Joaquin Phoenix won the first Oscar of his career on February 9th for his role in the Joker. During his acceptance speech, he talked about how all sentient beings share this planet and no one species has the right to dominate or control another.
One example he used was about cows at a slaughterhouse; “We feel entitled to artificially inseminate a cow and steal her baby, even though her cries of anguish are unmistakable. Then we take her milk that’s intended for her calf and we put it in our coffee and our cereal.” Said, Phoenix.
The day following his acceptance speech, Joaquin Phoenix went to visit a slaughterhouse in Pico Rivera, California. He met and spoke with the CEO of Manning Beef, Mr. Anthony Di Maria and the two were very respectful of one another. Just as he spoke about in his acceptance speech, Phoenix questioned Di Maria about a mother cow and her calf.
You can watch the touching video below to see their conversation and how Phoenix was allowed to save this mother and her baby along with grassroots animal rights group L.A. Animal Save.
Phoenix released a statement following the experience:
I never thought I’d find friendship in a slaughterhouse, but meeting Anthony and opening my heart to his, I realize we might have more in common than we do differences. Without his act of kindness, Liberty and her baby calf, Indigo, would have met a terrible demise. Although we will continue to fight for the liberation of all animals who suffer in these oppressive systems, we must take pause to acknowledge and celebrate the victories, and the people who helped achieve them. Shaun Monson, Amy Jean Davis, and the entire LA Animal Save community have taken their pain of bearing witness and turned it into effective, diplomatic advocacy for the voiceless. As a result, Liberty and Indigo will never experience cruelty or the touch of a rough hand. My hope is, as we watch baby Indigo grow up with her mom Liberty at Farm Sanctuary, that we’ll always remember that friendships can emerge in the most unexpected places; and no matter our differences, kindness, and compassion should rule everything around us.
For those wondering Joaquin Phoenix is not new to the Vegan lifestyle. He has been a vegan since the age of three. He explains why he decided at such a young age:
Really it was seeing these fish being killed when I was on a boat as a kid.
I guess to stun them they were throwing them against the side of the boat. I just had a profound strong reaction. It felt like a real injustice.
I don’t know how to explain it. I think it made me distrustful, and angry, and frightened of humans, humanity.
I will point out as the author of this article, currently, I am not a vegan nor a vegetarian. One of the first jobs that I held for many years was working at a butcher shop.
However, I have been thinking very strongly about this. Not because of any social stigmatisms or group pressure, but because of my love for nature and because I agree with Joaquin that all sentient beings are connected through energy. I’ve been thinking about this because of the compassion I have for the planet and my love for animals. It’s about realizing that we are all connected.
Eating meat is a choice, just as caring for the planet is a personal choice and it’s something that we will either care deeply enough to do or not. This message from Joaquin rings loud to me.
