Gemunu de Silva: Industry Standard

Gemunu de Silva: Industry Standard

From Species Unite by Species Unite

January 14, 2026 · 57 min · Season 13 · Episode 17

About this episode

Gemunu de Silva discusses his journey into animal rights influenced by music and his extensive experience as an undercover investigator in the animal industry.

"I grew up and I became vegetarian listening to punk albums because there was a real punk scene which talked about vegetarianism, which talked about veganism, which talked about the peace movement. And that really influenced me. And there was one record specifically by a band called, Conflict that I listened to and I went vegetarian, and that's the power of music. You know, it's not traditional advocacy. So in a way, I'm kind of paying homage to how I got into animal rights. And I want this album not to be a traditional advocacy tool." - Gemunu de Silva For nearly four decades, Gemunu de Silva has gone where almost no one else will: inside factory farms, slaughterhouses, fur farms, laboratories, and the hidden corners of global animal industries. Gem is one of the world's most experienced undercover investigators, his work has exposed cruelty across six continents, helped shut down industries and change laws, saving millions of animals in the process. But after 37 years of investigations, he began to realize something unexpected. It wasn't only the images that stayed with him. It was the sounds. The outcry of the animals, the hum of machinery, the clatter of metal, the silence…

People in this episode

Guest: Gemunu de Silva

Topics covered

  • animal rights
  • undercover investigation
  • music influence

Keywords

  • factory farms
  • slaughterhouses
  • animal cruelty
  • veganism
  • punk music

Mentioned in this episode

Products: Industry Standard

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