Vegan Accusations, Cancer-Causing CAFOs, and the Screw Worm Cometh | Rising Anxieties

This week on Rising Anxieties, we’re covering the full spectrum of animal agriculture chaos — from the political circus surrounding James Talarico’s (alleged) veganism to the unsurprising news that living next to a factory farm might be slowly killing you. Plus, a meat industry columnist accidentally makes the case for abolishing animal agriculture, and the screw worm is getting uncomfortably close to Texas. Business as usual, folks.

• Trump vs. Veganism: The President and Texas AG Ken Paxton are using “vegan” as a slur against Senate candidate James Talarico — who, in turn, distances himself from salad with uncomfortable enthusiasm.
• Better Chicken = Worse Planet: A meat industry writer lays out exactly why the Better Chicken Commitment is environmentally unsustainable — and somehow doesn’t connect those dots to the obvious conclusion that factory farming itself has to go.
• Factory Farming Causes Cancer: A Yale study confirms that living near a CAFO significantly raises cancer risk, which is bad news for literally everyone, including vegans.
• “Factory Farm” Is Just a Word: The Farm Babe does not like the term “factory farm” and would prefer you say CAFO, a phrase no one understands and that is presumably the point.
• Screw Worm Watch: The New World screw worm is now 52 miles from the US border, active cases in Mexico are surging, and the USDA is releasing sterile insects into the void and hoping for the best.

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.

Join hostesses Jasmin Singer and Mariann Sullivan on this unique and fun award-winning podcast that focuses on changing the world for animals.

SUBSCRIBE: iTunes | Android | Google | Stitcher | RSS