UnchainedTV: Black Vegan Leaders Celebrate Black History Month

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Now, here's your host, Jane Velez Mitchell.

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Oh, welcome.

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Unchained TV, your free non-profit vegan streaming

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television network has been celebrating Black History Month

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with a category devoted to videos about the

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many Black movers and shakers in the vegan

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movement.

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Frankly, there are too many to mention, but

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suffice it to say that according to numerous

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reports and surveys, African Americans are going vegan

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at a higher rate than any other demographic

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group in the United States of America.

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And so today we are speaking with four

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leading Black voices in the vegan movement.

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So much exciting stuff happening.

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We're going to bring it to you and

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tell you what has been achieved and where

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this movement is going next.

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The intersection of Black Lives Matter and the

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skyrocketing vegan and yes, animal rights movement.

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There you got Pinky Cole, one of the

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leading stars, but we've got a lot of

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stars here today as well.

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And I am so honoured and thrilled to

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have them.

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We're talking eat plants.

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All right.

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Let's just start with maybe the person geographically

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closest to me, Gwena Hunter.

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You are such a mover and shaker.

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Vegans for Black Lives Matter.

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And then the Vegans of Los Angeles Food

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Bank, the first vegan food bank in LA.

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How does that intersect with Black Lives Matter

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and Black History Month?

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Well, as far as Black History Month is

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concerned, so the food bank is the first

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brick and mortar vegan food bank ever in

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Los Angeles.

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And I also believe we've been doing a

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lot of research.

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I haven't found the evidence that this is

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not true, but we believe that I'm the

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first Black woman to lead a brick and

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mortar vegan food bank in the country.

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I know that there's other outreach programmes, but

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as far as an actual certified vegan food

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bank, it appears that I may be the

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first one, hopefully definitely not the last.

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So that's how it intersects with Black history.

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As far as everything else is concerned, I

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will say that I started this out really

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doing a lot of the work with Black

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Lives Matter, Black Women Farmers of LA, a

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lot of Black different organisations.

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And the work has just expanded.

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And for me, it's about food being an

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entitlement, nutritious food as a birthright for all

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human beings.

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So it's part of Black history, but it's

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also part of planetary history as well.

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And so just trying to change the narrative

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about free food and our entitlement to it

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as well.

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Well, I want to show people who don't

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know exactly what goes into it.

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It is super hard work.

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Check this out.

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When I first started the food bank and

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people were coming to volunteer, I was very

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meticulous in telling people, come with a heart

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ready to serve.

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You're spreading love.

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And that's exactly what this is about.

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And we need to start taking care of

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one another.

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Hi, my name is Gwenna Hunter.

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We are here at Hope On Union, also

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part-time vegans of LA food bank.

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And this location used to be a butcher

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shop.

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Every third Thursday, we serve approximately 300 people.

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And of those 300 people, the average amount

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of people in their family is between 4

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.5 and 5 people.

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So we do this based on first respect

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and also love and compassion.

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We give them the choice of what it

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is that they want and how much that

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they want.

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Some food outreach programmes or food banks just

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give people, everyone has to take whatever is

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there.

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But we let people have their dignity and

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make the choice.

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The impact that I hope that the food

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bank has in the community is that people

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are influenced to eat more plant-based.

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So that people will experiment with the different

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food options that we give them, the vegan

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shrimp, the vegan meats, and create some delicious

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meals and decrease their intake of animals, if

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not eliminate.

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Congratulations, Boyd.

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Just amazing work.

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And the woman clapping there, Najah Wright-Brown,

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is pretty much approaching the same issue, but

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from a different perspective.

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So Najah Wright-Brown, will you tell us

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please about Land of Kush?

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We've got a little video of it.

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Why you describe?

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Land of Kush is celebrating 13 years.

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We are a multi-award winning vegan soul

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bistro, a fast casual establishment.

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It's owned by myself and my husband, Gregory

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Brown.

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We hire from within the community.

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They learn how to run a business at

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the same time.

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We are, I believe, we're the second Black

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vegan restaurant to open in Baltimore in 2011.

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So we managed to survive COVID while we've

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watched a lot of friends, unfortunately, have to

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shut down.

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So it is a grind every day, but

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Black history is every day.

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So every day we're open, we're making history.

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Why do you think you survived?

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Because there is a lot of focus now

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on vegan restaurants closing.

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I think we're in a consolidation.

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And personally, I think one of the reasons

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is that so many non-vegan restaurants are

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offering a lot of vegan options, but what

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was your magic key to surviving the pandemic?

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You have to stay relevant.

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We're constantly marketing.

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We're also involved with events.

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So we co-created Vegan Soul Fest along

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with Brenda Sanders.

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That's an event.

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We co-created Maryland Vegan Restaurant Month.

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That's an event.

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I'm constantly talking about all the things that

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I do along with Black Veg Society.

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That's why we have Naja Speaks.

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I'm helping people to find their vegan soul

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through food, people, events, and culture.

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So I believe just staying relevant, staying in

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the face of people, organisations, schools, businesses, everyone,

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and just meeting them where they are and

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letting them know that they have access to

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a place to get good vegan soul food.

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I think you're absolutely right.

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Some of the most successful vegan restaurants I

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see are constantly having events.

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They're constantly marketing themselves in this world where

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we went from, you know, 28 years ago

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when I went vegan, there was like two

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restaurants and they were always empty.

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And now it's like hundreds and hundreds of

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them.

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So it is more competitive even within the

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vegan space.

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So I just want to go to our

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next fabulous person.

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They're also fabulous that I'm honoured to have

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them with us.

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Brenda Sanders, you are the founder and co

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-executive director of Afro Vegan Society.

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You do so many exciting things.

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Let's just take a look at one of

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the many, many videos that you have.

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And you're really involved in educating people in

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a very sort of meticulous, detailed way.

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Afro Vegan Society is helping disempowered communities take

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back control of their health and environments through

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vegan living.

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Hello, everybody.

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Thank you so much for tuning in to

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the Dump Dairy Workshops.

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Today, I am so, so happy to have

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Dr. Ruby Lathan.

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If you feel like you are just don't

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know how you would ever give up cheese

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or how you would ever just live without

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dairy in your diet, there is hope.

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I felt the exact same way.

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Now you couldn't pay me to eat dairy.

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Big reason that we want to keep dairy

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off the plate is because most of us

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are lactose intolerant, period.

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Most people of colour are lactose intolerant.

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So at least 75% of the population

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in the world is lactose intolerant and probably

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higher than that.

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That is such an important fact, Brenda Sanders.

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Why is it that we have to fight

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so hard to get that essential fact out?

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Industry.

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The dairy industry has so much money and

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so much power.

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And I've been really happy to see that

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some of that power is starting to slip

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away because of education.

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And that's why it's so important for me

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and for my organisation, Afro Vegan Society, to

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constantly be educating people about these facts, about

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these truths, because in many different neighbourhoods and

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communities, this information just isn't available.

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And that's why Afro Vegan Society exists.

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You're all working on the same issue from

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different angles.

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Jasmine Leyva, you've done an extraordinary film, The

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Invisible Vegan, which we're proud to say is

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streaming on Unchained TV.

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And you're approaching it from a cinematic perspective

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and also telling your personal story.

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Let's listen to just a small clip.

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I urge all of you to watch the

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actual film as it streams on Unchained TV.

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But let's watch a short clip and then

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get your sense of where we are.

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I grew up in D.C. eating the

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standard American diet, meat, dairy, fruit, veggies, bread.

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And I remember my grandma would make me

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these big breakfasts with like sausage, eggs, and

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fluffy butter biscuits.

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You know, I lived for them.

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And at the time, I never questioned what

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I ate.

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If it tasted good, I ate it and

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got seconds.

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So what are you making?

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I'm making some turkey legs and turkey wings,

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spaghetti, and a salad.

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My entire family eats meat.

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So that's what I knew, and that's all

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I knew.

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By the time I became a teenager, I

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had heard of vegetarianism, but I had no

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idea what a vegan was.

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Then when I was 20, I moved to

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Los Angeles, and that's where I learned what

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a vegan was.

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I was like, you know, that's that white

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people stuff.

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But then I worked on a lifestyle series

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where we were interviewing Bobbette Davis, the owner

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of this vegan restaurant called Stuff I Eat.

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She was 65 at the time, and her

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body trumped mine.

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She was the first Black female vegan that

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I ever met.

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She unknowingly inspired me to lead up on

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plant-based diets, and the more I read,

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the more I became inspired to go vegan.

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Wow, Jasmine, what a great story.

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And she also inspires me.

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Chef Bobbette is unbelievably fit.

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So we've gotten all these different perspectives.

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Where are we in terms of the African

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-American community and veganism?

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Oh, so I think now we're in a

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place where we're getting the visibility that we

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should have gotten a long time ago, because

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for a long time, you know, no one

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wanted to bring culture and race and heritage

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into the conversation.

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So now we're finally able to bring it

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00:11:36,410 --> 00:11:38,830
in the conversation, and we're finally able to

273
00:11:38,830 --> 00:11:41,270
pay respect and reverence for the people who

274
00:11:41,270 --> 00:11:42,910
actually poured into these movements.

275
00:11:43,230 --> 00:11:45,310
And I'm talking even the green movements.

276
00:11:45,370 --> 00:11:47,570
When we say, oh, this is green and

277
00:11:47,570 --> 00:11:50,370
sustainability and health, I want to cut in

278
00:11:50,370 --> 00:11:52,670
like, oh, when you say green and sustainability,

279
00:11:53,270 --> 00:11:55,390
do you mean indigenous knowledge?

280
00:11:55,830 --> 00:11:56,750
Is that what you mean?

281
00:11:57,290 --> 00:11:59,410
And so now for Black History Month, I'm

282
00:11:59,410 --> 00:12:01,390
just thankful that we get to claim the

283
00:12:01,390 --> 00:12:02,890
knowledge that we brought to the table.

284
00:12:03,590 --> 00:12:05,310
Well, this is a hot subject.

285
00:12:05,490 --> 00:12:07,350
We've got callers lined up.

286
00:12:07,670 --> 00:12:09,250
I wanted to set up all of our

287
00:12:09,250 --> 00:12:11,110
guests before we go to the callers, but

288
00:12:11,110 --> 00:12:15,130
let's hear from Lindsay and Tarzana, your question

289
00:12:15,130 --> 00:12:16,910
or thought for our panel on Black History

290
00:12:16,910 --> 00:12:17,890
Month and veganism.

291
00:12:19,960 --> 00:12:23,080
Yes, I just wanted to comment that I

292
00:12:23,080 --> 00:12:26,620
am blown away by these women and the

293
00:12:26,620 --> 00:12:30,200
accomplishments that they all have made and continue

294
00:12:30,200 --> 00:12:30,840
to make.

295
00:12:31,140 --> 00:12:33,640
And I think it's so important, the message

296
00:12:33,640 --> 00:12:36,460
that they're putting out there for everyone.

297
00:12:36,660 --> 00:12:39,590
And I'm so proud to have the opportunity

298
00:12:39,590 --> 00:12:43,870
to know them and to also learn from

299
00:12:43,870 --> 00:12:44,070
them.

300
00:12:44,130 --> 00:12:44,950
There's so much to learn.

301
00:12:45,030 --> 00:12:48,310
I can't wait to watch the movie you

302
00:12:48,310 --> 00:12:50,370
were just talking about that sounds so great,

303
00:12:50,450 --> 00:12:51,190
The Invisible Vegan.

304
00:12:51,670 --> 00:12:54,150
And I have one quick question for Nadja.

305
00:12:54,330 --> 00:12:56,210
How did you come up with the name

306
00:12:56,210 --> 00:12:57,570
Land of Kush?

307
00:12:57,890 --> 00:12:58,750
Please explain.

308
00:12:59,050 --> 00:12:59,610
Thank you.

309
00:13:00,210 --> 00:13:00,770
Absolutely.

310
00:13:01,550 --> 00:13:05,650
The Land of Kush is a birth, is

311
00:13:05,650 --> 00:13:07,790
the brainchild of my husband, Gregory Brown, who

312
00:13:07,790 --> 00:13:09,910
studies the African diaspora.

313
00:13:10,490 --> 00:13:16,610
I myself, I'm Afro-Latina, but he studies

314
00:13:16,610 --> 00:13:19,150
the African diaspora and he wanted to come

315
00:13:19,150 --> 00:13:21,670
up with a name that kind of started

316
00:13:21,670 --> 00:13:22,390
conversation.

317
00:13:23,210 --> 00:13:27,870
Kush is an ancient African civilisation in Africa

318
00:13:27,870 --> 00:13:29,090
along the Nile River.

319
00:13:29,710 --> 00:13:31,290
When people think of Kush, you know what

320
00:13:31,290 --> 00:13:33,250
they think of, but it opens a dialogue

321
00:13:33,250 --> 00:13:36,070
to teach people that Blacks weren't always slaves.

322
00:13:36,230 --> 00:13:39,090
We were powerful rulers and we still are

323
00:13:39,090 --> 00:13:39,950
powerful rulers.

324
00:13:40,270 --> 00:13:42,850
So you could do your research by finding

325
00:13:42,850 --> 00:13:45,910
out the Land of Kush in Ethiopia.

326
00:13:46,730 --> 00:13:47,270
Wow.

327
00:13:47,350 --> 00:13:47,570
Okay.

328
00:13:47,610 --> 00:13:50,990
We've got another caller, Lauren in Indiana.

329
00:13:51,190 --> 00:13:53,930
Your question or thought for our team of

330
00:13:53,930 --> 00:13:56,910
African-American vegan leaders, Black vegan leaders.

331
00:13:59,650 --> 00:14:00,710
Oh, louder.

332
00:14:00,710 --> 00:14:03,990
Next for, is this all right?

333
00:14:04,330 --> 00:14:04,530
Yep.

334
00:14:06,630 --> 00:14:09,470
What's next for your work around food insecurity,

335
00:14:09,650 --> 00:14:11,430
particularly around people of colour?

336
00:14:12,030 --> 00:14:13,890
And that was addressed to who?

337
00:14:16,640 --> 00:14:16,980
Gwena.

338
00:14:17,760 --> 00:14:18,540
Got it.

339
00:14:18,560 --> 00:14:19,580
Gwena, go for it.

340
00:14:20,760 --> 00:14:22,540
So what's next?

341
00:14:22,600 --> 00:14:25,160
Actually, what I'm actually doing now is we're

342
00:14:25,160 --> 00:14:28,140
now implementing more educational opportunities.

343
00:14:28,580 --> 00:14:32,560
We're working with USC, University of Southern California,

344
00:14:32,680 --> 00:14:34,840
where we're going to be doing live cooking

345
00:14:34,840 --> 00:14:35,420
classes.

346
00:14:36,160 --> 00:14:38,180
There's going to be some other free food

347
00:14:38,180 --> 00:14:38,840
programmes.

348
00:14:38,940 --> 00:14:41,440
We're going to have panels and speakers at

349
00:14:41,440 --> 00:14:44,980
libraries and at churches and different events like

350
00:14:44,980 --> 00:14:45,280
that.

351
00:14:45,380 --> 00:14:46,980
So that's what's happening for the rest of

352
00:14:46,980 --> 00:14:47,400
the year.

