Activist

EP #35; Animals First on the Second | Izzy Jacobus

On the second of every month, thousands of vegan activists unite across the globe to raise awareness of the plight billions of animals endure every day on their way to slaughter. In this moving and enlightening episode, Izzy Jacobus founder of Animals First On The Second explains his inspiration and drive behind what has become a rapidly growing global movement. If you haven't heard of AFOTS yet, this is perfect opportunity to learn more and get involved.

 

"Each day, millions of farm animals are starved on their way to slaughter. On the Second day of every month, we fast in protest of the treatment of these sentient beings. Join us as we amplify the voices of the billions of farmed animals suffering around the world." - Izzy Jacobus

EP #34; Ending the Bear Bile Trade with Animals Asia | Jill Robinson

Across Asia the dog meat and bear bile trade have become a focal point for societal change. Animals Asia is an incredible organisation working with the public and government to shift perception of animals. In this interview we talk with inspirational founder of Animals Asia, Jill Robinson about how they have been able to achieve so much for these important species and shine a light on a shift in culture around other animals. Jill's story is a classic case of compassion leading the way to change, as we hear her story first hand and the heartwarming stories of those she has helped.

"It's just the most extraordinary experience to see that light coming back into their eyes when then they realize no one's going to hurt or exploit them again. And then you see these amazing personalities come out, and it's just such a joyous thing to be working and experiencing your life with these animals. It's a privilege." -Jill Robinson

EP #33; The POWER of Bearing Witness with Animal Save Movement | Anita Krajnc

How do you turn your actions as an individual into a global movement? How can we change the world by bearing witness? In this episode of Activist, we talk with the brilliant Anita Krajnc about how she created the Animal Save Movement and how by opening our eyes to the suffering around us, we can help to end it.

 

In 2010 Anita made a promise to a pig on a truck, that she would no longer turn away. From three vigils a week, a movement was founded that would become global. Our chat with Anita was both moving and inspiring. If you want to make a bigger impact for the animals, Anita shares some wonderful advice and paves the way to a brighter future for the animals, the planet and the people.

 

"We want to change the cultural norm so that people don't say anymore that "Oh I don't want to see slaughterhouse footage, it's depressing, it's terrible, I don't want to see that." That's not an answer.

Even if it hurts you, even if it causes you trauma we need to share the incredible trauma that animals are suffering in order to change their plight. They suffer trauma from the day they're born until the day they die. All their life they're suffering trauma. They bear witness all their life.

We're just breaking witness a tiny bit and it's so devastating because it's so awful what's happening, but we need to do this. if all of us do this, if a community does it instead of one person, then there's more power in it and the situation will change faster. So that's the reason you don't have one person bearing witness, you really need to encourage the entire community to bear witness, because that's what's going to change the world faster." - Anita Krajnc

EP #32; Bringing Down the Meat Industry Through Ethical Investing | Claire Smith

It's our pleasure to introduce you to one of the biggest players in the vegan movement. With over 30 years of expertise in the finance sector, Claire Smith is using her extensive abilities and wealth of knowledge to create a vegan economy. Through her user-friendly platforms, Beyond Investing and Beyond Animal, she has made huge waves by utilising the capitalist system to our advantage rather than fighting against it, and opening up countless opportunities for those who want to help create a vegan world by either working in exciting and sustainable business innovations, or funding them.

 

Whether you want to learn more about how you can become an investor on the vegan stock market, or perhaps you would like to work in a field which is more in line with your ethics than your current occupation, this interview is both informative and encouraging. The future really is vegan!

 

"Animal exploitation is a business. It's a commercial activity and we have to break that link between animals and making money out of animals...

 

It's almost like you have to make the business of not harming animals as profitable as the businesses or even more profitable than the businesses of harming animals.

 

And it's sad that's the way the world works. And sad that the world is as mercenary as that. But at the end of the day, it is the economy and we are all part of that economy. " - Claire Smith

EP #31; Understanding Other Oppressions Within the Animal Rights Movement | Soul Eubanks

Christopher 'Soul' Eubanks is a creative and activist who creates art and media to promote a vegan lifestyle.  Even if you think you haven't seen or heard of him before, you almost certainly have, through his widely shared social media content and words of wisdom. An enormous asset to the vegan movement, Chris is compassion and eloquence personified, making him a sought after speaker. In this brilliant and informative interview, we discuss many things, including his involvement as a mentor with the Animal Activism Mentorship, his invaluable and important work with Encompass, and - what many activists dream of - starting his very own animal rights organisation.

