.
(Music)
This is high cow country.
This is summer grazing
country, some of the best
in the west.
This is the country of
big beef herds.
(Music)
It is like a pleasant
dream for this white faced
ruddy coated youngster.
Of all the faithful servants
of man-kind down through the
ages none has served us
better than Old Bossie,
the cow.
Since time began milk has
been one of the most
nutritious of all foods.
The baby chicks are so soft
and cuddly.
This is Betty's and James'
favorite chore.
No dinner bell is needed to
call this chow line
into action.
And it is quite a strain on
masculine discipline to
observe the rule of
ladies first.
Sue-uhh!
Sue-uhh!
Ahhh, Ahhh!
Sue-uhh!
Sue-uhh!
Sue-uhh!
Ahhh, Ahhh!
Sue-uhh!
Uncle Jim?
How do cows make milk?
Oh, they make it out of
what they eat.
Yeah, but what do
they eat?
Well, come on.
I'll show you.
Why that looks like some
of our breakfast cereals.
That's me!
Or rather, could have
been me.
No, I didn't grow up on a
farm, but I had a pretty
idealic American childhood.
I grew up in Evansville,
Indiana, which is a small
city in the middle of
corn country.
I was what my mom called a
good eater because I always
cleaned my plate
and drank my milk.
This is really me.
(Music)
When I was growing
up my dad worked in concrete
block manufacturing to bring
home the bacon.
And I love me some bacon,
and eggs and
especially cheese.
But after I grew up a little
and moved to New York
that all changed.
(Music)
Do you know what a
vegan is?
Not really.
A vegan is one who only
eats vegetables.
Close.
In addition to vegetables
they eat fruits, grains,
beans, nuts and seeds.
In short,
anything plant based.
Yeah, so they don't get
muscles like this.
Some of them do fish but
it just depends on
the person.
Not really.
A true vegan doesn't eat
fish, meat, poultry,
dairy or eggs.
A vegan also doesn't buy any
clothing made from animals,
such as leather, fur,
wool or silk.
Could you ever go vegan?
Ahh, I don't think so.
No.
I would love to but I
love my meat.
What about for $10,000?
No.
$100,000?
No.
Why should I change?
Good question.
Why would anybody want to
go vegan?
But right now there are
millions of Americans that
are doing it, which can seem
impossible in the world we
live in.
I always thought vegetarians
were different from me but I
kind of got it.
Now vegans, that was a whole
different story.
I just thought they were a
little off, slightly crazy
and quite extreme.
But then something really
strange happened to me.
I became one of them.
Here is what happened.
I found out that animal food
and clothing production
aren't as idealic as I
thought or as healthy for
the planet or our bodies.
I started to do my homework,
delving deeper and deeper
into the way our food and
clothes are produced and
suddenly veganism and vegans
made a whole lot of sense.
Now don't get me wrong, I
still understand that meat
and dairy currently play a
large role in the economy
and in our cultural heritage
and they can provide
important nutrients for
people in all kinds of
economic and geographic
circumstances.
And of course I realize that
for many people in the world
veganism isn't even a viable
option now.
But there is a whole side of
this story that the vast
majority of us never even
get exposed to
in mainstream culture.
When I was exposed to it I
kind of freaked out.
I wondered if I went vegan,
would I have to eat dry
chalky bran muffins and grow
out my armpit hair?
Would I have to become a
radical lesbian anarchist?
Or, would I have to join the
animal liberation front?
But once I started doing it,
it wasn't so hard
and I felt really good.
In fact, I lost fifteen
pounds in just a few months
without even trying.
Still, I couldn't help
wondering, would anybody
react to this information
the way I did?
I find it easy but what
about people who came from
different backgrounds and
face different challenges?
To find out, I decided to
search for a few regular New.
Yorkers who'd be willing to
go vegan for six weeks and
learn what it's all about.
I'd tell them the side of
the story they hadn't heard
before, see how they reacted
and see if their
veganism stuck.
Like everything in New York
I found what I needed on.
Craig's List.
I interviewed twenty five
potential vegans before I
made my decision.
In the end, I chose three
people from three different
demographics, each with
their own challenges in
going vegan.
But they all had the same
motivation for doing
the project.
They wanted to lose a little
bit of weight, to look good
and to feel healthy.
They didn't really know much
about the environmental or
ethical reasons for being
vegan, yet.
And the best part?
I didn't even have to pay
them $100,000.
They did it for free.
The first one was Tesla Lobo,
a college student from.
Queens who lives with
her family.
Hey, Tesla.
How are you?
How are you?
Hi.
This is my dad, Manny.
This is Marisa.
Hello.
Hi Manny.
Nice to meet you.
My mom is Honduran and my
dad is Peruvian.
So Peruvians always are
known to cook very well.
My dad, he is not a chef,
but he is a really, really
great cook.
So there is always, like,
pork chops and there is
always steak.
And there is so much meat
in here.
And more meat.
And more meat.
And my dad, like, 3:30
food is done.
Like, I don't have to worry
about anything or make
something for myself.
(laughs)
I'm saying it
in English.
I prepared the food that
is from my country.
We call, in Spanish,
is lomo saltado.
It is like a beef stew with
French fry.
When you grow up in a
different country, like my
country, his country,
it is different.
Over there they are going to
think that you are crazy.
I am sorry to say that, you
know, but that is what they
are going to think.
"Oh my God."
She is crazy.
How is she going to live
"without meat?"
You know?
I don't like beans.
I don't like vegetables.
I like salads.
I love salads and tomatoes
and cucumbers.
But I don't like
broccoli or...
Yeah, no one believes that
I will last.
You're not going
to last.
But I'm very,
I don't know, like...
I mean because if you
don't last, you know, we
won't know about it.
You will hide it.
And you know, you will cheat
and none of us will know.
That's mean.
I am very, very determined
and I'm very, very
competitive with myself.
Like I like it when someone
says, "you can't do that."
It's like, okay.
Thanks.
And then I always end up
doing it.
Its like I know, like I'm
just that type of person.
But it is just my
dad's food.
It's tough.
The second person I chose
was Brian Flegel, a twenty
seven year old bachelor
from Manhattan.
I grew up in California
and my mother is German and
so she would make a lot of
meat dishes.
But she was a great cook as
a lot of mothers are.
I came to New York and just
sort of tried to find food
that fit with what I grew up
with, just like I think we
all do.
Yeah, that is a
rack of lamb.
When I have a chance to have
a morning I love to make
myself breakfast.
I always go out.
Oh wait, they're there.
Empty, alright.
I'm an actor, trying to
be an actor.
So that means I have a lot
of different jobs.
I work at a bar called.
Orbit, sort of a
jazz restaurant.
Do you like tofu?
Umm, no.
I mean yeah.
I mean I don't know.
Be honest.
Okay, I don't know how I
feel about tofu.
My mom would say to me if I
said I was going vegan, she
would probably think it was
sort of so weird
new religion.
I kind of think they're from
outer space, actually.
They're VEGANS!
