How do you feel when I tell you
that I'm a vegan?

Indifferent?

Reserved?

A little awkward?

Or maybe you think,
"Oh no, not another one!"

(Laughter)

My wish for today
is to free you from these feelings

and help you become more curious,
more flexible and more caring.

I don't always like to use the word vegan,

because it can be a label
that divides people.

In my mind, vegan stands for ethics,
compassion and freedom.

It's not a diet, it's not an ideology,
and it's not an exclusive club.

It's a lifestyle based
on the simple principle

of "do no harm" and
"kindness to all living beings."

I really love my vegan lifestyle,

and that's why I'm here
to share my story with you.

So I invite you
to join me on this journey

because I firmly believe
we're all going that direction.

We're growing up as a species

and realising that using and killing
animals for human consumption

no longer makes sense.

However, change is not always easy.

Especially when we have been
indoctrinated to believe

that consuming animal products
is normal and healthy.

For me it all started
on a late night in April 2013

when I saw a picture
that showed a puppy on one side

and a little pig on the other,

and it said, "Why love one
but eat the other?"

Because I was more of a cat lady,

I mindlessly started looking for
a similar picture with a kitten.

And during my search, I came across
all kinds of pictures and videos

revealing the truth
about industrial animal farming.

I will never forget that night.
I was in shock and horror.

Why? Let's look at some sobering facts.

Environmental scientists agree

that animal farming
is not sustainable on any level;

it's a big threat to our health
and our food security.

The meat, milk and egg industry makes
inefficient use of planetary resources

to say the least,

causing rapid deforestation,
severe pollution, global warming

and even species extinction.

Animal farming is also
a very thirsty business.

What if I told you that one steak
requires 900 gallons

or 3,400 litres of water to produce?

That is four years of drinking water
for the average person.

In a time where people all over the world

accept that animals should be treated
with kindness and compassion,

the food industry works hard

to hide what we as consumers
don't want to hear, see or do.

Pigs, cows and chickens feel and suffer

just like cats, dogs and humans.

However, animal farms treat these animals

like machines to produce
meat, milk and eggs.

Judged by the amount
of suffering this causes,

animal farming is arguably
one of the worst crimes in history.

Did you know that more than
70 billion land animals are killed

for human consumption alone
every single year?

That is the equivalent of killing
the entire human population

almost every single month.

And it's also very important to realise
that leather, wool, fur and down

are not just byproducts
of the meat industry.

They are also cruel,
standalone industries,

because the skin, hair and feathers
of an animal per pound

are worth much more than the meat.

Have you ever wondered
why leather isn't biodegradable

despite just being dead skin?

That's because animal skin is treated
with highly toxic chemicals.

Traditional leather production
leaves behind a vast carbon footprint,

brutal animal suffering
and disturbing human rights violations.

No matter how we look at animal farming,

even if products are labelled local,
organic or humane,

it is not a pretty picture.

After I discovered these
and many more disturbing facts,

I decided that same night
I no longer wanted to contribute

to such an inefficient,
unsustainable and cruel system.

So the next morning,
I announced my decision

to my analytical and meat-loving husband.

As you can imagine,
this didn't turn out very well.

The result was a heated discussion
followed by two days of silent war.

Luckily, after my husband had done
his own research,

he told me he was now equally convinced.

And like me, he no longer
wanted to contribute

to the abuse and killing
of innocent animals.

Two weeks after my husband
and I turned vegan,

my 75-year-old mother joined us.

And now, six years later,

I am happy to say
that she is healthier than ever.

Today I am a very happy vegan.

But it hasn't always been that way.

After turning vegan, I desperately
wanted to be a perfect vegan.

As a result, the beginning
of my vegan adventure

turned out to be much more
challenging than I expected.

I started to feel guilty.

How could I have been so blind
for so many years?

I felt shame and regret
for the choices I had made in the past.

And on top of that,
I couldn't understand

why people around me
didn't see what I saw.

For months I felt lonely,
angry and helpless.

I was in a very dark place.

There were times when I felt

as if I was carrying the weight
of all the suffering in the world.

It was exhausting.

Here I was, eating a healthy vegan diet,
and my energy level was lower than ever.

And I knew feeling this way
wasn't helping anyone;

it wasn't serving my purpose.

So, luckily I realised after a while

that I didn't have to
take this to the extreme.

I also realised that the perfect vegan
may not even exist.