353
00:14:48,080 --> 00:14:49,220
And I like to say what I'm, the

354
00:14:49,220 --> 00:14:51,540
work I'm doing is, I know we use

355
00:14:51,540 --> 00:14:54,020
the word food insecurity, but I like to

356
00:14:54,020 --> 00:14:57,780
say I'm liking to make people food secure.

357
00:14:58,160 --> 00:15:01,520
So working on making everyone food secure, and

358
00:15:01,520 --> 00:15:03,820
then just, again, changing the narrative and the

359
00:15:03,820 --> 00:15:07,580
stigma around free food, food entitlement and food

360
00:15:07,580 --> 00:15:08,340
banks in general.

361
00:15:08,920 --> 00:15:09,960
I like that.

362
00:15:10,020 --> 00:15:13,200
It's a positive description of it as opposed

363
00:15:13,200 --> 00:15:14,280
to insecurity.

364
00:15:14,460 --> 00:15:17,340
We're just talking about food security, which let's

365
00:15:17,340 --> 00:15:19,440
face it, like air and water, there's three

366
00:15:19,440 --> 00:15:21,860
things we can't live without air, water, and

367
00:15:21,860 --> 00:15:22,460
food.

368
00:15:22,860 --> 00:15:23,560
All right.

369
00:15:23,680 --> 00:15:26,060
Nilofar in Dallas, Texas, your question or thought.

370
00:15:28,510 --> 00:15:31,910
Hi, what's an inspiring panel of movers and

371
00:15:31,910 --> 00:15:32,410
shakers?

372
00:15:32,830 --> 00:15:35,790
Question is for Jasmine Leyva.

373
00:15:36,710 --> 00:15:40,370
The Invisible Regan is an excellent documentary addressing

374
00:15:40,370 --> 00:15:44,850
both health and justice, health and social justice

375
00:15:44,850 --> 00:15:45,390
issues.

376
00:15:46,190 --> 00:15:48,970
Is there room to expand on the message

377
00:15:48,970 --> 00:15:53,850
to explicitly use language, acknowledging the tyranny of

378
00:15:53,850 --> 00:15:58,490
the human animal versus non-human animal, and

379
00:15:58,490 --> 00:16:01,930
thus inspiring advocacy based on ethics?

380
00:16:02,330 --> 00:16:05,270
What this does is it would bring ethics

381
00:16:05,270 --> 00:16:08,690
to the forefront of the intersectionality of social

382
00:16:08,690 --> 00:16:12,610
justice issues, and the importance of addressing the

383
00:16:12,610 --> 00:16:15,110
mind-numbing violence against animals.

384
00:16:15,510 --> 00:16:15,610
Thanks.

385
00:16:16,410 --> 00:16:16,770
Wow.

386
00:16:17,410 --> 00:16:19,030
Okay, that's a hot potato.

387
00:16:19,430 --> 00:16:20,910
Are you ready for that one, Jasmine?

388
00:16:21,530 --> 00:16:22,530
Hot potato caught.

389
00:16:23,770 --> 00:16:27,570
When I made my film, I was very

390
00:16:27,570 --> 00:16:31,490
strategic about how I wanted to present my

391
00:16:31,490 --> 00:16:32,110
vegan messaging.

392
00:16:32,570 --> 00:16:36,790
I did make my message toward the Black

393
00:16:36,790 --> 00:16:38,710
community, just because I felt like at the

394
00:16:38,710 --> 00:16:40,410
time that community was left out of the

395
00:16:40,410 --> 00:16:41,350
vegan conversation.

396
00:16:41,990 --> 00:16:47,050
One of the nuances is, unfortunately, at the

397
00:16:47,050 --> 00:16:53,670
time, the animal rights movement came off as

398
00:16:53,670 --> 00:16:57,110
somewhat of an entitled movement, and Black people

399
00:16:57,110 --> 00:16:59,110
had a lot of conflict with that.

400
00:16:59,630 --> 00:17:03,589
When I organised my film, it's broken down

401
00:17:03,589 --> 00:17:04,430
into chapters.

402
00:17:05,150 --> 00:17:07,550
I think animal rights was around chapter seven,

403
00:17:07,690 --> 00:17:09,970
chapter eight, because I had to gear it

404
00:17:09,970 --> 00:17:12,990
towards what my audience cared about, and I

405
00:17:12,990 --> 00:17:15,750
had to be very careful not to trigger

406
00:17:15,750 --> 00:17:18,609
my audience, because a lot of Black people

407
00:17:18,609 --> 00:17:21,230
felt like we are treated...

408
00:17:21,230 --> 00:17:22,550
All of the things that we talk about

409
00:17:22,550 --> 00:17:25,829
that these animals are going through, we're going

410
00:17:25,829 --> 00:17:26,290
through this.

411
00:17:26,670 --> 00:17:27,510
We're being beaten.

412
00:17:27,810 --> 00:17:29,930
We're being mistreated.

413
00:17:30,130 --> 00:17:31,150
We're being killed.

414
00:17:31,510 --> 00:17:33,370
As long as that is happening to my

415
00:17:33,370 --> 00:17:35,770
body, it's going to be a hard thing

416
00:17:35,770 --> 00:17:39,010
to ask them to prioritise what's going on

417
00:17:39,010 --> 00:17:41,870
with a chicken or cow, even though some

418
00:17:41,870 --> 00:17:45,350
might argue it's equally horrific.

419
00:17:45,790 --> 00:17:47,570
But I did have to be very strategic

420
00:17:47,570 --> 00:17:50,870
about how I put that information in my

421
00:17:50,870 --> 00:17:52,150
film, but it is in there.

422
00:17:52,750 --> 00:17:56,290
You're raising a very important point in terms

423
00:17:56,290 --> 00:17:59,410
of comparing any animal suffering to any human

424
00:17:59,410 --> 00:18:01,610
group, whether it's, for example, women.

425
00:18:02,690 --> 00:18:05,070
A lot of people feel insulted.

426
00:18:05,250 --> 00:18:08,730
We've so demonised animals that to compare a

427
00:18:08,730 --> 00:18:10,130
human in any way, shape, or form to

428
00:18:10,130 --> 00:18:12,450
an animal is perceived as an insult.

429
00:18:12,830 --> 00:18:14,070
Why should it be?

430
00:18:14,150 --> 00:18:17,250
These are innocent creatures who are totally innocent.

431
00:18:17,490 --> 00:18:21,470
Why is any comparison somehow insulting?

432
00:18:24,030 --> 00:18:26,250
I've come up against that too.

433
00:18:26,750 --> 00:18:29,490
It's a tricky one, but we have to

434
00:18:29,490 --> 00:18:30,610
meet people where they are.

435
00:18:32,930 --> 00:18:35,190
What I've always said is, if there's an

436
00:18:35,190 --> 00:18:37,390
explanation that offends people, find another way to

437
00:18:37,390 --> 00:18:37,910
explain it.

438
00:18:38,210 --> 00:18:40,250
That's how I've dealt with it.

439
00:18:40,530 --> 00:18:40,730
All right.

440
00:18:40,770 --> 00:18:42,430
We've got still other callers.

441
00:18:42,510 --> 00:18:43,290
This is exciting.

442
00:18:43,630 --> 00:18:44,930
An avalanche of callers.

443
00:18:45,050 --> 00:18:46,330
Michelle in Los Angeles.

444
00:18:48,170 --> 00:18:48,690
Hi.

445
00:18:49,350 --> 00:18:50,230
Can you hear me?

446
00:18:50,390 --> 00:18:50,650
Yep.

447
00:18:51,510 --> 00:18:52,670
Oh, great.

448
00:18:52,810 --> 00:18:53,750
Thank you so much.

449
00:18:53,850 --> 00:18:56,170
All of you women are so amazing and

450
00:18:56,170 --> 00:18:57,390
inspiring as well.

451
00:18:57,650 --> 00:19:01,590
I'm so glad you're bringing awareness to the

452
00:19:01,590 --> 00:19:05,390
whole point that veganism is not just a

453
00:19:05,390 --> 00:19:06,110
white thing.

454
00:19:06,470 --> 00:19:11,070
How do we influence or educate our family

455
00:19:11,070 --> 00:19:15,370
members and friends without offending them, but also

456
00:19:15,370 --> 00:19:19,930
enabling them to enjoy the goodness of being

457
00:19:19,930 --> 00:19:20,430
vegan?

458
00:19:21,250 --> 00:19:24,190
I want to throw that to Brenda Sanders.

459
00:19:24,590 --> 00:19:26,430
I mean, I think this is such an

460
00:19:26,430 --> 00:19:27,270
important point.

461
00:19:27,890 --> 00:19:30,910
Indeed, you could make an argument that meat

462
00:19:30,910 --> 00:19:34,210
-eating is commerce colonialism.

463
00:19:35,450 --> 00:19:37,410
Cows and pigs are non-indigenous to the

464
00:19:37,410 --> 00:19:38,050
United States.

465
00:19:38,410 --> 00:19:40,850
The first cow came over on Columbus's voyage,

466
00:19:40,930 --> 00:19:43,830
and the first pig came over in approximately

467
00:19:43,830 --> 00:19:48,350
the mid-16th century on a boat of

468
00:19:48,350 --> 00:19:49,530
a Spanish Conquistador.

469
00:19:49,970 --> 00:19:55,470
Whereas what was indigenous was maize, grain, and

470
00:19:55,470 --> 00:19:58,150
potatoes, and all sorts of veggies.

471
00:19:58,450 --> 00:20:01,430
And yet it's often perceived that veganism is

472
00:20:01,430 --> 00:20:02,650
a quote-unquote white thing.

473
00:20:02,950 --> 00:20:06,510
I want you to explain where you're at

474
00:20:06,510 --> 00:20:07,930
with all that and how do we grapple

475
00:20:07,930 --> 00:20:08,230
with that?

476
00:20:08,230 --> 00:20:12,410
Yeah, so a big part of the education

477
00:20:12,410 --> 00:20:16,610
that we do is giving a history of

478
00:20:16,610 --> 00:20:17,870
culture and tradition.

479
00:20:18,350 --> 00:20:20,870
And that's a really, really important thing because

480
00:20:20,870 --> 00:20:24,930
we have been so programmed to believe that

481
00:20:24,930 --> 00:20:27,890
this is food, this should be accepted as

482
00:20:27,890 --> 00:20:29,330
food, it's always been food.

483
00:20:29,410 --> 00:20:31,510
When in fact, a lot of the foods

484
00:20:31,510 --> 00:20:33,290
that we're eating, like you were saying, are

485
00:20:33,290 --> 00:20:36,490
very recent additions to our diets.

486
00:20:36,990 --> 00:20:40,230
And especially when you're working within particular communities,

487
00:20:40,230 --> 00:20:44,170
if you're working within the indigenous American community,

488
00:20:44,490 --> 00:20:47,630
then of course you would educate about colonialism

489
00:20:48,730 --> 00:20:53,190
and how those animals became food.

490
00:20:53,670 --> 00:20:55,990
Within the Black community, one of the things

491
00:20:55,990 --> 00:21:00,010
that surprise people all the time is that

492
00:21:00,010 --> 00:21:05,690
the milk of an animal is not natural

493
00:21:05,690 --> 00:21:08,810
for us to consume, for various different reasons.

494
00:21:09,010 --> 00:21:13,150
It's for infants and it is species-specific.

495
00:21:13,850 --> 00:21:15,430
And so once these kinds of things start

496
00:21:15,430 --> 00:21:18,610
being talked about, people are like, wow, I

497
00:21:18,610 --> 00:21:20,410
did not ever even think about that.

498
00:21:20,510 --> 00:21:22,130
And it's because of the programming, it's because

499
00:21:22,130 --> 00:21:24,210
of the advertisement, it's because these things are

500
00:21:24,210 --> 00:21:27,150
literally and figuratively being shoved down our throats.

501
00:21:27,910 --> 00:21:30,010
And so that's the biggest thing, just talking

502
00:21:30,010 --> 00:21:31,370
about it and educating people.

503
00:21:32,050 --> 00:21:34,730
When Dr. Silas Rao, who is an Indian

504
00:21:34,730 --> 00:21:37,870
-born systems engineer and founder of Climate Healers

505
00:21:37,870 --> 00:21:43,350
described the marketing of fast food as commerce

506
00:21:43,350 --> 00:21:47,870
colonialism, I thought, wow, that is really, really

507
00:21:47,870 --> 00:21:52,130
powerful, a powerful way to describe it.

508
00:21:52,130 --> 00:21:55,270
And it could appeal to people in terms

509
00:21:55,270 --> 00:21:58,030
of making it politically incorrect to consume it.

510
00:21:58,910 --> 00:22:01,570
We've got one more caller and then we're

511
00:22:01,570 --> 00:22:03,730
going to get deep into that issue.

512
00:22:04,050 --> 00:22:06,010
Paige in Los Angeles, your question or thought

513
00:22:06,010 --> 00:22:06,570
for our panel.

514
00:22:07,990 --> 00:22:09,610
Yes, thank you very much.

515
00:22:09,670 --> 00:22:11,210
I want to ask each one of them,

516
00:22:11,850 --> 00:22:14,270
each one of you, how can we, the

517
00:22:14,270 --> 00:22:18,770
listener, and we, the supporters, specifically support each

518
00:22:18,770 --> 00:22:19,450
one of you?

519
00:22:19,950 --> 00:22:20,610
Thank you.

520
00:22:20,990 --> 00:22:22,610
Wow, great question.

521
00:22:22,710 --> 00:22:24,150
All right, why don't we start?

522
00:22:24,250 --> 00:22:25,090
We'll start with Gwena.

523
00:22:25,630 --> 00:22:27,790
You're in Los Angeles, so is Paige.

524
00:22:27,970 --> 00:22:29,730
And I know Paige supports you and many

525
00:22:29,730 --> 00:22:30,450
other organisations.

526
00:22:30,630 --> 00:22:30,930
Go ahead.

527
00:22:31,650 --> 00:22:33,930
Yeah, we always could use money.

528
00:22:34,330 --> 00:22:36,450
That is very, very important.

529
00:22:37,210 --> 00:22:40,430
It cost me over almost $6,000 a

530
00:22:40,430 --> 00:22:43,110
month to run the food bank.

531
00:22:43,170 --> 00:22:43,990
It's not cheap.

532
00:22:44,510 --> 00:22:47,450
So go to VegansLA.com, so if you

533
00:22:47,450 --> 00:22:48,750
scroll, you'll see the donate button.

534
00:22:49,070 --> 00:22:52,990
Please donate because, you know, it's not free

535
00:22:52,990 --> 00:22:54,290
to be on this planet.

536
00:22:55,110 --> 00:22:57,310
Also, if you want to, you know, volunteer,

537
00:22:58,110 --> 00:23:00,870
we could always use volunteers on the Wednesday

538
00:23:00,870 --> 00:23:04,270
that we are open, which is usually the

539
00:23:04,270 --> 00:23:06,390
third, between the second and third week of

540
00:23:06,390 --> 00:23:06,870
the month.

541
00:23:07,250 --> 00:23:08,330
Just check in with me and I'll let

542
00:23:08,330 --> 00:23:09,410
you know which week it is.

543
00:23:09,450 --> 00:23:10,850
And we can always use people to come

544
00:23:10,850 --> 00:23:13,070
in and help pack and help sort.

