Animal abuse industry PR groups are suddenly very worried about undercover investigations targeting retailers instead of farms, a Brazilian trade show imagined a vegan supermarket with no bread (checks notes: vegan bread abounds), and a Wisconsin dairy program is teaching kids about cows via “virtual escape rooms.” Also: Congress “fixed” school milk access, USDA quietly un-fixed it, and somehow bird flu is now a trade negotiation.

• Animal Agriculture Alliance writers sound the alarm that undercover campaigns are shifting focus from farms to retail brands like Costco — treating “allegedly” like a magic word
• A Brazilian trade group staged a vegan supermarket stunt to mock plant-based shopping, but got basic facts about pasta, beer, candy, and pretty much everything else wrong
• New federal law was supposed to expand non-dairy milk access in schools, but USDA rules left the provision unfunded and unimplemented
• Wisconsin’s “Adopt a Cow” classroom program is quietly reshaping kids’ trust in dairy farming through propaganda
• Bird flu vaccination could stop the ongoing poultry crisis, but the US won’t do it because trading partners threaten to cut off poultry exports 

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.

Animal advocacy researcher Björn Ólafsson (More Than Meats The Eye, Better Food Foundation, Spain’s Animal Welfare Observatory) joins Jasmin and Mariann to unpack new UK survey data on public attitudes toward factory farming, why cognitive dissonance keeps animal lovers eating meat, and the behavioral science tactics — from “tasty titles” to plant-based defaults — that are quietly reshaping what people order.

• New Project Phoenix survey data reveals a generational paradox: older Brits are more likely to call factory farming immoral, while younger people are more likely to actually reduce meat consumption
• Why cognitive dissonance, not ignorance, explains why animal lovers keep eating meat — and how activists can avoid triggering defensiveness in the first place
• The case for dropping the word “vegan” from menus in favor of appealing, flavor-forward food names
• How plant-based nudges (climate-friendly ratios, plant-based defaults) are quietly increasing vegan food uptake in cafeterias, hospitals, and universities
• Why “high-arousal” emotions like anger — not sadness — are what make facts about animal agriculture go viral

ABOUT OUR GUEST

Björn Ólafsson is an animal advocacy researcher and communicator, and the author of More Than Meats the Eye, a Substack that translates behavioral science and social research into practical strategy for advocates working on meat reduction. He has a background in psychology and behavioral science at the University of Chicago and the Center for Decision Research, and sociology and demography at Universitat Pompeu Fabra. Currently, he’s also the Impact Specialist at Spain’s Animal Welfare Observatory and a Research Specialist at the Better Food Foundation. He also works as a freelance researcher and consultant in the movement, involving collaborations with Veganuary, Te Protejo, V-Label, Bank for Nature, Project Phoenix, VARC, Ethical Seafood Research, Agora, and more, this year alone.

_____________________________________________

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 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 week’s Hen Report dives into what makes an ally “natural” for animal advocacy, questioning whether meat reducers, cruelty-free (but non-vegan) consumers, or regenerative farmers truly share the movement’s goals. Jasmin and Mariann also break down troubling news about organic chicken production, the slow progress of cultivated meat, and the power of language in shifting public perception of animal agriculture.

• Are meat reducers and cruelty-free shoppers “natural allies” for animal advocates? Are regenerative farmers?
• Investigation reveals Costco’s organic chicken supplier violated animal welfare standards despite “humane” certification
• Aleph Farms secures Singapore approval for cultivated beef, targeting a 2027 restaurant launch
• New research shows “animal factory” may resonate more powerfully with the public than “factory farm”
• Urgent action alerts: support the Captain Paul Watson Foundation’s anti-whaling campaign in Iceland and push the Senate to pass the FDA Modernization Act 3.0

RESOURCES

• • • • • Aleph Farms Secures Singapore Approval for Cultivated Beef, Targets 2027 Restaurant Launch
        • Costco’s organic chicken isn’t what it seems
        • Animal Factory, Factory Farm, Or Something Else? Testing The Language Of Advocacy
        • Captain Paul Watson Foundation: Here’s What to Know About the Bandero and Its Crew
        • Operation 86: Stop Iceland’s Last Whaler
        • URGENT: Ask the Senate to Save Animals, Pass the FDA Modernization Act 3.0!
        • Life And Life Only: Episode 68- Animals For Food: A Horror Story (Part 1 of 3)
        • Mo Gilligan Eats Fried Chicken Every Day For A Month In New Documentary
  •  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 Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, or Bluesky.

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

This week’s Rising Anxieties discusses ASPCA’s “humane” shopping guide which has the industry in quite a tizzy, dismantles Temple Grandin’s feel-good slaughterhouse “culture” story, exposes the industry squeezing yet another product out of exploited cows, shreds the myth that farmers are the real victims of subsidy policy, and tracks the fights against factory farming still being waged in the Senate and at the ballot box.

