VP#44: At the Mercy of Someone with No Mercy: Genocide Survivor, Food for Life Instructor, and Animal Activist Nerma Frieden

Nerma Frieden came to the United States as a refugee from Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1996, having survived a years-long war where she was terrified not of being killed but of being tortured, being captured, being raped. In 2014, after watching an ethical eating presentation at her Unitarian Universalist Church and seeing what was happening to farmed animals, she realized that they were living her worst nightmare: being at the mercy of someone with no mercy. She went vegan and subsequently became a certified Food for Life instructor through the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine. Nerma is also an animal rights activist and member of Voices for the Peoria, Illinois, Voices for Animals. Besides teaching Food for Life classes, she regularly leaflets at local universities, organizes local protests and tabling events, and gives regular vegan presentations at a local high school. She has organized movie screenings and presented at local libraries. Nerma also volunteers at a nearby farmed animal sanctuary, Wedrose Acres. Finally, she has shared her vegan story at several UU churches titled  "Forced to Live My Worst Nightmare: From Surviving Genocide to Confronting My Own Violence." Resources: Nerma Frieden, Earth Day sermon: https://youtu.be/A4hChpsxybo Gary Yourofsky – Most Important Speech You’ll Ever Hear: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U5hGQDLprA8 Jonathan Safran Foer, Eating Animals: https://www.amazon.com/Eating-Animals-Jonathan-Safran-Foer-ebook/dp/B002SSBD6W Peter Singer, Animal Liberation: https://www.amazon.com/Animal-Liberation-Now-Definitive-Classic-ebook/dp/B0C24WL6XF/ Speciesism, The Movie: https://speciesismthemovie.com/ Will Tuttle, The World Peace Diet: http://www.worldpeacediet.com/ Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, Food for Life: https://www.pcrm.org/good-nutrition/plant-based-diets/ffl