545
00:23:13,830 --> 00:23:17,410
There's always other volunteer opportunities need people to

546
00:23:17,410 --> 00:23:20,390
help with certain administrative things, send out letters,

547
00:23:20,550 --> 00:23:21,010
emails.

548
00:23:21,570 --> 00:23:23,490
So if you have any skills, you know,

549
00:23:23,550 --> 00:23:24,850
please feel free to reach out.

550
00:23:25,510 --> 00:23:27,610
All right, and let's hit the next one

551
00:23:27,610 --> 00:23:29,330
because she asked this of everybody.

552
00:23:29,690 --> 00:23:32,390
So Brenda, how can people help your organisation

553
00:23:32,390 --> 00:23:33,450
Afro Vegan Society?

554
00:23:34,670 --> 00:23:37,670
Yes, so we also have a donate button

555
00:23:37,670 --> 00:23:41,770
on our website afrovegansociety.org.

556
00:23:42,210 --> 00:23:44,350
And, you know, folks can go over there

557
00:23:44,350 --> 00:23:45,090
and donate.

558
00:23:45,650 --> 00:23:49,090
And we are always looking for to expand

559
00:23:49,090 --> 00:23:49,670
community.

560
00:23:49,870 --> 00:23:51,150
And so we have lots of folks who

561
00:23:51,150 --> 00:23:53,430
are just on our email list on our

562
00:23:53,430 --> 00:23:56,930
volunteer list, who may have certain skills that

563
00:23:56,930 --> 00:23:58,670
could really, really help us out.

564
00:23:59,210 --> 00:24:02,650
So if you head over to afrovegansociety.org,

565
00:24:02,730 --> 00:24:06,190
hit that donate button and also join our

566
00:24:06,190 --> 00:24:08,830
email list on with the newsletter, and that

567
00:24:08,830 --> 00:24:09,990
would be so much help.

568
00:24:10,550 --> 00:24:11,290
All right, Naja.

569
00:24:12,690 --> 00:24:18,330
Yes, get money donate at blackvegsociety.org, blackvegsociety

570
00:24:18,330 --> 00:24:18,850
.org.

571
00:24:18,930 --> 00:24:20,990
If you are in the Baltimore area, please

572
00:24:20,990 --> 00:24:22,490
come see us at Land of Kush.

573
00:24:23,070 --> 00:24:25,910
You can go to landofkush.com for more

574
00:24:25,910 --> 00:24:26,750
info there.

575
00:24:27,150 --> 00:24:28,890
And if you can't do any of that,

576
00:24:29,050 --> 00:24:31,950
follow me and Naja Speaks, go to najaspeaks

577
00:24:31,950 --> 00:24:32,730
.com.

578
00:24:32,890 --> 00:24:36,210
Tune in, I contribute for Unchained TV.

579
00:24:37,030 --> 00:24:40,670
And yeah, let me help you find your

580
00:24:40,670 --> 00:24:42,890
vegan soul or your friend's vegan soul through

581
00:24:42,890 --> 00:24:44,550
food, people, events and culture.

582
00:24:45,230 --> 00:24:45,530
Yes.

583
00:24:45,690 --> 00:24:48,910
And Naja is an incredible contributor to Unchained

584
00:24:48,910 --> 00:24:49,250
TV.

585
00:24:49,430 --> 00:24:51,210
In fact, we're figuring out a way to

586
00:24:51,210 --> 00:24:53,050
give her her own show on the streaming

587
00:24:53,050 --> 00:24:53,650
network.

588
00:24:53,650 --> 00:24:54,730
That's in progress.

589
00:24:54,730 --> 00:24:55,710
So support her.

590
00:24:56,150 --> 00:24:59,250
And you can see her on streaming on

591
00:24:59,250 --> 00:25:00,930
Unchained TV on a regular basis.

592
00:25:01,210 --> 00:25:01,610
Jasmine.

593
00:25:03,310 --> 00:25:05,950
So one thing, if I'm being honest, like

594
00:25:05,950 --> 00:25:07,750
right now, I'm in a place where I

595
00:25:07,750 --> 00:25:09,170
kind of have everything I want.

596
00:25:09,250 --> 00:25:10,390
I have everything I need.

597
00:25:10,790 --> 00:25:12,770
So if you wanted to know how to

598
00:25:12,770 --> 00:25:14,650
support me, just keep supporting the cause.

599
00:25:15,210 --> 00:25:17,210
Do exactly what you're doing right now.

600
00:25:17,410 --> 00:25:20,610
Educating yourself, spreading the information that you've learned.

601
00:25:20,770 --> 00:25:22,810
And Paige is a fantastic human being.

602
00:25:23,010 --> 00:25:24,350
You've had me on your show.

603
00:25:24,350 --> 00:25:25,770
You've welcomed me.

604
00:25:26,210 --> 00:25:28,050
You know, just keep being that light in

605
00:25:28,050 --> 00:25:28,570
the world.

606
00:25:28,850 --> 00:25:31,830
So it supports the world beyond me.

607
00:25:33,650 --> 00:25:34,210
Fabulous.

608
00:25:34,490 --> 00:25:37,570
Well, donate and support and stay active.

609
00:25:37,690 --> 00:25:39,030
We've got one more caller, man.

610
00:25:39,150 --> 00:25:40,050
They're coming in today.

611
00:25:40,230 --> 00:25:42,410
Sarah in Los Angeles, your question or thought

612
00:25:42,410 --> 00:25:46,410
for our Celebrate Black History Month with Vegan

613
00:25:46,410 --> 00:25:47,270
Leaders show.

614
00:25:49,460 --> 00:25:51,600
Hi, I was wondering if you guys have

615
00:25:51,600 --> 00:25:53,840
any events coming up for Earth Day, if

616
00:25:53,840 --> 00:25:55,680
you guys are going to be collaborating with

617
00:25:55,680 --> 00:25:57,300
other organisations.

618
00:25:58,060 --> 00:25:59,700
And I just wanted to see what your

619
00:25:59,700 --> 00:26:03,640
future in your different groups in your organisations,

620
00:26:03,780 --> 00:26:06,620
what your future projects are for this year.

621
00:26:06,820 --> 00:26:07,280
Thank you.

622
00:26:07,760 --> 00:26:08,520
Oh, good question.

623
00:26:08,660 --> 00:26:08,860
Okay.

624
00:26:08,920 --> 00:26:10,040
Well, why don't we start with Najah?

625
00:26:10,120 --> 00:26:11,140
You have so many groups.

626
00:26:11,380 --> 00:26:14,020
Honestly, I was like, well, how do I,

627
00:26:14,560 --> 00:26:16,380
what's my lower third for Najah?

628
00:26:16,500 --> 00:26:18,340
Because it would be the world's longest lower

629
00:26:18,340 --> 00:26:18,820
third.

630
00:26:19,780 --> 00:26:22,840
Land of Kush, it's what you tell us,

631
00:26:23,040 --> 00:26:23,780
what are you doing?

632
00:26:24,240 --> 00:26:28,160
Well, next month is Maryland Vegan Restaurant Month.

633
00:26:28,240 --> 00:26:30,060
So if you're in Maryland, you definitely want

634
00:26:30,060 --> 00:26:32,100
to check out mdveganeats.com.

635
00:26:32,200 --> 00:26:34,740
We have a launch party happening next week

636
00:26:34,740 --> 00:26:35,920
at Lord Baltimore Hotel.

637
00:26:35,920 --> 00:26:38,360
So we're always evolving on that project.

638
00:26:38,760 --> 00:26:41,680
We just announced coming soon is the first

639
00:26:41,680 --> 00:26:44,300
ever Children's VegFest in Baltimore.

640
00:26:44,520 --> 00:26:46,860
We're partnering with Baltimore Recreation and Parks.

641
00:26:47,080 --> 00:26:49,440
So if you're again in the Maryland area

642
00:26:49,440 --> 00:26:51,520
and the Baltimore area, please, this is for

643
00:26:51,520 --> 00:26:52,940
everyone, just not Baltimore.

644
00:26:53,420 --> 00:26:55,460
This is the first Children's VegFest.

645
00:26:55,540 --> 00:26:57,320
We'd love people to come out, support, bring

646
00:26:57,320 --> 00:26:57,780
your children.

647
00:26:58,260 --> 00:27:00,640
So just think Vegan SoulFest, but for the

648
00:27:00,640 --> 00:27:01,040
children.

649
00:27:01,400 --> 00:27:03,560
And then again, if you see the announcement

650
00:27:03,560 --> 00:27:05,820
for Vegan SoulFest, you can come and support

651
00:27:05,820 --> 00:27:06,760
that as well.

652
00:27:06,860 --> 00:27:08,880
Myself and Brenda put that on.

653
00:27:09,060 --> 00:27:11,180
Definitely a great, great, great time.

654
00:27:11,360 --> 00:27:13,320
So you want to definitely want to be

655
00:27:13,320 --> 00:27:14,820
there at that event.

656
00:27:14,820 --> 00:27:17,180
But again, if you follow me at Nadja

657
00:27:17,180 --> 00:27:19,460
Speaks, you'll find out all about that.

658
00:27:19,700 --> 00:27:21,320
I'll be talking about that tomorrow on my

659
00:27:21,320 --> 00:27:21,960
show as well.

660
00:27:22,080 --> 00:27:23,120
Nadja Speaks.com.

661
00:27:23,200 --> 00:27:25,560
Subscribe, subscribe, like, share, all of that.

662
00:27:25,780 --> 00:27:26,700
All right.

663
00:27:26,860 --> 00:27:28,880
I want to get into the weeds here.

664
00:27:29,440 --> 00:27:33,760
I think it's absolutely extraordinary that African Americans

665
00:27:33,760 --> 00:27:36,760
are going vegan at a higher rate than

666
00:27:36,760 --> 00:27:38,680
the rest of the population.

667
00:27:38,680 --> 00:27:40,780
And I want to do a round robin

668
00:27:40,780 --> 00:27:43,420
on why that is, because as far as

669
00:27:43,420 --> 00:27:46,580
I can see, that's a great fact.

670
00:27:46,880 --> 00:27:47,920
That's a great development.

671
00:27:48,400 --> 00:27:51,120
My personal belief is that the meat, dairy,

672
00:27:51,240 --> 00:27:53,940
and pharmaceutical industries, which I consider one and

673
00:27:53,940 --> 00:27:56,020
the same, you know, the three heads of

674
00:27:56,020 --> 00:28:00,100
one big problem, it's a house of cards.

675
00:28:00,260 --> 00:28:02,620
And if you pulled out one key demographic,

676
00:28:03,180 --> 00:28:07,340
like African Americans, that would be one key

677
00:28:07,340 --> 00:28:08,860
demographic that you could pull out.

678
00:28:08,980 --> 00:28:10,720
I think it would collapse.

679
00:28:11,200 --> 00:28:13,320
So do you agree with me on that?

680
00:28:13,420 --> 00:28:15,320
And let's do a round robin on why

681
00:28:15,320 --> 00:28:17,480
this is happening and how we can actually

682
00:28:17,480 --> 00:28:20,280
make it grow even further.

683
00:28:21,080 --> 00:28:22,340
Who wants to kick it off?

684
00:28:22,500 --> 00:28:23,420
Jasmine, you're smiling.

685
00:28:23,580 --> 00:28:24,520
So take it away.

686
00:28:25,780 --> 00:28:27,160
So, you know, one thing I have to

687
00:28:27,160 --> 00:28:30,620
say, I feel like African Americans leading the

688
00:28:30,620 --> 00:28:31,000
charge.

689
00:28:31,120 --> 00:28:33,980
One, we come from a very creative people,

690
00:28:34,040 --> 00:28:36,020
not to take anything from any other race,

691
00:28:36,080 --> 00:28:36,780
they're all creative.

692
00:28:37,040 --> 00:28:39,060
But, you know, we have our own vibe.

693
00:28:39,520 --> 00:28:42,760
And I think when veganism was presented, it's

694
00:28:42,760 --> 00:28:45,320
just like, this is just yet another opportunity

695
00:28:45,320 --> 00:28:50,140
for us to unleash our culinary creativity and

696
00:28:50,140 --> 00:28:53,220
create something that can sustain our families.

697
00:28:53,720 --> 00:28:56,680
And I think that's especially important because a

698
00:28:56,680 --> 00:28:59,400
lot of us, we've grown up, you know,

699
00:28:59,480 --> 00:29:02,440
under the umbrella of soul food and foods

700
00:29:02,440 --> 00:29:03,500
that weren't that healthy.

701
00:29:04,040 --> 00:29:07,940
And seeing members of our family go into,

702
00:29:08,320 --> 00:29:10,900
you know, have diabetes, high cholesterol, have all

703
00:29:10,900 --> 00:29:12,340
of these things and need to take all

704
00:29:12,340 --> 00:29:13,060
of these pills.

705
00:29:13,080 --> 00:29:15,820
And that became, you know, what we projected

706
00:29:15,820 --> 00:29:17,880
our fate to be, because it's what we

707
00:29:17,880 --> 00:29:18,300
saw.

708
00:29:18,460 --> 00:29:20,120
We didn't see all the juiceries and the

709
00:29:20,120 --> 00:29:21,900
health food and know that you can do

710
00:29:21,900 --> 00:29:23,860
chia seeds and flax seeds and avoid all

711
00:29:23,860 --> 00:29:24,580
of these things.

712
00:29:24,620 --> 00:29:27,680
So I think for us, it's a chance

713
00:29:27,680 --> 00:29:30,060
for us to exercise our creativity.

714
00:29:30,680 --> 00:29:32,740
And it's also a chance for us to,

715
00:29:32,920 --> 00:29:35,540
we're learning that, oh, this is how I

716
00:29:35,540 --> 00:29:39,160
avoid getting my leg cut off.

717
00:29:39,540 --> 00:29:41,820
So we also have that vision of what

718
00:29:41,820 --> 00:29:43,600
it looks like if you go down the

719
00:29:43,600 --> 00:29:45,720
wrong path, which I think helps propel us

720
00:29:45,720 --> 00:29:46,860
down a healthier one.

721
00:29:47,960 --> 00:29:51,180
Brenda Sanders, we've got yet another caller, but

722
00:29:51,180 --> 00:29:53,280
I really want to tackle this point is

723
00:29:53,280 --> 00:29:57,000
the pandemic showed that African Americans were suffering

724
00:29:57,000 --> 00:30:00,500
the worst effects of the pandemic because of

725
00:30:00,500 --> 00:30:01,840
underlying health issues.

726
00:30:02,120 --> 00:30:04,340
Is that a big trigger for people to

727
00:30:04,340 --> 00:30:06,680
wake up and say, wow, in fact, there's

728
00:30:06,680 --> 00:30:10,240
a film called They're Trying to Kill Us,

729
00:30:10,300 --> 00:30:13,160
which is an incredible film about how the

730
00:30:13,160 --> 00:30:17,220
African American community is suffering disproportionately when it

731
00:30:17,220 --> 00:30:20,140
comes to health statistics and fast food is

732
00:30:20,140 --> 00:30:20,460
why.

733
00:30:21,940 --> 00:30:23,200
Yes, yes, absolutely.

734
00:30:23,400 --> 00:30:26,400
I was so honoured to be featured in

735
00:30:26,400 --> 00:30:27,680
the film They're Trying to Kill Us.

