NZ Vegan Podcast Episode 89 - The importance of promoting ideas

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This week I talk about lots of things, including the wonderful cupcakes offered by the Vegan Education Cupcake Stall from The Alice Springs Vegan Society and their inspiration for offering free cupcakes to people, and I mention the Six Principles of the Abolitionist Approach to Animal Rights among other things. I also talk about focusing on IDEAS not PEOPLE.

"Great minds discuss ideas, average minds discuss events, small minds discuss people"

~ Anonymous or Eleanor Roosevelt.

Podcast by Angel Flinn "The Vegan Evolution" - great vegan speech! -listen or you can read it here: VEGANISM: A TRUTH WHOSE TIME HAS COME: Best vegan speech

Thanks for listening :)

NOTE: I wasn't going to do this because I really didn't want to spend the time, but someone left a really long comment and I am not going to publish it, and I know they would have spent time writing it, so out of an attempt to be fair I am offering this heads up in order to prevent anyone else wasting their time on a comment that I won't publish, and I hope this can be seen as an action I am taking out of respect for other people's time:

Anyone who wishes to make guesses about any individuals I may refer to in any podcast episode whom I choose not to name (for reasons I think I have done my best to make very clear), well if that how you want to spend your time then that is your prerogative; but please do not attempt to do so here.

I am really not interested in talking about people per se, except to talk about actions and ideas, and how they relate to the issue of exploitation, and I do my best, as a human being can, to stick to that. I don't claim to be 100% successful and but I try.

When I am speaking positively, I feel comfortable naming individuals, also of course I want to promote work and ideas that support nonviolence, and the abolition of exploitation. When I am speaking critically or negatively, I prefer not to name individuals because I loathe drama, but even if I didn't it inevitably takes the focus off the real issue which should always remain the victims of exploitation, and I refuse to allow that to happen. And as this is my blog I thankfully have that ability. I also thankfully have the ability to refuse to join in on any drama to do with egos and personality clashes that are going on anywhere else. Thank goodness. :)

As hard as it is to believe, I really do just want to focus on the issues of exploitation and violence and animal use, and stand up unequivocally against them in everything I say and do, and I refuse to promote or support anything that I believe is in opposition to that. Or to waste time on anything that detracts from that.

In fact, that was the whole point of this podcast episode. Thanks for your understanding

NZ Vegan Podcast Episode 88 - Special Guest Peaceful Abolitionist Emmy James!

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This week I have a very special guest over for dinner and cupcake making and podcasting - Emmy James from Peaceful Abolitionist and the Vegan For Life podcast

Emmy is the very talented designer of our NZ Vegan logo and check out these wonderful designs she hand painted onto shirts and sweatshirts also. See also the photo of Clare who we mention who has helped us at the stall and is so much fun!

Thanks for listening!

NZ Vegan Podcast Episode 87 - Finished website and new literature for the street stall!

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This week I talk about the new website nzvegan.com and aava.org.nz and the literature I have been wanting to make for ages.

I also mention the interviews that Corey Wrenn the Roanoke Vegan Examiner has recently allowed me to be part of.

Finally I say a special thanks to Gary L. Francione. Congratulations Gary, you did it :)

NZ Vegan Podcast Episode 86 - Part 2 of interview with Gary Francione on Helping Animals NOW (Including human animals)

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Part two of the interview with special guest Gary L. Francione

Here is a link to the website page I am working on about Adoption/Fostering and Sanctuaries. You can find links to some of the sanctuaries and rescue organisations we mentioned in there:

http://nzvegan.wordpress.com/sanctuary-and-adoptionfostering/

Here is a link to the podcast Episode with Diane Ellis about Vegecat Vegan Cat Food: NZ Vegan Podcast Episode 60 - Special Guest Diane Ellis, spokesperson for Vegecat vegan cat food

Thanks for listening and thank you Gary Francione for coming on the show.

