Our Hen House: Vegan & Animal Rights Movement | Stories from the Frontlines of Animal Liberation

In this week’s edition of Rising Anxieties, Mariann Sullivan dives into the animal agriculture industry’s latest nightmares—which, unsurprisingly, include you. From hand-wringing about the movement’s supposed $865 million war chest to the Reddit whistleblower exposing paid anti-vegan trolls, we’re clearly living rent-free in Big Ag’s collective consciousness. Meanwhile, Iowa’s 110 billion pounds of untracked manure mysteriously “disappears,” Zoe Rosenberg faces jail time for saving four chickens, and ranchers demand a “level playing field” with wolves—as if predators who evolved over millennia should politely avoid the cattle grazing on their ancestral hunting grounds.

This episode explores:

• How animal agriculture industry leaders are tracking and fretting over the rising influence and funding of animal rights activism, particularly Open Philanthropy’s $168 million investment
• The disturbing case of activist Zoe Rosenberg, sentenced to 90 days in jail and $102,000 in restitution for rescuing four sick chickens from a slaughterhouse
• A Reddit whistleblower’s revelation about coordinated industry efforts to discredit veganism online through fake accounts and manufactured negative experiences
• Iowa’s catastrophic environmental crisis with 110 billion pounds of factory farm manure going untracked annually, coinciding with rising cancer rates
• The ongoing conflict between cattle ranchers and wolves, with producers demanding “management tools” while grazing their cows on the predators’ natural habitat

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Thank you for listening to the Our Hen House podcast! If you enjoy our podcasts, believe in our mission to effectively mainstream the movement to end the exploitation of animals, find community and solace in our shows and resources, and would like to show your support for vegan indie media, please make a donation today.

Between now and December 31, every donation up to $20,000 will be tripled! Contributions of any amount will go towards our fundraising goal and are hugely appreciated. Our Hen House is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, so it’s tax-deductible. Thank you for helping us create quality content!

Subscribe to our show on Apple Podcasts, YouTube, or your favorite podcatcher, and don’t forget to leave a 5-star review!

Check out Our Hen House’s other podcasts: The Animal Law Podcast, The Teaching Jasmin How to Cook Vegan Podcast, and the Antiracism in Animal Advocacy Audio Series.

Follow us on social media! You can find Our Hen House on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Threads, or Bluesky.

The Our Hen House theme song is written and performed by Michael Harren.

This episode continues our special series featuring the Animal Policy Alliance, showcasing how policy advocates are creating institutional change for animals across America. Jodi Gruhn of Wholesome Minnesota, Judy Wolf of Animal Protection New Mexico, and Brenna Anderst of the Animal Policy Alliance discuss their collaborative strategies to increase plant-based food accessibility in schools and government institutions while building powerful coalitions that amplify their impact.

This episode explores:

• How the Animal Policy Alliance connects and strengthens local advocacy organizations
• Strategic policy approaches to introduce plant-based options in schools and government cafeterias
• Countering dairy industry influence through health equity and environmental messaging, including Animal Protection New Mexico’s Dairy’s Not Fair program
• The power of framing plant-based options as an expansion rather than a restriction
• Grassroots initiatives gaining momentum for plant-based milk alternatives in school lunch programs

ABOUT OUR GUESTS

Jodi Gruhn is a fierce advocate for compassionate living creating change by bringing plant-based nutrition directly to Minnesota’s youth. As Director of Wholesome Minnesota, a project of Compassionate Action for Animals, she’s transforming school food systems from the inside out—driving policy initiatives that put plant-based options on cafeteria trays while building community partnerships. Jodi works directly in classrooms teaching students to cook delicious plant-based food and energizes environmental clubs, cultivating a generation that understands the power of their food choices to honor animals, their own health, and the environment.

Judy Wolf is the Chief Program and Policy Officer for Humane Communities for Animal Protection New Mexico and has extensive professional experience working in a variety of non-profit organizations, both overseas and in the United States. Her career comprises multiple directorships and program development roles for community-based agencies, advocacy organizations, and international institutions. Judy has a passion for the protection and welfare of animals and has been a volunteer and supporter of animal welfare organizations for many years. 