736
00:30:27,820 --> 00:30:29,320
And just if I could let people know

737
00:30:29,320 --> 00:30:31,520
right now, They're Trying to Kill Us is

738
00:30:31,520 --> 00:30:34,920
a very powerful film that features John Lewis,

739
00:30:35,080 --> 00:30:39,020
the badass vegan, and it's streaming free right

740
00:30:39,020 --> 00:30:41,400
now, only for the month of February, Black

741
00:30:41,400 --> 00:30:42,080
History Month.

742
00:30:42,760 --> 00:30:45,720
And you can watch it for free, again,

743
00:30:45,820 --> 00:30:46,280
for free.

744
00:30:46,680 --> 00:30:48,400
This is really important.

745
00:30:48,960 --> 00:30:53,540
Families, churches, whoever need to log in and

746
00:30:53,540 --> 00:30:56,840
get into this film, they'retryingtokillus.com.

747
00:30:57,200 --> 00:30:59,480
And yes, absolutely, a lot of those themes

748
00:30:59,480 --> 00:31:01,220
are explored in the film.

749
00:31:01,480 --> 00:31:03,160
A lot of those things are being explored

750
00:31:03,160 --> 00:31:05,580
by vegan activists, Black vegan activists.

751
00:31:06,100 --> 00:31:10,520
And it's absolutely a huge reason why all

752
00:31:10,520 --> 00:31:12,900
this attention is being put on plant-based

753
00:31:12,900 --> 00:31:16,460
eating and vegan living is our circumstances.

754
00:31:16,660 --> 00:31:20,180
The fact that we are leading in most

755
00:31:20,180 --> 00:31:22,860
of the diet related illnesses right now, and

756
00:31:22,860 --> 00:31:23,980
people want to change.

757
00:31:24,280 --> 00:31:25,500
We want to do something different.

758
00:31:25,620 --> 00:31:27,160
I think that's a large part of the

759
00:31:27,160 --> 00:31:29,960
reason why you've seen this shift in our

760
00:31:29,960 --> 00:31:30,320
culture.

761
00:31:31,320 --> 00:31:33,640
I mean, but two-thirds of Americans are

762
00:31:33,640 --> 00:31:35,500
overweight or obese.

763
00:31:36,500 --> 00:31:39,120
And we've got a crisis in this country.

764
00:31:39,820 --> 00:31:42,360
Honestly, I was in the Dallas, I went

765
00:31:42,360 --> 00:31:44,300
to speak at the best plant-based conference

766
00:31:44,300 --> 00:31:44,580
ever.

767
00:31:44,680 --> 00:31:46,280
And I was sitting in the Dallas, Fort

768
00:31:46,280 --> 00:31:47,060
Worth airport.

769
00:31:47,720 --> 00:31:50,160
And I was surrounded by people who had

770
00:31:50,160 --> 00:31:53,200
been wheeled up, and they were morbidly obese,

771
00:31:53,380 --> 00:31:54,820
and they were not old.

772
00:31:55,080 --> 00:31:56,300
So they were younger people.

773
00:31:56,440 --> 00:31:57,980
And then I looked across and I see

774
00:31:57,980 --> 00:32:02,200
two parents feeding nuggets to a kid, stuffing.

775
00:32:02,680 --> 00:32:04,240
And I thought, well, if you were going

776
00:32:04,240 --> 00:32:07,040
to give a cigarette to a kid, people

777
00:32:07,040 --> 00:32:08,360
would call child services.

778
00:32:09,140 --> 00:32:12,360
But even though processed meat is officially cancer

779
00:32:12,360 --> 00:32:15,520
-causing, according to the World Health Organisation, people

780
00:32:15,520 --> 00:32:17,320
are shoving this down their kids' throats.

781
00:32:17,720 --> 00:32:21,580
The US government is subsidising dairy and trying

782
00:32:21,580 --> 00:32:24,040
to force kids to drink dairy in when

783
00:32:24,040 --> 00:32:27,300
the global majority and even the National Institutes

784
00:32:27,300 --> 00:32:30,360
of Health itself says 67% at least

785
00:32:30,360 --> 00:32:33,820
of all people, this is on the NIH

786
00:32:33,820 --> 00:32:38,640
website, are dairy intolerant, are lactose intolerant.

787
00:32:39,520 --> 00:32:43,060
It's a crazy, crazy mixed up world.

788
00:32:43,760 --> 00:32:45,800
And yet we haven't hit the tipping point

789
00:32:45,800 --> 00:32:48,640
where, let's say, since this is Black History

790
00:32:48,640 --> 00:32:51,560
Month, and we're talking about that particular demographic,

791
00:32:51,560 --> 00:32:55,460
where it's become politically incorrect for, let's say,

792
00:32:55,680 --> 00:33:00,580
the Black community to buy fast food.

793
00:33:00,800 --> 00:33:03,160
It's still happening across the board, Naja.

794
00:33:04,740 --> 00:33:05,320
Yes.

795
00:33:05,960 --> 00:33:08,340
So the question on why we're on the

796
00:33:08,340 --> 00:33:11,240
rise, one, I'm going to shout out Tracy

797
00:33:11,240 --> 00:33:13,680
McWhorter's African American Vegan Start a Guide.

798
00:33:13,920 --> 00:33:14,760
This is nothing new.

799
00:33:14,840 --> 00:33:18,800
If anyone remembers Dick Gregory, Dick Gregory was

800
00:33:18,800 --> 00:33:21,840
also an animal rights activist.

801
00:33:22,200 --> 00:33:24,120
So if you go to page 32, go

802
00:33:24,120 --> 00:33:26,760
to Afro, African American Vegan Start a Guide,

803
00:33:26,920 --> 00:33:28,600
32, it'll tell you the history.

804
00:33:29,220 --> 00:33:34,740
1915, it was a Vegetarian Food Congress conference.

805
00:33:34,940 --> 00:33:36,640
This is nothing new to us.

806
00:33:36,680 --> 00:33:39,420
It's just we weren't being paid attention to.

807
00:33:39,780 --> 00:33:42,540
So the reason why it's growing now, again,

808
00:33:42,560 --> 00:33:46,640
we've talked about the health disparities, the type

809
00:33:46,640 --> 00:33:48,940
2 diabetes, and the heart disease.

810
00:33:49,240 --> 00:33:53,440
There's seven major reasons that I've seen in

811
00:33:53,440 --> 00:33:55,700
this article, the GRIO, and I just posted

812
00:33:55,700 --> 00:33:56,320
a link there.

813
00:33:56,400 --> 00:33:57,480
I don't know if we can share that.

814
00:33:57,680 --> 00:33:57,920
I'm sure.

815
00:33:58,040 --> 00:33:59,740
We'll have listed this, and I have talked

816
00:33:59,740 --> 00:34:01,220
about this on my show.

817
00:34:01,940 --> 00:34:03,980
Saving the animals, saving the environment.

818
00:34:04,120 --> 00:34:06,820
People are becoming aware due to the works

819
00:34:06,820 --> 00:34:10,199
of people like Brenda and Jasmine and Gwena

820
00:34:10,199 --> 00:34:13,139
and myself, just pushing the word out there.

821
00:34:13,540 --> 00:34:16,739
Generation after generation, culture is culture.

822
00:34:16,880 --> 00:34:18,500
You're being taught one way, and you have

823
00:34:18,500 --> 00:34:19,719
to unlearn that.

824
00:34:19,920 --> 00:34:21,960
So this is the reason why that's happening.

825
00:34:22,199 --> 00:34:23,460
And it's not a new fad.

826
00:34:23,580 --> 00:34:26,480
Again, it says that in the seven reasons.

827
00:34:26,679 --> 00:34:29,020
This is not a new fad for Black

828
00:34:29,020 --> 00:34:29,520
people.

829
00:34:29,820 --> 00:34:32,500
Globally, we have been aware of this.

830
00:34:33,340 --> 00:34:35,300
But I just want to get back to

831
00:34:35,300 --> 00:34:37,199
it again, and I want to ask Gwena

832
00:34:37,199 --> 00:34:41,320
Hunter, I think that, and correct me if

833
00:34:41,320 --> 00:34:43,600
I'm wrong, that there has been, at least

834
00:34:43,600 --> 00:34:46,520
until recently when all these stories started coming

835
00:34:46,520 --> 00:34:49,060
out about African Americans switching to veganism at

836
00:34:49,060 --> 00:34:51,679
a higher rate than the general population, that

837
00:34:51,679 --> 00:34:54,020
there had been this sort of perception as

838
00:34:54,020 --> 00:34:58,240
veganism as kind of some effete, hipster, mostly

839
00:34:58,240 --> 00:35:02,440
white thing, fad, that was practised in Brooklyn

840
00:35:02,440 --> 00:35:06,240
and Venice, California, and that it wasn't for

841
00:35:06,240 --> 00:35:07,460
African Americans.

842
00:35:07,980 --> 00:35:11,860
I mean, has that been shattered, hopefully?

843
00:35:12,580 --> 00:35:14,560
And what are your thoughts on that?

844
00:35:14,820 --> 00:35:18,080
Again, I ask because I truly feel that

845
00:35:18,080 --> 00:35:21,440
if this demographic were to shun en masse

846
00:35:21,440 --> 00:35:24,840
fast food, it would trigger a collapse of

847
00:35:24,840 --> 00:35:29,300
modern day industrialised animal agriculture that is killing

848
00:35:29,300 --> 00:35:32,320
everybody, but disproportionately killing African Americans.

849
00:35:32,320 --> 00:35:34,160
Can I just piggyback on what I just

850
00:35:34,160 --> 00:35:35,180
said for a minute?

851
00:35:35,880 --> 00:35:39,380
Because you're clearing something up for me in

852
00:35:39,380 --> 00:35:39,900
my head.

853
00:35:41,280 --> 00:35:44,000
Veganism was birthed out of vegetarianism.

854
00:35:44,460 --> 00:35:45,960
Okay, can we agree on that?

855
00:35:46,000 --> 00:35:47,240
It was birthed out of that.

856
00:35:47,940 --> 00:35:50,480
And sometimes, you know, and I've heard this

857
00:35:50,480 --> 00:35:54,220
in the communities, that this veganism was formed

858
00:35:54,220 --> 00:35:55,720
to create a division.

859
00:35:55,960 --> 00:35:57,740
Now, I don't know how true that is

860
00:35:57,740 --> 00:35:58,140
or not.

861
00:35:58,260 --> 00:35:59,380
I mean, everything is about division.

862
00:35:59,540 --> 00:36:01,440
But when you look at it, some of

863
00:36:01,440 --> 00:36:04,760
the vegans, you know, it could feel like

864
00:36:04,760 --> 00:36:07,900
colonialism or demanding, or you have to do

865
00:36:07,900 --> 00:36:08,180
this.

866
00:36:08,480 --> 00:36:09,640
Black people don't want to be told what

867
00:36:09,640 --> 00:36:10,000
to do.

868
00:36:10,320 --> 00:36:12,480
We have to go in our communities and

869
00:36:12,480 --> 00:36:15,820
tell and teach with our face and how

870
00:36:15,820 --> 00:36:17,800
we do it, not how y'all are

871
00:36:17,800 --> 00:36:18,300
doing it.

872
00:36:18,440 --> 00:36:19,980
It's how we're doing it, and we're going

873
00:36:19,980 --> 00:36:20,740
to do it our way.

874
00:36:20,800 --> 00:36:22,300
And you've got a group of people, and

875
00:36:22,300 --> 00:36:24,540
there's more people out there that are doing

876
00:36:24,540 --> 00:36:25,340
it their way.

877
00:36:25,440 --> 00:36:26,520
It's not or, it's and.

878
00:36:26,600 --> 00:36:27,660
We're going to do this and.

879
00:36:28,720 --> 00:36:30,260
Okay, it's not just black, white, grey.

880
00:36:30,560 --> 00:36:32,600
People have to have their own journey to

881
00:36:32,600 --> 00:36:34,840
get to where they need to be to

882
00:36:34,840 --> 00:36:38,160
become vegan, or plant-based, or wherever it

883
00:36:38,160 --> 00:36:39,140
is that they're going.

884
00:36:39,760 --> 00:36:41,720
So we're still in the minority here.

885
00:36:42,020 --> 00:36:43,380
You know, I think we're still under 10

886
00:36:43,380 --> 00:36:46,340
% of the population in the United States.

887
00:36:46,520 --> 00:36:48,220
So, you know, not even talking globally.

888
00:36:48,580 --> 00:36:51,780
So we shouldn't be demanding or pointing fingers.

889
00:36:51,880 --> 00:36:54,140
We should be compassionate and working with people

890
00:36:54,140 --> 00:36:54,880
and trying to love.

891
00:36:55,400 --> 00:36:57,520
And that could be the turnoff to some

892
00:36:57,520 --> 00:36:58,220
of the Black Americans.

893
00:36:58,220 --> 00:37:00,200
I guess everyone else can speak to that.

894
00:37:00,540 --> 00:37:02,680
Yes, I, Gwena, take it.

895
00:37:03,460 --> 00:37:04,820
She's a perfect segue.

896
00:37:05,800 --> 00:37:08,840
To answer your question in its entirety, that

897
00:37:08,840 --> 00:37:10,780
thing that for me is being shattered.

898
00:37:11,060 --> 00:37:12,300
But there's still a lot of work to

899
00:37:12,300 --> 00:37:14,160
be done because it isn't the most important

900
00:37:14,160 --> 00:37:17,600
conversation on everybody's mind.

901
00:37:17,760 --> 00:37:20,300
That's Black, that's African American, that's having health

902
00:37:20,300 --> 00:37:21,120
issues.

903
00:37:21,540 --> 00:37:22,920
So there's still a lot of work to

904
00:37:22,920 --> 00:37:23,460
be done.

905
00:37:24,260 --> 00:37:26,420
One of the two things that I've noticed,

906
00:37:27,120 --> 00:37:35,180
one, the way, in my perspective, the way

907
00:37:35,180 --> 00:37:38,420
African Americans just actively engage, and the way

908
00:37:38,420 --> 00:37:40,740
we talk to each other, and the mercy

909
00:37:40,740 --> 00:37:45,160
and grace, and the education, it's not as

910
00:37:45,160 --> 00:37:45,740
harsh.

911
00:37:46,460 --> 00:37:49,040
In the white community, you know, what I've

912
00:37:49,040 --> 00:37:51,160
seen in the past, not really at this

913
00:37:51,160 --> 00:37:53,420
moment, but in the past, it can be

914
00:37:53,420 --> 00:37:54,680
extremely judgemental.

915
00:37:55,240 --> 00:37:57,020
It can be punishing if you make a

916
00:37:57,020 --> 00:37:58,820
mistake and you go in a group and

917
00:37:58,820 --> 00:38:00,280
you say, hey, what's wrong with honey?

918
00:38:00,360 --> 00:38:02,340
And 500 people make a comment and it

919
00:38:02,340 --> 00:38:03,180
impacts a person.

920
00:38:03,880 --> 00:38:07,400
So to me, we are more, for the

921
00:38:07,400 --> 00:38:09,880
most part, we are, there are exceptions obviously,

922
00:38:09,980 --> 00:38:12,040
but we are more gentle and we are

923
00:38:12,040 --> 00:38:13,740
more compassionate with one another.

