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Striking at the Roots: A Practical Guide to Animal Activism

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"Every successful social-change movement has involved a multiplicity of people using a multiplicity of tactics to approach a problem from a multiplicity of angles. Some people push against the bad things that need to be changed while others pull for the good alternatives. Some people work to undermine destructive systems from within while others are knocking down the walls from without. We all need to recognize that and find our place within a multifaceted struggle, being sure to be generous and appreciative of those who are working toward the same goal using different tactics." - pattrice jones

Whether you're new to the world of animal advocacy, a longtime vegan, or traveling somewhere between these points in your life's journey, STRIKING AT THE ROOTS: A PRACTICAL GUIDE TO ANIMAL ACTIVISM is one book you'll want to read. Activists from all walks of life can glean new tips, tricks, strategies, and perhaps even some much-needed motivation from author/activist Mark Hawthorne's introductory guide to acting on behalf of animals.

STRIKING AT THE ROOTS offers an overview of the many types of "animal activism" that advocates may engage in. These range from traditional to high-tech, visible to behind-the-scenes, and dramatic to low-key - as is exemplified by pattrice jones (author of AFTERSHOCK and a founder of Eastern Shore Sanctuary) in the above quote. No matter your personality, interests, and talents, you're sure to find an action you can take to help your fellow earthlings RIGHT NOW.

For example, STRIKING AT THE ROOTS covers eleven general areas of activism, including leafleting; writing (e.g., articles, op-eds, letters to the editor, etc.); tabling; engaging in protests and demonstrations; cooking for and feeding your friends, family, co-workers, and the masses ("food as outreach"); campaigning corporations; volunteering for animal sanctuaries, shelters, and rescue centers, using multimedia (e.g., blogs, web sites, videos, podcasting, etc.) to spread your message; engaging in direction action (including open rescues); working within the legal system; and - perhaps most importantly - taking care of the emotional and psychological needs of oneself and one's comrades as well. Each chapter serves as a general introduction to the topic, with a list of resources for follow-up.

Best of all, a number of prominent animal activists weigh in on their respective areas of expertise: Patty Mark tells of her first open rescue, in which she exposed the cruelty of an Australian battery farm; Mercy for Animals' Nathan Runkle describes his own epiphany, resulting from a chance encounter at the age of eleven with an animal rights leafleter; and Colleen Patrick-Goudreau shares her recipe for deliciously decadent vegan outreach. (Mmmm, vegan chili!)

A running theme of STRIKING AT THE ROOTS is the awesome potential for impact possessed by each and every individual. Just by going vegetarian (or, better yet, vegan), you can save the lives of 100 animals per year. That's one hundred living, sentient beings, spared from miserable lives and excruciating deaths. Now, if you inspire one other individual - just one! - to adopt a veg*n lifestyle, then you've essentially doubled your impact. And if your new veg*n friend can encourage another concerned citizen to eschew animal products...well, you get the idea! Like Merilees's theoretical Brazilian butterfly, whose wing-flapping can be felt throughout the world, one good deed can amplify and inspire many more. Your "activism" can be as simple as living a moral life and serving as an example to others - or as involved as gainful employment with a large animal rights organization. It's your choice. Just do something.

The important lesson to take away from STRIKING AT THE ROOTS is that we all have a part to play in this struggle - and that we must all work together, pooling our complementary skills and insights, if justice and compassion are to prevail.

Yes, Bruce, activism IS the meaning of life!

I was not an animal activist when I started to read this book, not even a vegetarian. It literally opened my eyes to a world of suffering and mistreatment I did not know. by the time I put the book down, I knew there were certain things I could no longer buy at the grocery store, nor order in a restaurant. No more meat. Eggs, only from free-range hens. Dairy - that's a hard one, realizing that drinking milk directly supports the veal industry. So I still drink it, but choose the most humane producers as carefully as I can. I doubt I would meet the personal standards most animal rights activists hold themselves to, but this book has changed my behavior. It made me aware of the consequences of my food choices - and I tell others about it.

Striking at the Roots also helped to shift my perception of animal rights activists from "fringe" radicals to compassionate citizens dedicated to putting an end to cruelty and abuse. Thus I would say this is not a book only for activists - but also for their friends, families, and neighbors. So activists, please share this book with others in your life. You might find the book itself is a valuable way to change hearts and minds.

Striking at the Roots is a great introduction for those interested in creating tangible change for animals. It is far-reaching, offering a wide array of different tactics to consider, yet is succinct and easy to read. Hawthorne's level-headed, results-based approach should be of great service to those trying to figure out how they can best serve animals. Highly recommended.

