1
Share posts on social media
Start by reposting powerful content from trusted sources.
Don’t Despair: Get Active
Going vegan is the least we can do.
Twelve ways to act, from one post to a movement.
Pick one this week.
Start here
If reading all this makes you sad or depressed, congratulations: you have a big heart, a strong moral compass, and you are exactly the type of human the world needs more of, a human that cares.
If you feel like you want to do more than just go vegan, even better. Going vegan is the moral baseline. Becoming more active beyond that is what will bring the change that this world, and tens of billions of animals, are waiting for.
The ladder
In order of increasing effort. Start at step one and climb as far as you are comfortable.
1
Start by reposting powerful content from trusted sources.
2
Use films as conversation starters with friends or followers.
3
Mention your choices when food, health, or animals come up naturally.
4
Support creators, correct misinformation, and join the discussion. Start with the voices listed further down this page.
5
Email or call to push for plant-based food policy, farmed animal protections, or climate action.
6
Join vegan outreach or go anonymous for the voiceless events.
7
Make posts, carousels, reels, or blogs from your own voice. Add ‘vegan’ to your profile.
8
Give talks, debate, or engage strangers in real time.
9
Support or get active with direct action and liberation campaigns. Direct action can carry legal risk, so check the laws where you live before you join.
10
An increasing number of court cases are about animal rights and our common right to a livable planet. Get in on the action to fight for what is right. Justice will be served.
11
As it is the world’s most important thing, why not generate most value there? Maybe even bring your own vision to fruition and be a founder? It’s the best!
12
Earned your stripes and won the game? Pay it forward and help others how to create an income through and towards a kinder world, one meal at a time.
Spread the love & make it mutual
Create a kinder world, one meal at a time
Patience and gratitude are key. Nobody listens to frustrated people, even if the frustration is justified. So be patient, don’t judge, and above all, be nice. We get it, it can be hard. The vegan cause is extremely urgent, especially in light of climate change, but unfortunately most people will only follow you if you personify a happier and easier life. So keep a smile on that face, warrior. :)
Encourage meatless Mondays or cutting down. Small steps lead to big shifts. Unless you feel they want to do it purely for animal welfare (rare), then drop the ‘animals are here with us, not for us’ line on them and go have some vegan fast food together.
No judgment. Tailor your message to their mindset, not yours.
Talk taste, health, and convenience, not just ethics. Taste is king.
The best time to change their mind is when they are eating something tasty that happens to be vegan. The worst time to try that is when they munch on meat. Does their livelihood depend on meat? Tough sell.
Good meals convert better than good arguments. Feed people. Make it delicious & ideally something creamy & saucy, as veganism is often associated with the opposite.
Promote accessible swaps, apps, and products. Lower the barrier to entry. Don’t tell them it’s easy, show them it’s easy.
Support reducetarians, flexitarians, pescatarians, vegetarians and whatevertarians. They are on the path. Don’t kick them off.
Bond over blaming the system: corporations, the government. Not them. However, show how people did change systems (Mandela, Gandhi, Aletta Jacobs) to empower them: change comes from the grassroots. Always.
Persuasion beats pressure. Progress beats purity.
People change when they feel safe to do so. Make them feel at home with you, and thus with veganism. People always want to return home.
You were highly likely not born vegan, and you were probably not ready to hear the animal welfare talk either. You may be the final drop that overflows someone’s bucket. Drip gently. Don’t flood. But drip.
Though vegan for animals is the most enduring reason, most people try plant-based for themselves first: taste, convenience, health (in that order). Then comes climate, then come animals. Convince accordingly. Patience in the face of urgency, my vegan friend. BeLief.
Where to act & to whom
Join organizations, write to your representatives, and sign petitions. Focused on animal welfare and veganism, with climate linked to animal agriculture and fishing.
Some Global Trailblazers
Groups and people doing the work, as listed in our book Meals for Life: Award-Winning Recipes & Reasons to Raise a Family of Vegans.
| Name | What they do | Link |
|---|---|---|
| Earthling Ed (Ed Winters) | Author and vegan educator | earthlinged.org |
| Animal Equality | Investigations and campaigns for animals worldwide | animalequality.org |
| Cube of Truth | Peaceful street outreach, anonymous for the voiceless | cubeoftruth.com |
| Surge | Creative non-profit for animal rights | surgeactivism.org |
| Animal Rebellion | Creating a plant-based future | animalrebellion.org |
| Animal Legal Defense Fund | The legal voice for all animals | aldf.org |
| Party for the Animals | The world’s first ecocentric political party, from the Netherlands | partijvoordedieren.nl |
| What the Health | Documentary on food, health, and industry | whatthehealthfilm.com |
| Humane World for Animals | Global animal welfare, with a Spanish-language site | humaneworld.org/es |
| Leaping Bunny | Cruelty-free certification for products | leapingbunny.org |
| Mercy For Animals | Nonprofit working to end industrial animal agriculture, USA (Los Angeles, California) | mercyforanimals.org |
| Humane Canada | The national federation of SPCAs and humane societies, Canada | humanecanada.ca |
| Animal Justice | Canada’s national animal law advocacy organization | animaljustice.ca |
| Igualdad Animal México | Animal protection NGO, Mexico | igualdadanimal.mx |
Free sample from Meals for Life: shopping and storage lists plus 5 recipes to make going plant-based easier. If you like it, support our mission by gifting a book to yourself or a loved one.
Vote with your wallet
Labs are worse than slaughterhouses.
Check any product before you buy it. Cruelty-free status changes, so verify on Leaping Bunny before you act on it.
The book lists these brands as testing on animals. Some brands carry a cruelty-free certification on individual products while the parent company does not. Check the product, not only the brand.
Your next step
Pick one step from the ladder and do it this week: share one post, have one honest conversation, or send one email. Then pick the next.
Our latest book, Meals for Life, contains 178 independent, peer-reviewed scientific references, 50+ award-winning recipes, our complete family & Liefs founding story, and a practical guide to transition towards a plant-based lifestyle and even raising a vegan family from birth. Basically everything we know, no gatekeeping.
Look inside Meals for LifeStay in the loop
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