Inside the Capitol: Activists Confront Senetors

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Can we talk?

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Apparently, either not at all or not very

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much when it comes to talking with our

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representatives, members of Congress, Senators, who are at

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a major convention regarding animal agriculture.

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There is the guy from Free From Harm

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who tried to have interactions along with his

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associate Ariana, the two of them really trying

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to reach Congress and talk about animal agriculture.

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So you had this opportunity at this convention.

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And let's talk about how it went, because

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these people work for us, hypothetically.

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And you were asking some very specific questions

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about, hey, why not promote plant-based foods

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for human health?

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What was the general response you got, Robert?

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Well, you know, from what I could see

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in the videos, the general response was either,

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hey, we're not partial to animal ag.

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We support all forms of agriculture.

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But the reality is, is that, you know,

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animal ag receives, what Cory Booker once said,

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about 93% of the subsidies support that

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industry, and only 7% go to all

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the other crops that are grown for human

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consumption.

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So you tell me, is that equitable?

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I don't think so.

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I don't think anyone in their right mind

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would think that that was equitable.

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The reason why animal ag is such a

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subsidy horde is that it costs a lot

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of money and resources to raise huge animals

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and millions of them.

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And they have a lot of disease, and

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they have a lot of external costs that

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they can't afford.

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So they, you know, Congress is essentially helping

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them by using our tax dollars to cover

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a lot of the costs that they want

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to externalize.

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So you, your team, Free From Harm, went

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to the American Farm Bureau Convention to essentially

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try to talk to members of Congress.

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And we've got the clips, we're going to

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play them for you right now, of you

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really attempting to talk to these members of

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Congress about animal agriculture.

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Let's see how it goes.

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We're going to start with the person who

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is the chairman of the House Agriculture Committee.

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I just want to ask, do you believe

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more support is needed for producers of healthy,

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plant-based food?

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Yeah, I mean, whether it's, I don't discriminate

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as, personally, as chairman of the House Agriculture

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Committee on the size of farms, or quite

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frankly, the commodities.

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And so whether it's plants or livestock, it's

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all important and all has a place on

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the American dinner plate.

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Right, okay.

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So why are you advocating for billions of

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our tax dollars to bail out animal ag

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and the commodity crops?

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We're not bailing anybody out.

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We're, quite frankly, those folks who grow plants,

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soybeans, corn, specialty crops, and there's over a

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thousand different specialty crops, which are all plants,

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and not the nearest many livestock.

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They're all hurting right now.

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Thank you.

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All right.

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Well, first of all, we invite the American

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Farm Bureau Federation, any members of Congress, and

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any members of the agriculture industry on to

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comment at any time.

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We would love to dialogue with you.

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But Robert, I got to go back to

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you.

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He says here, we don't discriminate.

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We are for any kind of agriculture commodity.

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But that flies in the face of the

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fact that when you talk about soybeans, the

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overwhelming majority of soybeans produced are fed to

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farmed animals.

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A lot of the commodity crops that are

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technically plants, yes, you're producing plants, but they're

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fed to farmed animals.

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That's right.

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So, as the head of the Agriculture Committee,

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he has to know that, right?

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Oh, sure.

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Yeah.

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He knows full well what we're getting at.

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And we've approached him several other times on

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the same issue.

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And this is the first time we actually

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got some kind of a response out of

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him, which was kind of shocking to us

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to begin with.

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But, I mean, the bottom line is that,

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yeah, the commodity crops that he's talking about,

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they're used to feed livestock, corn and soybean,

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namely.

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Alfalfa is another one.

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But yeah, and only 7% of the

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overall support from the government for plant crops

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raised for human consumption.

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It's around 7%.

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And the numbers just don't lie.

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He knows that.

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He's legislated that in the past.

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And that's what's continuing here in this current

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farm bill that they're proposing.

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So, there should be no confusion over this,

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right?

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And I think he's obfuscating.

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And he's trying to say, oh, we support

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everyone equally.

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And of course, that's not true.

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Not only is that not true by agriculture

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sector, it's also not true in terms of

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scale.

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The larger farms get most of the subsidies.

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The smaller farms get much less.

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But I have to say, and Arianna, I

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believe you were the person asking the questions.

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And I think you did a great job.

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Because with all of the interactions you had

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with members of Congress, you stayed cool.

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You stayed polite.

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Nobody can accuse you of being abrasive.

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Um, he actually was the best response in

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terms of numbers of words uttered.

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So, we're going to get to the ones

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that did not say a word and just

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walked away from you.

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But what was your response?

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What was your gut reaction to this idea

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that he's saying, oh, you know, we don't

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discriminate.

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We love plants.

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We love animal agriculture.

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We love it all.

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What was your gut reaction to that?

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Yeah.

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I did appreciate that he actually answered the

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question.

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But it's known that we can live healthfully

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on a plant-based diet.

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And like Robert was saying, majority of these

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crops being grown are being fed to animals.

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And you just imagine, like, how much land

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we could save, how much water usage we

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could prevent a ton of animal suffering if

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we started supporting plant-based farmers.

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So, in my head, I was like, I

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don't agree with that.

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But I wanted him to keep talking.

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So, I was like, yeah.

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But I 100%, I don't agree.

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So, if you're just joining us, the folks

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from Free From Harm went to the American

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Farm Bureau Convention here in Southern California, I

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believe.

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And basically, they tried to confront members of

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Congress politely and ask them tough questions.

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We know that, you know, the number of

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animals being killed for food continues to skyrocket.

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It is in the many, many billions.

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In 2022, it was 75 billion.

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It's now jumped to something like 85 billion.

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We have a health crisis in this country

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with two-thirds of Americans overweight or obese,

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heart disease a leading killer, skyrocketing colorectal cancer,

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skyrocketing cases of early onset dementia.

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A lot of that can be traced to

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diet.

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We've got a great film on Unchained TV

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called How Not to Die that dives into

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the connection between eating meat, which is packed

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with cholesterol, which clogs up the arteries, and

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the connection to meat because plants do not

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produce cholesterol.

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There's only cholesterol in animal products.

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So, you've got the health issue.

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You've got the environmental issue.

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New York Times reported that heavy meat eaters

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can reduce their greenhouse gas emissions by 75

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% by switching to a plant-based diet.

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You've got the compassion to animals issue, 75

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-85.

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This is just land animals being raised in

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industrialized conditions and killed every year.

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So, the thing that gets me is that

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this is the most important issue we could

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discuss.

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It concerns health.

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It concerns the environment.

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It concerns ethical issues.

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And yet, it's almost as if you're being

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rude to want to talk about it.

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So, let's go to another member of Congress.

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This one is Senator Boozman.

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We're going to hear this interaction that you

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had, Ariana, with him.

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And you can see somebody running interference literally

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blocking the camera.

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And we invite all of them on.

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But let's watch this and dissect.

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I shouldn't use the word dissect.

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Analyze on the other side.

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Do you believe more support is needed for

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producers of healthy plant-based foods?

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So, do you believe more support is needed

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for producers of healthy plant-based foods?

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Right on.

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Okay.

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Just one more.

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I'm so sorry.

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Why are you advocating for billions of our

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tax dollars to bail out animal ag and

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the commodity crops that support animal agriculture?

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No comment, you said?

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Why is that?

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If your position is to make Americans healthier,

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why aren't you supporting healthy and sustainable plant

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-based options and food production?

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Why should taxpayers carry the burden for animal

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ag industry's problems like bird flu, my friend?

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Don't you think that these outbreaks like bird

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flu and screw worm are an inevitable outcome

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of the extreme conditions under which the industry

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raises and slaughters billions of animals?

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Wow.

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So, that was another interesting interaction.

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I want to go to Ariana.

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What was your gut take on that?

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At least Representative Thompson did talk to you

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and answer your questions, albeit briefly, but he

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did give you the respect of answering your

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question.

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This was just basically the cold shoulder.

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Right.

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I was kind of, I mean, I was

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expecting it, but I was also kind of

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shocked because these are people who are supposed

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to be representing us.

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And as humans, we're like, trying to evolve

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or hopefully want to evolve.

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And if I'm just like an everyday person,

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yes, I'm an animal rights activist, but I'm

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just a person like I am asking very

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valid questions to the people who represent us

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and use our taxpayer dollars to fund this

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industry.

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So, I feel like they're very reasonable questions

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and it's kind of sad that we can't

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even have a conversation with these people who

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represent us.

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Yeah.

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And let's go to some of the comments

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that are coming in about this.

