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Don’t Despair: Get Active

Feeling sad about the world?
Good, you have a heart.
Now get active.

Going vegan is the least we can do.

Nine ways to act, from one post to a movement.
Pick one this week.

Start here

You have a big heart. Let’s put it to work.

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.

A chimpanzee mother holding her baby
Cattle packed together in a transport truck
Fire burning in the Amazon rainforest
A hen behind the bars of a battery cage
A beagle standing against the wire of a cage

The ladder

Nine ways to get active

In order of increasing effort. Start at step one and climb as far as you are comfortable.

2

Watch and recommend key documentaries

Use films as conversation starters with friends or followers.

4

Comment and engage on vegan content

Support creators, correct misinformation, and join the discussion. Start with the voices listed further down this page.

8

Speak publicly or do street outreach

Give talks, debate, or engage strangers in real time.

9

Join animal liberation groups

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.

Making it stick

How to make another go vegan

Patience and gratitude are key. Nobody listens to frustrated people, so be patient, don’t judge, and above all, be nice.

1. Focus on reducing first

Encourage meatless Mondays or cutting down. Small steps lead to big shifts.

2. Meet people where they are

No judgment. Tailor your message to their mindset, not yours.

3. Sell the benefits, not the sacrifice

Talk taste, health, and convenience, not just ethics. Taste is king.

4. Normalize plant-based

Make vegan the default: offer it, post it, order it, live it.

5. Use food as activism

Good meals convert better than good arguments. Feed people.

6. Make it easy

Promote accessible swaps, apps, and products. Lower the barrier to entry.

7. Celebrate progress

Support reducetarians, flexitarians, pescatarians, vegetarians and whatevertarians. They are on the path. Don’t kick them off.

8. Focus on systems

Push institutions: schools, restaurants, laws. Change the defaults.

9. Be patient and pragmatic

Persuasion beats pressure. Progress beats purity.

10. Keep the door open

People change when they feel safe to do so. Leave judgment behind.

11. Remember you once were them

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.

Where to act

25 links to get active, by country

Join organizations, write to your representatives, and sign petitions. Focused on animal welfare and veganism, with climate linked to animal agriculture and fishing.

Others we love

Vegan voices and organizations we love

Groups and people doing the work, as listed in our book Meals for Life.

NameWhat they doLink
Earthling Ed (Ed Winters)Author and vegan educatorearthlinged.org
Animal EqualityInvestigations and campaigns for animals worldwideanimalequality.org
Cube of TruthPeaceful street outreach, anonymous for the voicelesscubeoftruth.com
SurgeCreative non-profit for animal rightssurgeactivism.org
Animal RebellionCreating a plant-based futureanimalrebellion.org
Animal Legal Defense FundThe legal voice for all animalsaldf.org
Party for the AnimalsThe world’s first ecocentric political party, from the Netherlandspartijvoordedieren.nl
What the HealthDocumentary on food, health, and industrywhatthehealthfilm.com
Humane World for AnimalsGlobal animal welfare, with a Spanish-language sitehumaneworld.org/es
Leaping BunnyCruelty-free certification for productsleapingbunny.org

Instagram accounts from the book: @jamesaspey (James Aspey), @joey_carbstrong (Joey Carbstrong), @kinder.world (Kinder World), @mostencredible (Madelyn Osten), @makeitdairyfree (Larisha), @menkay.ig (Menkay), @plantbasedvibe (Reynolde Jordan), @sebastianjoy (Seb Alex), @thatvegancouple (That Vegan Couple).

Download Free Nutri- & Transition Guide
+ recipes from our Book
Have a look inside Our Book
‘Meals for Life’

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

Brands that still test on animals

Check any product before you buy it. Cruelty-free status changes, so verify on Leaping Bunny before you act on it.

Show the 30 brands listed in Meals for Life
  • L’Oréal
  • Estée Lauder
  • Maybelline
  • Lancôme
  • Clinique
  • MAC Cosmetics
  • Bobbi Brown
  • YSL Beauty
  • Garnier
  • Revlon
  • Dior
  • Chanel
  • Benefit Cosmetics
  • Aveeno
  • Neutrogena
  • Clean & Clear
  • Pantene
  • Head & Shoulders
  • Olay
  • Herbal Essences
  • Dove
  • TRESemmé
  • Vaseline
  • Nivea
  • Colgate
  • Palmolive
  • Arm & Hammer
  • Gillette
  • Clorox
  • SC Johnson

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

Don’t despair. Get active.

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.

Share a postRecommend a filmSpeak up at dinnerWrite to your representativeSign a petitionVolunteer

Want to know the secret Liefs recipes & the solid science behind our choices?

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 Life

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