Aidan Alexander and Thom Norman: The Animals That Need Our Help the Most

"…This is not a surprise in many ways and, for decades, not just animal rights activists, but public health experts have been sounding the alarm bells about this kind of risk. And you know, my concern is in many ways people are referring to this as a once in a century event or the black swan or something, but it's like rolling dice and rolling snake eyes once doesn't have any effect on rolling. And in fact, we're rolling the dice even faster now. The main reason is because we are in so much contact with animals through factory farms. So the way to think about pandemics is that we know that emerging zoonotic infections come from places where animals and humans are in close contact. Well, where is that? Live animal markets, we know that. And the other place is industrial animal farms and slaughterhouses. That is the most obvious place for that connection to happen." – Leah Garces The New Coronavirus has done a superb job at exposing the numerous vulnerabilities and holes in many of our systems and industries, but none are as gaping or dangerous as the chasms in our food system. Our food system is in crisis. We are seeing it right now – meat shortages, mass killings of animals because of shut downs and overflow, workers are getting sick and dying. It's a fragile system that needs (and has needed for decades) a complete overhaul. By exposing these vulnerabilities, the pandemic is also giving us an opportunity to demand that the system change and, while we are at it, to think about changing the way that we eat. If we don't, if we ignore the scores of red flags waving from the factory farms and slaughterhouses across the country, then not only will the crisis deepen, but we are also putting the entire globe at risk for another pandemic that could and probably will be much worse than the one we are currently experiencing. Factory farms are breeding grounds for viruses and bacterial resistance. We cram thousands of animals into filthy, confined spaces. Their immune systems are stressed because of their living conditions. This is the perfect environment for viruses to grow and to mutate. And, to transmit to humans – it's happened before and next time, and, yes, it will happen again, and next time could be much worse. Leah Garcés mission is to end factory farming. She is the President of Mercy for Animals and has spent much of her life leading the animal protection movement in exposing the hidden and horrible worlds of factory farming - and, changing them. Her approach has been usual and it's created change in a system that in many ways seemed unchangeable. She has worked with whistleblowing farmers to expose industrial chicken farms and has partnered with some of the world's largest food companies to improve conditions for factory-farmed animals. Leah learned that she could make considerable progress by working with her adversaries in the meat industry instead of battling against them, something I think that all of us can learn from. Her story is one that makes us rethink how we change broken systems and repair destructive industries. She wrote a book about it called, Grilled, Turning Adversaries Into Allies to Change the Chicken Industry. It's an incredible read – not only does it expose the horrors of our food system, it's also a book on how to make change happen, how to fight for justice, and how to remain empathic, optimistic, and hopeful in a fight for a much better world. Leah is a hero to millions of animals, to humans across the planet, and to me. She thinks big, she get's things done, and creates massive impact in the process.

6 Touko 202050min

Rich Hardy is a former undercover investigator who spent two decades working in 28 countries, exposing animal cruelty of many of the worlds worst industries – including fur trapping in North America, monkey breeding farms in Asia, and slaughterhouses and factory farms across the globe. His images and videos have been used by more than 20 international animal organizations helping to change minds and laws about how we treat animals. Most of the industries Rich worked in are hidden from the public, extraordinarily secretive, and often have higher security than Area 51; therefore Rich lived an incredibly risky double life for much of those 20 years. He had to take jobs doing the very thing he was there to expose and many of his assignments involved working with and often befriending those causing harm and suffering to the animals he was fighting to protect. One would think that 20 years of witnessing that kind of mass scale abuse would harden the soul and embitter just about anyone, but Rich is one of the kindest, most thoughtful guys out there. His work only broadened his already enormous capacity for compassion - toward animals but also toward some of the very human beings he worked amongst. He wrote a book about it, called, Not As Nature Intended. It's based on his journals from his time undercover and somehow, manages to not only show the darkness and devastation of the worlds he had to become a part of, but there's also light, hope, and enormous heart. It's a testament of what he saw and of what billions of animals have endured and still endure every minute of the day. He and I spoke last week from our respective quarantines, his in the UK and mine in New York. I was especially interested in his time on factory farms, what he witnessed, the sickness and disease that are an inherent part of the industry, and why he is not at all surprised that we are in the midst of a pandemic that was caused by of our relationship to animals. In order to prevent future pandemics, it's not just wild animal markets that need to shut down, it's every industry in which we exploit animals. And factory farming should be right up there on the top of every single human's list.

30 Huhti 202034min

Justin Goodman is the Vice President of Advocacy and Public Policy at White Coat Waste Project, a two and a half million member, taxpayer watchdog group that is working to end twenty billion dollars in taxpayer funded animal experiments. Justin and I met in D C in February, pre-social distancing. And, it just so happened that on the very morning that we met, White Coat had released footage of National Institute of Health experiments that had been going on for decades. It was a gift for me to be with Justin before and after this interview, and to watch his phone blow up from half of Capitol Hill in reaction to the horrifying footage. I felt like I had front row seats to seeing how effective and powerful White Coat Waste Project is. And since we met, they've had another huge victory: A couple of weeks ago, White Coat exposed how the National Institutes for Health has spent millions of tax dollars funding dangerous coronavirus animal tests at the controversial Wuhan Institute of Virology and just one week after they released their international exposé–Trump promised he'd end the government's funding of dangerous, cruel and wasteful animal experiments at the Wuhan Institute of Virology! And, today is World Day for Laboratory Animals – so, please think about them during this (relatively) short stint in quarantine. They are in it for life, in tiny cages, being tested on and tortured, and almost all of them will never know the sun, the wind, the grass, what it feels like to run, explore, adventure, and discover; nor will they experience life with other animals, to be a part of a herd, a troop, a flock, or a family. Count your blessings and please, stop paying for their abuse.

