lauren Ornelas is the founder of Food Empowerment Project (FEP) and serves as its executive director. She has been active in the animal rights movement for more than 30 years.
lauren is the former executive director of Viva!USA, a national nonprofit vegan advocacy organization that Viva!UK asked her to start in 1999. While lauren was the director of Viva!USA, she investigated factory farms and ran consumer campaigns. In cooperation with activists across the country, she persuaded Trader Joe’s to stop selling all duck meat and achieved corporate changes within Whole Foods Market, Pier 1 Imports, and others, and she helped halt the construction of an industrial dairy operation in California. lauren was also the spark that convinced the founder of Whole Foods Market to become vegan. In addition, she served as campaign director with the Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition for six years. Watch lauren’s TEDx talk, The Power of Our Food Choices and learn more about F.E.P.’s work at foodispower.org, veganmexicanfood.com, and veganfilipinofood.com.
Recorded November 3, 2019.