Star Street Teamers: Brendan and Ayden Elworthy April 8, 2009

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The Elworthy brothers, Brendan (sixteen years old) and Ayden (eight years old), are a force! I remember meeting them at a peta2 conference in Toronto where they were full of positivity and compassion. We've stayed in touch since then chatting about how to reach people at concerts and school, the Meat's Not Green campaign, and our love for bands like Rise Against and Silverstein. They're doing so much to help animals that we decided to give them an award for outstanding activism!

Here's an interview with both brothers to give you a sense of just how dedicated they are to creating a kinder world for us all.

Why are you vegetarian/vegan?
Brendan: I went vegetarian in grade 9 when my geography teacher did a unit on food. He talked about grain production, and how much of it goes into livestock, and that got me thinking, "Why isn't that food going to those who are in dire hunger?" After that I researched more on the topic and came across PETA's "Meet Your Meat". I decided that if vegetarianism was easy I would go vegan, and three months later that I turned vegan.

Ayden: I went vegetarian after my brother went. When he went vegan that got me thinking, but I kept eating my burgers. One night I overheard Brendan showing Mom "Meet Your Meat," and then I became vegetarian. It was just the sound that made me change, I didn't even see the graphic images.

What's your favorite part about peta2?
Brendan: I think I'd have to say the band interviews/contests. I also like the humour that peta2 brings to the animal rights movement—we need more humour in this movement.

Ayden: The stickers! It's fun to poster them everywhere, and they have a good message and they all look really cool. I use them to hang stuff up in my room.

Why do you feel animal rights is an important issue?
Brendan: I think it's an important issue because it's tied into so many other social justice movements. Also, animals suffer the most out of all the groups of those who are exploited, and more animals suffer than humans suffer. It's something like 27 billion animals suffer and die a year in North America alone.

Ayden: It's an important issue because it's not nice or humane to hurt animals.

Are you working on the campaign against the Canadian seal slaughter and if so, how?
Brendan: Yup, we're working to raise awareness about the hunt. We've done a couple videos against the seal hunt, wrote letters to the editor about the hunt, and sent letters to our members of Parliament about the proposed Canadian bill that would shut down the hunt (I got a letter back, but it was just BS claiming that the hunt is humane). We plan on getting signatures for a petition against the seal hunt as well.

Is your family supportive of your animal rights beliefs?
Brendan: Mom and Dad are, but our sister is less than supportive. It's cool that Mom and Dad do though, Dad cooks all vegan dinners and Mom came to a couple of our KFC protests, and they are both vegetarian now as well.

What are some animal rights activities that you and Ayden have done together?
Brendan: We love making videos, we've gone leafleting together, we've held/organized KFC protests, we've been part of circus protests, we like to make vegan food for other non-veggie people, we've tabled at events, collected petition signatures and we like to debate with other non-vegetarians about animal rights.

What's your average dinner like?
Brendan: Dad mostly cooks, and we'll usually have something like an Indian dinner with rice, naan bread, and lots of curry! We also love Lick's veggie burgers as well as tacos. We have them a lot!

Do you have any suggestions for other peta2 Street Teamers who want to get active for animals?
Brendan: Be persistent and positive. I've learned the hard way that more than 1/2 the things you do won't work or won't be effective, but we have to keep trying! Also, know the animal rights theory—lots of things become easier once you know your argument. There are plenty animal rights philosophy books out there, pick up a book and start reading! Opposingviews.com also has a section on Animal Rights, which I find quite interesting.

Ayden: Make your activism friendly, people will be more open to your message if you smile and give stickers! Go stickers!



Thanks so much to Brendan and Ayden! If you're inspired to do even more for animals, make sure you get active with the peta2 Street Team and keep checking our Take Charge page for the latest campaigns!

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