Rev Philly - Stephanie and Tiffany

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Foreign.

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Welcome back to In Behalf of Animals. I'm Nicole Arcello,

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and happy New Year, my friends. It has

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been a year, and it's also been a great year

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for animals. Racetracks have closed fashion magazines,

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fashion brands are dropping fur restaurants are dropping

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foie gras, and animal protection legislation is passing state legislatures

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across the country. A lot has happened. There have been

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ups, there have been downs, but it's kind of just like every

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year, isn't it? But we have to keep fighting for the animals through everything

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else that's going on. Now, I know today is January 2nd,

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and you maybe already have had your

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New Year's plans, or dare I say resolutions, ready to go.

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You've started, right? You got up early, you exercised,

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you made a green smoothie. But now I'm asking you to pause and take a

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breath. One thing I learned over the years is not to over

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promise. Don't over promise to others, but also

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don't over promise to yourself.

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It leads to burnout or sometimes

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worse, shame if we can't follow through.

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And that's not good for anybody. My promise

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to you from the beginning was to inspire you to be advocates for animals.

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And I think I've kept that promise from the comments, messages of support,

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and the growing number of downloads for each episode. It's really

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because of you and our guests that I keep going. Being an animal activist

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is my passion. I love my job, but I can't do it on

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my own. You see, the animals drive me,

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but it's the good, caring people that fuel me to keep going.

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You all give me hope for what hope

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do the animals have without us, without you?

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So today, I want you to look inside and find your activism superpower.

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Just like I ask my guests, you all have it. Look for

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what you can do this year, this month, this week,

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to find your voice, your energy, your talents,

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to figure out how you want to show up in the world.

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It's not about a hastily written, over promised set of impossible

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to follow resolutions. Whew. It's a journey,

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a process with a heartbeat of its own.

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So in today's episode, we'll be sitting down and hanging out with a

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couple of our animal activist friends. The kind of friends who remind us that

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change doesn't start with perfection or huge resources,

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but with people who care enough to begin.

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Today, I'm talking with Stephanie Kirsten and Tiffany Stair from Revolution

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Philadelphia. This honest and encouraging chat will inspire

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you to reflect on your activism and what you might want it to

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look like for 2026. So,

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my friends don't start the year off with overwhelm.

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Start it off with intention,

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compassion, and your love for animals. Each guest

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shows us how activism is different for each one of us.

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And we are reminded time and again that all activism,

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big or small, is effective. Change is

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happening for the animals, but it can't happen on its own.

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And if you're new here, welcome to the community. And after you listen,

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binge that backlog and be inspired.

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So, friends, grab your vegan latte, a cup

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of tea, or your headphones and walking shoes and start off

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the year hanging out with some of your people. Here's my conversation with Stephanie

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and Tiffany. Hi, Tiffany. Hi, Stephanie. Welcome to In Behalf of Animals.

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Thank you for having us. Thanks for having us.

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It is so great for to have you both here today, and this is

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the first time I've had two guests, so it's very exciting to have you both

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here at the same time. So we have so many things to talk about today,

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but I'd love to start with your vegan stories.

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So who wants to go first? You've been vegan. I think you've been vegan

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longer than me. Okay, okay, okay, okay. I've tried to make it, like,

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as short and condensed as I can because I feel like it's been sort of

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a lifelong journey. That's okay. Talk about. Talk about all of it. Okay.

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This is my favorite topic. So. Yeah, good. I was born loving

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animals, especially horses. I've always been passionate about horses,

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so growing up, I just loved animals. But in our house,

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we ate meat. Growing up, I wasn't always a huge fan, but it was what's

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for dinner? So. And then going to college, my first semester

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of college, I had a speech class and we could pick any topic, so I

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chose factory farming, because, of course. Yeah. So I did a lot of research into

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factory farming. I was 17 at the time. And just seeing

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what really goes on in the slaughterhouses and what really happens to those animals,

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I right away went vegan. That lasted just a couple weeks because

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at Penn State, where I went, there really wasn't any options other

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than the raw salad bar, which I lived on for a few weeks. That,

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and probably bagels. Unfortunately, it didn't stick. So through college,

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I was a vegetarian. After college, I went back to eating chicken,

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and I rationalized it somehow in my mind. But then years

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after college, I started getting involved with animal activism. I worked with Humane League and

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did a lot of outreach and went to concerts and handed out pamphlets.

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And then through that, I just really made the connection that all

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animals, you know, deserve love, respect, compassion. And that's what

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I. When I went vegan, my husband and I actually went vegan at the same

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time. So it's been probably a little bit over 10 years now. Oh,

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awesome. Oh, that's great. I like that story because I think a lot of people

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have that. There's people that go vegan overnight, and then there's, like, that back and

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forth. And I was vegetarian for a while then, you know,

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vegan weeks, vegan days, you know, whatever. And then someone would

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give me something that wasn't vegan, had dairy in it, and I'd be like,

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all right, well, it's still vegetarian, you know, so. Yeah,

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that's why we like to journey different stories. It is a journey.

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Tiffany, tell us your vegan story. So mine's like the opposite,

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because I pretty much went vegan overnight. Oh, I love it.

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I love the difference in stories. Yeah.

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So I was, like, a lifelong animal lover,

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just like most people are, but I never made the connection. I never thought

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about it. I never wanted to think about it. And I remember looking

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back when I was in my early 20s, my sister and I were on vacation

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with our family, and our cousin said to us, I don't know how we started

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talking about, like, meat. And I think she had just gone vegetarian. And she's

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like, I saw Food Inc. And it changed my life. And my sister and I

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were like, we don't want to know. We can watch it. We don't want to

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know. We don't want to, you know, ruin our lives. Yeah. So, you know,

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we remained ignorant and never watched it. And I wish I did, but I

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guess eight years ago, I was work. I'm a nurse. I work in the er,

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And I was on Instagram and just

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scrolling and, you know, back then, there wasn't really an algorithm,

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but something was showing me, like, vegan videos and

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slaughterhouse footage. It was like, on your. For you.

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Which page? Which is, you know, there now. And I

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saw a bunch of videos, and I was horrified. And I

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came across the, like, trailer for Earthlings. It was a bunch of clips,

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because back then on Instagram, you couldn't put, like, a full video on Instagram.

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It had to be like, a 15. It was 15 seconds long. That was like,

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the max. Oh, right. All these, like. I forgot about that. Clips.

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Yeah. Of Earthlings. And I was just a mess. I was

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a mess. So I remember I wrote a

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post, and I was like, I'm gonna try to go vegan. And I

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just did it. I Didn't really try, I just did it.

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And my husband was, you know, a full on animal

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eater at the time too. Yeah. And he was like, I'll support you

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that, you know, but I'm not changing. And then I would come home

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and like, or I would watch something and I'd be like, oh, my gosh,

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guess what? This is what happens to baby male chicks in the egg industry.

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This is what happens to male. Guess what it's doing in the environment. Guess what

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it's doing to our heart and our health and all. And he was like,

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you know, he went vegan shortly after I did. It was maybe six months.

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Yeah. And yeah, I've been vegan since. I never looked

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back. And then I started to see, like, activism on Instagram.

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And I only knew one vegan and she was a nurse practitioner that I

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worked with in the er. And I knew that,

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like, people did activism for animals.

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So I kind of assumed if you were vegan, that's what you had to do,

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like to be vegan. Right. Well, that's what we're driven to

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do, right? Like, yeah, find out. We learn all of this. We're like,

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like, you were telling your husband, like, could you. Can you believe this? Could you

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believe that that's what we're telling everyone that will sit still for five seconds.

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Right? And yeah. And everyone at work thinks I'm like, nuts at this point.

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But anyway, going to work. And I, like, talk to Abby, the only vegan I

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know. I'm like, so what do you do for activism? Like animals? Do you go

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to protests and stuff? She's like, no. And I. That's when I realized

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not all vegans were activists. And I was like, oh, my God, I have to

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do something. So, yeah, my vegan story. And I

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love it. I. Whoever we meet, any new vegan that we

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meet, Pat, and I always ask, like, how did you go

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vegan? What's your vegan story? Because it's so interesting to us, but I think

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it's so educational to people. Like, you know, you both started out by saying you're

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a lifelong animal lovers, Right. I think most of us describe ourselves as

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animal lovers. And I think that's. And that's one of the reasons why I started

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the podcast. Almost all of us say we're animal lovers, Right. But we don't take

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that to the logical conclusion all the time or we don't want to know.

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And like, Tiffany, you were saying, I don't want to know. And I see so

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many people say that, like, don't show me. I don't want to know. And did

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you say the people that watch Food Inc. Went vegan from Food Inc.

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No, I. Think she was veggie. She was my cousin. I think she went vegetarian

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at the time, and that's what brought the conversation up, because she wasn't engaging in

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the crabs that we were eating. Right. And.

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Interesting. Yeah, I think we asked her why, and then she was like, oh,

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my God, I saw this documentary. And, yeah. And my sister and I were like,

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don't tell us, you know, for eating crabs. I don't remember Food Inc.

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Being that. That much animal rightsy, but maybe. I don't know. I saw it a

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long time ago, but I was like, it's. It's interesting when you see, like,

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what documentaries. People force people to go vegan and then

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you hear somebody. You know. I had Ellen Erickson on the podcast the other

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day, and she was showing Dominion to People, and there was a woman that watched

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that and wasn't vegan after that. And I'm like, wow, that's like compartmentalism

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to the extreme, where you can watch that and be

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like, oh, but I'm still going to eat animals. Like, that's. That's. That's really

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crazy. But, yeah, well, that's something I have a really hard time with because I

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feel like a lot of times we assume people just don't know, and because they

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don't know, that's why they keep participating in eating animals. But then

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you find out sometimes people do know, and then they still don't change and feel

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like they need to stop eating animals. So that. That really scares me about humanity.

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Yeah, I. Yeah, I think that's, like, one of

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the hardest things for us as activists is like, how do we reach those

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people? We know there's people that just aren't going to change for whatever reason,

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and they know it, and it's like, you know, but why aren't you doing it?

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And, you know, I'm sure there. It's got a lot to

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do with maybe their family or, you know, people in

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their lives, maybe, or. Or their. They're afraid to change. I don't know.

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It's. But that's animals. It's. Yeah,

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it's really hard. And sometimes religion comes into play.

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Um, a lot of people will say, well, you know, God gave us dominion

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over animals, so we have to do. You know, and I think that a lot

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of people use that, too. So. Yeah, that is. That's really interesting.

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I'm sure we'll get to some of that stuff when we talk about some of

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your campaigns too. Cause I have questions about that. But. So I read

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that you guys started revolution Philadelphia in 2020.

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Is that right? Yeah. Okay. So it's really hard to start a group at

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all. Okay, but you started in 2020, so. Oh, my God.

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I know. I was really surprised by that.

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So. So tell us how. How you started revolution Philadelphia

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in 2020 or just how you started. So I'll give you the short version,

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but basically, Mansi, who is our co founder, who's not

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here today, she's living her best life in California for just

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a little while and coming back. But she and I

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knew each other because she started a group in Philadelphia called Liberation

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Philadelphia, and it was a bunch of activists. And that's when I

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first went vegan, and I joined this group and I, you know, met Monsi.

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Anyway, the group had dissolved, and I kind of, you know,

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stopped doing activism with them. And Monsie had

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kind of popped back up again on social media. She was doing a campaign against

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De Bruno Brothers, a chain grocery store in the Philly area,

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for live lobsters. And she won.

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And she had a little group, and some of the people I recognized from the

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old group, and we got in touch, and it just was very organic.

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And there was another co founder who's not with the group anymore,

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but she and Monsie started Red Philly together.

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And then I joined in with them in the beginning.

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And after Ellie left, I kind of had to assume the role of

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a co founder because, you know, Monsie can't do it alone.

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And it was life changing. So, yeah, that's how it started.

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And. And it was Covid. But, yeah, looking back at

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all of our activism pictures, in the beginning, we all had masks on,

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standing apart, and we're outside and was like, oh, my. Gosh,

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this is so funny. So, Stephanie, did you enter the picture after this or.

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Because you said, yeah, I had always. There was groups

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in Philadelphia protesting the horse carriages. So there's been groups of.

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Of women doing this for decades, maybe a decade or two. And so

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I would join their protests every once in a while throughout the years. And so

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the one lady that sort of ran those protests, she asked me to join

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in on a meeting with her. She was meeting with Revolution Philadelphia.

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And that must have been maybe 2020 or

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2021, when. Yeah, that brings us

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back to, like, the horse carriage campaign when I kind of took over with Monsi,

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with rev Philly, and we started to really form an activism group. We.

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We worked, we spent a lot of Time on gathering a

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community. We really built a great base

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of activists and volunteers that supported us. We did a lot of outreach.

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And then I saw a video on Instagram from Voters

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for Animal Rights in New York of Asia, the horse collapsing in Central Park.

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And I was horrified. And I'm like, I have. Does this happen in Philly?

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Like, I was really. I didn't know at the time. I. I figured there were

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horse carriages in Philly, but I didn't know. And I was like, I have to

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look into this. So there were and that.

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And with COVID happening, the carriages had stopped operating,

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which was great, but it kind of put the whole campaign on hiatus. You know,

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we wanted to do something about it, but there was really nothing we could do.

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So by the time I had met Stephanie, I think it was the end of

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2020, maybe into early 2021, with Janet, and then the

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business was starting up again. So it was a perfect time.

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So I started a petition to end horse carriages. And because I started that

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petition years ago, someone in Chicago, Jody, who I

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believe you had on the podcast as well, twice, she had reached out to me.

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She's amazing. So she had reached out to me and her and I work to

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sort of put some things together to try to have any heritages. And she connected

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me with another lady in Philadelphia. And then that lady had me on a meeting

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with Tiffany. And then ever since I was on that meeting, we kept in touch,

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and I was going to red Philly events, and that's kind of where we got

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connected. So from the horse carriages, from Jody connecting everybody.

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And because they started that petition, she found me. And how crazy is it that

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there's still horse carriages in. In the world? I can't believe

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that this is like other animals and entertainment are falling, you know,

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away. But this is something that's. I guess it's entertainment,

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right? Because it's like, you know, that romantic. That romanticized.

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While we're on that topic, do you want to talk about what's going on in

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Philadelphia with horse carriages? Yeah. So Stephanie

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and I, we hit the ground running on this campaign.

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We protested nearly every weekend. We boosted

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the campaign with the petition. We did like a selfie campaign

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targeting city council. We had.

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We hit them every way we could. We did undercover,

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you know, documentation of them violating the law while

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the horses were out. We'd submit that documentation. It was a

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few year process of us just trying to see what worked,

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what stuck. And then finally in 2022,

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the end of 2022, we were able to prove for the first time there was

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abuse. Someone submitted a photo of a horse at

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the stable without his gear, and he had open

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wounds all over his chest and neck. And she was not a

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vegan, she was not an activist. She was merely

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walking by, and the horse ran up to her and she took this picture and

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sent it to us. So we blew it up in the media,

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and we got a lot of attention for it. And there was a lot of

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tension being brought on the carriages, especially because rider

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had happened too. There was just a lot happening within the media.