Brenna Anderst is the Senior Policy Advisor at The Humane League, where she provides support to members of the Animal Policy Alliance through local, state, and federal policy research, model legislation drafting, and legislative and campaign strategy development. Prior to joining The Humane League, Brenna directed the legislative campaigns, lobbying efforts, and educational initiatives of an animal protection organization and farmed animal sanctuary in Washington state and was a founding member of the Animal Policy Alliance. In this role, Brenna led, or was involved in, the advancement of 20+ state and local level laws protecting animals. Her wide range of policy experience includes working with organizations and advocates locally and across the country on issues related to companion and farmed animal protections, animal cruelty enforcement reform, retail pet sales regulations, plant-based food procurement, and more.

We are thrilled to expand the accessibility of our podcast by offering written transcripts of the interviews! Click here to read this episode's interview.

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The Animal Policy Alliance, established by The Humane League, is a powerful collective of local and state-level animal advocacy groups throughout the United States. We serve as a trusted resource, providing knowledge, strategies, connection opportunities, and grants to our member organizations. We lead with purpose, empowering alliance members to build toward our shared vision of a world without animal abuse.

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Thank you for listening to the Our Hen House podcast! If you enjoy our podcasts, believe in our mission to effectively mainstream the movement to end the exploitation of animals, find community and solace in our shows and resources, and would like to show your support for vegan indie media, please make a donation today.

Between now and December 31, every donation up to $20,000 will be tripled! Contributions of any amount will go towards our fundraising goal and are hugely appreciated. Our Hen House is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, so it’s tax-deductible. Thank you for helping us create quality content!

Subscribe to our show on Apple Podcasts, YouTube, or your favorite podcatcher, and don’t forget to leave a 5-star review!

Check out Our Hen House’s other podcasts: The Animal Law Podcast, The Teaching Jasmin How to Cook Vegan Podcast, and the Antiracism in Animal Advocacy Audio Series.

Follow us on social media! You can find Our Hen House on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Threads, or Bluesky.

The Our Hen House theme song is written and performed by Michael Harren.

RESOURCES

• • • Have your say in the EU’s public consultation on animal welfare.
    • The Internet Loves These “Gay Sheep.” The Real Story Is Much Darker.
    • The Dutch Senate has voted to phase out public funding for primate experiments
    • Exclusive: CDC to end all monkey research
    • Poland’s president signs fur farming ban into law
    • Dr Gemma Newman Explains ‘Why People Seem To Hate Vegans’ And What To Do About It
    • Bed & Breakup
    • Governing Bodies: A Memoir, a Confluence, a Watershed
    • The Goat Conspiracy with Nicole Schonemann

_____________________________________________

Thank you for listening to the Our Hen House podcast! If you enjoy our podcasts, believe in our mission to effectively mainstream the movement to end the exploitation of animals, find community and solace in our shows and resources, and would like to show your support for vegan indie media, please make a donation today.

Between now and December 31, every donation up to $20,000 will be tripled! Contributions of any amount will go towards our fundraising goal and are hugely appreciated. Our Hen House is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, so it’s tax-deductible. Thank you for helping us create quality content!

Subscribe to our show on Apple Podcasts, YouTube, or your favorite podcatcher, and don’t forget to leave a 5-star review!

Check out Our Hen House’s other podcasts: The Animal Law Podcast, The Teaching Jasmin How to Cook Vegan Podcast, and the Antiracism in Animal Advocacy Audio Series.

Follow us on social media! You can find Our Hen House on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, or Bluesky.

The Our Hen House theme song is written and performed by Michael Harren.

This week, Mariann dives headfirst into the murky waters of the UK’s “Spycops Scandal,” where undercover officers infiltrated animal rights groups with tactics ranging from the questionable to the downright duplicitous. Then, brace yourself for Mariann’s special brand of eye-rolling commentary on the self-congratulatory bubble of animal agriculture, where farming isn’t just a job but apparently a divine calling passed down through generations of people who think they invented hard work. Because nothing says “perspective” quite like turning sentient beings into commodities while patting yourself on the back.

