How This Environmental Activist has Stayed Motivated in an Ever-Changing Political Climate

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Ever since she was a kid, Lauren Bash (@ReLauren) has been exposed to environmentalism. From a mother who was a passionate eco-feminist, to growing up in southern California, Bash has constantly been reminded of her connection to land, food, and community, and the danger that’s in. Although she hasn’t always been publicly vocal about her activism to hundreds of thousands of followers on social media, Bash says that her point of radicalization was after Trump’s first presidential election and his claims to begin offshore drilling on the coast close to her home. 

“Initially, there was a lot of availability [for activism] on TikTok during the BLM movement. I saw an opportunity to add climate in the discussion of justice,” Bash said. 

Since 2020, when she quit her job as a producer, Bash has become a full-time content creator. She creates short-form content surrounding climate activism, conveying her message through entertaining skits, educational videos on current political legislation, and videos explaining to her viewers how to be sustainable in an accessible way. Although Bash has accrued over 300,000 followers across her social media pages, after five years on social media, she made a pivot this year and made her first documentary-style short film. 

Bash’s film is called Gimme My Medicine. The story is about her father’s journey to achieving a better lifestyle after dealing with cardiovascular and cholesterol issues in his later life. After a life of eating the “classic American diet”, Bash’s father, James Neil Ferree, was prescribed a plethora of medicine to deal with his health problems. Bash offered her frustrated father a natural way to help lower his blood pressure through a vegan diet. From there, the premise of Gimme My Medicine was created.

“I posted eight 45 second videos about my dad on my page. I realized I had a lot more content,” Bash said. “Going through the videos was a way to grieve and heal. It was like therapy for me.” 

Unfortunately, Bash’s father passed due to his pre-existing health conditions. However, her film expresses the health benefits of a plant-based diet, the help of a loving community, and how this helped her father later in his life. The positive effects of a support system and high-quality meals can not be understated. When so many documentaries highlight the depressing and inaccessible state of our food system in the United States, Bash wanted to make something inspirational. 

“It was an opportunity to humanize the negative health care and food system that pray on folks like my dad,” she said. “Prescribing medicine is easy, championing someone takes effort. [Dad] always knew love was medicine” Bash says in her film. 

Even though film was a new artistic medium for Bash, her message remains the same throughout all of her creative endeavors. She wants to give her audiences a call to action. 

“Content falls so flat if they leave audiences with the question of ‘now what?’ I like to believe a creator has something to say, they need the world to know something,” she said. “It’s the responsibility of a creator to lead leave their audience with the ‘now what’.”

Whether discussing the healing powers of plants and asking audiences to question the food they’re eating or asking her audience to sign a petition or sign up for a beach clean up, Bash gives her audience actions to live sustainably. 

“I don’t feel purpose and joy in helping a company sell something. I’m more inspired and motivated by action as a result, regardless of the medium. I’m echoing policies and holding leaders accountable. It’s all about purpose and intent,” Bash said.