What if I told you that cage-free campaigns are not only ineffective at helping hens, but may actually cause more suffering—and even set back the animal rights movement?

That claim might surprise you, or even shock you, considering how many major animal rights organizations have embraced this strategy and how many millions of dollars have been invested in cage-free advocacy over the years.

Yet this has become the view of a growing number of activists, organizations, researchers, and veterinarians who believe it's time to rethink the cage-free approach.

WHITE PAPER ON THE FAILURE OF CAGE-FREE HOUSING SYSTEMS TO REDUCE OVERALL HEN SUFFERING: https://www.peta.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/Cage-Free-White-Paper.pdf

Veterinarians For An Egg Free Future : https://www.ourhonor.org/blognew/eggfree

Listen to the How We Win podcast (Vasile & Devs Stănescu): https://www.winforanimals.org/

Read Vasile Stănescu's Substack: https://winforanimals.substack.com?utm_source=navbar&utm_medium=web

Reconsidering Cage-Free Eggs: An Open Letter from Concerned Scholars https://www.researchgate.net/publication/405742319_Reconsidering_Cage-Free_Eggs_An_Open_Letter_from_Concerned_Scholars

Big Poultry Owns Your Backyard. | Ep. 92 https://rss.com/podcasts/veganreport/

Why Chickens Don't Belong in your Backyard. https://rss.com/podcasts/veganreport/

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Today, we travel to Japan and discover its burgeoning vegan and animal rights activist community. Japan is often considered one of the worst countries in terms of animal protection - compared to the West and to its Asian neighbors. But could that be starting to change?

To discuss this topic, I am joined by Anita Dollar, also known as the Osaka Vegan. Anita is an animal rights activist and creator who is doing the incredible work of promoting veganism in Japan. If you're planning to visit Japan, I absolutely recommend her Vegan in Japan Cheat Sheet: https://linktr.ee/anita.dollar

In our conversation, we discuss the many forms of animal exploitation that exist across Japan, how accessible and rewarding vegan living can be there, why anime culture may not be helping the animal rights movement, and Anita's recent reporting on Buddhist temples that have moved away from their traditionally vegetarian roots. We cover all of that and much more.

Connect with Anita Dollar, the Osaka Vegan: https://linktr.ee/anita.dollar

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

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 "How many vegans are there? And is that number growing? Now, tucked away in this seemingly simple question is a minefield of inconsistent, conflicting, and missing data. And I recently did my best to make sense of it."

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/bryant-research-ltd/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bryantresearch_uk

Website: https://bryantresearch.co.uk/And

Email: elise@bryantresearch.co.uk

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Music by Alisia from Pixabay

Become a monthly donor NOW: https://www.dharmavoicesforanimals.org/dana-circle-1

Dharma Voices for Animals is more than just an impactful organization—it’s a vibrant community grounded in compassion, kindness, and a shared commitment to helping animals.

If you become a monthly donor today, you’ll not only make a lasting difference in the lives of farmed animals, but you’ll also receive a special gift: a limited-edition print by the renowned wildlife artist Carl Brenders.

Carl has generously donated 100 beautiful prints—each valued at over $100—to thank the first 100 supporters who pledge at least $20 per month to Dharma Voices for Animals.

It’s a stunning piece of art that will bring beauty to your home while serving as a daily reminder of your commitment to creating a more compassionate world for animals.

May All Beings Be Happy! A Buddhist Take on Veganism. With Bhikkhu Sunyo | Ep. 30 https://rss.com/podcasts/veganreport/1342993/

Preventing Vegan Burnouts. With Bhante Sathi | Ep. 74 https://rss.com/podcasts/veganreport/2016162/

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Have you ever heard of Palantir? Palantir builds data software that governments and corporations use to organize massive databases and... power mass surveillance. I won't go through every software they created, but you might know a few of them since their products always generate a backlash - like Operation Laser - which is a software that allows you to predict crimes. Yes, exactly like the movie Minority Report. I think it was dismantled after public pressure and lots of lawsuits...