You know.
WE COME TO KILL
MR. MCDONALD.
You know.
Have you ever tried to
like someone you didn't
eat before?
I have.
I have tried to switch to
chicken and that is about as
far as I go, I suppose.
The third person I chose
was a working single mom
from Brooklyn who doesn't
have time to cook.
She is psychiatrist.
Dr. Ellen Mausner by day and
a stand-up comic Ellen.
Orchid by night.
I don't eat a very
healthy diet.
I eat a lot on the run.
I grab what is available.
I really like to go to those
big price club type places
and get the enormous, feeds
fifty people, meat lasagnas
and things like that.
I have two kids.
I have a ten year old
daughter and an
eight year old son.
They're great kids and we
eat the same stuff so a lot
of dairy, probably too much,
a lot of cheese.
Milk, of course, more
cheese, some cream cheese
and some yogurt to go
with the cheese.
I think this would be a step
in the right direction.
They can learn from me.
I would try to introduce to
them these ideas, eating
more healthy, eating more
fruits and vegetables.
Do you promise to try
everything, even a little,
little bit?
Oh, okay.
Do I have to?
Did you know what the word
vegan meant?
No.
Ummm
(laughs) What was your
reaction when your mom
told you?
Um, well I didn't know
if she could live without
eating meat.
You didn't know if she
could live without
eating meat?
Because, because why?
She likes meat.
She likes it.
I love hot dogs.
Kosher hot dogs
with all the trimmings.
I live near Nathans
in Coney Island.
But anyway I have heart
disease in my family.
Both of my parents have
hypertension.
My uncle died of a massive
heart attack.
He didn't get much warning.
It was really terrible.
So I think it is the way to
go and maybe this is the
kick in the pants that will
get me to do it.
This really is it.
We can't even eat anything
tonight, because after we
get the blood work we can't
screw that up.
(Laughs)
I'm going to say it like
this, so just bear with me.
PHILLY CHEESE STEAK.
(Laughs)
Umm, good.
I asked for cheese on my
fries and there is no cheese
on my fries.
There is something
primitive about eating meat,
right?
The texture?
You tear it with your teeth
and your fork and knife and,
errr.
And we make noises like.
AHH,
Caveman (laughs)
Here we go.
(All) No meat!
(laughs)
I brought Tesla, Brian
and Ellen
to Dr. Joel Fuhrman,
a family physician
and author of the books.
"Eat to Live" and.
"Disease-Proof Your Child"
to hear about how to
go vegan the
healthy way.
But first in order to track
their progress, Dr. Fuhrman
took some medical tests.
(Scary Music)
The first thing you have
to realize is that the
American diet is dull and
what that represents.
The American diet is 40% of
calories mammal products and
50% of calories in processed
foods like pasta, salad oil,
sugar, pretzels, chips, cold
cereals, soft drinks.
That leaves over about 9%
of calories left.
Half of that is white potato
and the other half is what
we call unrefined plant.
FRUPF, fruits, vegetables,
beans, nuts and seeds,
you know, legumes.
So those unrefined plant
food is just a small part of
the American diet.
What we find from the
scientific studies around
the world is that as the
unrefined plant foods
increase in volume in a diet
of a particular population
to that extent heart disease
and cancer go down and
almost disappear as
that goes up.
We're looking for foods that
have more nutrients
and less calories.
And the food that wins the
prize, the number one gold
medal is green vegetables.
And then let's rate all the
rest of the foods.
Berries, beans, eggplant,
mushrooms, tomatoes and they
are so high in nutrients per
calorie, no matter how much
you could possibly eat of
them you are still going to
lose tons of weight.
You can't be overweight,
even if you overeat
on these foods.
Why should we die
unnecessarily of heart
attack, strokes and cancer
if you don't have to?
Dr. Fuhrman has helped
thousands of people fight
disease through optimal
nutrition.
We got to meet one of them.
I was a vegetarian prior
to starting this, but I used
to eat, use dairy.
And unfortunately I
considered myself a
vegetarian, but I didn't
like vegetables.
So, it was the whole
vegetables thing in the
beginning that was
difficult for me.
I had never even
tasted kale.
And now it is my
favorite vegetable.
I feel very strongly that
she most likely wouldn't be
alive today if she didn't
find out about this
information.
So, people don't usually
live through four heart
attacks.
She is lucky she made it
this far.
And now after, I guess,
eighty pounds of weight loss
and finally being brought
back to good health again
she has got a, you know it's
a wonderful thing to have
people switch.
You can have a whole,
another life now.
Dr. Fuhrman invited us to
his house to meet Chef Robin.
Jeep and his family and to
show us some healthy vegan
food we can make.
Umm.
But this one is mine.
So, tell us about this
soup you made.
Okay, it is a cream of
pea soup, but there is no
dairy in it.
The cream is made with
raw cashews.
It makes a wonderful,
wonderful rich creamy soup.
Umm.
This kale is steamed kale
that is chopped up with a
cashew butter cream sauce.
This is actually the
best thing I've tried
so far.
Are we going on like a lower
to higher scale here?
Are we starting with, and
then, because this is
really good.
I'm not going to
like it.
Do you de-stem all of that
or do buy it prewashed?
The rapunzel is this
green vegetable.
And that is how I am with
the kale.
I just, every day
we have this.
We want you to taste a lot
of things.
And you are going to find
some things you like better
than others.
And eat more of those things
you like better than others
but still taste
other things.
Uh huh.
Try to taste
something else.
Like with a child it takes
about fifteen tries of
tastes before he starts to
like the food.
You are going to find the
same thing.
Let's try some of Robin's
dessert now.
This is with some of the
whipped cream on top.
That is a beat
and carrot cake.
And now I am pulling out the
sauce which is a butternut
lemon sauce.
This is the whipped cream,
which is macadamia nuts and
dates and soy milk.
But Dr. Fuhrman, I
always thought macadamia
nuts were very high in fat.
All nuts are high in fat,
but the thing is we are
looking to have a diet that
is high in nutrients.
The fat we eat we want it to
be high in nutrient fat.
Look, I finished it.
The healthiest food is
whole plant foods,
preferably organic and
locally grown.
But sometimes it is good to
start with vegan versions of
the things you are used to
eating while you are
transitioning.
Healthy food.
Healthy food.
You can find this kind of
stuff at every
health food store.
Tofurky, fake turkey, this
is really good, Oval.
Bologna, Smart Deli is
really good.
Look Gimme Lean Sausage,
Gimme Lean Ground Beef.
Not a single picture
of a cow.
That's right.
It comes in a box so it's
not going to go bad.
Lean Gourmet, Cheese.
Alternative Cheddar,
mozzarella, nacho and.
Monterey jack.
Okay, yogurt, yogurt.
Whole Soy is a brand,
Silk is a brand,
Veganaise brand mayonnaise,
it is good stuff.
Personally, my favorite is.
Purely Decadent Soy.
Delicious.
Umm.
Very nice.
This is what we've been
talking about,
your flax seed meal.