 

"One of the things that I look at when I look at the roots of any oppression is the fact that we see others as different. And when we start to see them as different we start to justify reasons that they can be exploited or abused, because we see them as detached from ourselves.

 

When we separate ourselves from others it gives us a justification to exploit and abuse others. So I think the root of it is we can't feel disconnected. Once we start to feel disconnected from anybody or anything I feel like we are disconnected from ourselves." -Christopher 'Soul' Eubanks

EP #30; Be An Animal Hero | Susan Hargreaves

Susan Hargreaves is a kindness educator, author, speaker, and activist of more than 40 years. In that time she has been an outstanding voice for the animals and the vegan movement. Among her many achievements, she has rehabilitated wildlife and investigated animal cruelty in circuses, rodeos, and in the animal-based agriculture industry. Susan is also the much-loved and treasured founder of the youth-empowering charity Animal Hero Kids, endorsed by celebrities such as Joaquin Phoenix and Paul McCartney and does amazing work fostering empathy and compassionate choices in youth. Listening to Susan really warms your heart and instils hope for a more compassionate future. We hope you enjoy this special interview with her as much as we did!

 

"Fostering empathy, that is the key. If you don't have empathy, you don't have a building block to kindness." -Susan Hargreaves

EP #29; If You’re Going to Eat Bacon, Listen to This | Ryuji Chua

In this episode of "Activist" we are joined by the incredible Ryuji Chua A.K.A Peace by Vegan. Ryuji's mission is to connect humans with other animals by telling compelling and engaging stories through his content. This episode is a great resource for anyone putting out vegan content on social media platforms and wants to tell stories that will resonate with more people.

"We live in a world where if you speak up for dogs or you speak up for dolphins or you speak up for animals that everyone loves like rhinos and elephants, people see you as a hero. But as soon as you speak up for cows, and chickens, and pigs, and turkeys and fish; now all of a sudden people see you like a clown. And they make fun of you, and they think that you are some sort of extreme vegan or something like that."

 

"We shouldn't be scared to criticize culture where it fails to be moral, or where it fails to deliver justice towards either certain humans or animals. We should look at that, think about it, criticize it, and ultimately seek to change it. And the only way we can do that is to accept that we're not going to be right about everything."
- Ryuji Chua

EP #28; Fighting Misinformation with Facts | Seb Alex

In this episode of "Activist" we look at backing up your argument with facts, self care to avoid burnout and discussing topics like dining with non vegan family members. Seb Alex is a charismatic and inspirational speaker for the animals and proved to be a fantastic guest on the show!

 

Join us as we delve deep into these topics to improve our advocacy and empower our voices for the animals!

EP #27; Fighting Poaching Across Africa | Damien Mander

Damien Mander is a man with a particular set of skills, which he is putting to exceptional use in fighting poaching across Africa. Having founded the International Anti-Poaching Foundation and created the "Akashinga" ranger training program, Damien is putting his years of military experience into effect, defending the vulnerable and protecting the future of conservation.

 

Join us as we delve into the world of illegal poaching and how African women are being empowered to be the defenders of their land and wildlife.

"Empowering women is the single greatest force for positive change on Earth today." -Damien Mander

EP #26; Exposing Trophy Hunting | Eduardo Goncalves

Veganism isn't about the pigs, the sheep, the chickens or the cows, it is about ending the oppression of all animals.

In this episode we explore the topic of trophy hunting with Eduardo Goncalves, founder of the Campaign to ban trophy hunting. Eduardo blew our minds and opened our eyes to the realities of a killing industry not just on the plains of Africa but on our backdoor step.

 

"Fundamentally what this is about is us as humans exploiting and using nature, other living creatures, for our own purposes with no regard for their welfare or the consequences.

 

And if you look at a lot of the big issues that we face today as humanity, as a human race, as a society, these are all those same issues.

 

We are destroying our natural resources, we are destroying biodiversity, we are proving this climate emergency, for those same reasons. Because we fail to take responsibility, we fail to understand that we are part of nature. It's not us and nature. We are inextricably linked and dependent on its fate as much as it is on ours.

 

And if we understand that through the prism of this issue, perhaps we can get a real sense of what the challenge is for the wider issues as well, and the changes we need to make." -Eduardo Goncalves