Anita is Executive Director of the Plant Based Treaty initiative and the Animal Save Movement, a worldwide network of Save groups bearing witness to farmed animals & promoting veganism & love-based, grassroots activism. She describes herself as an animal rights and an environmental activist. She is the co-author of the book "The Secret Lives of Pigs".
Nicola is Director of Communications for the Plant Based Treaty initiative and works on the Animal Save Movement's communications team. She has over 20 years of experience in pressure campaigning in the UK.
In Sentientist Conversations we talk about the two most important questions: “what’s real?” & “who matters?”
Sentientism is "evidence, reason & compassion for all sentient beings." The video of our conversation is ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠here on YouTube⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.
We discuss:
00:00 Welcome
02:22 What's Real?
- NH:
- Raised #atheist with strong values & morals "be open-minded & critical & follow my heart & dreams... encouraged to find my own way." "My journey to #veganism has led me to question everything."
- Being told a cow is "beef"... "I was horrified". "You'll have to eat it or you'll die... we only eat the animals when they die of old age... no harm done."
- Becoming #vegetarian then #vegan... breaking the brainwashing
- #Punk, #hardcore & DIY "You can't go to a punk gig without coming hope with some pamphlets." Moby's Punk Rock Vegan Movie
- #Paganism & earth based religions
- Grounded in own experiences (e.g. taking people on excursions to chicken farms & bearing witness)
AK:
- Dogmatic #Catholic household "my journey was always trying to rebell against that... it didn't seem very authentic... the same performance every week... I didn't find it interesting or convincing"
- Parents from the former Yugoslavia
- Seeing "The Animals Film"
- Discovering #CarlSagan and #Cosmos "that rang true with me"
- Rejecting the sexism / discrimination often found in #christianity
- "We had very different worldviews from my parents"
- "I sort of like to think that animals have souls" #leotolstoy 's "Calendar of Wisdom"
- "Treat others as you'd like to be treated... we all know it applies to animals... also love thy neighbour... they're universal principles... if there's life on another planet... they apply"
- "I don't believe in the dogma of religion... or miracles... but there's something very special about life"
19:26 What & Who Matters?
AK:
- Regan Russell's Anglican upbringing
- "It wasn't difficult to move away from the [Catholic] world that I was living in"
- Peace & conflict studies, environmentalism, animal ethics at university
- "I was human centric... it didn't even occur to me to think about other animals"
- "When I saw the [Animals] film... it completely changed my world-view... it became a core value for me"
- #feminism & animal agriculture
- Studying environmental thought: "Does a tree have standing, does the Grand Canyon matter?... it opened my world"
- Going beyond sentience. Protecting trees for their own sake "Nature is incredible - it's such a gift... trees and this forest have rights in and of themselves - they're not just a utility to us or animals or sentients"
- "Sentience is absolutely important"
NH:
- A human-centred upbringing but "my mum used to take me over to the animal rights stalls... sign the petitions against fox-hunting & fur..."
- Family time in nature
- "The Hidden Life of Trees" - "It's blown my mind... they work as a community... you want to protect them"
- "I do absolutely extend my moral scope to the environment around us - we are all connected"

...and much more. Full show notes at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Sentientism.info⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.
Sentientism is “Evidence, reason & compassion for all sentient beings.” More at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Sentientism.info⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Join our ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠"I'm a Sentientist" wall⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ via ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠this simple form⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.
Everyone, Sentientist or not, is welcome in our groups. The biggest so far is ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠here on FaceBook⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Come join us there!