Kevin Schneider: The Battle for Legal Personhood for Elephants and Chimpanzees

"Bearing witness is difficult. It does hit your emotions... I think you've got to remember, these images that you take are not yours to keep… it's your duty to put them out there or let organizations get them out there. I think that's how you cope - it's thinking, okay these aren't going to stay in my head. These are actually going to go out into the world and are going to create change." - Gemunu de Silva Today's episode is a special one. It's with Gemunu de Silva. Gem is a filmmaker and an activist who has been investigating and documenting animal rights abuses since the eighties, before there was even such a thing as a camcorder, instead he covertly filmed inside of factory farms with a video camera and a VHS recorder attached to his back. He was the first person in the UK to film in and expose the atrocities that happen every day on industrial farms. He directed and produced programs for UK national television, including the documentary, Meathead. Watch it – it's absolutely spectacular. He left the film and television world to set up and run the Investigations Unit at Compassion in World Farming. Gem also lead the unit's pioneering work on long distance animal transport. In the early 2000's, Gem went to work as the Director of Research and Investigations at Cruelty Free International, where he specialized in exposing the vile international trade of primates for research. In 2006, Gem co-founded Tracks Investigations. They have just completed their 250th investigative film project. That is an enormous number of investigations. 35 animal rights and protection organizations have benefited from their work in 57 countries. The work that Gem has done for the past three and a half decades has changed laws, minds and the world for millions of animals. For most of that time, he has laid low and stayed under the radar and has not done any media in decades. It was an absolute honor to have Gem on the show to tell his story.

3 Sep 202054min

What's allowed the Beyonds and Impossibles and JUSTs of the world to do what they're doing was not subsidies, it was investment that they put into science and technology that allowed them to create things that weren't creatable before, because they just hadn't been tried before. - Michael Pellman Rowland Michael Pellman Rowland is back. He was on the podcast in the early days of the pandemic to talk about the happenings in the alternative protein space and to explain the Beyond Meat IPO – the most successful IPO since 2001. Since then, I have heard from a lot of you, asking who is next? So, I asked Michael to come back and talk about the next five plant-based companies that will most likely go public in the near and not as near future. He graciously gave me an in depth look at the companies that are on the verge of exploding as well as a couple that you might not have ever heard of. Michael knows and loves this space. He has been writing about it for years, primarily for Forbes. His articles are about the future of food, sustainable food startups and technologies, and all of the happenings in the plant-based food.

27 Aug 202036min

"We kept going through this logical exercise of how do we help more and more animals. And every single time the logical end point was - it's not dogs and cats, it's animals in the food system. It's not a matter of tens of millions of animals. It's a matter of tens of billions of animals and hundreds of billions of fish." - Nate Salpeter What do you get when two tech geniuses start an animal sanctuary? The first non-profit sanctuary in the world to address the global impacts of factory farming across animals, the plants and the planet. Nate Salpeter and Anna Sweet are the founders of Sweet Farm, an animal sanctuary in Half Moon Bay, California, that links veganic agriculture, farm-animal rescue, and technology that is revolutionizing food and agriculture production. The technology initiatives that are happening at Sweet Farm are going to change the way that we eat forever. It's the future of food. Everything that is going on at Sweet Farm is pretty astounding, but not terribly surprising when you learn that by day, Nate is a nuclear engineer and Anna is a computer scientist and the CEO of Bad Robot, JJ Abrams gaming company. Sweet Farm is also the home of Goat-2-Meeting, which Nate and Anna started when the sanctuary had to close to visitors because of the pandemic. Instead of going in person, people can invite the farm animals into their video conferences. Llamas, goats, cows, and others are still making appearances at meetings all over the planet.

