Here’s this week’s show!
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At the beginning of this episode, Alison mentions that she was interviewed this week for the Sexy Vegan radio show, to speak about the Animal Voices show, her veganism, and her passion for animal rights advocacy. This interview will air live this Sunday, November 11th at www.party934.com and the podcast of the show will be available there to listen to afterward, if you would like to hear it!
Then Alison and Jackie chat about their birthdays last week, which both, of course, involved lots of delicious vegan food. Alison was treated to two birthday dinners, at Indigo Food Café and at The Acorn restaurant, while Jackie celebrated at one of our newest local vegetarian restaurants in town, Heirloom Vegetarian restaurant. She gives an official review of this restaurant.
Animals in the Time of War
Alison presents this piece that past Animal Voices host Karl Losken presented years ago on the show, in honour of the thousands of animals who have (involuntarily) served and given their lives in the time of human warfare.
Animals do not choose to join a conflict. They do not have a voice in the matter. They do not understand the basic geopolitical reasons why humans fight, nor can they differentiate between humans of different ideological persuasions; yet they suffer the same destructive fate that many human combatants suffer.
Animals have through the ages been used in conflict: as beasts of burden, as actors carrying out operations in harm’s way, as messengers of death and destruction, as a strategy of war, as a source of funds, as mascots, and finally, as experimental subjects. We delve into various examples of how animals have been used in war, and implore our listeners to honour these animals, as well as the human ones, this Remembrance Day on November 11th.
Here is a touching music video that recognizes these sacrifices:
Daniel Imhoff, Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations
Special contributor to Animal Voices, Alex Smith (of the fantastic environmental radio show Radio Ecoshock) lends us his time and energy to present this interview with Daniel Imhoff. Daniel Imhoff is a researcher, author, and independent publisher who has concentrated for nearly 20 years on issues related to farming, the environment, and design. He is the author of numerous articles and essays, plus the editor of the book “CAFO: The Tragedy of Industrial Animal Factories“; and its companion book “The CAFO Reader”. CAFO is an acronym for Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations, otherwise known as factory farms, and he speaks on this topic, one of the most pressing issues of our time.
The book “CAFO: The Tragedy of Industrial Animal Factories” provides an unprecedented view of concentrated animal feeding operations where increasing amounts of the world’s meat, milk, eggs, and seafood are produced. As the photos and essays in this powerful book demonstrate, the rise of the CAFO industry around the world has become one of the most pressing issues of our time. Industrial livestock production is now a leading source of climate-changing emissions, a source of both freshwater and ocean pollution, and a significant contributor to diet-related diseases such as obesity and the spread of food-borne illnesses. The intensive concentration of animals in such crammed and filthy conditions dependent on antibiotic medicines and steady streams of subsidized industrial feeds poses serious moral and ethical concerns for all of us.
Featuring more than 400 photographs and thirty essays by today’s leading thinkers on food and agriculture, including Wendell Berry, Wenonah Hauter, Fred Kirschenmann, Anna Lappé, Michael Pollan, Eric Schlosser, and Matthew Scully, CAFO takes readers on a behind-the-scenes journey into the dismal world of animal factory farming. It also offers a compelling vision for a healthier food system: one that is humane, sound for farmers and communities, and safer for consumers and the environment. The book’s ultimate message is clear: We can and certainly must do better.
Here is the book trailer, to find out more:
