Today’s talk is about the growing animal advocacy movement in Africa! I was honored to speak with Aurelia Adhiambo about the challenges posed by industrialization and factory farming and how they differ from country to country.
She represents Africa in many animal welfare conversations from Open Wing Alliance and The Humane League to the Effective Altruism Animal Welfare Fund and the Animal & Vegan Advocacy Africa Summit.
She’s a wealth of knowledge! I think you’ll enjoy learning a bit about animal advocacy in Africa right now.
SHOW NOTES: https://ForAnimalsForEarth.com/show/87 EMAIL AURELIA: aadhiambo@thehumaneleague.org OPEN WING ALLIANCE ACTION APP: https://action.openwingalliance.org/signup
Join me with Heidi Marquez-Caguioa in Capas, Philippines for another episode in our Animal Advocacy Around the World Series.
Heidi works with Animal Kingdom Foundation (AKF), a Philippines-based non-profit that is heavily involved in ending the dog meat trade. They provide shelter for animals rescued from the dog meat trade and speak out against cruelty to all animals, especially dogs, cats, farm animals, and fish by working to develop legislation that protects them.
We discuss the work of AKF, how they made a huge difference in the dog meat trade, and how they have evolved to influence sustainable changes in animal welfare in the Philippines.
SHOW NOTES:
https://ForAnimalsForEarth.com/show/86
CONTACT HEIDI:
VISIT AKF RESCUE CENTER:
https://www.akfrescues.org/voluntourist
Join me with Maho Uehara in Tokyo, Japan for the first episode of our new Animal Advocacy Around the World Series. Maho works with Animal Welfare Corporate Partners Japan (AWCP), a Japan-based non-profit organization that helps and supports corporations and producers who are changing the egg supply chain to cage-free eggs.
We discuss the work of AWCP, how animal welfare ranks as a priority in Japan, how long organizations have been working to help animals, and how things look for farm animals, companion animals, and wildlife in this country.
CONTACT MAHO: Website: www.awcpj.org Facebook: @AnimalWelfareCorporatePartners SHOW NOTES: https://ForAnimalsForEarth.com/show/85
Hi guys! Episode 84 is a quick update about the show. I’m getting ready to kick off Season 7, and I would love your feedback. I want For Animals. For Earth. to be as useful for you as possible. Will you add your thoughts? It should only take 30 seconds. Thank you!
SURVEY LINK: http://bit.ly/fafe2024
In this episode, I talk with Pei Su, author of "Life of Pei: The Battle for Compassion." Pei shares her journey and motivations behind her book, emphasizing her advocacy for animal rights, social justice, and environmental protection.
The discussion highlights the challenges she faced in activism, the significance of community support, and the role of education in fostering compassion.
Pei also touches on her personal battle with cancer and the importance of self-compassion. The episode concludes with a call to action, encouraging listeners to support Pei's work and spread compassion in their own lives.
BUY THE BOOK:
https://www.amazon.com/Life-Pei-Battle-Compassion-Feng/dp/1590567285
ACTASIA & CONTACT PEI:
PeiSu@ACTAsia.org
SHOW NOTES:
https://ForAnimalsForEarth.com/show/83
Guys! As many as 550,000 animals are suffering in wildlife tourism worldwide. Many are in captive situations and forced to perform tricks, give people rides, or be handled for selfies.
This is an area where we actually can make a big impact as an individual consumer by simply choosing not to support those activities.
You’ll learn how to identify cruel wildlife tourism and what to do instead with Melissa Matlow of World Animal Protection in my interview today.
We cover:
I hope you’ll check it out! And please share with friends in the tourism industry. They can reach out to Melissa to partner and become Wildlife Friendly companies easily!
Thank you!!
SHOW NOTES & FOLLOW UP LINKS:
https://ForAnimalsForEarth.com/show/82
FOLLOW MELISSA:
Dr. Lori Marino is famous for her work on sentience in animals. She's a neuroscientist, an expert in animal behavior, and an incredible advocate.
She’s been featured in films like Blackfish, Unlocking the Cage, and Long Gone Wild, talking about sentience in animals.
She’s on the team building The Whale Sanctuary Project – an alternative for whales who have only known captivity and will have the chance to live in nature.
Lori is the Founder & Executive Director of The Kimmela Center for Scholarship-based Animal Advocacy. This group focuses on bringing science to animal law. Lori sits on the edge of combining animal welfare and science by studying sentience in animals and has published over 140 papers!
Personally, I think the work that Lori does studying sentience in animals is some of the coolest work in the world. By using science, data, and controlled tests, she’s leading the way for us to better understand what animals are REALLY thinking and feeling.
SHOW NOTES:
https://ForAnimalsForEarth.com/show/81
CONTACT LORI:
CONTACT YOUR CONGRESS PEOPLE:
The Fair & Fowl Ranking Report is produced by @TheHumaneLeague and @openwingalliance . About 100 animal welfare organizations come together to influence brands to only source cage-free eggs. Once the pledges are made, the groups follow up to ensure that the brands are working toward their goals.