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First of all, love this, says Tiffany.

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And it takes gumption and guts to do

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this, to basically speak truth or question truth

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to power.

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Not an easy thing to do.

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Raping children, slaughtering factory farm, warehousing, this is

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one and the same for them.

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These are comments that are coming up.

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I am not filtering them or censoring them.

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00:12:45,710 --> 00:12:47,290
So, this is what people have to say.

275
00:12:47,430 --> 00:12:50,230
Nilofar says, isn't it interesting how they think

276
00:12:50,230 --> 00:12:54,210
they can ignore taxpayers when polite activists approach

277
00:12:54,210 --> 00:12:54,570
them?

278
00:12:55,690 --> 00:12:57,810
Ari, so well-spoken.

279
00:12:58,330 --> 00:13:01,230
Karen LaCava says, this administration obviously does not

280
00:13:01,230 --> 00:13:03,110
care about the health of the American population.

281
00:13:03,270 --> 00:13:05,130
They only care about money and power.

282
00:13:05,650 --> 00:13:08,510
And basically, taxpayers are paying for the animal

283
00:13:08,510 --> 00:13:12,010
ag lobbies and this re-election campaign on

284
00:13:12,010 --> 00:13:14,970
top of money in their own pockets.

285
00:13:15,430 --> 00:13:15,810
All right.

286
00:13:16,250 --> 00:13:19,730
Well, let's see if there's one more.

287
00:13:20,010 --> 00:13:20,650
Here we go.

288
00:13:20,830 --> 00:13:21,710
Sloan, thank you.

289
00:13:21,790 --> 00:13:24,730
These people are morally bankrupt, hence ag gag

290
00:13:24,730 --> 00:13:25,150
laws.

291
00:13:25,290 --> 00:13:26,670
Hopefully, they will die off some.

292
00:13:26,710 --> 00:13:28,570
Well, we don't wish that on anybody.

293
00:13:28,690 --> 00:13:31,230
I'll jump in and say that, Ariana.

294
00:13:34,230 --> 00:13:35,910
Robert, put this in context.

295
00:13:35,910 --> 00:13:39,930
Tell us about this conference and how important

296
00:13:39,930 --> 00:13:43,050
it is and how, basically, the deals are

297
00:13:43,050 --> 00:13:46,010
made, not in front of the cameras, not

298
00:13:46,010 --> 00:13:48,670
when the cameras are rolling or when the

299
00:13:48,670 --> 00:13:53,930
legislature, state or federal, is in function, but

300
00:13:53,930 --> 00:13:56,730
at these kind of get-togethers.

301
00:13:56,810 --> 00:13:57,770
Tell us about this.

302
00:13:58,550 --> 00:13:58,930
Right.

303
00:13:59,190 --> 00:13:59,470
Yeah.

304
00:13:59,650 --> 00:14:04,830
So, this is the big annual convention of

305
00:14:04,830 --> 00:14:08,750
the American Farm Bureau Federation, which is arguably

306
00:14:08,750 --> 00:14:14,030
the most important animal ag lobbying front in

307
00:14:14,030 --> 00:14:16,110
the country and perhaps even the world.

308
00:14:16,950 --> 00:14:19,070
It shapes food policy.

309
00:14:19,350 --> 00:14:22,170
It has a very heavy hand behind the

310
00:14:22,170 --> 00:14:24,490
scenes in shaping the farm bill.

311
00:14:25,650 --> 00:14:29,610
And the influence of the CEO, Zippy Duvall,

312
00:14:29,750 --> 00:14:31,350
cannot be underestimated.

313
00:14:31,510 --> 00:14:33,310
He's one of the most influential people in

314
00:14:33,310 --> 00:14:35,130
our food system that no one's ever heard

315
00:14:35,130 --> 00:14:35,350
of.

316
00:14:36,370 --> 00:14:38,490
And the fact that they can bring in

317
00:14:38,490 --> 00:14:43,770
the top brass in Congress, working on farm

318
00:14:43,770 --> 00:14:47,130
and food policy, that they fly in from

319
00:14:47,130 --> 00:14:49,570
D.C. to L.A. just to come

320
00:14:49,570 --> 00:14:53,090
in and do their speeches and make their

321
00:14:53,090 --> 00:14:56,590
promises, that just tells you the power and

322
00:14:56,590 --> 00:14:58,410
influence that we're dealing with.

323
00:14:58,550 --> 00:15:00,970
So, there were thousands of people at this

324
00:15:00,970 --> 00:15:05,010
conference, and it was a great opportunity for

325
00:15:05,010 --> 00:15:09,570
us at Free From Harm to get in

326
00:15:09,570 --> 00:15:12,750
front of them, because our simple belief is

327
00:15:12,750 --> 00:15:13,110
this.

328
00:15:13,690 --> 00:15:17,570
We believe that in a democracy or any

329
00:15:17,570 --> 00:15:20,690
kind of representative government, that the average working

330
00:15:20,690 --> 00:15:23,090
person should be able to access the most

331
00:15:23,090 --> 00:15:26,630
powerful people making decisions on their behalf.

332
00:15:27,330 --> 00:15:30,050
And when we do this, we're showing our

333
00:15:30,050 --> 00:15:32,910
supporters, we're showing the public that it is

334
00:15:32,910 --> 00:15:34,510
possible to access them.

335
00:15:34,750 --> 00:15:37,290
And not only is it possible, but it's

336
00:15:37,290 --> 00:15:40,910
absolutely imperative, because if we want to protect

337
00:15:40,910 --> 00:15:42,770
our rights, if we want to protect a

338
00:15:42,770 --> 00:15:46,250
democracy, we have to do this work.

339
00:15:46,330 --> 00:15:47,410
It's not even an option.

340
00:15:47,610 --> 00:15:49,070
We have to be out there.

341
00:15:49,170 --> 00:15:50,290
We have to be in front of them,

342
00:15:50,610 --> 00:15:51,810
holding them accountable.

343
00:15:52,730 --> 00:15:53,430
All right.

344
00:15:53,510 --> 00:15:58,670
We have yet another interaction with Ariana, and

345
00:15:58,670 --> 00:16:01,590
this one, well, let's just play it.

346
00:16:01,670 --> 00:16:05,570
This is Representative Angie Craig, who I looked

347
00:16:05,570 --> 00:16:05,730
up.

348
00:16:05,850 --> 00:16:07,110
She used to be a journalist.

349
00:16:07,430 --> 00:16:11,370
So, she knows that whole system of walk

350
00:16:11,370 --> 00:16:13,610
and talk, asking questions while you're walking.

351
00:16:13,730 --> 00:16:15,070
Let's listen to what happened here.

352
00:16:15,130 --> 00:16:15,410
Hi.

353
00:16:16,950 --> 00:16:18,870
Sorry, we're on our way to another thing.

354
00:16:19,050 --> 00:16:19,610
Sorry about that.

355
00:16:19,670 --> 00:16:20,070
I apologize.

356
00:16:20,470 --> 00:16:20,910
It's okay.

357
00:16:21,010 --> 00:16:21,890
It's just a quick one.

358
00:16:22,190 --> 00:16:24,230
Do you believe more support is needed for

359
00:16:24,230 --> 00:16:33,710
producers of healthy, plant-based foods to mail

360
00:16:33,710 --> 00:16:43,780
out animal ads and the commodity somewhere?

361
00:16:43,800 --> 00:16:46,260
We've got to get to another event really

362
00:16:46,260 --> 00:16:46,640
quickly.

363
00:16:46,980 --> 00:16:47,740
We can walk and talk, right?

364
00:16:47,840 --> 00:16:48,720
Yeah, we can walk and talk.

365
00:16:49,060 --> 00:16:50,120
We have time.

366
00:16:50,900 --> 00:16:53,740
If our position is to make Americans healthier,

367
00:16:53,960 --> 00:16:56,660
why aren't we supporting healthy and sustainable plant

368
00:16:56,660 --> 00:16:57,460
-based food production?

369
00:16:57,640 --> 00:16:58,940
Do you guys want to give me your

370
00:16:58,940 --> 00:17:00,580
email so we can...

371
00:17:00,580 --> 00:17:03,060
Do you work for an outlet or like

372
00:17:03,060 --> 00:17:03,599
a media outlet?

373
00:17:03,720 --> 00:17:04,160
Independent.

374
00:17:04,500 --> 00:17:04,700
Independent.

375
00:17:05,240 --> 00:17:06,599
Can we have your business card?

