Banner Photo Credit: Mike Labrum

MINNEAPOLIS, MN (October 2, 2020) — Through speakers, meditations, prayers, singing, and a candlelight vigil, 70 people gathered at Father Hennepin Park—while many more watched a live-streamed version—to remember, mourn, and celebrate the lives of farmed animals.

In the week that followed, the live-stream video had over 500 views.

An unarmed civilian peace force made up of Compassionate Action for Animals volunteers, and trained by the Boundless Love Project in peace-keeping and de-escalation strategies (enjoy part of the training here), safeguarded the smooth operations of the event in a public space.

The event was organized by Compassionate Action for Animals and co-hosted by the Animal Rights Coalition, Boundless Love Project, Humane Society of the United States – MN, Our Wellness and Liberation, PLNT BSD, Rooster Redemption, SoulSpace Farm Sanctuary, and Vegan East.

Some feedback from the event included:

"I had never been to an event that was so grassroots and so professional at the same time."

"I'm going to try the Explore Veg challenge!"

"I was reminded of the power of love and community and the importance of animal advocacy in the web of intersectional justice."

Below you will find an audio recording, a video live-stream, and a written transcript of the event.

Audio Recording

Live-Stream

Fast forward to minute 16 for the start of the official vigil program.

Transcript

Julie Knopp: Welcome to Minnesota’s first World Day for Farmed Animals Vigil. I’m thrilled to be here with you, on Gandhi’s birthday, to take a stand for animals. My name is Julie Knopp, and I’m the president of the board at Compassionate Action for Animals, the organization hosting this event this evening. Our mission is to encourage people to embrace their empathy for animals and move towards a plant based diet.

We are so glad that you have chosen to show up for the animals here with us tonight. This has been a devastating year for humans and non-human animals alike, and we believe issues of justice should be seen as both/and, not either/or. Due to the pandemic tens of thousands of chickens and pigs in Minnesota have been exterminated and disposed of by an industry that values profit over feeling beings. We notice too how the slaughterhouse workers have been treated as equally expendable during the COVID crisis, which has continued to have hot spots in greater MN meatpacking communities. The suffering of farmed animals, and the workers who process their bodies, is invisible to most of our community. Thank you for seeing them and for standing up for them.

We are grateful to be hosting this event in partnership with eight other wonderful businesses and organizations. We have a few of the organizers from each of these groups present. Please stand as your organization is named: the Humane Society of the United States, Animal Rights Coalition, Boundless Love Project, PLNT BSD, SoulSpace Farm Sanctuary, Our Wellness and Liberation, Rooster Redemption, and Vegan East. We’ve also appreciated the support of J. Selby’s and Coconut Whisk. Please consider supporting these amazing organizations in whatever ways that you can. And thanks to Food Not Bombs for their work and for coordinating with us to share this space tonight.

Throughout this evening, we will be occasionally sharing some numbers with you that represent the devastating impact that animal agriculture has on animals and the planet. I’m going to share our first number right now: 4,000. Roughly 4,000 metric tons of greenhouse gas have been emitted due to animal agriculture since I started speaking, to produce meat, eggs and dairy. That’s as much as 860 cars per year. Just in the past three minutes.

It can be hard to wrap our heads around these big numbers so tonight we're going to focus on some individual animals, and Freeman Wicklund is going to guide us through that. Freeman is the Mindfulness Teacher at the Boundless Love Project, which provides numerous resources to help people live with more peace, love, and joy; and which joyfully works to create a global beloved community where all humans, animals, and ecosystems thrive. Freeman will be leading us through a series of speakers sharing short animal stories, and he’ll be helping us to reflect on their words and on the experience of farmed animals in this world.

So again, I’m so glad you’re here. Thank you for standing up for the animals by being a part of this vigil tonight. And now, I’ll pass things on to Freeman, and we’ll get started with our event.

Freeman: Let us start with a short meditation to set some loving intentions for our time together. If willing and able, please take a slow, deep in-breath filling up your belly, lungs and head. Then release the air with an audible sigh. 

Again, breathe in through the nose, if able, deeply and slowly into the belly, chest, and head. Release with an audible sigh. 

