A.F.A.R.
Wednesday December 6th, 2023 with Carolyn Harris
This week, we'll be listening to a 2009 interview with the vegan ecofeminist scholar Marti Kheel, discussing ecofeminist philosophy, the limitations of mainstream environmentalist theory, why feminists should embrace veganism, and more!

Over the past several months, I've been exploring the old newsletters of Feminists for Animal Rights, a group that was active in the United States from the early 1980's to the early 2000's. As they stated in their literature, Feminists for Animal Rights sought to "raise the consciousness of the feminist community, the animal rights community, and the general public regarding the connections between the objectification, exploitation, and abuse of both women and animals in patriarchal society." In addition to producing a newsletter, members of Feminists for Animal Rights tabled at events and conferences; gave presentations and workshops; created opportunities for like-minded women to connect, study, and learn from one another; and participated in a variety of other activist initiatives. The group was quite influential within the animal rights movement at the time. One of the co-founders of Feminists for Animal Rights was the vegan ecofeminist scholar and activist Marti Kheel, who developed the FAR slide show and wrote a number of important essays about ecofeminism. She was the author of the 2008 book, Nature Ethics: An Ecofeminist Perspective. Sadly, Marti passed away in 2011. On the show this week, we'll be listening to an abridged version of an interview with Marti that was originally broadcast in 2009 on the show Hear Me Raw, based at Joy Radio in Australia. In this episode, the interviewer, Sue, asked Marti to describe the key principles of ecofeminist philosophy. They also discuss the limitations of mainstream environmentalist theory, why feminists should embrace veganism, how vegaphobia is related to homophobia, and what’s wrong with using sexist tactics in animal advocacy. Marti's insights are very much worth listening to and considering. I hope you'll listen in!