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And as you know, like, Ryder was an international story and still continues to

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be. So it was just. It was a really.

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It was a really crucial time for us in this campaign.

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At the same time, the stable was forced.

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Being forced to be moved because there were developers coming in,

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so their. Their lease was in, you know, up in the air.

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They didn't know where they were going to reopen a stable, but they were assuring

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the public that another stable stable was opening. So fast forward January 2023,

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we have a protest planned. We go down there, the horses are

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gone. We're like, this is weird. There's no temperature restriction.

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Why aren't they here? We call, we go on the website, we go down

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to the stables. The horses are gone. They're just gone. Wow.

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They were packed up. Everything was removed from the warehouse almost.

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It was just very jarring. So we called the media right away. We're like,

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the horses are gone. Where are they? So 76 Carriage Company eventually

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announced that they were closing and that it was temporary and they were going

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to reopen and they never did. So. Yeah,

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so we're still waiting on the legislation, but we do

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not have any horses operating in the city of Philadelphia at the moment.

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That's awesome. I mean, and I feel like we really learned a lot through that

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campaign because we were kind of like we were taking advice from other people.

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We were looking at other cities that had been successful or were, like, also in

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the process. Yeah, Kind of did everything we possibly could

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think of. We had a rally at city Hall. We invited the news. We had

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speakers from different organizations, different rescue groups, horse experts. Jody flew in from

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Chicago. That got him a lot of attention. So we were working

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solely with one council member, having meetings with them constantly,

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bringing in, you know, quote unquote celebrities and, you know, anyone that we could

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to kind of influence this to go our way and introduce legislation. Yeah.

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So we're still working on that legislation. We're told that it

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is in the works, but this is something we will never give up on.

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And I think that's kind of what we learned from this. Like, this campaign was

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hard. We had ups and downs. We had really amazing, great days where things

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were shared on the media. And when we protested, people were there with us and,

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you know, signing our petition. And there was a line of people there signing our

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petition. And then we had lows where we felt like we weren't getting anywhere.

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But in the end, the horses aren't there and they haven't been there for years.

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So they're not suffering out in the heat anymore, out in the cold and living

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in a box in the middle of the city, you know, So I think this

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campaign really taught us as an org how to tackle something and how to

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be open to new ideas and how to just try everything. Yeah. And thank you

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for talking about that because I think people need to know that this isn't easy,

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but it's worth it. And you have to ride the waves.

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And it is a long game. You know, like, things don't happen for animals,

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especially right away. It takes a long time.

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I mean, there were so many times I remember calling Stephanie

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because I'm like the reactive and emotional one in the group. So I'd call her

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bawling and be like, this is never going to happen. Like, do we need to

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give up? What are we going to do? This is never going to happen.

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I can't stand to see them out there. It was, you know, 90 degrees,

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sweltering heat, ice cold conditions in the winter. It was

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just in the, you know, it was just very, very depressing at times.

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And it was hopeless. And we kept

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going. And I think that's the point of activism, is that,

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yeah, you're gonna hit a lot of hurdles and roadblocks.

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You're fighting no matter what campaign you choose or what cause you're fighting for,

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you're gonna hit a lot of bumps in the road. You just have to keep

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going. You have, you'll win. You will win. Yeah.

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Thank you for that. It's so. It is really important. It's the long game,

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every single campaign, because you see so many people,

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they go out and then they're like, well, we didn't end it,

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so I'm not going to do it anymore. And it's like, we need,

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we need, you know, organizers, we need plan,

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but we also need the people too, to show up. Right.

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How do you get people to show up? How do you, you know, keep people

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motivated? You know, you guys do great on social media. So I'm sure that's a

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huge part. That's all Tiffany. She's a wonderful social media person.

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Yeah, thank you. Yeah, you do a great job.

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But if I wanted to say something about Revolution Philadelphia, I would

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say fighters, you know, if I had to pick, like, one word. Yeah, thank you.

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Guys are. It's so important. And listening to you guys talk about that. Yeah.

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So keeping people motivated, I mean, like I said, In 2020, when we

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started, we were able to, like, kind of secure this

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incredible base of really dedicated and

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passionate people within Philadelphia. Yeah. So that

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was a huge piece of keeping, you know, starting an activist group and keeping

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people engaged. They were just as dedicated as we were and

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that their passion was motivating for us, and vice versa.

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Yeah. We purposefully choose campaigns

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that appeal to everyone. And that includes non vegans.

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Yes. Just like with horse racing, non vegans

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are appalled by horse racing. Puppy milk, fur, you know,

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foie gras, horse carriages. So we can get

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people on board with our campaigns that don't necessarily align with

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our, you know, ethical way of living. But our hopes in the meantime is to

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kind of bring them to the light and show them the way and hopefully.

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Yeah, yeah. It happens all the time. Exactly. Yeah.

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Yeah. I love that. And in 2020, to have you to start

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a group and get people. That's when, like, people were falling out of activism.

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2020 was a rough year. And so to. To start a group and get

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people motivated at. In 2020, I think is. Is. Is fantastic.

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But also what you said about, you know, opening that up

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to, you know, everybody. So you don't have to be vegan to

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go to a puppy mill protest or a horse racing protest or a horse carriage

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protest. And then you bring them around, you know, other animal lovers

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who have gone to that logical conclusion. They're all. Most of them are vegan.

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Right. And then they kind. That kind of follow. It follows through. Um, we saw

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that time and time again, you know, with horse racing protests. People would come because

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they'd be outraged. You're standing next to people talking about vegan this, vegan that,

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and then they start maybe looking up vegan, or they follow you on social media.

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And they're going to get. When they follow us, Right. They're going to get an

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education. So what are you doing? You mentioned puppy mills,

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and I know that there's been some movement in the state of Pennsylvania

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to ban the retail sale of dogs, cats and rabbits. Are you guys

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working on that, too? Yeah. So statewide, there's been a law

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that's been introduced and reintroduced And I think recently reintroduced

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Victoria's law. Our good friend Grace, for finding shelter, has been working

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on that. Victoria was her rescue dog. So I

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think maybe things are moving with that right now. In the meantime, we're trying to

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do what we can at the local level to try to make some movement to

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try to educate people, educate legislators. So one of the things we've

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been working on over this past year is getting local retail pet

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00:25:02,040 --> 00:25:05,940
store bans in our own towns and municipalities.

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So our first one was where I live in West Northern.

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We were able to pass a retail ban. We don't have a pet store here,

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but if a pet store were to open, they would not be allowed to sell

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dogs, cats, or rabbits. The purpose in starting this campaign for us,

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00:25:20,850 --> 00:25:24,330
there is a local store near me called Tom's Pet Outlet.

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My goal, and our goal was to kind of shut that place down because they

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00:25:28,790 --> 00:25:31,770
have, you know, one pet bee, one puppy from every breed. And it's just.

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00:25:32,270 --> 00:25:35,610
It's very obvious that they source from puppy mills, even though they use

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all the jargon that pet stores use, saying they get from ethical breeders.

404
00:25:40,370 --> 00:25:44,050
But fortunately, that place shut down on its own last year.

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So we're working on other towns. Tiffany was very successful at getting a van

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00:25:48,670 --> 00:25:51,930
in Westchester, which is a bigger town. So that was a great move. And so

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we're just sort of going local town by local town and trying to encourage other

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people in their own towns to go to their city council. We have a

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00:26:00,030 --> 00:26:03,450
wonderful partner at the Humane Society, Humane Wolf for Animals

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00:26:03,950 --> 00:26:07,430
now, Ariel. She's a puppy mill expert, so she will come and and present

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to the council, and they'll ask questions, and she's got amazing answers.

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So that's something that we've been working on. Any town that will have us,

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we sort of do this presentation and encourage them to pass this.

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So right now we're working on a local town that does have a puppy mill

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00:26:21,530 --> 00:26:25,070
store. So it will be our first one. But this store definitely sells from

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puppy mills. There's been a long, long list of complaints of people who have

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bought dogs from them. The dogs have died. The dogs have cost thousands and thousands

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of of dollars because they're sick and medically not

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00:26:37,140 --> 00:26:40,540
doing a good job. So this is the one we're working on now. We're really

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00:26:41,040 --> 00:26:43,900
trying to get some movement in that town. I love that. And that's the beauty

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of grassroots activism, too, is, you know, if something's not moving on the state level

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00:26:48,480 --> 00:26:51,700
fast enough, then just start working where you live. And I think that's so important.

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We had the ban on the sale of

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dogs, cats, and rabbits in New York State. And there was a

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couple pet stores in Albany in the two big malls here, and they

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closed up as soon as the ban took effect. Now, our governor decided

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to give them an extra year to phase out, which we were not thrilled about.

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But as soon as that, you know, came into effect,

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those stores were gone. Like, overnight, they were gone.

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And it was just so great to, like, go to the mall and not have

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to see these poor, suffering animals. And we know they're,

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you know, they're suffering. And we see so much of this is hidden,

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you know, with. And with horse carriages. Right. And horse racing and.

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And animals and entertainment, the pet stores. Because it's like all

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00:27:38,350 --> 00:27:41,010
this other stuff that you're distracted with. And I think. And it's so important.

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And when you're working at that grassroots level, you're educating so many people in the

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process. When you're at a city council meeting talking about that, there's people

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00:27:49,390 --> 00:27:52,570
talking about other things at the city council meeting. So you're educating them, too.

439
00:27:52,810 --> 00:27:56,290
And that's so important to remember. All of that works together. I know you

440
00:27:56,790 --> 00:28:00,020
guys were handing out vegan roasts recently. Oh, my gosh.

441
00:28:00,520 --> 00:28:04,100
Yeah. So we are. We love doing that. Every year we partner with

442
00:28:04,600 --> 00:28:08,580
PETA, and this year, PETA sponsored a hundred roasts.

443
00:28:09,080 --> 00:28:12,780
And we had a very successful event, and we

444
00:28:13,280 --> 00:28:16,660
were so inspired by it, we decided we're going to hold our own

445
00:28:17,160 --> 00:28:20,740
vegan roast giveaway. Oh, awesome. In a couple of weeks. Yeah. We're really

446
00:28:21,240 --> 00:28:25,120
excited. And we're sponsoring it, and that's something we're really proud of as an organization.

447
00:28:25,360 --> 00:28:28,800
So we often tell our volunteers and our supporters, like,

448
00:28:29,300 --> 00:28:32,800
it's those little $5 and $10 donations you give us a couple

449
00:28:33,300 --> 00:28:36,440
times a year when we fundraise that allow us to do this. And it not

450
00:28:36,940 --> 00:28:40,680
only helps animals, it helps our communities, especially at a time with, like,

451
00:28:41,180 --> 00:28:44,160
food insecurity and. Yeah, you know, people prices.

452
00:28:44,400 --> 00:28:48,320
Yeah, exactly. So it's. It came in clutch, so we're really

453
00:28:48,820 --> 00:28:52,160
excited. So we do those often. What kind of response do you get from people

454
00:28:53,040 --> 00:28:56,280
as you're doing that outreach? I was supposed to go to

455
00:28:56,780 --> 00:29:00,360
one in Massachusetts, and I couldn't go that I couldn't travel that weekend, so I

456
00:29:00,860 --> 00:29:04,160
haven't been to one of these. So. So tell us, like, about the setup a

457
00:29:04,660 --> 00:29:07,320
little bit, because in case people. Don'T know what these are, we set up a

458
00:29:07,820 --> 00:29:11,360
table. We have vegan roasts. Usually. Are you in front of.

459
00:29:11,860 --> 00:29:14,880
Sorry. Are you in front of like a grocery store or in a public area

460
00:29:14,960 --> 00:29:18,770
outdoors? What's interesting about this is up

461
00:29:19,270 --> 00:29:22,810
until this year, we. We have several live slaughterhouses in Philadelphia,

462
00:29:22,890 --> 00:29:26,490
probably about a dozen. So we would do them in front of the slaughterhouses.

463
00:29:26,990 --> 00:29:30,090
Oh, that's really interesting. Yeah, yeah.

464
00:29:30,170 --> 00:29:33,890
So we had mixed reviews. Yeah, we had it covered

465
00:29:34,390 --> 00:29:38,010
by the news. One year we. We were able to liberate

466
00:29:38,510 --> 00:29:42,010
animals in the process a couple of times. So we did that.

467
00:29:42,510 --> 00:29:45,860
But this time we took it to City hall. And Philadelphia is really

468
00:29:46,360 --> 00:29:49,860
well known for their Christmas Village. And Christmas Village is right at City hall,

469
00:29:50,360 --> 00:29:53,860
so we thought it would be a great spot. Yeah, this time

470
00:29:54,360 --> 00:29:58,100
the reception was so great. I mean, we had people lined

471
00:29:58,600 --> 00:30:01,860
up at the table. People were so excited.

472
00:30:02,360 --> 00:30:04,380
They or, you know, one guy came up and was like, I'm not vegan,

473
00:30:04,880 --> 00:30:08,420
but my mom's vegan. And. Oh, awesome. He was super excited that that option

474
00:30:08,920 --> 00:30:11,950
was there for him, you know, so it was just. It went really well.

475
00:30:12,450 --> 00:30:15,950
It always goes really well. And. And how many roasts do you have to give

476
00:30:16,450 --> 00:30:19,870
away this year? We had a hundred. Oh, wow. Very excited

477
00:30:20,370 --> 00:30:24,110
about. Yeah. PETA sponsored 100 roasts and they went. In under

478
00:30:24,610 --> 00:30:28,190
an hour. We weren't even done setting up yet and people were coming over and

479
00:30:28,690 --> 00:30:31,710
so we gave away five or six even before the event really started.

480
00:30:32,030 --> 00:30:34,870
So, yeah, those roasts went quick. We felt like we could have stayed out there

481
00:30:35,370 --> 00:30:38,350
and just kept doing it because we're getting a good reception and meeting a lot

482
00:30:38,850 --> 00:30:41,430
of great people and people that were even like, you know, I thought about this

483
00:30:41,930 --> 00:30:45,030
and I'm vegetarian or I thought about going vegan. And so it's nice that they

484
00:30:45,530 --> 00:30:49,030
could connect with us and see. Yeah. And I know at the holidays it is

485
00:30:49,530 --> 00:30:53,270
more difficult depending on your family structure, but, you know, here's a great alternative and

486
00:30:53,770 --> 00:30:56,870
some of the people that tried the rose really did like them. I actually did

487
00:30:57,370 --> 00:31:00,830
a rose giveaway at my school as well because I'm a teacher, I teach elementary

488
00:31:01,330 --> 00:31:05,860
school. So I was able to connect with, you know, their teach kind education wing

489
00:31:06,360 --> 00:31:08,580
or whatever. And so they gave me some rose to give away at school.

490
00:31:09,080 --> 00:31:11,420
And, and the staff and some of the kids are really open to it and

491
00:31:11,920 --> 00:31:14,540
I've heard some. Oh, that's really positive feedback. Yeah. From that.

492
00:31:14,780 --> 00:31:18,179
Yeah, I actually, I wanted to talk about that because you, I think, I think

493
00:31:18,679 --> 00:31:21,740
your whole team, you all work full time jobs too.

494
00:31:22,220 --> 00:31:26,060
Right. And then do you do so pay the bill? So.

