Grassroots activism is at the heart of justice movements, but animal advocacy has undergone significant changes in recent years. The grassroots has dried up and resources and energy has shifted. Laila Kassam has dedicated the past decade to researching social justice movements and analyzing their effectiveness. She will share her insights and practical strategies for implementing a healthy movement ecosystem in our latest episode.

Laila is a Founder and Director of Project Phoenix, cultivating a national network of organizations and individuals working toward shared goals for animal freedom. Laila is a Co-Founder and former Director of Animal Think Tank where she served for six years. She is co-editor of the book ‘Rethinking Food and Agriculture: New Ways Forward’ which envisions a truly just and sustainable food system. She is on the Advisory Board of Animal Advocacy Careers and The Empathy Project and a mentor for Kickstarting for Good. Laila has been involved in social change for most of her career having previously worked in international development for 15 years. She has a PhD in Development Economics (SOAS) and an MSc in Development Management (LSE).

Resources:

• Project Phoenix Website: https://www.project-phoenix.org.uk/
• Substack Post: Have we lost our nerve as a movement?: https://projectphoenixuk.substack.com/p/have-we-lost-our-nerve-as-a-movement
• Animal Freedom Network: https://www.animalfreedom.org.uk/
• Substack post on the first phase of the RSPCA campaign last year: https://projectphoenixuk.substack.com/p/for-charlie-a-unified-campaign-to

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Hope’s husband, Cogen, returns to the show for a unique discussion on the portrayal of animal personhood in media. They delve into the evolution of children’s entertainment and examine the representation of animals as individual, intelligent persons. Cogen and Hope explore how the depiction of animal personhood in these films has shaped our perception of animals. From Mickey Mouse to Charlotte’s Web and the Muppets, they examine how we have come to empathize with animals and recognize their emotional nature and how far we still have to go.

Films discussed:

Early Mickey Mouse Cartoons
Bambi
Dumbo
The Fox and the Hound
Beauty and the Beast
Princess and the Frog
101 Dalmatians
The Secret of NIHM
Charlotte’s Web
Babe
Finding Nemo
Finding Dory
Moana
Luca
Brother Bear
Kung Fu Panda
The Lion King
The Muppets

On this episode we explore Buddhism with Forrest Tierce, U.S. Project Director for Dharma Voices for Animals (DVA). DVA works to raise awareness on the connection between the ecological crisis caused by animal agriculture and Buddhist ethics—helping individuals and communities align their food choices with sustainability and compassion for all beings.

Forrest has been a dedicated vegan for 18 years and draws from two decades of Buddhist practice across multiple traditions, with a deep commitment to the heart of the Buddha’s teachings—especially the Five Precepts—as guiding principles for compassionate and ethical living.

Forrest’s story of transformation is inspiring. He grew up in Texas, his father worked in poultry industry, and in this youth, he hunted and fished animals. Forrest shares how he transformed to a life of nonviolence through Buddhism and vegan living. He talks about how practitioners of the teachings of the Buddha strive to reduce the amount of suffering in the world, but how that can too often leave out animals exploited for food.

His new campaign with DVA is called the Sustainable Sanga Collative That supports Buddhist sangas and retreat centers in serving plant based foods. Forrest also tells us about when he was a park ranger and how he would incorporate vegan ethics into his presentations for park visitors.

Resources:

Dharma Voices for Animals

Sustainable Sanga Collative

Ahimsa Living Circle

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Joining us today is Dr. Faraz Harsini, the founder and CEO of Allied Scholars for Animal Protection (ASAP). Faraz shares with Hope the importance of creating ongoing infrastructure on US college campuses that students can utilize for continued outreach. They discuss various vegan education tactics such as the use of graphic imagery and its effectiveness. Faraz also talks about encouraging changes to dining halls and how student activists should focus on increasing vegan options and not distractions like cage-free egg transitions.

Dr. Faraz Harsini is a food systems and biomedical scientist. He holds a degree in Chemical Engineering with a focus on environmental research and nanobiotechnology, an MSc in cancer research, and a PhD in Cell Physiology and Molecular Biophysics. As the founder and CEO of Allied Scholars for Animal Protection (ASAP), he is building permanent infrastructure in university to protect animals. Through ASAP, Faraz empowers students, promotes veganism, advances alternatives to animal testing in universities and medical schools, and helps dining halls transition to plant based food systems. He also lectures at many universities educating students on the benefits of a vegan diet.

