Hello everyone, my name is Ryan and you're listening to The Vegan Report.
If you're vegan for the animals and you care to do more for animal rights, but you're not sure
where to start, then this podcast is for you. Every week, let yourself fall in love with
passionate animal rights leaders who will inspire you to find your voice, your own special
contribution to the animal rights movement, however small or big it is. Today we are going
to talk about farms transitioning to a cruelty-free and exploitation-free business model.
As you know listeners, this is a topic very dear to my heart. In the past, I have welcomed guests
who used to work for the animal industry before recognizing the harm it causes. You will remember
Colin, episode 2 of the podcast, who used to work for ranches and slaughterhouses before becoming
vegan and speaking up publicly about his experience. It was also the case for Catherine, episode 4 of
the podcast, who worked for a horse stable but has now opened an animal sanctuary in the heart of
Vietnam. Stories like these inspire me more than anything else. It gives me the hope that change
is possible and a brighter future awaits us. To discuss this topic, I have with me Kennedy
Little from Farm Transition Academy. On their website, and I will leave a link in the description,
you can read the following description. Our work consists of two main pillars. We assist farmers
and industry workers transition towards regenerative forms of agriculture and alternative
forms of income. We provide businesses and communication strategy advice to farmers interested
in transitioning. We host workshops and presentations for individuals who want to become allies of
farmers and industry workers who want to leave the animal farming industry and search for more
stable, sustainable, and safe sources of income. Welcome to the podcast, Kennedy. Thank you so
much for having me, Ryan. It's such a pleasure to be here speaking about these important issues that
Farm Transition Academy attempts to tackle. There are definitely a lot of them and those pillars
ring very true within our organization. So thank you for having us. Well, thank you for being here.
Can you first introduce yourself? How did you get involved with Farm Transition Academy?
Yeah, so my name once again is Kennedy Little. My pronouns are she her. And I live in Lexington,
Kentucky, born and raised. And so just being a part of the agriculture scene here in the south,
kind of the United States, it really has allowed me to see how agriculture is such a prominent way
of living for so many individuals. I'm living here with my two sisters and my parents. And once I
started high school, I began to attend an agricultural school. That's when I began getting involved
with FFA and learning about organizations like 4-H and AFA. And just seeing what's out there related
to agriculture and youth involvement. Soon after that, that's when I began to learn more about
veterinary medicine and other forms of agriculture. And currently, a junior in college majoring in
pre-law and agribusiness, where I hope to continue to fight for animals through policy and legislation,
doing on the ground work with farmers, and just using my voice to be an advocate for those that
are not always heard. And I joined Farm Transition Academy my sophomore summer. And there, that's
when I met Mira Geyser and Tatiana Boppin, who are the two co-founders of FTA. And it just really
sparked a connection between all of us. We're all very passionate activists. And yeah, it was just
the perfect thing that could have happened for me because I had always said before that, I want to
help farmers farm more sustainably. And I had the opportunity to do that. So I definitely took it.
How did you develop that interest for animal welfare? Where did it come from?
Man, I have always been a lover of animals. I can remember always begging my parents to get us
a companion animal, a dog. And it's just always been there. It really has. I always thought that
I wanted to be a veterinarian. That shortly changed after my first year of college. But I
definitely just have always had that love. At around 10, that's when I began to adopt a pescetarian
lifestyle. My parents were completely just thrown for a loop. They were like, what is she doing?
It's just a phase. It's going to go away. But over time, that turned into vegetarianism and then
veganism, which I used to say, I don't know if I can ever make that step. I can't take away dairy.
But it happened. And I wish I had had done it sooner. But definitely that love for animals.
And then that ability to see that there definitely was a division between our system.
Where there were those companion animals that got that love and respect and that care.
Whereas farm animals did not get that. So understanding that there definitely was that
line that was existing and that that needed to be erased. That's what really prompted me to go vegan.
And seeing the treatment of the animals within factory farming, big farms, small farms, all of
it is just so egregious. So wanting to do something about that as well. I love your answer because I
can relate. I had the same experience. I want to say I was born with that compassion and
it was present when I was a little kid. And I love asking this question, but I always have in mind that
maybe people are distant to be vegan in a way. They have some qualities innate to them that
make them more attracted to this, to veganism, to animal welfare.
So yeah, it's a whole debate. How did Farm Transition Academy come to exist? And should
I understand that your very existence implies that there is a growing number of farmers
abandoning animal exploitation?