495
00:31:26,220 --> 00:31:30,090
Right. So how do you. How do you fit it in and

496
00:31:30,590 --> 00:31:33,450
Then also I was going to ask a question is how do you do some

497
00:31:33,950 --> 00:31:38,130
activism, you know, at work? Because we always try to encourage people to

498
00:31:38,630 --> 00:31:42,050
find your voice and talk to people you work with and

499
00:31:42,550 --> 00:31:46,130
talk to, you know, people that you encounter throughout your life and find ways

500
00:31:46,630 --> 00:31:49,930
to work in, you know, why you're vegan? Because we said

501
00:31:50,430 --> 00:31:53,770
in the beginning that not all vegans are activists. Right. So how can

502
00:31:54,270 --> 00:31:57,630
we do that? So anyway, talk about there's so

503
00:31:58,130 --> 00:32:01,630
many different ways. So at work, you know, as a teacher,

504
00:32:02,130 --> 00:32:05,310
I do have the really interesting opportunity to reach a lot of people. I teach

505
00:32:05,810 --> 00:32:08,710
over 600, around 600 children. So whenever I can,

506
00:32:09,210 --> 00:32:13,070
I try to incorporate that compassion, the empathy for everyone, for animals

507
00:32:13,570 --> 00:32:18,630
especially into our lessons. I'll have guest speakers come in. I do other different

508
00:32:19,130 --> 00:32:22,390
activities with the PETA, teach kind like we've had free ice cream giveaways

509
00:32:22,890 --> 00:32:26,090
where they're trying vegan ice cream. So I always try to incorporate

510
00:32:26,590 --> 00:32:29,450
it with my students. If there's an insect in our room or a mouse,

511
00:32:29,950 --> 00:32:33,050
we talk about how, you know, they have feelings too. And here's what you could

512
00:32:33,550 --> 00:32:35,770
do. You can let them out the window, out the door so they know if

513
00:32:36,270 --> 00:32:38,010
there's a bug in our room, we put them in a cup or in our

514
00:32:38,510 --> 00:32:41,770
hand and we walk them outside. So just showing them those little things that maybe

515
00:32:42,270 --> 00:32:45,090
it's different at home, but here's another way to approach when you come across a

516
00:32:45,590 --> 00:32:48,850
living thing that might need your help. And we talk about caring for their animals

517
00:32:49,350 --> 00:32:52,870
because they often have bounce of cats and other animals at home. And then

518
00:32:53,370 --> 00:32:56,470
with the staff, if we have a social, which we have every month, if I'm

519
00:32:56,970 --> 00:33:00,750
a baker, I'll bring in something vegan and then label it vegan. Recently I

520
00:33:01,250 --> 00:33:04,430
made tofu bacon and I labeled it like cruelty free bacon

521
00:33:04,930 --> 00:33:08,350
or you know, yeah, slaughter free bacon, a no kill bacon.

522
00:33:08,850 --> 00:33:12,390
So they know that I'm the only vegan at work. They know what to expect

523
00:33:12,890 --> 00:33:15,310
from me. And a lot of times they'll come for me, come to me looking

524
00:33:15,810 --> 00:33:19,120
for recommendations or substitutions if someone has allergies.

525
00:33:19,520 --> 00:33:23,160
And I'm always more than happy to talk to people about it. So anytime

526
00:33:23,660 --> 00:33:26,960
there's an opportunity to bring food or anything like that. And we also have

527
00:33:27,460 --> 00:33:29,840
glue traps at work. So I will try to get rid of those when I

528
00:33:30,340 --> 00:33:33,720
can and try to talk to people that make those decisions about replacing them

529
00:33:34,220 --> 00:33:37,560
with alternatives. But there's always ways. I mean, we use and

530
00:33:38,060 --> 00:33:41,360
abuse animals in so many different ways, you can't even count them and they're always

531
00:33:41,860 --> 00:33:45,000
incorporated into our daily lives, whether it's food or pest control or things like

532
00:33:45,500 --> 00:33:49,040
that. So there's always ways to kind of bring it up and look for changes.

533
00:33:49,540 --> 00:33:52,960
And I've tried in the cafeteria to get plant based alternatives and I know a

534
00:33:53,460 --> 00:33:56,560
lot of groups are working on that. So really there, there's an endless way to

535
00:33:56,720 --> 00:33:59,200
incorporate it into whatever job you're doing.

536
00:33:59,760 --> 00:34:03,480
Yeah, I love that because it's, it's, it's uncomfortable sometimes

537
00:34:03,980 --> 00:34:07,360
too. But I always say, like, food activism is like the easiest thing to

538
00:34:07,860 --> 00:34:12,450
do at work. Right. Just like make muffins or buy from

539
00:34:12,950 --> 00:34:16,170
a really good vegan bakery if you don't, if you don't bake yourself and just

540
00:34:16,670 --> 00:34:19,490
bring them in and let. Or vegan donuts or something and bring them in and

541
00:34:19,990 --> 00:34:23,250
let people eat them and then they'll start asking questions. I remember I worked in

542
00:34:23,750 --> 00:34:27,730
the salon industry for 18 years. And I remember one day I made

543
00:34:28,210 --> 00:34:30,770
Gardein the fishless fish.

544
00:34:31,970 --> 00:34:35,330
And I threw a couple extra in because we're always, you know,

545
00:34:35,490 --> 00:34:38,970
in between clients. We're like in the back room and we're just shoving food in

546
00:34:39,470 --> 00:34:43,160
our mouth. So a couple of the girls, I kind of just like, I had

547
00:34:43,660 --> 00:34:46,400
some extra like, forks and I just, you know, cut a few pieces and I

548
00:34:46,900 --> 00:34:49,240
gave them a fork and they ate it and they're like, oh my God,

549
00:34:49,740 --> 00:34:52,720
this is so good. And they're like, wait a minute, you don't eat fish though.

550
00:34:53,220 --> 00:34:55,960
You said you don't eat fish. You know, and I was like, it's fishless fish.

551
00:34:56,460 --> 00:34:59,760
It's vegan fish. And they're like, what? And then they were like, like later

552
00:35:00,260 --> 00:35:02,960
they were like, where do I buy that? So it was so cool, you know,

553
00:35:03,460 --> 00:35:07,070
like, not everyone went vegan. Some were really thinking about it. Um, I did have

554
00:35:07,570 --> 00:35:10,630
some customers go vegan, but it was really cool for them to be like,

555
00:35:11,130 --> 00:35:13,070
wait a minute. And it just really shocked them, I think, because it was.

556
00:35:13,570 --> 00:35:16,950
Yeah, you're planting those seeds. You just plant seeds

557
00:35:17,450 --> 00:35:20,150
wherever you can and you never know where it might go. Yeah. And how do

558
00:35:20,650 --> 00:35:24,550
you guys navigate working full time with, you know, doing your

559
00:35:25,050 --> 00:35:28,150
events and you know, is that you. Do you guys lean on each other

560
00:35:28,650 --> 00:35:32,200
a lot for that? Yeah, we usually try to

561
00:35:32,700 --> 00:35:35,840
align. We have to align our schedules. And then someone always

562
00:35:36,340 --> 00:35:39,760
has something going on between the four of us. There's Stephanie, myself,

563
00:35:40,260 --> 00:35:43,840
Monsie, and Claire. That's kind of our base over at Philly. So something's always happening.

564
00:35:44,720 --> 00:35:48,160
So we always pick up for each other. And it's just what we do.

565
00:35:49,440 --> 00:35:52,840
And yeah, we just plan our events around our work

566
00:35:53,340 --> 00:35:57,440
schedules, which is pretty doable. And during the week we

567
00:35:57,940 --> 00:36:00,720
pretty much talk every day. I think we talk seven days a week maybe.

568
00:36:04,130 --> 00:36:07,490
Yeah, we're always connected, which is great.

569
00:36:07,570 --> 00:36:10,690
And yeah, we just, I think it, what it comes down to

570
00:36:11,190 --> 00:36:14,570
is we all have the same goal and we really genuinely care

571
00:36:15,070 --> 00:36:18,650
and respect each other and just that's why it works so

572
00:36:19,150 --> 00:36:22,810
well. You know, there are times where we disagree about something

573
00:36:23,310 --> 00:36:26,850
that we're doing and we always listen and, you know,

574
00:36:27,350 --> 00:36:30,730
just talk to each other with kindness and empathy and we always

575
00:36:31,370 --> 00:36:35,290
come out stronger than we did were before whenever

576
00:36:35,790 --> 00:36:38,730
something happens. So, yeah, we're very lucky to have each other.

577
00:36:39,230 --> 00:36:43,130
And we think the reason Red Philly is so successful

578
00:36:43,530 --> 00:36:45,690
with, you know, its longevity. I mean,

579
00:36:45,930 --> 00:36:49,290
organizations typically don't last. The small

580
00:36:49,790 --> 00:36:53,130
grassroots ones. People are in and out of the movement a lot. You lose activists,

581
00:36:53,480 --> 00:36:57,000
things slow down, things stop. Yeah, but we've been steadfast because

582
00:36:57,500 --> 00:37:00,680
I think, because we have each other and we're very lucky. Yeah,

583
00:37:01,080 --> 00:37:03,720
yeah, I know for myself, I need these girls. I mean,

584
00:37:04,520 --> 00:37:07,800
being in a non vegan world, you need your vegans, you need the people that

585
00:37:08,300 --> 00:37:10,480
get it, that know why you're crying on the way to work because you saw

586
00:37:10,980 --> 00:37:14,360
a deer hit by a car, that know, like, why you're so frustrated. Everyone around

587
00:37:14,860 --> 00:37:17,640
you is eating meat and they don't get it. So it's really important to have,

588
00:37:17,960 --> 00:37:21,610
you know, fellow vegans, fellow people, fellow people that care like you do

589
00:37:22,110 --> 00:37:25,090
and understand the hurt that you tend to go through just because you care so

590
00:37:25,590 --> 00:37:28,850
much and you have that empathy. Right. And I think for us, yes, we work

591
00:37:29,350 --> 00:37:33,410
full time, we're tired, you know, it takes a lot out of you. But knowing

592
00:37:33,910 --> 00:37:38,090
what animals go through, the cruelty they face in so many different ways worldwide,

593
00:37:38,590 --> 00:37:41,810
this is how we stay sane. Feeling like we're doing something,

594
00:37:41,890 --> 00:37:45,810
putting our sadness and feelings about it into action.

595
00:37:45,890 --> 00:37:49,080
I mean, for me, I know that's the way that I can deal with it,

596
00:37:49,580 --> 00:37:52,600
thinking, okay, well, this sucks, but I'm going to try to do something about it.

597
00:37:53,100 --> 00:37:56,840
And that's how I try to survive. Knowing what's going on in the world and

598
00:37:56,920 --> 00:37:59,720
just feeling like I can do something and we can all do something, even if

599
00:38:00,220 --> 00:38:03,800
it's just talking to a friend about, you know, what's going on behind. Yeah,

600
00:38:04,200 --> 00:38:08,400
I love that. And it does. Being active makes you feel so

601
00:38:08,900 --> 00:38:12,120
much better. It gives, it fills you with positivity where

602
00:38:12,620 --> 00:38:16,270
there was so much negativity. And sadness. I love that you said that because it

603
00:38:16,770 --> 00:38:20,590
is so important. Like I always want to try to convince people, like go

604
00:38:21,090 --> 00:38:24,470
to a protest because you're going to feel so great after just

605
00:38:24,970 --> 00:38:28,550
because you were there, you were there, you were there with other people. You were

606
00:38:29,050 --> 00:38:32,670
there fighting for something. You know, you were there for that animal in that

607
00:38:33,170 --> 00:38:36,630
arena or on the street or wherever. And it does really,

608
00:38:37,130 --> 00:38:40,720
really feel good. And don't feel bad about that because we need things that make

609
00:38:41,220 --> 00:38:44,200
us feel good. Right. And you know, get out there and, and do that.

610
00:38:44,600 --> 00:38:48,120
So I know you guys, do you have an.

611
00:38:48,620 --> 00:38:52,080
On your list of campaigns that I asked you for banning the sale of forced

612
00:38:52,580 --> 00:38:56,760
fed products in Philadelphia. And I know I've seen some videos of

613
00:38:57,260 --> 00:39:01,000
this campaign. So can you talk about that a little bit? So explain forced

614
00:39:01,500 --> 00:39:05,120
fed product first and go from there. So force fed products

615
00:39:05,620 --> 00:39:08,850
is a language that we are forced to use, no pun intended.

616
00:39:09,330 --> 00:39:11,810
But basically it's foie gras.

617
00:39:13,090 --> 00:39:16,530
Yeah, Any. And there's also like chicken foie gras, duck foie

618
00:39:17,030 --> 00:39:20,930
gras. So it's the language of the legislation basically. But foie gras,

619
00:39:21,430 --> 00:39:25,330
any, any, any animal. Because animals are not products. We force

620
00:39:25,830 --> 00:39:28,370
fed product is not my favorite terminology. That's why.

621
00:39:28,610 --> 00:39:32,290
But animals are not products. But their body parts are

622
00:39:32,790 --> 00:39:35,920
to some people. And foie gras is basically the,

623
00:39:36,640 --> 00:39:39,600
the, the product that we're referring to. Right.

624
00:39:39,760 --> 00:39:43,240
So, so tell us about what that is. If someone doesn't know,

625
00:39:43,740 --> 00:39:46,920
it's horrible. It's. Most people don't know what foie

626
00:39:47,420 --> 00:39:50,320
gras is because it's such a bougie elitist.

627
00:39:51,280 --> 00:39:54,240
You know, it's just really interesting.

628
00:39:54,740 --> 00:39:58,200
Yeah, yeah, yeah. You don't see foie gras menus on

629
00:39:58,700 --> 00:40:01,900
your everyday, at your everyday, you know, restaurant. Right. You walk into it's.

630
00:40:02,400 --> 00:40:06,620
And it's, and it's a, it's a French word that literally translates to fat

631
00:40:06,860 --> 00:40:10,180
disease. Liver. Yeah. Right. Like, and when

632
00:40:10,680 --> 00:40:13,460
you really think about like I'm a nurse, I know what a diseased liver is.

633
00:40:13,960 --> 00:40:17,260
I've taken care of countless patients with fatty liver disease.

634
00:40:17,660 --> 00:40:21,340
Yeah. How can people eat that and think that?

635
00:40:21,900 --> 00:40:25,180
I mean, it just kind of blows my mind. It really, it really does.

636
00:40:25,680 --> 00:40:29,780
Like animal flesh on any level blows my mind. But this in

637
00:40:30,280 --> 00:40:34,260
particular does because it's, it's a disease being introduced into a

638
00:40:34,760 --> 00:40:38,460
body part right. On purpose to consume by humans.

