In today’s #ThrowbackThursday article from the always thought-provoking mind of Piper Hoffman, we can see how empathy is really the key factor driving animal activism. This article’s originally appeared on Our Hen House on March 19, 2014. If you’d like to see a certain OHH article resurrected, email us at info [at] ourhenhouse [dot] org. *** How do you know that hens in battery cages …
Piper Hoffman
From Cat Lover to Animal Activist
We’re sure that many of you can relate to the story of how Piper Hoffman became vegan — it all started with some cats. Celebrate the cat ladies in all of us with today’s #ThrowbackThursday article! This article originally appeared on Our Hen House on December 8, 2012. If you’d like to see a certain OHH article resurrected, email us at info [at] ourhenhouse [dot] org. …
Chimpanzees are smart and self-aware, but it is legal to lock them up against their will? What if it weren’t? The Nonhuman Rights Project has set out to free imprisoned chimps with three lawsuits, arguing that this species should have a right to liberty. Attorney and commentator Piper Hoffman cuts through the legalese to discuss what is at stake for chimps. …
Vegan athlete Kat Healy is running The Last Mile (Ashland Creek Press, 2014) in this final volume of Blair Richmond’s “The Lithia Trilogy.” Healy still has two men vying for her affections. Yes, both are vampires – but at least they are vegan vampires (they drink tree sap instead of blood). They “subsist on a plant-based diet, just like I do,” …
Are Vegans Just Childish Dreamers?
While we can’t (and really shouldn’t) mess with the natural violence animals exhibit in the wild, we can make a difference in the lives of the domesticated animals exploited for food, clothing, entertainment, and more. That’s why Piper Hoffman argues against non-vegan arguments that vegans are just “childish dreamers” on this #ThrowbackThursday article. This article originally appeared on Our Hen House on April 22, 2013. If …
In the wake of Blackfish and its immense success in deeply marring the reputation of SeaWorld, we thought it appropriate to bring back this article by Piper Hoffman on animals exploited for the purposes of human entertainment. Let’s hope that we’ll see more Blackfish-like successes in the future, and that everything that Piper is saying here will be rendered moot! This article …
Veganism is About More Than Food
On this #ThrowbackThursday, the ever-eloquent Piper Hoffman offers up six tips for making sure that those around you understand that your veganism extends far beyond what you put into your mouth. This article originally appeared on Our Hen House on January 24, 2013. If you’d like to see a certain OHH article resurrected, email us at info [at] ourhenhouse [dot] org. *** The …
Book Review: “Animal Liberation and Atheism: Dismantling the Procrustean Bed” by Kim Socha
“Your god is not vegan.” This is Kim Socha’s provocative parting message to readers of Animal Liberation and Atheism: Dismantling the Procrustean Bed (Freethought House, 2014). “Cease imagining your religion lends itself to true parity for animals.” The author is a disillusioned atheist and “advocate for unconditional animal liberation.” She seeks “a more peaceful planet with exponentially less suffering and slaughter” …
When Vegans Have Children
The population is still growing, most of it still isn’t made up of vegans, and people are still having babies. So, on this #ThrowbackThursday, we wanted to bring back the ruminations of one of our favorite pundits Piper Hoffman on the subject of deciding to have children as a vegan. This article originally appeared on Our Hen House on December 17, 2012. If you’d …
Review of Modern Love, Isa Chandra Moskowitz’s New Vegan Restaurant in Omaha, NE
This article combines three of our favorite vegan-related things: cookbook queen Isa Chandra Moskowitz, phenomenal vegan cuisine, and writer/thinker extraordinaire Piper Hoffman. Today, Piper gives us a review of Isa’s newly opened vegan restaurant, Modern Love. Don’t miss Piper’s mouthwatering photos at the bottom of the article! *** Review of Modern Love, Isa Chandra Moskowitz’s New Vegan Restaurant in Omaha, NE by Piper …
How an Activist Headed toward Burnout Can Change Course: Four Ways to Cope with Compassion Fatigue
Not only do we at Our Hen House aim to help you find your way to change the world for animals, but we aim to help you do so for life. This dedication to long-term struggle absolutely must be accompanied by acts of self-care – described below by the ever-insightful Piper Hoffman in a piece rejuvenated for #ThrowbackThursday – in order to prevent …
Don’t bring your Oreos near me anytime soon, unless you can figure out a way to put them through my juicer. I’m doing a juice diet – as in, drinking only fresh juice from vegetables and fruit. No solid food. I don’t know if the claims are true that juicing cleanses or detoxifies or cures cancer. I do know that the …
Here at Our Hen House, we’re committed to constantly questioning what sorts of actions will most effectively grow the vegan/animal rights movements. Though eating at burger joints may not immediately strike the average vegan as an act of smart animal activism, our very own Piper Hoffman offers a differing perspective on the idea. So sit back with a veggie burger and a …