We simply do the best we can

with the information we have
and the options before us.

So I decided to take the pressure off,

and I came up with three
simple principles.

One: be curious.

Two: be flexible.

And three: be caring.

And after adapting these principles,
a whole new world opened up for me.

So first, be curious.

I had a lot of fun discovering
amazing new vegan products.

And I was also enjoying experimenting
with all kinds of vegan recipes.

So much that I began developing
my own vegan cakes

and started selling them
to vegan and non-vegan restaurants.

And I was also very excited to learn more

about all the health benefits
of a vegan lifestyle.

However, no matter how exciting
all these new discoveries were,

I was often still faced
with mixed feelings

when veganising my life.

And this led me to principle
number two: be flexible.

Even though my idea of leather
had shifted from luxury to barbaric

and the slightest smell of leather
made me feel horrible,

my biggest challenge was
letting go of leather shoes and handbags.

So being flexible,

I decided to no longer worry

about the non-vegan items
already in my closet,

and instead focus on
what I could do moving forward.

And third, be caring.

After I really understood

what kind of impact my every day choices
have on myself and the world,

I began filtering everything,

every thought, every word, every action
through my lens of do no harm.

And as a result,

I became even more compassionate
and definitely more peaceful.

This reminds me of Ghandi's quote:

"Happiness is when what you think,
what you say and what you do

are in harmony."

Today being vegan has become a way of life
that reaches far beyond what I consume.

My vegan lifestyle makes me feel great.

And it's truly supportive
of my goals and dreams.

I have become much healthier,
and I found more balance and more clarity.

This lifestyle has become
effortless for me.

Even more, it makes me feel complete,

because I now believe

that I'm contributing to something
that is far bigger than myself.

Being vegan has literally
transformed my entire life:

my body, my mind and my soul.

So why am I sharing my story with you?

I want to inspire you
to join me on the vegan path,

without pressure or fear,

and to experience how it makes you feel.

The good news is that we are seeing
a growing interest in the vegan movement.

Everyone, from top doctors to celebrities
like Leonardo DiCaprio and Beyoncé,

companies like Tesla and Google,

famous chefs like Jamie Oliver
and Wolfgang Puck,

and world class athletes
like Serena and Venus Williams,

and wealthy investors like Bill Gates
and Richard Branson

are supporting the vegan movement.

Thanks to the power of the Internet,

the world is becoming
more and more transparent.

And this makes it so much harder to ignore
what goes into a steak or a leather sofa.

And food and meat scandals
get featured in the news at a scary rate.

As Paul McCartney rightly observed,

"If slaughterhouses had glass walls,
we would all be vegetarian."

According to The Economist,

25% of Americans ages 25 to 34

identify as vegetarian or vegan.

And a growing number of people over 55

are turning vegan for health
and animal-welfare reasons.

As a result, major corporations
are looking into vegan alternatives

because they know
which way the market is heading.

A lot is changing in the world today;
old systems are crumbling.

We are seeing a paradigm shift
in what we perceive as normal.

And to facilitate this shift,

we need new technologies
and innovative entrepreneurship.

And we also need
to change our daily habits.

Now, my heart's desire
is to accelerate this shift.

But this isn't about me or you.

It's about being
the most effective we can be

at making a difference in the world.

I discovered that progress
is more important than perfection.

Because each of us can only do so much,
but together we can do a lot.

With our example,

we can influence others to take action
and create a huge ripple effect.

I want you to understand and to realise

that as consumers,
we have a very powerful voice.

By being aware of marketing practices

and consciously choosing
where our money goes,

we have a big impact on our own health
and the health of our planet.

With every purchase,

we can support soulful, ethical
and passionate entrepreneurs

offering cruelty-free products,

and this is becoming easier each day

as high quality vegan products
are entering the market at a rapid speed.

Our wallet is the key to significantly
reduce human and animal suffering.

I believe that one choice at a time,

veganism will grow
from a tiny minority to mainstream.

It will become the new normal.

All we need is to reach a tipping point.

And every choice and every action,
big or small, does make a difference.

A healthier and kinder future
begins in this moment.

And I have faith

that you will not be afraid
to do what feels right.

So I invite you to join me

and start this journey in a way
that fits into your current lifestyle.

Do your research. Have fun.

Experience how it makes you feel.

And remember to be curious,
flexible and caring,

peaceful in the knowing
that the future will be vegan.

Thank you.

(Applause)