I’m alia I’m Italian I’m English and I
love me it’s in lasagna it’s in my
culture and it wasn’t a little bit it
was a lot but there was one standout in
my family and that was my older sister
she made the defiant move to become
vegetarian in sixth grade yeah I set the
V word I said the viewer but I loved her
but she was preachy I’m not gonna lie
she was the preachy vegetarian that you
see on stage that you see in the news
that you wish would shut up on streets
handing out the pamphlets but one day I
was you know eating my normal wings at
the restaurant and she was giving her
normal preachy speech and for the first
time in my life I looked down and they
didn’t look so appetizing anymore don’t
worry I still ate the wings but
something switched inside of me that day
I started to do my own research and I
saw animal bees being abused and I
couldn’t take it anymore so I became
vegetarian but being vegan is a whole
other thing that’s where you don’t eat
dairy you know ice cream milk eggs the
good things in life
that was stupid that was extreme I
wasn’t going there I’m vegan now
this happened last year and it was
because I found a random post about a
documentary called cowspiracy and it
showed the ins of the dairy industry and
let’s just say they’re not treated very
well if I want to put it nicely that’s
how my internship with the Humane League
started out it’s a non-profit animal
advocacy organization that focuses on
the better treatment of farm animals and
I planned the annual gala which was in
December where lots of humane Lake
speakers come to speak and I also was
the head and the face of the subway
campaign which earned more than 50,000
signatures urging subway to reform its
chicken policies so that they were
treated better and we won that campaign
and I got Rookie of the Year awards so
that’s pretty cool too at the annual
gala but I know what you’re wondering
you’re saying that’s nice
Leigha but why do I care I see all of
you all over the media and we like to
make jokes about you and we’ve heard it
before we don’t care okay but I’ll give
you three reasons to care the animals
the environment and you please raise
your hand if you have a pet
a gerbil a hamster a cat a dog okay put
your hands down raise your hand if you
love that pet that’s what I assume
that’s why we have pets so what’s the
difference did you know that most farm
animals are as intelligent as a two to
three year old that they form
relationships just like we do that they
have the ability to feel emotions that
they can feel pain that there are videos
of animals crying and slaughterhouses
this is the reality of factory farming
it’s not what a lot of us want to see
it’s not what a lot of us want to
believe is happening but that’s how
animals are being treated and if you
don’t want to be treated like that I
don’t so I don’t know why anyone else
would put beings like that through that
but if we know what’s bad if we know we
don’t like treating animals like that
then why do we do it
cognitive dissonance it’s a psychology
term my amazing teacher dr. mole taught
me last year in psychology class when we
have two sets of belief beliefs that
contradict each other we have to put one
of them aside we don’t want to believe
that we’re bad people we want to believe
that we’re doing the best we can of
being the best person so we push out
those other beliefs we focus on one that
means more to us and a lot of the times
that’s that me tastes good and that it’s
a part of our culture and that we’re not
the ones that are hurting these animals
so we shouldn’t feel responsible for it
and it makes sense I understand why
people feel that way because that’s how
I felt too but it’s not just about you
now the environment is the second one I
want to talk about
that’s me in Israel hiking up a mountain
I love exploring I love traveling and I
really like the world not being a gray
blob and us all dying out and the world
exploding which is what we’re headed to
with climate change but a lot of people
don’t know that factory farming actually
has a huge impact maybe you don’t hear
about it in the news maybe when you hear
about farms you think of Old MacDonald
had a farm eieio maybe that’s what you
think about maybe you think about green
pastures and blue skies and red farms
that’s factory farming that’s forest
being cut down that Lagoon is waste
animal waste number two that you go on
the toilet except it’s in our
environment except it runs off into our
streams and our rivers and our water
supply they tell you to ride your bike
to work they say turn your lights off
when you leave the house but they never
tell you to stop eating dairy or meat
because it’s a big industry it makes
money but did you know that methane one