639
00:40:38,960 --> 00:40:42,020
It just makes no sense. It should be outlawed everywhere. So,

640
00:40:42,500 --> 00:40:46,300
so what is it, what is the process of. How does, so how

641
00:40:46,800 --> 00:40:49,420
does this Happen. How does. This is. These are ducks. Geese. You said that it

642
00:40:49,920 --> 00:40:53,940
could be chickens. So what are they? Yeah, so mostly ducks and. And some geese,

643
00:40:54,020 --> 00:40:57,780
but mostly ducks. So they're very young, they're bred weeks

644
00:40:58,280 --> 00:41:01,770
old. They start to be force fed a couple times a day. They're force fed

645
00:41:02,270 --> 00:41:05,290
with a metal tube shoved down their throat. So someone grabs their throat,

646
00:41:05,790 --> 00:41:09,210
shoves the tube down, and that injures their bills, their throats.

647
00:41:09,710 --> 00:41:12,970
It could, you know, make organs explode. So they're

648
00:41:13,470 --> 00:41:17,530
force fed this, like, corn mixture until their liver is growing

649
00:41:17,610 --> 00:41:21,210
8 to 10 times its normal size. And so their very short

650
00:41:21,710 --> 00:41:24,650
lives are miserable. They're force fed three times a day, and then they're slaughtered very

651
00:41:25,150 --> 00:41:28,260
young. And then the liver, the diseased liver is harvested.

652
00:41:28,760 --> 00:41:31,620
And that's what this expensive plate of foie gras is.

653
00:41:31,700 --> 00:41:35,180
Right? Body part made by torture. And that's

654
00:41:35,680 --> 00:41:37,980
kind of what we try to educate people at our protests. We make sure we

655
00:41:38,480 --> 00:41:40,620
tell them where this comes from, because again, a lot of people don't know,

656
00:41:41,120 --> 00:41:44,380
and why would they? But when they're walking past a restaurant and they hear that

657
00:41:44,880 --> 00:41:47,620
this restaurant is selling this product, and here is how it's made,

658
00:41:48,100 --> 00:41:51,220
we hope that we really make a difference in telling people about it.

659
00:41:51,380 --> 00:41:53,330
So where. Where are you protesting?

660
00:41:54,370 --> 00:41:57,810
Outside of restaurants that surf foie gras. Okay. And this is in

661
00:41:57,970 --> 00:42:01,690
the city of Philadelphia. Yeah. So in Philadelphia, it's just

662
00:42:02,190 --> 00:42:05,890
a delicacy. You said this is like bougie. This is, you know, like a higher.

663
00:42:06,390 --> 00:42:10,530
End product, little dish sometimes. And sometimes restaurants will have it on all the time.

664
00:42:11,030 --> 00:42:14,210
It's mostly a French dish. So a lot of French restaurants, which we have a

665
00:42:14,710 --> 00:42:18,170
bunch in the city. So we did some research. We made a list of restaurants

666
00:42:18,670 --> 00:42:22,350
that we knew at the time we're serving foie gras, and we kind of looked

667
00:42:22,850 --> 00:42:25,150
at who owns the restaurant, how many people go there, what part of the city

668
00:42:25,650 --> 00:42:28,350
is it in. And we sort of just picked our targets based on different things,

669
00:42:28,850 --> 00:42:31,870
and we would start protesting outside of those places. And we did get,

670
00:42:31,950 --> 00:42:35,550
you know, a few to stop serving foie gras. Some of the campaigns took

671
00:42:35,710 --> 00:42:39,270
a long time, but again, you don't give up and you just keep showing

672
00:42:39,770 --> 00:42:42,150
up and they get very sick of you. And, you know, we would always try

673
00:42:42,650 --> 00:42:46,430
to send an email to the restaurant first and go about it the political way

674
00:42:46,930 --> 00:42:49,760
and say, hey, like, you know, we. We saw you serve foie gras. This is

675
00:42:50,260 --> 00:42:53,280
how it's made. We're asking you to please remove the menu. A Lot of times

676
00:42:53,780 --> 00:42:56,840
that email was ignored or, you know, they would write back, thank you. We would

677
00:42:57,340 --> 00:43:00,360
try to meet with them. And when that didn't work, we would start protesting at

678
00:43:00,860 --> 00:43:03,760
the restaurant, making a lot of noise as people coming in and out.

679
00:43:04,260 --> 00:43:07,240
And it does have a really big effect. How do, how do the people going

680
00:43:07,740 --> 00:43:11,160
in, how do they react? Well, some people would say, oh, I'm not

681
00:43:11,660 --> 00:43:14,920
eating foie gras, or we're with you, or sometimes you would get cursed out and

682
00:43:15,420 --> 00:43:19,000
yelled at. It really just depends. Yeah, it's a. It's a

683
00:43:19,500 --> 00:43:23,950
range. But the clientele. Good. The clientele are typical

684
00:43:24,350 --> 00:43:27,310
or similar to people that wear fur.

685
00:43:27,710 --> 00:43:32,270
You know, this is a certain kind of person. And half the time they

686
00:43:32,770 --> 00:43:36,390
are not trying to hear what you have to say, and they believe they're

687
00:43:36,890 --> 00:43:40,110
above you in every way, shape and form. So a lot of these people coming

688
00:43:40,610 --> 00:43:43,550
out of the restaurant are inebriated, they're drinking.

689
00:43:44,190 --> 00:43:47,730
So, you know, they have liquid courage. But yeah,

690
00:43:48,230 --> 00:43:52,170
we've seen people walking out of these restaurants in like floor length fur coats and,

691
00:43:52,570 --> 00:43:55,610
you know, bring the fur. Bring the fur signs

692
00:43:56,110 --> 00:44:00,010
too. Yeah. Yeah, we went nuts

693
00:44:00,510 --> 00:44:03,850
at the fur desk. But have like, you know, like on the back, you know,

694
00:44:04,350 --> 00:44:07,890
like, flip it around. Yeah, exactly. Yeah, yeah.

695
00:44:08,390 --> 00:44:11,850
We got very lucky because our first target actually closed their restaurant.

696
00:44:12,350 --> 00:44:16,220
Oh, that's awesome. Here's the thing, like, we don't want to see people lose their

697
00:44:16,720 --> 00:44:19,820
livelihoods, but no one is losing their jobs over foie grok.

698
00:44:19,900 --> 00:44:21,820
It is such a niche product.

699
00:44:22,940 --> 00:44:26,620
They can simply take it off the menu and replace it with one menu

700
00:44:27,120 --> 00:44:30,860
item. It's one item, you know, and a lot of times these

701
00:44:31,360 --> 00:44:35,020
chefs have these huge egos and it's really hard to break through that.

702
00:44:35,740 --> 00:44:39,660
And initially, like I said, like Steph had

703
00:44:40,160 --> 00:44:43,620
said, we are very diplomatic and we try our hardest to educate them.

704
00:44:44,120 --> 00:44:47,580
And 99% of the time, the claim

705
00:44:48,080 --> 00:44:52,260
is that they obtain it humanely. But we

706
00:44:52,760 --> 00:44:55,580
all know where everyone's wild gras comes from. We all know.

707
00:44:55,660 --> 00:44:58,660
And it's in New York. And we know the farm in New York, and we've

708
00:44:59,160 --> 00:45:03,140
seen the footage out of that farm countless times over the past several

709
00:45:03,640 --> 00:45:07,460
years. We know what happens there, and we show people that too. So there's

710
00:45:07,960 --> 00:45:11,540
another group that's actually working with city council on a ban,

711
00:45:12,040 --> 00:45:15,710
a legislative ban. Oh, that's great. Yeah, we support that 100%.

712
00:45:16,210 --> 00:45:19,990
And we are going to help wherever we can and are looking forward

713
00:45:20,490 --> 00:45:24,350
to that becoming a reality in Philadelphia, which we think it will. It's just taking

714
00:45:24,850 --> 00:45:27,790
Time. Yeah. And you're also educating people driving by,

715
00:45:27,950 --> 00:45:31,350
walking by. They aren't going into that restaurant, too, especially in

716
00:45:31,850 --> 00:45:35,470
your. The locations you guys are protesting in. Right. So you're really raising

717
00:45:35,970 --> 00:45:39,110
awareness in so many ways. And I think that's important, too, for us to remember

718
00:45:39,610 --> 00:45:42,950
that it's. It's the venue. But also, you know,

719
00:45:43,450 --> 00:45:47,270
potential. Real. No, but potential, you know, activists to

720
00:45:47,770 --> 00:45:51,190
remember that you're out there educating the general public, too. So now this is

721
00:45:51,690 --> 00:45:54,910
something they never knew about. And they're going to look that up and they're going

722
00:45:55,410 --> 00:45:58,670
to, you know, they'll get information and. And then maybe that'll send

723
00:45:59,170 --> 00:46:02,590
them into that vegan rabbit hole and they'll go vegan. You know, in the process

724
00:46:02,670 --> 00:46:05,880
of seeing that protest, you know, we've had

725
00:46:06,380 --> 00:46:09,960
people. Off the street join our protest. Yeah. Whether it was your

726
00:46:10,460 --> 00:46:13,680
horse carriages or foie gras. But once people. Yeah. Realizing where it comes from,

727
00:46:14,180 --> 00:46:16,880
they're like, let me have a sign. Yeah. And we love that.

728
00:46:17,440 --> 00:46:20,640
Yeah, that's awesome. We. We had just. We just had our first Friday.

729
00:46:21,140 --> 00:46:24,160
We're recording this in December. We just had our first Friday protest a few weeks

730
00:46:24,660 --> 00:46:28,840
ago in front of a fur store that's local. And I

731
00:46:29,340 --> 00:46:33,320
think we educated people to the existence of that first store. And they were appalled.

732
00:46:33,820 --> 00:46:37,560
Like, people were stopping. We're near a stoplight and people rolling down their windows.

733
00:46:38,060 --> 00:46:40,480
They're like, we're so glad you guys are out here, but why are you here?

734
00:46:40,980 --> 00:46:43,960
And we're like, there's a first door. They said, oh, my God, there's a first

735
00:46:44,460 --> 00:46:47,360
door. This is like, I live down the street. And they were so mad.

736
00:46:47,680 --> 00:46:51,360
And these people aren't vegan. These are, you know, people are learning that

737
00:46:51,860 --> 00:46:55,120
the. But they're not going to learn unless we're out there. So that's. That's another.

738
00:46:55,520 --> 00:46:58,160
Another little push for anyone listening to,

739
00:46:58,480 --> 00:47:01,920
you know, get. Go out there and help. Because these.

740
00:47:02,160 --> 00:47:05,760
We do make so much progress on these things, you know, and making connections.

741
00:47:06,240 --> 00:47:09,560
Yeah. And, yeah, we're teaching so many people that are

742
00:47:10,060 --> 00:47:13,080
just driving by or, you know, like, they're going to look up these things

743
00:47:13,580 --> 00:47:16,960
and they're going to say, you know, if they just googled, you know,

744
00:47:17,460 --> 00:47:20,480
fur protest, they would get a lot of information. So it's just like,

745
00:47:20,980 --> 00:47:23,640
you know, this day and age, I think it's really good for us to get

746
00:47:24,140 --> 00:47:28,080
out there so much. What other. What other campaigns do you guys currently

747
00:47:28,580 --> 00:47:31,840
working on or what do you have coming up? So one of our

748
00:47:32,000 --> 00:47:35,640
ones right now is the one that we're partnering with you guys on horse

749
00:47:36,140 --> 00:47:39,760
racing. Rom we're trying to end racing subsidies

750
00:47:40,260 --> 00:47:43,679
in Pennsylvania. Yeah. Because we're hoping without those $200 million

751
00:47:44,160 --> 00:47:48,640
around a year, the racing industry will no longer be

752
00:47:49,140 --> 00:47:52,360
around. So that's. That's one we've been working on with you guys for over a

753
00:47:52,860 --> 00:47:56,090
year now. And we're really hopeful that we're getting somewhere. Yes, we're doing

754
00:47:56,590 --> 00:48:00,130
a lot of behind the scenes stuff and, and hopefully we'll get some campaigns rolling

755
00:48:00,630 --> 00:48:03,570
out there. We do protests. You guys have been doing protests at parks.

756
00:48:04,450 --> 00:48:08,090
It's horse racing subsidies. I know Patrick talked a little bit of that

757
00:48:08,590 --> 00:48:11,250
in our horse racing episode a couple months ago and.

758
00:48:11,810 --> 00:48:15,850
And he touched on subsidies a little bit. Maybe we'll have a whole episode

759
00:48:16,350 --> 00:48:20,130
on subsidies, not only horse racing, but how all animal agriculture

760
00:48:20,290 --> 00:48:23,810
is subsidized with our tax dollars. And that's so important for people to know.

761
00:48:24,090 --> 00:48:27,570
But horse racing, you know, you don't have to be vegan to hate horse

762
00:48:28,070 --> 00:48:31,450
racing, you know, or be against it. And I think that it's a campaign.

763
00:48:31,950 --> 00:48:35,170
People need to know that this money could go to education, this money

764
00:48:35,670 --> 00:48:38,730
can go to community programs instead of propping up this.

765
00:48:38,890 --> 00:48:42,130
This horrible industry, you know,

766
00:48:42,630 --> 00:48:46,250
that just abuses and kills horses and we're paying for it. It's crazy. So,

767
00:48:46,750 --> 00:48:49,930
yeah, we're looking forward to that. In Pennsylvania, Parks is one of

768
00:48:50,430 --> 00:48:53,610
the deadliest tracks in the country. Yeah. It's a horrible track with horrible conditions.

769
00:48:54,110 --> 00:48:57,990
And so far, I think you told me, 46 horses in Pennsylvania

770
00:48:58,490 --> 00:49:01,950
have been killed on our track. 20, 25 so far. Yeah.

771
00:49:02,450 --> 00:49:04,670
We have a few weeks left of. The year, and most of that's at Parks.

772
00:49:05,170 --> 00:49:07,750
So Parks is an awful place. We love protesting there. We're out in the street.

773
00:49:08,250 --> 00:49:11,510
It's a very busy street. Yeah. Out front of that race, racetrack.

774
00:49:12,010 --> 00:49:14,670
And we educate a lot of people, we get a lot of middle fingers,

775
00:49:15,170 --> 00:49:18,590
but, you know, people that don't know anything about it or even how deadly

776
00:49:19,090 --> 00:49:22,120
the track is. I really think people are learning things. Yeah,

777
00:49:22,620 --> 00:49:26,080
they are. And then they'll. They go to the website and they learn more and,

778
00:49:26,640 --> 00:49:30,440
and yeah, so it's. And that's important to educate people, you know,

779
00:49:30,940 --> 00:49:34,800
in any way possible. And being out there on a busy street,

780
00:49:35,300 --> 00:49:39,440
I've seen. I haven't been able to get there yet, but on busy street on,

781
00:49:39,600 --> 00:49:44,320
you know, all kinds of weather. I remember you guys had the hurricane, the protest,

782
00:49:44,820 --> 00:49:48,690
you're getting poured on. That was a rough one. Yeah. And it's just like just

783
00:49:49,190 --> 00:49:52,250
being out There, no matter what, for the. For the animals. What else you

784
00:49:52,750 --> 00:49:56,810
guys do? You. You go to marches.

785
00:49:57,310 --> 00:50:00,970
You. You ho. You co host meetups, you do sanctuary visits

786
00:50:01,470 --> 00:50:04,970
and volunteer days. So do you guys do some of that stuff to.

