Melanie Joy at NY Capital Region Vegetarian Expo with her fuzzy friends. Photo by Derek Goodwin
Featuring interviews conducted at the New York Capital Region Vegetarian Expo on October 1, 2011. The featured interview is with Melanie Joy, author of Why We Love Dogs, Eat Pigs and Wear Cows. Melanie talks about carnism, the word she coined to describe the invisible system we are born into that supports the eating of animals. She also discusses idioms, activism, happy meat and abolition. An illuminating interview for sure!
Also featured are interviews with Jill & Tracey from Compassion Couture, a vegan high fashion shop, and Samantha & her son Noah from Emmy's Organics, an Ithaca-based business making yummy vegan foods. Derek also interviews Jeff and Lisa, proprietors of the Red Robin Song Guest House in New Lebanon, NY (in the Berkshires on the NY/MA border). Having met Lisa at the expo, Derek went to the vegan B&B to get a true flavor of the place, and meet the goats and chickens who live at the sanctuary that is part of the operation.
Finally we debut two new songs. In Big Ole Vegan Mountains Derek has written new lyrics to the classic song 'Big Rock Candy Mountains' to describe a vegan paradise rather than a hobo one. At the end of the podcast we offer a jam improvisation by Derek (ukulele/vocals), Vee Hadad (guitar/vocals), and Christopher Phillips (cello). The song is Crazy Vegan, and for a song that was being written as it was played and recorded it is very entertaining. Hopefully it will be shortened and made more radio-friendly in the near future!