"Where's Papa going with that axe?"
said Fearne to her mother as they were setting the table for breakfast.
Fearne's mother explains that a piglet was born a runt
and is unlikely to survive.
Fearne's father intends to kill him.
Fearne runs outside.
"Please don't kill him. It's unfair!
He couldn't help being born small, could he?
If I had been very small at birth, would you have killed me?"
"Certainly not. A little girl is one thing, a runty little pig is another."
"I see no difference.
This is the most terrible case of injustice I've ever heard of."
Maybe it was those lines from "Charlotte's Web"
that made an impact on me as child.
Just as Charlotte's web was woven to save Wilbur's life,
my mind started to think about how we're all connected.
Or maybe it was Disney's fault for helping me see and hear
Bambi's fear after losing his mother to a hunter.
Or the tears streaming down Dumbo's face
as his mother caressed him with her trunk when she was chained in a circus car.
It could have been growing up in Texas and seeing the cows in the fields
and imagining, "What would it be like if one of them didn't come home
because of my hamburger?"
The worry, the fear the others would experience.
Or perhaps it was my parents' divorce.
I can't say that it was just one thing that started me thinking
about the families of all sentient beings, but it is a part of who I am
and helps form the choices that I make in my life.
The thought of losing my mum or one of my sisters
was a real fear for me growing up.
I was even hurt when my sisters went away to college.
This was my family.
I didn't want us to be separated.
Whatever the cause, I decided at a young age
that I would help make choices that would minimize
the suffering of sentient beings.
Such as wearing non leather boots.
If you remember one thing from my talk today let it be this:
uninformed food choices can contribute to the suffering of sentient beings.
Therefore, your food choices can change the world.
I went vegetarian for the first time when I was young.
My mother told me that the chicken I was eating was, well, a chicken.
I remember being in line in elementary school in the cafeteria
and asking the server not to put meat on my cheese enchiladas.
She asked if I was a vegetarian.
In my young mind, I wondered
why she thought I was old enough to take care of sick dogs and cats.
(Laughter)
I told her no.
When I was a teenager, I was able to stick with my commitment better.
My mum would make me a separate meal such as enchiladas with corn inside.
When I was in high school, she just learned to make quiche.
And then, I went vegan.
She said, "I give up."
I told her, I'll eat peanut butter and jelly sandwiches every day
if I have to to stick with my commitment to go vegan.
Over time, I've learned more about the tragedy of the separation
of these animals and the bonds that exist when they're together.
I've adjusted my choices not to contribute to this.
Mother cows, used in the dairy industry,
have their babies taken away from them after birth.
Because these large, magnificent mothers will fight to be with their babies.
In Southern Georgia, I had the heartbreaking opportunity
to videotape a mother cow crying after she'd been separated from her baby.
Her calf would bellow, and she would respond.
(Cow laments)
I sat in the meeting with a small dairy farmer
from Washington who told a story
about a cow who had enough of him taking her babies away.
According to him, the cow had given birth to twins
and when he couldn't find one of them, he went looking.
He eventually found that she had hidden one of them.
According to him, she was trying to protect her baby.
I've since learned this happens often.
But it's not just cows.
Pregnant pigs in a more natural environment
build nests before they give birth, collecting branches in their mouths.
Mother hens will use different vocalizations
to protect their chicks from predators.
Just like any mother, they want to protect their babies from harm.
Just like human animals, these animals feel pain.
We are so detached from animals in our society,
and we are also so detached from the means in which our food is produced.
I eventually made a decision
that I wanted to focus my energy on our food choices
and how they can make a difference.
We eat several times a day,
and each food choice says something about ourselves.
I believe, our individual food choices and collective voices can have an impact.
By going vegan, I knew I was doing my part
not to contribute to the suffering of non human animals.
But what about my food?
What about the farm workers?
I can simply stop eating animals as a means of not contributing
to their suffering.
But it's not as easy with farm workers.
Everyone needs their fruits and vegetables.
In the US, millions of farm workers pick our food.
Not just the food of vegans, but all of our food.
It is estimated that approximately 400,000 of these farm workers are children.
In California, many farm workers live in substandard labor camps,
are homeless along our creeks and our rivers.
They don't make enough to put a roof over their head,
and yet they put food on our plates.
They work in extreme temperatures, exposed to agricultural chemicals,
many can't even afford or have access
to the types of fruits and vegetables they're picking.
It is estimated in California
that the average life span of a strawberry picker is 49 years.
Groups like the Coalition of Immokalee Workers
are making great strides in this area
by using consumer pressure to get corporations to make changes,
such as getting tomato buyers to pay just a penny more per pound
for the tomatoes that they pick.
My organization, Food Empowerment Project, organize a school supply drive
to help with the education of the children of farm workers.
So that they can choose an easier life.
I still struggle with what more I can do.
When people eat chocolate, they're eating my flesh.
That is what one farmer slave told a reporter when he was asked
what he would say to Westerners
who eat chocolate.
In West Africa, 1.8 million children in Ghana, in the Ivory Coast,
are victims of the worst forms of child labor.
[Hawa] picking cocoa for the chocolate industry.
Here, they are forced to work with dangerous equipment
such as machetes, some children as young as seven years old.
Many children have been documented with scars on their arms and their legs.
If they don't move fast enough while carrying these heavy cocoa pods,
they're beaten.
Many children are locked in over night, and if they try to escape,
they're beaten or killed.
We all have families, biological or not.
So let's make choices that respect families
and the bonds that they share.
How can we do this?
If you have access to fresh produce,
go vegan.
Support the rights of farm workers
through legislation and corporate campaigns
and stop eating chocolate.
OK, OK, OK.
You don't have to stop eating chocolate.
But please, only buy chocolate that's not sourced
from the worst forms of child labor in West Africa.
You can use our list at foodispower.org.
I make the most informed food choices that I can make
because I want to lessen the suffering of sentient beings.
I wanted to turn this pain I felt into power.
So much of this has been about loss,
and what I gained was the feeling that I could make a difference.
I hope you will join me and put your ethics where your mouth is.
To me, these issues are as connected as Charlotte's Web.
You and your food choices can change the world
and mitigate suffering the world over.
Thank you.
(Applause)