Sunday, August 16, 2009

NZ Vegan Podcast Episode 36 - Follow-up interview with Francis Glass from Animal Liberation Youth Victoria in response to some great listener feedback

Listen HERE

I am very pleased to welcome back Francis Glass, coordinator of Animal Liberation Youth, from Animal Liberation Victoria. In our last interview we talked about non-vegan volunteers handing out literature, and this episode we would like to respond to the comments and concerns that raised about this subject, as it is definitely something that needs to be discussed. Thank you to Karin Hilpisch for your comments!

We also talk about young people who are going vegan and how important they are to our future, and what it is like for a young person who is still living with their parents to go vegan, the resistance some kids get from their families and 13 and 14 year olds dealing with parents who are hostile to veganism and actively try to prevent their children from being vegan. We discuss the different reasons why the parents may be reacting in this way and try to come up with more ideas on ways to help them and their children through that. This is something us independent, adult vegans can't relate to as we control our own home environments and the products that we buy, so I am very grateful to Francis for offering us some insight into that, and for reminding us that it is not so easy for young people living in controlled environments as it is for independent adults.

We also go on to talk about why we promote ethical reasons to go vegan above all other reasons such as health, environment etc, while still stressing that knowledge of these other aspects is essential too.

In my next interview with Francis we will discuss further comments raised about protesting in front of KFC and the like with regard to promoting veganism and not single issue campaigns. We didn't get a chance to cover that this time as we went off to talk about other things (as often happens on this podcast) however please be assured we will be talking about that, as it is also very relevant and valid topic for discussion. Thanks again to listeners for the great feedback and insight and suggestions and thanks to Francis for coming back on the show!

Here is the link to the Vegan Easy Challenge mentioned on the show: link here
This is what ALL the animal groups should be doing.

I mentioned a book written by a teenage vegan called Claire Askew, who I heard interviewed on Vegan Freak Radio. Claire wrote a book for teenage vegans called Generation V, and it is a fantastic resource for teenagers. Listen to the Vegan Freaks interview with Claire here

I also mentioned a quote by Marin Luther King, Jr. which in my usual style I had not committed to memory and so totally screwed up. Please forgive me as always. I will work on that! Here is the quote:

"
History will have to record that the greatest tragedy of this period of social transition was not the strident clamor of the bad people, but the appalling silence of the good people."
- Marin Luther King, Jr.

UPDATE: If anyone's audio is messed up about halfway through, please re-download. I am so sorry for making anyone download this twice. I totally messed up, and there is some audio from the last interview mixed in by accident. I loaded up the correct file. Please delete the messed up audio and re-download. Sorry!

10 comments:

  1. Hey, I really enjoy your podcast, but I can't listen to it on my mp3 player because its encoded in m4a format. Would it be possible for you to provide either an mp3 or an ogg vorbis format feed? Thanks

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  2. Hi there
    thanks for letting me know, I will sort it out. It will take a while to convert them all, and also i have no idea what an ogg vorbis feed is! I will check it out. I can't do it right away but I promise to sort that out soon.
    Thanks for listening! I will contact you through your website to let you know.
    Thanks again!

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  3. At around 14:20 - You mentioned that Williams parents could think you're a wierdo corrupting his mind or a predator. I was thinking about this in a previous episode, since you're over twice his age. Funny stuff.

    At around 20:20 - "My iron is tip-top baby" lol

    At around 52:15 - I love your reaction when you find out he sometimes smokes: "Ooooooh, you need to stop! Stop brother, it'll get you in the end..."

    At around 58:15 - You mentioned a plant source of vitamin B12. What are you referring to? My understanding is that there is no plant source. Apparently the B12 in nutritional yeast is there due to fortification. Apparently B12 is created by bacteria, and this bacteria lives somewhere inside animals that people eat.

    You should have him on again. It's always interesting and enjoyable to listen.

