Episode 120: “You are entitled to your own opinion, but not your own facts.”

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Welcome to the 120^th episode of Our Hen House, featuring vegan chef Ayinde Howell. 

In today’s episode, we talk all about The Seed: A Vegan Experience, which is set to come to Soho on June 16 and 17. We’ll tell you why you don’t want to miss this event, and we’ll talk about our involvement in this groundbreaking and delicious happening.

We’ll also discuss the results of the New York Times essay contest asking people to share their thoughts on the false, flawed assumption that “it’s ethical to eat meat.” And we’ll share the results of our essay contest where we asked you why it is unethical to eat meat. The responses overwhelmed us.

We’ll talk about the term “meat-free,” and we’ll tell you about an old video, circa 1976, from The Vegan Society. We’ll share with you our experiences attending the NYU “Panel on Global Equity and Animal Agriculture,” as well as a clothing swap that benefited Humane Education Advocates Reaching Teachers. We’ll also talk about the recent controversy all over the news about vegan parenting, and we’ll tell you about Ginny Messina’s recent eye-opening blog entry about umami being a “secret ingredient of vegan activism.”

Joining us today is vegan chef Ayinde Howell, who will talk all about his pop-up restaurant, Wildflower, which is popping up in San Francisco on May 4 and 5. Ayinde will discuss with us everything from being born and raised as a vegan, to why the pop-up model is so effective for budding vegan entrepreneurs.

For our review, Ari Solomon will be joining us and will tell us about the product line Herban Cowboy, which is an all-vegan line of goodies including soaps, shaving creams, deodorants, and other grooming must-haves.

All that, vegan banter, and of course, current events from the world of animal rights.

This week’s news items include:

• “Burger King makes cage-free eggs, pork promise” from Associated Press
• “Mad-Cow Case Confirmed in Central California, USDA Says” from Bloomberg Businessweek 
• “India Bans University Experiments on Animals” from The Chronicle of Higher Education
• “‘Hurry up and die’: Shocking footage of pigs being beaten to death and abused on farm supplying meat to top supermarkets” from Mirror News 
• “Colorado Woman Awarded $65,000 After Dog’s Death” from ABC News 
• “HSUS files complaint against NPPC with the FTC” from Ohio’s Country Journal 

“You are entitled to your own opinion, but not your own facts.” -Daniel Patrick Moynihan

Today’s episode is being sponsored by The Seed: A Vegan Experience. Explore a plant-based world at The Seed: A Vegan Experience, New York City’s premier vegan event, scheduled for June 16 & 17. Featuring the best in vegan products and services, world-renowned speakers and presenters, film screenings, demos, and more.

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