Paul Shapiro (author)

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Paul Shapiro
Portrait of Paul Shapiro, Animal Activist, 2013
Born (1979-07-03) July 3, 1979 (age 44)[1]
NationalityAmerican
EducationBachelor's degree, Peace Studies and Conflict Resolution, George Washington University
Occupation(s)Author and activist
Known forFounding Animal Outlook (formerly Compassion Over Killing)
RelativesRyan Shapiro (brother)
AwardsAnimal Rights Hall of Fame (2008)[2]
Websitewww.paul-shapiro.com

Paul Shapiro (born July 3, 1979) is an American animal welfare writer who authored the 2018 book Clean Meat: How Growing Meat Without Animals Will Revolutionize Dinner and the World.[3][4] He's also the CEO and cofounder of The Better Meat Co. and the host of the Business for Good Podcast. He has delivered five TEDx talks relating to sustainable food and animal welfare.[5][6] Prior to publishing Clean Meat, he was known for being an animal protection advocate, both as the founder of Animal Outlook (formerly Compassion Over Killing) and a Vice President at the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS).[7]

Personal life[edit]

Shapiro is married to Toni Okamoto, author of The Super Easy Vegan Slow Cooker Cookbook, Plant-Based on a Budget, Plant-Based on a Budget: Quick and Easy, and The Friendly Vegan.[8][9][10] The two reside in Sacramento, Calif. with their adopted pit bull Eddie.[11]

Biography[edit]

Shapiro received a B.A. from George Washington University in 2001, where he majored in peace studies and minored in religion.[12][13] He taught peace studies at a public high school in Washington, D.C.[14] He was profiled in a 2003 Washington Post Style section article entitled "Animal Pragmatism: Compassion Over Killing Wants to Make the Anti-Meat Message a Little More Palatable".[15]

When he was thirteen years old, Shapiro stopped eating meat as a result of learning about the methods of meat production. About one month later, he stopped eating eggs and dairy.[16]

While a high school student at Georgetown Day School[15] in 1995, Shapiro founded the animal advocacy organization Compassion Over Killing, and served as an undercover investigator and its campaigns director until 2005.[17] Compassion Over Killing became well known for its investigative work exposing conditions for farm animals on factory farms, at livestock auctions, and at slaughter plants.

Shapiro helped spearhead the campaign to end the use of the "Animal Care Certified" logo on egg cartons in the United States. In that case, the egg industry was labeling eggs from hens confined in battery cages as "Animal Care Certified."[18]

From 2005 through 2016, Shapiro led many of HSUS's efforts to protect farm animals, including serving as Vice President of the organization's Farm Animal Protection campaign, including efforts to convince retailers, food service providers, and universities to end their use of eggs from battery-caged birds, pork from gestation-stalled pigs, and to expand their vegan options.[19]

Shapiro co-founded The Better Meat Co. in early 2018 and serves as its CEO. The company's goal is to help meat producers improve sustainability by blending in the start-up's plant-based proteins in their ground meat products.[20]

Clean Meat[edit]

Shapiro's book Clean Meat: How Growing Meat Without Animals Will Revolutionize Dinner and the World, published by Gallery Books in 2018 is the first book to explore the work of start-ups that are growing animal products without the use of animals. It was named as Washington Post bestseller in the week of January 7, 2018.[21] It was widely reviewed.[22][23][24][25][26][27]

A copy of Clean Meat is the first book to be bound in lab-grown leather. The book, bound in “clean” leather grown by biotech start-up Geltor.[28][29]

Controversy[edit]

In September 2016, female employees at HSUS filed a complaint with HSUS human resources representatives over a pattern of inappropriate sexual behaviour they had witnessed over the preceding six years.[30] A month later Shapiro moved to a different department to "advance HSUS' broader agenda."[30] It was reported that Shapiro left HSUS for unrelated reasons in 2018.[31] In a written statement to POLITICO, Shapiro commented, "I’ve taken responsibility for inappropriate behavior years earlier in my career, and apologized to those who may have been offended".[30]

Selected publications[edit]

  • Moral Agency in Other Animals (2006)
  • Defining Agricultural Animal Welfare: Varying Viewpoints and Approaches (with Bernard E. Rollin, Donald M. Broom, David Fraser, Gail C. Golab, Charles Arnot, 2011).[32]
  • A Decade of Progress toward Ending the Intensive Confinement of Farm Animals in the United States (with Sara Shields, Andrew Rowan, 2017).[33]
  • Clean Meat: How Growing Meat Without Animals Will Revolutionize Dinner and the World (2018)