It has fiber, linyens and
omega 3 fats which are
good for you.
So many brands are committed
to no animal ingredients and
no animal testing.
Then I took them to a
neighborhood deli to show
them that you can find vegan
alternatives almost
anywhere.
Boca burgers and
garden burgers.
Yeah, we don't even know
what is in real hotdogs.
Earth Balance 100% vegan,
non-dairy, natural buttery
spread.
That sounds good,
actually.
Grocery stores have tons
of food that you probably
have no idea that is vegan.
Now it's time to play.
Is It Vegan?
Teddy Grahams, chocolatey
chip, are they vegan?
Yes.
I'm going to go buy some
Teddy Grahams now.
What do you think of.
Nilla Wafers?
I'd probably say no.
Nooo.
Do you know what whey is?
It comes from milk.
Yeah.
No whey.
Are we keeping score
here?
I'm going to say, yes
they are vegan.
Yesss.
Hah!
Wow.
I would guess it had
eggs or something.
Yeah, it's not.
It is.
Instead of cow's milk, you
do soy or rice milk.
See, that was a trick
question.
It was a trick question.
What do you think of this?
Please, let it be.
Yes.
Duncan Hines, baby.
Owww!
Oreo cookies and that.
Let's give it up.
We can stay fat.
I know, I can stay fat.
(Music)
(Singing) Moo Shoes
fit me fine.
Them Moo Shoes
feel just fine.
Sara and Erica's Moo Shoes
fit me fine oh Lord, and the
cows are as happy as they
can be.
This looks like a
vegetarian shoe.
Doesn't it?
I mean you can just tell
that someone is a vegan by
their shoe.
As opposed to shoes that
just happen to be vegan
because they are cheap
knock-offs.
These shoes are made as
alternatives to leather so
they breathe and they last
and they wear
and the break in.
This says 95?
What is going on with
this shirt?
Average number of lives
saved by a vegetarian
each year.
Oh, yeah.
There aint nothing girly
about being a vegan.
If I had this jacket I'd be
like the most desirable man
in the city because I would
look like a bad boy, but
then it's like sensitive,
you know?
You've got to give us
money for the empanadas.
Empanadas.
Not empen-AY-das.
Empanadas.
Empanadas.
Empanadas.
I decided it was time to
take Tesla and Ellen for a
girls' night out.
Where do vegans go out for a
good meal?
Well, in New York City we're
spoiled with 126 veg
restaurants to choose from.
But you don't have to be
from the Big Apple to find
great vegan food.
There are a growing number
of veg restaurants and cafes
all over the country, from.
Mazulla, Montana to.
Ardmore, Oklahoma
to Bar Harbor, Maine.
But there are also plenty of
tasty animal free choices
at chains and ethnic
restaurants too.
(Oriental Music)
(Italian Music)
(Latino Music)
(Rock and Roll Music)
Tonight, I chose a
trendy restaurant that is
not just vegan,
but raw as well.
That's lovely.
How are you feeling?
Really good.
Really good.
How?
I feel lighter.
Usually after a regular meal
with meat or chicken or fish
you just want to put your
head down and take a
little nap.
I don't feel that way
with this.
I also notice I'm losing a
little weight, which is very
gratifying because I was
really at the fork in the
road where I was going to go
into fat middle aged spread.
I see myself getting a
little slimmer in the tummy
and in the thighs and
that is great.
I want to go all the way
with this.
I've never had any kind
of sushi in my life.
No kidding.
Oh, no way.
That sauce is a little
spicy, but it's very good.
I wasn't too surprised
that Tesla was having a
tough time.
Not really liking vegetables
or beans does limit
one's options.
This is a big bowl of
like cabbage.
The first week or two is
always the hardest.
While your body goes through
withdrawl and you haven't
really gotten the vegan lay
of the land yet.
Look at the food!
I was curious to see if
it would start to get easier
for Tesla.
I'm still kind of hungry,
but something that.
Dr. Fuhrman said that is
kind of interesting is that
since I'm always kind of
hungry everything does
taste better.
I went out to dinner and I
had, there was nothing I
could eat, but this
enchilada that was with
spinach and artichoke
and mushrooms.
And I don't like artichoke
and mushrooms, but it
tasted good.
Brian, meanwhile was
adjusting easily, feeling
great and eager to get
in shape.
He was psyched when I
brought him to the gym to
work out with Kenneth
Williams, a prize winning
body builder
and passionate vegan.
Every athlete needs
protein, but it is not the
quantity it's the quality
of the protein.
Right.
So, most athletes now
today do animal based
protein.
Right.
I do soy.
Right.
I do spirulina.
It just works everything.
I mean it's your body.
What are you doing?
(laughs)
Just keep going.
I eat tofu, tempeh,
seitan.
My man Brian is going to
attempt 120, y'all.
Now, Brian don't hurt
yourself.
Let's go.
Do you think I can do it?
I think you can do it.
Am I ready?
I think you can do it.
Ready?
Let's go Brian.
Uhh, look at that.
Beautiful.
Two.
Good, beautiful.
Like that.
Real quick.
There you go.
Just like that?
Nice and easy.
Not too hard.
One.
Two.
Three.
Four.
And...
flex them like that.
You can do one
of these ones.
Oh shit.
That comes up like so.
That is the Mick Jagger.
Like that one.
Yeah, Mick Jagg...
(laughs)
Wait, I don't know what
to do with my hands.
What am I doing with...?
No meat.
No cheese.
Thank you.
Sucks.
Do you think you'll be
staying vegetable or veggie
or whatever they are called?
Right now, no.
Because I want cheese.
But we'll find out.
Tristan only eats meat.
Look at him.
He won't eat turkey
(laughs).
And my cousin over here is
eating turkey.
Tristan.
Yep.
Doesn't like it.
Oh, look he ate some.
Yep, nope, there it goes
(laughs).
Tristan eats bacon every
morning or sausage links.
It's just our way of living.
In our gumbo we eat wild
squirrel, rabbits, deer.
Don't you eat alligator?
Crawfish.
Can you guys eat fish?
No, it's an animal girl.
But it's treated okay.
No, it's not.
Well, when you take a fish
from like down underneath,
say a tuna, right?
If you take him from all the
way from the bottom, this is
what Marisa told me, from
all the way at the bottom
and you bring it all the way
up to sea level there
stomach like explodes, which
can't feel very good.
Because it is coming out
of their mouths
and they're dying.
And also when they use these
big nets that drop to the
bottom of the floor of the
sea level, the sea floor,
and it picks up everything.
Even like fish that they
don't want to pick.
So the stuff that like, you
know, the little crabs and
the little things that they
can't eat die for no reason
just to get this fish.
That is why it is inhumane.
Let's say you go out and
you hunt your own food and
you shoot a deer yourself
and they you eat it.
The deer dies.
Is that inhumane?
The whole thing behind it
is we don't need to eat it
to survive.
We could eat other things,
so why not let
have less suffering?
Because we've been doing
it for years.