NZ Vegan Podcast Episode 85 - Part 1 of interview with Gary Francione on Helping Animals NOW (Including human animals)

Listen HERE

Part one of the interview with special guest Gary L. Francione

Here is a link to the website page I am working on about Adoption/Fostering and Sanctuaries. You can find links to some of the sanctuaries and rescue organisations we mentioned in there:

http://nzvegan.wordpress.com/sanctuary-and-adoptionfostering/

Thanks for listening

Part two is next

NZ Vegan Podcast Episode 84 -On being too scared to promote veganism and must-haves for a street stall

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"People say that being a vegan creates a social problem in that others may react negatively. But isn't that the case if you take a principled position on any issue, whether it's racism, sexism, heterosexism, violence as a general matter—or speciesism? The key is to educate others about *why* you take the position." ~ Gary L. Francione

Here is a link to the fantastic Nutritional Pamphlets from the Boston Vegan Association or you can contact them for some copies here

Also don't forget their wonderful Vegan Pamphlet

Here is another must have for any street stall: Becoming Vegan Pamphlet

NZ Vegan Podcast Episode 83 - On "right" and "wrong"

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What an idiotic absurdity it is to say that earnest, persistent, uncompromising moral opposition to a system of boundless immorality is the way to strengthen it; and that the way to abolish such a system is to say nothing about it!
~ William L. Garrison (April 23, 1858)

From http://quotesonslavery.org/what-an-idiotic-absurdity-it-is/

NZ Vegan Podcast Episode 82 - Just my own thoughts, as always.

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NZ Vegan Podcast Episode 81 - We are an abolitionist movement

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This week I talk about how important it is that we recognise and help others to recognise that our abolitionist movement for nonviolence is still an abolitionist anti-slavery movement, and our practical focus right now with regard to addressing this problem of violence and animal use has the primary goal, initially, of creating a society in which we can address the abolition of the property status of animals, because that is still where we are at. We haven't even begun to address that! The animal movement still doesn't even have veganism as the moral baseline! But the abolitionist movement does :) By promoting veganism we will create an environment in which we can actually address that, finally! Welfare reforms are useless and do not address the property paradigm. Vegan education does. As Gary Francione said in his latest interview, part of which you can read HERE:

‎"At this point, it makes no sense to focus on the law, because as long as we regard animals as things, as a moral matter, the laws will necessarily reflect that absence of moral value and continue to do nothing to protect animals. We need to change social and moral thinking about animals before the law is going to do anything more."

Let's not allow people, neither other vegans nor anti-vegans, to shift our focus to the defeatist, overwhelmingly negative attitudes, which seem to be fixated on all the things still currently out of our control as individuals (the majority of food production, sidewalks, tyres etc) and which prompt the vegans to identify their reason for opposing vegan education as being "too pure" or "unrealistic" (which makes absolutely no sense whatsoever) and anti-vegans to make absurd claims that animal use is an action that is equal in morality to veganism.

I want us to remind people what being vegan really means, and what our abolitionist movement really means, especially at this point in history, where we are still in this incredibly non vegan world, in which chattel slavery of sentient beings is still very much accepted as the norm and in which new welfarism is the dominant paradigm and therefore welfarism is still provided and marketed by the majority of vegans as the correct response to the issue of animal use. Wrong answer! Veganism is the correct response, as we know. We just have to continue to be a clear voice, and our voice is growing. Thank you all so much, for being such wonderful, clear voices.

Please read Gary Francione's work to learn about the importance of the abolition of the property status of animals and why veganism and the promotion of veganism is the correct response, the only response to that immoral status which still exists in our world today.

http://www.abolitionistapproach.com/books/

http://www.abolitionistapproach.com/category/podcast/

I mention Randy W. Sandberg and his wonderful advice about not feeding trolls (I am still trying to find the article he shared, will post when I find it..)

I mention Trisha Roberts from LiveVegan and her wonderful messages about insects, and I mention her organisation lobsa.org

I mentioned a video about nuclear pollution, posted by Renata Peters from The Alice Springs Vegan Society which you can also check out here at the latest article on Myl ène Ouellet's blog My Face is on Fire

Thanks for listening :)

NZ Vegan Podcast Episode 80 -Happy Stall Stories and Positivity!

LISTEN HERE

Here is the link to the Shirtless Dancing Guy video I mentioned:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fW8amMCVAJQ

This is the link to the Coexisting With Nonhuman Animals episode about the Oprah Show that I mentioned: Episode 46 - Oprah Goes... Vegan, "Veg*n","veganish"...

