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Alicia Silverstone Helps Save Thousands of Animals (VIDEO)

By April MacIntyre Aug 14, 2012, 14:55 GMT

Alicia Silverstone\'s "The Kind Diet" Book Signing at Barnes & Noble in Los Angeles on March 15, 2011 - Barnes & Noble at The grove - Los Angeles, CA, USA © Tommaso Boddi / PR Photos

Alicia Silverstone has helped save thousands of suffering animals.

As a spokesperson for Farm Sanctuary’s new Compassionate Communities Campaign, Ms. Silverstone has a goal: to help as many people as possible get active for animals. Watch a special video message from Alicia Silverstone below.

“When people think about helping animals, they generally think about dogs and cats, but chickens, pigs, and other farm animals need our help even more. And science shows that farm animals are just as intelligent and interesting as our pets,” says Alicia Silverstone, whose best-selling book “The Kind Diet” shows just how easy and delicious vegetarian eating can be.

“Vegetarian advocacy allows busy people like you and me to spare the lives of thousands of animals every year without a huge time commitment. For example, you can spare at least fifty animals a lifetime of misery on a factory farm with just an hour of leafleting. And there are lots more tips at CompassionateCommunities.org.”

Compassionate Communities was created by Farm Sanctuary, North America’s largest and most effective farm animal rescue and protection organization, to promote and train animal advocates and grassroots groups in the most effective forms of animal advocacy and community building.

Vegetarian advocacy has proven to be the most effective thing caring individuals can do to help the greatest number of animals in the least amount of time. For each person who reduces the amount of meat they eat, dozens of farm animals will be spared a lifetime of suffering.

Did you know that the difference between a vegan and a vegetarian is that vegans eliminate all animal products from their diet, including dairy and eggs?

In a vegan lifestyle, one does not wear leather and avoids products made from animals such as wool, silk and down. Vegans' tremendous compassion for animals is an abiding, overriding conviction in their lives.

Vegetarians do not eat meat, fish or poultry but they tend to consume dairy products and eggs.

Lacto-vegetarians consume dairy products but not eggs, ovo-vegetarians eat eggs but not dairy products and lacto-ovo-vegetarians eat eggs as well as dairy products. Vegetarians also do not eat products that contain gelatine or other meat-based products.

The vegan point of view is that commercialization of animals necessarily involves a fundamental, inhumane component and lack of respect for basic life.

From a nutrition standpoint, vegans need to take a B12 and amino acid supplement, since they have no dietary source of these nutrients. You can get all the nutrients needed with a lacto-ovo (eggs and milk) vegetarian diet without supplements.

Individuals who join the Compassionate Communities Campaign will:

• Receive direct support, physical resources, and instructions on best practices to help sharpen their advocacy skills.

• Receive blog updates twice a month delivered straight to their inboxes.

• Receive challenges that will take their activism to new heights while saving thousands animals.

• Complete the challenges and report back on their progress to receive recognition and prizes.