Robert "Bob" Torres was an assistant professor of sociology at
St. Lawrence University in
Canton, New York
Canton is an incorporated town in St. Lawrence County, New York. The population was 11,638 at the time of the 2020 census. The town contains two villages: one also named Canton, the other named Rensselaer Falls. The town is named after the gr ...
. He is the co-author, with his wife Jenna Torres, of ''Vegan Freak: Being Vegan in a Non-Vegan World'' (2005), and the author of ''Making A Killing: The Political Economy of Animal Rights'' (2007).
''Making a Killing'' examines
animal rights
Animal rights is the philosophy according to which many or all sentient animals have moral worth that is independent of their utility for humans, and that their most basic interests—such as avoiding suffering—should be afforded the sa ...
from a
social anarchist
Social anarchism is the branch of anarchism that sees individual freedom as interrelated with mutual aid.Suissa, Judith (2001). "Anarchism, Utopias and Philosophy of Education". ''Journal of Philosophy of Education'' 35 (4). pp. 627–646. . ...
position. Torres argues that changing our attitudes toward animals is essential to changing other relationships of dominance that characterize most societies.
[Sankoff, Peter and Whit, Steven. ''Animal Law in Australasia''. Federation Press, 2009, p. 272. ]
Torres and his wife produced a
podcast
A podcast is a program made available in digital format for download over the Internet. For example, an episodic series of digital audio or video files that a user can download to a personal device to listen to at a time of their choosing ...
about
animal rights
Animal rights is the philosophy according to which many or all sentient animals have moral worth that is independent of their utility for humans, and that their most basic interests—such as avoiding suffering—should be afforded the sa ...
and
veganism
Veganism is the practice of abstaining from the use of animal product—particularly in diet—and an associated philosophy that rejects the commodity status of animals. An individual who follows the diet or philosophy is known as a vegan. ...
from 2005–2009, featuring the Torres' commentary along with the occasional vegan guest. Despite the popularity of the podcast, it suddenly ceased in 2009 and websites related to it were taken down shortly thereafter without notice. The website (veganfreak.net), Facebook and Twitter all stopped being updated shortly thereafter. The abrupt termination of the podcast has never been publicly addressed by either Bob or Jenna Torres, who seem to have left the limelight altogether.
Torres was also a partner at the now defunct Tofu Hound Press, which was a small publishing company that released a few books on the same subject.
Education
Torres holds a BA in
Philosophy
Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Some ...
and a BS in
Agricultural Science
Agricultural science (or agriscience for short) is a broad multidisciplinary field of biology that encompasses the parts of exact, natural, economic and social sciences that are used in the practice and understanding of agriculture. Profession ...
from
Pennsylvania State University
The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with campuses and facilities throughout Pennsylvan ...
. His MS and PhD are from
Cornell University
Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to teach an ...
in Development Sociology. Torres also received his
Juris Doctor
The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law
and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice law ...
from
Drexel University
Drexel University is a private research university with its main campus in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Drexel's undergraduate school was founded in 1891 by Anthony J. Drexel, a financier and philanthropist. Founded as Drexel Institute of Art, S ...
in 2012. From 1999-2000, Torres was a Fulbright Scholar in Spain, and was a
Foreign Language Area Studies
The Foreign Language and Area Studies (FLAS) fellowships are federally funded academic scholarships designed to provide support and funding to graduate and undergraduate students studying the languages and cultures of specific foreign countries, i ...
Fellow for Quechua / Latin America during his time at Cornell.
Books
*''Vegan Freak: Being Vegan in a Non-Vegan World'' - Jul 1, 2005
2nd Edition - 2010)
*''Making a Killing: The Political Economy of Animal Rights'' - November 1, 2007
See also
*
List of animal rights advocates
Advocates of animal rights support the philosophy of animal rights. They believe that many or all sentient animals have moral worth that is independent of their utility for humans, and that their most basic interests—such as in avoiding suff ...
Notes
External links
American animal rights scholars
American podcasters
American veganism activists
Cornell University alumni
Living people
Penn State College of Agricultural Sciences alumni
St. Lawrence University faculty
Year of birth missing (living people)
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