376
00:17:06,980 --> 00:17:08,460
Yeah, I'm happy to give you my business

377
00:17:08,460 --> 00:17:09,460
card if you guys want to.

378
00:17:10,839 --> 00:17:14,980
We do work with influencers and citizen media.

379
00:17:16,520 --> 00:17:19,240
Are we here?

380
00:17:19,440 --> 00:17:21,500
You can Google it and you can find...

381
00:17:23,579 --> 00:17:26,480
Is this something like that because we're wanting

382
00:17:26,480 --> 00:17:27,319
to speak with her?

383
00:17:27,540 --> 00:17:28,160
Is this...

384
00:17:28,160 --> 00:17:30,220
Yes, so if you wanted to set up

385
00:17:30,220 --> 00:17:32,380
a phone interview or even something on Zoom,

386
00:17:32,680 --> 00:17:33,740
you can reach out.

387
00:17:34,800 --> 00:17:37,720
It's just we've had very little time today

388
00:17:37,720 --> 00:17:40,300
and she's got places to go.

389
00:17:40,600 --> 00:17:41,020
I understand.

390
00:17:41,180 --> 00:17:41,300
Okay.

391
00:17:41,860 --> 00:17:43,700
But yeah, so if you let me know

392
00:17:43,700 --> 00:17:45,920
just kind of like the who, what, when,

393
00:17:45,980 --> 00:17:49,120
where, that's how much time you need, what

394
00:17:49,120 --> 00:17:52,720
topics you want to cover, what outlet is.

395
00:17:53,300 --> 00:17:55,720
I use outlet generally.

396
00:17:57,360 --> 00:18:00,920
So please, if you ever have that meeting,

397
00:18:01,800 --> 00:18:04,740
I will, I promise you right now, do

398
00:18:04,740 --> 00:18:07,740
another podcast with you and find out exactly

399
00:18:07,740 --> 00:18:09,420
what happened at that meeting.

400
00:18:10,040 --> 00:18:13,320
But what is what you would call the

401
00:18:13,320 --> 00:18:14,380
strategy here?

402
00:18:14,520 --> 00:18:17,240
You see three members of Congress.

403
00:18:18,320 --> 00:18:20,560
One's talking, but not saying a whole heck

404
00:18:20,560 --> 00:18:22,160
of a lot, but you got to give

405
00:18:22,160 --> 00:18:23,020
them credit for talking.

406
00:18:23,520 --> 00:18:26,460
The other one basically says one thing and

407
00:18:26,460 --> 00:18:27,380
then rushes off.

408
00:18:27,540 --> 00:18:29,140
And then the third one won't talk to

409
00:18:29,140 --> 00:18:29,560
you at all.

410
00:18:34,140 --> 00:18:39,340
Well, look, as I said, in a democratic

411
00:18:39,340 --> 00:18:41,740
system, we need to hold the most powerful

412
00:18:41,740 --> 00:18:42,620
people accountable.

413
00:18:42,780 --> 00:18:44,940
I don't think anyone would argue with that.

414
00:18:45,420 --> 00:18:46,900
And it's a, it's a job.

415
00:18:46,980 --> 00:18:50,060
It's not a fun job and it's sometimes

416
00:18:50,060 --> 00:18:51,180
it's a thankless job.

417
00:18:51,600 --> 00:18:54,540
But if you look at other movements, you'll

418
00:18:54,540 --> 00:18:58,300
see the same kind of strategy where climate

419
00:18:58,300 --> 00:19:04,340
activists, pharma activists, healthcare for all, where do

420
00:19:04,340 --> 00:19:04,680
they go?

421
00:19:04,780 --> 00:19:06,520
They go to the CEOs and the top

422
00:19:06,520 --> 00:19:10,260
leadership in Congress to demand the changes that

423
00:19:10,260 --> 00:19:12,260
society needs.

424
00:19:12,400 --> 00:19:16,520
And we're basically taking that cue from a

425
00:19:16,520 --> 00:19:20,360
very tried and tested and accepted strategy that

426
00:19:20,360 --> 00:19:23,860
the most powerful people need to be in

427
00:19:23,860 --> 00:19:24,580
the limelight.

428
00:19:24,760 --> 00:19:27,980
We need to make them front and center

429
00:19:27,980 --> 00:19:32,760
because consumers, yeah, it's important to have consumer

430
00:19:32,760 --> 00:19:34,700
outreach, but guess what?

431
00:19:34,980 --> 00:19:37,380
These big decisions and deals that are being

432
00:19:37,380 --> 00:19:41,200
made behind closed doors are made long before

433
00:19:41,200 --> 00:19:43,900
consumers have any choices when they go into

434
00:19:43,900 --> 00:19:44,900
the grocery store, right?

435
00:19:45,340 --> 00:19:46,020
Of course.

436
00:19:46,560 --> 00:19:49,320
I mean, look, they say, well, it's the

437
00:19:49,320 --> 00:19:50,540
capitalist system at work.

438
00:19:50,800 --> 00:19:53,280
I personally call it corporate socialism.

439
00:19:53,280 --> 00:19:56,660
The average fast food hamburger would cost $30

440
00:19:56,660 --> 00:20:00,140
or more if it wasn't subsidized by animal

441
00:20:00,140 --> 00:20:03,240
agriculture, by government, by big government.

442
00:20:03,760 --> 00:20:07,280
Everything from rounding up wild horses so that

443
00:20:07,280 --> 00:20:09,980
the cattle can have public lands to graze,

444
00:20:10,700 --> 00:20:15,240
to subsidizing the commodity crops that go into

445
00:20:15,240 --> 00:20:16,720
the feed for the animals.

446
00:20:17,140 --> 00:20:19,900
I mean, there's a gazillion tax breaks and

447
00:20:19,900 --> 00:20:22,720
the farm bill is where a lot of

448
00:20:22,720 --> 00:20:23,340
it happens.

449
00:20:23,920 --> 00:20:27,600
And interestingly, they've been sort of dilly dallying

450
00:20:27,600 --> 00:20:29,500
on the farm bill now and extending it

451
00:20:29,500 --> 00:20:30,480
and extending it.

452
00:20:30,800 --> 00:20:34,840
So there is this opportunity to have meaningful

453
00:20:34,840 --> 00:20:37,560
change in the next farm bill, but it's

454
00:20:37,560 --> 00:20:40,240
a fait accompli when all these deals are

455
00:20:40,240 --> 00:20:44,360
done, again, behind closed doors or at conventions

456
00:20:44,360 --> 00:20:46,660
or in social settings.

457
00:20:47,500 --> 00:20:52,160
I will say that many years ago, I

458
00:20:52,160 --> 00:20:54,100
went with, and I believe it was the

459
00:20:54,100 --> 00:20:56,760
Humane Society at the time, to talk to

460
00:20:56,760 --> 00:21:00,600
a member of Congress that had been elected

461
00:21:00,600 --> 00:21:04,820
with the support of environmentalists and animal activists.

462
00:21:05,380 --> 00:21:06,800
And it was at a time when there

463
00:21:06,800 --> 00:21:10,200
was this horrific scandal involving a slaughterhouse, one

464
00:21:10,200 --> 00:21:14,560
of the early undercover investigations that resulted in

465
00:21:14,560 --> 00:21:16,580
the closure of the slaughterhouse.

466
00:21:17,200 --> 00:21:20,120
And we went there and we played this

467
00:21:20,120 --> 00:21:21,280
footage for him.

468
00:21:21,360 --> 00:21:22,900
And the reason we were able to get

469
00:21:22,900 --> 00:21:25,400
in is that we knew the person who

470
00:21:25,400 --> 00:21:27,040
threw a big party for him in Beverly

471
00:21:27,040 --> 00:21:27,420
Hills.

472
00:21:28,200 --> 00:21:31,280
And this was a member of Congress who

473
00:21:31,280 --> 00:21:33,920
was on our side, hypothetically.

474
00:21:34,520 --> 00:21:38,020
And he looked at this shocking video of

475
00:21:38,020 --> 00:21:41,640
animal abuse in a factory farm setting, a

476
00:21:41,640 --> 00:21:45,540
slaughterhouse setting, said not a word, and just

477
00:21:45,540 --> 00:21:47,860
wanted us out of his office.

478
00:21:48,720 --> 00:21:48,940
Right.

479
00:21:49,160 --> 00:21:53,180
Once you get in there, you apparently get

480
00:21:53,180 --> 00:21:57,200
the message that you start pushing it back

481
00:21:57,200 --> 00:21:59,400
against this industry and you're done.