924
00:38:14,660 --> 00:38:16,900
You know, I said, when I first got

925
00:38:16,900 --> 00:38:19,600
into the movement, I didn't really know any

926
00:38:19,600 --> 00:38:21,860
Black vegans except for the ones that I

927
00:38:21,860 --> 00:38:23,780
would see online or at conferences.

928
00:38:24,700 --> 00:38:26,860
And then my first thing, in situations where

929
00:38:26,860 --> 00:38:29,920
I was a person, you know, I could

930
00:38:29,920 --> 00:38:33,940
share, you know, certain feelings or certain things

931
00:38:33,940 --> 00:38:35,560
and it would just be, it wouldn't be

932
00:38:35,560 --> 00:38:36,240
a big deal.

933
00:38:36,360 --> 00:38:38,920
But if I had a certain conversation in

934
00:38:38,920 --> 00:38:40,960
the white community, it would be like, oh,

935
00:38:40,980 --> 00:38:41,780
you can't do this.

936
00:38:41,860 --> 00:38:43,740
And it would just be a lot more

937
00:38:44,180 --> 00:38:45,880
cool, a little bit more harsh.

938
00:38:46,600 --> 00:38:48,440
And so for me, I feel like more

939
00:38:48,440 --> 00:38:52,360
love and acceptance and room to make mistakes,

940
00:38:52,780 --> 00:38:55,580
get up, start over, forget about it, do

941
00:38:55,580 --> 00:38:56,060
it again.

942
00:38:56,700 --> 00:38:58,300
And that's also one reason.

943
00:38:58,860 --> 00:39:02,000
I go on Instagram, I see all these

944
00:39:02,000 --> 00:39:04,640
beautiful Black people making all this amazing food

945
00:39:04,640 --> 00:39:07,820
and it's fun and it's beautiful and we're

946
00:39:07,820 --> 00:39:09,080
having a great time.

947
00:39:09,320 --> 00:39:10,300
We can't forget that.

948
00:39:10,460 --> 00:39:11,360
Yes, it's horrible.

949
00:39:11,840 --> 00:39:13,680
Animals are being killed right this moment.

950
00:39:13,880 --> 00:39:16,560
It's a horror movie, but we can't live

951
00:39:16,560 --> 00:39:18,300
in that all the time.

952
00:39:18,620 --> 00:39:20,240
To me, that kind of starts to develop

953
00:39:20,240 --> 00:39:23,560
a mental illness when you're constantly looking at

954
00:39:23,560 --> 00:39:25,280
the darkness of a situation.

955
00:39:25,760 --> 00:39:27,380
You got to get up, you know, nothing

956
00:39:27,380 --> 00:39:28,400
wrong with being in the dark.

957
00:39:28,520 --> 00:39:30,160
I embrace my dark side all the time,

958
00:39:30,240 --> 00:39:31,260
but you got to get up and get

959
00:39:31,260 --> 00:39:32,220
back into that light.

960
00:39:32,580 --> 00:39:33,720
You got to have a good time.

961
00:39:33,840 --> 00:39:34,740
You got to make it fun.

962
00:39:35,220 --> 00:39:37,040
Play with all the different elements of this

963
00:39:37,040 --> 00:39:37,380
movement.

964
00:39:37,940 --> 00:39:39,960
Play with the cooking, play with the activism,

965
00:39:40,200 --> 00:39:43,280
go to the protests, go do education, like,

966
00:39:43,400 --> 00:39:45,100
you know, get involved in all of it.

967
00:39:45,420 --> 00:39:47,960
But sometimes I see on the other side,

968
00:39:48,000 --> 00:39:49,740
it just gets a little bit too harsh

969
00:39:49,740 --> 00:39:51,380
and kind of mean and critical.

970
00:39:51,700 --> 00:39:53,280
And that's where it starts to turn people

971
00:39:53,280 --> 00:39:53,580
off.

972
00:39:54,240 --> 00:39:56,600
Well, what I'm hearing is that if we

973
00:39:56,600 --> 00:40:02,120
want to truly revolutionise the vegan movement within

974
00:40:02,120 --> 00:40:06,620
the Black community, already there's huge advancement.

975
00:40:07,200 --> 00:40:09,040
The Black community is ahead of the general

976
00:40:09,040 --> 00:40:09,820
population.

977
00:40:10,240 --> 00:40:14,580
But what's required is to foster leadership within

978
00:40:14,580 --> 00:40:17,820
the Black community, as opposed to people who

979
00:40:17,820 --> 00:40:19,920
are not in that community saying, here's what

980
00:40:19,920 --> 00:40:20,740
you should be doing.

981
00:40:20,740 --> 00:40:22,160
And be compassionate.

982
00:40:22,500 --> 00:40:23,740
Is that what this is not about?

983
00:40:24,060 --> 00:40:25,220
Is this not about love?

984
00:40:25,320 --> 00:40:27,340
Is this not about equality?

985
00:40:27,580 --> 00:40:29,060
Is this, like, you got to be the

986
00:40:29,060 --> 00:40:31,300
things that you're talking about, and often people

987
00:40:31,300 --> 00:40:32,380
are not those things.

988
00:40:32,580 --> 00:40:35,200
They talk about it, but when that moment

989
00:40:35,200 --> 00:40:37,820
comes to actually embody it, they can't.

990
00:40:40,240 --> 00:40:42,380
Yeah, these are all incredible points.

991
00:40:42,680 --> 00:40:45,400
Naja and then Jack, let's hear from everybody,

992
00:40:45,500 --> 00:40:47,000
but you were shaking your head, Naja.

993
00:40:47,420 --> 00:40:48,740
No, that's right.

994
00:40:48,940 --> 00:40:50,580
You know, you can't, no one has to

995
00:40:50,580 --> 00:40:51,200
do anything.

996
00:40:51,380 --> 00:40:54,740
And whoever's watching and looking, the Black person,

997
00:40:55,200 --> 00:40:59,560
African, they don't have to do anything, you

998
00:40:59,560 --> 00:41:00,980
know, but be in their skin.

999
00:41:01,400 --> 00:41:03,800
You're coming to educate on the reasons why

1000
00:41:03,800 --> 00:41:05,820
they should be vegan and the benefits, and

1001
00:41:05,820 --> 00:41:06,600
that's great.

1002
00:41:07,000 --> 00:41:09,040
There's people that's starving out there.

1003
00:41:09,240 --> 00:41:11,200
They're not going to bypass a piece of

1004
00:41:11,200 --> 00:41:12,820
meat because you're talking about being vegan.

1005
00:41:13,060 --> 00:41:14,960
Like, let's have some common sense here.

1006
00:41:15,140 --> 00:41:17,000
We can only do what we can do

1007
00:41:17,000 --> 00:41:20,680
to educate the masses and in hopes that

1008
00:41:20,680 --> 00:41:22,400
they will make change, right?

1009
00:41:23,520 --> 00:41:24,160
Yeah.

1010
00:41:24,720 --> 00:41:26,340
Oh, yes, absolutely.

1011
00:41:27,360 --> 00:41:29,720
I mean, I'm coming here from a perspective

1012
00:41:29,720 --> 00:41:33,740
of, wow, this is an incredible development.

1013
00:41:34,040 --> 00:41:43,180
How can this phenomenon of African Americans essentially

1014
00:41:43,180 --> 00:41:48,980
leading the vegan movement be accelerated even?

1015
00:41:49,180 --> 00:41:51,360
I want to go to one quick thing,

1016
00:41:51,440 --> 00:41:52,740
but I think you had something to say,

1017
00:41:52,840 --> 00:41:54,660
Jasmine, then we'll jump over.

1018
00:41:55,600 --> 00:41:57,780
Yeah, I guess kind of piggybacking off of

1019
00:41:57,780 --> 00:42:00,740
what everyone said, like just the importance of

1020
00:42:00,740 --> 00:42:01,140
humility.

1021
00:42:01,720 --> 00:42:03,520
And then when you're thinking specifically about the

1022
00:42:03,520 --> 00:42:06,060
Black American community, like really think about it.

1023
00:42:06,060 --> 00:42:07,960
This is one of the first times in

1024
00:42:07,960 --> 00:42:12,140
history that Black Americans have even had somewhat

1025
00:42:12,140 --> 00:42:15,260
bit of control over what they put in

1026
00:42:15,260 --> 00:42:15,860
their bodies.

1027
00:42:16,440 --> 00:42:18,900
For the longest time, if you're going historic,

1028
00:42:19,320 --> 00:42:20,460
we were fed the scraps.

1029
00:42:20,960 --> 00:42:22,440
And then it took a while for Black

1030
00:42:22,440 --> 00:42:24,500
people to get entrepreneurial footing in this country.

1031
00:42:24,660 --> 00:42:26,120
Yes, there were some people who were doing

1032
00:42:26,120 --> 00:42:27,840
well, but I look at my grandmother.

1033
00:42:27,980 --> 00:42:30,540
My grandmother was eating mayonnaise sandwiches.

1034
00:42:31,220 --> 00:42:32,360
That's how she was getting by.

1035
00:42:32,460 --> 00:42:34,900
She was giving her kids crackers for dinner.

1036
00:42:35,460 --> 00:42:38,440
And so finally, I'm the first generation of

1037
00:42:38,440 --> 00:42:40,400
Black Americans in my family where I can

1038
00:42:40,400 --> 00:42:43,600
comfortably eat, me and my mom, whatever our

1039
00:42:43,600 --> 00:42:44,280
heart desires.

1040
00:42:44,820 --> 00:42:46,720
So just imagine what it's like to come

1041
00:42:46,720 --> 00:42:49,340
to someone who just got that power and

1042
00:42:49,340 --> 00:42:50,700
tell them, no, you know what, I want

1043
00:42:50,700 --> 00:42:52,460
to take some of that power back and

1044
00:42:52,460 --> 00:42:53,700
control what you eat.

1045
00:42:53,940 --> 00:42:56,700
And then you also are in the body

1046
00:42:56,700 --> 00:42:59,920
of the type of people that took that

1047
00:42:59,920 --> 00:43:01,740
right from us in the first place.

1048
00:43:02,040 --> 00:43:04,080
You have to think heavily about that.

1049
00:43:04,480 --> 00:43:06,260
So it's not saying that you shouldn't tell

1050
00:43:06,260 --> 00:43:08,220
someone to go vegan or you shouldn't educate

1051
00:43:08,220 --> 00:43:10,200
them, but you should take the time to

1052
00:43:10,200 --> 00:43:13,000
learn the nuances of any community that you

1053
00:43:13,000 --> 00:43:13,620
want to educate.

1054
00:43:14,700 --> 00:43:16,420
Wow, this is powerful.

1055
00:43:16,760 --> 00:43:18,920
I'm just thrilled that we're having such a

1056
00:43:18,920 --> 00:43:21,720
deep conversation and not just staying on the

1057
00:43:21,720 --> 00:43:22,060
surface.

1058
00:43:22,660 --> 00:43:25,220
I was trying to think of on our

1059
00:43:25,220 --> 00:43:28,460
category where we have many of the Black

1060
00:43:28,460 --> 00:43:31,000
vegan leaders and videos about them, and there

1061
00:43:31,000 --> 00:43:34,940
are many more, the stadium's full, if we

1062
00:43:34,940 --> 00:43:36,960
would include every single one, which we would

1063
00:43:36,960 --> 00:43:37,460
love to.

1064
00:43:37,720 --> 00:43:41,060
But I was like, who epitomises this phenomenon?

1065
00:43:41,620 --> 00:43:43,060
This was my vote.

1066
00:43:43,480 --> 00:43:45,540
You can have your own votes, but I'm

1067
00:43:45,540 --> 00:43:46,920
going for Pinky Cole.

1068
00:43:47,140 --> 00:43:47,680
Let's watch.

1069
00:43:47,880 --> 00:43:51,020
She's a 30-something powerhouse who founded the

1070
00:43:51,020 --> 00:43:54,860
slutty vegan restaurant chain, and Pinky Cole is

1071
00:43:54,860 --> 00:43:55,780
at it again.

1072
00:43:58,880 --> 00:44:01,500
Drawing lines around the block and then some

1073
00:44:01,500 --> 00:44:05,820
for her superb vegan menu items with risque

1074
00:44:05,820 --> 00:44:09,580
titles like menage a trois and sloppy toffee.

1075
00:44:10,480 --> 00:44:11,940
Why the outrageous name?

1076
00:44:12,360 --> 00:44:14,740
Because we're told, sex sells.

1077
00:44:15,400 --> 00:44:18,320
Not content with a rapidly expanding vegan empire

1078
00:44:18,320 --> 00:44:21,520
of restaurants and food trucks, Pinky Cole is

1079
00:44:21,520 --> 00:44:24,240
out with a book called Eat Plants, Bitch.

1080
00:44:24,360 --> 00:44:26,680
I grew up in a very humble household.

1081
00:44:27,760 --> 00:44:30,960
My father served 22 years in prison, and

1082
00:44:30,960 --> 00:44:33,720
I watched my mother work multiple jobs every

1083
00:44:33,720 --> 00:44:34,300
single day.

1084
00:44:34,300 --> 00:44:35,800
My mom used to come home tired.

1085
00:44:35,920 --> 00:44:39,300
She worked payroll services, she worked at McDonald's,

1086
00:44:39,360 --> 00:44:41,380
she was a musician, she worked at the

1087
00:44:41,380 --> 00:44:44,300
bank, and like, she was literally and figuratively

1088
00:44:44,300 --> 00:44:45,120
Jamaican.

1089
00:44:47,320 --> 00:44:50,040
And I realised that I never wanted to

1090
00:44:50,040 --> 00:44:53,200
work that hard because my mother didn't get

1091
00:44:53,200 --> 00:44:55,100
to fully walk in her purse at that

1092
00:44:55,100 --> 00:44:55,520
time.

1093
00:44:56,060 --> 00:44:58,240
So while my father was in prison, I

1094
00:44:58,240 --> 00:45:00,020
literally said, you know what, I gotta make

1095
00:45:00,020 --> 00:45:02,280
it, because I don't want to grow up

1096
00:45:02,280 --> 00:45:03,000
like this.

1097
00:45:03,460 --> 00:45:05,320
I don't want to have to work so

1098
00:45:05,320 --> 00:45:07,320
hard for the rest of my life that

1099
00:45:07,320 --> 00:45:09,180
I can't afford the level of freedom that

1100
00:45:09,180 --> 00:45:10,700
I want, and I want to be able

1101
00:45:10,700 --> 00:45:11,660
to take care of my mom.

1102
00:45:12,120 --> 00:45:13,480
And that's exactly what I did.

1103
00:45:13,540 --> 00:45:15,280
So I grinded for a very, very long

1104
00:45:15,280 --> 00:45:15,720
time.

1105
00:45:16,240 --> 00:45:17,260
And here we are.

1106
00:45:17,720 --> 00:45:20,220
Literally, I'm still the girl in the grown

1107
00:45:20,220 --> 00:45:24,520
woman body who now has a hundred million

1108
00:45:24,520 --> 00:45:25,600
dollar brand.

1109
00:45:25,800 --> 00:45:32,220
A hundred million dollar brand.

