There a lot of people who tell us to
change our habits in order to save the planet.
Our guest has done this, and not just a
little bit. He has no credit cards, no
bank cards, and he ony eats what he grows or forages.
We are happy to introduce to you...this is his first time on T.V....
Rob Greenfield!
(Green Acres theme song playing as crowd applauds)
Rob: Nice to see you. Julie: Good to see you, too.
(Crowd applauding and cheering.)
Rob: What a beautiful setting you have here.
Guest: You smell good.
Julie: Ya, you smell good, Rob. Il sent bon...because I am
translating automatically...ummm...
because you don't take shower without rain water.
Rob: For 1000 days, yes. Julie: (translates in french) Wow!
(Audience applauds and cheers.)
Julie: Rob, you have a plaque (degree) in science,
you had your marketing company.
You were like everybody. Go to place and use plastic bags, you were shopping at
Walmart, you said to me, and you had two cars and you wanted to become a billionare
Rob: Yeah Julie: and what happened? (laughs)
You lost at the casino? (crowd laughs)
Rob: I was actually doing alright. Basically, what happened is in 2011 I was
living a pretty typical life, I was very focused on financial wealth, material
possessions, and that's how I saw success.
Julie: Yeah? Rob: But what happened, is I started to
educate myself, I started to watch a lot
of documentaries and read a lot of books.
And I realized that the American dream was the world's nightmare.
Basically, that all my daily actions were causing destruction around the world
and I didn't want to live that life. I wanted to live in a way that was
beneficial to the world around me so I decided to, basically, radically transfom
my life. Julie: But what happened that, like, one
minute you decide okay I stop everything. What made you do that big rebirth?
Rob: Well, yeah, a lot of people look at my life and they see the extreme things
that I've done, which many of you have seen, and they don't see that there was a
transition in between. Julie: Okay, that was a progress.
Rob: It was progress. So... Julie: First thing, what did you do?
Rob: The first thing I did, you know, once I learned, once I had educated myself,
I actually made a long list of changes that I wanted to make.
Julie: Okay. Rob: So, I had a list of 100 changes that
I wanted to make. And then my goal was that, each week, I would just make one
positive change. Julie: Wow.
Rob: So the idea is, that gave me time. And if for two years, if I did a positive
change, that meant after two years I would have made 100 changes.
So it was about slowly.... Julie: So first, you say "No more car,
I will take the bicycle?" and then you add like some more uh...steps...
Rob: Yeah, well first I started small, you know, at the time everything I was buying
came in plastic and I put into 2 plastic bags at the store. So a small step, at
the beginning was using a reusable bag, you know, I wasn't even doing that.
And then I thought about what about not going to the store where everything is in
plastic in the first place?
And then I went to the local farmer's market.
And then I just started to park my car at home and just started to walk and started
to ride my bike a little more.
First I biked 5 miles, and then 10. miles, and then 20 miles and gradually saw
that I could exist without a car and exist without these things.
Julie: And you were living in a very tiny micro house...very small like...100 feet,
like 3 meters square feet...er...I am translating meters and feet and
french and english (laughter).
Look! We see your little house right now. You were living there and you said you
produce your own gas. Rob: Mmmhmm
We all produce a little of our own gas, but (laughter) not that gas.
Julie: So you produce the gas with the compost?
Rob: Yes. So for me, the idea... Julie: You have a gas tent?
Rob: Yeah, it's called a bio digester, so you put your food waste into it and then
bacteria eat it and just like we fart, bacteria fart, and you collect the
bacteria farts and then that's gas that you can cook with.
Julie: And you cook from the gas of the plants and the...
Rob: Yeah. Julie: That's a good idea.
Rob: Yeah. (Laughter)
Julie: We can see also that you take shower with rain. You have the rain going
in the big blue thing. We have that, we see the rain and then the rain is going
on your head.
Julie: But you know, look, here we see you in your shower.
And this is the way you do a shower.