787
00:50:05,050 --> 00:50:08,090
In building a community? Yeah, I mean,

788
00:50:08,590 --> 00:50:12,170
who doesn't want to spend the day with happy animals at a sanctuary?

789
00:50:12,670 --> 00:50:16,410
But yeah, sanctuary. Supporting sanctuaries is incredibly important to us.

790
00:50:16,910 --> 00:50:20,370
It's one of our priorities in our group, whether that's

791
00:50:20,870 --> 00:50:24,610
showing up, sharing, helping network animals that need adopted.

792
00:50:25,250 --> 00:50:29,050
But one thing that is kind of like a campaign, but kind of isn't that

793
00:50:29,550 --> 00:50:33,290
we took on as an organization that I'm really proud of,

794
00:50:33,790 --> 00:50:37,810
is that when local animal abuse cases occur,

795
00:50:39,020 --> 00:50:42,540
there's not a lot of attention on them. Yes. And these people,

796
00:50:43,040 --> 00:50:45,860
even though laws exist for animals, I mean, they're not the greatest,

797
00:50:46,360 --> 00:50:49,940
but they do exist. There are felony animal cruelty laws in

798
00:50:50,440 --> 00:50:54,780
place. They're not enforced and they're. These people are not receiving appropriate sentences.

799
00:50:55,020 --> 00:50:58,460
So, yes, what we like to do is blast these

800
00:50:58,960 --> 00:51:02,660
people in every way, shape and form and say, look what this guy did to

801
00:51:03,160 --> 00:51:06,480
this dog right here is. Here's his face, here's the

802
00:51:06,980 --> 00:51:10,160
story, here's his court date. Be there. And then we

803
00:51:10,660 --> 00:51:14,480
involve the media and we really blow it up. Because these DAs

804
00:51:14,980 --> 00:51:18,520
and judges tend to not take animal abuse or cruelty very

805
00:51:19,020 --> 00:51:23,080
seriously at all because there are a lot of other crime

806
00:51:23,580 --> 00:51:26,480
issues going on. I get that. But that doesn't make this any less important.

807
00:51:26,720 --> 00:51:30,440
So we really blast these cases and we try to pressure

808
00:51:30,940 --> 00:51:34,640
the DAs and the judges to enforce the max sentencing and penalties and whatnot.

809
00:51:35,360 --> 00:51:39,440
So how do you do that? Do you protest out,

810
00:51:39,760 --> 00:51:43,600
like, do a demo outside the hearing? Do you email?

811
00:51:43,680 --> 00:51:47,560
Do you have people email? Yeah, it depends on the case. But I'll

812
00:51:48,060 --> 00:51:51,680
just reference. The last one we had was a woman named Anna Garments.

813
00:51:51,760 --> 00:51:55,440
It was international news. This woman was

814
00:51:55,600 --> 00:51:58,880
creating YouTube videos torturing animals for likes,

815
00:51:59,380 --> 00:52:02,200
and she would do more to the animal, you know, based on the number of

816
00:52:02,700 --> 00:52:05,490
likes and comments. And so she was doing this, like, live.

817
00:52:05,970 --> 00:52:08,930
She was doing them on lives. Yeah. And somebody finally got.

818
00:52:09,250 --> 00:52:13,570
And YouTube was publishing these and allowing it, and some.

819
00:52:13,730 --> 00:52:17,250
Somebody finally got the video to PETA and she was charged.

820
00:52:17,410 --> 00:52:20,930
And when we came across this story, I was like, we have to

821
00:52:21,430 --> 00:52:23,370
start. We have to go to her hearings. Yeah. So I put it out,

822
00:52:23,870 --> 00:52:26,570
a press release for one of her hearings. And this, this whole thing ended up

823
00:52:27,070 --> 00:52:30,730
taking two years. There were so many hearings, you know, just deferred,

824
00:52:31,230 --> 00:52:34,850
put off, rescheduled this and that. And. But we followed through

825
00:52:35,350 --> 00:52:38,770
from start to finish, and she did not get jail time,

826
00:52:39,270 --> 00:52:42,410
which she was looking at seven years. This particular judge is very

827
00:52:42,910 --> 00:52:46,290
lenient with animal cruelty cases. But we got this

828
00:52:46,790 --> 00:52:50,490
in the media and it really blew up. And everyone

829
00:52:51,290 --> 00:52:55,010
knows who she is and will know who she is forever for

830
00:52:55,510 --> 00:52:58,090
what she did, and that's not going away. So,

831
00:52:59,190 --> 00:53:02,150
yeah, we tend. We like to do that a lot. And yeah, we email the

832
00:53:02,650 --> 00:53:06,070
judges, we email the DAs, we offer our support to the DAs.

833
00:53:06,570 --> 00:53:09,910
We're like, listen here, like, here's why this is

834
00:53:10,410 --> 00:53:13,510
wrong. You should pursue this. Here's why. You should pursue the max charges

835
00:53:14,010 --> 00:53:17,590
on this. And we'll offer to give, like, testimony and things like that.

836
00:53:18,630 --> 00:53:21,950
And then we encourage the community to get involved.

837
00:53:22,450 --> 00:53:25,960
Did you know your neighbor just decapitated a dog? You know, things like

838
00:53:26,460 --> 00:53:29,960
that. We want everyone to know because, yeah, get away with murder.

839
00:53:30,360 --> 00:53:33,800
They should be literal murder. It is murder.

840
00:53:34,120 --> 00:53:37,480
Yeah, yeah. They're murdering animals and they're not being. It's.

841
00:53:37,980 --> 00:53:41,320
It's awful. And that's such. That is such a great way to really

842
00:53:41,560 --> 00:53:44,640
get it out there because people don't know. You're right. People don't know this is

843
00:53:45,140 --> 00:53:48,360
happening. You know, make it in the newspaper or whatever. But. Yeah,

844
00:53:49,320 --> 00:53:52,390
the newspaper. Yeah. And you forget about it. Yeah.

845
00:53:52,890 --> 00:53:56,070
Right. So. And so you're. You blasted out on social media, too. So you're getting

846
00:53:56,570 --> 00:53:59,750
people involved on social media, raising awareness about it. And are you getting,

847
00:53:59,990 --> 00:54:03,870
like, news media involved, too? Oh, yeah. So we'll send out a press

848
00:54:04,370 --> 00:54:07,829
release ahead of any major hearing that's coming

849
00:54:08,329 --> 00:54:10,910
up. Yeah. And then when there's a sentence, we'll send it out as well.

850
00:54:11,410 --> 00:54:14,750
But Steph had been on the news a couple times for Anna Garmanci over

851
00:54:15,250 --> 00:54:19,110
the years, and we'd gotten a ton of local coverage and stories in the paper

852
00:54:19,610 --> 00:54:22,870
and things like that over it because, you know, as community

853
00:54:23,110 --> 00:54:26,910
members, we should be taking a stand as the community and say, this is not

854
00:54:27,410 --> 00:54:30,510
acceptable. We do not want these people in society. She. This person

855
00:54:31,010 --> 00:54:34,270
should be in jail. But if people don't know,

856
00:54:34,770 --> 00:54:38,390
they can't do anything. So that's the beauty of getting grassroots.

857
00:54:38,550 --> 00:54:42,030
Yeah. And Judges are elected, DAs are elected.

858
00:54:42,530 --> 00:54:46,670
These are elected officials, too. And it's so important to remember, I think so

859
00:54:47,170 --> 00:54:50,870
many people think, you know, and we have subsidy legislation in New York. We just

860
00:54:51,260 --> 00:54:53,820
found out that it's going to be alive again this year, so that's good.

861
00:54:54,320 --> 00:54:57,620
And we're hoping to get that subsidy legislation in some way, shape or

862
00:54:58,120 --> 00:55:02,300
form in Pennsylvania in the next couple Months. But people think

863
00:55:02,540 --> 00:55:05,740
that, oh, they don't care about us, our elected officials,

864
00:55:05,820 --> 00:55:08,900
they, they don't care. They're not going to listen to me. What do

865
00:55:09,400 --> 00:55:13,340
you say about that? They have to listen to you.

866
00:55:13,840 --> 00:55:17,460
We are their constituents. They are elected. Our issues need to be

867
00:55:17,960 --> 00:55:21,430
their issues. So something that Patrick and I did a lot over this past year

868
00:55:21,930 --> 00:55:25,590
was meet with Pennsylvania legislators on both sides, my legislators,

869
00:55:25,750 --> 00:55:29,550
other local legislators, to inform them about the issue of horse racing.

870
00:55:30,050 --> 00:55:33,470
How many horses are dying, how it's a dying industry and people are not supporting

871
00:55:33,970 --> 00:55:37,150
it. And giving our tax money to this industry is not okay with us.

872
00:55:37,650 --> 00:55:40,390
We want that money to go to education and go to public services.

873
00:55:41,190 --> 00:55:44,670
So meeting with your legislators, even if you think they don't care, it doesn't

874
00:55:45,170 --> 00:55:48,360
matter. Make them care. Tell them why it's important to you. You are a voter.

875
00:55:48,860 --> 00:55:52,000
What are you passionate about? They will meet with you. And they're

876
00:55:52,500 --> 00:55:55,360
people too, and they do care. A lot of times, even if it's not their

877
00:55:55,860 --> 00:55:58,760
top priority, they will tell you who you should be talking to to make more

878
00:55:59,260 --> 00:56:02,560
of an impact on this. Right. So I think, you know, thinking people

879
00:56:03,060 --> 00:56:05,080
don't care, maybe they don't, but you don't know until you talk to them.

880
00:56:05,580 --> 00:56:08,600
They care about being re elected, I'll tell you that. Yeah, sure do. Yeah.

881
00:56:09,100 --> 00:56:12,520
So, yeah, if, if they have enough people. So if you're sitting, if you're sitting

882
00:56:13,020 --> 00:56:16,750
out while other people, maybe your voice could have

883
00:56:17,250 --> 00:56:20,750
really contributed to that person, that, that state,

884
00:56:20,910 --> 00:56:24,910
that delegate or that assembly member or that state senator to

885
00:56:25,410 --> 00:56:28,909
really jump on board with something. But if you sat it out, you know,

886
00:56:29,409 --> 00:56:32,910
maybe it wouldn't happen. So talking to listeners out there, don't feel. Yeah, you don't

887
00:56:33,410 --> 00:56:36,510
know. Don't be afraid. And also I've heard people be like, I don't want

888
00:56:37,010 --> 00:56:38,670
to sign my name to it. Well, they all know who you are. So if

889
00:56:39,170 --> 00:56:42,110
you have a driver's license, they know who you are. Right. Sign your name,

890
00:56:42,610 --> 00:56:45,890
be brave. Because we have to speak for the animals, because they can't speak for

891
00:56:46,390 --> 00:56:50,170
themselves and we have to do that. And it's so much easier to

892
00:56:50,570 --> 00:56:54,690
talk about all of this, about these issues,

893
00:56:55,190 --> 00:56:58,090
if you remember you're speaking for the animals and how much they're suffering.

894
00:56:58,330 --> 00:57:01,650
We will never suffer one little bit as much as

895
00:57:02,150 --> 00:57:04,690
they do. Whether someone's yelling at us or flipping us off or telling us to

896
00:57:05,190 --> 00:57:09,130
get a life protest, or even if someone, an aide at a legislator's

897
00:57:09,630 --> 00:57:12,740
office is short with us, like, yeah, yeah, yeah, okay. You know, Whatever,

898
00:57:12,980 --> 00:57:16,500
who cares? Call them up again because it's. The animals need

899
00:57:17,000 --> 00:57:19,100
us because, you know, and I'm just. I'm not talking to you guys because,

900
00:57:19,600 --> 00:57:22,780
you know, but I'm just trying to get. Get people, you know,

901
00:57:23,280 --> 00:57:25,700
motivated. And you guys are great motivators too. So.

902
00:57:26,980 --> 00:57:30,180
Yeah, it's a man made world. We've created all these problems for animals.

903
00:57:30,680 --> 00:57:33,660
We use them in horrible ways. And so we need to make people change because

904
00:57:34,160 --> 00:57:37,870
people are the ones doing it. That's right. What do you guys think the

905
00:57:39,630 --> 00:57:42,790
biggest challenge is right now for the animal rights

906
00:57:43,290 --> 00:57:46,110
movement? I think, and I'm sure Tiffany will have a different answer.

907
00:57:47,230 --> 00:57:50,510
So I think just getting people to

908
00:57:51,010 --> 00:57:54,670
care, because I think right now people are dealing with a lot. No matter

909
00:57:55,170 --> 00:57:58,510
what it is, people are going through it. Whether it's money or things in

910
00:57:59,010 --> 00:58:02,070
their family, there's a lot going on. So I think just getting people to focus

911
00:58:02,570 --> 00:58:06,330
on an issue and really spend some time caring about it, just making

912
00:58:06,830 --> 00:58:10,330
people care about what's happening to animals and making the connection of

913
00:58:10,830 --> 00:58:14,250
their animal at home they would do anything for, is the same

914
00:58:14,750 --> 00:58:18,170
heart and soul in a cow and a chicken, in a horse, it's the same.

915
00:58:18,250 --> 00:58:21,930
And so if you can love one animal, you can spread that to all animals.

916
00:58:23,210 --> 00:58:26,730
I think there's a lot of factors that are barriers

917
00:58:27,230 --> 00:58:30,940
to the animal rights movement, and the biggest

918
00:58:31,440 --> 00:58:34,980
one, like Steph said, is lack of care from

919
00:58:35,480 --> 00:58:39,340
the general population about what happens to animals, because there are bigger

920
00:58:39,840 --> 00:58:43,460
problems in the world, according to them. Yeah. So I think breaking

921
00:58:43,960 --> 00:58:47,780
that barrier is really important. And meeting people where they

922
00:58:48,280 --> 00:58:51,980
are and getting them to. Making them feel

923
00:58:52,480 --> 00:58:55,940
heard and they admit their problems are important too,

924
00:58:56,440 --> 00:58:59,260
or what they're facing is important too. And I think that's the way you can

925
00:58:59,760 --> 00:59:02,160
kind of get people in. But the. Yeah, these are hard times right now.

926
00:59:02,660 --> 00:59:06,040
This is unprecedented. And, you know,

927
00:59:06,540 --> 00:59:09,680
more than ever, animals need us, but more than ever do we have.

928
00:59:10,080 --> 00:59:13,400
I mean, for me, at least, this is anecdotal, but I've

929
00:59:13,900 --> 00:59:17,400
seen activists come and go over the years. And when you come, I thank you

930
00:59:17,900 --> 00:59:20,640
for your service. When you go, you know, you're always welcome back.

931
00:59:21,360 --> 00:59:24,680
But too many people have left the movement. It's so much smaller now

932
00:59:25,180 --> 00:59:28,760
than it used to be. I mean, I think veganism, the hate day

933
00:59:29,260 --> 00:59:32,560
of veganism is over. I remember a veganism boom when I went

934
00:59:33,060 --> 00:59:36,920
Vegan. It was 2017, everybody was going vegan. Everybody was talking

935
00:59:37,420 --> 00:59:39,600
about going vegan. It was on the news. It was like, in fashion, right?