Once more. A deep effortless breath expanding the belly, chest, and head, and releasing with a sigh. 

Now compassionately allow the body to breathe how it wants to breathe. 

If able and willing, lovingly place one or both hands on your heart and feel whatever you feel in your heart space. Is their heat? pressure from the touch? warmth? Spaciousness? Just notice whatever sensations arise in the heart space. 

If it feels safe enough for you to do so, feel free to close your eyes. 

Peacefully rest your awareness on these subtle sensations in the heat space as I set some kind intentions for our time together. 

May our fellowship be one of love and service for all humans, animals, and all other life forms including trees, lakes, rivers, lands, and climate.

May we honor the Dakota people who stewarded these lands for generations. And may we acknowledge the inherent dignity of Indigenous people and stand in solidarity with them in their efforts to protect their cultures, communities, and lands.

May we celebrate the many ways that animals have enriched our lives, by freely giving us their love, kindness, and compassion, and by demonstrating for us their wisdom, ingenuity, creativity, diversity, and joy. 

May we give our bodies permission to mourn in whatever way they want to mourn: Through crying, through keening, by withdrawing, by laughing, or in another way. We gently invite the emotions in the body to move, to inspire compassionate action, and to be released. .

May this time together be one of transformation, healing, growth, compassion, and kindness. 

We now silently offer thank yous to everyone working to create a more kind, loving, compassionate world. Feel that appreciation and love in your heart, and let that love grow to fill your body and surround you. 

Energetically, we radiate this love from our heart to the hearts of all life forms everywhere: May we all be safe and protected, peaceful and happy, healthy and strong, and free from all of our suffering. 

During 2020, there has been so much loss in the US: Over 200,000 US residents have died due to COVID-19. George Floyd. Breonna Taylor. Elijah McClain. The list of predominantly Black people killed by cops excessive violence goes on. Ruth Bader Ginsberg. Tens of thousands of people have lost their homes and businesses due to climate-change-intensified wildfires and hurricanes. During COVID, countless farmed animals have been exterminated in mass, using American Veterinary Medical Association methods that cause massive suffering, such as covering flocks of hens with foam so they suffocate to death. Millions more of our animal relations are slaughtered for food hour-by-hour. At this time, we come together to collectively mourn these losses in community, and to recommit ourselves to loving, appreciating, and joyfully serving life. 

As a whole, Western culture adopted the false belief in human supremacy: that humans reign and that all other life exists to serve their human overloads. As the climate crisis worsens, and as our mistreatment of animals spawns pandemics like COVID, and as animal agriculture continues to consume and destroy the environment, we see how this false notion of human supremacy is unsustainable and will lead to our society’s downfall. 

All wisdom traditions, whether religious or secular, point to the truth that all life is interconnected, which means that all life has dignity, worth, and value; and that all life belongs.

Through this vigil we affirm that It is normal, healthy, and wise to care about the wellbeing of animals. Often our animal friends are the first to show us unconditional love; to love us as we are; to not need us to be anyone other than who we are. They are our teachers, our friends, and our family. They are worthy of our love, compassion, kindness, and consideration, and not for anything that they do for us, which is a lot, but simply because they exist, simply because they want to be happy, peaceful, and safe. That is enough. Just as they love us because we exist, it is wholesome, beautiful, and wonderful that we love them for their own sakes, simply because they exist.  

Our first speaker is an author of a vegan cookbook, and a cabaret diva. Please offer a warm round of applause to help welcome my dear friend, Mistress Ginger!

Mistress Ginger: Hi, everyone. It’s me, Mistress Ginger, cabaret diva and cookbook author and… vegan. I’ve been vegan for about 18 years now and I’m gonna just tell you a little bit about why I went vegan and why I’m here today. 

So it was about 20 years ago that my darling kitty, So-hi, left this world. It was an untimely death, and it made me very sad. You see, through my awkward teen years when I was often bullied she was like a best friend to me, a source of unconditional love and deep affection. Once she passed, even though I was now a bit older, I missed her deeply; I wished I could have saved her. And so I grieved for her and I dreamed of her, and I thought of her often in the months that followed her death. 