Would you eat your dog?
I eat them.
You'd eat a dog?
I'd eat a dog if it was
cooked good.
(laughs)
Hi baby.
Hi baby.
Are you hungry?
Let's feed this.
Yeah, see every day,
seriously, when I'm here all
by myself, I so, I was like,
I keep doing this.
(laughs) It's sad.
I like to smell it.
Tristan and Deuce
swinging.
You got them both in?
Yeah.
Let me see?
(laughs)
I invited Tesla, Brian
and Ellen to watch
undercover footage of what
goes on in places where most
animal food and clothing
comes from.
I figured they probably had
the same image of Old
McDonald's farm that I grew
up with, so it was time to
show them the truth.
I didn't show the worst
of the worst.
Just practices and
conditions that are found on
farms every day in the U.S.
It was images like these
that were the catalyst for
me to go vegan and I was
curious to see how they
would react.
The following summarizes the
information they received.
In the past 50 years, world
meat production increased
five-fold.
In order to meet this demand
for a growing population and
keep it affordable many
farmers have had to convert
their small family farms
into large industrial sized
operations.
They have streamlined every
part of the process to be
able to compete in the
market place.
Unfortunately that means
having to treat animals
like machines.
Of all the animals on the
farm a typical steer raised
for beef probably has it
the best.
But even he must undergo
routine procedures
without anesthesia.
A typical dairy cow is
forced to produce 340% more
milk today then she would
have had to produce in 1950.
Like all mammals, she won't
produce milk unless
she gives birth.
After her baby is born the
baby is taken from her
within about 48 hours
so that her milk can go
to humans.
If the baby is male, he will
likely be sold for veal or
raised for beef.
The mother, meanwhile,
will be reimpregnated by
artificial insemination,
and the cycle will continue
until she is killed for
hamburger meat.
Scientific studies have
shown that pigs are very
intelligent and complex
social animals.
A typical mother pig spends
most of her adult life
in confinement.
Within about ten days her
babies are taken away
from her.
The babies receive no
anesthesia for routine
procedures.
Veterinary care is too
expensive so they might die
from infection, injuries,
faulty construction
or neglect.
A typical bird raised for
meat is born in a hatchery.
If he is lucky he will
survive the sorting process.
His snood, or comb,
is cut off.
Parts of his toes are cut
off, and part of his beak is
seared off, all without
pain killers.
Because he is genetically
altered, his breast grows so
large so quickly that his
legs may no longer support
him, or he could die from
heart failure.
A typical male egg type
chicken is sorted out from
the females.
He is considered useless
because he won't lay eggs
and he won't produce enough
meat, therefore he
is killed.
He could be ground up alive
to be used for animal food
or fertilizer,
or just thrown away.
A typical baby female chick
will become an
egg laying hen.
She will be crammed into a
tiny wire cage.
To prevent her from pecking
her cage mates to death one
third of her beak is seared
off, but she still might
have to share a cage with
a dead bird.
She could suffer from an
impacted egg, a prolapsed
uterus or cage related
injuries.
Animals used for food and
clothing are not covered
under the Federal Animal.
Welfare Act.
Most states have common
farming exemptions so as
long as the practice
is common it is
considered legal.
The Federal bill that is
supposed to protect animals
during slaughter is not
adequately enforced and it
doesn't include birds.
Why didn't I know about
this before?
It is not something I really
consciously thought about,
you know?
It gets you really angry.
Like, I don't know.
It gets me mad because I'm
like "How is this allowed?"
That doesn't make any sense
to me how this is allowed.
You can really see that
these animals are
experiencing pain and terror
and all these sorts
of things.
Because you can see them
when they are not and you
can see them when they are
and it's pretty damn
obvious.
And at that point I got a
very physical reaction
to that.
It raises a lot of
questions.
And I don't blame anybody
but I think we have to try
to help make some changes
and I'm willing to do that.
I used to eat veal all
the time without a problem,
and that makes me angry.
Because then it's like, you
know, I was those people.
I'm those people that, you
know, do those things to
those animals.
It's not against the
animal farmers.
It's raising everybody up.
You can think of it
that way.
You don't have brow beating
and blaming these people.
They are not the bad guys
and we are the good guys.
That is not fair, really.
There is a much bigger
picture here.
You know, I'm a pretty
hard nut to crack with these
types of things so I think
for most regular people that
would watch this film, how
can you walk away not
feeling a little bit like
you have to re-evaluate
some things.
At least take a look at
personal choices in
that way.
And I think that is
something that probably
going to make me think about
it later.
I'm never eating
meat again.
Like, I can't.
Like, how can I look at a
hamburger and just eat it
without being hurt about it?
I can't.
I asked Ellen to call a
large producer of free range
organic dairy and eggs.
I gave her a list of
questions that an everyday
consumer wouldn't think
to ask.
Producers bank on the fact
that most people won't probe
this much and that customers
assume that labels such as
free range, organic and
humane mean more than they
really do.
Yes, hi, good afternoon.
I'm a mother and I am very
concerned about getting
healthy organic foods for my
kids and I'm also an animal
lover and I saw your
website.
I was very impressed and I
was just wondering if I
could ask you just a couple
of questions?
Yes.
Regarding the steers,
are they castrated?
Right?
Right?
With a rubber band?
Is there any
anesthesia used?
Like cutting off the
blood flow?
And then what happens?
Does it really just
fall off?
Now, say an animal has a
terrible infection or one of
the udders is infected, it
has mastitis, they would not
be given antibiotics?
And then what happens
to them?
And how are they
destroyed?
Oh, you mean like
a bullet?
And what are the space
requirements for
the chickens?
Is that considered
a lot of space?
Yeah.
Where do you get
your chicks?
Okay, and what do they do
with the male chicks?
What would your guess be?
The chicks never see
their mothers?
Do you have any guidelines
regarding the transport of
the chickens?
I know that chickens are
not covered by the Humane.
Methods of Slaughter Act
but...
Well, I very much
appreciate your time.
You were so knowledgeable.
And I wish you good luck
with everything.
Thank you.
Bye-bye.
(Music)
So, we've covered
factory farms and organic
farms but what about small
family farms?
I took Ellen, Brian and.
Tesla on a road trip to see
how a modern small family
egg farm functions.
It didn't really fit the
image we had of what a small
farm looked like.
One of the brothers
took me in he wouldn't let
me walk down the thing but I
got to get right up next
to it.
And it was just sort of
explaining that they
currently had about 3,800
chickens in there and that
same place, he said,
holds 30,000.
And it looked like
3,800 looked packed.
Unfortunately many small
family farms can't compete
with factory farms unless
they apply some of the
same practices.
And of course, all animals
raised for food end up being
slaughtered.
Except for the two spent
hens that they egg farmers
gave us.
What does it feel like?
It's soft.
Do you feel it
breathing?
Do you remember what
they said?
They said it three times.
They said it three times.
They said it twice to
you and one time to me that
if you don't want him you
can always eat him
for dinner.