13 Aug 202037min

The only way to help animals is to help people. Its humans that need to change, not animals. And I think it's the same way when we're talking about other issues in our society. It's about healing those who are causing violence, and it oftentimes can be easy to judge and persecute and sort of push aside people that are causing harm. It's more challenging to love them and to lead by example and to believe that everyone is doing the best that they can with what they have and what they know in that moment. - Milo Runkle . Some humans come out of the womb with a mission imprinted into their very being. Not often, but it happens. Milo Runkle is one of those humans. He was born in rural Ohio, delivered by his veterinarian father, and from the very earliest of his days, he knew he would change the word for animals. He was one of those kids who had a deep empathy for any creature that he encountered, an empathy that I think most of us have as children, but sadly are talked out of by well meaning (and very well conditioned) adults. Instead of being talked out of anything, Milo held on tightly, and rather than experiencing the slow, albeit unconscious, leak of animal-connected compassion that too many humans experience, his only grew. He became vegetarian at 11, and vegan at 15, which was the same year that he founded Mercy for Animals; which would later become the world's largest farm animal and vegan advocacy organization, an international powerhouse that has indeed changed the world for millions of cows, pigs, chickens, turkeys, and fish. It all started because of an animal abuse case at his local high school. He saw abuse and injustice and did something. Milo ran Mercy for Animals for nearly two decades, and is still involved - he is the Board Chair, but since he left his role as President, he's started a new chapter, one that involves deep exploration – of the planet, of himself, and of what it means to live a life of service – one that is deep rooted in joy, love, and compassion. He is also the cofounder of the Good Food Institute, an organization that works to build a sustainable food system by supporting the development and adoption of plant and cell based proteins. And, he is the author of Mercy for Animals. One Man's Quest to Inspire Compassion and Improve the Lives of Farm Animals. Milo and I spoke a few weeks ago about what it was like to sustain decades of activism on the frontlines and what his life has looked like since - the expansion, exploration, and his ever widening circle of compassion. Milo's love for the world and ALL who inhabit it radiates through his entire being, so much so that it's contagious.

6 Aug 202041min

Beings who've succeeded on earth for millions of years, don't seek, and should not require, our approval. They belong as well as we do. We do ourselves no favors by asking whether their existence is worth our while. We are hardly in a position to judge, hurdling and lurching along as we are with no goal, no plan except: bigger, faster, more. If we had the courage to be honest about it, we would have to admit that whales and birds and apes and all the rest live fully up to everything of which they are capable. And we, regrettably, fall short of doing that. For them, to be is enough. For us in the isolating alienation of our title retreat from Life, nothing is enough. It is strange how dissatisfied we insist on being, when there is so much of the world to know and love. Carl Safina, Becoming Wild Carl Safina grew up raising pigeons on a rooftop in Brooklyn and hasn't stopped interacting with the wild since. He is an ecologist and author who writes extensively about our human relationship with the natural world and what we can do to make it better. First step: we need to care. Carl's books make us care. He advocates for every living creature out there, and is always graciously pointing out why animals matter, not only why they matter to us, but why they matter to themselves - something I'm pretty certain that most humans don't think about often enough. In his most recent book Becoming Wild, How Animal Cultures Raise Families, Create Beauty and Achieve Peace, Carl travels around the planet, exploring the cultures of chimpanzees in Uganda, sperm whales in the Caribbean, and Scarlet macaws in Peru. He shows us how other species teach and learn, and what life looks like in their animal societies, which is often as astonishing as it is spectacularly beautiful. His writing has won several awards, including a MacArthur Genius Prize, Pew and Guggenheim fellowships, and the John Burrows, James Beard, and George Rabb metals. He is the first Endowed Professor for Nature and Humanity at Stony Brook University and the founding president of the not for profit, Safina Center. He also hosted the PBS series, Saving the Ocean.

30 Juli 202058min

The COVID-19 pandemic's ripple effects are broad; leaving virtually no industry, economy, or continent immune. As travel and tourism has been brought to a standstill, many wilderness areas are left vacant and workers left with the uncertainty of personal income. This "perfect storm" of conditions is leaving many endangered animals highly vulnerable to wildlife crime. – Beverly and Derek Joubert, Project Ranger In the last 50 years, Africa has lost 90 to 95 percent of its large predators. We could very well witness the end of many iconic species in the next decade or two. It's that urgent and we are in that much trouble. If we want to live in a world with lions and leopards and elephants and rhinos, then we've got to get behind those who are out there on the front lines. Beverly and Derek Joubert have spent their lives on the front lines. They are award-winning filmmakers, National Geographic Explorers-in-Residence, and wildlife conservationists who have made over 30 films while researching, exploring, and doing vital conservation work throughout Africa for nearly four decades. They've been on Species Unite before, and if you haven't heard their episode, go back and listen. Their lives sound like something from an epic film - romance, wild adventures, extreme danger, all fueled by a deep love for the wilderness and one another, and the stories that they tell are absolutely astonishing. But, today's episode is different. There is an urgent situation happening across Africa. Since the pandemic started and tourism shut down, there's been a funding crisis for wildlife rangers across the continent, and without the rangers, there will be no one there to protect the wilderness and the animals who live there. It's already bad and on the verge of getting much, much worse. To prevent a full on poaching pandemic, Beverly and Derek have started an emergency intervention called, Project Ranger, an emergency fund supporting those on the front lines of conservation. The situation is dire and it's something that we all can behind in one way or another, before it's too late. So, please listen and share this episode, share the powerful PSAs that the Jouberts have created, and if you are able, donate to Project Ranger.