482
00:21:59,640 --> 00:22:02,820
I mean, you're nodding your head, Ariana.

483
00:22:03,800 --> 00:22:04,280
Yeah.

484
00:22:04,960 --> 00:22:07,100
No, this is a big moneymaker.

485
00:22:07,580 --> 00:22:10,860
And I think as humans, we get very

486
00:22:10,860 --> 00:22:11,960
stuck in our ways.

487
00:22:12,740 --> 00:22:16,060
And from my experience, the people who are

488
00:22:16,060 --> 00:22:20,360
on the side of animal ag, they're very

489
00:22:22,180 --> 00:22:24,560
against any change or movement towards a plant

490
00:22:24,560 --> 00:22:27,040
-based system, even though they might portray that

491
00:22:27,040 --> 00:22:29,800
they are for little changes, but they're not

492
00:22:29,800 --> 00:22:30,940
really for the big change.

493
00:22:31,020 --> 00:22:34,280
That would really help people, animals, the environment,

494
00:22:34,880 --> 00:22:35,220
et cetera.

495
00:22:36,540 --> 00:22:39,440
So that's really sad that that was the

496
00:22:39,440 --> 00:22:41,820
case, that you even showed them the physical

497
00:22:41,820 --> 00:22:44,420
footage and then you're met with, get out

498
00:22:44,420 --> 00:22:45,460
the door.

499
00:22:45,800 --> 00:22:45,960
Yeah.

500
00:22:46,060 --> 00:22:46,200
Yeah.

501
00:22:46,340 --> 00:22:48,560
Well, it wasn't said verbally to me, but

502
00:22:48,560 --> 00:22:50,980
we definitely got the impression this person did

503
00:22:50,980 --> 00:22:54,960
not want to interact with me, even though

504
00:22:54,960 --> 00:22:56,300
I had met him at the party.

505
00:22:57,040 --> 00:23:00,680
So it was just like a different person.

506
00:23:01,480 --> 00:23:03,220
And that's what I think what happens is

507
00:23:03,220 --> 00:23:06,340
as soon as you get elected, you're running

508
00:23:06,340 --> 00:23:07,180
for reelection.

509
00:23:07,960 --> 00:23:12,540
And so it's almost like a mathematical calculation

510
00:23:12,540 --> 00:23:13,380
that's made.

511
00:23:13,980 --> 00:23:17,560
Somebody said something about, we know Cory Booker

512
00:23:17,560 --> 00:23:22,040
is vegan, but I don't know that AOC

513
00:23:22,040 --> 00:23:22,600
is vegan.

514
00:23:22,920 --> 00:23:24,000
I've never heard that.

515
00:23:24,000 --> 00:23:24,960
I'll check it out.

516
00:23:25,180 --> 00:23:28,740
But yeah, this is a bipartisan problem, by

517
00:23:28,740 --> 00:23:31,040
the way, of the people that we, the

518
00:23:31,040 --> 00:23:33,460
members of Congress that we showed, there was

519
00:23:33,460 --> 00:23:35,060
a Democrat, there were Republicans.

520
00:23:35,380 --> 00:23:38,440
This has been going on administration after administration.

521
00:23:39,180 --> 00:23:40,440
I mean, correct me if I'm wrong.

522
00:23:40,500 --> 00:23:43,120
I see this as a bipartisan problem.

523
00:23:43,880 --> 00:23:44,400
Yes.

524
00:23:46,160 --> 00:23:47,760
It's a bipartisan issue.

525
00:23:47,900 --> 00:23:50,960
And surprisingly, there's some Republicans that are actually

526
00:23:50,960 --> 00:23:55,960
making bolder efforts to move in a plant

527
00:23:55,960 --> 00:23:57,740
-based direction than some Democrats.

528
00:23:58,880 --> 00:24:03,440
So, there are some promising developments happening that

529
00:24:03,440 --> 00:24:04,060
we're tracking.

530
00:24:04,360 --> 00:24:09,420
Like, for example, Representative DeLauro sent a letter

531
00:24:09,420 --> 00:24:13,260
with 33 signatories, 33 other members of Congress

532
00:24:13,740 --> 00:24:16,580
that essentially said, hey, we need more support

533
00:24:16,580 --> 00:24:20,900
for vegetables and fruit and nuts and specialty

534
00:24:20,900 --> 00:24:22,960
crops, what they call specialty crops, right?

535
00:24:23,780 --> 00:24:25,380
Which is everything we eat that's not animal

536
00:24:25,380 --> 00:24:25,740
-based.

537
00:24:26,980 --> 00:24:29,900
And 33 members of Congress signed on the

538
00:24:29,900 --> 00:24:30,840
last time I checked.

539
00:24:31,820 --> 00:24:35,860
She is basically advocating that subsidies from animal

540
00:24:35,860 --> 00:24:38,080
ag shift to plant-based agriculture.

541
00:24:38,720 --> 00:24:41,380
It's one of the first and probably clearest

542
00:24:41,380 --> 00:24:46,540
and boldest messages to send to the industry

543
00:24:46,540 --> 00:24:49,720
and to Congress that we need change.

544
00:24:50,240 --> 00:24:54,060
And so, we are rallying behind efforts like

545
00:24:54,060 --> 00:25:00,400
Representative DeLauro's, because they're starting to gain momentum.

546
00:25:00,720 --> 00:25:04,020
We have the plant-powered meals coalition that

547
00:25:04,020 --> 00:25:08,240
is working on an act to introduce plant

548
00:25:08,240 --> 00:25:12,240
-based meals, which is spearheaded by Senator Schiff

549
00:25:12,240 --> 00:25:13,660
and Representative Velasquez.

550
00:25:13,840 --> 00:25:15,800
So, there are some things that are really

551
00:25:15,800 --> 00:25:17,400
happening in the right direction.

552
00:25:18,190 --> 00:25:21,900
And we just don't want to spoil people's

553
00:25:21,900 --> 00:25:26,180
thinking that it's totally static, because it's not.

554
00:25:26,300 --> 00:25:29,440
There are good things happening, but we need

555
00:25:29,440 --> 00:25:33,060
to be there to show our support, to

556
00:25:33,060 --> 00:25:35,760
rally support from the public.

557
00:25:36,020 --> 00:25:38,840
We cannot take a back seat and just

558
00:25:38,840 --> 00:25:41,200
think that we can email our way through

559
00:25:41,200 --> 00:25:41,620
this.

560
00:25:41,680 --> 00:25:42,740
We got to be there.

561
00:25:43,800 --> 00:25:43,940
Yeah.

562
00:25:44,080 --> 00:25:47,000
And also, I'll point out, we just had

563
00:25:47,000 --> 00:25:50,460
Switch4Good on, the Olympian Dotsie Bausch, who was

564
00:25:50,460 --> 00:25:53,520
one of the leaders in getting the right

565
00:25:53,520 --> 00:25:57,120
for children in public schools to have plant

566
00:25:57,120 --> 00:25:57,560
-based milks.

567
00:25:57,840 --> 00:25:59,620
And now, you don't need a doctor's note

568
00:25:59,620 --> 00:26:00,000
anymore.

569
00:26:00,200 --> 00:26:01,500
You just need to know from your parent,

570
00:26:01,900 --> 00:26:03,680
and they will provide plant-based milk.

571
00:26:03,740 --> 00:26:06,840
That's a huge breakthrough, because really, my belief

572
00:26:06,840 --> 00:26:10,080
is that the dairy industry supports the meat

573
00:26:10,080 --> 00:26:10,580
industry.

574
00:26:10,580 --> 00:26:13,380
Most of the burgers, the cheap burgers, are

575
00:26:13,380 --> 00:26:14,740
spent dairy cows.

576
00:26:15,960 --> 00:26:20,920
And notably, the dairy industry is propped up

577
00:26:20,920 --> 00:26:24,240
by the government, by trying to get institutions

578
00:26:24,240 --> 00:26:28,680
and schools and all sorts of institutions to

579
00:26:28,680 --> 00:26:31,680
get public dollars to push dairy, even though

580
00:26:31,680 --> 00:26:33,480
a huge percentage of it is thrown out

581
00:26:33,480 --> 00:26:33,880
the window.

582
00:26:34,000 --> 00:26:36,860
So, imagine all these animals living torturous lives,

583
00:26:37,700 --> 00:26:40,060
having their breast milk stolen only to be

584
00:26:40,060 --> 00:26:40,660
discarded.

585
00:26:41,060 --> 00:26:42,860
It's beyond morally bankrupt.

