321: Empowering Change: Leah Garces Reveals Transformation Project for Farmers

Maya Acosta  00:00

Okay, so welcome back to another episode of the healthy lifestyle solutions podcast. I have Leah Garces with me welcome, Leah,

Leah Garces  00:07

thank you so much. My I'm so happy to be here.

Maya Acosta  00:09

You were the first female president for Mercy for Animals ever. And that was between what's it 1720 1720 2018. So tell us what that experience was like. And just tell us a little bit about your story and how you got started in the vegan movement?

Leah Garces  00:26

Yeah, well, I've always loved animals. I grew up in Florida. And we had ducks in my backyard, actually. And through watching their lives unfold their ducklings hatch, I grew up with an affinity for them, and realizing that they were every bit as sentient and worthy of a life of joy, as the dogs and cats we share homes with. So I grew up wanting to protect animals. And when I when I as I grew and I became formed, I realized that the one place where we caused the most suffering to animals, is in our food system. And so that's what I have dedicated my life to,

Maya Acosta  00:59

you made an overnight choice when you were a kid. Yeah, I was about 15, when

Leah Garces  01:03

I made the choice to go vegetarian. And it actually wasn't until I had my my son 13 years ago that I became vegan. And I made this connection with, you know, nursing him and realizing were milk, just this kind of aha moment that I couldn't believe I hadn't made. But I think that gives me really a lot of empathy. For people who haven't made that transition, realizing how easy it is to miss the connections,

Maya Acosta  01:25

I've watched videos of you going into these chicken factories, and it's very difficult for me to watch content like that. And I have, I've watched the documentaries that are recommended. Tell us how you're working to support people that have grown up, you know, especially generation after generation of being in far in a farming family, for example, producing animals,

Leah Garces  01:47

I have been an animal rights activist for so long. And it wasn't until 2014 that I met my first chicken factory farmer. And when I met him, I was definitely expecting someone who was going to be anxious and have a lot of animosity toward me. But instead, I found a human being that was suffering that didn't want to be in the system. And he had gotten into the system when he was 22 years old, as a way to stay on the land that have been passed down generations regeneration. And there was no other jobs, there was no other option. So when the chicken companies came to town, this one chicken company came to town, and they offered him a contract, they said, If you sign here, we will bring you to the bank. And you can take out a quarter of a million dollar loan to build the warehouses. And then you'll be able to pay that loan off like a mortgage through raising chickens. So he was like, Great, this seems like a dream come true. And it seemed like it at first and he would raise the chickens and then they would pay him per flock and then he'd use that money to pay off the loan like a mortgage. But after a little while, it's chicken factory farming and the chickens started die, they got sick, and he doesn't get paid for dead chickens. So the paychecks started to get smaller, and the debt was the same every month. And so he started to fall behind, he realized he made a mistake. But there was no way out at this stage. By the time I met him, he was at a breaking point he wanted out, he was willing to take risks. And we collaborated to really expose the system. And that collaboration was a really big aha moment for me, realizing that the narrative in this country that farmers are these independent, happy farmers is false. And you just have to ask the farmer to know that and especially when it comes to chickens and pigs and the way that they're raised, these farmers are under contract, they're essentially indentured servants. And if we can figure out another pipeline for them, another way of them paying off that debt and living on the land, they will take it in a second.

Maya Acosta  03:37

I've also heard that the suicide rate is going up, it's I can imagine that a human being constantly killing lives are seeing suffering, because that's what we see in some of these videos is that the chickens can barely walk. Some of them are given so much hormones that there's so heavy, it's very sad.

Leah Garces  03:57

There's a concept in psychology called moral injury. And it's usually applied to veterans who go to war, they come back. And it's a concept of where you're made to do something that's outside of your moral code, that you're forced to do something. And this is what's happening to the workers and farmers in factory farming. They don't sign up to like, kill and pick up dead and dying chickens. slaughterhouse workers do not want to be in the situation either where they're having to do atrocious things to animals, but the system requires that of them. The this big oppressive system requires that what we're pushing out on people in the system is a harm that hits them deep in their spirit deep in their soul deep in their health. And you do see high rates of suicide in farmers not only because of this moral injury, but because of the unbelievable debt that they can't get out of. There is no other option. And this is what we want to build. We want to build the other option for them to the slaughterhouse workers, for the animals for all of us.

