ChrystalAMA

It was incredibly difficult, but I always made sure to do things properly and as gently as possible.

I had to always keep the bigger picture in mind. A good friend and former undercover investigator, Taylor Radig, told me that whether we’re there or not, these animals are suffering and someone has to be there to document it in order to help future animals. On days off I’d force myself to do things I enjoyed to keep my sanity and as silly as it sounds, I’d read inspirational things from people I look up to.



That said, the things I’ve seen and done definitely do still haunt me. I think it’ll be a process to work though all of that, but seeing the cultural shift towards more compassionate living truly helps.

I think ag-gag is unconstitutional, and an obvious infringement of the First Amendment. Not only this, it's simply bad for animals, workers, the environment, and the general public.

The root of ag-gag is obvious: when people see undercover footage they are often so appalled that they respond with massive boycotts of companies and their suppliers. Rather than eliminating the shameful practices caught on film at their facilities, animal ag has responded by throwing tons of money at politicians to pass these laws that criminalize animal advocates and not animal abuse (weird, right?).

It's only a matter of time before ag-gag is a thing of the past. There was a very recent victory in Idaho where ag-gag was ruled unconstitutional in federal court (congrats to everyone who worked on that case!), and I predict we'll see future victories like this in the near future.

I went vegetarian about 8 years ago, and then vegan a few years after that. Initially it was just about connecting the dots between the animals on my plate and those in my home, and realizing that the mental line I was drawing between animals worthy of my love and consideration and those who were OK to kill for food was completely arbitrary. I went vegan after I started to learn more about the industry through undercover investigations, and I decided to stop financially supporting an industry that is so inherently violent (not just to animals, but to workers and the environment as well!). 



If any of you haven’t already, I definitely recommend watching Earthlings and Compassion Over Killing’s investigations.

Hey, thanks!

I would say that unfortunately, these abuses are not isolated events. There have been over 100 investigations done on factory farms and processing facilities over the past 10 years across nearly 30 states-- I'd ask those people how many more investigations until we accept that abuse is the rule, not the exception? And more importantly, what are we as individuals and a society willing to do about it?

The average person can help animals by sharing undercover exposes with the public, volunteering at farm sanctuaries, and donating to groups like Compassion Over Killing who are working to expose animal cruelty. Honestly though, the most significant thing we as individuals can do is replace animals in our diets with plant based foods!

Thanks for your question!

Thanks so much for your question!

The most satisfying thing I've experienced as an investigator was seeing a factory farm I investigated shut down! The owner of the facility was burying birds alive, so it feels pretty good to have played a role in having saved countless birds from that fate (you can watch the investigation here: http://cok.net/inv/pilgrims/).

One of the most frustrating things that I've experienced is paralysis around changing cruel standard industry practices. For example, during my Foster Farms case, I found that chicks were being slowly suffocated to death and faced mutilations without painkillers-- all practices this company stood by (also note, Foster Farms is American Humane Certified).

And thanks! Feel free to add me on Facebook and send me some tips about law school :) The brilliant attorneys at COK have been so amazing to me during my transition from the field back to academia, but I'm always looking for more animal law friends!