated in The Welfare Food Challenge, which aims to demonstrate the reality of living on $610 of social assistance a month. She wanted to get involved to raise awareness about the plight of our poor, to promote understanding, and to educate the public to dispel the myths about welfare and welfare recipients. The idea is to encourage change and to try to get the attention of those with power to make those changes: your provincial government. Having been on welfare earlier in her life, the reality is that in today’s society, folks on welfare right now in B.C cannot afford shelter. Doing the math, it is impossible to live a healthy life after shelter, transportation, personal hygiene, clothing, household supplies, and bills are paid for. The math doesn’t add up when there is $21 per week left for food. Talk about food insecurity. Bif learned that being outspoken in the public about poverty meant seeing what our society believes about poor people. “I was shocked. In fact, the more questions I asked, the more I discovered that people generally are classist and racist. People can’t […]
It’s scary to put yourself out there, and the world isn’t that welcoming to bright eyed anti-capitalist creatives, but there are safe spaces you can find yourself in with the help of good folks. It’s a huge privilege to be able to travel without restrictions and have your voice heard as an artist. It’s important that those with a mic realize that they are in a position of power to add to the conversation of liberation. For myself, as a travelling musician, it takes a little bit of social capital, some $, white skin, cis passing privilege. I want so badly for art and music to be accessible to the poor, working class, poc, queers, trans and disabled folks, not just to be participants, but to be directly involved in. I also a huge privilege to have freedom of movement and I constantly think of the stories of refugees, migrants, immigrants (whatever you want to call folks moving for different reasons), prisoners who have limited choices in dictating their own lives. As artists, musicians, we have a mic and folks listening to what we say. Let’s use that power to talk about these things and to create safe(r) spaces for marginalized […]
The internet exploded earlier this year with outrage from Western vegans, animal lovers, and dog owners in response to the Lychee and Dog Meat Festival held in Yulin, China. Graphic images inflamed sensibilities and a conflict began to mount that was clearly producing racial tension between the (typically) white animal rights protestors and the people of China who practice a cultural tradition of eating dog meat. Defensive over claims of cruelty on one side and racism on the other, each group backed into their respective corners. This pattern of cross-cultural conflict is seen regularly within the animal rights movement and the charges of racism and imperialism are often well-founded. On this show we talk to Dr. Claire Jean Kim about these cross-cultural conflicts. Dr. Kim is a Professor of Political Science and Asian Studies at University of California, where she teaches classes on comparative race studies, social movements, and human-animal studies. Her book, Dangerous Crossings: Race, Species, and Nature in a Multicultural Age, examines the intersection of race, species, and nature in impassioned disputes over how immigrants of color, racialized minorities, and Native people in the U.S. use animals in their cultural traditions. The main focus of the book explores a […]
On this show we talk to Hope Bohanec, who has been active in animal protection and environmental activism for over 20 years and is a nationally recognized leader and speaker in the animal protection movement. She is currently serving as Projects Manager for United Poultry Concerns as well as the Executive Director of Compassionate Living, a Sonoma County, California based vegan outreach organization. Hope has been fighting against industrial and local “humane” industries, where she has researched and written in The Ultimate Betrayal: Is There Happy Meat?. We talk about being an educator in the animal protection movement, the history of domesticated animals, including fowl, and the “humane” myths pervading popular discourse. It is important to understand construction of certain animals as food and longstanding cultural beliefs. Chickens have been a part of human culture for thousands of years, through language, literature, and entertainment. The species has been predominately constructed as a “normal” food source in the West, even though chickens were not native to North America. It’s amazing how overlooked such a species is because in our modern times we see the chicken as a commodity with one purpose – food. We stand with those working to dismantle these long standing embedded ways of viewing farm animals. […]
In this episode, you’ll hear us talk with Jeremy and Jordan, both long time vegan anarchists who are behind Which Side, a podcast by activists, for activists, that gives a platform for folks who are passionate about fighting animal, human and environmental oppression. We talk about producing DIY media projects, what it was like growing up in Utah with mormonism and straight edge being strong influences, having privilege in media and giving space for marginalized voices to share their stories, and the importance of prison support for political prisoners. We aired right after Prison Justice Day, and included an older interview with Toronto Anarchist Black Cross. We wanted to share why it is so important to support people who are in prison. If our movements are challenging the state, people who are active face repression. All prisoners are political prisoners. There are many ways to support to let prisoners know they aren’t alone and forgotten. You can financially support, listen and support prison radio and publications, write letters, send books, and more. https://torontoabc.wordpress.com/ http://www.prisonradio.org/ http://www.abcf.net/ http://www.blackandpink.org/ https://1in100.wordpress.com/prisoner-publications/ http://prisonbookprogram.org/ Listen right now: or download an mp3 of the show.
