Young Filipina Advocates to Look Out For

I’m Leona, the Gulay Fairy of Good Food Community, Good Food Sundays and supplier of organically-grown produce sourced from small-holder farmers. 

Transitioning to a vegan lifestyle and eventually becoming a farmed animal advocate definitely wasn’t an overnight thing for me. It started in 2021, when my tita asked me to watch the documentary Cowspiracy and told me she wanted to try switching to a plant-based diet. The documentary highlighted the adverse effects that animal agriculture has on the environment and how it was the leading cause of deforestation, water consumption and pollution in the world. 

One particular line struck me the most: “You can't be an environmentalist and eat animal products. Period!” So, I took it a challenge then and started eating plant-based for environmental reasons.

But it was only when I watched the documentary Earthlings the following year that I was initiated to the horrors that exist not only in the meat industry, but in the other industries that minimizes the existence of non-human animals for human use. 

It was then that I started to really consider myself as a vegan and wanted to do as much as I can to advocate not only for farmed animals, but all animals. 

Why do you think it’s important to advocate for farmed animals?

Growing up, the use of animals was so ingrained in my everyday life that I never really had the chance to question it. Nobody in my circle questioned it, my family never questioned it, people who I considered as role models never openly questioned it. 

It was only then when I kept seeing videos of plant-based recipes when I scroll on social media, when I saw documentaries, when I saw there was a large and active Filipino vegan community, when basically, I saw other activists challenging my world view, that I realized that there was something wrong.

And if it were not for them, I wouldn’t be where I am today. So I think it’s important for us to advocate for farmed animals in whatever ways we can because there might be another me, another past version of you, out there just waiting for a push.

What farmed animal advocacy or plant-based initiatives are you currently doing or planning to do? 

Part of my work in Good Food is helping our community have a healthier relationship with our local and seasonal produce. From sharing easy to replicate plant-based recipes through our social media platforms to cooking vegetable-forward dishes every time we visit our urban poor and farming communities. I want people to feel joy when we cook and eat together. And maybe, when they arrive at the crossroads of whether or not they want to make a change in their life, they can look back at the good times that we’ve had and realize that they can move forward knowing they have a community ready to help them in their journey.

Apart from this, I do my best to attend workshops and events by animal advocacy groups like AEP, AAA, and Metro Manila Save.

While It’s still in the works, I am also helping to launch a vegan-led event this year that will focus on the abundance of Philippine Flora, and their role in maintaining a sustainable food system. Please watch out for it! 

If you could share with us, like one story in your farmed animal advocacy journey that has touched you so well and you still remember, please share here. Feel free to add links, photos, a video, etc.

I found my purpose and my community through this advocacy. The privilege I have to be surrounded by wonderful people, the laughs that I can share with them, the picnics I can have with them, the food I can cook with them, as well as the struggles that I can go through with them. All of these moments are precious to me and help me continue to persist.