Around that time I was for the first time in my life out on my own, cooking for myself, making my own meals. I remember getting some raw chicken from the store that I was going to cook for dinner. Maybe I was going to make fajitas or something, I don’t remember. But I do remember seeing little flecks of blood in the raw chicken flesh. I remember that moment of recognizing that this was once part of a living being, and there I was grieving for my cat So-hi and wondering how these two were very different: the cat that I grieved for and this chicken that was about to be my dinner.

I started wondering, is it really necessary? Do I need to need to eat meat to be healthy? I did some research to satisfy my mind and I kept listening to my heart on the matter. It was an awakening of sorts that led me to widen my circle of compassion. 

Of course that circle had always included other human beings and dogs and cats, but now it was growing to include other kinds of animals, and it made me take a look at the choices I was making in my everyday life and how I might better honor my heart’s convictions through those everyday choices. In choosing to go vegan, I could honor So-hi’s life, and while I couldn’t save her, I know I can help to save others — as a movement grows to dismantle the industries that exploit animals. 

For me, compassion is at the core of this movement, and it was at the core of those big choices I made almost 20 years ago. As I was preparing this talk I remembered a poem that I came across when I was trying to decide if I can and should go vegan. It was written by Jo Stepaniak and included in her book The Vegan Sourcebook. I’ll share it with you now. 

To All My Relations

Peace is the outcome of Love.

Love is the fruit of Compassion.

Compassion is reliant on Caring.

Caring is born of Understanding.

Understanding is contingent on Knowledge.

Knowledge is gained through Perceiving.

Perceiving is based on Observance.

Observance necessitates Awareness.

Awareness requires the ability

to see without eyes,

to hear without ears,

to sense with the heart

and recognize suffering as suffering,

regardless of color, culture, language or form.

There is but one sky, one land, one wind, one sea.

We breathe the same air,

sip the same ocean, 

share the same portion of time

as we pass through this moment together.

We are children of the Earth,

no less sisters and brothers.

Gather the spurious boundaries that separate our sibling spirits,

for we are family.

Come into my arms, my limbs, my leaves,

and let me stroke your shapeless self.

Let me know your pain.

Let me feel your truth.

Let me embrace our differences,

our sameness, 

our uniqueness.

We blend seamlessly, imperceptibly,

distinctions dissolved.

I recognize you now.

Unmasked.

Relieved of our earthly robes, 

we are One.  

Freeman: Thank you Mistress Ginger. Let’s take a moment of silence and peacefully  notice what the body feels... 

We are roughly 15 minutes into the vigil. During this time, over 1 billion gallons of water have been used for animal agriculture in the US. That is enough to fill 20 million bathtubs. Calmly notice how that information lands in the body. 

Mistress Ginger’s love for So-hi helped her connect with the broader animal kingdom. Gently reflect on an animal companion in your life, living or dead, who you love and find easy to open your heart to. Calmly visualize them in front of you, or have a sense of them sitting in front of you. Remember the love they share with you... the joy they bring you… and all of their beautiful and wonderful qualities. If any upsetting thoughts arise, just set them aside for now. For now, kindly focus on all that is good, beautiful, and praiseworthy in them. Imagine them sending you love directly from their heart into your own. You can feel this energetically, or see this as a beam of white or colored light. Peacefully feel this love.

Our next speaker has served as a volunteer with Compassionate Action for Animals since 2015 and is a member of CAA’s development committee. Please put your hands together to help me welcome the deeply beloved Yunuen Avila.

Yunuen Avila: Sleeping pink piggies, cute wet wiggly little noses snorting & snoozing on their momma’s big belly, as their curly tails wag and swat away the flies. Such a relaxing & calming scene. Then the camera zooms out. Hundreds of momma pigs laying in small crates feeding their babies. A big trailer truck backs into a dark, sunless room. The narrator then casually says the word “cruel” & mentions how the piggies “believe that the sooner they grow large & fat, the sooner they'll be taken into pig paradise--a place so wonderful that no pig had ever thought to come back.” His voice makes you think “bliss”, but the scene is much, much worse.