936
00:59:39,680 --> 00:59:43,399
Yeah, every. Like everybody was going vegan and it was a huge

937
00:59:43,899 --> 00:59:48,000
thing. And I was like, it was such a wild time. And that is

938
00:59:48,500 --> 00:59:52,000
gone. You know, that is gone. There's times where we need to bring it back.

939
00:59:52,560 --> 00:59:55,480
We need to bring it back in a more acceptance,

940
00:59:55,630 --> 00:59:59,550
accessible way that can accommodate

941
01:00:00,050 --> 01:00:04,190
everyone. Yeah. And there is a place for everyone. Everyone has their passions,

942
01:00:04,690 --> 01:00:08,350
their interests, their talents, and we need all of that. Whether you're someone

943
01:00:08,850 --> 01:00:11,510
that does art or writing, I mean, there is a place for everyone in this

944
01:00:12,010 --> 01:00:15,470
movement. You don't have to be some amazing influencer or, you know,

945
01:00:15,870 --> 01:00:19,510
someone who's really. Great and don't expect to be, because I

946
01:00:20,010 --> 01:00:22,830
think a lot of people think they're going to be an influencer and they start

947
01:00:23,330 --> 01:00:26,810
out posting and then algorithms get the best of them or burnout takes

948
01:00:27,310 --> 01:00:30,330
over or whatever. And it's like, just do it for the animals every day.

949
01:00:30,830 --> 01:00:33,290
Because I think you can't go wrong when you're doing it for the animals.

950
01:00:33,610 --> 01:00:37,650
You know, you guys are so positive and I love that because we

951
01:00:38,150 --> 01:00:40,409
need that and you guys have a lot of energy. So what would you say

952
01:00:40,909 --> 01:00:44,050
to. I always say, okay, so if

953
01:00:44,550 --> 01:00:47,850
you're vegan, you're saving a finite number of animals, Right.

954
01:00:48,090 --> 01:00:51,910
So you have to do more. So what would you say to a vegan who's

955
01:00:52,410 --> 01:00:55,670
kind of like, oh, I don't know about being an activist. Well, first of all,

956
01:00:56,170 --> 01:00:59,390
I would. I would bust the myth that being vegan

957
01:00:59,890 --> 01:01:03,430
saves animals. It doesn't. It does not. Because of subsidies. It does.

958
01:01:03,930 --> 01:01:06,910
You do not. The number of animals being killed for food is going up every

959
01:01:07,410 --> 01:01:10,990
year regardless if you're vegan or not, period. That's why you need to be active.

960
01:01:12,110 --> 01:01:15,950
Active doesn't mean screaming into a megaphone on a street corner

961
01:01:16,450 --> 01:01:21,060
in front of hundreds of people. That can be writing a

962
01:01:21,560 --> 01:01:24,820
one paragraph letter to your representative. That can be

963
01:01:25,320 --> 01:01:28,260
picking up the phone and calling a restaurant and asking them to stop serving foie

964
01:01:28,760 --> 01:01:31,260
gras. That can be signing a petition that can be, you know,

965
01:01:32,300 --> 01:01:35,420
fostering animals, that can be working at a sanctuary. It can.

966
01:01:35,920 --> 01:01:38,540
It comes in so many forms. We need you.

967
01:01:38,700 --> 01:01:42,140
That's. That's what the message is. Basically. It's like, we need you.

968
01:01:42,640 --> 01:01:45,910
No matter what you're willing to offer, we won't take it. Yeah,

969
01:01:46,310 --> 01:01:49,510
you. That's right. We need more people.

970
01:01:50,010 --> 01:01:52,870
We need. Yeah. But, yeah, there's something for everybody, just like Steph said.

971
01:01:53,270 --> 01:01:57,590
Yeah. Like even going to a legislative office if it's just me or,

972
01:01:58,310 --> 01:02:01,750
you know, or me and Patrick, if. But if I have five other people

973
01:02:01,990 --> 01:02:04,390
walking with me, they're going to take notice.

974
01:02:04,870 --> 01:02:08,270
So, you know the same thing. You know, like, if you're standing out there to

975
01:02:08,770 --> 01:02:12,010
protest, two people at a protest is doable. Right.

976
01:02:12,330 --> 01:02:15,530
But having 20 people at a protest or 30 or 40 people

977
01:02:16,030 --> 01:02:19,530
at a protest is. Means so much more to the people walking by,

978
01:02:20,030 --> 01:02:23,450
to the industry that you're fighting. And we just really need people.

979
01:02:23,950 --> 01:02:27,290
And that's what this podcast is. Get out there. Yeah, Go. You won't regret it.

980
01:02:27,790 --> 01:02:30,850
Just go and join whatever group is local and you can do things

981
01:02:31,350 --> 01:02:34,410
online. You don't have to leave your home. Yes. There's so many ways to get

982
01:02:34,910 --> 01:02:38,810
involved. We just need you to do something. Yeah. And they can follow Revolution

983
01:02:39,310 --> 01:02:42,290
Philadelphia and find all those. Those opportunities.

984
01:02:42,850 --> 01:02:45,810
We'll get to a little bit more about that in a minute.

985
01:02:45,970 --> 01:02:49,810
But so how do you each

986
01:02:49,890 --> 01:02:53,410
avoid burnout? Because you guys do a lot,

987
01:02:54,770 --> 01:02:57,330
you know, and I said in the beginning of one of my other episodes,

988
01:02:57,650 --> 01:03:01,370
you know, we're not expecting everyone listening to do everything

989
01:03:01,870 --> 01:03:05,290
that we do. We just happen to have energy. We have the time. We have

990
01:03:05,790 --> 01:03:09,350
whatever it is. That's our mojo, you know, But. And, but you have

991
01:03:09,850 --> 01:03:12,830
your own mojo, and we're gonna help you find it. But how do you avoid

992
01:03:13,330 --> 01:03:16,870
burnout with everything you guys are doing? Working full time. Go ahead.

993
01:03:17,110 --> 01:03:20,710
I learned how to say no. A lot of.

994
01:03:21,210 --> 01:03:24,470
We get DMS all the time. Can you look at this? This dog is here.

995
01:03:24,970 --> 01:03:27,110
Can you go there and look at this? You should be doing this campaign.

996
01:03:27,610 --> 01:03:31,230
You should be doing that campaign. We. We don't

997
01:03:31,730 --> 01:03:35,310
go beyond our bandwidth. We have a few times, and we saw what it does.

998
01:03:35,810 --> 01:03:39,190
I mean, it burns you out. So we know when to say no. We don't

999
01:03:39,690 --> 01:03:43,310
go beyond our bandwidth. And like I said before, we just pick up for each

1000
01:03:43,810 --> 01:03:46,190
other, which we're very lucky to. That's why we're so lucky to have each other.

1001
01:03:46,690 --> 01:03:49,949
So, yeah, there are times where I'm like, I can't do anything

1002
01:03:50,449 --> 01:03:53,670
this week. I'm, you know, for whatever reason,

1003
01:03:54,230 --> 01:03:57,430
and the girls pick up the slack and it's fine.

1004
01:03:57,670 --> 01:04:01,070
Yeah. And when people do reach out, we try to empower them,

1005
01:04:01,570 --> 01:04:04,920
too, because we can't be everywhere. We're not in the city center.

1006
01:04:05,420 --> 01:04:08,640
Like, you see this problem. Here's what you do. Like, please take over this issue

1007
01:04:09,140 --> 01:04:11,440
and you can do it. We're here to support you. So we try to do

1008
01:04:11,940 --> 01:04:15,000
that, too, as much as possible, just so more people are helping more animals.

1009
01:04:15,160 --> 01:04:18,760
But like I said before, I'm not great at relaxing and doing

1010
01:04:19,260 --> 01:04:22,720
nothing. So for me, the way that I survive and feel good

1011
01:04:23,220 --> 01:04:27,320
is by doing anything, whether it's signing a petition, sharing something on social media,

1012
01:04:27,800 --> 01:04:30,960
setting up a meeting with a legislator. If I'm not in the works of

1013
01:04:31,460 --> 01:04:34,800
doing something, I don't feel good. So the way that I, you know,

1014
01:04:35,300 --> 01:04:38,680
can kind of process everything is by having things going on, by feeling like

1015
01:04:39,180 --> 01:04:42,760
I'm making a difference. So that's kind of what moves me. Yeah. But whenever I

1016
01:04:43,260 --> 01:04:46,120
can, that's what I'm trying to do. Yeah, that's me too. I kind of like,

1017
01:04:46,620 --> 01:04:49,920
I'm always. But I do take, I do. I have learned recently

1018
01:04:50,000 --> 01:04:53,920
to take a day off if I'm feeling just really

1019
01:04:54,420 --> 01:04:58,620
overloaded. And I'm like, I have to just take the day off and

1020
01:04:58,700 --> 01:05:02,060
that's it, you know, and be. And be okay with that. And I think it's

1021
01:05:02,560 --> 01:05:04,740
so good. And you guys all have each other, you know, and you can do

1022
01:05:05,240 --> 01:05:08,060
that and just kind of pass it off or you know what, there's no harm

1023
01:05:08,560 --> 01:05:11,900
in taking time off because if you burn out, then the animals lose big time.

1024
01:05:12,400 --> 01:05:15,580
Right, Right. Yeah. And we do take breaks. We do, like, we'll go on little

1025
01:05:16,080 --> 01:05:17,740
trips or, you know, we have a day where we go out to dinner.

1026
01:05:18,240 --> 01:05:21,060
Like you, you do need a break. It is your own life and you want

1027
01:05:21,560 --> 01:05:23,580
to have joy, so you just try to find that joy wherever you can.

1028
01:05:23,820 --> 01:05:27,300
Watching reality show or taking the dog for a walk. Yeah,

1029
01:05:27,800 --> 01:05:31,300
you do need those breaks where you remember how beautiful it is outside or

1030
01:05:31,800 --> 01:05:34,860
that there's other things in the world that are going good. Yeah, yeah.

1031
01:05:35,360 --> 01:05:38,540
Because you don't want to go down that negative rabbit

1032
01:05:39,040 --> 01:05:41,900
hole, I guess, to, you know, and just be really mad at humanity forever and

1033
01:05:42,400 --> 01:05:45,780
be angry. So we, you need things that lift you up and find your people,

1034
01:05:46,420 --> 01:05:49,940
you know, and hang out with other vegans and other, you know,

1035
01:05:50,250 --> 01:05:53,010
people like you. And I think that's really important. It's so good that you guys

1036
01:05:53,510 --> 01:05:56,130
have each other. Do you guys all live kind of close to each other so

1037
01:05:56,630 --> 01:05:59,770
you can see each other? But monsieur. Right now. But yeah, she's.

1038
01:05:59,850 --> 01:06:03,210
She's in sunny California while we're freezing. And I have like a half a

1039
01:06:03,710 --> 01:06:07,370
foot of snow under my window right now? Yeah, we're all pretty

1040
01:06:07,870 --> 01:06:11,490
close. We're within 20, 30 minutes of each other. That's awesome. I also have a

1041
01:06:11,990 --> 01:06:15,850
note of a future campaign that I think it says Slaughterhouse

1042
01:06:16,350 --> 01:06:19,880
to Greenhouse. Do you guys want to talk about that? Yeah. So Slaughterhouse

1043
01:06:20,380 --> 01:06:24,480
to Greenhouse has been on our 10 year plan for

1044
01:06:24,560 --> 01:06:28,000
five years. So slaughterhouse

1045
01:06:28,500 --> 01:06:31,880
to greenhouse. There's a lot to do, is a great idea. It just takes,

1046
01:06:32,380 --> 01:06:35,960
it's going to be more resources than we have. So that's why

1047
01:06:36,460 --> 01:06:39,760
it's something that is in the works and always in the back of our mind.

1048
01:06:40,260 --> 01:06:43,760
So we have about a dozen live slaughterhouses in Philadelphia and they're not

1049
01:06:44,260 --> 01:06:47,870
in the center city. They're not in the nice places of Philadelphia where

1050
01:06:48,370 --> 01:06:51,430
people go shopping. They're hidden in the corners of the city where, you know,

1051
01:06:51,930 --> 01:06:53,630
these animals aren't seen. Yeah. That we bring.

1052
01:06:55,550 --> 01:06:59,270
We had an idea on its most basic

1053
01:06:59,770 --> 01:07:02,830
level to transition these slaughterhouses into greenhouses.

1054
01:07:03,390 --> 01:07:06,670
And this was initially Monty's idea when Red Philly started. Like this is one of

1055
01:07:07,170 --> 01:07:10,670
the first ideas we saw right away. I mean,

1056
01:07:11,170 --> 01:07:13,840
of course it's a great idea, but how are we going to do it?

1057
01:07:13,920 --> 01:07:18,800
Right? How are we going to do that? So it

1058
01:07:18,960 --> 01:07:21,760
takes a lot of community building,

1059
01:07:21,840 --> 01:07:25,600
relationship building and a way

1060
01:07:26,100 --> 01:07:30,000
to reach these owners of these markets. So that is still a work in process.

1061
01:07:30,500 --> 01:07:34,400
It is a hope we don't want to see. You know, we love that cities

1062
01:07:34,900 --> 01:07:38,120
do like slaughter free, whatever city you're in. And that's

1063
01:07:38,620 --> 01:07:42,020
what we want in Philadelphia. But we want this slaughter not to be pushed out

1064
01:07:42,520 --> 01:07:45,340
to the country where it's even more unseen.

1065
01:07:45,500 --> 01:07:49,260
We want it to just be, we want it to end. And we want these

1066
01:07:50,300 --> 01:07:53,380
business owners to not lose their livelihoods and

1067
01:07:53,880 --> 01:07:57,300
be able to transition to something more sustainable for them and their

1068
01:07:57,800 --> 01:08:01,860
families and their business. So it's

1069
01:08:02,360 --> 01:08:05,300
a long term goal of Red Phillies. I hope someday we achieve it, but we're

1070
01:08:05,800 --> 01:08:09,180
always working on it. Yeah, yeah. And these places where the slaughterhouses are our

1071
01:08:09,680 --> 01:08:13,460
food deserts, they don't have fresh produce and, you know, healthy foods

1072
01:08:13,960 --> 01:08:17,660
available. So we would love to see instead of a stinky, dirty slaughterhouse

1073
01:08:18,160 --> 01:08:21,580
that spreads disease, a place where people can get healthy whole

1074
01:08:22,080 --> 01:08:25,780
foods, fruit and veggies and. Yeah. So yeah, we've thought

1075
01:08:26,280 --> 01:08:29,500
about partnering with farmers and partnering with legislators.

1076
01:08:30,000 --> 01:08:33,310
It's just. Yeah, it's a, it's a work in progress, a dream that we hope

1077
01:08:33,810 --> 01:08:37,670
someday to be able. Yeah. And it would benefit the communities involved so

1078
01:08:38,170 --> 01:08:41,110
much. I don't live in a big city and you know, I didn't even think

1079
01:08:41,610 --> 01:08:45,190
about there being, you know, these slaughterhouses in, in Philadelphia.

