What are you putting in your body?

Dead, carcass, pain, suffering, fear.

Can I have all of my vegans go into that pool of light?

And my non-vegans in that pool of light.

First statement:

Taste plays a big factor in my eating choices.

Yeah I mean that's a huge thing for me.

I think it is one of my weaknesses actually.

Butter, salt is one of my weaknesses.

I Love food

And I think my relationship with food actually deepened when I became vegan

I don't think I've appreciated it as much as I did before I was vegan

My name is Aubrey Davis and I have been vegetarian for 24 years

and a vegan for 13 years.

I believe that humans are the top of the food chain.

Is a human at the same level of equivalence is like a fish? - Right.

It's probably a big reason why I'm not vegan anymore.

I didn't see that I had to see myself at a moral equivalent of a fish,

and it gets into moral questions like, you know,

"Why should we have a pet that's a dog, rather than eat the dog?"

And I think the most important question is,

"Why should I love my neighbor rather than eat my neighbor?"

My name's Steve Micelski, I was a vegan for a year,

I was a vegetarian for two years.

I'm a meat-eater now, I've been so for over five years.

I don't even see like what is like a food chain? You know what I'm saying?

That's just some contract some guy made and put a little diagram

and put us humans beings on the top so...

I don't think it's a question of whether we're at the top,

I think it's a question of,

"What do you do with that if you have a more conscious energy than an animal

what do you do with that power? Do you choose to take a life?

or do you choose to live in love?

I put a lot of thought into my meals.

The way I support my body, and my health is extremely important.

I don't find that I can function at my best.

Either healthy, productive, emotionally stable, or intellectually capable

unless I have a lot of proper nutrients in my diet.

Six years ago I became vegan because I got sick

I started to realize that my health was directly attached to what I ate

since then my friends and family have supported me to feeling better

And I'm better than I was before I got sick

I don't really like, cook or anything

so I don't really put too much thought into what I eat, I guess.

I live a fast paced kind of like I'm working late night, so I'm waking up early,

so sometimes it's easier to grab this quick, processed sandwich.

I wish I planned my meals out more.

I think I would be a lot... I would feel a lot better.

I think it's really powerful, no matter what you're eating,

to put your intentions into it, whether it's prayer, or invocation.

And it's with such great power and presence,

versus just, like, scarfing something down,

but like can I just really be present with this meal, take my time,

and chew it slowly.

So, that's the first thing that I resonate with and what I choose to do.

I would kill an animal.

I think there'd be tons of contexts where I'd kill an animal,

like if a lion's gonna go kill a baby, I'd probably kill an animal.

I'd kill an animal to save a human life, and I get that vegans probably wouldn't do that.

If I could do something to prevent killing them, besides eating them,

like if I was protecting myself and we had to...and we had like...

something that we could do to get that animal away, I would definitely try to not kill it.

I mean, I feel like...

But if it comes down to you or the animal, are you killing the animal?

I would, I would.

You know, they're gonna give up their life for the fish!

Why is it always the extreme case when talking about would I kill an animal?

--Exactly.--

Like, if you were in a- this situation,...

There aren't lions running around downtown LA.

When I was in hiking, there's mountain lions that come and kill people.

You've known that, right?

and that's in Orange County, right?

That's not in the jungle in Africa.

But it's not an everyday situation of "Would you kill an animal?".

But, but it's Orange County.

Mountain lions have killed hikers, kids.

Would you just let the kid die?

We're hiking in the mountains and there's a mountain lion.

I have to be aware of the fact that I am in mountain lion territory,

and be like, "I am okay with the risk."

Because to be honest, I'm not hiking with a gun.

I have no way to defend my friend.

You don't hike with a hiking pole?

I mean, a hiking pole against a mountain lion?

I don't think you're winning.

I just wanna say, like, even if I did,

and even if my "attempt" were to be successful,

I would feel awful having killed the mountain lion.

Your feelings, or your just foundation in for your beliefs?

A hundred percent!

Are human beings animals?

- Yes.
- Sure

Would you kill another human being to save another human being?

Yes.

What makes one person more valuable to another? Is it your relationship to that person?

It would, yeah, it would probably be.

So if, for example, I raise an animal in the wild,

it's like an animal I've built a relationship with,

and that animal now threatens the life of a human being

and I don't know, but I've known that animal its entire life,

what makes killing that animal as just cause okay

as it goes to saving that life?

