Episode 139: “A man is truly ethical only when he obeys the compulsion to help all life he is able to assist, and shrinks from injuring anything that lives.”

Welcome to the 139^th episode of Our Hen House, featuring Dr. Melanie Joy. The Our Hen House podcast is sponsored by The Seed: A Vegan Experience. 
In today’s episode, we discuss the irksome review a meat-eater wrote about an animal rights play. We also talk about everything from Rosie O’Donnell going vegan, to our dog Rose’s new scent class, to how to stand up for yourself when others aim to invalidate your veganism. We’ll ruminate on why people fish, and why some kids seem to inherently know it’s wrong. Plus, we’ll chat about Mariann’s animal law classes, and about Jasmin’s newfound love of hard cider.
Joining us today is Dr. Melanie Joy, the founder and president of the Carnism Awareness & Action Network. Melanie will talk with us about everything from what the important trends are that point to the fact that people are starting to wake up to what’s happening to animals, to important messages that people should have at the ready when talking about animal agriculture – and so much more. Don’t miss Melanie’s second visit to Our Hen House, in an interview that will surely inspire you to create change, and will likely also leave you deep in thought.
For our review, we asked 9 of our favorite vegan food bloggers and cookbook authors to talk to us about tea. You’ll hear about their favorite kinds, how they like to enjoy it, and some other facts about teas and tisanes that will leave you with a strong hankering for a nice hot cup of something delightful. (BONUS! Read on for a glimpse into the tea cabinets of some of your favorite vegans!) 
All that, vegan banter, and of course, current events from the world of animal rights.
This week’s news items include:

• “Are We All Going to Be Vegetarians By 2050?” from Take Part 
• “Using the Legal System to Target Farmers” from Meatingplace
• “LA vegan attempts to change In-N-Out’s unchanged menu” from 89.3 KPCC
• “Minister in charge of OSPCA wants to visit Marineland” from Bullet News Niagara 
• “Rhode Island to give animals legal representation in cruelty & neglect cases” from Animal People Online
• “Kansas State Fair may limit showing of animal rights video — judge” from The Chicago Tribune 
• “McLovin’ Vegans: McDonald’s Set to Open Vegetarian Restaurant“ from Eat Drink Better

“A man is truly ethical only when he obeys the compulsion to help all life he is able to assist, and shrinks from injuring anything that lives.” -Albert Schweitzer
The Our Hen House podcast is sponsored by The Seed: A Vegan Experience, which is currently planning an all-day escape to the Catskill Animal Sanctuary in upstate New York. Sign up for this trip and you can ride in comfort on a luxury motor coach, enjoy a private tour by sanctuary director Kathy Stevens, meet the rescued animal ambassadors, enjoy a gourmet vegan lunch by Chef Linda, stop at Whitecliff Vineyards for a vegan wine tasting, and, along the way, snack on delicious vegan goodies. This is all happening on September 22, 2012, and you can learn more and sign up at theseedexperience.com.
You can listen to our podcast directly on our blog (below!) or you can listen and subscribe on iTunes. Also, if you like what you hear, please rate it on iTunes, and don’t forget to leave us a friendly comment!  Of course, we would be thrilled if you would also consider making a donation. If you’re a weekly listener, you might consider making a recurring monthly donation. Any amount is hugely appreciated, and Our Hen House is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, so it’s tax-deductible! Don’t forget — we’re reader and listener supported. Plus, we offer some fantastic thank you gifts for your donations. Thank you for helping us to create quality content, and for helping us bring you a new, hour-long podcast each week!

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BONUS! Here is a sneak peek at what 9 of our favorite vegan bloggers and cookbook authors favor when it comes to teas and tisanes! Don’t miss the podcast review for a more in-depth look.

• Gena Hamshaw from Choosing Raw likes Yogi Egyptian Licorice 
• Kelly Peloza of The Vegan Cookie Connoisseur enjoys “rooibos or white tea chai made with almond milk and agave, as well as Rishi Blueberry Rooibos. Anything spicy, herbal, or fruit flavored is great.”
• Carrie Forrest of Carrie On Vegan likes to order her teas in bulk from Mountain Rose Herbs. Carrie says, “My fave flaves include the organic fair trade CO2 decaffeinated Mango Green Tea and the organic, fair trade Red Rooibos. I’ve also had the organic Chamomile tea from the company and it is so beautiful, it is literally just dried chamomile flowers.”
• Sarah E. Brown of Queer Vegan Food loves the Spring Dragon Longevity Tea by Dragon Herbs. She says it  “contains Gynostemma and tastes like malted coffee mixed with joy.” (YES, PLEASE!)
• Katie Gillespie of Serenity in the Storm particularly fancies  “Black Satin” loose-leaf tea from Remedy Teas in Seattle. Says Katie, “I brew it with a pinch of dried Stevia leaf and enjoy it with a splash of rice or coconut milk.”
• Isa Chandra Moskowitz of The Post Punk Kitchen (and about a gzillion awesome vegan cookbooks) loves Sleepytime tea so much that she got a tattoo of the Sleepytime bear. (Yep.)
• Terry Hope Romero of Vegan Latina (and also author of a bunch of amazing vegan cookbooks) is having a passionate love affair with Chocolate Pu-Erh from Numi Tea. “I don’t mean to sound like a product shill,” Terry says, “but when I buy a box, I kind of horde it away from the other bazillion teas I have to keep it (mostly) to myself.”
• JL Fields of JL Goes Vegan is a huge fan of Yogi Ginger Tea. She says, “It’s a soothing, natural digestive aid after a meal (I eat several servings of beans a day…hello!). I also try to drink it when traveling as I am prone to motion sickness.”
• And before we tell you what vegan guru Colleen Patrick-Goudreau says, let us just say that you really must listen to our podcast review in order to fully understand Colleen’s tea wisdom. Colleen, of course, is the author of several wonderful vegan cookbooks, and host of the Food for Thought podcast. Here is but a glance of our Colleen Lesson of the Day: “I love all tea and choose the type based on my mood, though admittedly, I drink green more than anything else; Dragonwell (Chinese) and Sencha (Japanese) tend to be my favorite greens. White is perfect for a Sunday afternoon; oolong — my favorite is Dong Ding (Tawainese) — is perfect after a meal; and sometimes a nice hearty black is just what a chilly winter morning calls for – but only the pure stuff.”

Don’t miss the rest of Colleen’s wise words, as well as our own rumination about tea and tisanes!