The Meat Industry Loses Its DC Friends, Gen Z Ghosts Pork, and Big Beef’s Climate Cover-Up | Rising Anxieties

This week, Mariann finds herself in a suspiciously good mood despite a roster of horrors: ag-friendly lawmakers are departing Washington, Western states are busy “euthanizing” wolves in the most creative misuse of that word yet, and 2,400 pigs died in a barn fire that somehow produced “no injuries.” On the bright side, Gen Z is apparently ghosting pork, the hog market is in freefall, and a new report confirms what everyone already suspected—Big Beef knew about its climate impact back in the ’90s and chose deception. Also: cancer-causing fire retardant in your fish meal, supermarkets begging governments to stop yanking every last mackerel out of the sea, and your tax dollars hard at work building a dairy industry in a country full of lactose-intolerant people. Plus, a shout-out to Cat Phipps, the grassroots activist proving one person can actually ruin a multi-country live animal export operation. Farm lobby loses its Congressional cheerleaders: Dozens of lawmakers with big ag ties are leaving Washington, and the industry is very sad about it, which is a promising sign for anyone who isn’t a factory farm Shooting wolves is not euthanasia: Colorado and other Western states are reintroducing wolves and then killing them the moment they do what wolves do; calling it euthanasia doesn’t make it euthanasia Gen Z is not buying pork: Hog market hits “historic lows” as younger consumers cut their per-capita pig consumption, and industry veterans find this “puzzling” Big Beef’s ’90s climate disinformation campaign exposed: Newly surfaced documents show the National Cattlemen’s Association knew about livestock’s methane problem decades ago and opted to lie about  Cancer-causing fire retardant in fish meal + US dairy expansion in lactose-intolerant Indonesia: Because nothing says “agricultural innovation” like poisoning farmed fish and exporting lactose to a country that can’t digest it       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. _____________________________________________ 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.  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.