Menu of Interventions

This category refers to books, documentaries, and podcasts intended to spread anti-speciesist values, promote behavioral change, or increase support for animal advocacy initiatives. Tactics include: collaborating with authors to publish books that highlight animal welfare issues; producing and distributing documentaries that raise awareness about animal welfare issues; or producing or appearing on podcasts that feature discussions with experts and advocates.

Expected outcome(s):

• Decreased consumption of animal products
• Increased engagement in animal advocacy
• Increased knowledge/skills for animal advocacy
• Increased prevalence of anti-speciesist values

This category refers to engagement with celebrities and/or influencers to change public attitudes and behaviors toward animals or increase support for a specific animal advocacy initiative. Tactics include: forming partnerships with influential celebrities or social media influencers to amplify a charity’s message and reach new audiences; receiving endorsements from celebrities/influencers; or organizing fundraising campaigns or events featuring celebrities.

Expected outcome(s):

• Decreased consumption of animal products
• Increased engagement in animal advocacy
• Increased prevalence of anti-speciesist values

This category refers to outreach or campaigns to encourage food companies (e.g., retailers, producers, or restaurants) to commit to improving animal welfare standards throughout their supply chains. Unlike “Farmer collaboration” which involves directly engaging with farmers and producers to adopt better practices on the ground, this approach targets the organizational policies and commitments that drive supply chain changes. Tactics include: corporate commitment campaigns; and efforts to track, encourage, and support companies’ implementation of welfare commitments.

Expected outcome(s):

• Improvement of welfare standards

This category refers to initiatives that influence the availability and visibility of plant-based options in food companies and institutions, such as retailers, supermarkets, restaurants, schools, universities, and hospitals. Tactics include: securing commitments to increase plant-based offerings; redesigning menus to prioritize plant-based items; launching new plant-based products; or establishing plant-based defaults or meatless days. The primary aim is to shift food environments so that plant-based choices become more accessible and appealing.

Expected outcome(s):

• Decreased consumption of animal products
• Increased availability of animal-free products
• Decreased availability of animal products

This category refers to humane education and other formal educational programs aimed at students in educational institutions that are intended to spread anti-speciesist values and change attitudes and behaviors toward animals. Tactics include: developing and integrating curriculum materials that focus on animal welfare and ethics; conducting workshops and seminars that engage students in discussions about animal agriculture; and familiarizing children with animals and their needs and abilities.

Expected outcome(s):

• Decreased consumption of animal products
• Increased engagement in animal advocacy
• Increased knowledge/skills for animal advocacy
• Increased prevalence of anti-speciesist values

This category refers to providing funding for animal advocacy organizations or individuals, as well as companies working on alternatives to animal products. This usually involves scrutinizing funding opportunities to determine what is most effective. For example, this could include establishing funds and providing financial support to help animal advocacy organizations scale; awarding grants to promising initiatives; or investing in the development of new technologies and products that promote plant-based living and animal welfare.

Expected outcome(s):

• Improvement of welfare standards
• Increased availability of animal-free products
• Decreased consumption of animal products
• Increased engagement in animal advocacy
• Increased knowledge/skills for animal advocacy
• Increased prevalence of anti-speciesist values

This category refers to influencing investors to support the development and implementation of solutions to promote plant-based living or animal welfare and to divest from industries that harm animals.

Expected outcome(s):

• Decreased availability of animal products
• Improvement of welfare standards
• Increased availability of animal-free products
• Increased engagement in animal advocacy

This category refers to conducting investigations, including undercover investigations, to document animal welfare violations and expose the mistreatment of animals in farms, transport facilities, and slaughterhouses. It can also include the development of tools that allow individuals to report animal welfare violations they witness.

Expected outcome(s):

• Decreased consumption of animal products
• Improvement of welfare standards
• Increased knowledge/skills for animal advocacy

This category refers to using existing legislation and legal systems to bring about change for animals. Tactics include: filing lawsuits against factory farm producers; advocating for legal frameworks that recognize animal rights or sentience; helping animal-free product companies defend against lawsuits from the animal agriculture industry; or filing complaints or breach notifications to regulatory agencies or industry associations.

