Source
r/vegan•
aeou_

I want to be an activist.

Hi! After my Okja post, a helpful soul recommended that I put my energy into activism.

I've been wanting to do more since I started following an animal-rights activist on YouTube, but since I joined Reddit & can talk to like-minded people, I feel really motivated!

I've really only talked to my family about the benefits I've experienced and have recommend some documentaries. But it wasn't until one of my uncles watched Forks Over Knives and adopted a plant-based diet that my extended family started to pay attention. Overall, they're eating more plant-based! Even my grandma which came as a shock. I feel like the momentum's good there so I want to extend my reach to others.

So far I've been in the process of doing research & writing a fairly comprehensive essay (not sure what I'm gonna do with it once it's done though)

Do you guys have any ideas about ways I can make a difference? OR I'd love to know about the activism you do!

TL;DR I feel really positive and motivated. Any ideas about ways that I can be an activist to promote a cruelty-free lifestyle?

Posted Jul 22, 2017, 2:07 AM UTC

2012
lavender_panda•

Check out The Humane League, Mercy For Animals and Animal Charity Evaluators - each have several opportunities and levels at which to get involved.

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thestationarybandit•

Love your enthusiasm! A few points:

  1. I want to emphasize how important the research part of activism is, which you said you're doing already so good job. Get really familiar with the common arguments against veganism (and of course the counter-arguments). The better versed you are in the facts, the more convincing you'll be as an activist.

  2. Our efforts need to be aimed at the people who are CONSUMING animal products, not PRODUCING them. We have to affect demand, not supply. The industries don't care what product they're supplying as long as it's profitable. Thus vegan education is really the most effective activism you can do.

  3. Don't affiliate with PETA and the like.

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_gubby_veganarchist•

2 is not necessarily true - The Humane League and The Good Food Institute are consistently ranked among the most cost-effective animal charities, and they do a lot of work on the supply-side. THL in particular runs very successful campaigns against businesses that purchase bird-based products and have been instrumental in the near elimination of the battery cage in the US (beyond just making the birds' lives marginally less shitty, the companies waste time and money following through on the welfare committments, which may in turn be reflected in the price of the products). Making business more cumbersome for these companies affects what they are able to sell to anyone and everyone.

This being said, shout out to THL's Fast Action Network. They email you a list of social media posts/emails you can send to help these awesome campaigns!

Also why the PETA hate? As much as they have a bad reputation, PETA is extremely generous to activists on the ground, whether you are affiliated with them or not. if you want to do an educational demo in public or something else that requires more than just leaflets, PETA is a great resource.

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thestationarybandit•

You're listing all the reasons I don't support those organizations. You can either support putting animals in bigger cages by donating to the Humane League or you can support not putting them in cages at all through vegan education. Supporting a cage of any size rather than abolition of egg production altogether seems like a confusing stance for a vegan activist to take. Why not just send the clear message of total elimination of animal use? By supporting bills that put hens in bigger cages, you're ultimately just making people feel MORE comfortable about consuming animal products... when like you said these bird's lives are only "marginally less shitty." Sure you might make business more cumbersome for these companies, but if the demand hasn't changed, some other business is just going to pick up the other business slack. The demand will always be met.

Instead of subscribing to the THL's Fast Action Network, you could give me your email, and I will send you a list of social media posts/emails you can send to help these awesome campaigns animals.

Why the PETA hate? All of the large animal organizations including PETA reject veganism as a moral baseline. All of them. To the extent that these organizations promote veganism (and many do not promote veganism at all), they do so as a way--one way--of reducing suffering. That is, they present veganism as a way to reduce suffering along with many other ways such as consuming cage-free eggs, crate-free pork, animal products with one of the many "happy" labels, meat from a slaughterhouse designed or approved by Temple Grandin (to whom PETA actually gave an award), or any animal product other than foie gras. These organizations do not send out the message that if you are not vegan, you are engaged in animal exploitation. PETA's president Ingrid Newkirk has expressed support for "flexitarianism" or part-time vegetarianism, calling those who advocate for veganism as a baseline moral principle "absolute purists." With respect to the principle of veganism as a moral imperative, she says, "Screw the principle."

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_gubby_veganarchist•

I understand the abolitionist perspective, but my short response to this is that abolitionist tactics alone have never created mass change for any oppressed group. Welfarism is the morally imperfect means to arriving at an abolitionist reality as fast as possible (to the extent that it is possible).

I'm on mobile so typing a lot is a giant pain, so sorry for the brief response. I'm curious if you had any resources for abolitionist activist groups that explain their philosophy in the context of a vision for a vegan future

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SCWccveganarchist•

Look around and see if you have any active groups in your area! You could start out by googling "animal rights -your city or state-". Then it's just a matter of reaching out and talking to an organizer, seeing how you can get involved/what's planned. Making some friends along the way is just an added bonus!

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Karaoke725vegan 1+ years•

I protest our local circus every year. This April was my third year, and already I am seeing changes. The first year it was just me at most of the shows, one friend came to a couple. The second year, I had at least two people at every show, and we got on the local news. The third year, one of the girls from the second year had gone vegan and there were even MORE people coming to protest. We got video of the elephants and got 12K views on FB. Even friends who have not protested with me have said that they've changed their mind about the circus. One even said she's starting to think about other animals as well! It's been an amazing experience. Really, you can start small and find what you're good at. I have multiple friends who absolutely do not feel comfortable protesting, so they do things like make signs or pitch in a couple bucks for supplies or share the event on facebook. It all helps.

3
integirlvegan 1+ years•

Look for a local chapter of Anonymous for the Voiceless

2
PETAAsia•

Hey, that's fantastic news! The animals always need more people fighting for them. We have a guide to becoming an activist which might be of interest:

https://secure.mediapeta.com/peta/PDF/EffectiveAdvocacyGuide_FINAL300.pdf

 

There are also facebook groups you can join to get involved with campaigning/cubeoftruths/saves etc. Have a search, and also ask on any Vegan FB groups you are a member of and they might suggest some local groups to join.

 

Thank you and good luck!

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WellHydratedabolitionist•

I found this guide to be quite helpful: https://secure.mediapeta.com/peta/PDF/EffectiveAdvocacyGuide_FINAL300.pdf

I would also recommend following Joey Carbstrong, James Aspey and Earthling Ed on youtube. They have some great examples of street activism on their channel.

If street activism is not your thing, find out what is. You don't have to be on the street to be influential.

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aeou_OP•

James is the activist I was referring to! I've seen several of Joey's and Ed's videos too.

Thanks for the guide!!

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FatalBrush•

It seems like you like to write. Maybe you could create a blog using blogger or wordpress about veganism and portray veganism from your perspective. Findong your own way is tje best I think, all of us can contribute.

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_gubby_veganarchist•

Honestly just getting out there and leafleting is such a rewarding and low-prep experience if you're really eager to get out and talk to people. You can contact Vegan Outreach, they will send you as many leaflets as you want in return for a suggested donation. The Humane League did some study showing that 1/50 people who recieves a leaflet makes a significant diet change! And of course changing people's minds on veganism is a process - if your leaflet doesn't change someone's mind, the next person's is more likely to do the trick.

If you live in the US near an upcoming Warped Tour stop, you can go leaflet with them. The leafleting events for each remaining tour stop are public on Facebook.

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[deleted]•

[deleted]

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