Some of you may have noticed that I’m talking about the film “Babe”. You know the story, brave little piggy shows his smarts and escapes the life of a Christmas dinner. Throughout the movie, he finds a way to fit in with a diverse group of animals on the farm of Farmer Arthur, who Babe shares a particularly special connection with.

6 year old me felt that same connection as Babe & Farmer Arthur did. My mind flooded with questions that nobody ever dared to answer. Mom, where does meat come from? Where was Babe’s mom actually going? They look so happy in the cartoons, so why does Babe look so sad?

Babe was the reason I started asking these questions. He was my 1st real connection to a Compassionate lifestyle. I didn’t know it then, but I was on my way to becoming Vegan.

Compassion, as defined by the Oxford dictionary means, “sympathetic pity & concern for the suffering or misfortunes of others”. Suffering resonates with me, because humans aren’t the only ones who suffer.

I love animals, especially pigs. And as I hugged & kissed them at a sanctuary, they reminded me why they need a sanctuary. The conditions they were in before they were rescued is heartbreaking. Their injuries not being tended to, bodies beaten, babies robbed from their moms’ at birth--like Babe---suffering on a scale you would never wish upon anyone. Having Compassion to me means, “Having the ability to be empathetic towards beings who are dependent on others for help.”

I believe that in order to be truly Compassionate, one would have to eliminate the consumption of all Animal products & by-products. One might ask, how is this even possible? How do I avoid themt?

There are several resources online, apps, & even Non-Profit organizations that can help you learn more on how to expand your Compassion. Most of these Non-Profit organizations offer footage & pictures that educate us on the atrocities that these Farmed Animals endure on a daily basis. Mercy for Animals is one of those Non-Profit organizations that devote their lives exposing the horror. Everything I know now, I learned from volunteering here in MN at Compassionate Action for Animals--or CAA for short. Please feel free to check them out at ExploreVeg.org to learn more.

I would also encourage all of you to visit a Sanctuary. The bond & connection you develop in a Sanctuary is indeed life changing. All Animals, especially Farmed Animals, want to live. They desire to live the remainder of their lives in peace & in freedom. The Compassion that we share amongst ourselves, our loved ones, & our pets should be extended to them. If you’re comfortable enough, I dare you to hug & kiss one of them on their wet little noses, watch their curly tails wag & swat away flies, & see how different she or he looks when those cute little piggies aren’t stuffed in a dark, cruel sunless room just like Babe & his family was.

To conclude, my overall desire & hope is that you can leave today with a deeper & clear understanding & appreciation for all Farmed Animals.

Freeman: Thank you Yunuen. Let’s have a moment of silence and compassionately feel into the body….

Yunuen was impacted by the movie Babe and by her interaction with rescued farm animals at sanctuaries. Gently reflect on a farmed animal in your life, living or dead, who you love and find easy to open your heart to. Calmly visualize them in front of you, or have a sense of them sitting in front of you. Gently appreciate all of their beautiful, wonderful, praiseworthy qualities. If any upsetting thoughts arise, compassionately set them to the side for now. For now, kindly focus on all that is good, beautiful, and praiseworthy in them. Imagine them sending you love directly from their heart into your own. You can feel this energetically, or see this as a beam of white or colored light. Peacefully feel this love.

Our next speaker serves as an intern with Compassionate Action for Animals. Please give a warm round of applause for gentle soul, Yosan Worota!

Yosan Worota: Good Evening,

I am pleased that you have joined us here or tuned in via social media to honor the billions of farmed animals slaughtered each year for food. I am Yosan Worota; I have been part of CAA since June. And now, I would like to draw your attention to share the importance of today’s vigil.

My journey as a vegetarian began at the beginning of this year in one of my biology classes. This prompted me to question if I am upholding my ethical and moral values since I am a christian and grew up as one. Briefly, what I had learned was, the interaction of the first migrant humans and animals beginning 45,000 years ago drove to the extinction of about 90% animals. This sort of eradication with numerous species has continued whether it be from natural causes or from conscious human efforts. Although the effects of natural disasters are inevitable, the deliberate conscious actions of humans is avoidable and that is what redirected my focus to farmed animals. 

