Episode 145: “If I were to remain silent, I’d be guilty of complicity.”

Welcome to the 145^th episode of Our Hen House, featuring Judy Woods from Pigs Peace Sanctuary, and Katie Gillespie from the University of Washington Animal Studies Working Group. 
In today’s episode, we come to you from Seattle, where we were giving a talk on “Animals and Academia” at the University of Washington. We’ll tell you about how it went, a few of the things we covered, and we’ll also let you in on some of the other glorious vegan happenings we experienced during our visit.
In addition to that, we’ll talk about the many recent mentions of animal products that we’ve noticed regularly popping up in the mainstream media, and we’ll ruminate on why we think it’s coming from a defensive, “ag-driven” place. We’ll talk about our feature in VegNews.com on our cross country vegan road trip, we’ll tell you about this weekend’s upcoming Animal Law Conference where we’ll be presenting, and we’ll chat about vegan dogs. Mariann will update you on the happenings in her animal law classes, and we’ll converse on what it means to break up the families of animals.
While in Seattle, we were lucky enough to visit Pigs Peace Sanctuary, and we’ll let you in on the fabulousness of our trip. To that end, joining us today is Pigs Peace director, Judy Woods, who will give us the skinny on everything from what it’s like for the property to be directly next door to animal exploiters, to — on the happier side — why and how she decided to incorporate animal-friendly art everywhere you look at the sanctuary. Katie Gillespie, one of the organizers of the University of Washington’s Animal Studies Working Group, will also join us for the interview, providing us with lots of insight about everything from the power of sanctuaries and of connecting with individual animals, to what it’s like working in academia to change the world for animals.
For our review, we will talk about a Seattle-based vegan product that you might have already heard of: Field Roast Grain Meat. Here’s a warning, though: This will make you hungry, and you might feel compelled to lick your iPods. (Don’t.)
All that, vegan banter, and of course, current events from the world of animal rights.
This week’s news items include:

• “HSUS Statement on Tyson Foods’ Animal Welfare Announcement” from the Humane Society of the United States
• “Cole Bros. to pay $15,000 settlement following PETA claims” from Tri-Parish Times
• “North Dakota Ranchers Fight for Their Futures” from Beef Magazine

“If I were to remain silent, I’d be guilty of complicity.” -Albert Einstein
The Our Hen House podcast is sponsored by The Seed: A Vegan Experience, which is currently planning a very special event entitled Vegan Dogs: The Truth About Fido’s Meatless Diet, which we’ll tell you more about on today’s episode. But don’t forget to check out theseedexperience.com for more details, and to get tickets. “Vegan Dogs” is taking place in New York City on October 23, so act fast.
The Seed: A Vegan Experience brings you events, conferences, and happenings that raise awareness about the many delicious, cruelty-free alternatives to animal products.
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