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Most 12 year old kids go to school, come home,[br]maybe play video games or an after-school

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sport, go to the movies with their friends[br]and work on homework. And then there’s Thomas

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Ponce, who, by the age of 12 had formed his[br]own lobbying organization and was active in

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local government, meeting with congressmen[br]and officials and providing a voice for the

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animals. With corporations and the animal[br]products industry having some of the loudest

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lobbyist around, Thomas is working to level[br]the playing field and ensure that the animals

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are heard. Having started his path to animal[br]activism at the age of 4 years old, Thomas

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is no ordinary kid. He’s a veritable force[br]to be reckoned with.

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Hi it's Emily from Bite Size Vegan and welcome[br]to another vegan nugget. I’m so excited

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and honored to introduce to you, Thomas Ponce.[br]Thomas has received countless awards and accolades

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including FARM's National Animal Rights Young[br]Activist Award for 2013 and The Animal Hero

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Kids ‘Kind to All’ Award, earning him[br]a feature in the book Animal Hero Kids: Voices

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for the Voiceless, PETA’s Compassionate[br]Kid Award when we was eleven, and oh yeah,

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no less than TWO awards from the President.[br]Thomas is the second Animal Hero Kid I’ve

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interviewed with serious White House connections.

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Pretty soon it’ll be time for…

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Moving on...

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Thomas received a grant from the Pollination[br]Project to make his lobbying organization,

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Lobby for Animals, a reality. Never one to[br]stop there, Thomas is now a member of their

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grant advisory board for environmental and[br]animal rights related grants. Most recently,

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Thomas just had an article published in AV[br]Magazine of the American Anti-Vivisection

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Society, which you can find the link to on[br]the blog post for this video, which is

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linked below in the video description.

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Thomas just turned 15 and remains passionate[br]about the importance of young people getting

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involved in activism. Just so you know, the[br]audio at times isn’t too stellar, so if

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you want you can always turn on the captions.[br]I really urge you to listen to his words.

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This is one incredibly bright young man.

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I think it’s important for young people[br]to get involved in their communities. It’s

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we that are growing up in this world and we[br]need to get active and involved. And we can’t

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expect things to get better if we don’t[br]try to change them.

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You know, if we address issues in our communities[br]and the world we live in, it’s each of our

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personal responsibilities to do so. If you[br]see something wrong that is happening, speak

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up, question, don’t just go with the flow[br]because it’s been the same thing for a long

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period of time, you know because it’s a[br]tradition.

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If we listen to our heart, if we listen to[br]our brain, then we can do right all the time,

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we can make a difference. If we get involved[br]with our communities, that’s one of the

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best ways to do so. Finding something you’re[br]passionate about, Googling it, researching it.

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Doing whatever you can to get the most[br]information about that subject then act with

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that information. Knowledge is the most power[br]you can have in this world, and when you use

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it correctly you can make a huge difference.

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I asked Thomas about how he got started in[br]his activism.

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I got started in my activism when I was about[br]4 years old. Throughout this time I’ve always

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had a love and respect for animals. That love[br]that I had turned to activism when I made

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the connection of where our food comes from[br]and the horrors that animals have to go through

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every day in order for that to happen.

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Once I had that realization, the turning point[br]to become vegetarian was a very simple decision.

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As I got older, and as I learned more, I learned[br]that just because I wasn’t eating meat didn’t

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mean that I wasn’t still contributing. So,[br]I decided to become vegan,

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which would completely cut that off.

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Throughout that entire time, I had been attending[br]protests, I’d been signing petitions, I’d

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basically been doing anything to spread the[br]word of animal rights, and I was determined

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to open people’s eyes to the idea of animal rights.

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Lobbying isn’t the most common form of animal[br]activism you hear of, so I asked Thomas how

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he found his way to the[br]legal side of animal rights.

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When I heard about FARM’s National Animal[br]Rights Conference, I said, “that is something

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I need to go to.” So, I was in Washington,[br]DC, it was great, fantastic. I met an attorney

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there and she basically, she talked to me[br]about lobbying. It was like a light bulb went

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off in my head, and when I got home I started[br]researching more about lobbying. And I actually

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took a class through the Humane Society about[br]lobbying and from there on out, I’ve been

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hooked. And that’s when I decided to create[br]Lobby for Animals. Basically my purpose with

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that is to give people the tools necessary[br]to succeed in the lobbying field.

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In case you have no idea what we’re talking[br]about, I asked Thomas to explain lobbying.

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Lobbying is basically talking to your legislators[br]it’s, whenever you want to make a change

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in law. Let’s say there’s a bill that[br]will completely stop animals in entertainment.

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There will be no more animals in entertainment[br]from then on. You can talk to your legislators,

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you can call them, email them, write them[br]letters, and schedule a conference with them.

