Renee King-Sonnen, founder of Rowdy Girl Sanctuary and author of the new memoir Rowdy Girl: Confessions of a Vegan Cattle Rancher, returns to Our Hen House to share the unlikely journey behind her long-awaited book. From battling addiction to falling in love with a rescued calf named Rowdy Girl, Renee opens up about the spiritual awakening that transformed her from a Texas cattle rancher’s wife into a vegan advocate — and how that same rowdy spirit carried her through to land a book deal with Bloomsbury Publishing.

• How Renee’s five-year journey to publish her vegan memoir led to a deal with Bloomsbury Publishing
• The spiritual awakening on a Texas cattle ranch that sparked her transition to veganism
• Why bottle-feeding a rescued calf named Rowdy Girl changed the course of her life
• Renee’s take on Jesus, Christianity, and animal compassion in the Bible
• Practical advice for navigating veganism with family during the holidays

ABOUT OUR GUEST

Renee King-Sonnen, Founder and Executive Director of Rowdy Girl Sanctuary, has been at the forefront of animal rights activism internationally ever since she rescued her husband’s Texas herd from slaughter. She tells their story of former Texas cattle ranchers turned vegan at VegFests, conferences, animal rights rallies, and vegan celebrity events. Their story went viral on CBS Evening News in 2016, launching an international following and fanbase that propelled Rowdy Girl into the forefront of the Animal Rights Movement. In 2016, Renee won the VegNews prestigious “Vegan Rookie of the Year” Award. No longer a rookie, her voice can be heard on podcasts, news stories, documentaries, and magazine interviews all over the world. Renee’s journey is the subject of the documentary, Rowdy Girl: The Story of a Texas Cattle Rancher Who Went Vegan, streaming on Apple TV, GuideDoc, and Tubi. It also airs nationwide on PBS. Her debut memoir, Rowdy Girl: Confessions of a Vegan Cattle Rancher, was published by Bloomsbury Publishing on June 25, 2026.

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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. 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.

In this episode of Our Hen House, filmmaker Joanna Zelman and her father, retired emergency medicine physician Dr. Jared Zelman, join hosts Jasmin Singer and Mariann Sullivan to discuss their viral short documentary Cow Trip, which follows a chaotic road trip rescuing two dairy calves from Vermont to a Maryland farm sanctuary. The conversation dives into life inside the dairy industry, the unexpected compassion shown by farmworkers, and what it takes to tell an authentic animal story.

• The making of Cow Trip: How a calf rescue transport video led to a full documentary about the dairy industry featured in a 2-page spread of The Washington Post, on Good Morning America, First Look, ABC, and CBS.
• Life on a dairy farm: Inside the emotional realities faced by farmers and farmworkers who care for animals bound for slaughter
• Storytelling with animal agency: Joanna Zelman’s approach to filming animals as individuals, not just subjects
• The power of authenticity on camera: Why staying true to the real story—flaws, bloopers, and all—resonates with audiences
• Where Mickey and Moose are now: An update on the rescued calves four years after their journey to Rosie’s Farm Sanctuary

ABOUT OUR GUESTS

Joanna Zelman is a Washington, DC-based filmmaker and writer who has spent her career telling stories about animals, climate, and social justice. She spent 10 years as Executive Producer of The Dodo, the world’s #1 animal brand, where she helped grow the team to garner over 1 billion views per month. Additional producing credits include Dodo Heroes (Animal Planet), My Pack Life (Discovery+), and Rescued by Roman (Disney+). 

Dr. Jared Zelman is a retired emergency medicine physician based in Connecticut. He is a founding member of the EMS Institute Inc. in Connecticut and has served as a volunteer EMT for 35 years. He enjoys gardening and bicycling, and is the proud father of two daughters, grandfather to three grandsons, and dog dad to two senior dogs.

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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. 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.

Jasmin Singer and Mariann Sullivan catch up on New York City happenings and dig into major animal advocacy news, from a vegan appointee shaping the city’s food policy to the fight to finally end horse-drawn carriages after a tragic event. They also cover a legal win for student activists, RFK Jr.’s surprisingly bipartisan push to reduce animal testing, and a call to action against Marriott’s broken cage-free egg promises—plus a look at new AI tools helping advocates work smarter.

