#23: Vets for Climate Action, with Ben Cox.

In this episode we tackle a subject that is not necessarily directly veterinary related, or is at least not limited to our profession, but still a critical topic to discuss because of the impact that it will have on all of us, and more importantly, because of the impact that veterinarians can have on it: climate change. If you’ve ever looked around your workplace and thought to yourself: “ This can’t be good for the environment. I really should do something about it.”, or if you are concerned about climate change, but you’re not sure where to start, then this episode is for you.  We speak to Ben Cox, a founder and a driving force behind an exciting new charity called Veterinarians for Climate Action. Ben comes from a sustainability, engineering and business background and is passionate about climate change because of the impact it will have on future generations and the natural environment.  He helped to create Veterinarians for Climate Action as his tool for taking action and inspiring others to do so.  VfCA’s mission statement is to inspire the veterinary profession to advocate for and achieve climate action within and beyond our industry. This will benefit both our profession and the animals we care for, ensuring a sustainable future for all.  In this episode Ben explains to us why we as vets are important in this arena, and how we can be particularly valuable and have a big impact in the push for action on climate change. We talk about what they are doing through the charity; what we can do, including how to have conversations about climate change; what influences the public’s opinion on the matter and how we can change it, and what we can do on a practical level in our own workplaces.  Ben is practical, pragmatic and hopeful, and definitely someone who you can put your support behind.  Please enjoy, Ben Cox, and get ready to make a change.  Check out Ben and his team here (https://www.vfca.org.au/home), and follow them on Facebook.  For the episode show notes or to explore  our guests’ favourite books, podcasts and everything else we talk about in the show, click on the webpage link on the episode page wherever you listen to us, or visit the podcast website at https://thevetvault.com/ If you have a question that you’d like us to answer with the help of our guests you can leave us a voice message by going to our episode page on the anchor app (https://anchor.fm) and hitting the record button, via email at thevetvaultpodcast@gmail.com, or just catch up with us on Instagram. (https://www.instagram.com/thevetvault/) We love to hearing from you! If you like what you heard, then please help us to spread the word by subscribing to the podcast (it’s free!), and by telling your friends about us.