In this episode, I’m joined by Anita Krajnc. Anita is the co-founder of the Plant Based Treaty and the founder and executive director of The Save Movement. She is currently leading the “Beyond Cage-Free” initiative, an open letter that, and I quote, is “calling on Effective Altruists to pivot their focus area and the AI Windfall funding away from welfarist reforms toward plant-based initiatives that create multiplier benefits for animals, climate, health, food security, and reduced pandemic risk.”

I invite you to sign the Beyond Cage-Free open letter. I signed that letter. Not because I don't believe in evidence based activism, quite the opposite. There is evidence that those campaigns are not helping anyone - enough evidence to warrant putting a break on the stream of millions funding this style of activism.

In addition to discussing cage-free campaigns, we also tried to understand what is going on in the minds of activists in this movement who have chosen to pursue operating advanced forms of factory farming.

And to help us better understand their thinking, Anita and I looked at an article by Aiden Kankyoku, published on his Substack, Sandcastles, titled “There Is a Path to Meat Without Misery.”

Sign the Open Letter: https://beyondcagefree.org/

The Cage-Free Gaslight | Ep. 120 https://rss.com/podcasts/veganreport/2957184/

They Fought Factory Farms. Now They Want to Run One. | Ep. 125 https://rss.com/podcasts/veganreport/3127284/

"Factory Farming 2.0" — Sam Tucker-Davis https://collectivelygary.substack.com/p/factory-farming-20

PETA white paper: https://www.peta.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/Cage-Free-White-Paper.pdf

"There is a path to meat without misery": https://sandcastlesblog.substack.com/p/meat-without-misery-welfare-tech

Books

Turning Point — Fritjof Capra

The Re-Enchantment of the World — Morris Berman

Doughnut Economics — Kate Raworth

Regenesis — George Monbiot

The Ethics of Diet — Howard Williams

The First Step (essay) — Leo Tolstoy

Three Questions (short story) — Leo Tolstoy

Positive Tipping Point — Professor Tim Lenton

The Road — Cormac McCarthy

Films / Other Media

Mindwalk (film based on Turning Point, starring Liv Ullmann and Sam Waterston)

If you have any comment or question regarding the show, send a message to theveganreportpodcast@gmail.com

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When the renowned conservationist Lawrence Anthony—known as the "Elephant Whisperer"—passed away in March 2012, a herd of elephants he had rescued and rehabilitated at the Thula Thula reserve in South Africa performed an extraordinary act of mourning. They decided, on their own, to travel over 12 miles through the bush, arriving at his family home two days after his passing to hold a quiet, two-day vigil. Remarkably, the herd returned to the house on the exact same date for three consecutive years following his death.

This documented episode remains completely unexplained.

To discuss this mysterious phenomenon, I have with me Francoise Malby-Anthony, the widow of Lawrence Anthony, and the Director and co-Founder of Thula Thula. She is also the writer of several books, including "An Elephant in My Kitchen: What the Herd Taught Me about Love, Courage and Survival" and "The Elephants of Thula Thula" which I highly recommend. Check out the episode notes for more details.

Disover Francoise's books: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/21245215.Fran_oise_Malby_Anthony

Visit Thula Thula: https://thulathula.com/

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CALL NOW: U.S. Capitol Switchboard: 202-224-3121

Tell Your Senator: Oppose the Save Our Bacon Act — vote against it if it comes up, push to not include it in the Farm Bill.

Once your senator says they're opposed, make a public statement about it so the pressure sticks.

Connect with Matthew Dominguez:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthewdominguez/

X/Twitter: @matt_dominguez | https://x.com/matt_dominguez

Instagram: @matthew_t_dominguez |

https://www.instagram.com/matthew_t_dominguez/

Compassion in World Farming:

YouTube: @ciwfusa | https://www.youtube.com/@Ciwfusa

Instagram: @ciwfusa | https://www.instagram.com/ciwfusa/

Facebook: @ciwfusa | https://www.facebook.com/ciwfusa/

TikTok: @ciwfusa | https://www.tiktok.com/@ciwfusa

Bluesky: @ciwfusa.bsky.social |

https://bsky.app/profile/ciwfusa.bsky.social

LinkedIn: Compassion in World Farming USA | https://www.linkedin.com/company/compassion-in-world-farming-usa-/

Relevant website: https://www.ciwf.com/FarmBill

If you have any comment or question regarding the show, send a message to theveganreportpodcast@gmail.com

Follow The Vegan Report on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/veganreportpodcast/

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