Episode 124 – COVID Part 6: Animal Agriculture & Pandemics (Dr. Aysha Akhtar)

Episode 124(Air Date: April 22nd, 2020) We’ve all kind of known this as vegans, whether we had hard evidence, or just a lurking suspicion. But today we’re going to set the record straight! ABOUT OUR GUEST: Aysha Akhtar, M.D., M.P.H., is a double-board certified neurologist and preventive medicine specialist, with a background in public health. She is …

Episode 124 – COVID Part 6: Animal Agriculture & Pandemics (Dr. Aysha Akhtar) Read More »

Episode 124
(Air Date: April 22nd, 2020)

We’ve all kind of known this as vegans, whether we had hard evidence, or just a lurking suspicion. But today we’re going to set the record straight!

ABOUT OUR GUEST:

Aysha Akhtar, M.D., M.P.H., is a double-board certified neurologist and preventive medicine specialist, with a background in public health. She is the CEO of the Center for Contemporary Sciences, which is pioneering the transition to replace the use of animals in experimentation with effective human-based technologies.

Dr. Akhtar is the author of the recent book, Our Symphony With Animals. On Health, Empathy and Our Shared Destinies. Combining medicine, social sciences, and stories, her book explores how deeply the well-being of humans and animals are entwined. She is also the author of Animals and Public Health, which argues for the need for medical/health institutions to include animals as part of the “public” in public health.

Dr. Akhtar is a Fellow of the Oxford Centre for Animal Ethics. Previously she served as Deputy Director of the U.S. Army Traumatic Brain Injury Program and Commander in the US Public Health Service Commissioned Corps. Dr. Akhtar has appeared in television shows and interviewed by national media.

She can be found at:
Website: www.ayshaakhtar.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/DrAyshaAkhtar
Twitter: @DrAyshaAkhtar

LINKS & RESOURCES:

Book:
Our Symphony with Animals. On Health, Empathy and Our Shared Destinies

Tedx Talk:
Do animals hold the key to your health?

Other Talks:
How Reliable and Predictive are Animal Experiments for Human Outcomes?

Our Symphony with Animals with Dr. Aysha Akhtar
Dr. Akhtar discusses medical testing on animals with Plant Based Nafsika

ANNOUNCEMENTS!!!

Unrelated, but still awesome — 15 year old vegan drag enthusiast, Zoe (@Truffleandbass on Instagram) is organizing a major fundraiser to help support local queens who are in need right now as the bars and performance spaces are all shut down. Zoe already surpassed her initial goal of $500. Help her meet her ultimate goal of $5,000!

Click here to donate to her fundraiser!
https://www.vegandragqueen.com/queensinneed

And as if one fundraiser wasn’t enough — my friend in Berlin, Jeff Mannes (of Orgysmic) who was featured on Episode 113, is using his upcoming birthday as a fundraiser to support queer culture! (Which I guess includes me as one of his chosen beneficiaries!) He’s aiming to raise €1,000 (Euros)
Here is the link to donate:
https://www.gofundme.com/f/jeffs-birthday-anticorona-charity

Vegan Drag Queen t-shirts are once again available! GET YOURS HERE!

AND LASTLY…
I’m going to be TEACHING a PODCASTING COURSE!
No dates or details just yet. For now I’m just gethering everyone’s info so I can see who is interested, but if you’ve ever wanted to learn the ins and outs of podcasting, let me be your teacher! Just fill out this survey here:
www.VeganDragQueen.com/TeachMe

Remember, you can always see all my gigs at:
www.VeganDragQueen.com/shows

And get on Honey LaBronx’s mailing list to be notified of upcoming events and projects!

Please be in touch and let us know what you thought of this episode!

– CALL US: (315) VEGAN-01, that’s 315-834-2601
– EMAIL US: [email protected]
– TWEET US: @BigFatVegans
– FACEBOOK US: Search for “Big Fat Vegan Radio”

FOLLOW ME ON TWITTER & INSTAGRAM!
@HoneyLaBronx

– MAILING LIST!!!: Sign up for the Big Fat Vegan Mailing List/Registry HERE!

SUPPORT THE PODCAST!

There are ALL NEW PERKS announced with various levels of membership! Whether you’d like to make a one-time or recurring donation, you now have many ways to be rewarded for your membership! You can read more about it on the Support The Podcast page, but because these are new perks, I’ll go ahead and mention them here:

• Become a Chickpea for $5/month (or $50/year)
You’re one of my precious Chickpeas! You will gain access to exclusive content including access to monthly interactive video chats and my secret podcast feed!

• Become a Sweet Pea for $10/month (or $100/year)
My Sweet Peas get the above perks, and will be thanked in the end of each episode.

• Become a Date for $25/month (or $250/year)
Is this a date? Yup! It’s a Date! My Dates get the above perks, and will additionally be thanked in the intro of each episode!

• Become an Elderberry for $100/month (or $1,000/year)
Elderberries are special because they boost the immune system! You alleviate my pain and fatigue, and you just keep me going! My Elderberries will get the above perks, and will be specially thanked and acknowledges as an Official Sponsor at the beginning and end of each episode.

There is no time commitment required for monthly memberships. You may cancel at any time!

Buy some famous Medieval Oil!

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENTS!

HONEY LABRONX IS NOW ON CAMEO!!!
…okay, so maybe not Cameo. I’m not yet famous enough for them to accept my application, so I went and created my OWN video shout-out. For $25, you can get a SHABLAMEO!
Go to www.VeganDragQueen.com/Shablameo to order your personalized video greeting from Honey LaBronx so she can tell the world how much she adores you, or wish a friend a happy birthday, or break the news to your good friend that that one outfit of hers that she’s so fond of? Yeah, gurl… it’s doing you exactly zero favors!

CALLING ALL VOLUNTEERS!
Are you interested in helping me out with a few things?  Maybe you’re good at data entry.  Maybe you’re good at audio or video editing.  Maybe you’re just good at doing miscellaneous tasks.  Either way, if the idea of helping me do more by helping out with a few small tasks interests you, let me know by filling out the survey at:
www.VeganDragQueen.com/volunteer

And as always, you can help me bring my tour to your city! Just go to: www.VeganDragQueen.com/Tour and fill out any and all surveys that relate to you!

Check out the new website for Big Fat Vegan Radio!
www.BigFatVeganRadio.com

ALSO…

If you’d like to support the Vegan Drag Queen cooking show, as well as Honey LaBronx’s other efforts — please check out her Patreon and consider becoming a monthly supporter at:
www.Patreon.com/HoneyLaBronx

SPECIAL THANKS to Michael Harren for our theme song!