Brian, Tesla and I took
the hens to Ooh Mah Nee.
Farmed Animal Sanctuary, a
haven where rescued farm
animals can live out their
lives with no threat of
becoming someone's dinner.
He doesn't like it
too much.
Ooop, there you go.
Oh, look at they're
walking now.
She is waiting for her
friend to come out.
They'll just walk around
and get used to, you know,
their surroundings until
they feel comfortable.
You see how large
her comb is.
Within a month or two that
won't even affect
her vision.
It won't flop over
like that.
(Chicken noise)
Aww.
She didn't make that
sound one time.
Do you think she has
seen a rooster before?
I highly doubt it.
(Clucking)
Group hug.
Group hug.
Group hug.
What do you think, chickens?
We did it.
We did it.
Day one out of the.
Day one out of the city.
Out of the city.
So, where are we
camping?
What are we?
Where are we staying?
Jason helped us set up camp
out on the farm while Ellen
and her kids camped out in
a hotel room.
This is the future of
America right here.
Sitting around a campfire
with soydogs.
Well that is a beaut.
That is a beaut.
Good work.
Tesla, our food critic?
Off the hook.
Off the hook.
Off the hook.
(Music)
Ellen and company joined
us in the morning for a tour
of the farm.
And these guys are former
veal cattle.
This is Gilbert.
Somebody got Gilbert when he
was a tiny baby and they
were going to slaughter him
for their Easter meal and
they fell in love with him
and ended up bringing
Gilbert here.
If you itch a certain part
of Devlin's back it makes
his tongue go crazy.
Babe was rescued by a school
teacher in New Jersey.
Her students had watched the
movie "Babe" so they wanted
to meet a pig, and her
husband went to a slaughter
house, of all places, and
they wanted to bring a
little pig into their
classroom.
So he got this little pig
from the slaughter house and
they said, "Have her back"
within 48 hours."
And they absolutely fell
in love with the pig,
the whole classroom.
So the teacher hid babe in
her condo in New York City
for two weeks until she got
a hold of us.
And Babe has been here
ever since.
They all have
personalities,
just like humans do.
Some of them are friendly.
Some of them are shy.
Some of them are like
ferocious, and so they
shouldn't be eaten.
The other reason for
this particular road trip
was Vegetarian Summer Fest,
an annual gathering where
vegetarians and
veg-wanna-be's can connect
and exchange ideas and
information.
Veg Summer Fest also
features lectures by leaders
in the vegetarian movement.
The first lecture was given
by T. Colin Campbell,
professor emeritus of
nutritional biochemistry
at Cornell University.
I started out, as you
heard this morning,
basically from the farm and
came from that background
and was focused primarily on
the idea that we all need to
get more protein and we
particularly needed to get
more animal protein
especially.
He spoke about the China.
Study, which is considered
the most comprehensive study
of nutrition ever conducted.
This twenty year project
examined the relationship
between diet and disease in
one of the few areas in the
world where people still
consume a mostly plant based
diet.
He teamed up with Chinese
and British researchers who
went into 65 counties in
rural China and found out
what 6,500 people ate and
how they lived.
Well, it turns out that as
soon as a little animal food
starts creeping into the
diet in some counties, you
know, blood cholesterol
level starts to go up,
cancer started to appear.
Heart disease eventually
then began to appear.
Since the beginning of.
Dr. Campbell's research the
connection between meat and
dairy consumption and
disease has been confirmed
over and over again in
scientific studies and even
studies of studies.
Diabetes is a disease that
more and more people have to
worry about.
Fortunately, studies have
shown that a healthy low fat
vegan diet can prevent
diabetes and even treat it
better than the American.
Diabetic Association diet
and common medications.
The two strongest cancer
links are the ones between
prostate cancer and dairy
consumption and colon cancer
and red and processed meats.
Finally, vegans have a 26%
lower chance of dying from.
America's number one killer,
heart disease.
That is because they avoid
meat and dairy which contain
artery clogging saturated
fat and cholesterol.
The science on plant based
diets is overwhelming and
has lead the nation's
largest organization of food
and nutrition professionals
to state "appropriately"
planned vegetarian diets,
including total vegetarian,
or vegan, diets are
healthful, nutritionally
adequate and may provide
health benefits in the
prevention and treatment of
"certain diseases."
But the American Dietetic.
Association doesn't
determine government
nutrition recommendations.
The government has its own
committees to determine the
official nutrition policy
for the country.
So, what they chose to
say, you know, is very, very
important.
They are translating the
science into public policy.
It is very important that
the people on those
committees really be
objective.
In the days when I was
involved, the chair people
of those committees were
good.
They were objective and
often times outside of our
community they didn't have
any conflict of interest.
Now, in two of the most
recent committees the Food
and Nutrition Board that
sets the nutrient
recommendations and also the.
Dietetic Guidelines.
Committee, in one case it
was chaired simultaneously
by the same individual who
happens to be a major
consultant for the
dairy industry.
And so under the
circumstances you are going
to have a committee that is
really biased,
seriously biased.
And so for example, when
they came out last time,
increased the milk
consumption from two glasses
a day to three glasses
a day.
That is why it happens.
As a practicing
Christian, Tesla was drawn
to the Christian Vegetarian.
Association table.
But, like, my mom's
argument and my brother's
argument was always,
"God said that he put animals
on Earth for us to eat."
The way I look at it is if
you take a look at Genesis
in the first chapter it
describes how God actually
prescribed for everybody,
people and animals,
a vegetarian diet.
It wasn't until after the
falling that people started
to eat animals.
So, at least the way I see
it is the original intention
and the ideal as described
in Genesis 1,
Garden of Eden,
was a vegetarian world.
There are some people, for
example, who need to eat
meat just to survive.
And those people who do eat
meat should certainly not
be condemned.
But if we have a choice,
then the choice that I think
is going to be more
compassionate and more
consistent with what the
Bible is trying to teach us
about is going to be a diet
that is going to be plant
based, a vegetarian diet.
Hi, how are you?
Oh!
(laughing)
We met up with former
cattle rancher Howard Lyman,
who turned his family's
small organic farm into a
giant feedlot operation.
He witnessed first-hand how
factory farming destroyed
his land and over time as he
opened his eyes to the
truth, became a
vegan advocate.
He claims that by demanding
so many animal foods, we are
literally forking the
environment.
We are digging more
graves with our fork than
anything else and it is not
just our grave.
We are digging the grave
of the future.
We are destroying
the planet.
Howard's lecture was
about an hour long.
But it doesn't take an hour
to understand the
basic problem.
The demand for animal food
is getting higher and higher
every year, but producing
them is extremely
inefficient and polluting.
In November of 2006 the.
United Nations Food and.
Agriculture Organization
published a report
identifying the livestock
sector as one of the top
contributors to the most
serious environmental
problems.
According to the report,
farm animals contribute more
to global warming than the
entire transportation
sector.
How can this be?
For one thing, animal
protein production releases
much more carbon dioxide
than plant protein
production.