23 Juli 202036min

"…I checked into rehab and within 72 hours I was diagnosed with type two diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, erectile dysfunction, bipolar disorder, suicidal depression, anxiety disorder, obsessive compulsive personality disorders, sleep disorder and ADHD." – Adam Sud There was a point when Adam Sud's life was completely out of control with food and drug addiction; so much so that he found himself cycling between amphetamine benders and fast food binges until things got so bad that he attempted suicide by drug overdose. Fortunately, he failed and immediately reached out for help. He got sober and transformed everything single thing about his life. He credits a huge amount of his recovery to a plant based diet and the connection he feels with all living things through veganism. Since then, Adam has dedicated his life to helping others transform their lives. He is a diabetes and food addiction coach for Mastering Diabetes, a program that focuses on reversing insulin resistance to master diabetes using low fat, whole food, plant-based nutrition. He is also an international speaker for the plant-based movement and addiction recovery movement. He has worked in recovery centers using plant-based nutrition as a tool for strengthening recovery and relapse prevention. And, he is also the founder of the non-profit, Plant-Based for Positive Change, a program that is dedicated to advancing the research of diet and mental health and addiction and is running the very first research study to investigate the effects of a plant based diet intervention on early addiction recovery outcomes. Adam firmly believes that the simplest change on your fork make the most profound change of your life and that self-love is the root of all recovery. His story is as extraordinary as it is inspiring. I hope that you learn as much as I did. Links – Plant Based for Positive Change https://www.plantbasedforpositivechange.org/ The Infinite Study https://www.plantbasedforpositivechange.org/programs-1 Adam's Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/plantbasedaddict/?hl=en Adam's Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/plantbasedaddict/ Plant strong - https://plantstrong.com/adam-sud

9 Juli 202038min

"What's sad about it is… a lot of people think it's the norm… that's what I thought. Diabetes was something my grandmother had and my mom was pre-diabetic so I thought, oh diabetes and clogged arteries and high cholesterol, they're just my destiny - that's a normal part of life because that's what I saw happening to everyone around me." -Jasmine Leyva Heart disease, diabetes, and obesity have been rising at alarming rates all across the country, but the numbers are disproportionately higher in African American communities. There are many reasons that factor into why that is, but the fact that we have an unjust food system is a big one. Food desserts, regions in urban areas where it is difficult to obtain affordable and fresh foods, make it impossible for the people living in those areas to eat healthy and prevent diseases like those mentioned above. Jasmine Leyva is an actress, a filmmaker, and the creator and director of The Invisible Vegan, a full-length independent documentary that delves into the complex issues surrounding the unhealthy dietary patterns in the African American community. The film shows how increased dependence on meat and fast food is rooted in the history of slavery, 20th century socioeconomic inequalities, and the rise of big food. And it explores on the health and wellness possibilities that can be achieved through a plant based diet. The film is packed with information, history, stories of transformation, and interviews with African American vegans ranging from NBA legend, John Salley to Cedric the Entertainer to Stic of Dead Prez. If you haven't already seen it, watch it. Jasmine is a force of a human being – she's inspiring, wise, and incredibly thoughtful. I learned a ton from her film and from our conversation. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. Jasmine's website https://jasmineleyva.com/ Jasmine's instagram https://www.instagram.com/jasmine_c_leyva/?hl=es Jasmine's Twitter https://twitter.com/jasmine_c_leyva The Invisible Vegan https://www.theinvisiblevegan.com/ The Invisible Vegan on Amazon https://www.amazon.com/Invisible-Vegan-Cedric-Entertainer/dp/B07WF9L1JM

2 Juli 202032min