Our Flock is Expanding! Meet the Newest Our Hen House Chicks.

The squawk around Our Hen House is the exciting news that our flock is expanding, and it’s pretty clucking fantastic. Mariann and I are as proud as two gay Mother Hens.

First, Sally Tamarkin, whom you may know as our intern extraordinaire (and the brilliant, protein-packed voice behind the recent peanut butter review on our podcast), has graduated to a contributor here at Our Hen House. Sally, whose prolific voice has graced our blog time and time again since she joined us just over 3 months ago, will continue to provide insight and ideas — along with her trademark dry humor that makes me ROTFL at least 4 times a day — right here on our blog. Sally is a long-time activist, but is still on the new side to veganism and animal rights, and the freshness she brings to the (cruelty-free) table, mixed with her years of experience fighting for social justice in other arenas, such as LGBT rights, is nothing short of genius.

Next, I’m proud as a peacock (or a peahen?) to welcome JL Fields to our advisory board. JL, who is the wise and talented voice behind the blog, JL Goes Vegan (the tag line, which I adore, is “Food and Fitness with a Side of Kale”) joins advisory board members Carol Leifer, Dan Piraro, and Donny Moss. What does JL bring to OHH? Oh, you know, just decades of nonprofit experience — including leading three organizations as CEO, and teaching nonprofit management at a college here in NYC. You know, the usual… (!!!) JL is also on the board of Woodstock Farm Animal Sanctuary (co-founder Jenny Brown’s interview on our podcast remains, to this day, one of our faves), and is the editor behind Stop Chasing Skinny.  We’re honored to have someone as established and smart as JL advising us. (And she’s a blast to hang out with, too, which is a ridiculously fun side benefit!)

You probably have already read Carrie Forrest‘s health-oriented book reviews here on Our Hen House. Did you catch her take on Healthy Eating, Healthy World? Or maybe Super Immunity? Her guest reviews have given us such a well-rounded look at these books, which focus on the benefits of a plant-based diet, that we asked her to join our flock. Carrie already has two more book reviews in the works. In addition to being the voice behind one of my go-to food blogs, Carrie On Vegan (her healthy and delectable concoctions are responsible for a large chunk of my recipe collection), Carrie is currently working on a master’s degree in public health (MPH) in nutrition, and finishing the coursework to become a registered dietitian. So you should listen to her. Even though her background is in health, like JL, Carrie brings a revitalizing (and incredibly important) perspective to her discussions of plant-based food, in that she relates it back to her animal advocacy. And, as Mariann and I won’t stop chirping about, in order to be the best activists we can, our own health and well-being should be amongst our priorities. So keep an eye out for Carrie’s reviews. Like us, you’ll probably learn a thing or two.

Lastly, we have a part-time coordinator! I last squawked about Danielle Legg last year, when I told you about her Buffalo, New York film screening that brought in the veg-curious, and paid non-vegetarians cash money so that they could eat delicious vegan food, and watch Mercy for Animals’ short film, Fowl Play. Danielle has stayed on our radar, and I find myself constantly enamored by her positivity, dedication, and passion. We’re elated to have Danielle on board, helping us out with, among other things, our Etsy page, as well as some of the day to day happenings here in Our Hen House.

We are, to say the least, lucky hens. These new chicks are helping us to build our nest, not to mention our voice. Read more about these women, and the rest of our team, as you Meet Our Flock.

You’re also extremely integral to the work we do. With our mission being to mainstream the movement to end the exploitation of animals, it is indeed up to each of us to do our part. It’s not my hen house or her hen house or your hen house, it’s Our Hen House — and that’s because we hope that Our Hen House is a place to find our way to change the world for animals. Hens, of course, are the most hideously exploited animals of them all. When you speak of animal rights, you are mostly speaking of chickens — because over 9 of the 10 billion land animals killed in the U.S. each year are birds. They are among our icon animals, too, showing bravery, humor, and strong social ties. With these precious beings representing, to us, the huge massive world of animals, and with each of our voices speaking up for them in a way that makes sense for us, we can change the world for animals. So thank you for being a part of this movement, and for using your voice to speak up for those who don’t have one.

As always, if you would like to help us grow our flock, and spread our voice, we would be ever so grateful for anything you can afford. Donations are, or course, tax deductible as allowed by law. In any case, thanks for being part of our flock.