In the Fair & Fowl Ranking Report, they rank brands who are transparent and reporting their progress with a favorable “good egg” rating. They rank brands who are not reporting and ignore their outreach efforts with a “bad egg” rating. The Fair & Fowl Ranking Report for the Global Travel Industry was recently released.
Brooke Fane, Global Corporate Campaigns Coordinator for The Humane League, joined me in episode 80 to discuss the Fair & Fowl Ranking Report. We chatted about the various rankings and which travel brands are doing well or leaving something to be desired in their reporting.
We also talked about the Humane Hospitality Campaign which was so successful that the three companies who made changes from the campaign should ultimately impact 861,000 hens annually. That’s 861,000 less animals suffering while trapped in cages with about an iPad’s size footprint to live on. Amazing!
SHOW NOTES (INC. VIDEO & AUDIO):
https://ForAnimalsForEarth.com/show/80
Thanks guys!
Climate anxiety seems to be a growing topic of conversation. Have you heard of this? And do you resonate with it? I certainly do.
I worried about the climate before, but I’ve felt the anxiety take a stronghold these past five years since I started For Animals. For Earth. The weight of never doing enough to make a difference is quite heavy.
My friend, Ame Vanorio, has always inspired me. She’s a poster child for sustainable living and she recently created a Climate Anxiety workbook to share what she does to keep herself healthy. This was a perfect topic for me and a great chance to share her workbook.
You can listen or watch our interview. Or, quickly skip to the 5 simple ideas to manage climate anxiety.
BUY AME'S BOOK ON AMAZON:
https://www.amazon.com/Climate-Eco-Anxiety-Guided-Journal-Workbook/dp/B0CPCN467M
LISTEN/WATCH/READ THE INTERVIEW:
https://ForAnimalsForEarth.com/show/79
Are zoos ethical? We’ll help you find that answer for yourself in today’s interview. As imagined, it’s not a simple yes or no.
I’m joined by Rob Laidlaw, the founder of Zoocheck, a wildlife protection organization based in Canada. He’s an author of ten children’s books, a chartered biologist, a speaker, and one of the most successful animal rights advocates of the century.
He’s down to earth, humble and kind, and does not seem to be deterred by the roadblocks we often hit as we fight for animals. He’s a wealth of knowledge, and we’re so thankful that he shared his thoughts and perspectives with us in this interview.
In today’s conversation, we address “are zoos ethical?” through the following topics:
SHOW NOTES (WITH VIDEO, AUDIO, & BLOG POST):
https://ForAnimalsForEarth.com/show/78
CONTACT ROB & ZOOCHECK:
CONTACT BRANDY:
hello@ForAnimalsForEarth.com
Pet evacuation and disaster relief are topics that are near and dear to my heart. The new Pet Help and Rescue App (PHaR) is an answer to many of our prayers. It is going to change the face of planning for animals in disasters, something that is often forgotten when these things happen.
App co-founder Dave Crawford lived through the Marshall Wildfire in 2021, but his home and an estimated 1,000 neighboring pets did not. He went door to door looking for animals and was able to save one dog, Chief. Following the fire, Dave joined fellow animal lovers in coming up with a plan to save animals in future disasters. Through generous funding and many many hours of hard work, they dreamed up this new neighborhood planning app for pet evacuation and disaster relief.
SHOW NOTES:
https://ForAnimalsForEarth.com/show/77
PET HELP & RESCUE APP:
EPISODE 76 WITH DAVE:
https://ForAnimalsForEarth.com/show/76
CONTACT BRANDY:
hello@ForAnimalsForEarth.com
Wildlife emergency app, Animal Help Now, provides 24 hour wildlife rescue and advice based on your location. The database contains only humane wildlife rehabilitators and veterinarians for wildlife emergencies and conflict.
I interviewed co-founder and executive director, Dave Crawford, in episode 76. The thing that I love most about the Animal Help Now wildlife emergency app is that it was created within the wildlife rehabilitation community. It specifically lists people who have been trained in humane wildlife emergency and conflict treatment.
They will advise solutions with the best possible outcome for the animal. This is not likely to happen if you simply search Google for help.
Download the app now so that you have it quickly available if you do see an animal in need. And please share this in your neighborhood groups and with friends!
Apple:
http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/animalhelpnow!/id511153457
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.ahnow
Direct Website:
LISTEN, WATCH OR READ INTERVIEW:
https://ForAnimalsForEarth.com/show/76
CONTACT BRANDY:
hello@ForAnimalsForEarth.com
There are some big things going on in animal welfare law right now that need our help. Like ASAP need us to reach out to our Senators and Representatives to urge them to vote on the side of animal protection.
Gabriel Wildgen from The Humane League joined me in today’s episode to give us the low down. In this conversation, you’ll learn all about what’s happening (spurred by retaliation when California’s Prop 12 was passed in 2018 to help farm animals), and how to quickly contact your Congresspeople.
Please share this as widely as you can. Like and comment so that we can reach more people quickly.