of the leading causes of global warming
temperatures rising on our planet is
because of the agriculture animal
agriculture industry because uh cows
poop a lot pigs poop a lot and it has to
go somewhere and the toxins from that go
into the atmosphere and they warm our
planet now if you don’t care about
animals okay if you don’t care about the
environment okay but please care about
yourself I’m thanking you please care
about your health please care about what
you’re putting in your body and what you
are doing to yourself karma we think of
it as you know this mystical idea but
this is literal this is physical when we
are unhappy when we are happy when we’re
excited when we’re in pain we release
hormones endorphins into our body that’s
why maybe after a run you know you got
this yes I’m gonna lose a hundred pounds
in this one run we feel motivated
well like I said animals they have
emotions and when they are scared and
when they are upset they release these
endorphins into their body and we eat
them now I can’t tell you that after you
eat meat you’re gonna suddenly feel sad
and depressed and stressed out because
you probably won’t unless it’s Turkey
and you want to go to bed the reality is
that further down the line all of these
hormones and endorphins building up in
your body they have bad effects on you
they make you sluggish and you are what
you eat right we hear that all the time
when you eat healthy food you’re gonna
feel better when you eat pop-tarts
you’re probably gonna feel worse it’s
just the reality of the situation but I
also know what you’re thinking no this
is what being vegetarian means right
this is what being vegan means you can’t
eat anything you gotta check the labels
all the time and it’s boring the food is
boring let me tell you a secret
I don’t like salad that much and let me
tell you maybe once a week I eat it my
mom would probably tell you once a month
so there’s alternatives okay I also know
what you’re thinking that stuff tastes
like rubber and that stuff tastes like
plastic and how dare you compare that to
a nice chicken sandwich have you ever
tried it really have you ever tried it
it’s not that bad
it’s actually pretty good and on my meat
eating friends will tell you that they
like it I have friends who still eat
meat and they’ve switched to dairy-free
yogurt because they like it better what
a weird concept right the protein issue
let’s address that it is a myth we
actually in our culture eating me all
the time we get too much protein I used
to eat eggs all the time and when I went
to the doctor’s my cholesterol as a 16
year old off the charts my doctor said
oh don’t worry about it it’s fine but
suddenly when you become vegan they’re
super worried about every single protein
cholesterol vitamin that you have it’s
not true these are all plan
sources where you can get your protein
from and some of them per calorie have
more protein than me it’s not for the
people that are extreme ellen degeneres
ASAP rocky ariana grande Miley Cyrus
Venus Williams football players I’m
pretty sure they’re getting their
protein Venus Williams seems pretty okay
to me the biggest thing I can say is no
one is perfect
I’m messed up I eat meat sometimes I’m
in foreign countries by accident if you
eat a cupcake one day and you’re on a
diet are you gonna eat a cupcake
everyday for the rest of your life
because you messed up oh you’re just
gonna get back on track and you don’t
need to become a vegan or vegetarian you
can maybe instead of one meal of having
fried chicken try something else there’s
a lot of cool foods that don’t involve
me that I didn’t know about until I went
out on a search for them and you don’t
realize how much you’re actually eating
of it until you start evaluating what
you’re eating it makes you appreciate
your food more when you know better let
that be a challenge to do better say I
want to be a better version of myself
tomorrow than I am today you’re gonna
mess up that’s the reality of being
human if I believe that kickin someone
is bad and then I kick someone does it
really matter what I believe if I think
killing and abusing animals is bad
but I eat meat does it really matter
what I believe your beliefs are only as
important as your actions it’s not a one
step journey it’s learning it’s messing
up it’s failing and it’s getting right
back on the ladder and that’s something
that I’ve had to learn along the way you
make three choices every single day at
least your or you hurting the world or
you’re helping a little bit to save it
you don’t need to change the world you
don’t need to go to a soup kitchen every
day you just need to pick what’s
important to you
and you can do that by changing your
world not the world thank you
[Applause]
