Could your health be made better by treating animals well? In this talk, Aysha Akhtar, M.D., M.P.H.,  a neurologist and public health specialist, makes the claim that treating animals right is not just good for animals — it’s good for us too.

Akhtar is the author of the book, Animals and Public Health, which “demonstrates the mutual benefit to both humans and animals when animals are protected.”

In this TEDx FoggyBottom talk, Akhtar reveals the powerful connections between our own health and animals, and posits that this means how we treat all of the animals around us — not just our pets. In her talk, Akhtar describes some of the central dilemmas surrounding animals — think about the way we treat animals beyond our beloved cats and dogs with experimentation and blatant abuse. She describes how harming animals is essentially harming ourselves. But in the end, she’s got good news for us all. Watch on to learn more in this amazing talk!