This episode explores:

• The UK’s “Spycops Scandal” where police officers infiltrated animal rights groups, including one who fabricated a gun plot against activists
• How one undercover officer ended up genuinely falling for and marrying the animal rights activist she was investigating
• The problematic culture of animal agriculture that indoctrinates children from birth and portrays farming as a superior way of life
• The Non-Human Rights Project’s ongoing legal battle to have elephants recognized as legal persons, facing opposition from hunting and “conservation” interests
• How animal rights arguments often face resistance because acknowledging the rights of one animal logically extends to all animals

_____________________________________________

Thank you for listening to the Our Hen House podcast! If you enjoy our podcasts, believe in our mission to effectively mainstream the movement to end the exploitation of animals, find community and solace in our shows and resources, and would like to show your support for vegan indie media, please make a donation today.

Between now and December 31, every donation up to $20,000 will be tripled! Contributions of any amount will go towards our fundraising goal and are hugely appreciated. Our Hen House is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, so it’s tax-deductible. Thank you for helping us create quality content!

Subscribe to our show on Apple Podcasts, YouTube, or your favorite podcatcher, and don’t forget to leave a 5-star review!

Check out Our Hen House’s other podcasts: The Animal Law Podcast, The Teaching Jasmin How to Cook Vegan Podcast, and the Antiracism in Animal Advocacy Audio Series.

Follow us on social media! You can find Our Hen House on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Threads, or Bluesky.

The Our Hen House theme song is written and performed by Michael Harren.

In this intellectually stimulating episode of the Animal Law Podcast, Mariann Sullivan speaks with constitutional law expert Michael Dorf about his innovative course “Animals and the Constitution.” Dorf shares how fundamental legal principles intersect with animal protection, revealing both the limitations and opportunities within our constitutional framework for advancing animal rights.

This episode explores:

• Constitutional standing for animals: How courts determine whether animals can have legal standing and the challenges of representing beings who cannot speak for themselves
• Religious freedom vs. animal protection: Analysis of Church of the Lukumi Babalu Aye v. City of Hialeah and the complex balance between First Amendment rights and preventing animal cruelty
• Free speech implications for animal advocacy: Examination of United States v. Stevens and the constitutional challenges of regulating depictions of animal cruelty
• Comparative constitutional approaches: How other countries are incorporating rights of nature and animal protections into their constitutional frameworks
• Strategic advocacy dilemmas: The difficult balance between arguing for specific animals’ rights while avoiding implications that might alarm courts

ABOUT OUR GUEST

Michael C. Dorf is the Robert S. Stevens Professor of Law at Cornell Law School, where he teaches constitutional law, federal courts, and related subjects. He has authored or co-authored six books (including, with Sherry Colb, Beating Hearts: Abortion and Animal Rights) and over one hundred scholarly articles and essays for law journals and peer-reviewed science and social science journals. His most recent work of scholarship (co-authored with Sherry Colb) is “If We Didn’t Eat Them, They Wouldn’t Exist”: The Nonidentity Problem’s Implications for Animals (Including Humans), in The American Journal of Law and Equality. He also frequently writes for the general public. In addition to occasional contributions to The New York Times, USA Today, CNN.com, The Los Angeles Times, and other wide-circulation publications, Professor Dorf has been writing a bi-weekly column since 2000 and publishes a popular blog, Dorf on Law. Dorf received his undergraduate and law degrees from Harvard. He served as a law clerk for Judge Stephen Reinhardt of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and then for Justice Anthony M. Kennedy of the U.S. Supreme Court. He maintains an active pro bono practice mostly consisting of writing Supreme Court briefs.

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You can listen to the Animal Law Podcast directly on our website (at the top of this page) or you can listen and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, YouTube, or your favorite podcatcher. Also, if you like what you hear, please rate it on Apple Podcasts, and don’t forget to leave us a friendly comment! Of course, we would be thrilled if you would consider making a donation or becoming a member of our flock (especially if you’re a regular listener). Between now and December 31, every donation up to $20,000 will be TRIPLED! Contributions of any amount will go towards our fundraising goal and are hugely appreciated. Our Hen House is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, so it’s tax-deductible. Thank you for helping us create quality content!

Don’t forget to also listen to the award-winning,  weekly signature OHH podcast — now in its fifteenth glorious year!