Here is the link to the latest Abolitionist Approach Commentary Number 24, an interview by Gary L. Francione with Rob Johnson creator of the blog Animal Rights UK and founding member of Grampion Animal Rights (which in typical me fashion I accidentally called Aberdeen Animal Rights, all my friends ought to be used to my getting things all mixed up by now, but I again apologise for mis-naming another organisation/website etc) and Vegan UK:

Commentary 24: Vegan Advocacy in the UK

Thanks for listening!

NZ Vegan Podcast Episode 79 - Sharing advocacy experiences and thoughts and a brief comment on the word "cruelty"

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This is the article about China's factory conditions I mentioned:

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/china/news/article.cfm?l_id=28&objectid=10722773

Here is a link to the YouTube channel for Paola Aldana that I mentioned:

http://www.youtube.com/user/porolita22 (English)

http://www.youtube.com/user/porolita (Español)

Here is a quote from Gary Francione on the word "compassion" (in relation to what I talk about at the very end of the podcast):

"Is our obligation not to be racist or sexist a matter of "compassion"? No. it's a matter of justice. Same with nonhuman animals"

NZ Vegan Podcast Episode 78 - Don't underestimate yourself

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Thanks for listening!  :)

NZ Vegan Podcast Episode 77 - Special guest William Paul!

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This week I am very pleased to welcome back William Paul who tells us his latest good news and we discuss some experiences we have at with religious advocates while doing our street stall, and also I recount a couple of personal experiences I have had related to that.

Thanks for listening and thank you William for coming on the show!

NZ Vegan Podcast Episode 76 - Don't let them tell you not to do it

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What are we afraid of? It's not like we are being arrested by the KGB:

BBC outlook: Belarus Free Theatre
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belarus_Free_Theatre

And if people stopped doing violent things and stupid things we won't have to worry about anything like that, now would we? Please promote veganism!  Peacefully!

more to come....

NZ Vegan Podcast Episode 75 - Part Two of the interview with special guest Professor Gary L. Francione!

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In part two of the interview we discuss single issue campaigns, in relation to the recent debate that Professor Francione took part in with Dario Ringach which was partly the inspiration of the blog essay:
Why Veganism Must Be the Baseline
which I recommend as a must read for all advocates.

We also discuss the latest Abolitionist Approach blog essay:
Nothing to Do with Science
in which the latest attempt at using the age old "plant question" is addressed.

Thank you, Professor Francione!

NZ Vegan Podcast Episode 74 - Special Guest Professor Gary L. Francione!

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This week it is my absolute pleasure to welcome back to the podcast Professor Gary L. Francione.

In part one of the interview we discuss his new book:
The Animal Rights Debate: Abolition or Regulation?
which was co-authored with  Robert Garner.

Enjoy and stay tuned for part two!

NZ Vegan Podcast Episode 73 - Hurting others to help others ends up hurting everyone

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Relevant links to this podcast:

Veganism as a Minimum Standard of Decency by Dan Cudahy from Unpopular Vegan Essays

The articles about the Vegan Society's advertising of non vegan establishments, inluding a pdf of a thread on facebook that was deleted after they shamefully deleted Gary Francione from the page:

http://www.abolitionistapproach.com/i-wonder-what-donald-watson-founder-of-the-vegan-society-would-think/
http://www.abolitionistapproach.com/its-not-1946/
http://www.abolitionistapproach.com/the-need-for-a-vegan-society/
http://www.abolitionistapproach.com/media/pdf/why-are-non-vegan-restaurants-advertised-in-the-vegan.pdf

The article on John Robbins I mentioned, by Mylène Ouellet:
http://my-face-is-on-fire.blogspot.com/2010/07/animal-advocacy-leaders-hall-of-fail.html

And finally, a response to the latest claims by welfare advocates pointing to the same study each time it seems:

http://www.abolitionistapproach.com/science-weighs-in-animal-welfare-reform-is-useless/

Thanks for listening

The Amazing Transformation of Buda the Cat

NOTE: cats are obligate carnivores, and they require TAURINE in order to live.  The food I am talking about below is supplemented with Taurine.  

I was recently chatting on Skype with my friend Diane Ellis,  my guest from NZ Vegan Podcast  Episode 60  about Buda and her new svelte and beautiful body, and we compared some photos that I had taken of Buda from before I switched her to the Vegecat homemade cat food supplements and recipes from Harbingers of a New Age, and then looked at some photos I had taken now, and we both gasped when we saw them!