Yes. So just to answer that last question, absolutely. There are many farmers who are
becoming aware of the system, whether they feel as though they are being used as a pawn in the game
for some agriculture businesses to gain funding while they are lower on this totem pole. And they
don't want anything to do with it anymore. Now, of course, this number is growing, but it still is a
very small number. When you look at areas like California and out west and maybe some areas in
the south as well, there are more farmers that are transitioning, but it definitely is different for
each state, which is important to keep in mind. And when it comes to Farm Transition Academy,
we began in the year 2021, and it first started with Tatiana Rainboppin and Mira Geyser, two animal
rights activists. And so they began talking about how they could help farmers. And it began as a
thought of educating farmers and educating animal rights activists in the field, because there
really is a division between animal rights activists and those in the agriculture industry.
Some who see animal rights activists, they see us as people who are wanting to completely burn
their industry down. But for many of us, that's not the case. And for Tati, Mira, and I, we want
to tell them that there are other ways that you can live more sustainably and work more sustainably
without having these different implications. And we can be here to support you. And we want to work
with those other animal rights activists to tell them that it is okay to support farmers to make
that transition, because there definitely is this taboo around animal farmers and how they don't
deserve respect if they're doing what they're doing. But at the end of the day, many of them are
oppressed as well, and they need that help out of the industry. So that's why FTA began. And then
once we got our logo, once we got our website, and we had our first mentoring program and our first
workshop, that's when we really began to evolve into moving towards the path that we want to.
I had a very good friend, and she was a farmer, you know, her family, they were all farmers for
generation, dairy farmers. And when I became vegan, you know, it was tough to deal with that, to
have conversations with her around, you know, why are you vegan? You know, are you threatening my
livelihood, the livelihood of my family? And I was trying to, you know, get around that and try to
find our common, to remember our friendship and find our common humanity through this,
this very sensitive issue. Yeah, I think that among vegans, there is this animosity toward
farmers. And I think that generally in society, we have some pretty weird misconceptions about
farmers. And a good example of that is that image of farmers being uneducated, you know,
they're stupid people. And what they're doing doesn't require a lot of brain power. I remember,
I think there was this whole controversy with Michael Bloomberg, basically, talking in those
terms, I think about the agrarian society lasted 3000 years. And we could teach processes I could
teach anybody, even people in this room, so no offense intended to be a farmer, you it's a
process, you dig a hole, you put a seed in, you put dirt on top, add water up comes the corn,
the information economy is fundamentally different, you have to have a different skill set,
you have to have a lot more gray matter. But I want to get an idea of what is the
But I want to get an idea, you know, a realistic idea of what it is like to be a farmer and
what is the industry like. And I want to ask you, you know, in your line of work,
you are in contact with workers from the animal industry. Can you tell us about who they really
are and what they are experiencing in their everyday life? Yeah, so with our work with Farm
Transition Academy, we have had the opportunity to speak with farm workers and farmers in the
industry. And although I would not consider myself an animal farmer, I would not consider
myself an animal farmer at all. I cannot directly speak from their standpoint. But what I can do is
try to tell their stories that they have allowed us to tell. And one of those individuals is Cesar
Alonso, who lives in who lived in Canada, and who still lives in Canada, who worked at a
slaughterhouse. And there he explained the horrors of just everyday work, witnessing animals,
having their last breath or having their lives taken away from them. And at that point, Cesar
was having those beliefs that the work he was doing was not right. He wanted to definitely
get away out. At some point, he was taking cows up to five cows at a time to come live with him
in his small home, just to protect their life until he could get them to a sanctuary. And he
ended up becoming a whistleblower for it was Cedar Valley Farms. And there became just a ripple of
effects that came after that, good and bad, some legal action and some help getting his voice heard.
And then of course, him going vegan. And just from speaking out about this industry, he was able to
make incredible change. But the reality is that for many of these farm workers, because there is a
difference between farmers and farm workers, many farm workers are working, of course, under those
farmers, and they do not have access to the same amount of support, funding as these farmers do.
It can be very difficult for them to wiggle around that power imbalance between farmers and farm
workers. And it is definitely an industry or a career that can be very oppressive at times.
Some of these farm workers are people of color. They are undocumented immigrants. And so they have
this way of silencing themselves because they have fears of the implications surrounding if they were
to speak out. And it is very easy for these companies to kind of use that silence because
they are targeted to keep them silent and to keep them doing their dirty work. And so these industries
are definitely not signed by any means. The 40-year vegan or David is very popular within the vegan
movement when it comes to telling his story about how he once worked within the agriculture industry
within a slaughterhouse. He shares that he had such terrors going into work every single day,
knowing that his beliefs were changing, yet he still felt as though he had to do this work.