The more time that passes, the more danger that we can’t stop it from happening. Thank you SO much. 😘
LISTEN, WATCH, or READ:
https://ForAnimalsForEarth.com/show/75
LOOKUP & MESSAGE YOUR CONGRESSPEOPLE:
https://secure.everyaction.com/-Tsqp_2WnkOIwThSsDZqKA2
Oluwakemi Oluwasegun (“Kemi”) is changing the face of sustainability in her Nigerian community with cassava and kindness, and she's looking for support.
She lives in the quiet and peaceful community of Ila Orangun, Nigeria. She happens to be one of the most genuine and kind people that I have met. She has not had an easy life, yet grounded in God, she’s constantly thinking about how she can help other people.
She discussed three projects with us in this episode: her cassava factory and potential cassava farm (Winners Food Processing), reusable pads for the girls in her community, and donations of physical goods to help local orphanages with the Oluwadabira Foundation.
Investing in or supporting Kemi’s projects is simple. She’s looking for people who can donate money, clothing, shoes, bags, books, etc. that will keep her projects afloat.
If we can’t support her directly, we can share her work with those around us. We never know who may be able to help. Thank you for listening.
Listen, Watch or Read Details:
https://ForAnimalsForEarth.com/show/74
Reach out to Kemi:
Dr. Vicky Bond, president of The Humane League, walks us through the truth about eggs. We discuss everything from what life looks like for egg-laying hens in our industrialized food system to which eggs to buy at the store if we’re not vegan.
The Humane League is a global non-profit organization focused on helping animals who are raised for food. The group educates and influences the public, and decision-makers within brands such as McDonald’s and Jollibee, to pledge and work to use only cage-free eggs by 2025.
They started this project in 2015 when only 6-7% of hens were cage-free in the US. Now the U.S. is at 40% and big brands such as Nestle have proven that it’s possible to go 100% cage-free.
Vicky believes that it is possible that we can end caged hens in our lifetime, but it takes the work of many animal lovers coming together to make that happen. The Humane League provides the framework, and we simply need to sign up for the Fast Action Network and contribute a couple of minutes per day to be a part of this movement.
FAST ACTION NETWORK:
https://thehumaneleague.org/fast-action-network
SHOW NOTES:
How to avoid burnout… this is the million-dollar question for so many of us, right? We want to help animals and the earth but it’s exhausting. And when other people don’t seem to be on board it gets even harder.
I’ve been struggling with burnout this year. Our move to Florida was announced a year ago, and the saga of deciding whether to go, and then executing on it has been… intense! I found myself with very little momentum to do anything.
I did however feel inspired to bounce back after watching my earth-loving friends slay their businesses and decided to ask them how they avoid burnout. It turned into this panel discussion. The overarching theme was:
SIMPLIFY. Begin by REALLY knowing ourselves. Choose our priorities by NARROWING DOWN and ONLY CHOOSING those that align with WHO WE ARE, and WHAT ACTUALLY WORKS in our life. And then STAY IN OUR LANE and keep delivering on those few priorities. Simple right? ;-)
CONTACT INFO:
Annemarie Sampson on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/sustainablelife.live/
Siham Omer on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/wildlyblack/
Lindsey Biondo on the web at https://www.violetrevolt.com/
SHOW NOTES:
I have had so much fun getting to know Captain Amado Watson these past six months and learning more about Belize ecotourism. His tour company, Caye Caulker Reef Friendly Tours, is very different from the average company you’ll find in Belize. He specifically focuses on providing animal friendly and reef friendly tours to guests.
People from everywhere in the world come to see the Belize reef that is thriving. But how do we as humans keep Belize ecotourism thriving while inevitably leaving our footprint on this magnificent place?
We get into that in this episode!
BOOK A TOUR WITH AMADO:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ccreeffriendlytours/
What’s App: Amado at +501 633 2275
Trip Advisor: https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g291963-d6225089-r250844679-Reef_Friendly_Tours-Caye_Caulker_Belize_Cayes.html
SHOW NOTES:
https://ForAnimalsForEarth.com/show/70
Hi guys! So sorry for the unexpected 5-month hiatus! I'm back and can't wait to begin doing interviews with you again. ..xx
Reketta Peterson joins me from Fairbanks, Alaska to talk about how we may be promoting anti-blackness in sustainability, without even knowing it. Reketta is a BIPOC health equity consultant at RSP Consulting, an author, and a therapist. She’s passionate about bringing people together and sparking conversations about anti-blackness and inclusivity.
There were many strong words that came up in our conversation, and I thought it would be good to call them out here as food for thought: resistance, dismissive, inclusive, perspective, awareness, struggle, autonomy.
SIMPLE IDEA:
Reketta urges us to pay attention to our language when we speak, with a special focus on how what we’re saying is being received. Is the person we’re talking to feeling small or unheard? Are they losing their sense of autonomy, and are we controlling what their actions should be?
SHOW NOTES:
https://ForAnimalsForEarth.com/podcast/68