24 Huhti 202041min

There's not much that we can be certain about in such uncertain times but there are a few things. One is that unless we change the way that that we treat animals, the next pandemic is most definitely coming. Only next time, it could be much worse, much more infectious and even more fatal than the current crisis we're now facing. COVID-19 most likely started at a wild animal market in Wuhan, China and was transmitted to a human from an animal, probably a pangolin. Wild animal markets are breeding grounds for diseases - and in order to stop the transmission of the diseases to humans, we need to shut down the markets, end the global wildlife trade, and change the way that we treat animals across the board. If there's one upside coming from this pandemic (I certainly hope there's more than one), it's that wild animal markets have shut down in China (at least they are closed right now) and hopefully, many other countries will soon follow suit. There's still much confusion surrounding the wild animal markets in China and elsewhere in terms of what's shut down and what hasn't. So, I asked Peter Knights the Executive Director of WildAid to explain. Peter has been investigating and working to end illegal wildlife trafficking for the past thirty years. WildAid is different from other conservation organizations, because instead of focusing on fighting the supply side of the illegal wildlife trade, they work to reduce demand and to increase local support for conservation efforts. They've been a massive force in the reduction of the demand for ivory, rhino horn, shark fins, and much other illegal wildlife for decades. Their campaigns have changed the world. If you haven't seen them (although, you probably have and just didn't know it) take a look at their website. There are two incredible campaigns for pangolins on there, one with Jay Chou and the other with Jackie Chan. Peter and I spoke on Friday from our respective quarantines. He graciously explained the current situation with what's happening with wild animal markets across the planet. And, he shared what the future looks like if we don't put an end to these markets and the wild life trade. I hope you learn as much as I did.

20 Huhti 202027min

Today's episode was recorded on Wednesday April 15th as a live webinar conversation between Pei Su, the Executive Director and Co-founder of ACTAsia and myself. It's unedited and somewhat messy sound-wise but we wanted to get it out as soon as possible. There are a lot of rumors and misinformation getting passed around the globe in terms of China's wildlife trade and markets: what has been banned, what hasn't, and what all of it means. In today's conversation, Pei Su answers many of my questions about what's happening on the ground in China, what the bans actually mean, and where the many loopholes lie. Pei Su has been on the front lines to create a better world for animals for three decades. She is a wealth of knowledge, a force and an inspiration. In 2011, she co-founded ACTAsia – an organization that's dedicated to creating change in China through humane education. What that means is that they go into schools and train the teachers to teach a 6-year program called Caring for Life Education. The kids are in the program from ages 6 -12 and they learn animal welfare, empathy toward animals, environmental issues, social welfare, and citizenship. To date, 80,000 kids have gone through Caring For Life and 2,000 teachers have been trained. Pei believes that things won't really change for animals in China until people start to view them differently – and, the best people for that job are the children – as they will create change for generations to come. There is also a ton of good information on what's happening in China on ACTAsia's website.

16 Huhti 20201h

"…but why do we treat animals like "animals"? We shouldn't be treating animals like animals, by which that means devalued under appreciated beings." – Lori Gruen Lori Gruen is the William Griffin Professor of Philosophy at Wesleyan University and the Coordinator of Wesleyan Animal Studies. She is also the author and editor of 11 books, most recently Critical Terms for Animal Studies and Animaladies. Her work in practical ethics and political philosophy focuses on issues that impact those often overlooked in traditional ethical investigations, e.g. women, people of color, incarcerated people, and non-human animals.

9 Huhti 202045min

When it comes to fashion and good design, Joshua Katcher, the man behind the sustainable luxury fashion label, Brave GentleMan, cares a lot about beauty; but not in the way that most people think about it. He defines beauty not only as the end result - the dapper suit or the stylish boots; instead, he only deems something beautiful when the entire process that has created that something is beautiful, meaning ethical, sustainable, and made with materials and processes that never hurt anyone - human or animal. (And, of course it needs to look good too.) Joshua knows a lot about fashion. He founded the popular men's vegan lifestyle website, The Discerning Brute in 2008. His brand, Brave GentleMan has appeared in Vogue and on the cover of GQ. He's taught at Parsons the New School and L I M College, and has lectured internationally and lobbied in the United States for sustainable and ethical fashion.

2 Huhti 202055min

"As children, we learnt respect for our elders and for authority, we learnt etiquette too, but rarely was it suggested that we extend any feelings towards animals, or indeed that animals have feelings. And because of this, many children in Asia grow up assuming animals exist to serve us, feed us, entertain us and clothe us; animals are useful 'moving objects', a literal translation of the Chinese word for animal." - Pei Su Pei Su is truly a pioneer. In the early 90s, she was involved with the forming of Taiwan's very first animal right's organization. 30 years later, it still exists and Taiwan's animal right's movement is one of the fastest growing in Asia. In 2011, Pei co-founded ACTAsia – an organization that's dedicated to creating change in China through humane education. What that means is that they go into schools and train the teachers to teach a 6-year program called Caring for Life Education. The kids are in the program from ages 6 -12 and they learn animal welfare, empathy toward animals, environmental issues, social welfare, and citizenship. To date, 80,000 kids have gone through Caring For Life and 2,000 teachers have been trained. Pei believes that things won't really change for animals in China until people start to view them differently – and, the best people for that job are the children – as they will create change for generations to come.

30 Tammi 202031min