Last week I wrote about Faunalytics reaching a major milestone: 25 years of helping advocates maximize their impact for animals. I’m incredibly proud of the Faunalytics team and what it has accomplished in recent years. For my part, it’s been an amazing journey so far, but there have also been bumps and mistakes along the way. I’ve both observed and personally learned what I think are valuable lessons for advocates, leaders, and the movement. There are too many to count, but below are a handful of lessons that I think are probably most important.

Binary Thinking Hurts Everyone

A major lesson for advocates of all types is that binary thinking isn’t just outdated, it’s also a barrier to more effective advocacy. A mindset of animals versus humans is arguably what got us into this whole animal exploitation mess to begin with; it also ignores the fact that, to help animals, we need to work with other humans. The same is true for pitting vegans against non-vegans or ‘abolitionists’ against ‘welfarists.’ If you want to be effective in persuading others — whether it’s getting non-vegans to become vegan or other advocates to change their tactics — othering them is a non-starter. We can stand by our principles and perspectives while meeting people wherever they are on their own path.

Limited Resources Means Hard Choices

It’s no surprise that animal advocacy is under-resourced, with less than 0.5% of charitable giving going to helping animals. In this context, most advocates agree we need to prioritize our efforts where we can reduce the most suffering. Over the past decade (or so), this has meant not only a focus on farmed animals, but also prioritizing smaller-bodied animals like chickens and fishes. It also means more emphasis on measurable impact. This is a good thing, but it’s also important to recognize that a lack of evidence is not necessarily evidence of a lack of impact. Rigorous evaluation should always be the goal, but it is also essential to keep an open mind and not dismiss approaches that struggle to demonstrate short-term impact.

Use Research Judiciously

Not surprisingly, I’m a big fan of research. But over the years I’ve repeatedly learned the lesson that research needs to be accompanied by action. The world is full of interesting questions, many of them relating to animals, but most of those aren’t actionable. For example, in 2020, we ended Faunalytics’ 12-year Animal Tracker study (a longitudinal survey of U.S. adults). It was really interesting to see how public opinion was changing over time, but advocates weren’t sure what to do with the information. Research is essential to creating a high-impact movement, but investing in new research should be done in collaboration with people who will actually use the data. At Faunalytics, this has been a part of our research prioritization process for years.

Movement Memory Matters

The modern animal protection movement is about 50 years old (Peter Singer’s Animal Liberation was published in 1975). Faunalytics just turned 25. Effective Altruism began 14 years ago, breathing new ideas (and funding) into a movement that needed a kick in the pants to be more impact-focused. The perspectives Effective Altruists bring are both refreshing and important, but don’t always understand the historical context of those who have been working in the field for decades. Many also seem to go through the same “stages of activism,” from supporting ideological approaches to the more pragmatic tactics that long-time advocates have already embraced. The lessons? We need to do more to document historical campaigns, build bridges between EAs and other advocates, and preserve knowledge (as Faunalytics does with our extensive Research Library).

Incrementalism + Radicalism = BFFs

This is a lesson I’ve had to learn myself. Since the early days of Faunalytics, we have communicated (because the research has shown) that incremental advocacy is most effective for encouraging diet change. While that is still largely true for changing individual attitudes and behavior, there is clearly a place for more abrupt and even aggressive tactics. The “radical flank effect” is a well-documented phenomenon — radical and incremental advocates can complement and even benefit one another. The ongoing challenge for the movement is to figure out the right strategic mix of different approaches, including how and when to use confrontational tactics most effectively and how to allow a diversity of tactics to coexist without perpetual infighting.

Animals Don’t Debate Tactics

It’s ideal to persuade people to care deeply about animals, but in the end behavior change is paramount. Farmed animals are not spending their time arguing about tactics and they don’t care if someone became vegan for health, climate, or compassion. Personally, if I were crammed in a cage and awaiting slaughter, I would desperately want to improve my situation and also want advocates to help other animals avoid the same fate in the future. So ignore the trolls but embrace well-intended criticism to improve your advocacy. Our responsibility is to help as many animals and reduce suffering as quickly as possible, not win online debates.

Advocacy By A Thousand Cuts

We must prioritize, of course, but it’s important to recognize that we need a variety of approaches working in harmony to change the system for animals. For instance, right now, individual outreach is generally out of favor while corporate outreach is the focus for many funders — but both are needed and are mutually reinforcing. A variety of creative tactics also requires a diverse and inclusive movement, one that embraces that great ideas can come from anywhere. We need a movement that reflects the global mosaic of those whose hearts and minds we hope to win over, including diverse approaches for different regions and cultures.

The Long And Winding Road

Let’s face it: animal liberation isn’t just around the corner. Eliminating the largest cause of (anthropogenic) suffering in history is a long-term, multi-generational struggle. So celebrate the short-term victories and commiserate with each other over losses, but don’t let them distract you from a long-term perspective. We need a movement-wide theory of change to coordinate the many voices of advocates and set global strategies for decades or even centuries, not just years. That includes building a respected and resilient talent pool and treating employees and volunteers well. It also means focusing on self-care and sustainable advocacy, for ourselves and for those who work alongside us in the long-term fight for animals.

My Recipe For Optimism

If you were hoping for total animal liberation in your lifetime, I’m sorry to burst your bubble. But after more than 25 years in this movement, I’m actually quite optimistic. Many things have already changed for the better (I still remember vegan burgers made at home from powdered mixes). And while the globalization of factory farming means things will likely get worse for animals in the near term, we also know that meaningful change can happen in surges. But I’m probably most optimistic because of the incredible and tireless dedication of the people in our movement. Individuals may fade in or out, but as a group we are stronger today than we have ever been. 

Bonus Lesson For Leaders: Succession

As an animal advocate, the thing I’m most proud of might actually be when I resigned from the Executive Director role at Faunalytics in 2019. Instead of two weeks, I had given the board five years’ notice. I was aware of Founder’s Syndrome and wanted Faunalytics to both thrive and, eventually, outlive its founder. We planned the transition for years, hired an Operations Manager to shadow me for a year, and eventually named her the organization’s new ED. Since then, Faunalytics has continued to flourish beyond what I could have imagined. The lesson: organizations matter more than individuals and egos, so think about succession sooner than later.

Looking back on these lessons, one overarching truth stands out: our movement grows stronger not just through our shared victories, but through our willingness to learn, adapt, and support one another. As we face the next 25 years of advocacy for animals, I’m energized by how far we’ve come and the foundation we’ve built together. The challenges remain enormous, but so does our collective resolve to meet them.