Amid my search of the alarming suffering and pain of farmed animals, the story of Wesley was what stirred my heart. Wesley was rescued as an 8 week old calf. His life has been spent tied to a 10-foot rope, his home was a doghouse, and he was starved on purpose. This isn’t atypical for veal calves or “milk fed” veal calves, who are fed a low iron diet laced with antibiotics to produce the most desired white meat. Wesely was so weak that his legs shook terribly trying to hold up his body. The good news is, Wesley was rescued and is currently a healthy 2500-pounds, who never goes hungry and roams free in a field. I can’t say the same for other milk fed veal calves, who are starved and crippled from confinement before they are slaughtered.

We have come so far from our ancestors, who were not aware of the effect of their indirect or direct actions and, of course, whose survival depended on hunter-gatherer culture. But as modern humans, who have evolved their consciousness, and for me (individually) as a Christian, who was called to be stewards of the Earth, it is extremely crucial to acknowledge the ethical issues here. 

It’s basic evolutionary psychology that not only humans, but animals as well, have undergone evolution in which they have emotional and social needs with a necessary bond with their mothers. If a farmed animal is taken away from his or her mother, confined in a tiny cage, vaccinated, starved, consequently this animal will suffer greatly. This psychological and physical need was already established long before we existed. And now that there are vastly more domesticated farmed animals than (i.e.) lions, elephants and penguins, this is not only a pressing matter of ethical issues, but moral issues. 

I would like to end with a note that with a collective will, we can avoid tens of billions of sentient beings, each with a complex world of sensations and emotions suffer to only be met with death. Farmed animals are God’s creation just as we are, who can experience fear, pain and loneliness. Their lack of verbalizing this to us should not deter us from questioning if they even feel pain. They can suffer just as we do, and they can feel happiness just as we do. In a world governed by technological advances where this is avoidable in creating a better world, we should consider the welfare of all sentient beings including farmed animals so that they all have the chance to live the life Wesley was granted. And I thank you, everyone who has joined us here or is watching from a live feed, who have decided to observe this day and be part of the change in creating a better world.

Thank you for listening.

Freeman: Thank you Yosan.. Let’s have a moment of Silence. Calmly notice what sensations are alive in the body right now….

Yosan was deeply touched by the rescued veal calf Wesley, and informed by her Christian beliefs. At the core of all wisdom traditions are the qualities of love, compassion, kindness, mercy, justice, nonviolence, solidarity with the oppressed, courage, and sacrifice. Gently reflect on how the core teachings of your wisdom tradition encourage us to respect all creation. 

We are roughly 30 minutes into the vigil and during this time, nearly 80 hectares of old-growth forest in Brazil were cleared to make space for raising animals for food. That is the size of 180 football fields. Kindly notice how that information feels in the body. 

Because we have been sitting for awhile, I invite all who are able and willing to stand, so we can do some mindful movement to harmonize our bodies. 

• rattle bones

• move the emotion, (It’s OK to move, It’s really OK) 

• move how your body wants to move, in a way that feels pleasing. 

• Gathering the fragrance of the earth (qi gong).

Please retake your seat. 

During these difficult times, it is important that we take care of ourselves mentally, emotionally, physically, and spiritually. At the check-in table, is a flier that lists some of the many free self-care resources that the Boundless Love Project offers. Before you leave, please grab a flier and sign up for our email list. Or check out BoundlessLoveProject.org to learn more. Thank you. 

Our next speaker is Founder & Director of Rooster Redemption, a rooster sanctuary in Center City, MN. Please put your hands together to welcome the wonderfully glorious, Melanie Moonstone. 

Melanie Moonstone: Hi everyone, my name is Melanie Moonstone and I run Rooster Redemption.

Three weeks ago I had a chicken in my refrigerator.  The very thought of this makes me uneasy because I have been vegan for over 6 years now, vegans don’t typically have dead animals in their refrigerators.  This chicken was named Ginger, a little rooster who touched many lives in a big way.  Why was he in our refrigerator?  Because we had to preserve his body overnight in order to bring him for necropsy at the U so we could reveal his actual cause of death.  I will get to that but first let me tell me about Ginger’s life.