love me it’s in lasagna it’s in my
culture and it wasn’t a little bit it
was a lot but there was one standout in
my family and that was my older sister
she made the defiant move to become
vegetarian in sixth grade yeah I set the
V word I said the viewer but I loved her
but she was preachy I’m not gonna lie
she was the preachy vegetarian that you
see on stage that you see in the news
that you wish would shut up on streets
handing out the pamphlets but one day I
was you know eating my normal wings at
the restaurant and she was giving her
normal preachy speech and for the first
time in my life I looked down and they
didn’t look so appetizing anymore don’t
worry I still ate the wings but
something switched inside of me that day
I started to do my own research and I
saw animal bees being abused and I
couldn’t take it anymore so I became
vegetarian but being vegan is a whole
other thing that’s where you don’t eat
dairy you know ice cream milk eggs the
good things in life
that was stupid that was extreme I
wasn’t going there I’m vegan now
this happened last year and it was
because I found a random post about a
documentary called cowspiracy and it
showed the ins of the dairy industry and
let’s just say they’re not treated very
well if I want to put it nicely that’s
how my internship with the Humane League
started out it’s a non-profit animal
advocacy organization that focuses on
the better treatment of farm animals and
I planned the annual gala which was in
December where lots of humane Lake
speakers come to speak and I also was
the head and the face of the subway
campaign which earned more than 50,000
signatures urging subway to reform its
chicken policies so that they were
treated better and we won that campaign
and I got Rookie of the Year awards so
that’s pretty cool too at the annual
gala but I know what you’re wondering
you’re saying that’s nice
Leigha but why do I care I see all of
you all over the media and we like to
make jokes about you and we’ve heard it
before we don’t care okay but I’ll give
you three reasons to care the animals
the environment and you please raise
your hand if you have a pet
a gerbil a hamster a cat a dog okay put
your hands down raise your hand if you
love that pet that’s what I assume
that’s why we have pets so what’s the
difference did you know that most farm
animals are as intelligent as a two to
three year old that they form
relationships just like we do that they
have the ability to feel emotions that
they can feel pain that there are videos
of animals crying and slaughterhouses
this is the reality of factory farming
it’s not what a lot of us want to see
it’s not what a lot of us want to
believe is happening but that’s how
animals are being treated and if you
don’t want to be treated like that I
don’t so I don’t know why anyone else
would put beings like that through that
but if we know what’s bad if we know we
don’t like treating animals like that
then why do we do it
cognitive dissonance it’s a psychology
term my amazing teacher dr. mole taught
me last year in psychology class when we
have two sets of belief beliefs that
contradict each other we have to put one
of them aside we don’t want to believe
that we’re bad people we want to believe
that we’re doing the best we can of
being the best person so we push out
those other beliefs we focus on one that
means more to us and a lot of the times
that’s that me tastes good and that it’s
a part of our culture and that we’re not
the ones that are hurting these animals
so we shouldn’t feel responsible for it
and it makes sense I understand why
people feel that way because that’s how
I felt too but it’s not just about you
now the environment is the second one I
want to talk about
that’s me in Israel hiking up a mountain
I love exploring I love traveling and I
really like the world not being a gray
blob and us all dying out and the world
exploding which is what we’re headed to
with climate change but a lot of people
don’t know that factory farming actually
has a huge impact maybe you don’t hear
about it in the news maybe when you hear
about farms you think of Old MacDonald
had a farm eieio maybe that’s what you
think about maybe you think about green
pastures and blue skies and red farms
that’s factory farming that’s forest
being cut down that Lagoon is waste
animal waste number two that you go on
the toilet except it’s in our
environment except it runs off into our
streams and our rivers and our water
supply they tell you to ride your bike
to work they say turn your lights off
when you leave the house but they never
tell you to stop eating dairy or meat
because it’s a big industry it makes
money but did you know that methane one
of the leading causes of global warming
