WEBVTT

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"Where's Papa going with that axe?"

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said Fearne to her mother as
they were setting the table for breakfast.

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Fearne's mother explains
that a piglet was born a runt

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and is unlikely to survive.

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Fearne's father intends to kill him.

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Fearne runs outside.

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"Please don't kill him. It's unfair!

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He couldn't help
being born small, could he?

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If I had been very small at birth,
would you have killed me?"

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"Certainly not. A little girl is
one thing, a runty little pig is another."

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"I see no difference.

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This is the most terrible case
of injustice I've ever heard of."

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Maybe it was those lines
from "Charlotte's Web"

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that made an impact on me as child.

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Just as Charlotte's web
was woven to save Wilbur's life,

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my mind started to think about
how we're all connected.

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Or maybe it was Disney's fault
for helping me see and hear

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Bambi's fear after losing
his mother to a hunter.

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Or the tears
streaming down Dumbo's face

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as his mother caressed him with her trunk
when she was chained in a circus car.

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It could have been growing up in Texas
and seeing the cows in the fields

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and imagining, "What would it be like
if one of them didn't come home

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because of my hamburger?"

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The worry, the fear
the others would experience.

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Or perhaps it was my parents' divorce.

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I can't say that it was just one thing
that started me thinking

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about the families of all sentient beings,
but it is a part of who I am

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and helps form the choices
that I make in my life.

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The thought of losing my mum
or one of my sisters

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was a real fear for me growing up.

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I was even hurt when my sisters
went away to college.

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This was my family.

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I didn't want us to be separated.

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Whatever the cause,
I decided at a young age

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that I would help make choices
that would minimize

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the suffering of sentient beings.

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Such as wearing non leather boots.

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If you remember one thing
from my talk today let it be this:

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uninformed food choices can contribute
to the suffering of sentient beings.

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Therefore, your food choices
can change the world.

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I went vegetarian for the first time
when I was young.

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My mother told me that the chicken
I was eating was, well, a chicken.

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I remember being in line
in elementary school in the cafeteria

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and asking the server not to put meat
on my cheese enchiladas.

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She asked if I was a vegetarian.

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In my young mind, I wondered

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why she thought I was old enough
to take care of sick dogs and cats.

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(Laughter)

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I told her no.

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When I was a teenager, I was able
to stick with my commitment better.

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My mum would make me a separate meal
such as enchiladas with corn inside.

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When I was in high school,
she just learned to make quiche.

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And then, I went vegan.

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She said, "I give up."

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I told her, I'll eat peanut butter
and jelly sandwiches every day

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if I have to to stick
with my commitment to go vegan.

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Over time, I've learned more
about the tragedy of the separation

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of these animals and the bonds 
that exist when they're together.

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I've adjusted my choices
not to contribute to this.

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Mother cows, used in the dairy industry,

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have their babies
taken away from them after birth.

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Because these large, magnificent mothers
will fight to be with their babies.

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In Southern Georgia,
I had the heartbreaking opportunity

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to videotape a mother cow crying
after she'd been separated from her baby.

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Her calf would bellow,
and she would respond.

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(Cow laments)

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I sat in the meeting
with a small dairy farmer

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from Washington who told a story

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about a cow who had enough of him
taking her babies away.

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According to him,
the cow had given birth to twins

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and when he couldn't find
one of them, he went looking.

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He eventually found
that she had hidden one of them.

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According to him,
she was trying to protect her baby.

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I've since learned this happens often.

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But it's not just cows.

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Pregnant pigs
in a more natural environment

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build nests before they give birth,
collecting branches in their mouths.

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Mother hens will use
different vocalizations

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to protect their chicks from predators.

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Just like any mother, they want
to protect their babies from harm.

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Just like human animals,
these animals feel pain.

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We are so detached
from animals in our society,

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and we are also so detached from the means
in which our food is produced.

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I eventually made a decision

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that I wanted to focus
my energy on our food choices

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and how they can make a difference.

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We eat several times a day,

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and each food choice
says something about ourselves.

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I believe, our individual food choices
and collective voices can have an impact.

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By going vegan,
I knew I was doing my part

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not to contribute to the suffering
of non human animals.

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But what about my food?

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What about the farm workers?

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I can simply stop eating animals
as a means of not contributing

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to their suffering.

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But it's not as easy with farm workers.

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Everyone needs
their fruits and vegetables.

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In the US, millions
of farm workers pick our food.

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Not just the food of vegans,
but all of our food.

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It is estimated that approximately 400,000
of these farm workers are children.

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In California, many farm workers
live in substandard labor camps,

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are homeless along our creeks
and our rivers.

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They don't make enough
to put a roof over their head,

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and yet they put food on our plates.

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They work in extreme temperatures,
exposed to agricultural chemicals,

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many can't even afford or have access

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to the types of fruits
and vegetables they're picking.

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It is estimated in California

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that the average life span
of a strawberry picker is 49 years.

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Groups like the Coalition
of Immokalee Workers

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are making great strides in this area

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by using consumer pressure
to get corporations to make changes,

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such as getting tomato buyers
to pay just a penny more per pound

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for the tomatoes that they pick.

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My organization, Food Empowerment Project,
organize a school supply drive

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to help with the education
of the children of farm workers.

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So that they can choose an easier life.

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I still struggle with what more I can do.

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When people eat chocolate,
they're eating my flesh.

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That is what one farmer slave
told a reporter when he was asked

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what he would say to Westerners

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who eat chocolate.

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In West Africa, 1.8 million children
in Ghana, in the Ivory Coast,

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are victims of the worst forms
of child labor.

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[Hawa] picking cocoa
for the chocolate industry.

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Here, they are forced
to work with dangerous equipment

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such as machetes, some children
as young as seven years old.

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Many children have been documented
with scars on their arms and their legs.

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If they don't move fast enough
while carrying these heavy cocoa pods,

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they're beaten.

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Many children are locked in over night,
and if they try to escape,

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they're beaten or killed.

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We all have families, biological or not.

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So let's make choices
that respect families

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and the bonds that they share.

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How can we do this?

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If you have access to fresh produce,

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go vegan.

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Support the rights of farm workers

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through legislation
and corporate campaigns

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and stop eating chocolate.

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OK, OK, OK.

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You don't have to stop eating chocolate.

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But please, only buy chocolate
that's not sourced

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from the worst forms
of child labor in West Africa.

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You can use our list at foodispower.org.

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I make the most informed
food choices that I can make

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because I want to lessen
the suffering of sentient beings.

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I wanted to turn this pain
I felt into power.

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So much of this has been about loss,

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and what I gained was the feeling
that I could make a difference.

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I hope you will join me
and put your ethics where your mouth is.

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To me, these issues
are as connected as Charlotte's Web.

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You and your food choices
can change the world

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and mitigate suffering the world over.

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Thank you.

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(Applause)