Sascha Camilli is the PR Liason Officer at the PETA Foundation. We caught up with her to ask he about working for PETA and her personal journey to a more compassionate life.
Sascha Camilli from PETA
How long have you been a vegan?
I first started transitioning in 2012 when I left my former job in Milan - later that year, I moved to London and went fully vegan, which makes it four years this year. Since making the switch, my energy levels have shot up, my skin has cleared up and my horrific stomach pains have completely disappeared.
What made you go vegan in the first place?
I stopped eating meat when I was 11, and I was pescatarian and then vegetarian growing up. I had toyed with the idea of trying veganism for a while when I was given the book Eating Animals by Jonathan Safran Foer - an intensely powerful read that provided the final push I needed. I realised that as an ethical vegetarian, it made no sense to support the veal industry by consuming dairy foods (like any mammal, a cow needs to give birth to produce milk, and new-born calves are torn away from their mothers and often killed for veal) or to eat eggs (male chicks, who don't produce eggs, are killed by being thrown into a grinder or left in a bag to suffocate). What made me stay vegan was realising how easy and tasty it could be!
How do you personally try to spread the word about being vegan?
I think the best way we can spread the word is just to be really positive about the vegan lifestyle and show people how easy and delightful being vegan can be. My husband and I cook for friends to show that vegan food can be varied, indulgent and delicious. Whenever I'm complimented on what I'm wearing, I also point out that my clothing and accessories are free from animal-derived materials.
Please tell us what a normal day is like working for PETA.
As PR liaison, my job is to identify journalists and outlets that would be interested in spreading our message and to come up with ways that we can work with them. I spend a lot of time reading magazines and websites, working on pitches and meeting journalists. Some of my favourite projects have included sharing the stories of people who have had fantastic results from going vegan, such as losing weight, curing acne or building muscle. I also work on a lot of fashion-related projects, as my background is in the fashion industry.
PETA capture some horrific images in their exposes- how does it make you feel to see so much evidence of animal cruelty before it goes out to the media?
It's absolutely devastating. To see the horrific cruelty that humans inflict on animals on a daily basis can be soul-destroying - and every time I watch an investigation, I think of the undercover investigators, who care about animals as much as I do and actually had to be there and witness the atrocities, sometimes for months, in order to make the exposé happen. But then I remember how powerless I felt when I watched these things before being vegan or working at PETA - it's empowering to be part of the change and to witness impressive victories, such as when fashion retailers ban angora, food companies end tests on animals and restaurants drop cruelly produced foods such as foie gras.
How long have you worked for them and what made you want to extend your veganism to your work as well as your personal life?
I have been with PETA since May 2015, so nearing the one-year mark. I had been looking to leave the fashion industry and move into animal rights for a while and PETA was the absolute dream. I was hooked on vegan living - the health benefits plus the clear conscience are addictive - but I wanted to do more to make a difference, promote the vegan lifestyle and help end cruelty to animals. I wanted to bring attention to cruel industries and help people make cruelty-free choices. And I thought my fashion experience could be put to good use in an organisation that works to end animal suffering in that industry, too.
You are also the editor of Vilda magazine - so can you tell us a little bit about that for those who aren't familiar with it?
Vilda (Swedish for "the wild one") is the world's first digital publication (www.vildamagazine.com) focusing on vegan fashion. In 2013, I was chosen to take part in Marie Claire's Inspire & Mentor scheme, which helped me launch this project that would tap into the growing market of ethical fashionistas. I - along with my team of 10 freelancers around the globe - work to highlight the creations of cruelty-free designers as well as showcase vegan-friendly beauty, recipes and travel tips.
Why is it important to extend veganism to what you wear not just what you eat and the products you use?
Those who choose a vegan diet often also give up wearing animal skins when they learn how cruel the industry is. The horrors behind the fur trade are well-documented - but killing over a billion animals a year, harming workers' health and damaging the environment, leather is in many ways just as horrific. PETA has, in the past two years, released five exposés from three continents documenting the cruelty behind wool - it's far from "a haircut for sheep", and the multiple investigations show that the kicking, hitting, mutilating and bloody shearing that sheep endure is far from a one-off but rather standard industry practice.
Is there a lot of interest from the media to expose PETA's videos? How much support is out there?
We are glad to have the support of many sympathetic journalists who show interest in our stories. Media support is key to sharing the message as far and wide as possible and engaging people who have yet to learn what really happens to animals behind the scenes of food, fashion and other industries. Video investigations usually receive the most media attention, because of their sometimes shocking and graphic nature - but our eye-catching protests are also often media successes, such as our recent London Fashion Week action highlighting the presence of cancer-causing toxic chemicals in fur garments.
What is next for PETA?
PETA will continue to campaign against cruelty to animals in food, fashion, research, entertainment and more - we have another video exposé launching shortly. PETA will also continue to promote a vegan lifestyle through our campaigns, marketing and media work, endeavouring to reach and inspire even more people to make compassionate choices.
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