temperatures rising on our planet is
because of the agriculture animal
agriculture industry because uh cows
poop a lot pigs poop a lot and it has to
go somewhere and the toxins from that go
into the atmosphere and they warm our
planet now if you don’t care about
animals okay if you don’t care about the
environment okay but please care about
yourself I’m thanking you please care
about your health please care about what
you’re putting in your body and what you
are doing to yourself karma we think of
it as you know this mystical idea but
this is literal this is physical when we
are unhappy when we are happy when we’re
excited when we’re in pain we release
hormones endorphins into our body that’s
why maybe after a run you know you got
this yes I’m gonna lose a hundred pounds
in this one run we feel motivated
well like I said animals they have
emotions and when they are scared and
when they are upset they release these
endorphins into their body and we eat
them now I can’t tell you that after you
eat meat you’re gonna suddenly feel sad
and depressed and stressed out because
you probably won’t unless it’s Turkey
and you want to go to bed the reality is
that further down the line all of these
hormones and endorphins building up in
your body they have bad effects on you
they make you sluggish and you are what
you eat right we hear that all the time
when you eat healthy food you’re gonna
feel better when you eat pop-tarts
you’re probably gonna feel worse it’s
just the reality of the situation but I
also know what you’re thinking no this
is what being vegetarian means right
this is what being vegan means you can’t
eat anything you gotta check the labels
all the time and it’s boring the food is
boring let me tell you a secret
I don’t like salad that much and let me
tell you maybe once a week I eat it my
mom would probably tell you once a month
so there’s alternatives okay I also know
what you’re thinking that stuff tastes
like rubber and that stuff tastes like
plastic and how dare you compare that to
a nice chicken sandwich have you ever
tried it really have you ever tried it
it’s not that bad
it’s actually pretty good and on my meat
eating friends will tell you that they
like it I have friends who still eat
meat and they’ve switched to dairy-free
yogurt because they like it better what
a weird concept right the protein issue
let’s address that it is a myth we
actually in our culture eating me all
the time we get too much protein I used
to eat eggs all the time and when I went
to the doctor’s my cholesterol as a 16
year old off the charts my doctor said
oh don’t worry about it it’s fine but
suddenly when you become vegan they’re
super worried about every single protein
cholesterol vitamin that you have it’s
not true these are all plan
sources where you can get your protein
from and some of them per calorie have
more protein than me it’s not for the
people that are extreme ellen degeneres
ASAP rocky ariana grande Miley Cyrus
Venus Williams football players I’m
pretty sure they’re getting their
protein Venus Williams seems pretty okay
to me the biggest thing I can say is no
one is perfect
I’m messed up I eat meat sometimes I’m
in foreign countries by accident if you
eat a cupcake one day and you’re on a
diet are you gonna eat a cupcake
everyday for the rest of your life
because you messed up oh you’re just
gonna get back on track and you don’t
need to become a vegan or vegetarian you
can maybe instead of one meal of having
fried chicken try something else there’s
a lot of cool foods that don’t involve
me that I didn’t know about until I went
out on a search for them and you don’t
realize how much you’re actually eating
of it until you start evaluating what
you’re eating it makes you appreciate
your food more when you know better let
that be a challenge to do better say I
want to be a better version of myself
tomorrow than I am today you’re gonna
mess up that’s the reality of being
human if I believe that kickin someone
is bad and then I kick someone does it
really matter what I believe if I think
killing and abusing animals is bad
but I eat meat does it really matter
what I believe your beliefs are only as
important as your actions it’s not a one
step journey it’s learning it’s messing
up it’s failing and it’s getting right
back on the ladder and that’s something
that I’ve had to learn along the way you
make three choices every single day at
least your or you hurting the world or
you’re helping a little bit to save it
you don’t need to change the world you
don’t need to go to a soup kitchen every
day you just need to pick what’s
important to you
and you can do that by changing your
world not the world thank you
[Applause]
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