How to Create a Vegan World: A Pragmatic Approach

In Animal Allies (an organisation I volunteer with), our volunteers have 6 essential agreements, the first being: “We focus on research-based, effective activism to save the most animals possible.” As a result, Tobias’ work on his blog The Vegan Strategist has been of immense use to us several times. With the extra space afforded in a book format, Leenaert is able to present a macroscopic view of effective vegan activism and develop a narrative through an analogy he developed: Veganville (a town on the top of a mountain - refer to image later in article). The result is a book that is accessible to all and very practical. It begins with a snapshot of the movement at this point in time by contextualizing where our movement is in terms of adoption and how that must affect our strategies. This highlights the pragmatic approach - while one argument/method may be morally right, it may not be effective until veganism is much more mainstream and accepted. It then explores what our call to action should be and what arguments we should be making. It finishes up with how we can support people on their journey to Veganville as well as improving retention once they are there. Creating a Vegan World excels at concisely articulating the overall approaches we should be taking to be effective at reducing harm. Leenhaert logically explores arguments and counterarguments in approaches and justifying the various conclusions he makes. The result is a book that any new vegan, or any vegan organisation, can read as a general manifesto for how to become stronger advocates for animals. It is also a perfect companion to Veganomics as this book focuses on how to turn the data into action.

How to create a vegan world is a book that will help vegan activists who may sometimes feel disappointed or frustrated because their vegan activism efforts are not being as fruitful as they hope or expect. Vegans often believe they see the truth and they can't understand why others don't see it. The truth is that non-vegans see things differently and therefore need to be approached from a different angle. Not just from our point of view or what matters most to us, but instead starting from their point of view, their world, and what matters to them. It is not an easy road to go, but it can help realize small steps towards a vegan world, the end goal of all vegans.As such, Tobias' book is not only for vegan activists, but for every vegan, because it teaches us how we best communicate and approach non-vegans in a way that will make non-vegans open and interested towards eating vegan, even if for the start only now and then or once a week. Some vegans believe that this approach is not true to our goals, but the question is do you want to 'convert' some people towards a 100% vegan lifestyle or do you prefer a lot of people to eat vegan at least now and then. I prefer the latter, because it will lead to a faster acceptance, adoption and less alienation towards vegan food among the general public, more companies producing vegan food, more restaurants to cater to vegans, more people talking about vegan food and spreading the message that it can be tasty (and not only good for the animals, the environment, and our health). Planting a compassionate seed of the plant-based message among the general public will clearly help more in creating a vegan world than trying to make people go all the way from the start by overloading them with arguments they are not ready to hear.Even tough, we, vegans can't wait to make a vegan world make happen as soon as possible and end animal suffering today instead of tomorrow, I guess we need to realize that in order to give veganism a sustainable long term place in our world (accepted by the general public), we need to be patient and compassionate towards those who are not yet 'with us'.I like to end by adding that this book is not only interesting for vegans and vegan activists! It provides the same valuable insights for non-vegan activists by showing them the principles and patterns at work (among these psychological) when trying to get people interested for your cause and how you can maximize your impact.

I found this book extremely helpful. It's about how to be a more effective advocate in general and specifically of animal rights.Tobias Leenaert follows an utilitarian approach in his advocacy. He defends that the vegan movement need be more pragmatic.He argues that most often than not a "reduce animal consumption, for any reason" message is more effective than a "go vegan for the animals" message. That we need to be more inclusive and relax the concept of veganism (as well as not criticize people that are already doing more than almost everyone, e.g. vegetarians).He believes that many times reasoning follows behavior, and thus for example someone that starts reducing their meat intake or go vegetarian/vegan for health reasons might end up extending the reasons to animal welfare and environment. Therefore in this case we should be more concerned with the goal of reducing than the reason why and we should understand that health reasons are for most people more persuasive than ethical ones.At the end of the book the author gives a lot of resources on different topics: strategy; communicating and influencing more effectively; understanding people better; knowing what works; effective altruism; thinking more clearly and keeping an open mind; being productive and organized; staying healthy and advocating about health;etc which I also found very useful.

