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Claudia Lifton

@clawdialifton

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Hank and Heidi (who shows up at the end of this video to cause pure chaos) are the bravest heroes I've ever met. They jumped off a moving transport truck to save their own lives. Today they're safe at @luvinarms , and they'll spend the rest of their days rooting in the grass, taking mud baths, and playing with their friends.

That jump was the first time they had ever seen sunlight or breathed fresh air. They were born in a giant industrial shed, where their mother spent her entire life in a crate too small to even turn around in (look up "farrowing crate"). They lived on metal slats, covered in their own waste. Their tails and the sharp tips of their teeth were cut off without anesthesia, to stop them from hurting each other out of the boredom and stress of those conditions.

They were on that truck headed to another warehouse, to be fattened on corn and soy before slaughter at just six months old. The animals we eat are babies. Hank and Heidi had only just finished nursing.

If they hadn't jumped, their next and final glimpse of sunlight would have come on the way to the slaughterhouse. There, they would have been gassed, or hung upside down by their hind legs to have their throats slit. Many pigs don't lose blood fast enough to die first, and are boiled alive in the tanks meant to remove their hair.

If this makes you sad, uncomfortable, or angry then you already understand veganism. Industrial animal agriculture is the most significant ethical catastrophe in human history, and we all pay for it to continue with every meal. The good news? It doesn't have to be this way! There are so many other options for us to choose from that don't cause unfathomable suffering, destroy our planet, and make us sick. One of the most powerful opportunities we have to live by our values, or betray them, lies in the food we put on our plates. taken in Luvin Arms Animal Sanctuary by @clawdialifton

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Sharing this video from @voxdotcom based on a devastating and powerful piece about the not-so-savory American pastime of fishing, recently written by one of my heroes and friends, @kenny_torrella (link in bio).

The science is clear: fish feel pain. When a hook is jabbed through their mouths, they suffer just as you or I would. Many die afterward from shock, injury, or infection. Those pulled up from deeper water can also suffer barotrauma, a pressure injury similar to “the bends” in scuba divers. All of this for what?! A selfie??

This violence is so normalized that people proudly pose for pictures with these terrified individuals as they suffocate and writhe in pain, then share those photos on social media as something to celebrate.

That our society so readily accepts this cruelty reveals a deeper sickness in humanity: we never stop finding new ways to dominate, terrorize and exploit those we share this world with, beings who are simply trying to live their lives. Until that changes, a truly peaceful world will remain out of reach. Why can’t we simply appreciate the beauty of nature without harming those who live there?

If we want to raise kind, compassionate children, we have to teach them kindness and compassion. That means teaching them to see others as individuals, not objects, and to never to take pleasure in inflicting unnecessary pain.

It just... doesn’t have to be this way. Traditions aren’t set in stone; they can evolve to reflect our values and who we want to be. We each have the chance, and the responsibility, to grow kinder than the world that shaped us. by @clawdialifton

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Mayor Mamdani and Council Speaker Menin have reached a deal to advance a bill banning horse carriages in New York City.

As a New Yorker and an animal rights activist, this is an issue I’ve cared deeply about for most of my life. As a child, I watched the carriage horses suffer on the streets of the city, and I’ve never forgotten them.

These photos are of me with a wild mama horse and her baby. I met them on a beach in Fiji and spent hours inching closer and closer until I gained their trust. As I spent time with them, roaming free, I couldn’t stop thinking about the misery of the horses back home.

This is proof that the arc of the moral universe is long, but it does, in fact, bend toward justice. There is hope.

📞 The Council votes on Intro 943 on October 22. If you live in NYC, call your Councilmember and urge them to support it! by @clawdialifton

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4 days ago

Over the past few weeks, my hope for a more just, sustainable, and humane food system has been restored.

