Actor, activist, and entrepreneur Alicia Silverstone is working to inspire the next generation to think more about where their milk comes from.
The “Clueless” and “American Woman” star is using her acting skills to voice Carly, a mechanical cow appearing in PETA’s latest campaign, which aims to teach children about the dairy industry.
Carly is a life-sized animatronic cow that talks to kids about the “sophisticated and emotional lives” of cows, and the suffering they face at the hands of the dairy industry. The campaign was designed in the hope that students, even from a young age, will understand the connection between the suffering of animals and their food choices.
Silverstone narrates Carly’s traumatic experience as a cow on a dairy farm, explaining how calves are taken away from their mothers when they are just one or two days old. She also explains that cows have a lot in common with humans; they are able to experience complex feelings of love, loss, and loneliness.
Via Carly, Silverstone tells children how “cows can feel happy, sad and scared,” and that “each cow is as special and different as each of you.” She then asks children to “please think about me next time you go grocery shopping.”
Carly also speaks positively about plant-based milk, suggesting that children and their parents try almond or soy milk which contain “plenty of calcium.”
To help build excitement around dairy-free eating, the volunteers accompanying Carly will hand out free Tofutti Cuties vegan ice cream sandwiches, and provide information about going vegan. Currently, Carly is making her way around schools in Southern California, and there are plans for her to visit other schools around the country.
Silverstone, a mother to seven-year-old Bear, is known for her concern for animals, the environment, and the health of herself and her family. The actor was inspired to create her vitamin line, MyKind Organics, when she was pregnant. She was advised by her midwife to take a prenatal vitamin, but, unable to find anything that suited her vegan values, was non-GMO, and certified organic, she created her own.
Silverstone continues to be known as a maternal health-guru, recently bonding with plant-based vlogger Ellen Fisher over raising vegan children as they cooked plant-based food together for their kids.
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