Well, that same company has secured a 300 million dollars contract with the United Stated Department of Agriculture. The goal of that partnership is, and I quote: "empowering USDA with core capabilities that will enable it to secure American farmland, enhance supply chain resilience, and shield agricultural programs from fraud, abuse, and foreign adversary influence."

Now that is a lot of money, and that goal is very vague, and the company does not have the best of reputation. The USDA also does not have the best of reputation, siding again and again with private interests against the welfare of animals. All of that reeks, and it has lead my guest today, Robert Grillo, to raise concerns about the possibility of a mass surveillance operation against the animal rights movement.

Robert Grillo is an activist, author and speaker working to build grassroots momentum and popular support to advance a plant-based food system. He leverages major trigger events like rising food prices, bird flu and the farm bill debate to stage actions that capture the public and media’s attention.

Free from Harm, the organization he founded, is dedicated to advancing plant-based, animal-free food production for a safer, more humane and sustainable future.

Together, we discussed the place of money in the animal rights movement, but also its corrupting power in politics. How our movement lacks ambition. The promise of cultivated meat. And much more.

Subscribe to or follow the show, share this episode with the vegans in your life, and leave a five-star review. I truly appreciate your support. Thank you!

Support Free from Harm: https://freefromharm.org/donate/

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For this episode, I want to take you back in time to the very first recorded moment someone used the phrase “plants have feelings” – or a version of that - as an argument against animal sentience. Not on Reddit, not on Twitter — we’re talking the year 1391, in the late Middle Ages. And the person who said it wasn’t some random guy in a tavern. It was a Byzantine emperor, using this line of reasoning in a debate with an Imam.

What If the World’s Religions Stood Up for Animals? With Joyce D'Silva | Ep. 110 https://rss.com/podcasts/veganreport/2614080/

Why Does God Allow Animal Exploitation? With Rabbi Akiva Gersh | Ep. 77 https://rss.com/podcasts/veganreport/2061703/

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For today's episode, we are talking about the limits of Effective Animal Altruism with Vera Flocke. She exposes those limits in a recent paper published in the Journal of Animal Ethics titled: The Repugnant Conclusion of Effective Animal Altruism.

Vera Flocke has a PhD in philosophy from New York University and served for a few years as assistant professor at Indiana University. She is now the founder of Food System Stewards, which helps provide fundraising support to animal rights nonprofits.

Read Vera's paper here: https://muse.jhu.edu/article/984711

Learn more about Food System Stewards: https://www.foodsystemstewards.org/

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Music by Alisia from Pixabay

This was a fascinating conversation because we brought together two animal rights advocates from opposite ends of the political spectrum. David Michel was elected as a Democratic representative in the state of Connecticut, so he comes from the political left. Liam Gray, on the other hand, is a conservative, a veteran, and the founder of the animal protection think tank, the Wilberforce Institute.

And then we had Sandro Jenni, a researcher at the University of Zurich’s Psychology Personality Lab, who—true to his Swiss heritage—remained impressively neutral, offering thoughtful insights and valuable data throughout the discussion.

So every perspective was represented as we explored how to motivate animal advocates to engage politically at a time when so many feel disillusioned with the political class, why politicians aren’t working harder to earn the votes of the millions of vegetarians and vegans out there, and much more.

David Michel is on Substack, so be sure to subscribe. (https://substack.com/@davidmichel1/posts) You can also find his writing as a contributor to the CT Examiner. (https://ctexaminer.com/author/david-michel/)

Visit the Wilberforce Institute, Liam Gray’s organization, and check out their impressive work making the conservative case for animal rights. https://wilberforce.institute/

And be sure to read Sandro Jenni’s latest study on politics and veganism, titled Political Orientation and Attitudes About Agricultural Reforms Around Sustainability. (https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666833525002849?via%3Dihub)

Navigating the Left and Right Divide | Science of Activism https://rss.com/podcasts/veganreport/2555305/

And lastly, please subscribe to or follow the show, share this episode with the vegans in your life, and leave a five-star review. I truly appreciate your support. Thank you!

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

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