See, first you've got to
grow and harvest the
feed grains.
Then transport them to the
farms where the animals are.
You need energy to
operate those farms.
Then to transport the
animals to the
slaughter house.
Of course you have to
operate the slaughter houses
and finally you have to
process and store the
animal flesh.
On top of that, farmed
animals also produce methane
when they burp, fart
and breathe.
Methane is twenty three
times stronger than carbon
dioxide at trapping heat in
the atmosphere, according to
the EPA.
Now add to this the fact
that we have cleared 70% of
forests in the Amazon and
elsewhere for cattle grazing
and cattle feed.
The good news is that
switching from the standard
American diet to a vegan one
for one year would reduce
your carbon dioxide
emissions more than
switching from a normal car
to a hybrid.
In 2008, the top man of the
world's most important
international agency dealing
with climate change finally
came out and said, "Please"
eat less meat.
Meat is a very
"carbon-intensive commodity."
Never have we had less
clean water than what we
have today.
In order to get one
pound of beef, you have to
feed a steer 6-10 pounds of
grain which also means that
much more water is used
because you have to irrigate
all of that grain.
And cows drink 50 gallons of
water or more per day.
But it is not just what goes
in to the farm animals that
is the problem, it is also
what comes out.
For example, hogs in North
Carolina produce ten times
more fecal waste than people
do in North Carolina
each day.
And all that poo has to
go somewhere.
Often it is stored in huge
open aired sewage pits
called lagoons.
As these fill up the waste
is sprayed onto fields.
Unfortunately the lagoons
are prone to leaks and
spills and waste from
sprayed fields runs into
lakes and streams and
contaminates ground water.
Never in the history of
the world have we ever had
fewer fish than what we
have today.
A 2006 study reported in
the journal Science claims
that one third of the
ocean's species are already
in collapse and if current
trends continue, by 2048 all
the ocean's species will be
in collapse.
In the same way that we have
industrialized land animal
farming we have also
industrialized fishing.
You've got huge nets that
are acres wide.
Lines with hooks that can be
fifty miles long and tons of
gear dragging along the
ocean floor obliterating
coral and flattening natural
landscape that provides
essential habitat for
many species.
Unfortunately they snag
non-target species too.
Fisherman discard about 25%
of what they catch,
world-wide, according to.
US News and World Report.
Of the ocean fish that are
kept, a percentage ends up
in fish farms as feed.
For every pound of farmed
fish produced world-wide,
several pounds of marine
life may have to be caught
and killed.
Right now, the world
population is 6.7 billion.
By 2050 the population will
reach over 9 billion,
according to the.
United Nations.
If everyone adopted a
vegetarian diet and no food
were wasted, current food
production would
theoretically feed
10 billion people.
That is what the population
reference bureau says,
anyway.
Unfortunately, the trend in
the developing world, where
most of our population
growth comes from, is to eat
more like Americans.
That means more meat
and more dairy.
You might have heard the
statistic that says,
"If the whole world lived"
at consumption levels of
Americans, we'd need three
"to five more planet Earths."
I just revel in the
fact that I am able to come
here and spend time with
people who have the
opportunity to change
the world.
And from the bottom of my
heart I will tell you we
need to change the world or
our society as we know it
will not survive.
We got the message loud
and clear that plant based
diets are better for our
planet and our bodies.
That left one question
unanswered.
If animal products are so
bad for us, why did we
evolve to eat them?
We tracked down Dr. Milton.
Mills, a physician who has
lectured extensively on this
particular issue.
And currently what people
believe is that when human
beings moved out of
equatorial areas into the
more temperate areas around
the globe, where plant foods
weren't available
year-round, it then became
necessary to eat animal
foods in order to survive.
And that is when humans
developed sophisticated
hunting technology so that
they would be able to make
it through, say the winter
months when plant foods
weren't available until they
could then start gathering
their plant foods more.
And the other thing is that
once we decide that
something is either
necessary or desirable,
we enshrine it as a
cultural value.
And once it becomes part of
our culture, it really
doesn't matter whether or
not it's necessary or
important for survival,
we'll do it anyway because,
you know, we consider it to
be necessary and important.
Right.
So, it seems that it was
evolutionary advantageous
for humans to have as many
food options as we could.
And that is why we
became omnivores.
But now that so many people
in developed countries have
access to healthy plant
foods year-round, we don't
need animal products to
thrive anymore.
Because we are killing the
planet with our growing meat
and dairy habit it has now
become evolutionarily
advantageous for us to adopt
a plant based diet.
One forward thinker of the
past century became
vegetarian at the end of
his life.
He is quoted as having said,
"Nothing will benefit human"
health and increase chances
for survival of life on.
Earth as much as the
evolution to a
"vegetarian diet."
Meat is bad.
Tesla?
Vegetables are good.
Animals are friends.
(Speaks in robot voice)
Vegan.
Vegan is the only way.
(laughs)
(Speaks in robot voice)
Some are black.
Some are white.
Some are different.
We are all together with
vegetables.
On that inspiring note,
we left Vegetarian Summer.
Fest and headed back to.
Ooh Mah Nee Farmed Animal.
Sanctuary to meet Jason's
wife, Cayce, who tells us a
little bit about raising the
next generation of vegans.
I'm eight months pregnant
right now.
Wow.
And we have Aiden, our
five year old.
There are several great
books on you know, pregnancy
and the vegan diet.
So we were very convinced.
I mean this is the
healthiest diet for us, as
well as for our child.
But we had a lot of, a lot
of skeptics, a lot of people
who question that.
And we went to the
pediatrician, their whole
attitude was, it was really
sad, they were giving me a
list of all the illnesses
and ailments I could expect
Aiden to have within
his first year.
None of these things
occurred.
You know he has been just
wonderfully healthy.
On our way out of town,
Cayce took Tesla, Brian and
me on a mini-fieldtrip to a
place that reminds us of the
fate that the animals at her
sanctuary are spared.
This slaughter house
closed down, I think in '79.
So, everything is pretty
dated but it still shows you
the layout of any slaughter
house today and I can still
walk you through the process
that every animal is, you
know, forced to endure when
they are sent to a
slaughter house.
I feel that it is a really
haunted place and that the
energy here is really full
of all that fear still.
I feel it right now.
This is a journey I wish
that everybody could take.
Imagine to be an animal and
you are being herded down
this little corridor.
(squeal)
Move out, move out.
(squeal)
Move out.
This is the door that
after the animal is stunned,
they drop.
Hold still.
(bang)
So this would slide open
and the larger animals, like
cows, would be hoisted up.
(moo)
(squealing)
This is, this falling tank
right here.
So, where these chains hang
the pigs would come in and
then they were dropped into
the scalding water.
These raked things here
scoop up the animals, flip
them over into here and then
start to take off the rest
of the hair and prepare the
body for being dismembered.
This board actually has lots
of knife marks on it so I
guess they began cutting and
dismembering here.
We end up becoming a part
of that machine that we
create to do the job.
