The power of our food choices | Lauren Ornelas | TEDxGoldenGatePark

This talk was given at a local TEDx event, produced independently of the TED Conferences.

Lauren Ornelas, founder of Viva! USA, a national nonprofit vegan advocacy organization, discusses the power of our food choices. She encourages ethical food choices that reflect a more compassionate society by spotlighting the abuse of animals on farms, the depletion of our natural resources and unfair working conditions for produce workers.

"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,

[or] 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)