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To start the show, we discuss the “normalized” exploitation of animals that happens at the Pacific National Exhibition every year, and the public protest that our co-hosts Jackie and Carissa took place in at the PNE last weekend.
Sophie Gaillard, Animals Are Not Things
Our first interview is with Sophie Gaillard. She is the lawyer and campaigns manager of the Animal Advocacy Department of the Montreal SPCA, and she speaks with us about a manifesto that she has co-written entitled “Animals are not things”. This declaration calls for a reconsideration of animals’ legal status in the Civil Code of the province of Québec, where it is asking for animals to be regarded as the sentient beings that they are, rather than objects or property. Québec is known as “the best place to abuse animals” and has been rated to have some of the worst animal welfare laws in all of Canada by the Animal Legal Defense Fund. The manifesto is signed by influential public figures from the media, the arts, and the sciences, and is supported by the Montreal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA).
In this interview, we talk about the current standards for animal protection in Québec, where animals are currently regarded as “property” and not sentient beings in the Civil Code, and we discuss the new legislation that will be coming into effect in the (hopefully) near future, as recently announced by Québec’s new Minister of Agriculture Pierre Paradis. Sophie also talks to us about the basis of the manifesto and other campaigns around the world that are also calling for a similar designation for non-human animals.
Gena Hamshaw, Choosing Raw
Our feature interview is with blogger, author and certified clinical nutritionist Gena Hamshaw. You may know her from her popular blog Choosing Raw, and now she has just written a book called “Choosing Raw: Making Raw Foods Part of the Way You Eat”.
Choosing Raw, the book, does in an in depth manner what the blog has done for hundreds of thousands of readers: addresses the questions and concerns for any newcomer to veganism; makes a plant–based diet with many raw options feel easy instead of intimidating; provides a starter kit of delicious recipes; and offers a mainstream, scientifically sound perspective on healthy living.
At the heart of Gena’s veganism is animal rights, and she speaks with us about how she opened her eyes to animal compassion after adopting a vegan diet, and how opening her heart and garnering an awareness of animals has enriched her vegan diet and lifestyle. She also speaks with us about the vegan nutrition and how and why to incorporate more raw foods into one’s diet.
Here’s a 5 minute video of Gena sharing some of her experiences and wisdom in being a raw foods enthusiast:
