Original subtitles

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.

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.

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 idyllic 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.

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.

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 wanna 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 idyllic as I had 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

different 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.

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' ll 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.

It's like I know, like I'm just that type of person.

But it is 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,

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 lessen your meat intake 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.

Yes, it is true.

I am the love child of Carol Burnett and Mick Jagger.

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 don't have a failed marriage. I have a successful divorce.

Although I don't like the word divorced.

I'd rather say "certified pre-owned".

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.

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 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.

The last supper

The last carnivorous supper

This really is it.

We can't even eat anything tonight,

because after we get the blood work we can't screw that up.

I'm going to say it like this, so just bear with me.

PHILLY CHEESE STEAK.

I asked for cheese on my fries

- Good. - 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...

And we make noises like...

- AHH... - Caveman.

Here we go.

(All) No meat!

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.

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're 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, Julia Spagnoli - Survivor of 3 heart attacks

but I used to eat, use dairy. Lost 80 lb on a healthy vegan diet

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.

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.

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... 'cause 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's how I am with the kale.

- I just... every day we have this. - I don't like it.

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.

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 beet 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's high in nutrients.

The fat we eat we want it to be high in nutrient fat.

Look, I finished it.

Week 1 Getting Vegucated

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.

You can find this kind of stuff at every health food store.

Instead of meat and poultry...

Tofurky, fake turkey, this is really good.

Oval Bologna, Smart Deli is really good.

Look Gimme Lean Sausage,

Gimme Lean Ground Beef.

Instead of dairy...

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. Ice cream!!

Very nice.

Also, instead of fish oil...

This is what we've been talking about, your flax seed meal.

It has fiber, linens and omega 3 fats, which are good for you.

And instead of conventional body care products...

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.

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.

Oreo cookies and that.

Let's give it up. We can stay fat.

I know, I can stay fat.

(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 they 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?

Week 2 Down the Rabbit hole

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's 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?

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 like Mick Jagger.

Like that one.

Yeah, Mick Jagg...

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.

And my cousin over here is eating turkey.

Tristan.

Yep. Doesn't like it.

Oh, look, he ate some.

Yep, nope, there it goes.

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

their 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 then 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.

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.

It's sad.

I like to smell it.

Tristan and Deuce swinging.

You got them both in?

Yeah.

Let me see?

Week 3 The Tough Stuff

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 (Close Your Eyes!)

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.

FACTORY FARMING 101

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've streamlined every part of the process

to be able to compete in the market place.

Unfortunately, that means having to treat animals like machines.

"BEEF" CATTLE

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. BRANDING

CASTRATION

"DAIRY" COWS

A typical dairy cow is forced to produce 340% more milk today

than she would've 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.

PIGS

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.

TURKEYS & "BROILER" CHICKENS

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.

"EGG" CHICKENS

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,

a 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.

HOW IS THIS LEGAL?

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's considered legal.

The Federal bill that is supposed to protect animals during slaughter

is not adequately enforced

and it doesn't include birds.

BIRDS MAKE UP 9 OF THE 10 BILLION FARM ANIMALS KILLED EACH YEAR IN THE U.S.

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're 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's probably gonna 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?

Are you gonna raise them for meat?

Right, right.

Then yes, they are. Generally with a rubber band.

With a rubber band?

Is there any anesthesia used?

Well, it's not necessary. It's just a slow process of...

Basically, you're closing off the organ. There's no, you know...

It's like you pinch a...

- Like cutting off the blood flow? - Yeah.

- And then what happens? - Just die off and fall off.

- Does it really just fall off? - Yep.

Now, say an animal has a terrible infection

or one of the udders is infected, it has mastitis,

- they would not be given antibiotics? - No.

- And then what happens to them? - Well, generally they get destroyed.

And how are they destroyed?

How are they destroyed? With a bolt... to the head. A bolt gun.

Oh, you mean like a bullet?

Well, it's not a bullet. It's a...

pneumatic gun that basically drives a steel bolt into their brain.

And what are the space requirements for the chickens?

Barn size, they have to have three square feet per bird of floor space,

as well as their nesting box.

- Is that considered a lot of space? - Yeah. A SAMPLE "FREE-RANGE" FACILITY

Where do you get your chicks?

We buy day-old chicks from registered producers of organic chicks.

[...which means they are not exposed to chemicals.]

[It has nothing to do with how the animals are treated.]

Okay, and what do they do with the male chicks?

We don't know.

What would your guess be?

No idea.

I mean, literally no idea. We've had that question before,

and, of course, the people that produce them, while they're certified organic,

are pretty cagey 'cause they don't want to give away their secrets either.

The chicks never see their mothers?

No.

Do you have any guidelines regarding the transport of the chickens?

No, that I don't. That you'd have to go to the national standards on that.

[There are no national organic standards for transport.]

I know that chickens are not covered by the Humane Methods of Slaughter Act but...

They are... Basically this is what happens...

One by one, they're hung upside-down on a conveyor

and their heads are run through water that has electricity run through it.

- Well, I very much appreciate your time. - You got it.

- You were so knowledgeable. - Alright.

And I wish you good luck with everything.

- Alright. - Thank you.

- Bye-bye. - Bye-bye.

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 and 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 the 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 the...

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.

She didn't make that sound one time.

Do you think she's seen a rooster before?

I highly doubt it.

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's a beaut.

Good work.

Tesla, our food critic?

Off the hook.

Off the hook.

Off the hook.

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 gonna 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 slaughterhouse, of all places,

and they wanted to bring a little pig into their classroom.

So he got this little pig from the slaughterhouse

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 a little 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

started creeping into the diet in some counties,

you know, blood cholesterol level started going 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's 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's 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're 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's 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 gonna be more compassionate

and more consistent with what the Bible is trying to teach us about

is gonna be a diet that's gonna be plant based,

it's gonna be a vegetarian diet.

Hi, how are you?

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's not just our grave.

We're digging the grave of the future.

We're 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 slaughterhouse.

Of course, you have to operate the slaughterhouses 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's 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's 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've industrialized land animal farming

we've 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.

Fishermen 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's 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,

that it then became necessary to eat animal foods in order to survive.

And that's 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's 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.

Vegan.

Vegan is the only way.

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.

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 questioned 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's 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 slaughterhouse 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 slaughterhouse.

I feel that it is a really haunted place and that the energy here

is full of all that fear still.

I feel it right now.

This is a journey I wish that everybody could take.

"If slaughterhouses had glass walls, everyone would be a vegetarian." -Paul and Linda McCartney

Imagine to be an animal and you are being herded down this little corridor.

Move out, move out.

Move out.

This is the door that after the animal is stunned, they drop.

Hold still.

So this would slide open

and the larger animals, like cows, would be hoisted up.

"I've seen live animals shackled, hoisted, stuck, and skinned.

Too many to count. Too many to remember."

-United Food and Commercial Workers Union official, from the book Slaughterhouses by Gail Eisnitz

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.

"I've seen hogs in the scalding tub trying to swim."

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.

"The [meat and poultry] industry has the highest rate of {employee] injury

and illness in the manufacturing sector." -Human Rights Watch

"Government laws[...] fail to sufficiently protect

meat and poultry workers' health and safety at work

and their right to compensation when they are hurt." -Human Rights Watch

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 passed 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.

You got it?

Yeah, I got it, I got it.

I can't believe that.

But there's 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 slaughterhouse.

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's crazy. - And 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're not crazy.

It's 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's 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's right there in front of our faces.

Completely in front of our faces

and there is no way to deny what we just saw.

Week 4 Vegan on Vacation

Brian's Vacation

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're carnivores.

I know that I am certainly caught up in the emotional aspect,

but I am trying to be as rational as possible.

Tesla's Vacation

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 gonna see chickens.

I am gonna see chickens.

And we're gonna have to eat them, and that's gonna suck.

We're gonna eat you.

We're not gonna eat him.

This is a chicken we are eating right here.

We are not eating him.

It's so hard to find food.

No meat, no nothing. You don't eat chicken.

You can't.

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?"

Ellen's Vacation

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's 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...

there's 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've had in a long time. - Yeah, right.

They're getting the ripple effect of my veganism.

A lot of adventures lie 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're gonna eat very well today.

Now I am gonna dig in and enjoy this lovely meal.

Week 5 Tesla's Crisis

You said, "I wanna 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, I say

"Why are you doing it then? Why are you doing it then?"

And I say: "Because I feel like a hypocrite if I don't keep doing it."

And like 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's not you have to live by certain rules.

It's about minimizing suffering. It's 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 meetup.

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 gotta make it now.

Week 6 The Results Are In!

Do you really think that you'll be able to stay vegan?

I don't know.

I don't know.

I don't know. I wanna say yes.

But it could be glaringly just thrown back in my face

when like three months later I'm...

working in a slaughterhouse 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 gonna 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 Tofutti.

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 gonna be my prize.

I was gonna 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.

What do you think would be an appropriate thing to do with it?

Should we feed it to the cat?

Here we are back at my kitchen.

It's six weeks later and there have been some significant changes made

as I went the vegan route.

I'm absolutely hooked on soy milk and

it comes in a lot of different flavors.

I like the vanilla

and I'm 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 gonna stay vegan?

I would think that would be really good because

she would stay really healthy and live longer.

On an average day, you'll 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're 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'm meeting people who have been

vegan for twenty or thirty years and I go,

look at what I've 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've 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.

My sauce, my marinara sauce.

And I have blueberries.

I have apple sauce which I did not like too much.

That's okay.

My wieners...

which I fell in love with camping.

I went shopping...

with the new guy which is going very, very well.

He's like, "If you told me that you would stop being a vegan,"

he's like, "I'll marry you." He's like, "because you are perfect."

He's 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."

"You might not like what you're gonna eat, but I'll cook for you."

I never thought I'd wanna stay doing it...

Like, seriously? Like 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.

I don't know.

Okay.

You lost two pounds? That's awesome.

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, it's 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.

Lost 5 lbs Blood pressure dropped 30 points Bad cholesterol dropped 18 points

Lost 2 lbs Blood pressure dropped 20 points Bad cholesterol dropped 26 points

Lost 10 Ibs Bad cholesterol dropped 20 points

Oh, yes.

Thank you so much, Dr. Fuhrman. I appreciate it.

Thank you so much.

Thank you, Dr. Fuhrman.

Yeah!

The last supper

The last vegan supper?

- What's up! - Welcome!

- How are you? - Oh, my goodness.

- It's good to see you. - Hey, Marisa.

Did you get all my letters?

- Hi, Ellen. - Hi, Tesla.

Ellen, Harry. Harry, Ellen.

- Hi, nice to meet you. - Can I get a hug?

Have you tried any of her vegan food?

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 like, spinach? Not me. Spinach nugget?

Yeah, after a while you're like... spinach nuggets.

Like and you don't wanna... like your taste but...

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're eating?"

"Plus you're 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, this is like the highlight of my, you know.

When we look back, it's amazing what we've done.

It's amazing what we've done, all the different things.

It was so much fun. Thank you so much.

CONGRATS VEGANS

Tesla, Brian & Ellen are in good company

by adopting a lifestyle based on principles of non-violence.

Susan B. Anthony Vegetarian

Gandhi Vegetarian

Rosa Parks Vegetarian

Coretta Scott King Vegan

C�sar Ch�vez Vegetarian

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's how conscious living is changing the world

one person at a time.

To see where they are now and to get tips and resources, visit: GetVegucated.com

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's not a salad, it's good.

- 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.

Yeah, she doesn't like it. That is great!

I never had tofu before but it's really, really good.

- Really? - Yes.

It's not like okay good but the way you prepared it right now

it tastes like chicken. It's really good.

- Really? - Yeah.

Let's see you eat it.

It's true.

(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?

Thank you, thank you. Thank you very much.

Number of animals saved in the making of this film: 380 per year and growing...

Uhm, kitten? Number of animals who hindered the making of this film: 1

Excuse me. Number of animals who hindered the making of this film: 1

Excuse me, kitten. Number of animals who hindered the making of this film: 1

How dare.

corrected by: Tio Beto from Brazil ...=Peace Through Anarchy=...