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Paul Shapiro - Facebook - About". Facebook. Retrieved March 24, 2018.
  2. ^ "U.S. Animal Rights Hall of Fame". Animal Rights National Conference. Farm Animal Rights Movement. Archived from the original on March 11, 2014. Retrieved March 17, 2014.
  3. ^ Paul Shapiro (January 2, 2018). Clean Meat: How Growing Meat Without Animals Will Revolutionize Dinner and the World. Gallery Books. ISBN 978-1-5011-8910-4.
  4. ^ "Plant-based 'dairy' products aren't new. Neither is the U.S. dairy industry's hostility". Washington Post. Retrieved November 14, 2018.
  5. ^ Shapiro, Paul (December 12, 2017). "We Are Better than How We Treat Animals". Retrieved March 26, 2022.
  6. ^ Shapiro, Paul (January 3, 2018). "Clean meat: the clean energy of food | Paul Shapiro | TEDxSouthLakeTahoe". Retrieved March 26, 2022.
  7. ^ "Paul Shapiro". Humane Society of the United States. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved December 29, 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  8. ^ "Toni Okamoto wants to teach you how to live a 'plant-based' life". NBC News. August 14, 2017. Retrieved March 23, 2018.
  9. ^ "Toni Okamoto wants to teach you how to live a 'plant-based' life". NBC News. Retrieved April 7, 2019.
  10. ^ "The Friendly Vegan Cookbook: 100 Essential Recipes to S…". Goodreads. Retrieved March 31, 2022.
  11. ^ Evelyn, Kenya (March 30, 2020). "Shuttering of animal shelters prompts surge in pet fostering amid pandemic". the Guardian. Retrieved March 31, 2022.
  12. ^ Lin, Doris. "Biography of Paul Shapiro, Guest Author". About.com. Archived from the original on January 15, 2013. Retrieved January 1, 2013. Shapiro received a bachelor's degree in peace studies from George Washington University.
  13. ^ Huffman, J. Ford (March 26, 2014). "Building a More Humane Society". GW Magazine. George Washington University. Archived from the original on April 7, 2014. Retrieved April 4, 2014. My voice is basically trying to halt the war we wage on animals. Most farm animals are tormented their entire lives.
  14. ^ Rhoads, Anai (June 2003). "D.C. Organisation Educates Public on Hen Abuses". Athens, New York: All-Creatures.org. Archived from the original on November 9, 2012. Retrieved January 1, 2013. Paul Shapiro holds a bachelor's degree in peace studies from George Washington University and once taught peace studies at a public D.C. high school.
  15. ^ a b Montgomery, David (September 8, 2003). "Animal Pragmatism: Compassion Over Killing Wants to Make the Anti-Meat Message a Little More Palatable". The Washington Post. p. C01. Archived from the original on December 3, 2012. Retrieved January 1, 2013.
  16. ^ Shapiro, Paul (2003). "Paul Shapiro - A VegFamily Interview" (Interview). Interviewed by Doh Driver. Archived from the original on May 6, 2013. Retrieved December 31, 2012. I stopped eating meat at 13, and then quit eggs and dairy about one month later, after learning more about the cruelties involved in all sectors of animal agribusiness.
  17. ^ Becker, Elizabeth (December 4, 2002). "Advocates for Animals Turn Attention to Chickens". The New York Times. Archived from the original on April 10, 2014. Retrieved December 30, 2012. ... Paul Shapiro, the 23-year-old founder and leader of Compassion Over Killing ...
  18. ^ Barrionuevo, Alexei (October 4, 2005). "Egg Producers Relent on Industry Seal". The New York Times. Archived from the original on January 2, 2013. Retrieved January 2, 2013.
  19. ^ Rafferty, Steve (January 19, 2011). "University Dining Services Halts Use of Caged Eggs". The Hoya. Georgetown University. Archived from the original on December 30, 2016. Retrieved January 1, 2013. We starting working with some of the students in June of 2005
  20. ^ "The Meat co". August 22, 2018.
  21. ^ "Washington bestsellers: Hardcover nonfiction". Washington Post. Retrieved March 23, 2018.
  22. ^ Scully, Matthew (January 5, 2018). "Review: 'Clean Meat' Could Make Livestock Obsolete". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved March 23, 2018 – via www.wsj.com.
  23. ^ King, Barbara J. (January 2, 2018). "Clean Meat, Via Lab, Is On The Way". NPR. Retrieved March 23, 2018.
  24. ^ "Clean Meat Will Revolutionize Our Meals and the Entire World". Psychology Today. Retrieved March 23, 2018.
  25. ^ Beres, Derek (November 28, 2017). "Lab-Grown "Clean Meat" is Almost Here. Will You Eat It?". Retrieved March 23, 2018.
  26. ^ "Meat, Without All of the Blood and Guts". November 6, 2017. Retrieved March 23, 2018.
  27. ^ "CLEAN MEAT by Paul Shapiro - Kirkus Reviews". Retrieved March 23, 2018.
  28. ^ McKinnon, Mika. "This Book Is Bound in Lab-Grown Jellyfish Leather". Retrieved March 23, 2018.
  29. ^ "World's First-Ever Clean Leather-Bound Book!". January 16, 2018. Retrieved March 23, 2018.
  30. ^ a b c "Female Employees Allege Culture of Sexual Harassment at Humane Society". POLITICO Magazine. Retrieved February 12, 2018.
  31. ^ "Humane Society CEO Wayne Pacelle resigns amid sexual misconduct investigation". ABC7 News. February 2, 2018. Retrieved July 29, 2023.
  32. ^ "Animal Welfare in Animal Agriculture". routledge.com.
  33. ^ Shields, Sara; Shapiro, Paul; Rowan, Andrew (May 1, 2017). "A Decade of Progress toward Ending the Intensive Confinement of Farm Animals in the United States". Farm Animal Welfare Collection.

External links[edit]

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