And a lot of these farm workers and farmers justify their work because they see it as a
attachment to making money. Many of them have to make a living. And when society sees killing
non-human animals as a way of surviving and as an acceptable means of sustaining yourself,
then it's very difficult for these farmers to not go against the grain. And there also is another
aspect that FT loves to talk about, and it's about that community of farmers. When you are living in
a community where you're maybe 30 miles away from these grocery stores or from these other areas of
city life, then it's easy to hear those voices around you and to have that constant framing and
priming of information where you're not seeing other areas of veganism and sustainability and
environmentalism. So for a lot of these farmers, we are trying to educate them on the other areas
of sustainability, other than regenerative agriculture or feeding animals something different
in their diet. There is a completely way of not using animals at all by any means. So it
definitely is difficult. Now, this of course isn't the case for all farmers and for farm workers.
Many of them are aware of what they're doing, but we definitely do want to give attention to those
that are stuck in this cycle. So do you target farm owners like from smaller farms, or do you also
target the big fish, the big industries, farm industries? And do you also interact with farm
workers, or is your target the owners of the industry?
So at FT, we have mainly interacted with farm workers. We have spoken with some farmers as well,
but FT is still definitely building up to the point where we can bring on farmers and give them
that access to every area of transitioning because it's not a cheap process. Further on down the line,
I would love to speak with you about funding because it is very difficult for these farmers
to get access to forms of monies that will allow them to transition successfully. But yes, so we
don't necessarily work with those corporate organizations. We do talk to them about how we
can help them get through this. We do talk about those issues, but haven't gotten to the point where
we're willing to reach out to them specifically and offer them this five-year plan or tell them
change this or else. So it definitely is a slower process for that. And another thing that we like
to do is to make ourselves known. Let farmers know, let animal agriculturists know, let all
that there is a way to make that transition happen. But we want them to reach out to us instead of
necessarily targeting. We want to allow ourselves to be that invitation and to let them know that
it is okay to ask for help. And change does happen. Sometimes it happens slow, but there is a way out
of this industry. If you see that you are in debt, that you're struggling, that's another thing as
well. A lot of farmers, they are in debt. Farming is a very pricey career to be in. And sometimes
it's not always reciprocal money-wise. Sometimes there are some seasons where you are not bringing
in a high enough amount of funding or grants or your harvest for your crop production was not that
high for you and your farm. So there definitely are those barriers that those farmers do face.
So definitely just being aware about those issues before we reach out to anyone. We also do recognize
that for many farmers of color, some of them are not land owners. As someone who is a person of color
and living in Kentucky, I definitely do recognize the disparity between farmers of color and then
those white farmers that are owning their land. So the conversation is completely different when
you're talking about indigenous people and when you're talking about farmers of color,
because that connection to their land might be that much more different than that of a white farmer
because they might just now be getting land ownership versus farmers who have had that in
their family for generations. And tell me if I'm wrong, but I think that the suicide rates among
farmers is very high. Yes, yes. Suicide rate among the farmer community, it is very, very high.
So yes, thank you for kind of bringing that in because that's another barrier that we have to
speak on. It's a very sad fact. And when you look at the amount of farmers just in the United States,
which is around 1.7%, a very small percentage, that's a very high fact to associate with that
kind of work. And yes, so just those different aspects are all things that have to be present
within a conversation or at least in the back of your mind. We talk about these things within our
workshops because sometimes you're going up to go speak with a farmer, whether it's at a farmer's
market or reaching out to them on Instagram, they definitely do have the, they have a way of pulling
back of leading the conversation. You are invited in a conversation with them and you only have
sometimes a certain amount of time in order to pull them in to get that conversation started.
So how can you do that in the most effective way without causing any discord? Because at the end
of the day, we are doing this for the animals, whether you're a non-human animal or human animal,
because we want to see that change towards more just world. And I think I had that feeling,
reading your mission statement on your website, that you were also thinking about the farmers
that were going to read that. I mean, this is not, when I read it, it was not like a vegan manifesto,
something very radical that would turn off farmers that would read it. So did I have the
right impression here? Yes, absolutely. You did. And I thank you for seeing that. I think that
that's something that FGE has tried to work hard in. And how can we be a resource for farmers
without turning them away? Because within the animal rights movement, there definitely is enough
of that. And there are people out there that think that we're not being hard enough as an organization,
then a farmer could scroll down and they can get that. So there definitely needs to be that balance
in between the movement where there are these places where farmers can come to to get that
assistance. And that doesn't mean that FGE is going to be completely compliant on all these
different things. Absolutely not. You can go on our website to see our mission. We're completely
against the abuse and cruelty and exploitation of animals. But a way to make change is to hit
the area where it's happening. And that is farming. When we go into our grocery stores to consume
these, to consume the flesh of animals and the abuse, the results, their secretions,
all these different things, we are seeing a production and that is the farming industry.