Piper Hoffman has her very own column on Our Hen House for good reason: she rocks at thinking critically, and eloquently conveying those thoughts. Consider her article below, featured on this week’s edition of #ThrowbackThursday. Piper ruminates on the ethical arguments that give veganism a bad name, effectively refuting each of them. An ever-valuable piece. This article originally appeared on Our …
Cats are everywhere in Israel, like squirrels in American suburbs. But while squirrels seem able to take care of themselves, the street cats in Israel look pathetic. They are skinny and dirty. Many appear to have eye infections, ringworm, and wounds. There are lots of kittens. It’s so bad that when I visit there and go out for a walk, I …
How do you know that hens in battery cages and pigs at slaughterhouses suffer? You’ve never been a hen or a pig, and you probably haven’t even been to a battery cage shed or a slaughterhouse. This is essentially the objection a commenter made to my last column, “Why It’s a Bad Idea to Get Rid of a Pet Because a …
When a neighbor of ours got pregnant, her obstetrician told her to get rid of the cat who had been part of her family for eight years. He said if the cat was around, the baby might have an increased chance of developing an allergy to her. The cat was packed off to a shelter. A few years later, at a …
How the Government Uses Taxpayer Money to Make Dairy Seem Cheaper Than It Is
Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me. Buy some butter or a block of cheese, and you are getting fooled twice. First, the price tags on these products are lies. They would be a whole lot higher if the government hadn’t already paid part of the price before the package even reached a grocery store cooler. …
I am an ethical vegan, but I slaughtered a horde of ants when they invaded my bedroom. I wrote about it in October in “A Vegan Angel … of Death” for my column on Our Hen House. As my article explains, I felt terrible about it but didn’t know what else I could have done. Vegans who responded were supportive, agreeing …
The Paleo diet’s popularity is bad news for animals. Paleo adherents avoid carbohydrates, including whole grains, and load up on protein – the more of it that is animal-based, the better (legumes are not allowed). The staples are “meat, seafood, and other animal products.” Paleos argue that pre-agriculture hominids didn’t suffer from many modern maladies, so if we eat like they …
We can’t save every animal, but we can save some. When we do, we are choosing who lives and who dies. People who rescue cats, dogs, and other companion animals know this problem intimately. Do they save homeless animals who are old or sick or don’t behave the way people want them to, or do they kill them to free up …
It all started with the sound of a plastic bag crinkling. I was home alone at night, watching TV in the living room. The noise didn’t stop. Figuring it was one of my cats, I got up quietly to try to catch the miscreant in the act of breaking into our food. The kitchen was empty. The noise continued. I moved …
Book Review: “Mind If I Order the Cheeseburger? And Other Questions People Ask Vegans,” by Sherry F. Colb
Starting with her title, Mind If I Order the Cheeseburger? And Other Questions People Ask Vegans (Lantern Books, 2013), author Sherry F. Colb touches a nerve. I hate when people ask if it’s okay for them to eat meat in front of me. Though meant to be polite, the question forces me to choose between two bad options: objecting to the …
One Saturday morning not too long ago, I was rushing about, trying to pack, shower, and eat in under an hour so we could hit the road to my in-laws’ house in the Catskills for the weekend. Ten minutes into this mania I locked gazes with my treasured cat Zelda and wigged out. One of her pupils was smaller than the …
The animals need environmentalism. They need veganism too, of course, but it isn’t enough. Practicing vegans reduce the atrocities humans commit against domesticated animals, including those raised for food or fiber, tormented for entertainment, and caged for research. But veganism on its own doesn’t protect the animals humans haven’t trapped or bred for our own purposes – the ones who live …
People who love some animals, like their pets, but eat other animals, like chickens, have long been a prime target for opponents of meat eating. Campaigns focused on them have appealed to logic by pointing out the inconsistency here, but most people succumb to cognitive dissonance, which allows them to believe two contradictory things simultaneously (animals are lovable and deserve our …
Burger places seem to be popping up everywhere. For a while we were back to the ‘80s with frozen yogurt chains appearing on every other block, but lately it’s burgers. In my Brooklyn neighborhood I counted five new burger joints in the last year. Five. Has no one gotten the memo about how red meat is bad for you? But these …
How an Activist Headed toward Burnout Can Change Course: Four Ways to Cope with Compassion Fatigue
It has taken me until 5 p.m. to write a word of this column. It was due yesterday. I feel like I’m burning out. It’s not the common kind of working-too-hard-and-needing-a-break burning out. This is different, unique to activists and advocates and caregivers and whoever else cares that something really terrible is happening to someone. This is compassion fatigue. I can’t …
Are vegans just childish dreamers? I wonder sometimes. I work so hard to stamp out animal suffering, but who am I kidding? Animals in the wild are still suffering and always will. I strive to protect animals from being eaten, but come on – just turn on the National Geographic Channel. Animals are food for each other. I just watched a …
