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Getting Started

Practice What You (Are Going to) Preach

The best way to persuade others to adopt a humane lifestyle is to set a good example. Becoming a vegetarian is an excellent first step—better yet, adopt a vegan lifestyle. While vegetarians eliminate meat from their diets, vegans also avoid eating eggs or dairy products, wearing animal products such as leather or wool, and using products that contain animal-derived ingredients or are manufactured by companies that test on animals. You can get a list of companies that sell cruelty-free household products, toiletries, and cosmetics by mail from PETA or online at CaringConsumer.com

To make going vegan even easier, visit your local health-food store, bookstore, or library to find wonderful cookbooks such as The Compassionate Cook, Cooking With PETA, Vegan Planet, The Candle Café Cookbook, and The Vegetarian Meat & Potatoes Cookbook, or order them directly from PETA.

The switch to a cruelty-free lifestyle is often made in small steps—you may not immediately get rid of your leather shoes or the leather belt you received as a birthday gift—but it is important to begin taking those steps. Start shopping for products made from canvas, fabric, vinyl, or other man-made materials, and gently remind your friends and relatives of your preferences.

Dressing the Part

When you're presenting animal rights information, remember that your appearance and actions must reflect your concern. If you're discussing factory farming while munching on a hamburger or picketing a fur store with leather shoes on your feet, others may dismiss you as a hypocrite. Skeptics are quick to notice and take advantage of inconsistencies.

Dress neatly. Society has many prejudices, and despite the old adage, people do judge a book by its cover. By adapting your dress to the style of your audience, you're saying, "I'm like you. You can understand what I'm saying." Rather than being distracted by your appearance, people will hear your message.

Let's Get Realistic

Think realistically about how you're going to fit activism into your life. You may have a full-time job and may already be struggling to make time for family and friends. Can you re-plan your schedule or delegate some duties to a coworker, spouse, or someone else to allow yourself time to focus on animal rights activities?

Maybe you can incorporate some animal rights work into the church, office, family, or other activities that you're already involved in. You can, for example, show the film "We Are All Noah" to your religious group.

You do not want to overextend yourself in a blaze of glory, only to burn out in six months. Think carefully about how you’re going to schedule activism into your daily routine so that it will become a part of your life and not an intrusion.

Choose Your Issues

As you learn more about animal rights issues, start choosing the ones that mean the most to you. Animal abuse is so widespread that you cannot possibly address every issue. PETA concerns itself primarily with projects that will help the greatest number of animals—such as those involving animals used in laboratories or slaughtered for food—or those that will help change the fundamental attitudes of a large number of people. For specific cruelty cases, your local animal welfare/humane society is usually the best resource for the placement of individual animals.

Getting an Education

We highly recommend Peter Singer's Animal Liberation as a basic primer on animal rights. You can order it from PETA or get it from a bookstore or library. We also recommend the following books:

Making Kind Choices by PETA President Ingrid Newkirk
Choosing a compassionate lifestyle that does not negatively impact the environment or animals has never been easier. In this practical, accessible, resource-loaded handbook, Ingrid Newkirk presents fabulous options that will enhance your life and benefit your neighbors, your community, animals, and the Earth itself.

Free the Animals by Ingrid Newkirk
This is the compelling inside story of the dedicated activists whose daring rescues exposed the abuse of animals in laboratories—as told to the author by "Valerie," the leader of the American Animal Liberation Front.

Diet for a New America by John Robbins
This moving and well-documented book describes the inhumane and unhealthy conditions under which animals are raised for food and explains how our health and ecological wellbeing are linked to the adoption of a vegan diet.

Animals' Rights Considered in Relation to Social Progress by Henry Salt
First published in 1892, this book provides an insightful look into our attitudes toward animals.

The Extended Circle: A Commonplace Book of Animal Rights edited by Jon Wynne-Tyson
This wonderful collection of humane writings inspires and educates.

Dominion by Matthew Scully
Scully, a former speech writer for President George W. Bush counters popular arguments that attempt to excuse animal abuse by misusing Bible passages and takes on subjects such as hunters' claim to practice "population control" and the erroneous thought, sometimes still found in the scientific community, that animals do not experience pain or emotions.

The Food Revolution: How Your Diet Can Help Save Your Life and the World by John Robbins
This provocative book exposes the dangers behind many of today’s foods. Learn the truth about popular fad diets, genetically modified foods, mad cow disease, and the impact that your food choices have on the planet, your health, and animals (including the misery that is factory farming and how vegetarianism could end world hunger).

Healthy Eating for Life by the Physicians' Committee for Responsible Medicine
This series of books takes an in-depth look at how your diet affects your health. From fending off headaches to maintaining strong bones, these books discuss the health issues that affect us today and is a must-read for anyone concerned about their health.

Slaughterhouse by Gail Eisnitz
Eisnitz interviews workers to discover what happens behind the slaughterhouse walls. She uncovers the harsh reality of the role that the USDA plays in the meat industry and how the lives of the workers are affected by their experiences. Eisnitz publishes firsthand accounts of life and death inside the meat industry.

