By Veronica Figueroa Benitez
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“Clueless” star Alicia Silverstone was charming but a bit ditsy, like her 1995 character Cher Horowitz, this past week at University of Central Florida’s Pegasus Ballroom where she gave a presentation titled, “An Afternoon with Alicia Silverstone On the Environment,” to more than 600 students.

“Disclaimer,” she began. “I am pregnant so if I say something ditsy, just ignore it.”

Author of “The Kind Diet,” Alicia Silverstone has been a vegan since 1998. She lightly touched on the three levels to attempt in her book. Level 1: The Flirt, in which the reader gets to know vegan food and culture, Level 2: Vegan, in which the reader eats plant-based foods and no dairy, and Level 3: The Superhero, in which the reader submerges into the vegan lifestyle and eats a lot of greens.

Her first experience of guilt while eating an animal, she shared, was when she was 8 years old and her brother started making animal noises while she ate lamb. From then until she turned 21, she was on an “on-again-off-again” vegan diet. Her then boyfriend, now husband, decided to become a vegan as well and support her choices.

A firm believer of “every choice taken, makes a huge difference,” Silverstone mentioned little things like recycling, buying used things, unplugging unnecessary cables, buying biodegradable products, and strategically using water in order to save money and stop harming the planet.

She shared that when she became a vegan, she went through a transformation. Her eyes were brighter, nails were stronger, her hair was thicker, and she finally started standing up for her beliefs.

“I felt lighter,” she said. “The choice I made to save an animal’s life saved my life.”

She shared a few anecdotes about her and her close friend Woody Harrelson, who is also a vegan, and she also referenced the UN to back up her statements.

“In 2006, the UN issued a report saying that the livestock industry was the cause of more global and environmental destruction than the automobile industry,” Silverstone said.

Sponsors of this event included: the Global Perspectives Office, the UCF Student Government Association, the Sibille H. Pritchard Global Peace Fellowship Program, the UCF Global Peace and Security Studies Program, the UCF Political Science Department, UCF LIFE, UCF Focus the Nation, and the Global Connections Foundation.

To find out more about Alicia Silverstone’s ideals and environmentally friendly tips visit http://www.thekindlife.com, or look for her book “The Kind Diet,” in your neighborhood bookstore.