From the Interview to Black VegFest: Catching Up With Felicia Greenfield

Last month, The Humane Herald introduced readers to Felicia Greenfield, the actor, writer, animal advocate, and creator behind Friends Not Food—a sitcom pilot built around the idea that sometimes laughter can reach people traditional advocacy cannot.  

On Saturday, that conversation moved off Zoom and into the real world.

I finally had the opportunity to meet Greenfield in person at Black VegFest in Brooklyn, and the Felicia I had gotten to know during our Voices of the Movement interview was very much the Felicia who showed up there: curious, compassionate, funny, open-minded, and genuinely interested in the people around her.

What struck me most was how much she listens.

Our July conversation focused heavily on storytelling—particularly Greenfield’s belief that the animal protection movement needs many different ways of reaching people. Friends Not Food grew partly from her frustration that some of the people advocates most need to reach may never choose to watch an animal-rights documentary in the first place. Her answer was not to abandon the message, but to find another doorway into it.  

At Black VegFest, that same curiosity extended beyond her own work.

She wanted to know what other advocates were doing, what issues people were working on, where help was needed, and what she might be able to contribute. She had stories to tell—but she was every bit as willing to hear someone else’s.

That matters in a movement made up of people approaching change from countless directions.

Interviews can tell you a great deal about someone. Occasionally, meeting them afterward tells you that you got it right.

I’m glad our Voices of the Movement conversation with Felicia Greenfield wasn’t the last one.

And while Felicia continues pitching Friends Not Food to a world that still consumes non-human animals, we can help amplify what she’s building. Let’s help the Friends Not Food Instagram account reach 20,000 followers—and put one more creative doorway to compassion in front of people who might not encounter it otherwise.