I have a longer relationship with that animal.

Why would I kill the animal before I'd save that person?

Because it's about relationship.

- You'd kill a person over an animal?
- Correct.

Because I believe human beings are animals.

And I see humans at a different level, but maybe
you value fish at the same level as a person.

We see it very different.

I do.

It costs more than it should to eat healthy.

It's more expensive to eat healthy. I don't think it's too expensive.

Farmer's market is something that I'm trying to frequent more.

But sometimes, you know, you can go spend $20 here and definitely not get as much.

I definitely wanna see that,

you know, maybe that'll encourage people to eat a little healthier

If you can go grab that fresh fruit, those fresh veggies, for five, ten bucks. You know?

I think our culture, as a society, is just ingrained towards like the fast food culture,

which is cheap, and accessible.

But now I think we have more of a established, like, medical basis on

what's healthy and what's not healthy.

And to get that content and have it be tasty as well, is expensive.

I'm running in. I have so much to say!

It does not cost more money to be vegan, that is a myth.

It takes planning. Yes, the convenience is less.

Can you grab a hamburger at McDonalds for sure, for 99 cents?

But how much lentils can you buy? The issue is capitalism.

Like, that is what's keeping us where we are.

It's not that humans are smarter and they're gonna come up with this technology.

The technology exists.

It is there.

We can feed so many people, it is capitalism and factory farming.

And most of these companies that are selling us products that are, like, shitting food,

they don't give a fuck about you.

At all.

Period.

Someone's sitting on an island somewhere...

...like, just stacking bread...all this fast food shit.

And they're probably eating really healthy food, too.

They're not eating any of that shit.

You got certain neighborhoods, certain areas.

You don't see the same fast food.

You don't see the same restaurants.

And it's all for a reason. They know. - Accessibility.

I mean, yeah, that's a good point.

It's like, they don't have...

Why isn't there many health food stores in the hood?

How come I can't like get an option...

Why is there a liquor store everywhere?

And it's true, it's like you have to...

When you break it down, there's like, malicious intent.

To de-harmonize and like, lower the vibration of certain people in certain areas.

And it's like, that's a part of it too, so it's like, what am I contributing to?

I'll say this; you know, when I was eleven years old,

my father passed away from his second heart attack, he was diabetic,

he was pissing out of a tube, I watched him deteriorate

my youngest years of my life, for like years and years it was just deteriorate,

taking pharmaceutical drugs and just kind of basically dying slowly.

Because of what he chose to eat.

To me, I'd rather spend an extra dollar and eat organic or something healthy now,

and live longer, than try to cut corners

when, you know, in the end...
--I'm with you. Like, make the choice now instead of later.

Because my mom was same thing.

She died, she was eating buckets of ice cream when she passed away.

She died at 49 years old.

--Now. Choose now.

The more education that we can put out there just like stuff like this is beautiful

that's what I was most anxious about is learning more of what I'm trying to step into.

I don't know if I will ever give up chicken.

I'm just gonna be honest with you. I don't know.

I wanna eat a lot cleaner chicken.

Do you guys have like 'cheat days' ever?

Hell no.

I am vegan, one hundred percent, at the front line, ethical reasons,

always, always, always,

and that's why I don't think, in 24 years, I've ever gone back.

It was hard to try new things;

things I didn't like, found tons of vegan food

that I was like, "oh god, what the fuck are you people eating?"

and then, simultaneously, realizing that there was options, you know?

There's always choices.

And it's always choices you make, like you said.

You may never give up meat fully

but it's like you're making a choice

you're at least thinking for yourself

and making a decision and, like, that's all you can ask people to do,

is think for themselves.

I really appreciate each and every one of y'all.

Thank you all so much.

Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you...

I really appreciate y'all, thank you for coming out.

What's up, guys? I am Amari, and I am Jason

and Amari, I've got a question for you.

You have a question for me.

What do you like about Middle Ground?

What I like about Middle Ground

is seeing people come together

and, like, realize that their labels are not the whole sum of their experience.

--Like taking off the labels.
--Taking off the labels!

--Throw them on the ground.
--Realize there's so much more than their labels.

--That's right, I love that.

Alright, well, tell us in the comments below

why you love Middle Ground

and if you've got a label that you wanna take off and throw on the ground,

tell us that as well.

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