This work is heavy. We're up against one of the most powerful and destructive industries on earth, and some days the scale of it feels impossible. But at NY Climate Week, I saw up close the creative ways my friends and colleagues are transforming our food system through technology, policy, culture change, education, research, grassroots organizing, and so much more. I got to spend time with some of my heroes, who I'm lucky to call friends.

My highlight was trying cultivated salmon for the first time (swipe for @braverwoman and my reactions). Cultivated meat is real meat grown from animal cells, no raising or slaughtering required. I was more emotional than I expected. I was tasting the future, a tangible solution to some of the biggest threats facing humanity and the planet. And I was flooded with nostalgia. This lil New York Jew was eating a lox bagel, a staple of my childhood, for the first time in 15 years.

At the National Association of College Auxiliary Services (NACAS) conference, representing @plantfuturesofficial , I met university leaders who are fully on board with making their dining halls more plant-forward. They don't need convincing. Ten years ago, institutional leaders would have scoffed at meat reduction. Now it's built into their sustainability goals.

Finally, at the @luvinarms gala, I was surrounded by people working toward a world where animals no longer suffer at human hands. I was moved by stories of young people who visited the sanctuary, met the animals living there, and left inspired to act. I've worked on institutional meat reduction for a long time, and our messaging almost always centers on sustainability, cost savings, and public health. Mention animal suffering and you're likely to get eye rolls and defensiveness, as if caring about animals were unprofessional or too emotional. But the gala reminded me exactly why I do this work. For the animals. Always.

My heart is full. 💚 by @clawdialifton

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18 days ago

Hope this helps! by @clawdialifton

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"Just how destructive does a culinary preference have to be before we decide to eat something else? If contributing to the suffering of billions of animals that live miserable lives and die in horrific ways isn't motivating, what would be? If being the number one contributor to the most serious threats facing the planet isn't enough, what is? And if you are tempted to put off these questions of conscience, to say not now, then when?

What kind of world would we create if three times a day, we activated our compassion and reason as we sat down to eat, if we had the moral imagination and pragmatic will to change our most fundamental act of consumption? One of the greatest opportunities to live by our morals - or betray them - lies in the food we put on our plates."

- Jonathan Safran Foer, "Eating Animals" by @clawdialifton

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a month ago

Today I turn 36, and as terrifying as it is to enter my late 30s, I am SO ready to leave 35 behind. This past year has been the hardest of my life. It (literally) almost killed me. But I'm so thankful for the incredible people in my corner who quite literally kept me alive, along with the moments of joy we shared that gave me much-needed respite from levels of physical and mental anguish I did not know were possible. You all, and those moments, gave me the strength to keep fighting.

To my amazing husband. Thank you for your unwavering kindness, patience, selflessness, devotion, support, and unrelenting belief in me and my ability to get better and return to myself, and for doing whatever it took to get me there. Thank you to my mama, for providing the most consistent, solid, unconditional love I have ever known. You are the ground beneath me. You and Betty.

Thank you to @vonrooski for using all of your precious vacation time to come visit me during the worst of it, and for the hundreds of hours of free therapy you provided over the phone. Your patients are lucky to have you. @awordsmithofsorts , for literally moving across the country to live with us when I said I needed help, and for taking care of me in every way, every single day since. @larisaleaf , for knowing me, understanding me, and making me feel seen in a way that only someone who has known me my entire life could. @karaepow , for making me feel infinitely less alone, both by spending every free moment you had with me (no matter what state I was in) and for never making me feel like any thought or feeling I had was too dark to be funny. The days I laughed more than I cried were always the ones I spent with you. @fearofawackplanet , for our sacred days at the river. Those were, without a doubt, the best days of my entire year, and reminded me of just how beautiful and joyful life could still be. Maya AND @cool.hand.sanders , for always showing up even when it wasn't convenient, for never judging, and for always making me laugh and feel safe.