Maya Acosta  04:52

They're just trying to make a living at the end of the day. So how are you supporting them?

Leah Garces  04:57

In 2018 Mercy for Animals launched a project called of transformation. And we had this idea this question we wanted to answer, which was, Are there farmers that want to transition out of factory farming? And if so, which crops could be used? Can we retrofit their current warehouses to be used to grow other crops, other non animal products use the facility in some way where they can still pay off their debt, stay on the land provide that for the families, which is a root of why they're there, not because of factory farming. And we had over 200 farmers write to us when we launched it without any advertising. There was a flood of people wanting to do this. We were ready. We were like that's, that's way more than we thought. But it was a really good signal that this is this is real. This is a real pipeline that we need to create. So we started working, we created blueprints, we we modeled did economic models for six products. So we looked at specialty mushrooms, we looked at hemp, we looked at microgreens, cucumbers, strawberries, and tomatoes. And two of them came out on top as being the lead in terms of profitability. And they were specialty mushrooms and microgreens. And so we have farmers now that are in our system, that are working on retrofitting their chicken, they once raised chickens in these warehouses, and now they're growing mushrooms, and I visited them. And it's such a beautiful arc where you see farmers coming out of an oppressive system and you want to freedom and compassion, and a better future for everyone.

Maya Acosta  06:22

Right, and I mean, microgreens are loaded with nutrients. They're like the best foods on the planet. They're great.

Leah Garces  06:27

And mushrooms too. I mean, mushrooms are so interesting as a product, they're they can be all things you know, and microgreens are really popular. Those two products are very popular right now.

Maya Acosta  06:39

So what can we do the everyday person that is either vegan or not vegan, that thinks about, you know, how farmers are being affected? How can we either guide or inform farmers that there are options for them?

Leah Garces  06:55

Well send them to transformation, send them to our website, some of the Mercy for Animals and you know, get them on board. They can waste their they it's important that I think farmers voiced their concerns to their legislators to there is a misconception from the legislators perspective that rural farmers like factory farming, that they should keep supporting it and couldn't be further from the truth. And I think we as consumers were ever you can kind of opting out a factory farm any meal, any bite you take, that's opting out of factory farming is a step in the in the good direction.

Maya Acosta  07:25

Yeah, you've probably heard this, you know, people say, over and over again. Well, what difference does it make if it's just me like if I just choose not to eat any more animal products that won't create a big change? After all, the product is already in the grocery store, for example, what would you say to that?

Leah Garces  07:41

I think that this is such a fantastic and inspiring issue because so many other issues are so complex. When we think of like systemic oppressions like racism or misogyny, it's like, what can I do? It's so hard. This one, literally every bite you take, you can make a difference. That's very inspiring to me, in a world where everything feels very difficult to change. This is one where you have agency as an individual. That's very inspiring and empowering. I think

Maya Acosta  08:06

I'm so excited to learn more about this program that you have going on and and would you like to share any other websites or your social media?

Leah Garces  08:15

Yeah, go to Mercy for Animals on social media. We're on all the platforms and our mercy for animals.org Please come be part of our growing organization and people power we need you to help change the system.

Maya Acosta  08:28

And that's why and by the way, the media pass that I'm wearing has Mercy for Animals. So they're one of the sponsors of the summit.

Leah Garces  08:33

Yes, we were the nonprofit sponsor, the key nonprofit sponsor. We're really proud to be here. I know we helps ensure that there were two stages and more people really proud to get the word out.

Maya Acosta  08:43

How impressed are you with the summit?

Leah Garces  08:45

Oh, I love the summit. Isn't this amazing? It just feels like it's growing so fast. There's such an inclusive energy here that I don't feel anywhere else. It's so powerful

Maya Acosta  08:56

and friendly souls like really wonderful, amazing souls are here. So thank you again, Leah for stopping by.

Leah Garces  09:03

Thank you so much, Maya