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#38: Ulysse Thevenon — how can we overcome the violence of animal farming?

Ingénieure agronome

In this episode, journalist Ulysse Thevenon, author of "Le Sens du bétail" (Flammarion), lifts the veil on a system that exploits people, animals, and soils.

Publication date
Ulysse Thevenon
✓ WHO ARE WE?
An editorial team specializing in nutrition. Authors of the book Beneficial Foods (Mango Editions) and the podcast Food Revolutions.

On plonge aujourd’hui dans le sang et la boue, au cœur de l’industrie de l’élevage français, où la passion pour la terre cache des souffrances profondes, des histoires accablantes et une violence taboue, qu’elle soit physique ou symbolique. On part à la rencontre d’un système qui exploite les hommes, les animaux et les sols, et dont nous sommes tous victimes, puisque les conséquences alimentaires et sanitaires de cette industrie de la mort sont désastreuses. 

The guest: Ulysse Thevennon

Ulysse Thevenon has been an independent journalist on television for 10 years, where he has worked as a columnist, reporter or director for magazines and documentaries. He teaches at the Institut Pratique du Journalisme Paris-Dauphine.

« Le sens du bétail » (avec son sous-titre : « Vous ne mangerez plus jamais de la même façon ») a paru aux éditions Flammarion en février 2025. Ce livre est le fruit d’un travail de 2 ans et demi d’enquête. Il a réuni 250 témoignages dont une centaine émanant d’éleveurs. Il est là pour nous en parler.

My questions

  • – How did you become interested in this topic? You mention in the introduction your friend, with whom you’re in a committed relationship. Was it mostly because of her?
  • How did you feel throughout this investigation?
  • What are the main conclusions of your book?
  • Who helped you? And who put obstacles in your path?
  • What is the worst insult you’ve heard? And the nicest thing someone has told you?
  • What’s the problem with standards?
  • What about living on credit?
  • What about cooperatives?
  • On the feminist front there has been a freeing of voices. Why does no one speak out in the agricultural sector?
  • What are the consequences of this system for our plates and our health?
  • A vegetarian recipe for the road ;)?

Resources to learn more

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A podcast presented by Louise Browaeys with Matthieu Brillard on technical production
Photo of Ulysse Thevenon © Jean-Philippe Baltel