The change in 5 - 6 months has been amazing!  Not only has she lost all that excess weight, but her fur is shiny and she is light on her feet.  She bounds across the lawn with all four legs off the ground, I had never seen her do that before now.

Buda is getting on in years.  I first met her just over 7 years ago in NYC in 2003.  I took her with me because she was not in a good situation, and she never had been in her life.  It wasn't as bad as some cats have been through, but she had been abused, neglected and unloved, and so my then boyfriend and I decided I would adopt her, and so I did.  The person she was living with then told me he thought she was around 6 years old.  If that were true (and I don't know if it is) that would make her 13 to 14 years old now.  I don't know how accurate his estimate was, but even if she was only 2 or 3 years old at the time that would still make her 9 - 10 now, which is starting to get up there.

If I hadn't switched her diet I hate to think where she would be headed.  I used to have nightmares about the dreaded diabetes and kidney disease and all manner of other sicknesses.  I was constantly worried for her.  I had tried to put her on "diets" when I was feeding her commercial food, but since the time I took her in to get spayed, back in 2003, she instantly doubled and stayed overweight from then on.  She had been going into heat constantly for years when I met her, so she was much slimmer, as soon as she was spayed she just ballooned in size and as her energy level was never very high to begin with, because she had been abused and was used to just hiding under the table and keeping quiet, she never recovered and just got fatter and fatter.

After talking with Diane on my podcast I swore I was going to get Buda and Zsebi off commercial pet food, and after a time, using the advice she gave me and trying out the different recipes until I found one they enjoyed, I succeeded. (P.S I don't make the kibble, I make the fresh cooked recipes).

As the weight loss was gradual over months, I didn't notice just how stunning it was until I went back and saw that photo of her that I had sent to Diane all those months ago.  The difference was breathtaking!

Check it out:

This is Buda in September, 2010

Look how fat she was poor baby.  And her fur was dull, and I am sure her little joints must have ached. Not to mention how ridiculously tiny her head looks. :(

This was taken on Valentines Day, 2011. 

Look at her shiny svelte body!  Isn't it amazing?

Her body is finally in proportion with her little head

Rubbing around my feet as I am getting her dinner :)

So there you have it, another success story!  Thank you Harbingers of a New Age and Diane Ellis!  We will be doing another podcast soon where I talk about Zsebi and Buda and their healthy new diet.  P.S this is a recent picture of Zsebi.  She is one of the most energetic and crazy little kittens I have ever known.  She loves the food!  She loves all kinds of food!  Buda is fussy, but Zsebi will eat anything, in fact I have to keep an eye on her.  She races around all day long, but I managed to catch her keeping still long enough to take a couple of photos :)

She hardly sits still so it's difficult to get a non blurry photo when she is awake, she is so curious she jumps up to see what I am doing

 

See what I mean? lol

So I wait until she is asleep with her little tongue sticking out hee hee

NZ Vegan Podcast Episode 72 - Special Guest Niilo Van Steinburg from the UVic Vegan Association and soon to be new abolitionist podcast Seeking Nonspeciesism!

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This week I am very pleased to have as my special guest Niilo Van Steinburg who is the founder and one of the directors of the very successful abolitionist vegan university group at the University of Victoria, Canada, the UVic Vegan Association.

If you live in British Columbia you can subscribe to the UVic Vegan Association by emailing them at:
uvacontact@gmail.com

You can also join their facebook fan page at: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=11596410542

Also check out Niilo's blog Seeking Non-Specisism from where he will be soon producing his very own abolitionist vegan podcast!!!  We can't wait to hear it!

The forum we mentioned is http://www.abolitionistapproach.com/forum/ where you can find Niilo's "abolitionist mom" Joe and other great advocates, discussing abolitionist veganism and all kinds of other things.

Thanks for coming on the show Niilo!

NZ Vegan Podcast Episode 71 - Embrace the Mystery

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A thought for the future; not knowing is a wiser way to live in a lot of ways.

Those who say, do not know; those who know, do not say. ~ Lao Tzu

And don't be overwhelmed by those darn animal product use diagrams making the rounds, you know the ones I mean, they are very "popular" amongst poverty of ambition advocates as another excuse for despairing!  Let them spur you on to be even more active and even more determined.