• New York City appoints a lifelong vegan and environmentalist to lead its food policy, aiming to expand access to healthy, affordable groceries in underserved neighborhoods
• A human fatality after a carriage horse spooks renews urgent calls to pass “Romanch’s Law,” a bill to end NYC’s horse-drawn carriage industry and transition drivers to new work
• University of Wisconsin-Madison students are cleared of wrongdoing after facing backlash for promoting a protest against Ridglan Farms
• RFK Jr.’s push to phase out animal testing gains rare bipartisan support in Washington, signaling momentum for cruelty-free research policy
• Animal welfare group ICAW protests Marriott and the National Geographic Society over unmet cage-free egg commitments and ties to exploitative wildlife tourism

RESOURCES

• • • • • Zohran Mamdani Appoints Vegan Environmentalist To Direct NYC Food Policy
        • Central Park Horse-Drawn Carriage Rides Resume, as Push for Ban Intensifies
        • CALLING ALL NYC RESIDENTS: On July 15, the City Council will hold a hearing on Romanch’s Law
        • Attorneys Applaud UW-Madison Decision That Exonerates Student Animal Rights Group for Publicizing Ridglan Farms Protest
        • Man sues DHS after agents tracked him down for sending a scathing email to ICE
        • RFK Jr.’s quiet push to end animal testing wins rare bipartisan praise in Washington
        • The Faunalytics Lens: See animal advocacy research clearly.
        • Tell National Geographic: Remove David Marriott from the Board
  •  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 episode dives into the Ridglan Farms activist prosecutions, USDA’s new “lawfare portal” (yes, the federal government apparently needs help fighting itself), CAFO propaganda dressed up as science, and fresh data showing just how misled the public really is about caged hens and industry-funded meat studies.

• Wisconsin prosecutors pile more charges on Ridglan Farms activists, while the actual documented animal cruelty went uninvestigated for years
• USDA partners with the SBA to help farmers fight federal regulators — using a “lawfare portal” that’s already logged 600+ complaints
• Industry messaging strategy exposed: how animal ag groups are coached to “disarm” the public rather than debate them
• UC Davis-backed CAFO defense unpacked, including the sleight-of-hand around “marginal land” and feed efficiency
• New research shows industry-funded meat studies are 16x more likely to report favorable conclusions, plus 75% of Brits wrongly believe caged hens are a thing of the past

 

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.

Artists, authors, and activists Sol Anzorena and Tom Grotewohl join Our Hen House to discuss their grassroots campaign, Protect the Porkies, fighting a proposed copper mine that threatens Michigan’s Porcupine Mountains, Lake Superior, and the North Country Trail. They break down the ecological risks of toxic mine waste, light and noise pollution on wildlife, and how their small local movement grew into a national fight — all while remaining vegan activists building unlikely alliances with hunters, conservatives, and nature lovers alike.

• How Sol and Tom’s Protect the Porkies campaign began — and grew from a single change.org petition into a national movement against the proposed Copperwood copper mine
• The environmental threats at stake: toxic wastewater discharge, endangered redside dace, and irreversible damage to old-growth forest and Lake Superior
• Why light and noise pollution from mining operations devastate nocturnal wildlife, migratory songbirds, and firefly mating cycles
• How grassroots organizing, art contests, and handwritten letter campaigns helped defeat a $50 million state funding proposal three times
• The Rights of Nature movement, their upcoming documentary, and their graphic novel, Reynard the House Wolf, as tools for building cross-movement solidarity

ABOUT OUR GUESTS

Sol Anzorena was born in the Andes Mountains of Argentina and grew up in southern Spain. Uncertain of what to pursue in college, she took a year off from her studies to backpack in South America, where she began to paint murals, solidifying her dedication to art. She then studied Fine Arts in the city of Granada in Spain, then Poland, then Brazil. Her photography has appeared in publications such as Vogue, Humana Obscura, and The Sun Magazine. She also composes songs for guitar under the name Maple Moon, and she loves to design and craft beaded earrings inspired by the birds and insects of the North Woods. She’s currently working on an illustrated book to talk about light pollution.

Tom Grotewohl is a writer and musician living in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. He co-founded Protect the Porkies, a grassroots campaign fighting to protect the Porcupine Mountains, the North Country Trail, and Lake Superior from a proposed copper mine, along with other initiatives.

• Human Creativity Contest — seeking submissions from USA and Canada: https://protecttheporkies.com/contest
• Call to Action — international letter writing campaign to the EXIM Bank: https://protecttheporkies.com/take-action
• Reynard the House-Wolf — pick up a copy of Tom and Sol’s graphic novel, Reynard the House-Wolf: https://www.solanzorena.art/shop/p/reynard-the-house-wolf-graphic-novel

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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. 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 episode of The Hen Report features Mariann Sullivan and constitutional law professor Michael Dorf, filling in for Jasmin, for a wide-ranging conversation connecting Supreme Court doctrine to the fight for animal rights. Dorf draws sharp parallels between the catch-22 legal standards trapping activists like Wayne Hsiung and the contradictory hoops required for habeas corpus relief, arguing both function as reassuring “lies” that mask how little protection the law actually provides. The episode also digs into the recent birthright citizenship case, the case for and limits of extending constitutional rights to sentient animals, and why cruelty laws’ vague “necessity” standard lets outdated practices persist unchallenged.

