Catalysts of Change: PETA Youth’s Empowering Activities of 2023
PETA Youth is PETA India’s division for teens and 20-somethings that puts students at the forefront of animal rights by creatively promoting compassion and imparting knowledge through exciting initiatives that empower young minds to make ethical decisions.
In 2023, PETA Youth spread the message of animal rights through various campaigns at some of the top colleges and curated events across India enabling students to become advocates of change.
‘End Speciesism’
PETA Youth spread awareness of speciesism, a human-supremacist worldview, by taking PETA India’s “End Speciesism” campaign to some of India’s best educational institutions, including the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay, IIT Delhi, H.R. College of Commerce and Economics, Bharati Vidyapeeth’s College of Engineering, St Xavier’s University–Kolkata, and the All India Institute of Medical Sciences.
We took the campaign to India’s largest music festivals and events, including the following:
Comic Con
At Comic Cons in Bengaluru, Delhi, and Mumbai, PETA Youth shared the importance of showing compassion towards all beings via informational leaflets, an interesting game called Are You Against Oppression?, fun initiatives like a photo booth, and free merchandise like T-shirts, stickers, badges, wristbands, fridge magnets, and tote bags. The stalls at Comic Cons were packed with young people who learnt about making kinder choices for animals. Visitors were given gift vouchers from Lusso Lifestyle and served delicious vegan cookies from Ditch the Guilt, soy milk from Sofit, and vegan cheese dips from The Orange Bowl along with nachos from Doritos. Hundreds of people stood up for animals by signing our petition urging the government to strengthen penalties against animal abusers.
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Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike x Sunburn Arena 2023, Mumbai
At Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike x Sunburn Arena 2023, electronic music lovers learnt about mindful choices and vegan living as they signed that same petition. PETA India Director Poorva Joshipura’s books, For a Moment of Taste and Survival at Stake, which expand on the impact of animal agriculture and climate change and on how our treatment of animals affects us, were also available for sale at the stall. They can be found online here and here.
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YVCare Earth Festivals
PETA Youth joined the YVCare Earth festivals, one of the largest events showcasing a plethora of cruelty-free products. Our stall highlighted our “End Speciesism campaign”, and we offered vegan food samples and PETA India x Lusso Lifestyle discount vouchers to encourage a cruelty-free lifestyle. Attendees were encouraged to sign our petition for stronger penalties against animal abusers, and Survival at Stake was available for purchase. The stall garnered widespread attention, attracting numerous visitors and disseminating the message of vegan living for the well-being of animals, humans, and the planet.
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‘Save the Boy Child’
PETA India’s “Save the Boy Child” campaign raises awareness of the abuse endured by male chicks and calves who are abandoned and killed through gruesome methods in the egg, meat, and dairy industries. The campaign was showcased at top colleges, including the Indian Institute of Management Lucknow, Shri Ram College of Commerce, IIT Goa, IIT Roorkee, Birla Institute of Technology and Science Pilani. Visitors enjoyed tasty vegan food samples such as vegan cookies from Ditch the Guilt and soy milk from Sofit and got an opportunity to sign our pledge to go vegan and score free merchandise like T-shirts, stickers, badges, wristbands, and tote bags.
I, Calf
When Ocean of Blessings Foundation, launched by model and actor Suman Chellani, organised a two-day festival called Happy Fest in Ahmedabad, aimed at giving female entrepreneurs a platform to showcase their products and businesses, PETA Youth representatives stepped up to shed light on the disturbing practices in the dairy industry with our I, Calf virtual reality experience. The team also took this campaign to Punjab Engineering College–Chandigarh’s PECFEST. Hundreds of young people visited our stall and signed our pledge to go vegan.
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We also took the campaign to the Ekatva Festival, Delhi’s biggest plant-based festival. The immersive encounter portrayed the viewpoint of a young calf, highlighting the separation of twin calves and their mother within the dairy industry, enlightening those who stopped by our booth. The campaign included informational leaflets, vegan merchandise, delicious vegan food samples, and a pledge for attendees to support a compassionate lifestyle.
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PETA Youth Talks
Nearly 1000 students joined in as PETA Youth gave a talk titled “You Can’t Be a Meat-Eating Environmentalist” at various colleges, including Shri Ram College of Commerce, Motilal Nehru College, AIESEC Delhi, Bharati Vidyapeeth’s College of Engineering, and Amity University.
The talk helped students understand the benefits of adopting a vegan lifestyle.
PETA Youth engaged with 4000 students in 2023 and empowered change, as 3400 of them joined us in asking for the strengthening of penalties against animal abuse and 1400 decided to make compassionates choices as they signed our vegan pledge.
If you’re interested in enabling change and creating a kinder world for animals through fun outreach activities, make a mark with PETA Youth!