• ASPCA’s ShopKind guide may still treat animal exploitation as negotiable but is driving the industry nuts nonetheless 
• Temple Grandin’s “culture has improved” claim ignores that abuse is baked into slaughterhouses whether or not anyone’s watching
• The dairy industry’s new colostrum cash grab is one more way cows’ bodies are being commodified
• Farm Babe’s subsidy defense conveniently ignores how taxpayer money keeps the exploitation machine running
• The Save Our Bacon Act and Oregon’s animal agriculture ballot measure show the fight against factory farming is far from over

 

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.

This week, Mariann Sullivan sits down with Cheryl Leahy, director of the newly launched Animal Law Practice Association (ALPA) at the Brooks Institute for Animal Rights Law and Policy, to unpack how the free program is training and connecting lawyers who want to build careers protecting animals. Cheryl explains ALPA’s two core pillars — a growing library of practical, topic-specific legal resources (like an in-depth FOIA guide) and a mentorship-driven community network — and dives into the question every attorney actually wants answered: can you really make a living practicing animal law? The conversation covers everything from dangerous dog hearings and dog bite liability insurance to False Claims Act opportunities and third-party litigation funding as an underused tool for animal law cases.

• • What ALPA offers: a free membership program pairing a detailed practice-topic library with a mentorship and networking community for licensed U.S. attorneys
  • Making animal law pay: why practice models range from pro bono and boutique firms to full-time solo practices, big-law pro bono work, and highly specialized, fee-generating litigation
  • Dog bite law deep dive: the overlooked world of dangerous dog hearings, why dog bite liability insurance matters, and the surge in civil dog bite litigation
  • Untapped funding strategies: how False Claims Act cases and third-party litigation funding — a $15 billion industry — could bankroll more animal law cases, including smaller ones through case “bundling”
  • Growing the field: the case for hybrid practices, co-counseling, legal incubators, and mainstreaming animal law expertise across every type of firm and practice area

ABOUT OUR GUEST

Cheryl Leahy is the Director of the newly-launched Animal Law Practice Association (ALPA) at the Brooks Institute for Animal Rights Law & Policy. The purpose of the ALPA is to provide practical resources and a network of support to introduce and improve lawyers’ skills in representing animal interests. The ALPA fills crucial gaps to move lawyers – whether newer or seasoned and no matter their primary practice discipline – with a passion for animals to effectively utilize their legal skills to maximize impact for animals.

Cheryl also serves on the board of directors for Animal Outlook, where she previously served as Executive Director, focusing on the development and oversight of its investigations, impact litigation, and policy work, and on effecting mainstream corporate and cultural change to shift away from animal agriculture. She also developed and taught one of the nation’s first courses on animals in agriculture and the law at UCLA Law and is a regular speaker at law schools and conferences. Cheryl and her work have been featured in academic journals as well as media outlets including The Washington Post, NPR, and the New York Times.

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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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). 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!

This week, Jasmin and Mariann dig into a wave of encouraging news for the plant-based movement alongside a sobering look at threats to wildlife protections. They cover new data showing plant-based sales climbing across Europe as prices and taste improve, the FDA’s struggle to define “ultra-processed foods” (and its decision not to ban them), a lawsuit challenging the Trump administration’s rollback of Endangered Species Act protections, and the surprisingly bipartisan momentum behind banning gestation crates. They also explore whether “nudge theory” is really enough to drive lasting dietary change, how Denmark’s landmark pig-farming reforms could offer lessons for U.S. advocacy, and a win for ethical vegans’ legal rights in Europe.

• Plant-based sales are rising across Europe as price gaps close and product taste and affordability improve, according to Good Food Institute data
• The FDA says defining “ultra-processed foods” is “challenging” and won’t be banning them, easing fears about a broad crackdown on plant-based products
• Environmental groups are suing to block a Trump administration rule change that weakens Endangered Species Act habitat protections
• The fight over pig gestation crates is uniting voices across the political spectrum, from conservative commentators to progressive lawmakers
• Denmark’s push to reform its massive pig farming industry offers a case study in using animal-welfare messaging to move public opinion

RESOURCES

• • • • • World’s First Commercial Octopus Farm Plans Scrapped Following Opposition
        • How many adult vegans and vegetarians are in the U.S.? The Vegetarian Resource Group asks in a 2026 survey conducted by the Harris Poll
        • Brazil’s Lula signs into law foie gras ban, angering France
        • California’s New State Budget To Support Dairy-Free Milk And Plant Foods In Schools
        • Argentina Court Rules That Fish Have Rights—and PETA Takes the Message to Times Square
  •  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 Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, or Bluesky.

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

The industry’s talking points are getting more absurd by the week: a farm blames “vegan extremists” for ending baby goat cuddling sessions, a horse-carriage op-ed acts like $65K/year is a job worth preserving at all costs, and the EU touts a “protein plan” that funnels plant protein straight back into animal feed. On this episode of Rising Anxieties, we call out the spin, line by line.