1110
00:45:32,520 --> 00:45:35,520
Thanks to Paige Parsons Roach for supplying that

1111
00:45:35,520 --> 00:45:36,800
video, by the way.

1112
00:45:37,240 --> 00:45:38,420
She went to the event.

1113
00:45:38,560 --> 00:45:40,860
Brenda Sanders, wow.

1114
00:45:41,160 --> 00:45:42,500
And you have to look at one of

1115
00:45:42,500 --> 00:45:46,120
the other more successful entrepreneurs in terms of

1116
00:45:46,120 --> 00:45:49,660
vegan restaurant chains is Kevin Hart, the African

1117
00:45:49,660 --> 00:45:52,600
American radio star and TV star.

1118
00:45:54,400 --> 00:45:56,800
Yeah, I mean, folks are just coming out

1119
00:45:56,800 --> 00:45:57,360
of the woodwork.

1120
00:45:57,460 --> 00:46:00,180
People understand where the future is headed.

1121
00:46:00,940 --> 00:46:02,600
Like, there's just no denying it now, and

1122
00:46:02,600 --> 00:46:04,000
especially within the Black community.

1123
00:46:04,320 --> 00:46:06,860
And I think because such a strong foundation

1124
00:46:06,860 --> 00:46:09,860
is being built at the community level.

1125
00:46:10,120 --> 00:46:11,520
And if it wasn't for that work, if

1126
00:46:11,520 --> 00:46:13,980
it wasn't for, you know, Najee and me

1127
00:46:13,980 --> 00:46:17,580
struggling and sweating and, you know, figuring out

1128
00:46:17,580 --> 00:46:19,560
how to put on Vegan Soul Fest that,

1129
00:46:19,700 --> 00:46:23,900
you know, we exceeded 14,000 people, you

1130
00:46:23,900 --> 00:46:27,600
know, in 2023 as a veg fest, you

1131
00:46:27,600 --> 00:46:29,380
know, a music and food festival.

1132
00:46:30,020 --> 00:46:31,940
And it's just a lot of work.

1133
00:46:31,940 --> 00:46:33,980
It's an awful lot of work on the

1134
00:46:33,980 --> 00:46:36,500
ground, you know, just shifting culture.

1135
00:46:36,760 --> 00:46:38,760
And I think that that's what you are

1136
00:46:38,760 --> 00:46:41,340
talking about, you know, shifting the culture away

1137
00:46:41,340 --> 00:46:44,700
from what it was, you know, what we

1138
00:46:44,700 --> 00:46:48,780
sometimes call slave food, and into a different

1139
00:46:48,780 --> 00:46:50,640
light, into a different direction.

1140
00:46:50,900 --> 00:46:51,620
That's fun.

1141
00:46:51,740 --> 00:46:52,380
That's exciting.

1142
00:46:52,540 --> 00:46:54,580
That's compassionate, like Jenna was saying.

1143
00:46:55,500 --> 00:46:59,480
And that is that it sticks, you know,

1144
00:46:59,500 --> 00:47:01,380
it's not just some passing fad that was

1145
00:47:01,380 --> 00:47:03,820
cute and fun, but it actually is being

1146
00:47:03,820 --> 00:47:04,860
built from the ground up.

1147
00:47:05,100 --> 00:47:07,120
And so that is structural change.

1148
00:47:08,220 --> 00:47:12,540
Everybody, in my opinion, who eats animal products

1149
00:47:12,540 --> 00:47:17,820
is supporting their own oppression, supporting climate change,

1150
00:47:19,120 --> 00:47:21,240
accelerating climate change.

1151
00:47:21,320 --> 00:47:23,540
There was a study in the New York

1152
00:47:23,540 --> 00:47:27,740
Times that was from Oxford University, just came

1153
00:47:27,740 --> 00:47:30,200
out recently, no shock that no other media

1154
00:47:30,200 --> 00:47:32,380
picked it up, even though they love to

1155
00:47:32,380 --> 00:47:34,700
show what I call catastrophe porn all day,

1156
00:47:34,840 --> 00:47:38,700
floods, fires, people drowning, cars being overturned, houses

1157
00:47:38,700 --> 00:47:40,300
floating into the ocean.

1158
00:47:40,660 --> 00:47:43,600
But here was a solution in the form

1159
00:47:43,600 --> 00:47:46,960
of a report from a study.

1160
00:47:48,040 --> 00:47:50,820
Oxford University said heavy meat eaters, which is

1161
00:47:50,820 --> 00:47:55,380
most Americans, can reduce their greenhouse gas emissions

1162
00:47:55,380 --> 00:48:00,020
footprint by 75% by switching to a

1163
00:48:00,020 --> 00:48:00,800
plant-based diet.

1164
00:48:01,060 --> 00:48:02,720
If you think about that for one second,

1165
00:48:02,820 --> 00:48:04,560
that means if everybody switched to a plant

1166
00:48:04,560 --> 00:48:08,120
-based diet, we could collectively reduce our greenhouse

1167
00:48:08,120 --> 00:48:12,600
gas emissions footprints by 75%, which would mean

1168
00:48:12,600 --> 00:48:15,400
that we could return the temperatures back to

1169
00:48:15,400 --> 00:48:17,440
where they were a couple of hundred years

1170
00:48:17,440 --> 00:48:20,240
ago before the start of the industrial revolution.

1171
00:48:20,540 --> 00:48:22,800
It's the solution right there staring us in

1172
00:48:22,800 --> 00:48:23,180
the face.

1173
00:48:23,640 --> 00:48:27,680
And yet there is this intense resistance by

1174
00:48:27,680 --> 00:48:31,040
the media, which is advertiser-based and controlled

1175
00:48:31,040 --> 00:48:33,200
by the meat, dairy and pharmaceutical industry.

1176
00:48:33,880 --> 00:48:40,160
And there's also societal and cultural resistance with

1177
00:48:40,160 --> 00:48:42,540
people always citing their own background.

1178
00:48:42,860 --> 00:48:44,520
I don't care what your heritage is.

1179
00:48:45,260 --> 00:48:47,160
I'm talking black, white, any.

1180
00:48:47,480 --> 00:48:50,060
Oh, I could never go vegan because I'm

1181
00:48:50,060 --> 00:48:50,920
fill in the blank.

1182
00:48:51,440 --> 00:48:51,740
Okay.

1183
00:48:51,840 --> 00:48:53,040
I'm Puerto Rican and Irish.

1184
00:48:53,120 --> 00:48:54,780
I've heard I could never go vegan because

1185
00:48:54,780 --> 00:48:55,260
I'm Puerto Rican.

1186
00:48:55,380 --> 00:48:56,860
I could never go vegan because I'm Irish.

1187
00:48:57,320 --> 00:48:58,220
It's all nonsense.

1188
00:48:58,880 --> 00:49:00,300
It's brainwashing.

1189
00:49:00,520 --> 00:49:03,280
So how do we break through that?

1190
00:49:03,400 --> 00:49:05,400
I'd love to do a round robin because

1191
00:49:05,400 --> 00:49:07,760
if we could get people to stop supporting

1192
00:49:07,760 --> 00:49:11,340
their own oppression, that would be game over.

1193
00:49:11,980 --> 00:49:12,940
Can I say something?

1194
00:49:13,480 --> 00:49:17,480
Well, some people were thinking about how they're

1195
00:49:17,480 --> 00:49:20,280
going to stay alive tomorrow depending on where

1196
00:49:20,280 --> 00:49:21,340
they live and how they're living.

1197
00:49:21,500 --> 00:49:23,420
So that's the priority on their brain.

1198
00:49:24,260 --> 00:49:27,500
But to talk about food and let's say

1199
00:49:27,500 --> 00:49:29,620
the Latino market, Black, Greek and vegan.

1200
00:49:29,780 --> 00:49:31,960
I went up there over the weekend.

1201
00:49:32,100 --> 00:49:32,940
I was there Monday.

1202
00:49:33,800 --> 00:49:35,540
She's doing the damn thing.

1203
00:49:35,660 --> 00:49:40,380
First Afrobaricua to bring the Latin vegan gang

1204
00:49:40,380 --> 00:49:41,660
to like, I don't know.

1205
00:49:41,740 --> 00:49:43,780
I just see she's going to do wonders.

1206
00:49:43,920 --> 00:49:45,640
So how do we bridge the gap between

1207
00:49:45,640 --> 00:49:49,660
us and the Latin community?

1208
00:49:49,940 --> 00:49:53,180
People are doing their thing to bridge that

1209
00:49:53,180 --> 00:49:53,500
gap.

1210
00:49:53,600 --> 00:49:55,000
And we just got to keep on coming

1211
00:49:55,000 --> 00:49:57,800
up with these innovative ways and reaching the

1212
00:49:57,800 --> 00:49:58,220
people.

1213
00:49:58,780 --> 00:50:03,020
So it's going to happen one idea at

1214
00:50:03,020 --> 00:50:03,500
a time.

1215
00:50:03,600 --> 00:50:05,300
And like I said, it's not or, it's

1216
00:50:05,300 --> 00:50:05,580
and.

1217
00:50:05,620 --> 00:50:07,140
We need to do this and, and that,

1218
00:50:07,220 --> 00:50:07,920
and, and that.

1219
00:50:08,080 --> 00:50:10,740
Everybody can contribute in some way to reach

1220
00:50:10,740 --> 00:50:11,180
the people.

1221
00:50:11,800 --> 00:50:14,840
Uh, I, I totally hear what you're saying.

1222
00:50:15,020 --> 00:50:18,920
I guess my sense of panic and, um,

1223
00:50:19,280 --> 00:50:22,960
impatience is that I personally feel, and it's

1224
00:50:22,960 --> 00:50:23,580
not just me.

1225
00:50:23,820 --> 00:50:26,620
I mean, Sir David Attenborough did a incredible

1226
00:50:26,620 --> 00:50:28,980
documentary about how there's only nine boundaries and

1227
00:50:28,980 --> 00:50:30,060
we're breaking through six of them.

1228
00:50:30,300 --> 00:50:33,160
And I just read an article yesterday that,

1229
00:50:33,280 --> 00:50:36,900
uh, the global oceans, if there's a collapse,

1230
00:50:36,900 --> 00:50:41,620
uh, it could create like cataclysmic climate changes

1231
00:50:41,620 --> 00:50:42,340
immediately.

1232
00:50:42,600 --> 00:50:44,260
I, I looked in the article, I was

1233
00:50:44,260 --> 00:50:45,620
like, well, when could this happen?

1234
00:50:45,660 --> 00:50:48,620
It said anytime between 2025 and 2050, I'm

1235
00:50:48,620 --> 00:50:51,160
like 2025, that's two years from now.

1236
00:50:51,320 --> 00:50:55,240
So, uh, I mean, I feel like, yes,

1237
00:50:55,400 --> 00:50:57,600
we have to, you know, as it's the

1238
00:50:57,600 --> 00:50:59,380
same thing that people say, it reminds me

1239
00:50:59,380 --> 00:50:59,880
of that film.

1240
00:50:59,940 --> 00:51:03,960
Don't look up where they're yelling on the,

1241
00:51:03,960 --> 00:51:06,460
on the morning show, Hey, a meteor is

1242
00:51:06,460 --> 00:51:06,720
coming.

1243
00:51:06,960 --> 00:51:08,520
And the host is saying, calm down.

1244
00:51:08,560 --> 00:51:09,360
You're so strident.

1245
00:51:10,280 --> 00:51:12,680
And I don't know what, what, if we

1246
00:51:12,680 --> 00:51:14,160
could do a round Robin on that, how

1247
00:51:14,160 --> 00:51:16,220
do we balance the urgency of the situation

1248
00:51:16,220 --> 00:51:18,800
with the need for people to, to have

1249
00:51:18,800 --> 00:51:22,700
information, um, a process information in a certain

1250
00:51:22,700 --> 00:51:22,980
way?

1251
00:51:23,780 --> 00:51:26,040
Well, one thing I would say is, um,

1252
00:51:26,040 --> 00:51:27,820
as far as like perspective, when you're looking

1253
00:51:27,820 --> 00:51:31,680
at, um, you know, cause everyone wants to

1254
00:51:31,680 --> 00:51:34,080
blame someone, um, they want to have a

1255
00:51:34,080 --> 00:51:34,400
villain.

1256
00:51:34,400 --> 00:51:37,760
So I think sometimes, um, vegans can look

1257
00:51:37,760 --> 00:51:40,380
at the non-vegans like, okay, these are

1258
00:51:40,380 --> 00:51:42,700
the villains because they're contributing to this.

1259
00:51:42,820 --> 00:51:44,880
And I would say maybe go further.

1260
00:51:45,160 --> 00:51:47,140
Um, cause if I was pointing at a

1261
00:51:47,140 --> 00:51:49,260
villain, I would say a lot of these

1262
00:51:49,260 --> 00:51:52,680
people who are feeding their children, this stuff

1263
00:51:52,680 --> 00:51:53,080
they're doing.

1264
00:51:53,340 --> 00:51:55,060
So, because this is what their doctor said

1265
00:51:55,060 --> 00:51:55,800
to feed their children.

1266
00:51:56,160 --> 00:51:59,060
This is what, um, advertising companies are promoting.

1267
00:51:59,280 --> 00:52:02,600
This is what's, um, in the grocery stores

1268
00:52:02,600 --> 00:52:03,540
that they can afford.

1269
00:52:03,640 --> 00:52:06,580
So I would place blame on those higher

1270
00:52:06,580 --> 00:52:11,340
powers, um, when I'm delivering, um, my message.

1271
00:52:11,340 --> 00:52:13,520
And I think that's one of the ways,

1272
00:52:13,580 --> 00:52:16,780
uh, we can, you know, start to see

1273
00:52:16,780 --> 00:52:18,600
change, make sure we point at the right

1274
00:52:18,600 --> 00:52:18,900
people.

1275
00:52:19,480 --> 00:52:21,260
I'm devastated that we're almost out of time.

1276
00:52:21,400 --> 00:52:23,220
So I want to get Gwena Hunter, your

1277
00:52:23,220 --> 00:52:24,060
thoughts on this.

1278
00:52:24,660 --> 00:52:26,620
Um, well, we've used this word and you

1279
00:52:26,620 --> 00:52:28,260
used the word, uh, brainwashing.

1280
00:52:28,380 --> 00:52:30,160
Um, Brenda used the word first, I heard

1281
00:52:30,160 --> 00:52:31,460
her use the word programme, which is a

1282
00:52:31,460 --> 00:52:34,100
really, um, powerful word that I like to

1283
00:52:34,100 --> 00:52:36,220
use because that is what is happening.

1284
00:52:36,580 --> 00:52:38,980
We, all of us have some programme that

1285
00:52:38,980 --> 00:52:40,400
we're running on something.

1286
00:52:40,940 --> 00:52:44,320
Nobody is 100% awakened for everything.

1287
00:52:44,380 --> 00:52:47,180
We're all running some type of programme, running

1288
00:52:47,180 --> 00:52:48,300
some type of story.

1289
00:52:49,020 --> 00:52:51,880
And just like what Jasmine said, it's like,

1290
00:52:51,980 --> 00:52:53,720
we, we need a villain, especially in this

1291
00:52:53,720 --> 00:52:54,060
movement.