This week we host a discussion with Cornell University sociology PhD student, Loredana Loy, on how representations of nonhuman animals and advocacy issues in cinema provide opportunities for social change and create an auspicious momentum for advocacy on behalf of nonhuman animals. Loredana;s blog series “Cinema for Social Change” provides a glimpse into her research on the subject. While many movies fail to produce thoughtful and moving animal characters and stories, the ones that get it right can have an enormous impact and outreach. Modern forces of industrialization and urbanization have hidden nonhuman animals and consequently their exploitation from our everyday experiences, but cinema has the power to reintegrate them into our lives. So what makes a good film? How did activists build momentum around movies that include positive animal advocacy themes? How can we become more effective? Listen in this week for answers to these questions and analysis of films that really got it right. At the end of the segment, you will get to hear a poem by Jared Paul. Jared is a totally rad, vegan, social and environmental justice activist and artist, and slam poetry champion from Providence, Rhode Island. Loredana’s other movie-themed blogs: Review of The […]
Have you ever imagined what our world would look like in a post-meat society? This episode we chat with Marc Pierschel and Jeff Wirth who are filmmakers working on the documentary, The End of Meat. This film project is seeking to explore what our world would look like in a post-meat world, where animals are no longer exploited for human use. What will our world look like when relationships with non-human animals are based on compassion and understanding instead of domination. We talk about what people can expect from this film, how technology fits into animal industries becoming obsolete, as well imagine what our relationships with non-human animals would look like once they are seen as persons and protected under the law. Instead of being consumers who are cognitively dissonant from our choices, we can begin rebuilding how we see and treat animals. Check out their website, where you can contribute to this project financially and with skills you may be able to lend the filmmakers, or send them your idea of what a vegan world would look like..how will we live together with animals? What are we going to eat? What kinds of problems might we be able to […]
Anastasia Yarbrough, writer, naturalist, and activist, shares her reflections doing grounded grassroots community work that is inclusive to human and non-human animals. We talk about her experiences living in a small rural community as an activist, interspecies relationships, the powerful connections between afro-animal struggles, and the importance of radical self-care. Anastasia works as individual, following … Continue reading →
Claudia Serrato from Decolonial Food for Thought teaches about indigenous veganism from a Xicana Indigena perspective, sharing ways she has approached decolonizing her diet and creating spaces to hear how others are doing so too which ultimately, is a process of remembering ancestral cuisines through food storytelling. We talk about the impact colonization has had … Continue reading →
Animal Voices is thrilled to welcome back to the show one of its co-founders, Susan Hargreaves! Now that the show has been on the air for approximately two decades, we reflect on how Animal Voices began, along with the importance of alternative media and community radio. Grounded in her work as an undercover investigator and … Continue reading →
Narwhals and unicorns are two animal species known for the distinct horn on top of their head. However, what some people may not know, is that if oil exploration continues down its current path, they may share another feature in common – not existing on planet Earth. Ian Rowan refuses to let that happen, and … Continue reading →
Firoz Alam, President of the WE Foundation Bangladesh, and Macy Tollefson, project director, joined us in discussing the connection they are making between childhood literacy programs and animal advocacy in Bangladesh. The WE Foundation Bangladesh is a non-profit, youth based organization, providing support to poor families and children in Dhaka, Bangladesh. The WEF’s mission is … Continue reading →
From Minneapolis to Toronto, urban dwellers are on the hunt for local, sustainable food. While backyard and community gardens offer real opportunity, some take it a step further and attempt to keep a flock of laying hens. But is urban chicken keeping truly sustainable? And, more importantly, sustainable for who? This is the question that … Continue reading →
Many of us are aware that research on non-consenting animals takes place behind the closed doors of universities all over the world. Animals are subject to captivity, restraint, and invasive procedures in the name of science, but the explicit details of these experiments are often well-hidden, both physically out of the public’s eye, but also … Continue reading →
Jeffrey Moussaieff Masson joins Animal Voices to discuss his new book “Beasts”, exploring the origins of morality and what animals can teach us about the nature of good and evil. The disparity between the apex predator of the sea, orcas, and the apex predator on land, humans, in relation to violence is staggering. Humans are … Continue reading →
Despite the close relation between domesticated dogs and coyotes, there is a stark difference in the way that humans treat individuals of each species. While the former are beloved members of many human families, the latter are much maligned and vilified. Lesley Sampson of Coyote Watch Canada hopes that we can rethink the way we … Continue reading →
In this interview we are diving into cyborg politics with Dr. Sherryl Vint, whose work called Animal Alterity inspired us to pursue this subject further. We explore the realm of science fiction which brings up wide ranging questions of what it means to be animal and how to reconfigure the historically constructed human and animal … Continue reading →
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