• A Pennsylvania farm cancels its $5 baby goat snuggling sessions and blames animal rights advocates instead of asking why they were exploiting baby animals for cash in the first place.
• We break down “The Vegan Extremist Mindset,” a piece that tries to paint compassion for animals as a mental health problem.
• The New York Post defends Central Park’s horse carriage industry as if underpaid, uninsured jobs justify continued animal exploitation.
• Oregon’s PEACE Act gets misrepresented as a threat to pet euthanasia, when it’s really about closing cruelty loopholes for industry.
• The EU’s new protein plan claims to reduce reliance on animal agriculture, but 70% of it still goes to feeding livestock — proof the industry still isn’t taking real steps toward change.

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.

Bestselling author and James Beard Award winner Joanne Molinaro, AKA The Korean Vegan, joins Our Hen House to discuss her new book, Korean Vegan: Homemade. She traces her journey from a health-driven plant-based diet to animal-centered veganism, and unpacks how she navigates preserving Korean culinary tradition while reshaping it around compassion. The conversation ranges from confronting cultural assumptions about meat to the surprising rise of Korean food and identity on the world stage.

• How Joanne’s vegan journey shifted from health and environmental motivations to a deep commitment to animal welfare
• Why Korean “temple cuisine” offers a naturally plant-based framework rooted in Buddhist philosophy and gentleness
• Strategies for veganizing traditional family recipes without erasing cultural identity or history
• The unique challenges of confronting immigrant family narratives around meat, sacrifice, and tradition
• How Joanne turned viral TikTok storytelling into two bestselling cookbooks that transcend the “vegan cookbook” category

ABOUT OUR GUEST

Joanne Lee Molinaro, known as The Korean Vegan, is a New York Times–bestselling author and James Beard Award winner whose work reaches more than six million followers worldwide. What began as a pandemic-era experiment has evolved into a global platform, where viral plant-based Korean cooking videos intertwine food, storytelling, and cultural reflection.

_____________________________________________

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 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 week, Jasmin and Mariann dig into a wave of encouraging news for the plant-based movement alongside a sobering look at threats to wildlife protections. They cover new data showing plant-based sales climbing across Europe as prices and taste improve, the FDA’s struggle to define “ultra-processed foods” (and its decision not to ban them), a lawsuit challenging the Trump administration’s rollback of Endangered Species Act protections, and the surprisingly bipartisan momentum behind banning gestation crates. They also explore whether “nudge theory” is really enough to drive lasting dietary change, how Denmark’s landmark pig-farming reforms could offer lessons for U.S. advocacy, and a win for ethical vegans’ legal rights in Europe.

• Plant-based sales are rising across Europe as price gaps close and product taste and affordability improve, according to Good Food Institute data
• The FDA says defining “ultra-processed foods” is “challenging” and won’t be banning them, easing fears about a broad crackdown on plant-based products
• Environmental groups are suing to block a Trump administration rule change that weakens Endangered Species Act habitat protections
• The fight over pig gestation crates is uniting voices across the political spectrum, from conservative commentators to progressive lawmakers
• Denmark’s push to reform its massive pig farming industry offers a case study in using animal-welfare messaging to move public opinion

RESOURCES

• • • • • Plant-based price gap closes in Europe, driving sales
        • FDA Admits Defining Ultra-Processed Foods is ‘Challenging’, Says It Won’t Ban Them
        • Environmental groups sue government to stop a big change to the Endangered Species Act
        • The unlikely cause bringing liberals and conservatives together
        • Are Nudges Toward Plant-Based Foods a Cheap Shortcut to Dietary Change?
        • How Denmark’s ‘Pig Election’ Rewrote Factory Farm Politics
        • European Court Confirms Ethical Veganism Is a Protected Philosophical Belief in Europe
        • Jordi Casamitjana on Our Hen House
  •  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 Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, or Bluesky.

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

This week Mariann tears through the industry press so you don’t have to: an Animal Ag Alliance exec frets about “brand-busting” without ever explaining what it means, Oregon’s IP 28 gets branded an extremist plot for daring to remove cruelty-law loopholes, a horse vet insists carriage horses basically drive themselves, and ranchers wax poetic about breeding cattle too docile to complain. Plus: France loses millions of birds to a heat wave (measured in tonnage, obviously), BLM guts public input on grazing rules, and Millie Bobby Brown starts a quinoa-vegan controversy nobody asked for.

• Animal Ag Alliance’s own conference notes admit litigation is the movement’s most effective tool — straight from the industry’s favorite worrier.
• Oregon’s IP 28 ballot measure would strip every cruelty-law exception (mostly benefiting animal ag) — critics call it “extremist,” we call it genius.
• A carriage-horse vet’s op-ed argues the horses barely work at all, then spends several paragraphs explaining why the industry desperately needs more regulation
• BLM quietly rewrites grazing rules on 155 million public acres, cutting out everyone except ranchers 
• Bonus: cattle genetics for “docility,” a French poultry heat-wave die-off, and a Millie Bobby Brown quinoa controversy that somehow became a referendum on vegans

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.