1292
00:52:54,240 --> 00:52:56,380
We definitely, you know, the meat eaters are

1293
00:52:56,380 --> 00:52:57,420
ruining this.

1294
00:52:57,520 --> 00:52:59,060
They're doing that, but it's no different than

1295
00:52:59,060 --> 00:53:01,120
when you were eating meat and the programme,

1296
00:53:01,320 --> 00:53:02,800
you didn't wake up from your programme.

1297
00:53:03,060 --> 00:53:04,120
What woke you up?

1298
00:53:04,640 --> 00:53:07,380
Use that because there's all types of different

1299
00:53:07,380 --> 00:53:08,820
ways that people wake up.

1300
00:53:09,020 --> 00:53:11,320
I can talk to a spiritual community when

1301
00:53:11,320 --> 00:53:12,300
my eyes closed.

1302
00:53:12,680 --> 00:53:14,260
If you want to have me talking about

1303
00:53:14,260 --> 00:53:16,260
science or some other stuff, that's not my

1304
00:53:16,260 --> 00:53:16,560
forte.

1305
00:53:16,980 --> 00:53:18,960
Everyone wakes up in the way that they

1306
00:53:18,960 --> 00:53:21,420
are programmed or we're all programmed in certain

1307
00:53:21,420 --> 00:53:22,380
types of ways.

1308
00:53:22,940 --> 00:53:25,160
So like Jasmine said, I think it's very

1309
00:53:25,160 --> 00:53:29,040
important that we stop making enemies.

1310
00:53:29,040 --> 00:53:31,140
You need to stop that.

1311
00:53:31,220 --> 00:53:33,420
And the vegan community is huge for that.

1312
00:53:33,520 --> 00:53:36,160
We love to, you're wrong and you're this.

1313
00:53:36,320 --> 00:53:37,460
And it's like, you know what?

1314
00:53:38,220 --> 00:53:38,460
Yes.

1315
00:53:38,580 --> 00:53:41,340
Veganism is a huge awakening, but we also

1316
00:53:41,340 --> 00:53:43,140
need to clean up our own ish as

1317
00:53:43,140 --> 00:53:43,460
well.

1318
00:53:43,560 --> 00:53:45,320
The stuff that we have going on inside.

1319
00:53:45,420 --> 00:53:47,960
And if we do that, there'll be an

1320
00:53:47,960 --> 00:53:52,040
awakening on levels that are unprecedented, but I

1321
00:53:52,040 --> 00:53:53,260
won't get into all of that right now

1322
00:53:53,260 --> 00:53:54,300
because that's my jam.

1323
00:53:55,460 --> 00:54:00,920
I'm going to burn my vegan police t

1324
00:54:00,920 --> 00:54:01,220
-shirts.

1325
00:54:04,680 --> 00:54:06,880
Can I add to the conversation?

1326
00:54:07,340 --> 00:54:07,620
Yes.

1327
00:54:08,400 --> 00:54:11,400
Because climate change is an emergency and I

1328
00:54:11,400 --> 00:54:13,140
don't think that people have been treating it

1329
00:54:13,140 --> 00:54:13,700
as such.

1330
00:54:14,040 --> 00:54:16,780
I've seen people right now, you know, there

1331
00:54:16,780 --> 00:54:20,360
are tornadoes and floods and mudslides and all

1332
00:54:20,360 --> 00:54:23,040
these things with so much more frequency drought

1333
00:54:23,040 --> 00:54:25,120
and like food prices are through the roof

1334
00:54:25,120 --> 00:54:27,000
and people are like, what's going on?

1335
00:54:27,420 --> 00:54:29,680
Why do these foods cost so much?

1336
00:54:30,100 --> 00:54:33,100
As somebody who is privy to the different

1337
00:54:33,100 --> 00:54:35,540
elements of the food system, I'm like, no,

1338
00:54:35,600 --> 00:54:37,600
it makes perfect sense when you have things

1339
00:54:37,600 --> 00:54:41,940
like floods and droughts and things that directly

1340
00:54:42,860 --> 00:54:47,520
impact the food system and the distribution system,

1341
00:54:47,520 --> 00:54:51,840
because we have this huge industrial, just global

1342
00:54:51,840 --> 00:54:53,860
food system that is absolutely ridiculous.

1343
00:54:54,480 --> 00:54:57,340
All these different elements are just creating a

1344
00:54:57,340 --> 00:55:01,920
really awful tornado of awfulness that is only

1345
00:55:01,920 --> 00:55:02,600
going to get worse.

1346
00:55:02,900 --> 00:55:05,680
And, you know, the Oxford study saying blatantly

1347
00:55:05,680 --> 00:55:08,940
that, you know, changing this one thing in

1348
00:55:08,940 --> 00:55:12,200
mass will change our entire situation.

1349
00:55:12,460 --> 00:55:15,000
That is the reason why I'm constantly pushing

1350
00:55:15,000 --> 00:55:19,240
this information, this education about climate change, about

1351
00:55:19,240 --> 00:55:21,300
the ways in which a plant-based food

1352
00:55:21,300 --> 00:55:24,760
system would help to solve these problems that

1353
00:55:24,760 --> 00:55:29,000
the animal-based food system has caused.

1354
00:55:29,800 --> 00:55:31,980
And we really, it's past time.

1355
00:55:32,180 --> 00:55:33,460
Like we have to be dealing with this

1356
00:55:33,460 --> 00:55:35,040
stuff immediately, right now.

1357
00:55:35,300 --> 00:55:36,720
You know, it's not something that we can

1358
00:55:36,720 --> 00:55:38,500
just be like, oh, you know, that's in

1359
00:55:38,500 --> 00:55:38,940
the future.

1360
00:55:39,080 --> 00:55:41,260
Climate change will happen, you know, later.

1361
00:55:41,540 --> 00:55:43,100
Like we're in the midst of it right

1362
00:55:43,100 --> 00:55:43,300
now.

1363
00:55:43,360 --> 00:55:44,740
And so I do feel that sense of

1364
00:55:44,740 --> 00:55:45,580
urgency as well.

1365
00:55:46,080 --> 00:55:46,440
Yes.

1366
00:55:46,540 --> 00:55:49,200
And bringing in the political aspect, you know,

1367
00:55:49,220 --> 00:55:55,960
talking about leadership with within the African-American

1368
00:55:55,960 --> 00:55:57,560
community on the vegan issue.

1369
00:55:57,680 --> 00:56:02,060
Senator Cory Booker is a vegan and he

1370
00:56:02,060 --> 00:56:06,980
is one of the leading voices inside the

1371
00:56:06,980 --> 00:56:11,540
government, inside the legislative bodies that is speaking

1372
00:56:11,540 --> 00:56:12,420
up for veganism.

1373
00:56:12,500 --> 00:56:15,520
But it's a very, very scary thing to

1374
00:56:15,520 --> 00:56:18,160
do because they have ways of shutting you

1375
00:56:18,160 --> 00:56:18,460
down.

1376
00:56:19,900 --> 00:56:24,920
And so that's another factor is educating the

1377
00:56:24,920 --> 00:56:25,600
politicians.

1378
00:56:25,940 --> 00:56:28,520
I mean, I recently went to a gathering

1379
00:56:28,520 --> 00:56:30,140
and there was a politician there who was

1380
00:56:30,140 --> 00:56:32,060
very up to date on a lot of

1381
00:56:32,060 --> 00:56:33,640
issues, a lot of issues.

1382
00:56:33,640 --> 00:56:36,780
But when somebody raised the issue of health

1383
00:56:36,780 --> 00:56:40,540
and plant-based food, it was like, what

1384
00:56:40,540 --> 00:56:41,360
are you talking about?

1385
00:56:41,760 --> 00:56:43,600
What, what, what, what, what, huh?

1386
00:56:44,060 --> 00:56:46,320
We've got important issues here to talk about.

1387
00:56:46,420 --> 00:56:47,680
Why are you talking about that?

1388
00:56:47,760 --> 00:56:49,800
That's, that was the general vibe.

1389
00:56:50,280 --> 00:56:51,980
And so, you know, it's really hard to

1390
00:56:51,980 --> 00:56:56,420
get people to even acknowledge that this is

1391
00:56:56,420 --> 00:56:59,880
the solution, not even acknowledge that it's a

1392
00:56:59,880 --> 00:57:01,820
solution, acknowledge that this is an issue that

1393
00:57:01,820 --> 00:57:02,940
needs to be discussed.

1394
00:57:03,720 --> 00:57:04,000
Naja.

1395
00:57:04,420 --> 00:57:05,520
It's about money.

1396
00:57:05,660 --> 00:57:06,180
Come on now.

1397
00:57:06,340 --> 00:57:07,740
No, we're not naive.

1398
00:57:07,920 --> 00:57:10,520
It's a capitalist country globally.

1399
00:57:11,260 --> 00:57:13,680
It's about the money because if we're in

1400
00:57:13,680 --> 00:57:16,560
this dire state, all the government has to

1401
00:57:16,560 --> 00:57:18,120
do is put out a mandate.

1402
00:57:18,340 --> 00:57:20,340
They, we've seen it with the pandemic, right?

1403
00:57:20,660 --> 00:57:23,680
It's that simple, but it really isn't because

1404
00:57:23,680 --> 00:57:24,600
it's about the money.

1405
00:57:25,400 --> 00:57:25,880
Yes.

1406
00:57:26,200 --> 00:57:28,980
So I just want to give everybody an

1407
00:57:28,980 --> 00:57:30,760
opportunity to weigh in on this.

1408
00:57:30,820 --> 00:57:33,480
Frankly, our Voice of America show has ended.

1409
00:57:34,100 --> 00:57:36,840
But I said, we are having a really

1410
00:57:36,840 --> 00:57:39,320
fascinating conversation here and I didn't want to

1411
00:57:39,320 --> 00:57:40,960
cut it off because I feel like a

1412
00:57:40,960 --> 00:57:43,520
lot of times when we do shows like

1413
00:57:43,520 --> 00:57:46,520
this, just when things are getting to the

1414
00:57:46,520 --> 00:57:48,580
nitty gritty and we're getting to something that

1415
00:57:48,580 --> 00:57:51,740
is truly solutionary, it's like, well, time is

1416
00:57:51,740 --> 00:57:51,960
up.

1417
00:57:52,360 --> 00:57:54,660
So I just want to give everybody just

1418
00:57:54,660 --> 00:57:57,380
another couple of minutes to dive into this

1419
00:57:57,380 --> 00:58:01,700
because honestly, the future of our civilisation, our

1420
00:58:01,700 --> 00:58:05,740
lives is at risk.

1421
00:58:05,940 --> 00:58:09,940
And I personally believe that the African American

1422
00:58:09,940 --> 00:58:13,180
community in the United States, if it were

1423
00:58:13,180 --> 00:58:15,160
to become, and you could say this about

1424
00:58:15,160 --> 00:58:18,260
other demographics, let's say we're all women, let's

1425
00:58:18,260 --> 00:58:21,300
say women who make 80 some percent of

1426
00:58:21,300 --> 00:58:24,980
daily shopping decisions in society.

1427
00:58:25,400 --> 00:58:27,740
And that's pretty much true across the world.

1428
00:58:28,320 --> 00:58:31,440
If women decided, you know, as a demographic,

1429
00:58:31,640 --> 00:58:34,560
it's politically incorrect to eat meat and consume

1430
00:58:34,560 --> 00:58:35,880
dairy, that would do it.

1431
00:58:36,440 --> 00:58:39,880
So how do we go from where we

1432
00:58:39,880 --> 00:58:43,940
are here to where the ideal situation where

1433
00:58:43,940 --> 00:58:46,500
people drive by a fast food joint and

1434
00:58:46,500 --> 00:58:49,680
say, I can't go in there, I can't

1435
00:58:49,680 --> 00:58:53,160
take that ride because I'm supporting my own

1436
00:58:53,160 --> 00:58:57,660
oppression and essentially it's almost a form of

1437
00:58:57,660 --> 00:58:58,360
self-enslavement.

1438
00:59:01,590 --> 00:59:02,070
Anybody?

1439
00:59:02,070 --> 00:59:05,030
Yeah, I mean, we have to just, and

1440
00:59:05,030 --> 00:59:06,790
I'm always going to say that education is

1441
00:59:06,790 --> 00:59:09,390
key, you know, whatever event that I'm a

1442
00:59:09,390 --> 00:59:12,970
part of, whatever programming, you know, that Afro

1443
00:59:12,970 --> 00:59:16,810
Vegan Society does, whether virtual or in person,

1444
00:59:17,270 --> 00:59:18,990
for me, a big part of it has

1445
00:59:18,990 --> 00:59:22,030
to be about disseminating information and education.

1446
00:59:22,030 --> 00:59:24,710
So panel discussions and people, you know, doing

1447
00:59:24,710 --> 00:59:27,290
talks and things like that, because I feel

1448
00:59:27,290 --> 00:59:30,270
like that's the way to reach the masses.

1449
00:59:30,490 --> 00:59:31,610
We gotta go mainstream.

1450
00:59:32,090 --> 00:59:33,630
You know, we can't just be in this

1451
00:59:33,630 --> 00:59:35,610
echo chamber with other vegans, right?

1452
00:59:35,870 --> 00:59:38,390
I mean, I love vegans, vegans are great,

1453
00:59:38,530 --> 00:59:40,190
but I don't need to talk to vegans,

1454
00:59:40,570 --> 00:59:42,310
you know, I need to talk to mainstream

1455
00:59:42,310 --> 00:59:45,130
folks who don't have access to this information.

1456
00:59:45,650 --> 00:59:48,190
And so talking about the issues, educating about

1457
00:59:48,190 --> 00:59:50,750
the issues, sharing the issues with family, friends,

1458
00:59:50,870 --> 00:59:54,870
coworkers, you know, church members, whomever, it's just

1459
00:59:54,870 --> 00:59:58,250
really, really important that this information gets disseminated

1460
00:59:58,250 --> 01:00:01,810
widely and fairly quickly in order for us

1461
01:00:01,810 --> 01:00:02,650
to see a change.

1462
01:00:03,150 --> 01:00:03,650
Absolutely.

1463
01:00:04,130 --> 01:00:07,510
Okay, Jasmine, your final, final thought on this.

1464
01:00:08,510 --> 01:00:13,930
I think more alternatives need to be preached.

1465
01:00:14,850 --> 01:00:17,210
If we are talking about, I guess, the

1466
01:00:17,210 --> 01:00:21,150
mother that is taking her child to a

1467
01:00:21,150 --> 01:00:22,870
fast food restaurant, like the first thing that

1468
01:00:22,870 --> 01:00:24,990
comes to my mind is because I wasn't

1469
01:00:24,990 --> 01:00:26,770
really eating that much fast food before I

1470
01:00:26,770 --> 01:00:27,210
went vegan.

1471
01:00:27,690 --> 01:00:28,930
So the first thing that comes to my

1472
01:00:28,930 --> 01:00:29,910
mind when I was young, I went to

1473
01:00:29,910 --> 01:00:31,890
McDonald's, that was a time when I glorified

1474
01:00:31,890 --> 01:00:34,030
my mom, she could do something very amazing

1475
01:00:34,030 --> 01:00:36,070
for me because I liked, even though the

1476
01:00:36,070 --> 01:00:37,830
food was crap, I loved it.

