Schedule
Below you will find the current schedule for our first annual Vegan Climate Summit, including the names of each gifted speaker’s galvanizing speech and a brief synopsis thereof.
7-7:15 p.m. CST
Project Animal Freedom: A Primer | Kyle Luzynski (he/him)
Join Kyle Luzynski, the Executive Director of Project Animal Freedom, for a brief introduction to our organization while we wait for everyone to join us before delving into our main speaker series for the evening. Kyle will provide a high-level overview of our organization, including a discussion of our mounting efforts to combat the climate and ecological emergency facing all life on Earth. He will then outline our event structure for the evening.
7:15-8 p.m. CST
COVID-19: A Dire Warning for the Future of Life on Earth | Ray Ippolito (he/him)
Ray Ippolito will deliver this year’s keynote address, titled “COVID-19: A Dire Warning for the Future of Life on Earth,” by sharing the grim reality the future holds for us if we do not take bold action to prevent catastrophic climate change, complete ecosystem collapse, and the next, potentially even deadlier pandemic (imagine a pathogen as transmissible as the common cold, but as deadly as Ebola). Being vegan will not be enough. Being in action is the only choice, as Mother Nature may have just given us her last warning.
8-8:30 p.m. CST
Green-Washing our Food: The Truth Behind Sustainable Labels | Hope Bohanec (she/her)
We are witnessing a new awareness around the impact agriculture and our food have on not only climate disruption, but also land use, biodiversity, deforestation, water use, water pollution, and so much more. Most of us have heard that meat is bad for the environment, but did you know that choosing plant food can be significantly better for the planet than grass-fed, free-range, or local animal products? Hope will share what she has learned from decades of peer-reviewed and scientific research to help you make the best choices for the planet and animals.
8:30-9 p.m. CST
The Connection Between Planetary Exploitation and Animal Exploitation | Lee Hall (they/them)
Lee will give an enthralling presentation titled “The Connection Between Planetary Exploitation and Animal Exploitation.” Throughout their presentation, Lee will urge us to bring habitat into “sustainability” conversations. Consider that:
Our use of planetary resources impacts all living communities.
Sprawl erodes other animals’ vital space.
Climate effects turn both human and nonhuman beings into environmental migrants.
Lee will flesh out the idea that animal liberation thinking informs the most powerful version of an eco-friendly human. Why? Because taking habitat seriously really means taking the planet seriously.
9-9:30 p.m. CST
The Surprising Truth Behind the Leading Cause of Climate Change | Dr. Sailesh Rao (he/him)
What if the leading cause of climate change is also the leading cause of biodiversity loss, the leading cause of desertification, the leading cause of ocean dead zones, the leading cause of tropical deforestation, and the leading cause of almost every other environmental ill on this planet? What if we could address all these issues simultaneously with a couple of simple switches in our worldviews and mindsets and, in the process, also address the myriad social justice issues that plague our global industrial civilization? Dr. Rao will articulate a surprisingly simple, yet profoundly powerful solution to the rapidly worsening climate crisis and the associated environmental perils and immense social harms.
9:30-9:50 p.m. CST
How to Build an Unstoppable Vegan-Environmentalist Movement | Panel Discussion
Join Prof. Maneesha Deckha (she/her), Genelle Palacio-Butler (she/her), and Ellen A. Dent (she/her) as we discuss how to effectively engage environmentalists and environmental organizations in the struggle for animal liberation, as well as how we can become better allies to fellow environmentalists and build more resilient, mutually beneficial relationships with environmental advocacy organizations.
9:50-10 p.m. CST
The Future of the Midwestern Animal Rights Movement | Kyle Luzynski (he/him)
Join us for the closing ceremony of the evening as we discuss not only what is next for our organization and our collective Midwestern animal rights movement, but also what the stakes are should we fail to take the drastic, but strictly necessary actions to prevent catastrophic climate change and reverse the ecological crisis before it is too late. Ecological doom or animal paradise: you decide!
Register today!
There is still time to prevent the worst impacts of climate change, save the Amazon Rainforest from complete ecosystem collapse, and preserve trillions of more-than-human animal lives in the process. But we must act now. We must educate ourselves to educate the world, and we must discover the passion to forever guide a purpose-driven life. What are you waiting for?