    Liam McCombes, I've converted all the episodes to Ogg Vorbis. You can download them here - http://members.iinet.net.au/~hanjohn/nzveganpodcast/

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  4. Wow Gordon!
    Thank you so much for doing that conversion for me! Also, yes, I am not clued up about the science of B12 and no doubt I made a mistake. It is bacteria, but the bacteria in vegan supplements and nutritional yeast is not sourced from animals. I need to brush up on this stuff. Thanks for pointing that out.

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  5. No worries.

    When I first went vegan and was researching this sort of basic nutrition, I was worried that there was no such thing as vegan B12... I personally get my 2 micrograms of vitamin B12 from drinking 500ml of soymilk. It's fortified with vitamin B12. One serving = 250ml and that contains 50% of my B12 RDI. It would be better if it had twice as much vitamin B12, because sometimes I can't drink that much.

    Also something that pisses me off is the fact that they only sell 1L cartons of soymilk. You can buy massive 3 litre bottles of cows breast milk. :(

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  6. i think hitting the streets and activism is better than just sitting on a computer blogging .Its a shame how the computer is being used as a 'activist ' tool when in reality there are enough vegan blogs..take your message to the street!

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  7. Mino - I agree that hitting the streets and taking the message to the people is important, but a lot of the activity that goes on on the internet (like this podacast for example, or Roger Yate's blog, or oof course abolitionistapproach.com etc...) is very important also. It provides an extensive support base for the global vegan community and helps us (I haven't felt this way, but I know some have) not feel isolated.

    It is also a place for discussion and critique - which allows us to better our own tactics and strategies in how we should try to bring about a vegan world. They also give us ideas, recipes, often they will tackle subjects that people want help or perhaps open their minds to think about something in a different way than they had before.

    The more the better. All in all, they're both really important.

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  8. For the sake of time & space thought I'd comment on the last 3 episodes at once... In a nutshell - I love Francis!
    What a genuine story he had to tell about his experiences (especially the amusing one with the mince pie) - :)

    That meat eating "celebration" Australian Day (?) reminds me of our "Thanksgiving" - any excuse to indoctrinate a whole culture into eating animals gleefully! It's sad (and frustrating) but it's these very traditions that most people are so reluctant to replace.

    Francis made a very positive observation: "Flesh is the new fur" - I like that!

    And Slap the Butcher! Oh that's a great idea. There must be a lot more freedoms there than here in the U.S. though... I think if I were to attempt such a move at my local butcher - they'd shoo me off in quick time! But that the butcher came back with "Live and let live" is just bewildering!

    And finally... the absolute best thought Francis had to share was this - That you're not stepping out of your "place" by telling the truth. And that in our moral dissonance, society must get over the fact that we have emotions. That it's not wrong to feel sympathy for Others.

    I can't say how many times I've heard people accuse me or other vegans of being "sentimental". Or that we are unwilling to "face the facts of life". Of course they mean "death"... or actually "killing". I don't think it's wrong to feel deep pity and sadness (and rage) about innocent life being brutalized. It's a shame for us, a shame for them - a shame for all that is good in the world. Experiencing and voicing this NORMAL reaction to Other's pain & suffering should not be marginalized or criticized.

    Francis at the young age of 18 seems a more aware and fully formed human than 99% of the world in which he lives.

    Oh... and lastly he made reference to Carol Adams "The Sexual Politics of Meat":
    http://tinyurl.com/kkwgah

    Thanks for having him on! And for all you do bringing these different views to light.

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  9. Very good episode, again. I really enjoy listening to you both talking.

    There's another problem with the health argument which you didn't address, or at least I don't remember: People who avoid eating animal products for health reasons have no reason not to buy animal products for clothing, cosmetics, or furniture, and they have no reason not to support zoos etc. Only the ethical motive comprehends it all.

    So, thanks again, I'm looking forward to the next show. And Francis, quit smoking, seriously. :D

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