At just 2 days old in 2017, Ginger was in a feed store with a bunch of other young chicks.  A kind person saw him being trampled by the others so she picked him up, put him in her pocket, took him home, and named him Ginger.  She thought Ginger was a hen.  When Ginger started crowing several months later, his caretaker could no longer keep him because roosters were not allowed in her county. 

Ginger was rehomed to us at Rooster Redemption in early 2018.  He was a curly, fluffy, vivacious, busy body, always on a mission.  He came to us with a frostbitten comb that healed with the warmth and love we gave him.  When he crowed, he meant it.  He would posture at us when we went to pick him up, acting tough with a big peck to the boot, until we picked him up and he 100% melted in our arms, eyes closed, beak lightly smacking with content. 

Recently Ginger fell ill with some breathing issues.  He was taken to the vet and put on medications.  He fought very hard for a few days until he was done, including perking up on my lap when I was eating lunch and grabbing onto my toast with his little beak.  I spent the night with him on the recliner with him sleeping on my chest, he literally left a footprint on my heart.  The day he passed, I had him sitting on my lap for my first part of work in my home office.  During my lunch break I decided to bring him outside to enjoy the sun, he absolutely loved sunbathing.  The instant the sunshine hit his face, I knew it was time.  I have a sense when a chicken is going to transition because I have had many die in my arms.  He made a couple small seizing movements, took a few big breaths, and passed peacefully in my arms with my lips on his face and telling him I love him.  I have learned how to remain calm during death because they deserve this.  The last thing I wish for them to experience is calmness, peace, and love.

Over 60 billion chickens every year do not die this way.  They do not die with dignity, love, and respect.  In fact it is quite the opposite.

Freeman: Thank you Melanie. Let’s have a moment of silence and compassionately feel into the body….

Mealanie provided a home and care to Ginger, a rooster refugee saved from a short, violent life in animal agriculture. Her story inspires us to take on the role to repair and reconcile our relationship with animals. To not just stop abusing them, but to actively take a role in stopping the violence. As a species, we have taken so much from the animal kingdom, for so long, and now it is our time to give of our time and our abundance to ensure them the freedom and dignity they need to thrive. 

Bring back to mind your beloved animal companion and your beloved farmed animal. Calmly visualize them in front of you, or have a sense of them sitting in front of you. Gently appreciate all of their beautiful, wonderful, praiseworthy qualities. Feel the love and appreciation in your heart and send it to them energetically or as white or colored light. Gently imagine radiating your love and sending it to all creatures and life forms on the planet. Send your love to all farmed animals… to all other domesticated animals… to all other wildlife… to all human beings of all races, nationalities, creeds, and beliefs. Send your love to all of the trees, waters, air, lands, and other life forms that we all depend on to survive and thrive. Offer your unconditional love to all life everywhere. May all life be safe and protected, peaceful and happy, healthy and strong and free from all suffering.

Our next speaker serves as the Minnesota State Director for the Humane Society of the United States and is a tireless and graceful champion for animals. Show your love for the valiant and heroic Chrstine Coughlin. 

Christine Coughlin (Outline of her talk): This will be a talk about a fox I’m naming Faith. It will also be a talk about The Witness, Edie Lama, and his converted van. It will be about what The Witness, Edie Lama and Faith have taught me: about animals, about factory farming, about the beautiful power of one, and the need to dive deep in our fight against cruel industries. To dive deep into the fight, and deep into ourselves.  

• Intro/Opening

• Faith the fox: description of who she was, what condition she was in, what she was living through on a fur farm

• What I learned from Faith: about all kinds of factory farming of animals

• What I learned from the documentary: the power of one individual advocate; the power of images and education; vast majority of people do not want animals to be treated cruelly

• Additional: factory farming of all kinds is a systemic and institutionalized problem and we need to tackle it at that level with not only education, but a new humane economy and legal reforms

• In order to achieve these: we need to dive deep with intelligent, coordinated, and strategic actions and dig deep within ourselves

• Closing: my challenge to dive deep and embody the best of what Edie and Faith leave with us

Freeman: Thank you Christine. Let’s take a moment of silence and peacefully notice what the body feels... 