A polar bear in a small tank of water swims back and forth, back and forth, for hours. She doesn’t splash or play – basically, she paces. This is a children’s zoo, but it isn’t fun or instructive. It’s just depressing. Kids love animals. We take them to see animals at the zoo and the circus, and to touch animals at …
A vegan diet results in more animal deaths than an omnivorous one. That is the ludicrous conclusion of a 2003 paper by Steven Davis published in the Journal of Agricultural and Environmental Ethics. A professor of animal science at Oregon State University, Davis based his argument on the theory that modern crop harvesting kills more animals than eating cows who grazed …
The dietary focus of the media and many activists make it easy to forget that being vegan means more than not eating animals or animal products. For instance, coverage of Natalie Portman’s wedding by CNN and People Magazine focused on the food being vegan, but didn’t mention whether her dress was made of silk. Veganism “is a way of living which …
Part of parenting is teaching children how to live in the world. As a human adult who pays attention to at least a bit of life as it passes, I don’t need kids of my own to see what a tall order that is. A parent’s task only grows harder if she decides to stray from the regulation playbook and teach …
Living in our society as a vegan and animal rights advocate presents countless challenges. One of the biggest is that to combat the horrifying and seemingly endless animal exploitation around us, we have to know about it. That means educating ourselves about things we would rather never see, hear, or learn. Another is potentially navigating difficult social situations that involve food …
Review by Piper Hoffman Kat Healy is back in The Ghost Runner (Ashland Creek Press, 2012), the second installment of Blair Richmond’s young adult trilogy about vampires, vegans, and saving the environment. Poor Kat’s life is still one of drama, mystery, and near-death encounters, but she makes the best of it and sticks to her principles, while the reader tags along …
Book Review: The Dragon Keeper by Mindy Mejia Review by Piper Hoffman I don’t like zoos. On the rare occasions that I have visited them, I have seen only animals imprisoned against their will, sometimes bored and frustrated to the point of madness. Zoos tend to provide less space, stimulation, and company than the animals would have in the wild. Some …
Review by Piper Hoffman Do you believe you can communicate with a tree, or “hear a voice from nature”? Dr. Esmeralda Green, the narrator and protagonist of Cher Fischer’s new novel Falling Into Green (Ashland Creek Press, 2012), not only believes it, she makes a career out of it. Green is an ecopsychologist who incorporates nature and animals into her treatment …
What do you do if you think someone is violating your legal rights and you want them to stop? One of the most powerful tactics is to sue them in court. So with all the terrible things people do to animals — abusing them on factory farms, torturing them in laboratories, imprisoning them in zoos, and on and on – why …
Book Review: “Zoopolis: A Political Theory of Animal Rights” by Sue Donaldson & Will Kymlicka
I want to hug this book. I don’t usually have mushy feelings towards tomes on political theory, but Zoopolis: A Political Theory on Animal Rights (Oxford University Press, 2011) undertakes a project dear to my heart, one that could have important repercussions in the animal advocacy movement: to “develop a new moral framework, one that connects the treatment of animals more …
Book Review: “Animal Impact: Secrets Proven to Achieve Results and Move the World,” by Caryn Ginsberg
Review by Piper Hoffman Organizations and individuals that advocate for animals are heavy on passion and commitment, but sometimes light on marketing savvy. Enter Animal Impact: Secrets Proven to Achieve Results and Move the World (Priority Ventures Group, 2011), by Caryn Ginsberg, which provides a crash course on marketing strategy for activists in an easy-to-digest handbook. Ginsberg asks the reader early …
Book Review: “Good News for Animals? Christian Approaches to Animal Well-Being,” Edited by Charles Pinches and Jay B. McDaniel
Review by Piper Hoffman Does Christianity require, or provide any support for, a human obligation to treat animals well? 14 theologians and thinkers take on this thorny question in the essay collection Good News for Animals? Christian Approaches to Animal Well-Being (Wipf and Stock Publishers, 2008), edited by Charles Pinches and Jay B. McDaniel. As a whole the book strongly suggests …
A teenager on the run (sort of literally – she is a competitive runner) from mysterious pursuers hides out in a small town, where she quickly finds herself being wooed by one suave and charming carnivore and one kind and generous vegan. Hmm, which to choose, which to choose. I’m loving this book already. Out of Breath (Ashland Creek Press, 2011) …
Our Hen House reviewer, Piper Hoffman, is back with a review of a new novel, Unsaid. *** Animals talk with us. A purr, a tail wag, and a lick on the nose speak as clearly as any words. We take our communication with animals so much for granted that we don’t always realize when it is happening. But we can’t take …