586
00:26:43,060 --> 00:26:45,840
It's also just stupid and self-destructive.

587
00:26:46,540 --> 00:26:46,860
Okay.

588
00:26:47,040 --> 00:26:49,860
Speaking of food, we're saving the best for

589
00:26:49,860 --> 00:26:50,320
last.

590
00:26:50,420 --> 00:26:53,120
Now, I just want to clarify, was this

591
00:26:53,120 --> 00:26:53,660
Robert F.

592
00:26:53,800 --> 00:26:57,580
Kennedy Jr. interaction at this convention?

593
00:26:58,140 --> 00:26:58,660
No.

594
00:26:58,920 --> 00:27:00,820
This was at the gym in D.C.

595
00:27:00,900 --> 00:27:02,400
where we found him.

596
00:27:03,020 --> 00:27:03,120
Of course.

597
00:27:03,560 --> 00:27:05,840
Of course, when it comes to R.F.

598
00:27:05,940 --> 00:27:07,620
Kennedy Jr., it's got to be at a

599
00:27:07,620 --> 00:27:07,860
gym.

600
00:27:08,000 --> 00:27:12,060
God forbid, he sit down at a desk.

601
00:27:12,460 --> 00:27:13,100
All right.

602
00:27:13,160 --> 00:27:16,600
Let's check out this very short interaction with

603
00:27:16,600 --> 00:27:17,060
Robert F.

604
00:27:17,140 --> 00:27:29,560
Kennedy Jr. What

605
00:27:29,560 --> 00:27:31,740
do you think of factory farming, Secretary Clinton?

606
00:27:32,060 --> 00:27:34,140
Aren't you worried about factory farming?

607
00:27:35,120 --> 00:27:36,680
It's making Americans sick.

608
00:27:38,620 --> 00:27:39,400
All right.

609
00:27:39,480 --> 00:27:41,960
Well, of course, priority number one, get into

610
00:27:41,960 --> 00:27:43,820
that gym and do some reps.

611
00:27:45,120 --> 00:27:45,640
Right.

612
00:27:46,780 --> 00:27:50,420
Apparently, last night on the news, they were

613
00:27:50,420 --> 00:27:53,140
talking about how he was jumping into some

614
00:27:53,140 --> 00:27:56,880
kind of a cold water tub with his

615
00:27:56,880 --> 00:28:00,100
jeans on, and it's all very strange.

616
00:28:00,520 --> 00:28:02,100
Yes, you have a nice physique.

617
00:28:02,320 --> 00:28:02,920
You know what?

618
00:28:02,960 --> 00:28:04,740
I live in L.A. near the beach.

619
00:28:05,460 --> 00:28:07,320
90% of the people around here have

620
00:28:07,320 --> 00:28:08,040
a good physique.

621
00:28:08,440 --> 00:28:08,780
All right.

622
00:28:08,860 --> 00:28:12,860
It's nothing that you have discovered the secret

623
00:28:12,860 --> 00:28:14,080
to a good physique.

624
00:28:14,280 --> 00:28:19,700
Certainly not with the upside down pyramid that

625
00:28:19,700 --> 00:28:23,820
he just pushed out, which tragically puts, as

626
00:28:23,820 --> 00:28:27,380
you can see here, steak, cheese, and milk

627
00:28:27,380 --> 00:28:28,600
at the very top.

628
00:28:29,800 --> 00:28:33,380
You talk about there are some positive developments,

629
00:28:33,700 --> 00:28:38,000
but this is a an upside down pyramid.

630
00:28:38,340 --> 00:28:40,780
It's the exact opposite of what it should

631
00:28:40,780 --> 00:28:41,120
be.

632
00:28:41,720 --> 00:28:43,720
What are your thoughts on that, Ariana?

633
00:28:46,040 --> 00:28:46,680
Yeah.

634
00:28:46,680 --> 00:28:52,400
Like many people, we were shocked, considering, like

635
00:28:52,400 --> 00:28:55,980
you said, that animal products contain cholesterol and

636
00:28:55,980 --> 00:29:00,080
also that they've been linked to heart disease,

637
00:29:00,460 --> 00:29:03,740
stroke, diabetes, type 2 diabetes.

638
00:29:05,640 --> 00:29:10,100
It's concerning to know that this is something

639
00:29:10,100 --> 00:29:13,280
that kids will see and think, oh, yeah,

640
00:29:13,340 --> 00:29:14,020
that's healthy.

641
00:29:15,120 --> 00:29:18,760
I grew up eating so much fast food,

642
00:29:19,360 --> 00:29:23,180
so many animal products and animals, and I

643
00:29:23,180 --> 00:29:24,220
would always have headaches.

644
00:29:24,500 --> 00:29:28,680
I was overweight, and just what you would

645
00:29:28,680 --> 00:29:31,740
do to help suppress it is take Advil

646
00:29:31,740 --> 00:29:34,780
or just pray it goes away.

647
00:29:34,860 --> 00:29:36,860
Drink water, but you're not getting to the

648
00:29:36,860 --> 00:29:38,400
root of the issue, and it's scary that

649
00:29:38,400 --> 00:29:40,260
this is being pushed as something that is

650
00:29:40,260 --> 00:29:43,180
healthy when it's the complete opposite.

651
00:29:43,400 --> 00:29:45,920
It's devolving instead of evolving, like I was

652
00:29:45,920 --> 00:29:46,200
saying.

653
00:29:47,340 --> 00:29:51,220
Well, you, again, were very polite as the

654
00:29:51,220 --> 00:29:55,260
person who was going over there and asking

655
00:29:55,260 --> 00:29:58,620
these very powerful people to comment, and your

656
00:29:58,620 --> 00:30:01,800
question was, why don't you support plant-based

657
00:30:01,800 --> 00:30:03,900
foods that people eat?

658
00:30:04,300 --> 00:30:07,400
See, they were doing kind of like a

659
00:30:07,400 --> 00:30:09,440
sleight of hand by saying, we support all

660
00:30:09,440 --> 00:30:10,300
kinds of vegetables.

661
00:30:10,500 --> 00:30:12,100
There's soybeans, there's corn.

662
00:30:12,620 --> 00:30:15,100
Well, those are the products that are primarily

663
00:30:15,100 --> 00:30:16,040
fed to animals.

664
00:30:16,240 --> 00:30:18,220
That's the same thing as saying you're supporting

665
00:30:18,220 --> 00:30:19,380
animal agriculture.

666
00:30:19,620 --> 00:30:22,840
What you're talking about, Robert, is fruits, vegetables,

667
00:30:23,000 --> 00:30:26,280
nuts, grains, and legumes that people eat, like

668
00:30:26,280 --> 00:30:31,660
cauliflower, red cabbage, carrot, those kinds of foods.

669
00:30:31,820 --> 00:30:35,720
They get almost no subsidies from the United

670
00:30:35,720 --> 00:30:36,360
States government.

671
00:30:36,480 --> 00:30:37,980
Just spell it out for people who don't

672
00:30:37,980 --> 00:30:39,920
understand or don't know this issue.

673
00:30:41,020 --> 00:30:41,120
Right.

674
00:30:41,880 --> 00:30:47,100
Well, RFK, if I can just say, there's

675
00:30:47,100 --> 00:30:51,260
such a level of disingenuousness here because for

676
00:30:51,260 --> 00:30:57,160
years he criticized factory farming, and now he's

677
00:30:57,160 --> 00:30:58,940
asking the beef industry.

678
00:30:59,340 --> 00:31:04,340
He does a press release yesterday with the

679
00:31:04,340 --> 00:31:09,200
CEO of the National Cattlemen's Beef Association, and

680
00:31:09,980 --> 00:31:11,980
they're doing some stupid stuff.

681
00:31:12,480 --> 00:31:15,640
They're basically saying, we need to increase the

682
00:31:15,640 --> 00:31:17,140
beef industry.

683
00:31:17,260 --> 00:31:19,000
We need to increase the number of cows.

684
00:31:21,240 --> 00:31:27,160
He knows that factory farming is an unavoidable

685
00:31:27,160 --> 00:31:31,080
consequence of feeding millions of people and billions,

686
00:31:31,780 --> 00:31:34,140
and yet he says he's against it.

687
00:31:35,140 --> 00:31:36,880
He says he's an animal lover.

688
00:31:37,140 --> 00:31:40,620
He talks about a humane nation, doesn't treat

689
00:31:40,620 --> 00:31:42,460
animals the way we treat animals.