Christine was touched by Faith, a fox who showed her the dignity and worth of all animals, and the immense cruelty they face on fur farms and in factory farms and slaughterhouses. Christine’s compassion for Faith and other animals motivates her tireless work on their behalf, and it rallies us to be bold, courageous, allies of animals who organize and implement strategic, nonviolent, campaigns to win tangible victories for animals. Gently notice how this call to action feels in your body. 

Since the start of the event, nearly 800 tons of animal flesh have been thrown away in the United States. This statistic represents thousands of animals who endured lives of suffering and violent deaths for no reason. Gently notice how that feels in the body. 

Light Candle and Stand

I invite the designated person or people in each group, to turn on your candle or candles and hold it in your hand. And please, may all who are able and willing please stand. In social solidarity with one another and our collective health, please position yourselves to be physically distant from one other. Good. 

These candles represent the light of unconditional love in all of us. These candles represent how the light of our unconditional love can dispel the darkness of prejudice, hatred, apathy, and legally sanctioned, institutionalized violence.

Sing

As we bear witness and mourn our animal relations tortured and slaughtered for food, I invite you to join me in singing a line from the song By Breath by Sara Thompson. This line recognizes our interconnectedness and oneness with all life. If you would prefer to not sing, then consider speaking the words or humming along to the tune. 

The song goes like this: By breath, by blood, by body, by spirit, we are all one. 

Now you: By breath, by blood, by body, by spirit, we are all one.  

The next song is called We’ll Defend the Animals, and it affirms our commitment to be their allies, to stand up, speak out, and live in a way that honors their value, worth, and dignity. I will teach this song in a call and response manner. When my hands gesture towards me, it means, I’ll sing. I’ll sing. When my hands gesture out, that signals for you to repeat what I’ve sung.

We’ll defend the animals, their pain and ours are one. 

We’ll defend the animals, until their rights are won. 

Once more. 

Now all together. 

Julie Knopp: Thank you Freeman, and thank you to all of the speakers for such a powerful hour of learning and reflection.

Now I’m going to take a moment to share our final number of the evening: 6 million. That’s how many animals have been killed for food since our vigil began an hour ago. More than 6 million individual, sentient lives. 6 million animals who can think and feel just like the cats and dogs in our homes that many of us hold so dear.

When I was thinking about the numbers we would share over the course of this event, I was reminded of a quote from the book Eating Animals by Jonathan Safran Foer. He says that ending factory farming would, at the least, “help prevent deforestation, curb global warming, reduce pollution, save oil reserves, lessen the burden on rural america, decrease human rights abuses, improve public health, and help eliminate the most systematic animal abuse in history.” Addressing animal suffering, which relates to all of these other critical issues, has to be a priority in our personal lives and in our community. This is a core element of intersectional justice.

You’re here tonight because you care about animals and because you want to be a part of the solution. You have already raised the profile of animal issues in our community by showing up here tonight.

As a next step, I’d like to invite you to take part in the Explore Veg Challenge. One of the most powerful things you as an individual can do to reduce animal suffering is to eat more plant-based foods, to decrease your consumption of animal products. So, right now, I invite you to take out your phones and go to exploreveg.org/challenge (repeat). There you can sign up to try out eating vegetarian or vegan for three weeks. By doing this, you’ll try something new, make a difference for animals and the planet, and receive special discounts from local plant-based restaurants.If you’re already vegetarian or vegan, you can also visit exploreveg.org/challenge to invite friends or family members to take the challenge.

If thinking about animal issues is new to you, I’d encourage you to visit Rooster Redemption, SoulSpace Farm Sanctuary, or one of the other incredible animal sanctuaries in the greater Twin Cities area. Get to know some farmed animals as individuals, and see where that takes you.

So that’s it for tonight. If you stay around after the event to chat with others, please remember to keep social distance. Again I want to thank Freeman, our speakers, our co-hosts, our amazing planning committee, and everyone who has participated in this vigil. On behalf of the animals, thank you for being here and taking a stand of compassion. We hope to see you again soon.