So how can we hit that sector and make change effectively? And that's exactly what we're
attempting to do. And that's truly amazing. I want to go back to that, causing harm to animals.
How do farmers, farm workers rationalize their actions when they are hurting animals, exploiting
them? What are some of the justifications they come up with? Because some of them might want to
go to take their distance from that industry, but they might not be vegan. So have you heard about
that inner story they tell themselves about their actions? Yes. And just from stories and just from
learning about different farmers' experience, it is a very sad situation. Once again, there are some
farmers who understand what they're doing and they haven't yet reached that point where they're
willing to change. And FDA probably won't get target those groups yet because there are that
many other farmers that are wanting to get that assistance or wanting to get that help out of the
industry, farm workers included. And so a lot of them rationalize it once again, because it is legal
to do so. And for some farmers with farming, I think it's a very interesting line of work because
it has been a part of our existence since we've been here on this earth. And so it's a matter of
going back to our roots in a way for a lot of these farmers when it comes to food. It's something
that each of us have to eat. And for some workers who are producing this food, they don't see eating
plant-based as a sufficient ways of eating. Within their work, they think that meat has to be part of
that staple diet. And that goes for all countries in a way. And so for many of them, they just see
it as something that is justifiable because it's legal and because it is a cultural thing. And it's
unfortunate, of course, because we know that that's not the case. I mean, there can be a very healthy
diet that does not rely on the lives of animals, but it definitely is a matter of educating farmers
on that, educating these federations and bureaus that are instilling this mindset in farmers that
your work is just so important and integral to the way of living, that there is no way that we could
survive without you. So there definitely is that pride also that these farmers and farm workers
are getting, that their work is just top of the line and without them, there would be no us
because they are producing food for us. And once again, with the farming industry being such a
small percentage of different workforces, there also is another line of pride and of self-pride
and self-awareness of what they're doing to supply the food sector. Another thing too is that animals
are not these living, breathing, sentient beings that we know them to be within the agriculture
industry. Their lives are just completely reduced to nothing as if they are nothing more than
livestock, quote unquote. That's where that term comes from, living stock on a shelf. And it's such
a very interesting thing when you look into it because those things are perpetuated and that
kind of science allows farmers to continue to do the work that they do because they're not really
seen as animals with personalities as we know them to be. This is such an important point because
every time I think about farm animals, I think about the farm animals I see in my Instagram feed
from farm sanctuaries. They look happy, they're surrounded, they're active, they're truly alive.
But it is true that when you are in that machine, in that industry, you're just a shadow of yourself
as an animal. And you might, in the eyes of a farm worker, be perceived as less than because
of the conditions in which you are, because of how that trauma made you into something else,
something else less than. So yeah, what's an interesting point?
Thank you. Yes, very, very true. Once again, and just when you're looking at how these animals
are treated within the animal agriculture industry, they're taught to be no more than a number.
They're taught to be no more than a face behind a barbed wire or within a cage. And so that autonomy,
that personality is completely stripped away from each of them. And another thing as well is that
for a lot of these farmers, they are bringing these animals into the world with forcible
impregnation. So they kind of see that as I'm bringing these animals into this world and I'm
taking them out, this is part of my job, they have no autonomy. So those are just little things that
really do create a very upsetting implication on the lives of these animals and on the lives
of animal rights activists as well, because their lives are just being completely erased as nothing
more than a number or nothing more than a package label. This is so twisted, such a twisted situation.
We talked about the prejudices we can have about farmers. But how do workers of the animal industry
perceive the vegan animal welfare movement? Does it register as a threat? Or is it something like
a craze? They look at those vegans and they think, what madness? So could you tell us about that?
Yeah. So within the agriculture industry, it would be untrue of me to say that there definitely is
this, not this idea of what a vegan is. And for some, that's a militant individual that is trying
to ruin the agriculture industry that is attempting to take away farmers' livelihood.
We are these woke individuals that are attempting to change the world with our ways of sustainability
and alternative methods. And that in some ways, it's extremely false because we, especially Farm
Transition Academy, we're doing this work because we are supporters of farmers. I think that farming
is one of the most incredible jobs there is, except it's just the way that we are doing it.
We are doing it in a very unsustainable way. We're doing it in a way that is not creating reciprocity
for our land, that is completely going against any form of growth for 50 years to come, that is
doing something that is just not viable for our land. And that is animal agriculture. And of course,
it's important to pay attention to the forms of plant-based agriculture that are also just as
cruel to farm workers. And yeah, so we definitely do see these issues within the animal agriculture
industry. And to tie back to your point, yes, many farmers do see us as a threat to their livelihood.
