You might know him for his award-winning music or because he climbed Mount Everest and walked all the way across the U.S., or maybe you’ve caught a video of him on social media running for miles and miles powered by sprouts.

For Mike, sprouts aren’t just a delicious source of vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients that are essential for our health, they also represent a magnificent opportunity to grow and eat our own food. Sprouts are only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the extraordinary bounty that the Earth offers us. From grains and fruits to vegetables and herbs, all the food we need to stay healthy and strong grows out of the ground.

The choices we make about our food have a real impact on the planet and the other animals we share it with. The violent meat industry kills billions of animals every year. And before their throats are slit, they suffer from severe crowding, confinement, and mutilation, in addition to the separation of mothers and their babies—all practices designed to maximize profit at the expense of animal welfare.

Today, nearly all the animals raised for food in the U.S. spend their lives on factory farms, including those labeled “organic,” “grass-fed,” “free-range,” or “cage-free.” The sensitive beaks of chickens are seared off with a hot blade, and male cows and pigs are castrated without painkillers.

These animals feel pain and fear, just as the dogs and cats who share our homes do. Cows mourn the deaths of and even separation from those they love, sometimes shedding tears over their loss. The mother/calf bond is particularly strong, and there are countless reports of mother cows who’ve continued to call and search frantically for their babies after the calves have been taken away and sold to veal or beef farms.  >>MORE