Some vegans really hate Tobias Leinhart, they think he's a sell-out vegetarian hugger, but why shouldn't we hug vegetarians? His conceptual ideas about Vegan Land are spot-on, based on the realities of human nature and the physical world. He points out hard truths, like how life-long vegetarians save more animals than short-term vegans who go back to eating animals. This book isn't going to be for everyone, it's definitely for pragmatists or utilitarians not idealists or perfectionists. Definitely worth a look if you want strategies other than being the activist going to protests, or conversely the pacifist cowering in your room, afraid to judge anyone for eating animal products. Personally I'm trying to put together a project on environmental education about plant-based diets as a strategic angle, so this was one of many viewpoints I examined in forming my own ideas.

The book is exactly what I was looking for, i.e. it is useful for someone who's been vegan for a few years and is wondering why animal rights issues are not making faster progress in our society considering that the information can be easily accessed through social media and documentaries. Why is there so much resistance to change and what can be done about it? I have experienced so much resistance to moral arguments even from highly intelligent people that I have concluded - in line with the book- a range of approaches is needed to create a vegan world. This is exactly what the book offers - a pragmatic and less idealistic approach.Personally, I liked the author's honest, self-reflective style which made me think that he's 'one of us'- he's experienced all the ups and downs himself. Secondly, his arguments are convincing because they are backed up by research/ studies. I definitely learnt a lot from reading the book e.g. about the abolition of slavery etc, and it also challenged my views. Finally, I found it an uplifting book. It made me more understanding of why others can be so resistant to change and more positive about successes, e.g. the availability of plant based products that might lead to more people changing their lifestyles if they enjoy them. The book strengthened my belief in creating a vegan world - by reaching out to others, by being open to different approaches and by winning people over with better, new alternatives.

Tobias has an engaging writing style, and his book is truly thought-provoking. Although some may find his approach somewhat alternative -even, perhaps, controversial - if we are sincere about paving the way for a kinder and more compassionate world, we need to sit up and listen. Although veganism is growing, the movement is still in its early days and vegans remain in the minority. Our passion and drive to speak up for the animals can, at times, unintentionally alienate those who would otherwise be allies. We need to recognise this, take a step back, and realise that we are not our audience. Tobias eloquently turns long-held assumptions on their heads and explores why 'Facts Don't Change Our Minds", "Awareness is Overrrated", and how "Attitude Change Can Follow Behavioural Change" more often than we might expect. He argues that we can, and should, use whatever non-moral argument that can help people change their behaviour. "Creating a substantial group of (animal product) reducers may be the quickest means to change the system" - the quickest way to a better world for the animals, for our planet, for us. And, isn't this what we all want? A refreshing read.

This book is pretty controversial and a lot of vegans will not like it because it explores the middle ground and invites people to reduce their meat consumption if they don't feel able to fully commit to a vegan lifestyle. However, the author is wiser than most and realises that the best way to help animals is to bring more people into the vegan fold, albeit one step at a time. Personally, I think he's spot on and I fully support his approach. The book is very well written and is an accessible and interesting read. I would recomend this book to vegans, vegetarians and meat eaters alike.

Tobias Leenaert is a somewhat controversial figure within the vegan movement. Some of this controversy could be dissipated by reading this book and listening to him speak. I enjoyed this book. My beliefs were also challenged by this book. Those two sentences shouldn't be mutually exclusive. I would recommend this book to all vegans, if only to promote a more nuanced advocacy. If we are genuinely trying to work strategically towards a vegan world of 8 billion people, this will require a range of tactics, the ability to question and be responsive to what works, and also to step outside of our comfort zones. This will not be easy, but the strategies proposed in this book will help. I think it is very healthy to always be prepared to test the foundations of our intellectual principles. This book resonates with the words of the philosopher John Locke: 'try all things, hold fast that which is good.'

Practical, insightful, realistic... this is the one vegan advocacy book that hits the nail on the head with solving the animal rights crisis. I've read many books on activism, and while many are brilliant in their own right, this is the only book that truly explains a practical approach to long term, sustainable change. Tobias argues that disruptive tactics simply further the delineation between omnivore and vegan, which ultimately leads to segregation as opposed to a united front against the common enemies of global disharmony and global warming. But this isn't a book of criticism, Tobias suggests effective alternatives, a solid plan anyone can partake in to change the behavior of omnivorous people to eat less animal products or completely remove them, which he argues (and proves) will eventually lead to a change in beliefs on animal welfare and their standing in society.In short: If you want practical guidelines for making huge change, read this book and take notes. It is a clear, easy to digest manual on effective altruism and promoting the vegan cause.