The Disclosure Podcast Earthling Ed

This week I discuss the $19 billion bail out that the Trump administration has given to US farmers, and the wider issue of subsidising animal agriculture in general. I also discuss the UK government’s new plan for subsiding agriculture in the wake of leaving the EU, and how their new system could actually pave the way for a complete reform that would incentivise the shift to a plant-based food system.

In this episode I delve into the current slaughterhouse situation in the US, talking not only about the outbreaks of COVID-19 in US facilities and the effect that is having on slaughterhouse workers, but also how slaughterhouses foster an environment where workers suffer from mental health problems such as PTSD, drug and alcohol dependency, social isolation and emotional repression. I reflect on some of my personal experiences with slaughterhouses and slaughterhouse workers, and I also discuss how the current pandemic is driving people towards vegan options.

I speak with Mic the Vegan, a highly influential vegan educator and YouTuber, about what’s happening right now in slaughterhouses in relation to COVID-19, as well as the possibility of the coronavirus also being able to be spread through animals such as pigs.

In his speech from over a decade ago, ‘Pandemics: History & Prevention’, Dr Greger spoke about the inextricable link between animal use and zoonotic disease, as well as the dangers associated with industrialised farming of birds and pigs.

During my time in Berlin late last year, I had the honour of talking to Dr. Melanie Joy, a Harvard educated psychologist, public speaker and author who coined the term ‘carnism’.

Breaking down the latest news surrounding COVID-19 in relation to our exploitation of animals.