And when we also look into the government, some vegans, veganism is not always accepted into
that sphere. We're also seen as just a group that is trying to push backwards and trying to create
change that is not going to happen. But we do see our change happening. We do see a lot of these
areas adopting plant-based living. And yeah, so it's a very unfortunate situation that we are
perceived this way. But there is definitely a way out of this. And that's to continue to educate
ourselves, to educate those in power, and to continue to create change that way. We don't
want to be seen as militant. We want to be seen as people with power, people who are able to create
change, people with a vision, visionaries, and people with innovation as well. Because once again,
there are so many vegans who were once in the boots of those who are farmers, farming animals.
FTA has had the opportunity to meet so many farmers who were once dairy farmers and beef farmers,
and to see that they have completely changed their lives around for the better. It's just a
direct testimony that although you once lived a certain way, doesn't mean that has to be the way
forever. And you know, I have to say, I've seen posts of vegan organizations celebrating when a
farm goes bankrupt, or when a Tizen factory closes its door forever. And do you think this is helpful?
Or do you think that this is harmful for the movement to openly celebrate the closing those
industry centers?
You know, that's a really, really good question. FTA also recognizes that there definitely is the
separation between how some farmers or some animal rights activists that are trying to help farmers
view the industry, and then how some other vegans who are just very, you know, their hearts and
their anger and passion is leading them to just attack the industry in all different ways, which
I think can be an understandable passion. Because when you see how these animals are treated, it can
lead you to go a lot of different routes of trying to bring them to autonomy of their own bodies.
But at the end of the day, it's not always constructive to be doing these things, because
we are pushing a lot of these farmers away from our movement. And at the end of the day, there are
those farmers and farm workers specifically, that are affected by this, those undocumented immigrants,
those farmers of color, those individuals who don't have a voice like you and I might have to
speak out against these injustices because of fear of consequences. So understanding that there is a
victim in that as well, beside those animals, that I believe could redirect a lot of these vegans to
changing the way that they see how these industries are shutting down. Now, when we see these
industries shut down, of course, that is a form that is telling us that the world is changing.
However, we still of course have to stay aware of those victims involved. The example that I
brought up, when we think about food empowerment projects and how they are fighting against
Amy's Kitchen because of their cruelty to their workers. And that industry, Amy's Kitchen is a
vegan and vegetarian business. However, just because they are vegan and vegetarian doesn't
mean that they are cruelty free. And I think that that goes back into how plant-based production
also needs those changes as well. It's not perfect just because it isn't directly taking the lives
of animals. And when we saw that Amy's Kitchen shut down one of their locations in California,
yes, of course, the work that they were doing did come to a cease and desist at that specific
location, meaning that those industry workers cannot be directly hurt anymore because they
weren't working at that location. We still saw that they were suffering just because you are
no longer in that position doesn't mean that those other extra factors of just life are taking care
of. They are not. Those workers went back to having to figure out how they would pay bills,
how they would take care of their children, all these other areas that become gray and that become
muddied when these factories close down. And the Farm Transition Academy wants to get to the point
where when these factories close, we can be there guiding those farm workers into other forms of
plant-based work or just completely new area of working. We want to have those resources and we
want to be able to offer them those services because it's not easy trying to find different
routes and ways of working when you have been a part of an industry for so long. And another point
I want to bring up talking about the rationalization of just this work that they're doing.
A lot of these farmers are exposed to PTSD and other forms of trauma and depression and mental
health issues and that just cloudiness creates another barrier of how they're ever going to
even leave the industry. Having to go back home after a day's work of splitting throats of
shooting animals with bolt guns and all these different things are just complete.
They're very inhumane and they're just such heinous ways of life and no person should have to go
through that. And the fact that a lot of these individuals that are undocumented immigrants are
targeted I think shows a direct representation of the industry. So yes, there's so many effects
from the animal agriculture industry that creates another barrier once again and it creates an
obstacle for these farmers where they feel as if they have no other choice. I get the impression
from hearing you that there is really no winner with this industry. The workers are losing
the animals of course, first victims of this industry. And also you point out as an organization
that there are other harmful effects of the animal agriculture industry. That this is not just about
being ethical to animals. There are very negative impacts for the earth, for the planet,
for the environment. So could you tell us about that?
