Episode 32: The Lie of the Little Red Barn
When most of us imagine a farm, it’s a little red barn with happy cows, some sheep and a few chickens pecking in the grass. We are taught this story when we are children, through board books, the song “Old MacDonald” and our ABCs. But do you really know what happens on an industrial farm? Have you ever seen a video made by animal rights activists, of animals in pain and being mistreated? Did you scroll by? Did you watch it? On today’s episode we talk about bearing witness to the way animals are raised for us to eat. And about the laws that have been passed in states around the country to keep us from doing so. Who benefits from us staying in the dark? And what are the larger repercussions of hiding these truths behind factory farm walls?
Available wherever you listen to podcasts.
“...We all have the tools in our pocket to be an Upton Sinclair today. We have very high tech compared to when I was coming up in newspapers. We have a whole distribution system, publishing platform, high-resolution cameras, everything right in our pocket. And any one of us could be the one who sees something and exposes it. And that means any one of us is at risk.”
Episode guests:
Will Potter
Will is an award-winning investigative journalist and TED Senior Fellow who exposes political repression and the erosion of civil liberties. His most recent book is “Little Red Barns: Hiding the Truth from Farm to Fable.”
Leah Garcés
Leah is the CEO of Mercy For Animals and author of “Grilled: Turning Adversaries into Allies to Change the Chicken Industry” and “Transfarmation: The Movement to Free Us from Factory Farming.”
Tyler Lobdell
Tyler joined Food & Water Watch‘s legal team as a staff attorney in 2019, and focuses on combating factory farms through legal advocacy. Prior to joining Food & Water Watch, Tyler spent two years as the Animal Legal Defense Fund’s Food Law Fellow.
Mike Callicrate
Mike is the founder of Ranch Foods Direct. He is a rancher, business entrepreneur and family farm advocate.
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Top photo by by Bella D/Adobe Stock.