"When he was 17, my brother wrote this lyric. He said, 'Run to the rescue with love, and peace will follow.' Thank you."

Joaquin Phoenix hasn't been a stranger to acting accolades this awards season, but he's used each speech to call out some of his causes and activism at every step of the way.

Last night's Oscars was no different, with Phoenix devoting a large portion of his speech to speak out on veganism and the dairy industry. Describing how cows are artificially inseminated and how their milk is harvested, Phoenix truly did seem overcome with emotion as he spoke earnestly.

As he spoke, Phoenix clutched his Oscar for Best Actor and talked about the privilege of his professions means he can use his voice to champion such causes. "I think the greatest gift that it has given me, and many of us in this room, is the opportunity to use our voice for the voiceless," Phoenix said.

"I think that whether we're talking about gender inequality or racism or queer rights or indigenous rights or animal rights, we're talking about the fight against injustice - we're talking about the fight against the belief that one nation, one race, one gender or one species has the right to dominate, control and use and exploit another with impunity."

The speech was capped off with Phoenix quoting a song lyric written by his brother, River, who died at the age of 23 in 1993. Joaquin was 19 at the time of River's death.

Here's his speech in full.