A Practical Guide to Animal-people Activism: Books by Mark Hawthorne (vegan), Part 1 of 2

Mark Hawthorne is an American writer and animal-people rights advocate whose work on behalf of animal-people has appeared in such vegan magazines as “Satya,” “VegNews,” “Laika,” and “The Vegan.” He is also the author of four books on animal-people, animal-people rights, and social justice. Today we are privileged to invite Mark Hawthorne to introduce his books.

Mark first shares his turning points on the journey to becoming vegan. “And I was in the garden during this time. I was so close to this beautiful cow and these big brown eyes. And she was looking at me and I was looking at her, and I just realized that she has every right, every desire to live as anyone does. And at that point, I stopped eating cows. Because I realized also that I had been living basically vegan for two months, and I felt so good. I felt good physically and mentally, but also spiritually.”

Mark Hawthorne tells us why he became an animal-people rights activist. “Becoming an ethical vegan for me, it quickly became about doing something more for animals. And I realized that it was not just about not eating them, but it was about advocating on their behalf.” “I realized that we really needed to do more to speak up for animals than we have, and so that’s why I wanted to write books and I wanted to be more active in the community.”

In 2008, Mark Hawthorne published “Striking at the Roots: A Practical Guide to Animal Activism” to share some of the most effective ways to speak out for animal-people rights. In 2018, he released a revised edition that accounts for the changing times. “This is a 10th anniversary edition, and for the book I interviewed 140 activists from around the world to get their best practices for everything from leafleting and writing letters to editors, to tabling and doing corporate campaigns. The book emphasizes that really almost anyone can do something to help animals, whether it’s as simple as making vegan food for family or volunteering at a shelter.” “Striking at the Roots” received many positive reviews from famous vegan activists.