• Michael Dorf breaks down how legal necessity defenses and habeas corpus doctrines create impossible catch-22s that mirror the obstacles facing animal cruelty investigations and activism
• Analysis of the Supreme Court’s birthright citizenship ruling and what the 14th Amendment’s broad language means for expanding legal protections beyond its original intent
• A critical look at sentience-based constitutionalism, including the practical and democratic challenges of extending constitutional rights to non-human animals
• Why animal cruelty statutes using terms like “necessary” or “unjustifiable” should be (though generally aren’t) interpreted to reflect modern ethical standards
• Updates on the Save Our Bacon Act, Oregon’s IP 28 ballot initiative, and grassroots lobbying efforts shaping the future of farmed animal welfare policy

RESOURCES

• • • • • Farm Bill Lobbying Training: Harnessing the Power of Grassroots Activism
        • The “Huge Vegan Survey” Aims to Be the Biggest Study of Vegans and Plant-based People
        • Redefining Democracy: How Constitutional Law Could Embrace All Sentient Life
        • Yes on IP28
  •  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 on Rising Anxieties, Mariann Sullivan digs into a genuinely encouraging legal development (yes, really), some deeply depressing policy news from our neighbors to the north, a dairy industry propaganda machine that apparently involves a live cow, and a livestock industry reminder that “precious cargo” has nothing to do with feelings. The usual cocktail of outrage, dark humor, and the occasional glimmer of hope.

• Legal Impact for Chickens sues Foster Farms — the animal law organization leverages California’s Corporations Code to take a major poultry producer to court over documented animal abuse, in a landmark move that could open the door for similar suits
• Canada’s $2.1B food strategy ignores plant-based proteins — a first-ever national food security plan goes all-in on animal agriculture and seafood while failing to mention the alternative proteins Canada already leads the world in producing
• Dairy industry doubles down on school milk promotion — including a “mobile dairy classroom” featuring a live cow, because apparently the propaganda needs to be hands-on
• Cattle heat stress = an industry profit problem — a Meatingplace feature on “heat mitigation” reminds us that shade over feedlot pens only matters when the profits (not the animal) are at risk
• Brazil’s antibiotic oversight gap threatens EU poultry exports — Brazilian producers cry paperwork while the EU asks for basic government-level antimicrobial monitoring that Brazil simply doesn’t have

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 law attorney and activist Wayne Hsiung joins host Mariann Sullivan along with attorneys Chris Carraway and Steffen Seitz of the University of Denver’s Animal Activist Legal Defense Project to break down the California Court of Appeals decision in Hsiung’s criminal case—a pivotal ruling that overturned two of three trespass convictions stemming from actions at Sunrise Farms and Reichardt Duck Farm, while leaving critical legal questions about the necessity defense unresolved. The group also previews a potential California Supreme Court battle and provides updates on Zoe Rosenberg’s appeal and the Ridglan Farms beagle rescue prosecution in Wisconsin.

• Necessity defense left in limbo: The appellate court declined to rule definitively on whether harm to animals can qualify as a “significant evil,” instead defeating the defense on narrow imminence grounds—creating a circular legal standard that punishes activists for both planning too much and failing to exhaust alternatives.
• Mistake of law defense wins: The court agreed Wayne was entitled to present evidence that he genuinely believed the necessity doctrine made his actions lawful, a ruling the prosecution is now asking the California Supreme Court to overturn.
• First Amendment challenge to trespass statute: A novel argument that a California trespass law is unconstitutionally content-based—because it exempts labor organizers but not animal rights advocates—was poorly addressed by the appellate court and remains a live issue.
• Ridglan Farms prosecution underway in Wisconsin: Wayne and co-defendants face four felony counts including burglary and theft connected to the March 2025 rescue of 30 beagles from the notorious research facility; trial is currently set for January 2027.
• Dogs as a bridge to broader animal advocacy: Wayne argues that widespread social connection to companion animals—combined with the mainstream visibility of the Ridglan campaign—is creating a meaningful pathway to expanded concern for farmed and laboratory animals across the political spectrum.

ABOUT OUR GUESTS

Chris Carraway is an attorney and an activist. Before joining the Animal Activist Legal Defense Project, he was a lead attorney in the Office of the Colorado State Public Defender. There, Chris defended cases ranging from low-level misdemeanors to first-degree murder, participated in over 60 jury trials, and litigated cases in the Colorado Court of Appeals and Colorado Supreme Court. Chris graduated from Georgetown University Law Center, where he was president of the student chapters for the National Lawyers Guild and the Student Animal Legal Defense Fund. Before that, Chris began his involvement in animal rights activism in his hometown of Raleigh, North Carolina­—doing outreach, defendant and prisoner support, and organizing local campaigns against the selling of foie gras and fur. Witnessing the criminalization of animal rights activism in the 00’s compelled him to go to law school. Chris brings his experience as a defense attorney and his passion for animal rights to the Animal Activist Legal Defense Project.