DVD/Video Section

The following DVDs and videos are also highly recommended:

"Meet Your Meat" Video/DVD
PETA's most popular video, narrated by Alec Baldwin, contains factory-farming footage and shows the lives of animals from birth to slaughter. This 13-minute video exposes the truth about the meat industry. If you show a meat-eater only one video, make it this one! You can view this video at PETATV.com.

PETA's "Animals Are Not Ours ..." DVD Series
This DVD series puts informative video footage on major animal rights issues at your fingertips. Each DVD is categorized—from egg farms to pig farms, leather to fur, animal experiments to dissection, elephants abused by the circus to bulls abused in the ring—every issue is covered. If you're focusing on animals in the meat industry, you need only purchase the "Animals Are Not Ours to Eat" DVD. For information and footage on other issues, you'll want the whole set: "... Not Ours to Eat," "... Not Ours to Wear," "... Not Ours to Experiment on," "... Not Ours to Use for Entertainment."

"Vegetarianism in a Nutshell" by Bruce Friedrich, PETA's director of Vegan Outreach
Friedrich explains why a vegetarian diet is the best choice for compassionate people. With a powerful, clear, and simple analysis of the cruelty, human misery, environmental degradation, and health problems associated with meat production and consumption, his talk is likely to convince the meat-eaters in your life to go vegetarian, so ask them to listen and discuss it with you.

"Speaking Up for Animals 2: A Keynote Address by Ingrid Newkirk"
In this expanded set, Ingrid Newkirk gives two keynote addresses that will inspire people everywhere to speak up for what they believe in and become more active for animals. In both addresses, you'll learn of the enormity of animal suffering, but you'll also learn what you can do to help animals in your daily life. Newkirk's ability to mix wry humor, wit, and poignant descriptions of animal suffering can move even the hardest of hearts, so share this with family and friends. Available on DVD or a two-CD set.

"Chew on This" DVD
In less than four fast-paced minutes, PETA's "Chew on This" video sheds light on animal suffering and highlights many of the other reasons to choose a compassionate vegetarian diet. Stunning graphics and gripping narration make "Chew on This" a compelling and easy-to-understand introduction to vegetarianism. You can view this video online.

"Helping Animals 101" CD Set
PETA's launched a two-day seminar called "Helping Animals 101" has been presented across the nation. Now available on this seven-CD set, HA101 includes activism tips and advice from PETA staff members who help you become a better advocate for animals. Segments include "Community Activism," "Answering Tough Questions About Animal Rights," "Demo Tips," "Effective Advocacy," "Basic Media Training," and "Speaking Up for Animals." Bonus footage includes our "Meet Your Meat" video narrated by Alec Baldwin and "Chew on This," a new video that presents viewers with the many reasons to go vegetarian.

Continuing Your Education

PETA's factsheets on a variety of animal issues can be viewed online at PETA.org or purchased as a set. Please also visit AskCarla.com for quick answers to all your animal rights questions.

Research the anti-cruelty laws in your city, county, and state by contacting your local humane society or using a law library or the Internet. Most cities have a law library that is open to the public; for information, call your county administrator or mayor's office, or try the government listing on the Web.

Finally, study the "Frequently Asked Questions and Comments" section of this guide. Have a friend ask you tough questions so that you can think about the issues and prepare good answers.

Understanding Your Community

Become familiar with the people and facilities in your area. You'll want to be able to make ethical recommendations to people who come to you with questions.

As you compile facts, resources, and other materials, set up a filing system to keep your information organized. File important or useful newspaper clippings according to the issues they concern. Keep the names and addresses of good veterinarians, shelters, low-cost spay/neuter programs, and wildlife-rescue services by your telephone for easy reference.

The following are good places to start finding information:

Newspapers: Scan your local newspaper for stories involving animal issues. Save the articles that contain useful information. You may want to refer to them or contact the reporters at a later date.

Shelters: Visit the animal shelters in your area. Check the facilities to find out how the animals are cared for and housed. What method of euthanasia is used? An intravenous or intra-peritoneal injection of sodium pentobarbital is the most humane method. If other methods are used, we can help you make changes. How do the shelters ensure that adopters will provide good homes? Do they refuse to release animals to laboratories? If your local shelter provides inadequate care, what other options exist? (It’s important to understand the problems that animal shelters face: Many are overburdened with huge numbers of animals in poor condition and are unable to find enough acceptable homes.)

Check out the "no kill" shelters in your area. Are they overcrowded? Are the animals starved for attention or withdrawn and depressed? Are the owners careful to verify that adopters are truly offering homes and not selling animals for research or use in dogfights? If you find conditions at any of your local shelters unacceptable, head to HelpingAnimals.com, order our shelter pack, or contact PETA for information on how to improve the situation.

Veterinarians: Ask friends to recommend good veterinarians. Question your own veterinarian. Maintain a list of vets who are good diagnosticians, who will speak out on humane issues, who perform low-cost sterilizations, and who are supportive of animal rights. Chances are, you'll discover that many vets do not support animal rights, but don't give up on them! Try to educate them by encouraging them to read the literature that you provide.

Laboratories, zoos, boarding kennels, other facilities: Visit local zoos and boarding kennels to investigate the conditions there. See the "Researching the Facts" section of this manual to learn more about laboratories.