690
00:31:42,680 --> 00:31:47,140
Well, then your guidelines are in direct contradiction

691
00:31:47,140 --> 00:31:49,080
to those values.

692
00:31:50,180 --> 00:31:53,160
It's pretty disingenuous.

693
00:31:53,420 --> 00:31:56,740
It's really transparent, and I see a lot

694
00:31:56,740 --> 00:32:00,840
of negative backlash to this already.

695
00:32:01,320 --> 00:32:02,400
I don't know if you guys have seen

696
00:32:02,400 --> 00:32:03,720
it, but I've seen a lot of negative

697
00:32:03,720 --> 00:32:08,060
backlash to his doublespeak, and I don't think

698
00:32:08,060 --> 00:32:11,840
he's going to have much of an influence

699
00:32:11,840 --> 00:32:12,480
on this.

700
00:32:13,300 --> 00:32:13,760
Well, yeah.

701
00:32:14,280 --> 00:32:17,880
It's very interesting to note that it could

702
00:32:17,880 --> 00:32:22,660
actually boomerang because of his unpopularity and the

703
00:32:22,660 --> 00:32:24,240
controversy surrounding him.

704
00:32:24,380 --> 00:32:25,820
We don't even need to get into it.

705
00:32:25,900 --> 00:32:29,160
There's a gazillion controversies surrounding various things that

706
00:32:29,160 --> 00:32:30,020
Robert F.

707
00:32:30,080 --> 00:32:32,780
Kennedy Jr. is suggesting Americans do that is

708
00:32:32,780 --> 00:32:35,620
not backed by science, but you're absolutely right.

709
00:32:35,980 --> 00:32:38,700
He used to be a major opponent of

710
00:32:38,700 --> 00:32:39,560
factory farming.

711
00:32:39,720 --> 00:32:44,260
I believe he even filed suit as an

712
00:32:44,260 --> 00:32:47,320
environmental attorney against factory farming.

713
00:32:47,840 --> 00:32:50,760
It's extraordinary how he has changed his tune.

714
00:32:52,140 --> 00:32:53,500
Now, let me say this.

715
00:32:53,540 --> 00:32:55,320
This is one thing that really bothers me,

716
00:32:55,400 --> 00:32:57,360
and it applies to all of our lives

717
00:32:57,360 --> 00:32:58,940
as vegans and animal activists.

718
00:32:59,580 --> 00:33:02,520
If you say something politely and are ignored,

719
00:33:03,900 --> 00:33:07,760
then you might say something—especially when there's lives

720
00:33:07,760 --> 00:33:10,340
at stake, human and animals—more urgently.

721
00:33:10,620 --> 00:33:15,300
Then you're accused of being inappropriate or too

722
00:33:15,300 --> 00:33:15,740
loud.

723
00:33:16,580 --> 00:33:20,600
Here's an interaction with representatives, and I believe

724
00:33:20,600 --> 00:33:22,260
Free From Harm may have been involved in

725
00:33:22,260 --> 00:33:27,360
this somewhat tangentially, that a very concerned citizen

726
00:33:27,360 --> 00:33:28,860
was having over bird flu.

727
00:33:28,940 --> 00:33:31,160
I'm worried about that bird flu very much,

728
00:33:31,220 --> 00:33:32,620
and I know that there are dead dairy

729
00:33:32,620 --> 00:33:35,400
cows infected with bird flu that lay along

730
00:33:35,400 --> 00:33:36,760
the roadside near dairy farms.

731
00:33:37,320 --> 00:33:38,680
The scavengers go after them.

732
00:33:38,820 --> 00:33:41,800
There's no biosecurity or warning, and that scavenger

733
00:33:41,800 --> 00:33:44,340
hunt there actually spreads the disease of bird

734
00:33:44,340 --> 00:33:48,280
flu to wildlife, other birds, and humans.

735
00:33:48,860 --> 00:33:51,000
How can the CDSA allow this?

736
00:33:51,520 --> 00:33:55,480
Are you putting industry profits over public health

737
00:33:55,480 --> 00:33:56,460
and animal welfare?

738
00:33:56,760 --> 00:33:57,440
That's my question.

739
00:34:05,140 --> 00:34:08,800
All right, so I know that you, Robert,

740
00:34:08,900 --> 00:34:11,560
have gone into the halls of Congress and

741
00:34:11,560 --> 00:34:14,260
been dragged out, kicking and screaming.

742
00:34:15,060 --> 00:34:16,699
Well, no, you weren't kicking and screaming.

743
00:34:16,900 --> 00:34:17,560
Excuse me.

744
00:34:18,239 --> 00:34:20,020
You were dragged out.

745
00:34:20,179 --> 00:34:21,139
I stand corrected.

746
00:34:21,699 --> 00:34:24,159
But you were making your case.

747
00:34:24,860 --> 00:34:27,920
What I see that infuriates me the most

748
00:34:27,920 --> 00:34:29,780
is that it's a no-win situation.

749
00:34:30,199 --> 00:34:32,139
If you go up the way Ariana did

750
00:34:32,139 --> 00:34:35,260
and ask politely, you get the cold shoulder

751
00:34:35,260 --> 00:34:39,440
or some kind of interference from some lower

752
00:34:39,440 --> 00:34:40,199
-level person.

753
00:34:40,199 --> 00:34:41,560
You don't get to talk to the people

754
00:34:41,560 --> 00:34:42,100
in power.

755
00:34:42,920 --> 00:34:45,500
If you do it in a more forceful

756
00:34:45,500 --> 00:34:48,100
way, you're accused of being extremist.

757
00:34:50,219 --> 00:34:52,659
There's an inherent unfairness there.

758
00:34:53,980 --> 00:34:54,480
Right.

759
00:34:54,980 --> 00:34:59,720
That speaks to the fragility of our system,

760
00:34:59,940 --> 00:35:03,240
of a democratic system that shuts out everybody

761
00:35:03,240 --> 00:35:05,200
except those that pay to play.

762
00:35:06,140 --> 00:35:11,380
And in the food system, it's particularly ugly

763
00:35:11,380 --> 00:35:15,540
and apparent that when you go to these

764
00:35:15,540 --> 00:35:18,680
events or you go to these hearings, you

765
00:35:18,680 --> 00:35:20,380
look into the hearing room and all the

766
00:35:20,380 --> 00:35:21,920
seats that are supposed to be for the

767
00:35:21,920 --> 00:35:24,080
public have a reserve sign on them.

768
00:35:24,200 --> 00:35:26,560
Most of those people turn out to be

769
00:35:26,560 --> 00:35:30,960
industry insiders or lobbyists or people that have

770
00:35:30,960 --> 00:35:31,560
influence.

771
00:35:32,140 --> 00:35:34,720
So it is technically open to the public.

772
00:35:35,200 --> 00:35:38,140
But it isn't really because there's no seats

773
00:35:38,140 --> 00:35:39,380
and you can't stand.

774
00:35:40,140 --> 00:35:42,420
So we decided at one point, we were

775
00:35:42,420 --> 00:35:44,780
going to test the system and expose it

776
00:35:44,780 --> 00:35:47,580
for how bankrupt it was.

777
00:35:47,720 --> 00:35:50,040
And we decided a couple of years ago

778
00:35:50,040 --> 00:35:53,580
to go into one of these highly televised

779
00:35:53,580 --> 00:35:59,820
farm bill hearings that Representative Thompson was overseeing

780
00:35:59,820 --> 00:36:02,640
and just walk in.

781
00:36:03,000 --> 00:36:04,940
And they told us to leave because we

782
00:36:04,940 --> 00:36:07,080
said we refused to leave.

783
00:36:07,120 --> 00:36:10,400
And then we did disrupt the hearing because

784
00:36:10,400 --> 00:36:12,580
that was the only way to get the

785
00:36:12,580 --> 00:36:13,220
message out.

786
00:36:13,420 --> 00:36:17,880
I think that regardless of whether they speak

787
00:36:17,880 --> 00:36:21,020
to us or not, our message, every time

788
00:36:21,020 --> 00:36:23,280
our message gets out, every time we make

789
00:36:23,280 --> 00:36:29,340
this effort to reach them, we are showing

790
00:36:29,340 --> 00:36:31,060
democracy in action.

791
00:36:31,540 --> 00:36:33,960
I know that sounds kind of cliche, but

792
00:36:33,960 --> 00:36:36,200
every time we do this, we're showing that

793
00:36:36,200 --> 00:36:41,060
not only is this needed, but this is

794
00:36:41,060 --> 00:36:44,940
a necessary thing in a democratic society.