We end up becoming like a
spigot or a spoke just as
dry and matter of fact
as that.
You have to deny
your compassion.
You have to deny
your empathy.
You have to deny your
feelings and that is the
worst part of it, I think.
On our long drive home
we pass the same kinds of
farms we've heard
so much about.
We decided to randomly pick
one to see if what we'd been
hearing was true.
We knew we could get into
serious legal trouble going
into a building so we
decided to look around
outside, which could only
get us into minor trouble.
Tesla has already broken
the law, but do you know
what we can say?
We can say we thought no
trespassing was this
road here.
Let's try it.
Oh my God.
This is disgusting.
I got it.
I got it.
I got it.
I can't believe that.
There is no way that
anyone could talk around
what we just saw, or explain
it away.
It was exactly, like I said.
Like they were garbage.
I don't understand that.
All we saw were
three dead pigs.
But this was a farm, not a
slaughter house.
And for us it was proof that
animal deaths are considered
acceptable losses in an
industry that treats them
like economic units.
We were meat eaters like
three weeks ago having no
problem eating a bacon
cheeseburger delux.
And now we are like upset.
We don't even care about
getting arrested to make
an effect.
That is crazy.
And if that can happen
with us.
I know and I'm an idiot
and I love meat.
Eating meat three times a
day that we can go this far
and it can make sense to us
to the point where we want
to break the law and we are
not crazy.
It is the fact that this
issue is real.
This is a real
fucking issue.
This is not something that
we are concocting.
Because, you see it is not
like I want, like I want to
go and get arrested.
It's like it is worth
getting arrested for.
Yes.
On the drop of a dime,
we go, we walk up,
what do we see?
A dead pile.
Exactly what everyone has
been telling us he is going
to see.
And it is right there in
front of our faces.
Completely in front of our
faces and there is no way to
deny what we just saw.
So here I am in New Hampshire
and actually my mother
surprisingly enough
is pretty cool with the
whole vegan thing.
She has actually purchased
all of this vegan food.
They have been somewhat
pensive, my stepfather and
my mom, about talking about
factory farms
and a vegan lifestyle.
I think maybe they think in
the back of their heads that
this is going to be a
temporary thing.
I'm still waiting to see if
this is going to be a
temporary thing for myself.
I believe that I will live
like this for the rest of
my life.
For me to be all of the
sudden confronted with
changing my life I have to
say, no not right now.
But it is perfectly
acceptable for you to do it.
I would say that it would
be non-compassionate even
to raise an animal and
then kill it.
There is not an essential
nature to me needing
whatever that animal has
which I can get from
other places.
You don't think killing
an animal is a part of life?
No, I don't think it
has to be.
Carnivores kill
other animals.
But that is a carnivore.
I don't believe we
are carnivores.
I know that I am certainly
caught up in the emotional
aspect, but I am trying to
be as rational as possible.
I am a little bit worried
when I go to Honduras
because they are going to
cook us everything and I
have a feeling I am going to
see chickens.
(laughs)
I am going to
see chickens.
And we are going to have to
eat them, and that is
going to suck.
We're going to eat you.
We're not going to eat him.
This is a, we are eating
right here.
We are not eating him.
What do you eat?
Like how do you live?
They are very, they didn't
understand it.
They go, "But what do you"
feel bad about?
Like, they are animals.
You are supposed to
eat them.
"What do you feel bad about?"
(Music)
It's July 5th.
I just feel a little
sprinkle of rain and we are
very happy to be here
heading from New York,
beautiful New York
to London.
Good luck, mom.
You may tempted but you are
on a vegan diet.
Can I remain a vegan
because I swear to god it is
like being a nun at an orgy.
I have found oatmeal,
grilled tomatoes which are
fantastic, baked beans which
I love anyway and have lots
of protein and fiber.
On the menu is a place
where they put a "V" next to
things that are for
vegetarians, or vegans.
This is vegetarian
lasagna.
Isn't that beautiful?
This is one beautiful
vegetarian sandwich.
Thai Curry in a pretty sea
shell shaped dish.
Well, it's gone now but I
had bean soup and my
children are eating more
fruit and vegetables than
they have had in a
long time.
Yeah right.
They are getting the
ripple effect of
my veganism.
A lot of adventures
lay ahead of us.
Roman baths.
We asked about vegetarian
restaurants and we found one
called DeMuths.
This has bean sprouts on
top, bits of toast, lentils,
peanuts, tomatoes.
Then the kids are getting
nachos with a lovely salsa.
We are going to a vegetarian
restaurant called.
Food for Thought.
That is the universal sign
for hunger.
Allrighty.
Well, we are going to eat
very well today.
Now I am going to dig in and
enjoy this lovely meal.
You said, "I want to talk"
to you in person.
"I feel bad."
And so I think I know what
that means.
I am still vegan.
Oh, you are?
Yes.
But, I'm scared Marisa.
And I was talking to Harry
about it and I'm like,
I'm going to start crying.
I feel so bad.
Because I don't know if I
want to stay vegan.
I'm tired of having my dad
cook food and it's like,
okay are you done?
Because then I've got to go
in and make my own food.
And I can't eat
with my family.
I'm tired of like, I've gone
out so many times where it's
like I have to sit there
and he is like,
"Are you going to eat?"
And I'm like, "No, because"
I can't eat anything."
I'm sorry.
I'm such a punk.
No, no.
And it is like hard.
Yeah.
Because then it is like,
"Why are you doing it then?
Why are you doing it then?"
And then I said, "Because I"
feel like a hypocrite if I
"don't keep doing it."
And I don't want to
not be vegan.
And they are like,
"Well, then just don't."
I, just, it's so confusing.
A lot of people,
I think, think about veganism
like a religion, which is
totally wrong because it is
not you have to live by
certain rules.
It's about minimizing
suffering.
It is not about being
perfect.
So, what I would love
for you to do is to just try
a little bit at a time.
Do you think that
might work?
Even if it is just
vegetarian for now?
See, I was thinking
about that too.
Because that is a
whole lot easier.
I could have pizza.
That is so much easier.
But then, I've said it to
Marisa I think being
vegetarian is like it's not
the whole thing and I think
you should do it full.
What do you feel like is
the thing you are
lacking most?
Like, what do you wish for?
I wish everybody I knew
was vegan.
Then you need to join a
vegan meet-up.
You know, you live in.
New York City.
You know, you could be a
vegan anywhere but it is
really damn easy in.
New York City.
This shouldn't be a
negative thing.
This should be a
positive thing.
I just feel like this is a
life decision and I've got
to make it now.
Do you really think that
you will be able to
stay vegan?
I don't know.
I don't know.
I don't know.
I want to say yes.
But it could be glaringly
just thrown back in my face
when like three months later
I'm working in a slaughter
house or something.
But I don't know what
to say.
I mean I really think I feel
right now, yes absolutely.
I'm not seeing a lot of
hurdles in front of me.
I mean I am trying my best
to be realistic about the
elements that like, alright
I'm going to be vegetarian
if worse comes to worse.