Expected outcome(s):

• Decreased availability of animal products
• Improvement of welfare standards
• Increased availability of animal-free products
• Increased prevalence of anti-speciesist values

This category refers to engaging media outlets or journalists to change public attitudes and behaviors toward animals or support a specific animal advocacy initiative. Tactics include: pitching stories and publishing press releases that emphasize animal welfare issues and anti-speciesist perspectives; giving interviews to media outlets; and building relationships with journalists and editors to facilitate ongoing coverage.

Expected outcome(s):

• Decreased consumption of animal products
• Improvement of welfare standards
• Increased engagement in animal advocacy
• Increased prevalence of anti-speciesist values

This category refers to building or strengthening networks, alliances, or coalitions within animal advocacy or with other movements. Tactics include: organizing events and conferences to facilitate collaboration and knowledge sharing; developing strategic partnerships with other organizations to enhance collective impact, and networking initiatives for veg*ns and advocates to improve retention. Network building can occur at different levels:

• Interpersonal, which refers to building personal connections within veg*n and activist networks.
• Inter-organizational, which refers to collaborating with other animal advocacy organizations.
• Inter-movement, which refers to alliances with other social movements, such as the environmental and climate movement.

Expected outcome(s):

• Increased engagement in animal advocacy
• Increased knowledge/skills for animal advocacy

This category refers to the creation and distribution of leaflets and other types of physical advertising that raise awareness of animal issues or promote behavioral change. In addition to leaflets and pamphlets, this includes billboard campaigns; posters and stickers; guerrilla advertising campaigns; and advertisements in print media.

Expected outcome(s):

• Decreased consumption of animal products
• Increased engagement in animal advocacy
• Increased prevalence of anti-speciesist values

This category includes ballot initiatives, propositions, referendums, and other citizen-led efforts aimed at changing laws and policies affecting animals. This intervention encompasses both direct democracy mechanisms, where the electorate directly votes on a policy without needing the involvement of elected representatives (for example, U.S. city- and state-level ballot initiatives), and indirect democracy mechanisms, where a petition meeting specific requirements can compel a legal process to address a proposed measure (for example, the E.U. European Citizens’ Initiatives).

Expected outcome(s):

• Decreased availability of animal products
• Improvement of welfare standards
• Increased availability of animal-free products
• Increased engagement in animal advocacy

This category refers to programs or schemes to label or certify products as vegan or vegetarian, as well as cruelty-free, eco/climate, health, and higher-welfare labeling and certification schemes. These programs aim to use labels or certifications to increase or decrease the visibility, demand, and consumption of certain products or menu items. Tactics include: launching labeling schemes; outreach to certifier programs; campaigning for new products to receive veg*n/plant-based labels; and influencing brands to commit to labeling their products.

Expected outcome(s):

• Decreased consumption of animal products
• Improvement of welfare standards
• Increased availability of animal-free products

This category refers to offering services to the animal advocacy movement or alternative protein industry, intended to increase their efficacy. These services may be more specialized, affordable, or accessible than would otherwise be available in the market. Examples include technical, legal, marketing, HR, or operations services.

Expected outcome(s):

• Increased engagement in animal advocacy
• Increased skills/knowledge in animal advocacy

This category refers to protests or demonstrations to support an animal advocacy initiative. Tactics include organizing or participating in protests, demonstrations, or marches to raise awareness about animal welfare issues and advocate for change; engaging in nonviolent direct action campaigns such as sit-ins, blockades, or banner drops; and developing creative and attention-grabbing stunts or performances. Advocates use protests, often in conjunction with other tactics, to influence public opinion on animals, animal exploitation, and the animal advocacy movement; achieve corporate and policy change; increase the volume of public discourse and media attention on animal welfare issues; and increase the capacity of the animal advocacy movement.