So much more in the comments... by @clawdialifton

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2 months ago

Lentils, chickpeas, black beans, pinto beans, kidney beans, navy beans, Great Northern beans, cannellini beans, lima beans, fava beans, mung beans, adzuki beans, Anasazi beans, black-eyed peas, split peas, soybeans, edamame, tofu, tempeh, soy milk, soy yogurt, soy protein isolate, textured vegetable protein, miso, natto, soy nuts, quinoa, amaranth, buckwheat, teff, farro, freekeh, spelt, kamut, sorghum, oats, barley, brown rice, wild rice, millet, corn, wheat berries, bulgur, couscous, rye, almonds, peanuts, pistachios, cashews, walnuts, pecans, Brazil nuts, hazelnuts, macadamia nuts, pine nuts, hickory nuts, chestnuts, hemp seeds, chia seeds, flax seeds, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, sesame seeds, poppy seeds, mustard seeds, watermelon seeds, peanut butter, almond butter, cashew butter, sunflower seed butter, tahini, pumpkin seed butter, soy nut butter, green peas, snow peas, sugar snap peas, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, kale, spinach, asparagus, artichokes, mushrooms, mycoprotein, spirulina, chlorella, nori, wakame, kombu, dulse, pea protein, rice protein, hemp protein, soy protein, pumpkin seed protein, sunflower protein, mixed plant protein powders, nutritional yeast, seitan, Ezekiel bread, lentil pasta, chickpea pasta, edamame pasta. by @clawdialifton

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9 months ago

I turn 35 today and I'm so grateful for these humans and animals that have made 2025....less 2025.

For my birthday, please consider eating vegan today. You alone will save 1,100 gallons of water, 30 square feet of forest, 45 pounds of grain, 20 pounds of CO2 equivalent, and one animals life. Just in ONE DAY. There is NOTHING that we can do as individuals with that big of a positive impact on every major world issue.

Message me or comment if you skip animal products for the day so I can add up all of the water, land, trees, emissions, and animals we collectively save! ❤️ by @clawdialifton

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a year ago

I started working at an animal shelter my sophomore year of college. My mom was understandably concerned that I'd call begging her to adopt every animal that came to the shelter, so before I took the job I promised that I never would. I kept my promise until the last semester of my senior year when I met Finn. The second I met this sweet, special boy I knew he was meant to be a part of our family, and he always will be.

To the boy who cried with excitement when he heard the word "hike" (sound on for the videos), never wanted to stop holding hands, ran through fields faster than his legs could handle, jumped into every body of water he saw, snored with his eyes open, and followed my mama wherever she went...we will love you forever. Rest in peace. by @clawdialifton

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13 years ago today I rescued this little guy from wildlife traffickers and we set off on a week-long adventure, crossing the country via boat and bus until we reached his forever home, @lctwildlife , with the help of @saylinsays .

While I loved meeting little Nahuglai, I wish I had never had to. Hug was only a few months old when I found him, with a metal chain tied around his neck, outside of a mechanic shop in a small village in Laos. At such a young age he had already experienced immense trauma. His mother, and likely his entire adult family, had been killed in front of him. He was then ripped out of his home by poachers who intended to traffick him to the U.S. to be sold as a pet, or to use him as a tourist attraction for Westerners who want to post pictures of themselves on social media with exotic animals.

Wildlife trafficking and wildlife tourism causes immense suffering, risks public health and safety, and is a major driver of biodiversity loss. Please don't purchase any "exotic" animals to keep as pets (including reptiles and amphibians), and visit this website to learn more about what you should and shouldn't do when you see opportunities to interact with wildlife while traveling (hint: don't): https://www.onegreenplanet.org/animalsandnature/the-problem-with-wildlife-tourism-and-how-to-travel-responsibly/ by @clawdialifton

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Happiest of birthdays to my one true SOULMATE (lmao that we both have husbands)! To know you is to love you. To be loved by you is to be truly seen, to feel safe to share anything without judgement, and to laugh until you cry. I could not make it through this bullshit without you. Love you! by @clawdialifton

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