Yeah, so soil exploitation, water depletion, deforestation, food injustice, worker injustice,
those are just a few of the ways that the animal agriculture industry is creating a negative effect
for this planet. And we have to be aware of those things. There was a study by a doctor,
Salish Rowe, that wrote that around 87% of greenhouse gas emissions are caused from the
animal agriculture industry or have been caused by the animal agriculture industry due to its lack
of awareness of just what it is emitting into the world and having a want for profit over what it
is actually sustainable and humane. And all of these things have created such negative adverse
effects for our planet where we are looking at increasing populations and where we're looking at
having just such negative climate change effects by the year 2050 that we have to make an impact
right now at this very moment. I believe that the animal agriculture industry is also creating a
social crux within our society when we have all these areas of individuals who are in the
areas of individuals who are fighting for what they think is right for the planet and what they
think is sustainable. I would love for us to all be on one path where we are fighting for the same
thing, fighting for animals, fighting for justice, but with industries like the animal agriculture
industry and with so much money being poured into just these voices and into these campaigns,
being poured into the farm bill for 2025 for just these different areas of politics and for
you know gain, right gain, it really does just create this division socially which is another
effect of this industry and with time I do believe change can come from it but
when it comes to veganism we are still a very baby movement even though we have created
such amazing change all around the world there still are so many things that we have to tackle
now or work towards tackling. So without a doubt there are these irreversible in some ways effects
that the animal agriculture is bringing. Those animals lives will never be able to be brought
back. When it comes to rewilding which is something FTA is very for, rewilding is the action of
taking land that has been devastated by animal agriculture, by climate change and giving it time
to regrow back to a state of how it once was many many years ago and so in order to get to those
points yeah we definitely have to keep championing for this cause but yeah. Yeah this is shocking
you know when you address all of those issues the word that comes up in my mind is evil.
It's a very religious word truly I don't know a better word to describe this
all the harm this industry is causing. Another word related to this conversation is redemption
and I want to talk about why do some of those workers, those farm workers, those farmers decide
to abandon their line of work for a more ethical sustainable economic activity. What motivated them
to make that transition and I know we touched on that but you know at first I was asking myself
why aren't more workers making that transition but then I realized from conversations with
people like you that there's the money aspect of it, there's the cultural aspect of it and
you pointed out that there's also a psychological you know mental health aspect of it. So now I'm
truly wondering why do some people decide to make that transition despite all of those forces
stopping them to make it. Where is their conviction coming from when they are just surrounded
you know in their environment with other farm workers and you know the whole propaganda around
this industry. So do you have an idea of why they made that change, why they distanced themselves
from their industry? Yeah that's an excellent question and I really don't always know the
answer to that. I think that for each farmer it definitely is different but I think that it
does boil down a lot of the times to just one common ground which is that these farmers are
realizing what they're doing and they're realizing that it's not sustainable for the animal, for the
planet or financially. As I mentioned farming has such a high debt association attached to it.
Many of these farmers do want to wait out financially and when they see that the plant-based
industry is skyrocketing by the billions and is expected to reach around I believe it is 70 billion
by the year 2050 if not sooner then there definitely is a way to create a change by changing
your production and for some farmers when they see the option of harvesting and growing and
planting soybean versus trying to take the life of 500 heads of cattle or with chickens it definitely
becomes an easy answer for them once they have made that connection to how animal agriculture is
so devastating and for some farmers it is just years and years of compounded debt association
that is finally coming to light when they're realizing how many lives are they they've taken
the deals they have made they are beginning to see that there is an option and also farm transitions
is a fairly new conversation when you look at the time year span when you look at 50 years ago this
was not a conversation that was being had when you even look at veganism these weren't conversations
that were being had when you talk about the rights of animals and as they're moving towards a point
where these conversations are becoming more widespread and more prolific and then these
farmers are beginning to see that there are those alternatives out there but at the end of the day
this is still a small change that's happening and even just one farmer wakes up one morning or farm
worker wakes up one morning and they begin to understand that the lives that they are taking
taking is not right then I think that that is a major step towards justice for these animals
and they often talk about the tipping point you know an experience particular experience that
made them realize that how do you help those but first I want to ask do some of them become vegan
in their personal life does that you know desire to distance themselves from their economic activity
also translates to a desire to adopt in their personal life a vegan lifestyle
a vegan lifestyle yeah so um through the work I've done I have not met an individual that has
transitioned over into plant-based farming that has not adopted a vegan lifestyle now not to say
that a lot of farm workers who are transitioning don't adopt a vegan or do don't always adopt a
vegan lifestyle um it's not the case I mean many of them might transition over and they may not
still see it necessary to eat vegan but the ones that I have associated myself with the one that
FDA has reached out to the ones that we have met all of them have become vegan because I believe
it's very difficult for them to make that change and make that understanding without making that
change within their lifestyle and their ethics because it is an ethical awareness that is now
happening for them and now I think it's also interesting because the way that farm transition
academy talks about farm transitions is a way of doing it for the animals and doing it for
your ethics but there also is just that um a term within agriculture of a farmer transitioning or
farmer taking over their farmer to um or um giving their farmer giving their farm to their next
generation and that is also considered a farm transition so um I think that as we hopefully
farm transitioning how do we once we get bigger I hope that our term can become more prolific
um whereas farmers associate farm transitions with going um or turning your farm into a vegan farm
instead of the latter where farm transitions are just a means of um either turning over to
um chicken using chickens instead of um cattle or um giving your farm over to your next um kin
or something like that we definitely want to use farm transitions as a much broader stronger term
because that's what I do believe it is. And you talked about uh an economic pressure to plant-based
diet uh products demand and so I love hearing that because it means that becoming vegan works
we are shaping the economy to uh our values. Yes absolutely um yeah when you like once again
just look at the timeline of veganism and um of just like the things associated associated with
it so grocery stores um just seeing all the new plant-based products that are being put into these
stores the amount of animal sanctuaries that are popping up in every it seems like every area I
think of that is just a direct testimony that veganism is the future plant-based is the future
um of those plant-based production foods and then of course farm transitions are the future um times
are truly changing where we're seeing a direct input into these more sustainable industries and
that's happening um I think in some ways just subconsciously I mean veganism and plant-based
foods are becoming a default for a lot of um for a lot of places and that is a very beautiful thing.
