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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

interviewed with serious White House connections.

Pretty soon it’ll be time for…

Moving on...

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

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

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

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

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

linked below in the video description.

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

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

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

This is one incredibly bright young man.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

it correctly you can make a huge difference.

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

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

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

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

every day in order for that to happen.

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

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

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

which would completely cut that off.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

they have no way of doing their job correctly.

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

lobbying for his mission.

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

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

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

that that can be combated with lobbying. It
can be very much so combated with lobbying.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Where was the internet when I was a kid?!