Tomasz Herok on working undercover in factory farms

How I Learned to Love Shrimp

Description: Tomasz Herok recently spent over 5 months working undercover on British factory farms, as part of an investigation by Open Cages, the UK branch of Anima International.

[Trigger warning: graphic descriptions of animals suffering on factory farms throughout the episode]

In this episode we understand the complexities involved in being an undercover investigator, what Tomasz’s role on the farm entailed during his time there and how he personally deals with the trauma presented. We also talk through the campaign that the footage was used for and what Tomasz needed to capture in order for this to be a success.

An intense but incredibly in-depth look at the role of undercover investigators and what they witness on today's factory farms.

Relevant links to things mentioned throughout the show:

• Tomasz & Open Cages video to share
• Fellow Creatures – Christine Korsgaard
• Unlearning economics – YouTube/podcast
• Tech won’t save us - podcast

If you enjoy the show, please leave a rating and review us - we would really appreciate it! Likewise, feel free to share it with anyone who you think might enjoy it. You can send us feedback and guest recommendations via Twitter or email us at [e-mail]. Enjoy!

Chương

1. Episode preview (00:00:00)

2. Intro (00:01:36)

3. An animal related view that Tom changed his mind on recently (00:04:21)

4. Tom's personal journey into undercover investigations (00:05:38)

5. What was so compelling about this job (00:10:26)

6. What a farmworker does each day (00:11:57)

7. Why 5 months (00:19:12)

8. The mental difficulties of working undercover (00:22:09)

9. Sheer scales of animals and death percentages (00:25:34)

10. Surprising compassion amongst farm workers (00:29:02)

11. Farm workers talking about animal welfare and compassion (00:31:37)

12. What else was surprising in this job (00:37:15)

13. The worst and hardest parts of going undercover (00:40:15)

14. What kind of footage do investigators need? (00:45:03)

15. What happened with the footage and the difficulties of releasing undercover investigations (00:53:01)

16. Legal threats against journalists (00:58:10)

17. How organisations support undercover investigators (01:00:18)

18. What's next for the campaign (01:02:06)

19. Closing questions (01:06:20)