Episode 411: Julie Sinistore and A. Marie Houser

Welcome to the 411th episode of Our Hen House!
First, Jasmin talks to Julie Sinistore about the importance of veganism for the environment, and what more vegans can do to help conservation efforts. Dr. Julie Sinistore has been vegan for 17 years and first turned to vegetarianism 21 years ago, after reading Frances Moore Lappe’s Diet for a Small Planet.  In her current position as a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) project director and consultant with WSP, she analyzes the environmental burdens and benefits of the production, use, transportation, and disposal of goods and services like agricultural products, but also electronics and construction products. Julie also teaches courses on Life Cycle Thinking and Sustainable Product Design in the mechanical engineering department at UC-Berkeley.  Julie sits on the board of the American Center for LCA (ACLCA) and serves on the Education Committee. Her educational path from a BS in Natural Resource Management with a Concentration in Conservation and Applied Ecology from Cook College of Rutgers University through her MS in Agroecology and PhD in Biological Systems Engineering from UW-Madison lead her to study everything from soils and climate to engineering and agriculture.  Today, she endeavors to make the world a more sustainable place through her career and life-style choices.

Then, Mariann talks to A. Marie Houser about her new anthology, After Coetzee: An Anthology of Animal Fictions. A. Marie Houser is a writer and editor whose work centralizes critical animal studies, disability, and sex theoretics. Her anthology of ethically-charged literature for and about nonhuman animals, After Coetzee: An Anthology of Animal Fictions was published in summer 2017. Prior to its publication, A. Marie edited Dr. Melanie Joy’s first two books, among others, and published her own work in magazines and journals, including The Feminist Wire, The Journal of Critical Animal Studies, As It Ought to Be, and Our Hen House. She also served as a plenary panelist and writing-workshop instructor at the Animals + Writing conference in Sydney, Australia and the Decolonizing Critical Animal Studies, Cripping Animal Studies conference in Alberta, Canada. A portion of the introduction to After Coetzee: An Anthology of Animal Fictions is available at Berfrois. More information about the anthology is at faunarypress.com.

Plus, Mariann covers news and Rising Anxieties!

As always, the award-winning weekly Our Hen House podcast is hosted by Mariann Sullivan and Jasmin Singer.

This episode is brought to you in part through the generosity of A Well-Fed World. A Well-Fed World is a hunger relief and animal protection organization chipping away at two of the world’s most immense, unnecessary and unconscionable forms of suffering… the suffering of people hungry from lack of food, and the suffering of animals used and abused for food. Mending our unjust food system is a critical part of solving the world’s most destructive and persistent problems. Fortunately, the plant-based foods that promote health and well-being are the same foods that conserve resources to better feed the world, while reducing greenhouse gas emissions and protecting the environment. A Well-Fed World provides the means for change by empowering individuals, social justice organizations, and political decision makers to embrace the benefits of plant-based foods and farming. Learn more at awfw.org.
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The Our Hen House theme song is written and sung by the incredible Michael Harren, who is also OHH’s Director of Communications! Don’t forget to tune into Our Hen House’s other two podcasts: The Teaching Jasmin How to Cook Vegan Podcast, and The Animal Law Podcast.