1080
01:08:45,690 --> 01:08:47,870
You always think New York City because you hear about that a lot more maybe,

1081
01:08:48,370 --> 01:08:52,030
or there's maybe more videos online about it. But what is a big challenge

1082
01:08:52,430 --> 01:08:56,230
working, doing your work in a big city? I don't know

1083
01:08:56,730 --> 01:09:00,390
what Ranking. Patrick probably knows. He always knows what cities rank in the biggest

1084
01:09:00,890 --> 01:09:04,220
cities in the country. I don't know how you guys rank. But the

1085
01:09:04,720 --> 01:09:08,260
biggest challenge to doing animal rights work in a big city is

1086
01:09:08,760 --> 01:09:12,900
the endless needs. There are endless needs in Philadelphia,

1087
01:09:13,300 --> 01:09:16,500
and it comes down to most the. The most needs.

1088
01:09:17,060 --> 01:09:21,140
If you think about animals on the spectrum, like, for the general population,

1089
01:09:21,220 --> 01:09:24,300
care most about their companion animals, their dogs and cats, and then

1090
01:09:24,800 --> 01:09:28,180
they eat other animals. Yeah. There is so much animal abuse with

1091
01:09:28,680 --> 01:09:32,690
companion animals and neglect and abandonment and

1092
01:09:33,190 --> 01:09:36,490
overflowing of city shelters, and just. It's. It's horrible,

1093
01:09:36,990 --> 01:09:39,450
and it's a major issue in our city. So,

1094
01:09:40,330 --> 01:09:43,770
yeah, that's def. The needs are endless, basically. Yeah. Knowing where

1095
01:09:44,270 --> 01:09:47,410
to start, knowing what to get involved with, which is why a lot of times,

1096
01:09:47,910 --> 01:09:51,250
we do partner with other organizations. There are some amazing organizations

1097
01:09:51,750 --> 01:09:55,660
in Philadelphia, and we try to help them when we can and

1098
01:09:56,160 --> 01:09:58,860
just try to partner because we all need each other. We all do different things,

1099
01:09:59,360 --> 01:10:02,940
and it's great to come together and either raise money or donate or things

1100
01:10:03,440 --> 01:10:06,540
like that, but, yeah, the need is endless. Yeah. Yeah. Like, we're.

1101
01:10:07,040 --> 01:10:10,860
We're not even a rescue, and we've had rescues. I mean, we've had animal

1102
01:10:11,360 --> 01:10:14,300
rescues where we had to come up with, like, adoption contracts and all this stuff.

1103
01:10:14,800 --> 01:10:17,380
Oh, wow. And we're like, oh, my gosh. This is what we. This is not

1104
01:10:17,880 --> 01:10:21,180
on our bingo card, but the dog's tied to a pole, you know. Yeah.

1105
01:10:22,360 --> 01:10:25,400
Things happen, things come up. But, yeah,

1106
01:10:25,480 --> 01:10:29,520
the needs in the big cities are endless for animals. So getting

1107
01:10:30,020 --> 01:10:33,360
people to even care about companion animals can be a challenge. And getting them

1108
01:10:33,860 --> 01:10:37,480
to care about food animals is like. Yeah. So it feels

1109
01:10:37,960 --> 01:10:41,520
overwhelming to have a city where,

1110
01:10:42,020 --> 01:10:45,280
you know, you're trying to change a city, an entire

1111
01:10:45,780 --> 01:10:48,440
city, and the way of thinking and the way we use animals in every way,

1112
01:10:48,940 --> 01:10:52,020
shape and form, especially when you realize we can't even get people to,

1113
01:10:52,520 --> 01:10:55,860
like, do the right thing for dogs. It's hard, but it's. It's worth it because

1114
01:10:56,360 --> 01:11:01,860
we are seeing the results of it. We're seeing more compassionate pet

1115
01:11:02,420 --> 01:11:06,180
guardianship. We're seeing, you know, more programs, more food banks.

1116
01:11:06,420 --> 01:11:09,620
We're seeing more things come to reality in Philly,

1117
01:11:10,120 --> 01:11:13,620
which is great. And we're here for it, and we are here to support

1118
01:11:14,120 --> 01:11:17,060
it along the way. No matter what it is, if it's helping animals, we're in.

1119
01:11:17,340 --> 01:11:20,580
Yeah. Yeah. And the campaigns that we choose are things that we

1120
01:11:21,080 --> 01:11:24,740
think we can win, because when we have those little wins, the successes of places

1121
01:11:25,240 --> 01:11:28,620
dropping foie gras, the horses off the streets. It shows people like, this is all

1122
01:11:29,120 --> 01:11:32,300
for something. You can make a difference. So we do try to pick campaigns that,

1123
01:11:32,380 --> 01:11:35,700
you know, this is a no brainer. This is low hanging fruit. Like we don't

1124
01:11:36,200 --> 01:11:39,580
need horses, we don't need foie gras, you know, we don't need

1125
01:11:40,080 --> 01:11:43,420
breeders. Yeah. So it's important for the activists that are helping.

1126
01:11:44,050 --> 01:11:48,010
Um, and then, and then these are educational things for the public too. And it

1127
01:11:48,510 --> 01:11:52,170
builds on, you know, the bigger. The bigger movement.

1128
01:11:52,670 --> 01:11:55,650
Yeah. Bigger job of the vegan world. Right. At the same time. Yeah.

1129
01:11:55,810 --> 01:11:58,890
I mean, when we first started and we were doing our community building,

1130
01:11:59,390 --> 01:12:02,330
one of the first things we got involved in as an org with other orgs

1131
01:12:02,830 --> 01:12:05,970
was fur. And we were involved in the sax campaign and that

1132
01:12:06,470 --> 01:12:09,970
was the first time we went disrupted and protested for fur.

1133
01:12:10,370 --> 01:12:13,490
It was the first time we ever did this. And in Philadelphia, for us,

1134
01:12:13,810 --> 01:12:16,880
under our banner, in collaboration.

1135
01:12:17,380 --> 01:12:20,640
And we won. Yes. Dropped fur. And we were like,

1136
01:12:21,140 --> 01:12:23,520
oh my gosh. That was from us.

1137
01:12:24,240 --> 01:12:27,360
You can't believe this. Yeah. We just kept going and doing more

1138
01:12:27,860 --> 01:12:30,840
and more and more. And that gets everybody so riled up. So one of my

1139
01:12:31,340 --> 01:12:34,760
big things with our group, our, you know, big group of

1140
01:12:35,260 --> 01:12:38,360
activists in Philly is when something good happens, I blast it. I'm like,

1141
01:12:38,860 --> 01:12:42,480
guys, guess what? Like, guess what happened. Yeah. Even if it celebrate.

1142
01:12:43,000 --> 01:12:45,880
Yeah. Like this time, you know, somebody rescued a.

1143
01:12:46,360 --> 01:12:50,080
A hen from a live market. Yeah. Guess what? You know, everybody gets

1144
01:12:50,580 --> 01:12:54,160
really excited when these things happen. Yeah. Because there's so much, there's so much

1145
01:12:54,660 --> 01:12:58,200
bad that we see. So celebrating every little victory is

1146
01:12:58,700 --> 01:13:01,720
so important because that's a good way to avoid burnout.

1147
01:13:01,880 --> 01:13:05,040
Yeah. It's just to make sure you recognize that and give

1148
01:13:05,540 --> 01:13:07,560
yourself credit for, you know,

1149
01:13:08,850 --> 01:13:11,890
anybody who's a voice for give yourself credit. If you said, you know,

1150
01:13:12,390 --> 01:13:15,410
I wrote three letters to legislators this week, I did really good

1151
01:13:15,910 --> 01:13:19,490
this week. Like, give yourself credit for that. Instead of like, I wrote three letters

1152
01:13:19,990 --> 01:13:22,130
to legislators. They probably don't give a shit and they don't care. You know,

1153
01:13:22,630 --> 01:13:26,410
like, it's like, it's in the way that you talk to yourself about

1154
01:13:26,910 --> 01:13:29,930
what you're doing too. I think that's so important. Like so much psychological what we

1155
01:13:30,430 --> 01:13:33,730
have to go through. Because it's emotional. Yeah. And this is our passion,

1156
01:13:34,230 --> 01:13:37,010
but it's, it's, it's very emotional work and it's really hard,

1157
01:13:37,910 --> 01:13:41,590
so. And we even celebrate other groups, victories, other groups

1158
01:13:42,470 --> 01:13:45,670
around the country. Yeah. When they're able to have a Restaurant drop something. We,

1159
01:13:46,170 --> 01:13:49,790
we share that too, because this inspires, you know, when we see people being successful

1160
01:13:50,290 --> 01:13:53,030
in New York and other places, that makes us want to try even harder and

1161
01:13:53,110 --> 01:13:55,830
get doable and. Yeah, yeah.

1162
01:13:56,630 --> 01:13:59,790
Very inspirational. Yeah, I like that about you guys so much

1163
01:14:00,290 --> 01:14:03,270
because you, you really do work with other groups and you work with other groups.

1164
01:14:03,770 --> 01:14:06,920
Well, there's some groups who don't want to work with other groups. They want to

1165
01:14:07,420 --> 01:14:10,560
do things on their own. They want. There's individuals that want to do things on

1166
01:14:11,060 --> 01:14:14,200
their own. I think they wind up burning out. And I think it's so important

1167
01:14:14,360 --> 01:14:17,880
to collaborate and work together as much as we can because,

1168
01:14:18,680 --> 01:14:21,800
you know, it's all, it's all. It just goes back to the animals every

1169
01:14:22,300 --> 01:14:25,920
time, you know, and it's like we're stronger together all the time. It helps the

1170
01:14:26,420 --> 01:14:30,120
greater good get on board. Yeah, exactly. And I think another

1171
01:14:30,620 --> 01:14:33,640
barrier like we were talking about earlier is, you know, unfortunately,

1172
01:14:34,320 --> 01:14:38,000
just like every movement, including the animal rights movement, there, There are

1173
01:14:38,500 --> 01:14:42,080
egos. Yeah. And people need to lose your ego.

1174
01:14:42,580 --> 01:14:45,680
You have to break that barrier because. Not about you.

1175
01:14:45,920 --> 01:14:49,200
It's not about you. Right. It's not. Sorry. Yeah.

1176
01:14:49,700 --> 01:14:51,200
Well, that's good. We need to talk about that.

1177
01:14:52,960 --> 01:14:56,080
I think it's something we talk about behind closed doors a lot, you know,

1178
01:14:56,320 --> 01:14:58,640
but we need to talk about that publicly because,

1179
01:15:00,500 --> 01:15:03,820
you know, people do try to be an influencer, right. They try to go to

1180
01:15:04,320 --> 01:15:07,500
a few things, take videos, do a live and then they post and then

1181
01:15:08,000 --> 01:15:11,220
they don't get any likes and then they just give up and

1182
01:15:11,720 --> 01:15:14,260
they never go to a protest again. And it's like, that's ego to me.

1183
01:15:14,340 --> 01:15:17,460
It's like, that's why you were doing it, to go and take a video.

1184
01:15:17,700 --> 01:15:20,900
Like, no, you need to be out here and, and not take.

1185
01:15:21,400 --> 01:15:24,100
There's times I go to protest, I don't have my picture taken.

1186
01:15:25,380 --> 01:15:28,500
Right. I don't even, you know, and I'm like, sometimes I'll be like,

1187
01:15:29,000 --> 01:15:31,460
oh, I should probably. I don't have time. I don't need my picture yet.

1188
01:15:31,960 --> 01:15:35,180
Well, let's take pictures someone else and post it or whatever. But I think that

1189
01:15:35,900 --> 01:15:40,060
a lot of people or they. This is why I hate. I've always talked

1190
01:15:40,560 --> 01:15:44,180
about this. I don't like gurus and I don't like. And influencers

1191
01:15:44,680 --> 01:15:49,180
are the next step. It's the modern day guru. I think that you

1192
01:15:49,680 --> 01:15:53,360
follow these people and look, we know it with celebrities, right? So you

1193
01:15:53,860 --> 01:15:56,800
love this celebrity and then you see them in person and they're like, A shit

1194
01:15:57,300 --> 01:16:00,880
show. You're like, I like this person. Or they wore fur or whatever

1195
01:16:00,960 --> 01:16:04,120
they do some, you know, they always fall from grace, you know.

1196
01:16:04,620 --> 01:16:07,720
Yeah. So these popular influencer,

1197
01:16:08,220 --> 01:16:11,880
guru, whatever they are, it's like, come on, you know, like even

1198
01:16:12,380 --> 01:16:15,480
Peter Singer has things we don't. Like that he will do that.

1199
01:16:15,980 --> 01:16:19,000
We're like, what the hell, Peter Singer? You know, it's like these people aren't like

1200
01:16:19,500 --> 01:16:22,200
the be all, end all. So it's just like we all have to do things

1201
01:16:22,280 --> 01:16:25,640
and not, you know, I don't know. I think we should.

1202
01:16:25,800 --> 01:16:29,800
I always say I learn more about what not to do than what to do

1203
01:16:30,300 --> 01:16:33,680
looking at other people. Because I think that's just as important too.

1204
01:16:34,180 --> 01:16:38,360
But yeah, taking that. The ego out. Because it's not about us, you know.

1205
01:16:38,440 --> 01:16:41,640
Well, that's what causes fights and arguments and it takes

1206
01:16:42,140 --> 01:16:45,560
away from why we're here. Like, it's. It's not about who gets more

1207
01:16:46,060 --> 01:16:49,840
airtime or who gets more, you know, likes. It's what message are you getting across?

1208
01:16:50,340 --> 01:16:54,040
Yeah. Like, we want, if we can get the campaign won

1209
01:16:54,120 --> 01:16:57,520
by this way versus our way, we'll do that way.

1210
01:16:58,020 --> 01:17:00,760
Yeah. Right. We will uplift any person.

1211
01:17:01,240 --> 01:17:05,320
Organization. Yeah. That is

1212
01:17:05,880 --> 01:17:09,200
doing the work and doing it the right way. And that's why we support so

1213
01:17:09,700 --> 01:17:12,720
many others. But we also know who to stay away from too. And that's where

1214
01:17:13,220 --> 01:17:16,430
the ego stuff comes in. You know, you kind of have to. You have to

1215
01:17:16,930 --> 01:17:20,150
find where you align most. And you're not just thinking about yourself at this

1216
01:17:20,650 --> 01:17:23,710
point. You're running an organization, you're representing an organization.

1217
01:17:23,870 --> 01:17:27,590
You're right. And the animal rights movement. Because people will be very quick

1218
01:17:28,090 --> 01:17:31,709
to say, oh, see, you know, it doesn't work because of this. Or, you know,

1219
01:17:32,209 --> 01:17:35,670
so you want to always be like a professional, productive group and not

1220
01:17:36,170 --> 01:17:39,310
get involved in any sort of drama and not take away from the purpose we're

1221
01:17:39,810 --> 01:17:43,000
here for, which is lead animals. Right. And for the everyday people who are getting

1222
01:17:43,500 --> 01:17:46,320
involved. If you're in a group and it doesn't feel right, then go find another

1223
01:17:46,820 --> 01:17:49,640
group. Yeah. Because if it doesn't feel right, it's not going to be right for

1224
01:17:50,140 --> 01:17:53,000
you. Or if you're not, start your own. Yeah. Or start your own. If these

1225
01:17:53,500 --> 01:17:56,760
guys can do it in 2020. I didn't know that. And I was like,

1226
01:17:57,260 --> 01:18:00,520
viewers. We couldn't wait to get out. Oh,

1227
01:18:01,020 --> 01:18:04,280
my God. That's where everything was falling apart. You guys just rose up out of

1228
01:18:04,780 --> 01:18:08,390
like the ashes. So awesome. Okay, so how can

1229
01:18:08,890 --> 01:18:12,350
people get involved with Revolution Philadelphia.

