Natalie Portman says her veganism is a way of advocating for female animals’ rights.

Natalie Portman used to think about herself as a vegan and, separately, as someone who advocates for women’s rights. Not anymore.

“Only after I became active in women’s issues did I realise that my veganism was related to those very issues,” Portman told 16,000 students at WE Day California, a celebrity-packed celebration of youth activism in Los Angeles.

“Dairy and eggs don’t just come from cows and chickens, they come from female cows and female chickens.”

We’re exploiting female bodies and abusing the magic of female animals to create eggs and milk.”

View photos Natalie Portman addressed a crowd of 1600 students on the topic of veganism. Photo: Getty Images More

Portman, who’s been a vegetarian since she was nine years old, and a vegan for about eight years.

“Mothers are separated from children to create milk,” she said.

“Animals are sick and in crowded, prison-like conditions to make dairy and eggs. It doesn’t take a lot to draw the line from how we treat animals to how we treat humans.”

The Annihilation star said she initially became a vegetarian because she ‘related to animals’ as a kid.

She went completely vegan because she learned it was a way that she as an individual could make an impact on the environment.

“Eat how you believe,” Portman advised the students, who all earned their ticket to the show by making a difference in their communities.

View photos Natalie was speaking as part of 2019 WE Day in Los Angeles. photo: Getty Images More

She told them not to let naysayers get in the way.

“So now lots of people make fun of vegans, right? Lots of people make fun of anybody who cares about anything deeply, right?” Portman said.

“But I’m here to say,… it’s the most beautiful thing to care, to have your heart open so much that someone else’s pain feels like your own, to care so much that you’ll spend your time making sure that change happens, and that’s why you are all here today.”

“Whether it’s environmental issues, animal rights, women’s rights, equality, never be afraid to show how much you care.”

Vegan influencers have recently come under fire in the media, accused of ‘faking’ their commitment to the lifestyle.

One vegan wedding guest also copped backlash recently over bringing her own food to a friends wedding.

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