After reading a review copy of Striking at the Roots, I had the urge to buy it for all my animal activist friends. This book is a very practical, much needed guide to animal activism. Drawing from interviews with dozens of activists, Hawthorne compiles advice, real-life stories, and other resources into one big bundle of helpful and entertaining information. Striking at the Roots would be useful for the newcomer to animal activism, the veteran activist, and anyone in between. Highly recommended!

This is a really good book and I am grateful that Mark Hawthorne has written it. It is such a useful tool for anyone who wants to help animals. Each chapter thoroughly covers a different form of activism such as letterwriting, leafleting and protesting, and goes over the what, how, where, when and why for each type of activity. The book contains input, advice and stories from I think around 100 experienced activists, so the reader can benefit from their experience as well as be inspired.

Mark Hawthorne conveys that there are so many ways to take action from writing a letter to a company and praising them for not testing on animals to direct action and rescuing animals. Even if you only have one hour a month you can make a difference.

Something I found helpful was the chapter about dealing with our emotions in the face of such cruelty and immeasurable suffering. This is a really important topic and I haven't come across much of this in my reading.

The best part of the book is that it is positive and hopeful. It shows how our actions do make a difference and bring results. Stories in the book provide examples of this. Even a letter to the editor that doesn't get published is a force for positive change.

This book will give you ideas, motivate you and aid you in doing great things for animals.

Striking at the Roots is a wonderful read for anyone interested in becoming a more effective advocate for animals. It's a fun read while at the same time offering tips that all of us can implement in real terms. I hope as many animal advocates read this book as possible -- the animals will certainly benefit.

Every significant social movement requires a manifesto and guidebook to coalesce individuals, organize actions, and instigate social change. Striking at the Roots covers everything any activist would need to know about how to successfully advocate on behalf of animals. Whether you are an armchair activist who prefers to write letters to the editor and opinion pieces, or someone who would rather get right into the thick of protests, demonstrations, and direct action, Hawthorne provides the map for how to do it. He covers all the questions you might have wondered about in private and didn't know whom to ask, as well as questions you may not have even known you had. In addition to providing answers, Hawthorne supplies endless ideas and resources, and he solicited the input of countless activists to motivate you to action and keep you energized and revved for the long haul. Striking at the Roots is a book all animal activists should have on their nightstands and in their backpacks and briefcases. It's a manifesto whose time has come.

I wish this book had been written when I first got involved in animal advocacy. Mark Hawthorne does a wonderful job of explaining why so many people care about protecting animals from cruelty, and more importantly, he offers advice on how each reader can engage in animal activism that's both pragmatic and effective. This is a good book for those interested in getting involved in the animal movement as well as those who have been part of it for years.

Thoreau said "There are a thousand hacking at the branches of evil to one who is striking at the root..." Mark Hawthorne has written a book to help activists in the many branches of animal rights to get closer to those roots, and to do so effectively.

Mark's writings have been seen in numerous publications; now his hands-on experience is combined with wisdom from a veritable who's who of the animal rights movement to clearly answer the question: what can I do?

From the shy animal lover to the flamboyant vegetarian, from the bookworm to the fearless animal liberator, this book offers tools and insights on how to accomplish your goals. Whether you want to take a bite out of cruel factory farming, teach compassion to your local fur store, rescue captive abused animals, or just help your family to eat healthier and more thoughtfully, this book delivers the goods.

"Striking at the Roots" details activities from letter writing to direct action, deals realistically with both potential benefits and consequences, and even gives lessons on what to expect from the police in various countries. It also provides a long list of relevant resources to learn and do even more.

Sydney J. Harris has been quoted as saying, "If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the problem." Animal cruelty is a problem we're all surrounded by, and one we cannot afford--in terms of morality, human health, air quality, water pollution, soil loss, germ resistance, tax subsidies, worker injuries, and common decency.

While each of us may not be at the root of the problem, we all have hold of some of the branches, however tenuously. Mark Hawthorne's very user-friendly book can help us to make a difference for our fellow earthlings who can't speak our language or vote. "Striking at the Roots" offers many tools to bring out the animal in us -- and to do so effectively.

Feeling frustrated at my lack of knowledge of where to begin as an animal activist, Mark Hawthorne's book has given me the wind in my sail. Loaded with details of starting from the little things to dealing with the painful emotions you experience,I found every chapter full of excellent ideas which narrow down such a wide area to be covered. I would recommend this to anyone who doesn't know where to begin but is tired of not doing anything to help. I read it in a day and I am raring and ready to start my fight against animal cruelty! Amazing guide-absolutely the best inspiration!