Gary Yourofsky YouTube Video: The Greatest Speech You'll Ever Hear

In the summer of 2010, Gary Yourofsky gave a speech at the Georgia Tech University on Veganism. In the briefest way possible, Yourofsky argued that the best way of life that does the least amount of damage to the planet and other beings is by partaking in the Vegan lifestyle. Giving statistics and research that disproves the theory that humans are meat eaters, Yourofsky gives compelling evidence and shows revolting graphics to the students. Examples include footage of a dairy farm in Ohio mutilating their cows, man’s intestines only being that of 6 to 8 times the size of our toros, similar to herbivores, rather than 12 to 14 like normal carnivores, and visuals of food alternatives to renounce the idea that “all vegan food is gross”. In this speech, Gary Yourofsky makes riveting arguments to allow the students to question every piece of information involving food and meat they have ever known.

The target audience in this instance includes all meat eaters and even Vegetarians. Yourofsky believes while being Vegetarian is a stepping stone towards Veganism, it should not be a full lifestyle. Educating the meat eaters of the class on the treatment the animals endure in the meat industry, to include fish, and how eating animals is not natural to our anatomy, Yourofsky challenges several theories and trains of thought taught to us since we were children. Giving the analogy of if you put a hungry baby in a basket with an apple and a rabbit, the baby is almost one hundred percent likely to play with the rabbit and eat the apple rather than vice versa. I found this rather intriguing primarily because as I pondered on it longer, I realized typically babies are fed crushed up fruits and vegetables, but not much meat. If we were true meat eaters, similar to lions, we would be more likely to eat not just cooked meat as babies but raw flesh. This analysis in itself followed Gary Yourofsky’s point of how society uses euphemisms to attract consumers to meat and other animal products.

The foods consumers buy are not labeled “pig flesh” or “cow breast” but rather they’re called pork, beef, bacon, hotdogs, burgers, or patties. The techniques of the industries are what Yourofsky used as example techniques within his own techniques. Similarly, within his speech he showed graphic content that would make almost anybody sick to their stomach and used terms that would be considered rather revolting otherwise. Additionally, Yourofsky notes that while he uses facts to back up his claims, he refuses to take case studies as examples for proof; claiming to the students that studies can be manipulated to anyone’s point of view, Yourofsky speaks only with visuals, videos, and other common knowledge that most students would know.

Although I found Yourofsky’s speech as inspiring to make a drastic life change, I can also notice how it would be very off putting for other viewers. In fact, I went as far as shared the speech link to family members and friends to see their opinions and while I had a couple that also found it at the least intriguing, most were either offended or turned off the idea of Veganism. One of the greatest techniques Yourofsky uses in his speech is that he is not a “sweet talker”, he speaks to you as any other normal human being would without using political correctness or watching his vocabulary of foul language. This in it of itself can turn many people away because they’re expecting someone to wholeheartedly persuade them rather than simply tell them they are living life wrong. Regardless of Yourofsky stating he is all inclusive of any religion or background, he makes it very clear that if an individual eats meat they are completely wrong, and nobody wants to hear that they could possibly be doing anything wrong. Thus, while I found his speech irresistibly persuasive, I can acknowledge that many either simply do not believe him or were turned off by his upfront attitude.