1477
01:00:38,270 --> 01:00:39,810
And so she could feel great as a

1478
01:00:39,810 --> 01:00:40,050
mother.

1479
01:00:40,790 --> 01:00:42,990
So, you know, just even being conscious of

1480
01:00:42,990 --> 01:00:46,250
like, okay, how, what kind of alternatives are

1481
01:00:46,250 --> 01:00:47,610
we offering to that?

1482
01:00:47,890 --> 01:00:49,790
What kind of alternatives are we offering to

1483
01:00:49,790 --> 01:00:51,990
someone who is working two jobs, who has

1484
01:00:51,990 --> 01:00:54,610
four children, who doesn't have the time to

1485
01:00:54,610 --> 01:00:57,110
make this great plant-based meal with all

1486
01:00:57,110 --> 01:00:57,790
the nutrients?

1487
01:00:57,790 --> 01:01:01,090
Because yes, rice, beans, you know, a lot

1488
01:01:01,090 --> 01:01:03,730
of these are very cheap and affordable, but

1489
01:01:03,730 --> 01:01:06,670
they don't, you know, for a child, if

1490
01:01:06,670 --> 01:01:08,070
you come, if you're in a home and

1491
01:01:08,070 --> 01:01:09,830
you don't have a lot of money to

1492
01:01:09,830 --> 01:01:13,870
be kind of constrained to that kind of

1493
01:01:13,870 --> 01:01:17,410
simple diet might bring sadness in the house.

1494
01:01:17,570 --> 01:01:20,450
So really making sure that when we talk

1495
01:01:20,450 --> 01:01:23,270
about the mother who is taking her kid

1496
01:01:23,270 --> 01:01:26,350
to McDonald's, we also say, but here are

1497
01:01:26,350 --> 01:01:28,250
all these other things that you can do,

1498
01:01:28,250 --> 01:01:31,170
not only to just replace the food, but

1499
01:01:31,170 --> 01:01:32,750
to give the child more nutrients.

1500
01:01:33,310 --> 01:01:35,210
And so that mom can have the sentimental

1501
01:01:35,210 --> 01:01:39,830
moment of giving her child a decent meal

1502
01:01:39,830 --> 01:01:41,990
that they actually really enjoy.

1503
01:01:42,550 --> 01:01:43,670
I hear you.

1504
01:01:43,790 --> 01:01:46,430
And I also want to talk, we can't

1505
01:01:46,430 --> 01:01:49,150
wrap up this conversation without talking about food

1506
01:01:49,150 --> 01:01:52,010
deserts, because that's still a very real thing,

1507
01:01:52,210 --> 01:01:54,490
Gwenna Hunter, and you deal with that with

1508
01:01:54,490 --> 01:01:56,230
your LA Vegan Food Bank.

1509
01:01:57,230 --> 01:02:02,610
Yeah, and just technically, the technical term regarding

1510
01:02:02,610 --> 01:02:05,930
a food desert, I'm technically not in a

1511
01:02:05,930 --> 01:02:10,430
food desert, because there is a supermarket that

1512
01:02:10,430 --> 01:02:12,030
is about a mile and a half away,

1513
01:02:12,230 --> 01:02:16,170
but we do operate in a lower income

1514
01:02:16,170 --> 01:02:18,310
community where there is higher crime.

1515
01:02:19,390 --> 01:02:21,490
So to me, it's not just about just

1516
01:02:21,490 --> 01:02:23,670
the food desert, that is one aspect of

1517
01:02:23,670 --> 01:02:23,830
it.

1518
01:02:24,130 --> 01:02:27,650
But it's also just about taking care of

1519
01:02:27,650 --> 01:02:30,890
our community, being the government, not waiting for

1520
01:02:30,890 --> 01:02:33,150
them to step in and to do things.

1521
01:02:33,450 --> 01:02:34,550
We don't need their permission.

1522
01:02:34,730 --> 01:02:36,330
We can do these things on our own.

1523
01:02:36,830 --> 01:02:38,010
One of the things that I did want

1524
01:02:38,010 --> 01:02:42,030
to mention that I like to do a

1525
01:02:42,030 --> 01:02:45,590
lot to, you know, around the people that

1526
01:02:45,590 --> 01:02:51,310
I'm with is normalise, change my language regarding

1527
01:02:51,310 --> 01:02:52,110
animals.

1528
01:02:53,150 --> 01:02:56,530
So, you know, referring, you know, like I

1529
01:02:56,530 --> 01:02:59,730
recently lost my cat, and I really went

1530
01:02:59,730 --> 01:03:02,610
through the depths of grief with that.

1531
01:03:03,170 --> 01:03:05,490
And for a while, I was nervous to

1532
01:03:05,490 --> 01:03:06,870
like, let people know that I was still

1533
01:03:06,870 --> 01:03:09,290
grieving, because people think and I've had people

1534
01:03:09,290 --> 01:03:11,610
like, oh, this cat, like, just get another

1535
01:03:11,610 --> 01:03:12,510
one, get over it.

1536
01:03:12,510 --> 01:03:13,930
And it's like, no, that was a soul.

1537
01:03:13,930 --> 01:03:15,750
That was my child.

1538
01:03:16,330 --> 01:03:20,530
So normalising the language around your love and

1539
01:03:20,530 --> 01:03:22,990
your compassion and the way you view animals

1540
01:03:22,990 --> 01:03:27,170
and calling them mothers and fathers and sisters

1541
01:03:27,170 --> 01:03:30,030
and brothers, because, you know, you got to

1542
01:03:30,030 --> 01:03:30,770
get in the heart.

1543
01:03:31,850 --> 01:03:33,170
That's how you stay.

1544
01:03:33,430 --> 01:03:35,550
It's to me, it's all about the moral

1545
01:03:35,550 --> 01:03:36,290
compassion.

1546
01:03:37,290 --> 01:03:40,150
So yeah, I just wanted to add that

1547
01:03:40,150 --> 01:03:43,150
is, you know, normalising our feelings and our

1548
01:03:43,150 --> 01:03:44,490
language regarding animals.

1549
01:03:45,650 --> 01:03:46,130
Absolutely.

1550
01:03:46,710 --> 01:03:48,710
That's such a powerful thought.

1551
01:03:49,350 --> 01:03:53,570
So, Jasmine, your final, final thought, and then

1552
01:03:53,570 --> 01:03:54,950
we'll go to Brenda, and then we'll wrap

1553
01:03:54,950 --> 01:03:56,490
it up, because this has been a really,

1554
01:03:56,630 --> 01:03:57,790
really powerful conversation.

1555
01:03:58,990 --> 01:04:02,570
My final thought, one, Jane, I love the

1556
01:04:02,570 --> 01:04:05,310
panel of women that you've chosen to have

1557
01:04:05,310 --> 01:04:05,990
on the show today.

1558
01:04:06,390 --> 01:04:07,610
And one of the reasons why I like

1559
01:04:07,610 --> 01:04:09,210
it is because, you know, during Black History

1560
01:04:09,210 --> 01:04:11,630
Month, there are a lot of, and I

1561
01:04:11,630 --> 01:04:13,990
want to say this without taking anything away

1562
01:04:13,990 --> 01:04:16,790
from anyone, there are a lot of, you

1563
01:04:16,790 --> 01:04:20,810
know, more trendy vegans who, you know, they

1564
01:04:20,810 --> 01:04:23,950
do something great, and then it blows up.

1565
01:04:23,970 --> 01:04:25,430
And then all of a sudden, they become

1566
01:04:25,430 --> 01:04:28,070
the faces of the plant-based movement, but

1567
01:04:28,070 --> 01:04:30,590
they haven't necessarily, you know, done the work.

1568
01:04:30,690 --> 01:04:32,870
And even me, I would say, I would

1569
01:04:32,870 --> 01:04:34,950
put myself in that category a few years

1570
01:04:34,950 --> 01:04:37,430
ago, where I felt like, yes, I did

1571
01:04:37,430 --> 01:04:39,570
this film and I went vegan, but I

1572
01:04:39,570 --> 01:04:41,950
haven't put in some of the work that

1573
01:04:41,950 --> 01:04:43,510
some of these other people have put in

1574
01:04:43,510 --> 01:04:44,010
the movement.

1575
01:04:44,150 --> 01:04:45,410
And I want to acknowledge that.

1576
01:04:45,650 --> 01:04:46,850
And I want to say that the women

1577
01:04:46,850 --> 01:04:49,370
that you have on this panel today, like,

1578
01:04:49,390 --> 01:04:52,770
they might not be super trendy and, you

1579
01:04:52,770 --> 01:04:55,730
know, like, world-renowned, but you pick women

1580
01:04:55,730 --> 01:04:57,510
who are doing the work.

1581
01:04:57,610 --> 01:04:59,370
So, thank you for recognising that.

1582
01:04:59,390 --> 01:05:01,690
Well, I actually thought that you all are

1583
01:05:01,690 --> 01:05:02,990
trendy and world-renowned.

1584
01:05:03,170 --> 01:05:05,770
In my opinion, that's how I feel about

1585
01:05:05,770 --> 01:05:06,070
you.

1586
01:05:06,070 --> 01:05:07,570
But you get what I'm saying.

1587
01:05:08,850 --> 01:05:10,810
Everybody has their 15 minutes.

1588
01:05:11,790 --> 01:05:14,250
And sometimes it's 45 minutes and sometimes it's

1589
01:05:14,250 --> 01:05:14,750
10 minutes.

1590
01:05:15,070 --> 01:05:18,290
But I think that, you know, to your

1591
01:05:18,290 --> 01:05:20,190
point, Gwena, where you said we have to

1592
01:05:20,190 --> 01:05:21,630
clean up our own act, I think it's

1593
01:05:21,630 --> 01:05:23,610
really important that we start getting rid of

1594
01:05:23,610 --> 01:05:26,950
our own egos, or at least putting a

1595
01:05:26,950 --> 01:05:29,230
little kybosh on the ego of who did

1596
01:05:29,230 --> 01:05:31,890
this, who's responsible for that, who made this,

1597
01:05:31,890 --> 01:05:36,950
who's leading this, because, again, you know, there's

1598
01:05:36,950 --> 01:05:39,090
nothing to bring people together like a climate

1599
01:05:39,090 --> 01:05:39,610
crisis.

1600
01:05:40,230 --> 01:05:43,330
And when I say climate crisis, I'm not

1601
01:05:43,330 --> 01:05:44,350
just limiting to that.

1602
01:05:44,750 --> 01:05:45,470
Let's face it.

1603
01:05:45,850 --> 01:05:49,930
As far as I can see, going plant

1604
01:05:49,930 --> 01:05:52,530
-based as a global culture would solve human

1605
01:05:52,530 --> 01:05:54,770
world hunger, since a huge percentage of the

1606
01:05:54,770 --> 01:05:56,570
food, if not most of the food being

1607
01:05:56,570 --> 01:05:59,070
produced, is being fed to farmed animals.

1608
01:05:59,290 --> 01:06:03,210
It would stop climate-related or help mitigate

1609
01:06:03,210 --> 01:06:06,630
mass climate-related migration, which is an aspect,

1610
01:06:06,810 --> 01:06:09,570
for example, of the immigration crisis that nobody

1611
01:06:09,570 --> 01:06:11,730
discusses, that a lot of temperate land where

1612
01:06:11,730 --> 01:06:14,310
people work the land for centuries and aeons

1613
01:06:14,310 --> 01:06:16,570
is no longer temperate, and they can't stay

1614
01:06:16,570 --> 01:06:18,770
there and grow their own food, so they

1615
01:06:18,770 --> 01:06:23,230
move, because climate change has destroyed the temperate

1616
01:06:23,230 --> 01:06:25,730
nature of the land that they've been raised

1617
01:06:25,730 --> 01:06:26,010
on.

1618
01:06:26,480 --> 01:06:31,190
It would certainly solve the warming of the

1619
01:06:31,190 --> 01:06:36,350
planet and the ocean dead zones and wildlife

1620
01:06:36,350 --> 01:06:38,470
extinction, habitat destruction.

1621
01:06:38,910 --> 01:06:41,990
I mean, the list is very long, preventable

1622
01:06:41,990 --> 01:06:43,250
human lifestyle diseases.

1623
01:06:43,730 --> 01:06:46,710
So I think that we are looking at

1624
01:06:46,710 --> 01:06:50,790
such a huge solution to so many problems

1625
01:06:50,790 --> 01:06:55,950
that it's understandable that there's some frustration that

1626
01:06:55,950 --> 01:06:59,690
it's not evident to everybody that this is

1627
01:06:59,690 --> 01:07:03,410
a super, super important issue at the very

1628
01:07:03,410 --> 01:07:03,810
least.

1629
01:07:04,070 --> 01:07:05,950
So I just want to thank all of

1630
01:07:05,950 --> 01:07:08,870
you for your work, your incredible work.

1631
01:07:08,970 --> 01:07:10,070
You've inspired me.

1632
01:07:10,470 --> 01:07:12,330
I feel we are on the brink.

1633
01:07:12,790 --> 01:07:15,790
Hopefully we'll come back next year for Black

1634
01:07:15,790 --> 01:07:19,950
History Month and announce that we've had even

1635
01:07:19,950 --> 01:07:20,790
more progress.

1636
01:07:21,490 --> 01:07:24,130
And I just want to say to everyone,

1637
01:07:24,470 --> 01:07:25,630
thank you so much for being a part

1638
01:07:25,630 --> 01:07:27,010
of this really important conversation.

1639
01:07:27,610 --> 01:07:28,810
Thank you for having us.

1640
01:07:28,810 --> 01:07:29,190
Thank you.

1641
01:07:29,490 --> 01:07:30,970
Thank you so much.

1642
01:07:31,270 --> 01:07:31,790
It's been great.

1643
01:07:32,330 --> 01:07:34,750
And I always take the opportunity to tell

1644
01:07:34,750 --> 01:07:39,650
people to please, please download Unchained TV.

1645
01:07:39,890 --> 01:07:43,210
We are the world's only free nonprofit vegan

1646
01:07:43,210 --> 01:07:45,810
streaming network, and you can download it on

1647
01:07:45,810 --> 01:07:48,690
any phone, and you can download it on

1648
01:07:48,690 --> 01:07:49,550
any TV.

1649
01:07:49,930 --> 01:07:52,450
It's on all Samsung TVs or any TV

1650
01:07:52,450 --> 01:07:55,170
via Amazon Firestick, Roku device or Apple TV

1651
01:07:55,170 --> 01:07:55,530
device.

1652
01:07:55,810 --> 01:07:58,090
It's also available on your phone.

1653
01:07:58,350 --> 01:08:00,010
You can download it for free.

1654
01:08:00,470 --> 01:08:01,450
Unchained TV.

1655
01:08:01,850 --> 01:08:05,450
This video is streaming now and will continue

1656
01:08:05,450 --> 01:08:07,270
to stream as well as almost 2,000

1657
01:08:07,270 --> 01:08:10,370
other documentaries, including The Invisible Vegan.

1658
01:08:10,710 --> 01:08:11,830
Thank you so much, ladies.

1659
01:08:12,450 --> 01:08:13,590
Have a great one.

1660
01:08:13,590 --> 01:08:15,630
Happy Black History Month.

1661
01:08:16,149 --> 01:08:16,430
Thank you.