Nathan Runkle on Mercy For Animals, The Future of Food, and Finding Your Voice

While the majority of discussion at Thought For Food is rooted in our strengths in nutrition science and adventurous, healthy lifestyles, there is something much greater at stake than increasing our performance as athletes. The reason that both of us live a completely plant-based, vegan lifestyle is due to the fact that 60 billion animals are unnecessarily slaughtered for human consumption every year. The conditions of factory farms are absolutely and utterly abominable. Once the two of us became aware of the realities of industrialized animal agriculture and the toll it takes on both the conscious, innocent beings that are a product of the system and the planet at large, we simply couldn't support it any longer.

This week's guest is a visionary in leading the charge towards changing this. Nathan Runkle is the founder and executive director of Mercy For Animals, an international animal rights organization that has over 120 employees and has been integral in changing policies, hearts, and minds towards making the world a more compassionate place for animals. He started the organization at 15 with zero resources and no real strategy - except one mission to save animals. Nathan just released a new book, titled Mercy For Animals, which chronicles his journey of starting MFA, stories of heroic undercover investigations and open rescues, the future of food, and more. It's a fantastic look into the reasons behind ethical veganism and the plight that farm animals face in today's food system.

We talk about the moment that catalyzed the birth of Mercy For Animals, the realities of "humane" animal operations, ag-gag laws, the role of clean meat in transforming our food system, and plenty more. It was truly an honor to have Nathan on the podcast, and I found him as articulate as he is compassionate. I'm also incredibly inspired by the work of MFA, and very proud to have contributed through my Vegan Alpletic campaign earlier this summer. Nathan and his team are changing the world, and I hope this conversation inspires you or your friends and family to choose the more compassionate path.

-Jackson

Show Notes

Nathan's Book: http://www.mercyforanimals.org/book

Mercy For Animals: http://www.mercyforanimals.org

MFA on Social Media: @mercyforanimals (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc.)

Nathan on Social Media: @nathanrunkle (Instagram)

The Good Food Institute: http://www.gfi.org

Related Episodes: Alastair Norcross, Emily Byrd, Christie Lagally

Circle V: http://circlev.com/

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