795
00:36:45,480 --> 00:36:48,080
And our food system, there's so much at

796
00:36:48,080 --> 00:36:48,600
stake.

797
00:36:48,720 --> 00:36:50,380
There's so much money at stake.

798
00:36:51,080 --> 00:36:54,720
And there's so many animals and public health

799
00:36:54,720 --> 00:36:56,240
and all the other issues at stake.

800
00:36:56,240 --> 00:36:58,900
We can't afford to be missing in action.

801
00:36:59,640 --> 00:37:04,200
What just kills me is that we are

802
00:37:04,200 --> 00:37:07,440
in a situation right now where climate change

803
00:37:07,440 --> 00:37:08,760
is getting more pronounced.

804
00:37:09,520 --> 00:37:11,920
And actually working on a documentary right now

805
00:37:11,920 --> 00:37:14,520
with Dr. Silas Rao of Climate Healers.

806
00:37:14,700 --> 00:37:17,300
And he says, you know, we are barreling

807
00:37:17,300 --> 00:37:21,680
toward a really serious climate apocalypse style situation.

808
00:37:23,220 --> 00:37:26,500
And that environmentalists and people who really study

809
00:37:26,500 --> 00:37:29,580
this in depth are just sounding the alarm,

810
00:37:29,780 --> 00:37:30,580
sounding the alarm.

811
00:37:30,940 --> 00:37:33,020
Well, you've got the COP conferences, the United

812
00:37:33,020 --> 00:37:36,320
Nations COP conferences that are, I'm sorry, I'm

813
00:37:36,320 --> 00:37:37,820
going to do a little editorial here, a

814
00:37:37,820 --> 00:37:38,300
joke.

815
00:37:38,840 --> 00:37:42,000
I mean, as somebody said, if you wanted

816
00:37:42,000 --> 00:37:44,200
to accelerate climate change, you couldn't do a

817
00:37:44,200 --> 00:37:45,560
better job than what they're doing.

818
00:37:46,240 --> 00:37:49,880
And you've got the, basically the powers that

819
00:37:49,880 --> 00:37:53,480
be, not just ignoring the environmental issues, but

820
00:37:53,480 --> 00:37:58,160
specifically completely downplaying or ignoring entirely the impact

821
00:37:58,160 --> 00:38:03,100
of animal agriculture on climate change, on habitat

822
00:38:03,100 --> 00:38:05,860
destruction, wildlife extinction, human world hunger.

823
00:38:07,280 --> 00:38:12,800
And so they're playing with fire, literally.

824
00:38:13,600 --> 00:38:16,220
I had asked Dr. Rao, the head of

825
00:38:16,220 --> 00:38:19,560
Climate Healers, well, what would it manifest like?

826
00:38:19,620 --> 00:38:21,080
Give us a sense of how could we

827
00:38:21,080 --> 00:38:25,760
visualize the climate apocalypse that you're saying is

828
00:38:25,760 --> 00:38:27,260
coming towards us if we don't get a

829
00:38:27,260 --> 00:38:31,620
handle on rising greenhouse gas temperatures, the temperatures

830
00:38:31,620 --> 00:38:32,740
from greenhouse gas.

831
00:38:32,900 --> 00:38:34,860
And he said, well, you saw the Pacific

832
00:38:34,860 --> 00:38:35,920
Palisades fire.

833
00:38:36,740 --> 00:38:39,140
Imagine if thousands of those fires were going

834
00:38:39,140 --> 00:38:40,260
on simultaneously.

835
00:38:41,420 --> 00:38:44,260
And that's like a wake-up call.

836
00:38:45,380 --> 00:38:48,580
The Pacific Palisades and Altadena fires should have

837
00:38:48,580 --> 00:38:49,360
been a wake-up call.

838
00:38:50,040 --> 00:38:54,140
It doesn't matter how much destruction happens, the

839
00:38:54,140 --> 00:38:57,120
mainstream media that is also completely co-opted

840
00:38:57,120 --> 00:39:00,240
by big meat and big pharma, because half

841
00:39:00,240 --> 00:39:02,480
the drugs that they're selling, or even more

842
00:39:02,480 --> 00:39:05,100
than half, would not be necessary if people

843
00:39:05,100 --> 00:39:07,840
ate a plant-based diet, especially a whole

844
00:39:07,840 --> 00:39:08,920
food plant-based diet.

845
00:39:09,780 --> 00:39:13,340
So you have big meat, big pharma, big

846
00:39:13,340 --> 00:39:18,680
dairy, controlling, co-opting, not just Congress, but

847
00:39:18,680 --> 00:39:19,560
the news media.

848
00:39:19,700 --> 00:39:20,460
Look at the commercials.

849
00:39:20,960 --> 00:39:23,620
I literally cannot watch the news at night

850
00:39:23,620 --> 00:39:26,000
when I'm trying to catch up because these

851
00:39:26,000 --> 00:39:30,020
commercials are all about indigestion and this sickness

852
00:39:30,020 --> 00:39:33,120
and that sickness, literally almost entirely.

853
00:39:33,820 --> 00:39:37,720
You wonder, is everybody in America sick?

854
00:39:38,120 --> 00:39:38,700
Apparently.

855
00:39:39,980 --> 00:39:43,320
And if people got healthy, well, you don't

856
00:39:43,320 --> 00:39:44,840
see, let's put it this way, you don't

857
00:39:44,840 --> 00:39:47,160
see any commercials for apples, right?

858
00:39:47,500 --> 00:39:54,380
Or bananas, or cauliflower, or cabbage, or microgreens.

859
00:39:54,840 --> 00:39:56,580
You don't see that.

860
00:39:57,400 --> 00:40:01,940
So the point is, at a certain point,

861
00:40:02,560 --> 00:40:06,420
will these folks realize that they're also spelling

862
00:40:06,420 --> 00:40:07,460
their own doom?

863
00:40:07,940 --> 00:40:10,240
The other thing Dr. Rao says is that

864
00:40:10,240 --> 00:40:13,980
the economy lives within the ecology, not the

865
00:40:13,980 --> 00:40:14,700
other way around.

866
00:40:15,460 --> 00:40:18,360
And that if there's an ecological collapse, that

867
00:40:18,360 --> 00:40:22,100
will also mean an economic collapse.

868
00:40:22,740 --> 00:40:24,440
Final thoughts, Robert.

869
00:40:25,760 --> 00:40:29,320
Well, since you mentioned the dairy industry a

870
00:40:29,320 --> 00:40:31,100
little bit back, I wanted to point out,

871
00:40:31,160 --> 00:40:34,480
just to put things into perspective, a Canadian

872
00:40:34,480 --> 00:40:37,720
dairy industry did a study that found that

873
00:40:37,720 --> 00:40:40,960
the U.S. dairy industry relies on 73

874
00:40:40,960 --> 00:40:46,700
% of its revenue on taxpayer government-funded

875
00:40:46,700 --> 00:40:48,600
programs, 73%.

876
00:40:48,600 --> 00:40:50,540
And they have an interest in getting those

877
00:40:50,540 --> 00:40:54,280
numbers right because they're competing and trading with

878
00:40:54,280 --> 00:40:55,560
the U.S. dairy industry.

879
00:40:56,560 --> 00:40:59,700
So no other industry that I can think

880
00:40:59,700 --> 00:41:03,400
of enjoys that level of corporate welfare, 73

881
00:41:03,400 --> 00:41:04,620
% of its revenue.

882
00:41:05,360 --> 00:41:10,420
And so there's a lot of potential here.

883
00:41:10,860 --> 00:41:13,500
Think about if we could just get 10

884
00:41:13,500 --> 00:41:16,580
% of those subsidies cut, that could wipe

885
00:41:16,580 --> 00:41:19,120
out their profit margin or a substantial part

886
00:41:19,120 --> 00:41:20,100
of their profit margin.

887
00:41:20,420 --> 00:41:24,180
So we don't need to completely ban subsidies

888
00:41:24,180 --> 00:41:25,780
to have a huge impact.

889
00:41:26,120 --> 00:41:29,740
Even if we got them cut to 10

890
00:41:29,740 --> 00:41:33,620
to 15%, we could have an enormous impact

891
00:41:33,620 --> 00:41:34,220
as a movement.

892
00:41:34,960 --> 00:41:37,240
And I think we're on the cusp of

893
00:41:37,240 --> 00:41:38,500
that happening.

894
00:41:39,220 --> 00:41:40,420
A follow-up question.