Rob: Except I am not usually wearing clothes. (laughter)
Julie: Yeah, yeah, you are naked. And you also make your own things to
eat, like (eats a leaf from plant)...you did not do the grocery for one year, uh?
So you eat a lot of grass. Rob: Less grass..but yeah...
Julie: You do not do any groceries... Guest: (eats plant) Yum (crowd laughs)
Julie: You also built your own toilet. Rob: Mmmhmm
Julie: One for the pee pee, one for the poop.
Rob: Yup. Julie: Yeah, we can see the toilet.
you have two toilets.
Rob: Yeah, well mostly I peed on my banana trees, but I had the other toilet in case
there were women that came over and they wanted a seat to sit on.
Julie: Okay, and you said that instead of using toilet paper you use plants.
Rob: Yeah, and I see you have...this is my toilet paper plant, right here,
how special. You greeted me with my favourite plant.
Julie: Because it is very soft, huh? This is your favourite toilet paper?
Rob: This is actually one of my... (crowd laughs)
Not only is this my favourite toilet paper but
this is one of my favourite plants in the world.
Julie: Why?
Rob: Why? Well it's so soft, as you know...
Your'e not supposed to eat it (laughs)
(Crowd laughs and cheers)
Julie: This is not for eat. This is for the toilet paper.
Rob: Actually, you can make a tea out of it, so you're alright, but it's very
medicinal, surprisingly. Julie: And you can make-up...
Rob: Yes. Julie: take all the mascara off. You will
use this. And i find, you know, bigger one.
Rob: Okay. Julie: Because we went to a sale in Quebec
and they sell this for toilet paper. Rob: Oh!
Julie: (speaks in french) They sell that for toilet paper. It's a little bit bigger
than this. Rob: Yeah.
Guest: Yeah, it is bigger, but it is not soft.
Julie: Look, if you have a guest room with this, you may have problems (laughter)
Rob: My leaves were like that, they were bigger. This is the same, it's in the
plectranthus genus, but mine was a different variety, so the leaves were
bigger and they were also a little tougher.
Because, these ones, I can see, like, if I were to wipe with these, they break.
Julie: Uh-ha Rob: But the one I grew, is very tough
and strong. So this isn't quite as good, it's still great, but not quite as good.
Julie: Thank you for the lesson. (audience laughter) So, tonight we will
use that and it is ecologic and you can uh...you don't throw away after, you
compost. Rob: You compost it, yeah.
Julie: Compost it, yeah. And it's fascinating to me because
all your life and this is very serious, all you...you don't have any more
money and any bank account. All your life is in this pack sack.
Rob: Correct. Julie: Wow. So everything you own is
in there. Rob: (Nods). So, right now I live on this
seat. (Laughter) We live together.
Julie: And you stay with us because you come back after the pause.
Commercial? Pause. Rob: Alright.
Julie: And we continue with you with Marie-Lyne Joncas and with
(speaks french) the hip hop in Quebec a la clar en san..they sing a song
(Speaking french. Audience applauds) We'll be back with Rob Greenfield.
(Music and applause)
Julie: Rob, you decided to have a vasectomy because for saving the planet?
Rob: Ummm...I did that, I had a vasectomy when I was 25 because I, personally,
decided that it wasn't my mission to have children. I felt like, in order to
dedicate myself fully to what I wanted to, which is having a positive impact on
the world around me. I know if I was to have children, I would put my life into
that and so that's not where I decided to put my time and energy. So, that was
a big part of it. Julie: And so, you accept that people have
some children... Rob: Oh, yeah.
Julie: So now the planet is your baby. Rob: Yeah. I think that having a family
and having a child is one of the most special things that you could possibly do,
and I actually have an extreme amount of respect for it. So, I never wanted to
also, not intentionally do that. I think that is something that should be very
intentional. So, for me another part of it is that I've seen a lot of negative
situations from pharmaceutical birth control, so I decided that I'd rather be
the one taking the birth control, myself, that had no negative.