1230
01:18:12,910 --> 01:18:16,670
So you can always reach us by DM on social media.

1231
01:18:17,310 --> 01:18:19,150
Follow us on Instagram, Facebook,

1232
01:18:21,070 --> 01:18:23,950
Rev. Philly.org is our website.

1233
01:18:24,830 --> 01:18:28,550
I run social media. Yep. Oh, thank you. And you

1234
01:18:29,050 --> 01:18:31,790
can DM us anytime and come to something. Yeah.

1235
01:18:32,030 --> 01:18:35,330
That's awesome. And you have online actions. Oh, yeah.

1236
01:18:35,830 --> 01:18:38,970
That you do. All the time. All the time. Yeah. And we'll be doing

1237
01:18:39,470 --> 01:18:42,450
some online actions with that horse racing campaign with, when we work with you guys.

1238
01:18:42,950 --> 01:18:46,450
Absolutely. And people from everywhere can get involved. We want, People need

1239
01:18:46,950 --> 01:18:50,010
your help. We'll need it. Yes, we'll need, we'll need your help. And then,

1240
01:18:50,410 --> 01:18:53,570
and share. Share those victories. You know,

1241
01:18:54,070 --> 01:18:56,970
when they're posting about victories, share it and tell, talk to your friends about it

1242
01:18:57,470 --> 01:19:01,470
and stuff, too. Anything else you guys want to. If someone out there

1243
01:19:01,970 --> 01:19:05,190
is thinking of starting a campaign or they see something wrong, there's a,

1244
01:19:05,690 --> 01:19:08,830
an aquarium nearby or, you know, a petting zoo, and they,

1245
01:19:09,330 --> 01:19:12,590
they see animals, you know, not being treated the way they should. Take pictures,

1246
01:19:13,090 --> 01:19:16,190
document. Reach out to us. We'll help you start a campaign. We'll, you know,

1247
01:19:16,690 --> 01:19:19,190
based on things that we've learned, we don't have all the answers, but, yeah,

1248
01:19:19,690 --> 01:19:22,030
based on things we've done, we'd be more than happy to help you get something

1249
01:19:22,530 --> 01:19:25,990
started in your area, you know, or connect you with somebody. Yeah,

1250
01:19:26,490 --> 01:19:29,670
exactly. There's groups everywhere that you can get involved with, or if

1251
01:19:30,170 --> 01:19:33,290
you want to do something on your own, we're here to support you war activists.

1252
01:19:33,610 --> 01:19:36,730
The more the better. So, yeah, please reach out.

1253
01:19:37,370 --> 01:19:40,090
Please take action. Yeah, we need you.

1254
01:19:40,410 --> 01:19:43,610
You could start your own group with just a couple people, you know, like,

1255
01:19:44,090 --> 01:19:47,410
people. It is doable. It's not, it's not the easiest thing to

1256
01:19:47,910 --> 01:19:50,970
do, but, you know, if you have drive and ambition like these two women do,

1257
01:19:51,050 --> 01:19:55,050
you can do it. You can make anything happen with dedication,

1258
01:19:55,290 --> 01:19:58,970
passion, consistency. I, I, I think I say it

1259
01:19:59,470 --> 01:20:02,370
almost every episode now. It's the long game, and it's consistency. That's what's going to

1260
01:20:02,870 --> 01:20:06,450
get you anywhere. And doors open, you know, like, and.

1261
01:20:06,950 --> 01:20:10,530
As long as you don't give up. Activism begins, is stronger. You know,

1262
01:20:11,030 --> 01:20:14,610
like, as you, as you move on, I know my activism gets stronger every

1263
01:20:15,110 --> 01:20:18,250
day. You know, talking to you, it fuels me up, you know, like, I'm gonna

1264
01:20:18,750 --> 01:20:22,050
have a great day after talking to you guys today, you know, because it's like,

1265
01:20:22,130 --> 01:20:26,050
you know, it's just, you know, we're, we lift each other up and, and being

1266
01:20:26,550 --> 01:20:30,090
around each other. I think it's so important. All right, so Sometimes

1267
01:20:30,590 --> 01:20:33,180
what I like to do at the end and for a little extra entertainment.

1268
01:20:33,680 --> 01:20:37,140
And so for some fun, because we have to remember to have some fun as

1269
01:20:37,460 --> 01:20:41,220
activists. We can't be miserable all the time about

1270
01:20:41,720 --> 01:20:45,140
all the bad things that happen to animals. So I do a little lightning round.

1271
01:20:45,540 --> 01:20:49,140
So I'm going to ask. I've never had two people

1272
01:20:49,640 --> 01:20:52,060
on for this, so we'll see how it goes. And I'll call on you if

1273
01:20:52,560 --> 01:20:55,580
I have to. But I want you both to answer some of these questions.

1274
01:20:56,080 --> 01:20:58,380
Don't think too much, just kind of answer. Although one one of you will be

1275
01:20:58,880 --> 01:21:01,260
able to think a little bit longer, I suppose, while someone's answering.

1276
01:21:01,340 --> 01:21:04,580
Okay, so here we go. Ready? Are you guys ready? What is

1277
01:21:05,080 --> 01:21:08,620
your favorite vegan comfort food? Ice cream.

1278
01:21:08,780 --> 01:21:12,820
Ice cream, Stephanie? I'd say for me, probably milkshakes

1279
01:21:13,320 --> 01:21:16,860
and burgers. Oh, yummy yum. Do you make your own milkshakes?

1280
01:21:17,340 --> 01:21:20,780
I don't. There are some fantastic places near us

1281
01:21:20,860 --> 01:21:24,060
that have amazing milkshakes. I could tell you every one of them.

1282
01:21:24,380 --> 01:21:27,740
But yeah, I have to add that Stephanie is Red

1283
01:21:28,240 --> 01:21:31,160
Phillies foodie. If you're looking for food, food in the.

1284
01:21:31,720 --> 01:21:34,920
In the country. Yeah. They'll tell you where the

1285
01:21:35,420 --> 01:21:38,760
best vegan spots are. I plan vacations around vegan food. Yes, for sure.

1286
01:21:38,920 --> 01:21:42,680
And it proves you can be a foodie and an activist.

1287
01:21:43,180 --> 01:21:47,160
Right? I wasn't vegan. I could care less about food. Honestly, I never

1288
01:21:47,660 --> 01:21:50,360
cared about dinner. I did not care at all. But now, being a vegan,

1289
01:21:50,680 --> 01:21:53,840
I am a little food obsessed. And I, yes, could tell you I love that.

1290
01:21:54,340 --> 01:21:57,810
And I think our taste buds open up. Oh, for sure. Because there's not

1291
01:21:58,310 --> 01:22:02,090
disgusting. Food is better when you're vegan. It is. It is

1292
01:22:02,590 --> 01:22:05,570
better when you're vegan. Most used emoji.

1293
01:22:07,410 --> 01:22:10,530
Laughing, laughing emoji, Stephanie.

1294
01:22:10,770 --> 01:22:13,970
Mine's probably the straight face emoji with the teeth.

1295
01:22:15,250 --> 01:22:19,130
I love that. Okay, if you could be any animal for

1296
01:22:19,630 --> 01:22:22,700
a day, who are you? My dog,

1297
01:22:22,860 --> 01:22:25,740
Oscar. Because he's so loved.

1298
01:22:26,380 --> 01:22:30,820
I just want to see what goes on in his little brain. So he

1299
01:22:31,320 --> 01:22:33,540
could be Oscar for a day. Got it. I'd be him for a day.

1300
01:22:34,040 --> 01:22:36,780
Yeah. I think I would be the same. I'd be my dog, River. He really

1301
01:22:37,280 --> 01:22:39,700
has the life and I'd love to know what he's thinking about and what he

1302
01:22:40,200 --> 01:22:43,820
thinks when he sees me. And he really does love getting all those kisses.

1303
01:22:44,320 --> 01:22:46,980
So. Yeah, I think I love that. I'm sure he loves getting all those kisses

1304
01:22:47,480 --> 01:22:50,350
every day. What is your activism? Superpower,

1305
01:22:51,390 --> 01:22:54,590
Tiffany. I'm a good liaison.

1306
01:22:55,710 --> 01:22:58,910
I'm good at bringing people together, connecting people,

1307
01:22:59,790 --> 01:23:03,110
kind of bringing all the parts together for whatever

1308
01:23:03,610 --> 01:23:06,750
it is that we're working on. So I like to be like the middle person.

1309
01:23:07,250 --> 01:23:10,830
And social media, I would say my social media with red Phillies. I'm very proud

1310
01:23:11,330 --> 01:23:14,910
of it. Definitely Stephanie. Yeah. Tiffany is our communicator. She could talk to anyone.

1311
01:23:15,950 --> 01:23:19,630
She's very personable. Yeah. She's very good at being the go

1312
01:23:20,130 --> 01:23:23,710
to. I. I think. I'm not sure about mine. Maybe just not giving

1313
01:23:24,210 --> 01:23:26,190
up. I don't know. No, I know what Steph says.

1314
01:23:26,350 --> 01:23:31,389
She's really, really good at approaching

1315
01:23:31,550 --> 01:23:35,350
people. That would make most people nervous. Like your legislators,

1316
01:23:35,850 --> 01:23:39,390
like the news media. Yeah. She has no problem picking

1317
01:23:39,890 --> 01:23:43,030
up the phone and calling anybody. Yeah, yeah. You know,

1318
01:23:43,530 --> 01:23:45,750
I would get, like, if I'm calling one of the chefs at the restaurant,

1319
01:23:46,250 --> 01:23:50,070
I would literally be, like, panicking inside as, like, my heart would be racing,

1320
01:23:50,570 --> 01:23:54,110
like. And Steph can call anybody. She can talk to anybody.

1321
01:23:54,830 --> 01:23:57,789
Same thing. So, yeah, I think there was mine.

1322
01:23:58,830 --> 01:24:02,550
I liked how you answered for her. I like that. If you, like, Stephanie backed

1323
01:24:03,050 --> 01:24:06,670
up Tiffany's, and then Tiffany's like, I. I'm gonna answer for you. I love that.

1324
01:24:07,310 --> 01:24:10,510
That's so good. What's giving you energy lately?

1325
01:24:11,150 --> 01:24:15,150
Seeing all of the wins around her

1326
01:24:15,550 --> 01:24:19,030
right now. I mean, and foie gras. Those two campaigns

1327
01:24:19,530 --> 01:24:23,430
are taking off mainly thanks

1328
01:24:23,930 --> 01:24:27,430
to orgs like KAFT and AAC who are doing great work.

1329
01:24:27,930 --> 01:24:32,510
But, yeah, that's what's giving me life. Yeah. I'd have to say definitely

1330
01:24:33,010 --> 01:24:36,880
that. Just seeing things making progress and even just conversations that I've

1331
01:24:37,380 --> 01:24:40,160
had with people, whether it's at work or at the gym, people just seem a

1332
01:24:40,660 --> 01:24:44,200
little bit more open to hearing about things they might not have been before.

1333
01:24:44,360 --> 01:24:47,000
So maybe just people being more open minded. Yeah.

1334
01:24:48,040 --> 01:24:50,520
Yeah. I think we're going to see an end to fur in our lifetimes.

1335
01:24:51,020 --> 01:24:54,640
I think it's coming. It's so. We're so close. And folk art too, I think.

1336
01:24:55,140 --> 01:24:59,200
I think we're just. We're getting there. And it's just. It's just activism that's

1337
01:24:59,700 --> 01:25:03,180
making both of these happen. And people need to realize that and take and

1338
01:25:03,680 --> 01:25:06,900
celebrate that. Okay, so the last one. What is one

1339
01:25:07,400 --> 01:25:11,100
thing that someone can do right now to help animals? People can

1340
01:25:11,600 --> 01:25:15,660
just spread awareness. There are so many endless issues with all

1341
01:25:16,160 --> 01:25:19,980
animals. I mean, pick an animal, there's an issue. Yeah. Spread awareness.

1342
01:25:20,480 --> 01:25:24,380
Make people aware of what's going on. Yeah. Maybe just pick a single issue

1343
01:25:24,880 --> 01:25:27,660
and then just Start with that, you know, with one action.

1344
01:25:27,900 --> 01:25:31,660
Yeah, yeah, I would piggyback on that for sure. Like pick an animal

1345
01:25:32,160 --> 01:25:35,340
you're passionate about. Pick an issue that you've seen that you care about and

1346
01:25:35,500 --> 01:25:38,340
try to figure out what you can do to change it. Whether it's start a

1347
01:25:38,840 --> 01:25:42,100
petition, write an email to, you know, a letter to the editor. You know,

1348
01:25:42,600 --> 01:25:46,060
reach your legislator. Pick one issue. You have to start somewhere and just make

1349
01:25:46,560 --> 01:25:49,700
that your passion. I love that. Well, thank you so

1350
01:25:50,200 --> 01:25:53,820
much for being here, you guys. You're so inspiring. We'll have you back because

1351
01:25:54,320 --> 01:25:57,690
I think we have so much more to talk about. I know I could keep

1352
01:25:58,190 --> 01:26:01,610
going. I know. So great. And. And you're. You're both a big

1353
01:26:02,110 --> 01:26:05,930
inspiration and, you know, just relentless activism. Just keep

1354
01:26:06,430 --> 01:26:10,250
going and going. And. And thank you so much for being here. Thank you

1355
01:26:10,750 --> 01:26:13,930
for having all you do for the animals. Well, thank you. You guys

1356
01:26:14,430 --> 01:26:17,650
inspire us as well. So we're very thankful for horse racing wrongs and all you

1357
01:26:18,150 --> 01:26:21,450
do. I mean, again, very inspirational. So thank you. Thank you.

1358
01:26:22,140 --> 01:26:25,260
Yeah, thanks for having us. It was a pleasure. And we want to come back

1359
01:26:25,760 --> 01:26:27,820
soon. Yes, yes. Thank you.

1360
01:26:31,340 --> 01:26:35,820
Hey, friends, if you're enjoying in behalf of animals, don't forget to subscribe

1361
01:26:35,900 --> 01:26:39,700
wherever you listen so you'll never miss an episode. And if you

1362
01:26:40,200 --> 01:26:42,980
love what we're doing, it would mean so much for you to share this podcast

1363
01:26:43,480 --> 01:26:46,820
with a friend. It's one of the best ways to help more people hear these

1364
01:26:47,320 --> 01:26:51,260
important conversations. You can also join our substack community for updates,

1365
01:26:51,580 --> 01:26:55,380
behind the scenes notes and ways to get involved. Thanks for listening.

1366
01:26:55,880 --> 01:26:58,980
And remember, be a voice for the animals every chance you