895
00:41:41,120 --> 00:41:43,640
The Farm Bill, it keeps getting kicked down

896
00:41:43,640 --> 00:41:45,820
the road and we know it's in the

897
00:41:45,820 --> 00:41:47,960
Farm Bill that a lot of these subsidies

898
00:41:47,960 --> 00:41:49,140
are packed in.

899
00:41:49,840 --> 00:41:50,980
What's happening with that?

900
00:41:51,040 --> 00:41:53,800
Is there any hope that we might see

901
00:41:53,800 --> 00:41:56,140
some kind of break in the Farm Bill?

902
00:41:56,660 --> 00:41:58,000
Or is it just going to be continued

903
00:41:58,000 --> 00:41:58,560
on and on?

904
00:41:58,660 --> 00:41:59,980
It's supposed to be renewed, I believe, every

905
00:41:59,980 --> 00:42:02,520
five years, but it's just been constantly just

906
00:42:02,520 --> 00:42:05,240
being extended without a new Farm Bill.

907
00:42:06,400 --> 00:42:10,800
There have been some promising pieces of that

908
00:42:10,800 --> 00:42:15,900
Farm Bill to support specialty crops, the plant

909
00:42:15,900 --> 00:42:17,980
-based food crops for humans.

910
00:42:19,920 --> 00:42:22,960
However, sadly, there's not a big shift yet

911
00:42:22,960 --> 00:42:25,620
in funding.

912
00:42:26,020 --> 00:42:27,520
And money is power, right?

913
00:42:27,600 --> 00:42:29,060
It's very simple for us.

914
00:42:29,220 --> 00:42:32,000
Money is power and the subsidies represent the

915
00:42:32,000 --> 00:42:32,280
money.

916
00:42:32,800 --> 00:42:34,700
That's where we need to see the fundamental

917
00:42:34,700 --> 00:42:35,780
change happen.

918
00:42:37,100 --> 00:42:39,120
So you know what?

919
00:42:39,200 --> 00:42:41,800
The longer this Farm Bill gets delayed, the

920
00:42:41,800 --> 00:42:42,960
better it is for us.

921
00:42:42,960 --> 00:42:45,680
Because if they can't agree on a funding

922
00:42:45,680 --> 00:42:49,420
package that continues business as usual, that supports

923
00:42:49,420 --> 00:42:53,120
animal ag to such a ridiculous level, hey,

924
00:42:53,480 --> 00:42:55,400
let them keep working on it.

925
00:42:55,640 --> 00:42:59,000
And the longer it delays, actually, I consider

926
00:42:59,000 --> 00:43:00,460
it almost a good thing.

927
00:43:01,640 --> 00:43:02,020
All right.

928
00:43:02,060 --> 00:43:03,660
Well, this has been fascinating.

929
00:43:03,940 --> 00:43:05,860
I want to give Arianna, who was the

930
00:43:05,860 --> 00:43:08,120
woman with the microphone trying to talk to

931
00:43:08,120 --> 00:43:09,680
these members of Congress.

932
00:43:10,960 --> 00:43:13,220
First of all, kudos for keeping your cool

933
00:43:13,220 --> 00:43:15,880
and for actually, you know, you got to

934
00:43:15,880 --> 00:43:19,320
jump in at that exact moment or they

935
00:43:19,320 --> 00:43:21,600
pass you and you never see them again.

936
00:43:21,900 --> 00:43:24,200
So I know how difficult, as a reporter,

937
00:43:24,580 --> 00:43:26,320
I know how difficult it is to catch

938
00:43:26,320 --> 00:43:26,580
them.

939
00:43:26,680 --> 00:43:28,220
And you did catch them.

940
00:43:28,580 --> 00:43:30,700
And so what are your final thoughts on

941
00:43:30,700 --> 00:43:34,940
the experience of going to this powerful agricultural

942
00:43:34,940 --> 00:43:37,340
convention and trying to talk to some of

943
00:43:37,340 --> 00:43:40,500
the most powerful politicians on the planet about

944
00:43:40,500 --> 00:43:41,820
animal agriculture?

945
00:43:42,440 --> 00:43:44,580
Yeah, I thank you.

946
00:43:45,240 --> 00:43:46,440
It is tough.

947
00:43:46,540 --> 00:43:49,280
And it's not necessarily like a comfortable situation.

948
00:43:49,800 --> 00:43:52,500
But I want to encourage people to like,

949
00:43:53,060 --> 00:43:53,820
do it themselves.

950
00:43:54,000 --> 00:43:56,180
It was just me and another activist.

951
00:43:56,420 --> 00:43:57,980
And it just took two of us and

952
00:43:57,980 --> 00:43:59,860
a camera to ask these questions.

953
00:44:00,100 --> 00:44:02,120
And the more that we are in these

954
00:44:02,120 --> 00:44:04,740
spaces, asking them questions, putting the pressure on,

955
00:44:05,360 --> 00:44:07,360
that makes it less likely that they will

956
00:44:07,360 --> 00:44:09,020
run away from it, that they will actually

957
00:44:09,020 --> 00:44:10,100
start to address it.

958
00:44:10,840 --> 00:44:13,380
It's almost like, we as humans, we need

959
00:44:13,380 --> 00:44:14,880
things repeated to us over and over.

960
00:44:16,000 --> 00:44:18,500
And I, right, like, I feel like the

961
00:44:18,500 --> 00:44:21,160
more, and Robert has said this before, like,

962
00:44:21,320 --> 00:44:24,660
it's better that we're here in these situations

963
00:44:24,660 --> 00:44:27,380
rather than not, like, the more that we're

964
00:44:27,380 --> 00:44:29,440
in these spaces, the more we're going to

965
00:44:29,440 --> 00:44:30,180
see change.

966
00:44:30,580 --> 00:44:33,480
So I just encourage people to, if you're

967
00:44:33,480 --> 00:44:35,440
scared to do it anyways, and to just

968
00:44:35,440 --> 00:44:35,760
try.

969
00:44:36,700 --> 00:44:39,080
Well, we have one more question that I

970
00:44:39,080 --> 00:44:39,720
think is important.

971
00:44:39,860 --> 00:44:42,660
So I'll add, Paige asked, what can we

972
00:44:42,660 --> 00:44:43,760
as consumers do?

973
00:44:44,040 --> 00:44:45,300
Robert, you want to hit that one?

974
00:44:47,180 --> 00:44:47,700
Sure.

975
00:44:47,980 --> 00:44:51,080
I mean, you know, consumers and supporters can

976
00:44:51,080 --> 00:44:54,540
do our digital actions, which support our efforts

977
00:44:54,540 --> 00:44:56,340
on the ground to try to get in

978
00:44:56,340 --> 00:44:58,620
front of these powerful decision makers.

979
00:44:59,080 --> 00:45:03,420
So we do all forms of supporting that

980
00:45:03,420 --> 00:45:06,880
through phone calls, the phone call blitzes and

981
00:45:06,880 --> 00:45:08,640
email calls to action.

982
00:45:09,360 --> 00:45:10,880
If you're not on our mailing list, that's

983
00:45:10,880 --> 00:45:12,400
where you're going to find these calls to

984
00:45:12,400 --> 00:45:12,760
action.

985
00:45:13,180 --> 00:45:15,340
You can join it at freefromharm.org.

986
00:45:16,780 --> 00:45:17,420
Fantastic.

987
00:45:17,880 --> 00:45:20,240
And I want to invite any of the

988
00:45:20,240 --> 00:45:24,040
members of Congress, the actual convention and the

989
00:45:24,040 --> 00:45:27,960
organization behind it, or anybody from animal agriculture

990
00:45:27,960 --> 00:45:28,960
industry.

991
00:45:29,600 --> 00:45:30,520
Can we talk?

992
00:45:30,800 --> 00:45:32,940
I would love to dialogue with you.

993
00:45:33,000 --> 00:45:36,080
And I'm sure our guests, Robert Grillo and

994
00:45:36,080 --> 00:45:38,440
Ariana would love to as well.

995
00:45:38,600 --> 00:45:40,180
Thank you for watching.

996
00:45:40,700 --> 00:45:43,260
Please download Unchained TV.

997
00:45:43,480 --> 00:45:47,160
We are the world's only plant-based streaming

998
00:45:47,160 --> 00:45:50,400
television network, a 501c3 nonprofit.

999
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We can't do it without you.

1000
00:45:52,140 --> 00:45:52,900
See you next time.

1001
00:45:53,960 --> 00:45:55,900
So it's a vegan Netflix.

1002
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Okay.

1003
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1004
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