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And you can let them know your position on[br]this. Because they’re our legislators, they’re

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here to listen to us, it’s their job. And[br]if we don’t let them know how we feel, if

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we don’t let them know what we[br]want to see in office, then

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they have no way of doing their job correctly.

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With all the available forms of activism out[br]there, I asked Thomas why he chose

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lobbying for his mission.

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We can definitely, we can go to protests,[br]we can sign petitions, we can do everything,

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but - when we go towards the laws we’re[br]striking it at it’s core. So, we are hitting

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the subject right in the center. Laws like[br]the ag-gag bills, and it’s everything like

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that that can be combated with lobbying. It[br]can be very much so combated with lobbying.

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I asked Thomas to share what victories he’s[br]had in his time lobbying for the animals.

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A lot of the victories that I’ve had, I[br]wouldn’t even call them victories, it’s

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more like small wins. Whenever I see people[br]who actually get it, whenever I see - let’s

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say I schedule an appointment to talk to a[br]congressman, and I’m talking to them and

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I know that they’re actually starting to[br]think a different way, or that I’ve at least

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opened their eyes up to thinking a different[br]way, then that’s a personal victory. Let’s

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say they’re for a bill that’s for vivisection,[br]and then I talk to them, and then they change

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their mind and they flip that stance, that’s[br]a personal victory, in my opinion.

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During our interview, Thomas and I discussed[br]the power kids and young people have in affecting

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change. And how they’re often underestimated[br]in their abilities and what they can handle.

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As you’ll see, Thomas proves his own point[br]beautifully.

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We do not, and as I’ve said this before,[br]we do not give kids enough credit. They have

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the most creativity, they have the best ideas[br]that you can ever see. As you said, adults

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have this preconception that, you know, this[br]person’s 6, 7, 10, 11, they are not ready

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to see this type of information, they’re[br]not ready to see what’s out in the world.

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They definitely are. If they’re passionate[br]about something, don’t stifle it and don’t

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assume because they’re kids they can’t[br]understand it and they can’t handle it.

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Because there are a lot of kids out there[br]that can definitely comprehend this stuff.

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We need to allow our kids to go into the field[br]that they’re interested in, to be passionate

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about what they want to be passionate about.[br]Let them research about it, let them learn

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about it, let them be interested in what they[br]care about. If we instill the idea of compassion,

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then they’ll carry that on with them throughout[br]their lives, they’ll carry that on to their children.

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I want to leave you with part of Thomas’[br]acceptance speech when he received the Animal

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Hero Kids Kind to All Award. Mind you, he was[br]12 years old when he gave this speech.

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“Each time you make the choice of what to[br]eat or wear, which products to buy, whether

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to attend a circus or marine park, and which[br]companies you choose to support, you have

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to realize that your decisions affect more[br]than just you. Remember, there are other

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lives at stake, the lives of animals, and[br]one life should not be held more valuable

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than another. Just because you are not committing[br]the act yourself, doesn’t mean it’s not

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happening or that you are not contributing[br]to it. As a consumer, if you are not making

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ethical, cruelty-free choices, you are still[br]fueling the demand. If you do not speak up,

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buy differently and demand things be[br]changed, you are contributing to the problem.

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It takes proactive people to bring about change.[br]People who will take the time to learn about the

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ways in which they can get involved and make[br]a difference for animals, as well as for the

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world we live in. The information and resources[br]are out there for whomever wants to learn.

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I am a firm believer that knowledge is definitely[br]power and when you speak with knowledge and

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from your heart, people will listen, regardless[br]of your age.”

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One way to get started is to visit Thomas’[br]website www.LobbyForAniamls.org, where you

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can find guidance in getting active and contacting[br]your legislators. Thomas welcomes emails and

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is always ready to help. You can also connect[br]with him on Facebook. See his links below.

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I hope you enjoyed hearing Thomas’ story.[br]I’m totally blown away by his activism and

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all of the young people I’ve had the pleasure and honor[br]of working with in this Animal Hero Kids series

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and my kids interview series. Never think[br]that your age, or anything about you can hold you back.

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If you were inspired by Thomas, do give the[br]video a thumbs up and share it around to help

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show what kids can accomplish. If you’re[br]new here, I’d love to have you as a subscriber.

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I put out fresh content covering all aspects[br]of veganism every Monday, Wednesday and some

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Fridays. To help support Bite Size Vegan’s[br]educational efforts, please see the support

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links below or click on the Nugget Army icon[br]or the link in the sidebar. Now go live vegan,

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lobby for the animals,[br]and I'll see you soon.

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Interviewing so many young people who have[br]accomplished so much so early in life...

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really makes me feel like I haven't done much.

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Where was the internet when I was a kid?!