Steffen Seitz is a litigation fellow for the Animal Activist Legal Defense Project, where he represents animal advocates and whistleblowers in a variety of proceedings and conducts academic research. Steffen graduated from Yale Law School in May 2023. As a law student, Steffen was a member of the Yale Animal Law Society and a Law Ethics and Animal Program Student Fellow. He also worked as a legal extern on animal activist cases, particularly those involving the right to rescue. Steffen is interested in criminal law, animal law, social movements, and their intersections.

Wayne Hsiung is an animal rights lawyer, co-founder of The Simple Heart Initiative and Direct Action Everywhere, and former faculty member at Northwestern School of Law. He has served as lead counsel—and sometimes defendant—in five “right to rescue” trials, investigated and rescued animals from factory farms and slaughterhouses globally, and published on animal law in the Harvard Law Review and University of Pennsylvania Law Review. His work has been covered by The New York Times, WIRED, ABC’s Nightline, and The Ezra Klein Show. Follow his work at simpleheart.org.

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!

In this episode of The Hen Report, Jasmin Singer and Mariann Sullivan welcome flock member and postdoctoral researcher Neha Nataraj from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. Neha attended the Johns Hopkins/PCRM Summer Immersion on Innovative Approaches in Science — a free, four-day conference focused on reducing and replacing animal use in biomedical research and toxicology — and shares what she learned about the cutting-edge science, the people driving it, and the complex realities of working toward a world with fewer animals in labs.

• Non-animal methods (NAMs) explained: Neha breaks down the three main categories of new approach methodologies — in vitro (cell cultures, organoids, organ-on-a-chip), in chemico (molecular analysis), and in silico (AI and computer modeling) — and where each stands in replacing animal testing.
• Federal momentum for animal-free science: The NIH’s newly created Office of Research Innovation Validation and Application (ORIVA) signals growing government investment in NAMs, with a goal of fully replacing animals in preclinical drug testing — though full replacement in basic biomedical research remains a longer-term challenge.
• The human side of animal research: A standout panel featuring Maddie Krasno (Executive Director, Justify), Madhu Nag, MBS, PhD (CSO, inSphero), and Alexis Feidler, MS (Neuroscience PhD candidate, University of Rochester). explored the emotional toll animal research takes on scientists, and how some have redirected entire careers toward humane alternatives.
• PCRM’s outsized impact: The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine was highlighted as a key driver of systemic change, including securing the FDA’s I-STAND program, which allocates dedicated funding for non-animal methods.
• Upcoming documentary — “The New Gold Standard”: A brand-new film about cutting-edge science replacing animal testing had its second-ever screening at the conference; watch for its release on PBS this fall.

RESOURCES

• • • • • 2026 Summer Immersion on Innovative Approaches in Science
        • Johns Hopkins Center for Alternatives to Animal Testing
        • Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine
        • Current Affairs VOL. 10, ISSUE 4
        • Losing Our Cruelty
  •  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.

In this episode of Rising Anxieties, Mariann Sullivan tears through the week’s most revealing industry news — from egg producers finally grasping that animal advocates want them gone, to Oregon’s audacious PEACE Act inching toward the ballot, to the toxic gas hazards quietly killing dairy workers. She also covers the Cargill lockout rocking Colorado’s beef industry, the federal government’s creative reinterpretation of H-2A visa law to hand dairy farms a captive labor force, and a truly stunning Memorial Day message from the National Beef Association that somehow forgot what Memorial Day is actually for.

• PETA vs. Vital Farms: PETA bought stock and asked a pointed question at the shareholder meeting — Vital Farms declined to answer, proving the point better than any answer could have
• Oregon’s PEACE Act: The ballot measure to criminalize ranching, hunting, and fishing has enough signatures; even its own organizers aren’t betting on a win — they just want people talking
• Manure gas is killing workers: Cornell published a safety guide for toxic gases on dairy farms, because hydrogen sulfide and ammonia exposure is apparently still treated as a scheduling problem
• Cargill lockout in Colorado: 1,700+ workers locked out for weeks, with new allegations of antitrust collusion on labor rates — welcome to Big Meat
• H-2A visas for dairy: The Department of Homeland Security quietly opened the door for dairy farms to use guest worker visas, creating exactly the captive, rightless workforce the industry has always wanted

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.