PLEDGERS

Aidan Kankyoku, Pax Fauna, Colorado, USA

"The liberation pledge was key in finally helping my family members understand that my commitment to helping the most exploited animals isn't just a hobby or personal quirk, but a moral challenge to a society that is failing to live up to its potential. Taking the pledge not only led my family and friends to agree not to eat animals around me, but they also stopped making light of my work in the animal movement and instead started to recognize it as a social movement of historic importance, even if they aren't changing their own diets yet."

Marian Erikson, Plant Based Briefing podcast host.

"Taking the Pledge is the best thing I’ve done since going vegan. I initially took it for my mental health. I can’t stand the thought of being around people eating animals; if I sit there I’d be condoning animal abuse. I wouldn’t sit quietly by and condone racism or child abuse either."

"Turns out the Pledge is a great tool for activism as well. By telling people about my pledge ahead of time I have good conversations and they don’t feel judged, as they might if I tried to discuss animal abuse while they’re eating animals. When I explain it as, ‘a pledge I’ve taken’ they often respond by saying something like, ‘of course, I’ll respect your pledge’, and ‘wow, that must be tough but good for you!’ And by suggesting they join me for a vegan meal, I’ve helped others try vegan restaurants or menu items they normally wouldn’t. The Pledge has even led my husband and me to invite non-vegan friends over for dinner, and we actually started a vegan dinner club with non-vegan friends – at their request!"

Nico Stubler, Animal Law Scholar.

"It’s not about sitting alone at a vegan table, it’s about expanding the vegan table."

Nico Discusses the Liberation Pledge on Our Henhouse Podcast.

Jackie Norman, VeganFTA.com | VegansOnTheRoad

"For me, living with the pledge has been easy. I don’t have a large family and I don’t see them often as we all live a great distance apart but when I do see them I don’t eat with them unless they also eat vegan. This is never going to happen with my 80-year-old mother and stepfather but they know I will not share a table with them and they understand that and are OK with it. It’s actually led to some really positive and productive conversations, not just with my parents but also with their similarly elderly peers. I don’t find socialising with others a problem either. If I get invited to a barbecue or dinner I ask what time people will be eating and either go along to chat with people before or after the meal is over. People understand I still value their company and want to make an effort to see them and they are totally happy with that. To date, I’ve never had a problem with anyone."

Drew, Outreach Activist, Australia

"Now, when friends and family want to eat with me, they know I'm taking them to an awesome vegan place. Bringing friends both provides the extra support authentic vegan businesses desperately need and shows how easy and delicious a vegan's diet really is. Most importantly, it dispells the myth about the necessity of animal products or that veganism is just a diet and not a formal protest and boycott against all animal exploitation. Plus, The Liberation Pledge is like a get-out-of-jail free card. I can quickly respond to any stranger with a stressful food invitation, ‘Sorry, I won't be joining because I've taken the Liberation Pledge. If you wanna know what that is, check out the website!’ It’s an indispensible, time-saving shortcut and after, they go home and end up reading about veganism."

Lenneke van Gaal, Stop Humane Washing, the Netherlands

"For me taking the Liberation Pledge is an inherent part of being anti-speciesist and fighting for animal liberation. Because dining at a table where animal products are being consumed would be to continue to normalize and legitimize what happens to our beyond human kin. My heart and soul will not have it. None of us are free, until we are all free. And words don’t matter here nearly as much as my actions do, so I took the pledge as a way to keep actively and openly defying the norms, to keep letting others know: animals are not ours to use. The following saying that sums it up perfectly : When you go vegan, you give up nothing. You just stop taking what was never ours to take."

Wayne Hsuing, Direction Action Everywhere founder.

"One high school student who took the pledge inspired his entire school to go vegan by inviting more and more of his friends to join him to eat."

Read more about how to make the pledge work for you on the DxE website.

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