Yes it is uh so now the question I wanted to ask earlier um about the process itself how do you help
help those workers um from you know leaving their industry to adopting a new harm-free sustainable
business venture? Yes so the biggest thing for Farm Transition Academy is to use export expertise.
I personally am growing within the agriculture field agribusiness field about learning how these
systems correlate with each other how we can make a plant-based future happen um while also
intersecting into the um animal agriculture field and making change that way so seeing how these
things connect with each other and then also with Tati um she is very specialized with um outreach
and with knowing how these just different businesses work she has quite a bit of experience
with farm transition groups over in Europe and then Nira she is a dedicated animal rights activist
as we all are um she has been in this movement for quite some time um and she knows how these
communication systems work with farmers she knows the exact questions to ads how to reach out to them
on social media or in person to get these conversations going so with that expertise
we have on top of just working with um other agriculturalists in the industry who are vegan
animal sanctuaries who have been in this line of work for years that is truly how we make change
and I mean Farm Transition Academy we're only a group of three people so definitely leaning out
into those areas where this work has been going on for so long is a big way that we're able to
help these farmers if they ever were to come to us or we ever were to reach out to them and getting
them in contact with these groups and getting them people to consult with um offering them resources
to be able to make that change um once again the biggest thing for us right now is funding um money
is such an important thing when you're dealing with these types of um endeavors um as fun as it
is to not um say I mean it's not fun to try to say that you know we have to have money for it um
I think FDA's hope is that the government one day would pay for these types of things um as just
like um a subsidiary or a um just a way of helping the planet um but we're not there yet so um on top
of all these consultations and offering our resources whether it's non-profit groups that
are helping farm workers um translate language um and helping them find those short-term jobs
as they're leaving the industry all those things are so important um but of course making sure
that those farmers have um some kind of support um for the meantime is also um how we can continue
our work within um creating the sustainable business plan for these farmers. I think you're
an amazing group I mean by the way you told me how you know you study you're studying agriculture
uh in college and it's funny to think that the people around you are future workers of this industry
but you are uh like this vegan and anomaly uh in in your class and yeah I mean how do you um
um as this you know little group making a difference um how do you you know in terms of feelings and um
just you know your your mental state um how do you feel about the work you're doing?
