FACT: Factory farming produces over 70 billion land animals annually, yet students are rarely taught to question the systems behind it.
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Zoe Weil, co-founder and president of the Institute for Humane Education (IHE), wants to change that. In this episode of the Better Life For Animals podcast, she introduces “solutionary education,” a model that empowers students to solve global challenges by considering their impact on people, animals, and the environment. Zoe knows the power of how education can evolve to create a more just, compassionate world.
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What Is Solutionary Education?
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Zoe defines solutionary education as a method that prepares students to identify unjust systems and develop solutions that do the most good and least harm. Unlike traditional models focused on
test scores and job readiness, this approach fosters systems thinking, ethics, and action. Through IHE’s programs, teachers in over 30 countries, including hundreds in Maine, are learning to embed solutionary thinking into any subject.
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Hope Is Teachable
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In a story that anchors this episode, Zoe describes a classroom where only 5 of 45 students believed world problems could be solved, until she guided them through a visualization where they imagined creating a better future. Afterward, 40 students raised their hands. The takeaway: young people need tools for optimism, not just awareness. Hope is not naive, it’s necessary.
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Turning Classrooms into Real-World Labs
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Zoe outlines how schools can use real environments, like cafeterias, as launching points for systemic inquiry. Students can investigate food sourcing, waste, equity, and more, applying skills from math, science, civics, and language arts. These projects not only build academic fluency but also empower students to make tangible change in their own schools and communities.
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Teaching the True Price of Daily Choices
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Why is a fast food burger often cheaper than an organic apple? Zoe’s “True Price” activity helps students answer that question by tracing the social, environmental, and ethical costs behind everyday items. The goal is to build a generation that thinks critically and consumes consciously.
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The Role of Animal Sanctuaries
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Zoe believes sanctuaries have a powerful role in education. Firsthand interactions with animals help students understand them as sentient beings, not commodities. She encourages sanctuaries to incorporate humane education to expand their impact beyond rescue and care.
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How Solutionaries Could Help End Factory Farming
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Ending factory farming will require a mix of education, innovation, and systemic change. Zoe believes a generation raised with solutionary thinking, combined with advances like plant-based and cultivated meat, can finally move us away from industrial animal agriculture.
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Take Action
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Zoe’s latest book, The Solutionary Way, provides a step-by-step guide for anyone, educators, parents, activists, ready to align their values with meaningful action. With a foreword by Dr. Jane
Goodall, it’s a practical resource for building a better future. Available on Amazon… CLICK HERE
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Resources
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Institute for Humane Education: humaneeducation.org
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Episode Highlights
[00:00] Introduction
[02:00] Who is Zoe Weil?
[03:45] The purpose of school for animal compassion.
[06:00] Solutionary courses for teachers.
[10:30] Progress is happening for the animals and environment.
[14:15] Teaching young people to use critical thinking.
[20:30] Setting up school cafeterias for health and successful communication.
[23:00] The reality of “true price” and “true cost.”
[27:30] Raising awareness for children regarding animal sanctuaries.
[31:30] Humane education is designed to end denial.
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About Zoe Weil
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Zoe Weil is the co-founder and president of the Institute for Humane Education (IHE), where she created the first graduate programs in comprehensive Humane Education linking human rights, environmental sustainability, and animal protection, offered online through an affiliation with Antioch University. IHE also offers a Solutionary Micro-credential Course and award-winning teacher resources including its Solutionary Framework, which was named one of the most impactful, innovative, and scalable innovations in education worldwide by HundrED.
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Zoe is a frequent keynote speaker at education and other conferences and has given six TEDx talks including her acclaimed TEDx, The World Becomes What You Teach. She’s written eight books including her 2024 book The Solutionary Way: Transform Your Life, Your Community, and the World for the Better with a foreword by Jane Goodall, which was the #1 new release on Amazon in Social Philosophy and Popular Applied Psychology. She’s also the author of the #1 Amazon best seller in the Philosophy and Social Aspects of Education, The World Becomes What We Teach: Educating a Generation of Solutionaries; Nautilus silver medal winner Most Good, Least Harm; Moonbeam gold medal winner Claude and Medea; and Above All, Be Kind: Raising a Humane Child in Challenging Times.
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Zoe is the 2023 recipient of the Spirit of America award, which honors people who follow their conscience and act against current thinking to stand up for equity, freedom, and the American spirit of justice. She was named one of Maine Magazine’s 50 independent leaders transforming their communities and the state and is the recipient of the Unity College Women in Environmental Leadership award. She was also a subject of the Americans Who Tell the Truth portrait series. She holds master’s degrees from Harvard Divinity School and the University of Pennsylvania and was awarded an honorary doctorate from Valparaiso University.
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Find Zoe at the following social platforms
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FB: https://www.facebook.com/zoeweilauthor/
IG: https://www.instagram.zoe.weil
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/zoe-weil
X: @ZoeWeil
Bluesky: @zoeweil.bsky.social
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About Cheryl Moss
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Cheryl Moss is the host of the Better Life for Animals podcast, where she shares uplifting stories from sanctuaries and highlights the work of vegan activists, ethical consumers, and animal welfare leaders. A passionate advocate for animal welfare, she is dedicated to ending factory farming and is working to raise $100,000 for Mercy For Animals to support underrepresented sanctuaries.
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Beyond podcasting, Cheryl is a banking professional and an accomplished children’s author. A graduate of Main Street Vegan Academy, she promotes plant-based living through her books, Gabriel, Cluck, and Pickle the Pig, which inspire young readers to embrace kindness, sustainability, and compassion for animals.
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When not advocating, she enjoys Pilates, and spending time with her rescue dogs and grandchildren. Through her work, writing, and activism, Cheryl continues to inspire positive change for animals and the planet.
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https://www.facebook.com/BLFAnimals/
https://www.instagram.com/betterlife4animals/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/cherylmossabetterlifeforanimals/
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