Expected outcome(s):

• Decreased availability of animal products
• Decreased consumption of animal products
• Improvement of welfare standards
• Increased engagement in animal advocacy
• Increased prevalence of anti-speciesist values

This category refers to initiatives to recruit individuals to the animal advocacy community as volunteers or paid staff, and to improve retention in the movement. Tactics include: connecting candidates with high-impact organizations; providing recruitment support and hiring advice; facilitating candidate placement in partner organizations; offering career development services, such as coaching and education; and organizational health and employee wellbeing initiatives aimed to enhance retention, productivity, and job satisfaction.

Expected outcome(s):

• Increased engagement in animal advocacy
• Increased skills/knowledge in animal advocacy

Effective advocacy research involves investigating and evaluating strategies, interventions, and cause areas to identify impactful and cost-effective ways to help animals. It can also include more foundational research, such as in the social sciences, to understand the context in which advocates operate. The aim is to inform the Effective Animal Advocacy (EAA) field and methodology, which entails using evidence and reason to do the most good for animals, adjusting interventions based on available evidence, prioritizing tactics with good evidence of causal effectiveness, and prioritizing more cost-effective tactics. Research is carried out by academics, research organizations, or researchers at animal advocacy organizations.

Expected outcome(s):

• Increased knowledge/skills for animal advocacy

This category refers to advancing the study of farmed animal welfare to improve living conditions and treatment. Tactics include: conducting scientific research to assess the welfare needs of farmed animals; evaluating the effects of welfare interventions; and identifying practices that improve animal well-being. The research aims to provide evidence-based recommendations for policy changes and industry practices.

Expected outcome(s):

• Improvement of welfare standards
• Increased knowledge/skills for animal advocacy

This category refers to conducting or disseminating research on the welfare of animals in the wild. Unlike traditional ecological studies that may prioritize biodiversity conservation, this approach treats wild animals as individuals with the capacity to experience welfare. Key research areas include: developing methods to measure the welfare of animals in the wild; assessing the (positive and negative) welfare status of animals in the wild; analyzing the impact of human activities (and non-human events) on wild animals’ habitats and health; and researching interventions to improve their well-being. Tactics include: conducting or funding new research; synthesizing and reviewing existing research; outreach to academics to grow the scientific community; and outreach to institutions, governments, and funders to improve the infrastructure of the field. The goal is to generate evidence-based insights that can inform policies and practices to enhance the welfare of wild animals.

Expected outcome(s):

• Increased engagement in animal advocacy
• Increased knowledge/skills for animal advocacy

This category refers to developing or strengthening the skills, processes, and/or resources that animal advocates need to conduct and improve their work. Tactics include providing training and advice through talks or workshops, fellowships, internships, or courses.

Expected outcome(s):

• Increased engagement in animal advocacy
• Increased knowledge/skills for animal advocacy

This category refers to in-person vegan or vegetarian (veg*n) events, vegfests, or similar food events that promote animal-free products and behavioral change. Tactics include: showcasing plant-based foods; hosting cooking demonstrations; and featuring speakers who advocate for a plant-based lifestyle or educate on animal welfare issues.

Expected outcome(s):

• Decreased consumption of animal products
• Increased availability of animal-free products
• Increased engagement in animal advocacy

This category refers to running vegan or vegetarian (veg*n) pledges to promote individual dietary change. Veg*n pledges are commitments from individuals to eliminate or reduce their animal product consumption for a specific period of time. Organizations typically campaign to achieve signups to their pledge program, and then keep in touch with participants over the course of their commitment, with varying levels of support and information provided. Veg*n pledges likely have other outcomes too, such as increased public awareness of veg*nism and promoting plant-based foods through corporate partnerships. A prominent example is Veganuary.

Expected outcome(s):

• Decreased consumption of animal products
• Increased availability of animal-free products
• Increased engagement in animal advocacy

This category refers to providing veterinary care and/or shelter to rescued animals, often in the form of sanctuaries, animal shelters, or vaccination and spay/neutering programs. Tactics include: provision of veterinary care; operation of animal shelters or sanctuaries; animal rescue missions; medical care; adoption and foster programs; and TNR (Trap-Neuter-Return) programs.

Expected outcome(s):

• Direct help
• Increased engagement in animal advocacy