
David Benac
Historian and chair of the History Department at Western Michigan University; author of Rainforest Radicals: A History of Rainforest Action Network (Nebraska, 2026).
2
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Oct 21, 2026
PANEL: Rainforest Radicals and the History of Rainforest Action Network (G&R 537)
4:41
5:00
B
4:25Bob BuzzancoMODERATOR
I don't know if maybe David or Randy or Pamela even wants to start, but just how did you get started and how did you decide to take that approach rather than the way that a lot of people were doing organizing and protest in that era? No, you go for

David BenacGUEST
So what I found that was different in that regard was the combination in those first years of the two personalities, Randy and Mike Griselle.

David BenacGUEST
So I haven't met Mike in person, but what I was able to see, they're two very different people.
19 MINS LATER
P
24:03Pamela WellnerGUEST
So without enabling the grassroots, I don't think we would have gotten as far as we did.
EP. 887: RAINFOREST RADICALS ft. DAVID BENAC
29:23
29:46
30:03

Jason MylesHOST
And this is meat that was being shipped to the United States after, as you explained very brilliantly, after the blow-up of fast food restaurants, which apparently you have a real big problem with, Mr. David.

David BenacGUEST
And so one of the context things I put in there was this whole thing about the hamburger wars of the 70s and 80s when Wendy's and McDonald's and Burger King were going at it.

David BenacGUEST
And that that actually helped the campaign because the the fast food joints were really struggling to see to get market share.
13 MINS LATER