But I really don't even see
being a vegan, like being a
big problem.
So, here we go.
The first thing you see is
corn, Earth Balance here.
And this actually tastes
much better than
regular butter.
Um, like I said earlier, I
made grilled cheese
sandwiches and I don't have
any of the regular American
cheese left but I have some
of this, this is like
mozzarella.
And this is really
tasty too.
And it melts really well,
the Tofuti.
And I have some
courage burgers.
These are not, these don't
taste like beef burgers,
but they taste like
chicken burgers.
It's a rack of lamb.
And it is kind of weird to
hold it, now.
And this was going to be
my prize.
I was going to eat this at
the end of the project.
And here it is, frozen.
Would you, so you mean
you don't want it anymore?
No, I don't.
Um, what do you think
would be an appropriate
thing to do with it?
Should we feed it
to the cat?
(laughs)
Here we are back at
my kitchen.
It's six weeks later and
there have been some
significant changes made as
a went the vegan route.
I am absolutely hooked on
soy milk and it comes in a
lot of different flavors.
I like the vanilla and I am
absolutely thrilled with the
coffee which you can serve
hot or cold and it tastes
very good.
What would you think if
your mom said she was really
going to stay vegan?
I would think that would
be really good because she
would stay really healthy
and live longer.
On an average day you
will find a lot more
vegetables in this fridge
than there ever were before.
Cherry tomatoes, the kids
love them and they pop them
like candy, especially when
they are watching TV.
They've gotten, their taste
buds are more attuned to the
real flavors in things
instead of the diluted
junky flavors.
Hummus which, you know,
is absolutely delicious.
I found it easy to do.
I thought it would be
difficult.
I don't know why,
but in reality this food
is all around.
And I only wish I had found
this sooner.
Because I am meeting people
who have been vegan for
twenty or thirty years and
I go, look at what I have been
doing to myself for twenty
or thirty years.
You know, but let's start
now, you know.
So this has been a great
gift that you have given us.
So, thank you.
Hi puppy.
Hi.
Hello.
Would you say your tastes
have changed or expanded?
Yeah, I'm willing to try a
lot more things now.
There is my fake butter.
This is margarine too
because now I like margarine
and cream cheese.
Alright.
Everyone loves the cream
cheese and they keep wasting
it, which gets me mad.
Umm, my sauce,
my marinara sauce.
Um hum.
And I have blueberries.
I have apple sauce which I
did not like too much.
That is okay.
My wieners (laughs)
which I fell in love
with camping.
I went shopping.
Um hum.
With the new guy which is
going very, very well.
He is like, "If you told me"
that you would stop being a
"vegan," he's like,
"I will marry you."
He is like,
"because you are perfect."
He is like,
"You're like perfect."
He's like,
"But you won't cook for me
and that kills me."
And I'm like,
"I'll cook for you baby."
(laughs)
"You might not like"
what you're going to eat,
"but I'll cook for you."
I never thought I'd want to
stay doing it.
Like, seriously?
To stay doing it?
No, I never thought I would
feel so guilty and I didn't
think it would work,
the experiments.
I didn't think it would
work, and it did.
Come on let's head back.
I'm nervous.
Your blood pressure
dropped, your systolic blood
pressure dropped about
20 points.
Is that bad?
That's good.
(laughs) I don't know.
Okay.
You lost two pounds?
That is awesome.
(laughs) That's pathetic.
But we have to get the
blood first.
We've got to get the
blood first.
What do you mean the
blood first?
It's about the blood, not
about the weight.
Oh, who is about
the weight?
183 1/2 you lost 5 pounds
5 pounds, yeah!
Wow, huge improvement in
your blood pressure.
Awesome.
My blood work was
excellent, since you
brought that up.
And I think my blood
pressure was better
than yours.
And I lost five point
something in poundage.
You can't compare one
person to another.
Each of you have to improve
from where you were to
where you are now.
Oh yes.
Thank you so much.
Dr. Fuhrman.
I appreciate it.
Thank you so much.
Thank you Dr. Fuhrman.
Yeah!
What's up!
Welcome!
How are you?
Oh my goodness.
Did you get all my
letters?
Hi Ellen.
Hi Tesla.
Ellen this is Harry.
Harry this is Ellen.
Hi, nice to meet you.
Can I get a hug?
(laughs)
We were at my aunt's
house and my aunt had like
bean burgers or something, I
don't know what they are
made of, but I nibbled on it
or whatever.
I don't know what she had
to nibble on.
Spinach nuggets
or something.
It was good, but.
Like the stuff that you
are like, spinach, not me.
Spinach nugget?
Yeah, after a while you are
like, spinach nuggets.
Like and you don't want to,
like your taste buds, it's
funny how adaptable our
bodies are.
When I'm at work and I'm
at the cafeteria and I see
people eating a very greasy
chicken or beef stew, I feel
like going up to them and
saying, "Do you realize what"
you are eating?
Plus you are killing
"yourself."
But I mean...
I'm feeling like I've been
informed now.
I'm just so proud of you.
I've had so much fun.
You guys have, this is like
the highlight of my,
you know.
When we look back, it's
amazing what we have done.
It's amazing what we have
done, all the different
things.
It was so much fun.
Thank you so much.
(Music)
(Music)
The truth is, you don't
have to be famous to make a
difference in the world.
You don't even have to be
an activist.
You can just be a regular
person doing your own thing
every meal every day.
Because that is how
conscious living is changing
the world one person
at a time.
(Music)
Hello.
Hello.
Good morning.
Good morning.
Blood oranges?
Is that real blood?
Okay, I'm having my first
blood orange.
Delicious, tastes like any
other orange if you don't
think about the gory part
of it.
It's tofu salad.
It's like egg salad, but
made with tofu.
Wait.
Sing your breast milk song.
I can't sing that
right now.
Sing it right now.
Look at you.
You look like me in
the morning.
You look like me in
the morning.
Yes, oh I know.
It certainly looks like
a scallop.
It has the texture.
If it is not a salad it
is good.
(laughs)
You don't like egg salad
at all?
No.
Okay, then you don't have
to try it.
No, I don't have to
try it.
Okay.
Oh, I wish that I had some
breakfast for you guys.
I wish I did.
(singing) Dr. Fuhrman,
please give me some
breast milk cheese.
(laughs) Yeah!
She doesn't like it.
That is great!
I never had tofu before
but it is really,
really good.
Really?
Yes.
It is not like okay good but
the way you prepared it
right now it tastes
like chicken.
It's really really good.
Really?
Yeah.
Let's see you eat it.
Uh hum.
It's true
(laughs)
(singing) You're giving me
the way to live, now just
give me some breast milk
and make it okay.
I don't get it.
It comes from humans.
It's not from animals
or even dogs.
It's breast milk cheese.
Let me make an
omelet please.
Dr. Fuhrman.
Is that okay?
(Applause)
Thank you, thank you,
thank you very much.
Uhm, kitten?
Excuse me.
Excuse me kitten.
How dare.
