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The way my parents brought me up to see the world is still absolutely key to what I am about. The beliefs I was raised with - to respect animals and to be aware of nature, to understand that we share this planet with other creatures - have had a huge impact on me.

My mother early on taught us to respect all animals, and I mean all animals - not just cats and dogs but rats and snakes and spiders and fish and wildlife, so I really grew up believing they are just like us and just as deserving of consideration.

I do believe very strongly that all of us and all of the other things in the context of our planet with Mother Nature, all of these things absolutely have a profound effect.

My mother taught me a lot about respect for all living things - for plants and animals. I am a vegetarian. I was brought up that way.

I'm an animal rights activist because I believe we won't have a planet if we continue to behave toward other species the way we do.

As a child, I was consumed with a near-obsessive curiosity about what the world felt like for other creatures.

As I listened, it occurred to me that interest in and affection for the animals that share the planet with us may be a more unifying force than any other.

My most amazing discovery was becoming a mother. It changed everything. I can't imagine my life without these little beings.

Animals in general have always been my passion, project, crusade - whatever you want to call it! The ocean is such a huge, beautiful thing that I feel like we all take for granted.

I just really dig feeling subservient to nature. It brings me a peace and calm. Kind of like a Faustian thing, I think.