I feel very proud about the work that we're doing um I think that we definitely want to
shape our organization to be able to do so much more and make those connections to be able to do
that much more as well um but you definitely do have to have a starting point and I'm just so
happy with the work that we've done we've been able to work with Harvard University to launch
their first course on food and environment we've been able to have lectures and webinars and um
mentoring sessions with really um important names in this industry that are making very big
impactful change um we've been able to create our own website um we've been able to gain the
support of some members at my own university and yes being in this um field of work and trying to
make a change in the animal agriculture industry in Kentucky of all places definitely is um it's
definitely something that I think needs to be talked about more but I think for me it gives me
this leverage to be able to relate with those farmers to say yes once I was an FFA yes I did
you know have these conversations with my advisors and with farm workers who um you know well we
talked about this industry where we you know talked about um you know the different treatment
of animals and where I also had to you know work on these um farms at my university I understand
the pain that comes along with it but I was able to make change for myself and it is possible for
you to do the same of course at a different level um but I think that that truly does give me leverage
to say that I I I understand the spirit of this experience I'm still part of the experience every
single day I walk into my one of my ag classes or go out to our farm um I see these things that
are happening every single day and I think that definitely does give me the ability to relate
with these farmers at a different level um because I'm in this industry and I'm not someone that's
completely outside of that that's trying to understand how the system works um I'm someone
who wants to be a part of it so yeah I hope that answers your question for that yes and I have
last one about this um I know many vegans uh who are deeply upset and um angry about uh the animal
industry and you're in constant contact with uh this industry and you're forced to uh go beyond
you know judging them you you need to understand them and you need to speak their language uh and
in in order to reach them and you have seen those people uh make changes amazing changes uh in in
the way they do things um I don't know if you ever felt that anger that upset but uh did your line of
work ever you know help you with with that anger with that um outrage um or is it something that
increased it I'm genuinely curious about that yeah so that's a really good question um I think
that with the work that we do um just understanding that there are forces against us I think is really
hurtful um and that is hard um having such a love for agriculture but just wanting it to be different
um it definitely creates this weird dynamic in my head um because as someone who is seeing how this
industry is harming so many people I just want them to see that as well and for those that do I
want them to care about it because for a lot of these government business um these government agencies
or these farm bureaus or um whatever the case is they're understanding that this this work is
happening but they're not making that clear cut connection between the life of that animal
and so there definitely are times where I do feel um upset but that anger is put into I believe a
positive light to keep me going because there you have to be able to be articulate um in more ways
than one with that anger if you want to see change so I don't let that stop me and let that keep
pushing me um I let my ability to be different and to think different push me to um be a better
advocate because I think that us being vegan is such a powerful thing that we're able to see
outside the system that we're able to see the many areas of just injustice that are happening that
we're able to see that detail and understand that this system you know is perpetuating such a nasty
negative future um and that is our own leverage that allows us to make change and to create this
whole little um empire that we're making right now with the vegan movement of just such incredible
activists and people and supporters and donors and just you know all these great people um that
are just visionaries and that gives me the hope to keep pushing even through the days that I'm
upset that I'm feeling um defeated um you know that those are the things that truly do you know
keep me going and of course seeing the end goal of seeing each and every animal free seeing each
um human animal working in a place where they feel happy and fulfilled um those are all things that
I think really make me excited to keep going and excited to graduate um because um I think that
there is a difference that can be heard and that can happen. Amazing thank you for sharing.
Thank you so much. So you talked about um funding and how this was important for your organization
so I think you are having right now a fundraising campaign. So how can we help? How can we support
your initiative? Yes well thank you so much for asking um Farm Transition Academy just began our
August crowdfunding um campaign where we um all throughout the month of August are asking anyone
to donate anything that they can because whatever the figure is it's going to make a humongous
impact for our organization. We're currently attempting to raise five thousand dollars um so
that we can offer free presentations and um workshops for those the agriculture industry
um and for farm workers and um sorry those um so those animal rights activists because we want
everyone to be able to have access to the work that we're doing everyone deserves to have access
and we also at the same time want to grow our business and want to make a living for um each
of us at FTA because we believe so reverently in our work so we want to be able to um have those
funds there's also those operational costs like zoom and our website and um our LLC which we just
recently got last year all these costs are going to be coming up in the next year and um we also
have a very strong non-profit arm about our group so you know just asking for donations it's just
one way that we think that um we can give people the opportunity to make change for farm transitions
and to be a part of this movement um because um I see this as something that can really be
such a game changer for those farmers so yes we are crowdfunding um so anything that you like
to donate you can visit us at www.farmtransitionacademy.com once you click the banner at the top you can go to our
crowdfunding website you can also visit us at um farm transition academy on website on instagram
on facebook on our linkedin as well to give a direct link to our crowdfunding page and there
you can have access to what we're doing see how the day she can help we have a breakdown of what
ten dollars can do for our business what fifty dollars can do for our business with 25
100 75 dollars can do for our business and so that way we're very transparent about how your
donation will be assisting us um but truly anything would help us um once again we are very new
and we're still trying to find our footing so we want to get to a point where we are able to help
farmers um and not limit them to what they can do and to be able to reach out to those resources
so by donating to donating to us or just by following our website um or our instagram at
farm transition academy um you'll be making tremendous impact for our days so yes and of
course uh a link will be provided in the description below so uh just visit the description
so kennedy thank you so much i had such a nice time uh talking with you and learning more about
uh farm transition thank you so much ryan it was so fantastic talking with you really appreciate
this thank you everyone for listening i hope you got something from this conversation i invite you
to share this episode with family and friends make them discover the good work of farm transition
academy i'm very excited for next week because we have on the team behind egg-truth.com and i'm
taking you behind the scene of the egg making process and i promise you you are going to learn
things the poultry industry definitely does not want you to hear so subscribe now become a friend
of this show and don't miss out on new episodes finally you can always reach me on instagram
at veganreportpodcast thank you again for listening take care and see you next tuesday