Julie: Instead of the woman... Rob: Yeah, taking pills that often are
really negative for hormones. (Audience cheers and applauds)
Julie: You will stay with us, Rob, and a clar en san, after the pause we will have
Marie-Lyne Joncas, she did (french), like you, you do the dumping...uh..
Rob: Dumpster diving. Julie: Dumpster diving (says in french).
Marie-Lyne Joncas did that and she may be a good girlfriend for you,
you never know! After the pause.
(Music and applause)
Julie: We are back with Marie-Lyn Joncas. Marie-Lyn may be a good girlfriend
for you because... Marie-Lyn: No no! it's okay. I want
children, Julie. Julie: (Speaks in french
and audience laughs) I have a gift for you, my friend.
Rob: Okay, what is it? Marie-Lyn: In the pause I went to
shovel some snow so when it's going to melt you're going to have a shower for
you tonight. (Audience laughs) Rob: Merci
Rob: Oh, that's good. Julie: Because, Rob, it's not easy for us,
in Quebec, to take shower with pluie, yeah? The rain. We don't have rain we
have snow. So what are you doing in Quebec to wash you?
Rob: I'm staying with a friend and I am taking warm showers.
Julie: Okay, you have friend in Montreal? Rob: Yeah.
So, I went 1000 days without showering but eventually I wanted my warm showers
back, so... Julie: Yeah, because thing is it stimulate
a lot, uh? If you shower like this. (Laughter)
Rob: So I do swim, when I get a chance. Last month I was in Virginia and it was
40 degrees...uh, you know, 5 degrees celsius and I still went swimming.
So I try. Julie: And in the chlorine it smells less.
Marie: (Speaks in french.) Julie: She does not speak English.
Sorry, Rob. Rob: I don't understand, either.
Julie: You don't have any (girlfriend) because a girlfriend, it's tough for you
to have a girlfriend, if you are vasectomized and she does not have to
take pills but it is a special lifestyle.
Rob: Yeah, it is, I mean, because I've really dedicated myself to what I am doing
it definitely is challenging. Also, a lot of the times I am travelling,
so it's challenging. I had a partner for 4 years, we had a really wonderful time
while we were together but after a period of time our paths split. She did want a
family and I didn't want to have kids and my life is definitely kind of extreme,
so usually there is partners but they last for a little while and we have a wonderful
time and then... Julie: And then they compost and you
have a new one...(laughter) Rob: They're all alive. All my
girlfriends are still alive. Julie: You're very cute! I'm sure the
girls like you, Rob. And, Rob, you said you are a little bit extreme and we will
show ..Marie-Lyne will explain it in french, the dumpster diving. We can see
it now, you really eat in the dump? Rob: ..sters. Dumpsters.
Julie: And you do the groceries?
Rob: Get the groceries out of the dumpsters.
Julie: And you really take your market there?
Rob: Yeah, I've eaten out of maybe 1000
dumpsters across the United States, grocery store dumpsters.
Julie: Oh yeah? And we can find a lot of things in there?
Rob: Yeah, if we had time,
I'd take you out on a dumpster date.
Marie: No, don't go, don't go.
(Julie and Marie speak in french to set up Marie's dumpster diving clip.)
Marie: (Shares her dumpster diving experience in french)
Today my friend Julie Snyder told me I would be going in trash cans
for dumpster diving. (More commentary in french)
(Music playing)
Jackpot!
(More commentary in french)
Here...uh blech
Eh, it's chicken! (More commentary in french)
Where is Rob?
(More commentary in french.)
Carrots, onions, shallots,
Yuck. Ehhhhh....(crunching sound from biting into pepper)
(Commentary in french)
(Audience applauds and cheers)
Marie: So, that's my panier (basket) my friend. It's for you, my friend. Maybe a
slice of pizza? I think it's good.
Julie: (speaking in french)
She really trouvez san la poubelle (found it in the garbage).
Julie: (Speaking in french)
(Audience applauds and cheers)
Julie: And Rob, you do a lot of conference and all the money Rob gains he distributes
to environmental organizations. (Speaks in french and audience applauds.)
Subtitles by the Amara.org community