Resources:

www.alliedscholars.org

www.instagram.com/alliedscholars

www.instagram.com/dr_faraz_harsini

www.youtube.com/c/DrFarazHarsini

https://twitter.com/DrFarazHarsini

Website:

www.alliedscholars.org

Ahimsa Living Circle Registration

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Hope is right at home this episode talking about one of her favorite subjects, humanewashing. Lia Wilbourn joins Hope for a conversation about their mutual frustration with the humane hoax and the deceptive marketing and cover-up tactics employed by the animal farming industry. They explore the detrimental impact of continuing to use the term “factory farming” and argue that the animal advocacy movement should phase it out. Lia and Hope also discuss the cage-free egg industry transition, challenging the notion that this industry shift is a positive development for animals. They also address the criticism of using the word “vegan” and how some people are saying that we shouldn’t use the word as it has too many negative connotations. There are lots of strong opinions on advocacy in this one, we unpack it all for you!

Lia Wilbourn has been active in a wide range of animal rights activism, including street outreach, demonstrations, writing, social media, speeches and art as activism. She is currently the Farmed Animals Campaign Coordinator at In Defense of Animals, advocating via articles, petitions, videos, etc. and co-hosting a monthly online Vegan Mentor Support Group. She also works with Allied Scholars for Animal Protection, is a volunteer on the Humane Hoax Project team, and is certified in Plant-Based Nutrition through Cornell University.

Resources:

Lia’s Contact/Instagram: @liaforanimals

The Humane Hoax Project

Article: Fixating on Factory Farms...

Article: Stop (Saying) Factory Farming

The Ahimsa Living Circle monthly online gathering: info and registration

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Farmed animal sanctuaries are the heart of the animal advocacy movement. Our guest today, Zoe Novic, Executive Director of CAPE (Center for Animal Protection and Education), knows this well as she grew up on a sanctuary in the Santa Cruz hills. Zoe has a diverse background that includes two years in the Peace Corps in Indonesia, a Master’s in Public Health, and leadership roles at The Humane League, Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, and Greener by Default, Zoe has expertise in grassroots organizing, public health policy, and advocacy.

On the podcast, Zoe discusses the significance of the human-animal connection in comprehending and understanding nonhuman animals. She talks about how sanctuaries serve as acts of resistance, providing physical spaces where we can shape the world as we envision it. She and Hope also discuss how sanctuary and rescue efforts have been devalued in recent years, with current animal advocacy funding and philanthropy philosophies moving away from funding direct animal care and how that is impacting the movement. Zoe emphasizes the importance of emotion in advocacy, highlighting how it can often prompt action more effectively than logic or reason. She further explains how sanctuaries deeply evoke emotions. Additionally, Zoe shares her public health background, underscoring the intricate connections between this sector and animal agriculture.

Resources:

CAPE: Center for Animal Protection and Education

Sonoma County VegFest, September 27, 2025

Film: Called to Rescue

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Compassionate Living

Some advocates in environmental and animal activism argue that we should solely focus on changing the system through government and corporate campaigns, discouraging grassroots action and personal change. Our guest, Janet O’Shea (informally known as Jay), co-authored an article in Newsweek in response to an environmental author’s piece arguing that going vegan is ineffective. Jay systematically debunks the faulty argumentation and refutes its flawed analogies. She offers insightful perspectives on veganism as a boycott, a social justice issue, and the history of vegetarianism, highlighting its differences from the current context.

Then, continuing the conversation about the importance of individual action, Jay talks about Gandhi and the Kahdi (homespun cotton) movement, comparing the British cotton boycott during the British occupation of India to the boycott of animal products today. Jay is incredibly knowledge and reveals some fascinating insights into this issue, please share this episode!

Full Bio:

Janet (Jay) O’Shea is author of Risk, Failure, Play: What Dance Reveals about Martial Arts Training (2019) and At Home in the World: Bharata Natyam on the Global Stage (2007). She is currently writing a book, entitled Bodies on the Line: Physicality, Sentiment, and Social Justice, which focuses on utility cycling advocacy, border solidary efforts, and farmed animal rescue. She has also written book chapters and articles on veganism, animal rights, and environmentalism. She is part of the teaching team for the freshman cluster course Food as a Lens for the Environment and Sustainability at UCLA, is on the advisory board of Climate Diet, and is a board member of New Roots Institute. She is a regular volunteer with animal rights, border solidarity, and food justice organizations. She is a Professor and Chair of the department of World Arts and Cultures/Dance at UCLA.

RESOUCES:

Jay’s Newsweek Article

Related Podcast: The Cage-Free Conundrum

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Patty Leon and Rich Winograd both grew up as animal lovers…or so they thought. It was during the pandemic that they came across documentaries, books, and articles that removed their blindfolds and led to the light switch moment to make a change for the better. Today they continue to learn and grow, sharing, their insight as animal rights, vegan and social justice activists. They actively volunteer for various organizations and have written a young adult novel titled “True Justice 4 All.” Rich and Patty share with Hope how they awakened to the hypocrisy of our relationship with animals and the detrimental impact of the food production system on animals, humans, and the planet as a whole.

Resources:

Rich and Patty's Book: True Justice 4 All

InstaGram: @truejustice4all

Sonoma County VegFest, September 27, 2025