August 2019

Monthly Impact Report

August Progress

Californians voted overwhelmingly last year to pass the strongest farmed animal protection initiative in the world—Proposition 12. Now Mercy For Animals’ government affairs and public policy team has a seat at the table with the California Department of Food and Agriculture, the body tasked with drafting the regulations to carry out Prop 12.

In Brazil, our Alimentação Consciente food policy team obtained a significant commitment from the city of Campos dos Goytacazes and hosted trainings to prepare for the meat-reduction program’s implementation.

Changing Institutions

Brazil

In August the Brazilian city of Campos dos Goytacazes publicly agreed to work with our Alimentação Consciente Brasil food policy team to replace 20 percent of meat, dairy, and eggs with plant-based food by serving vegan meals one day a week in city schools and social-assistance centers.

Days before the public commitment, Mercy For Animals team members trained 235 chefs and nutritionists in plant-based eating and cooking. Once the program is fully implemented, the institutions will serve around 350,000 vegan meals a year.

8,100

Animals Potentially Spared Through Institutional Policies

Brazil: 6,900
Mexico: 1,200

406,500

Vegan Meals
Served

Brazil: 329,400
Mexico: 77,100

Ensuring Strong Regulatory Protections in California

United States

California voters overwhelmingly passed a ballot initiative in 2018 to ban the production and sale in California of meat and eggs from intensively confined animals. Mercy For Animals reached out to the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) to offer input on the rules and regulations to implement Prop 12. Our government affairs and public policy team has been communicating frequently with the department and has submitted formal comments urging the CDFA to adopt regulations that uphold the plain language of Prop 12 and the will of the state’s people.

Making Headlines

United States

In a New York Daily News op-ed published ahead of the G7 summit on climate change, Mercy For Animals president Leah Garcés makes the case that solving climate change doesn’t have to be hard. Research shows that unless we transition to a plant-based food system, we will face a catastrophe. But companies like Beyond Meat and Impossible Foods have shown us how easy it is to choose plant-based.

In an Oregon Business article, Mercy For Animals senior policy advisor AJ Albrecht calls the state’s new law banning the production and sale of eggs from hens confined in cages a “positive step forward.”

Eliminating Cages and Reducing Suffering

Brazil, United States

After months of dialogue with Mercy For Animals, honeygrow, a fast-casual restaurant chain with 27 locations in the U.S., committed to sourcing only Global Animal Partnership-certified chicken and eliminating live-shackle slaughter.

Makro, a major wholesaler in Brazil, committed to banning eggs from caged hens in its 74 locations throughout the country after discussions with Mercy For Animals and other animal protection groups.

Conagra, a leading North American food company with dozens of prominent brands, adopted a chicken welfare policy after extensive conversations with many large animal protection organizations, including Mercy For Animals.

Undetermined Number of Animals

Potentially Impacted Each Year by Policies to Eliminate Cruel Cages for Hens

188,000 Animals

Potentially Impacted Each Year by Policies to Reduce Suffering of Chickens Raised for Meat

1

Brand Committed to Going Cage-Free

Mexico: none this month
Brazil: 1

2

Brands Committed to Reducing Suffering of Chickens Raised for Meat

United States: 2
Canada: none this month

Speaking Out for Animals in Brazil

Brazil

Two Mercy For Animals staff members in Brazil, Diogo Fernandes and Alice Martins, spoke at an event in Sorocaba, São Paulo, called United for the Animals. Important city politicians attended and expressed interest in learning more about reducing the meat, dairy, and eggs served in public institutions.

Building a Movement

Mexico, Brazil, United States

We believe that the world’s mightiest institutions will heed the call to reform when it comes from powerful and interconnected communities. That’s why our supporters are so important. And in August, Mercy For Animals activists hosted 40 actions!

246

Volunteer Hours
Logged

Brazil: 161
Mexico: none this month
United States: 85

40

Volunteer Actions
Completed

Brazil: 37
Mexico: none this month
United States: 3

34

Active Volunteer
Communities

Brazil: 22
Mexico: 2
United States: 10

Growing Our Global Capacity

Through investigations and public engagement, Mercy For Animals opens eyes and hearts to the suffering farmed animals endure. Our videos, websites, and print resources empower people to join our mighty movement.

41.8 million

Social Media Impressions

Mexico: 13.5 million
Brazil: 3.8 million
United States: 24.5 million

1.8 Million

Online Video Views

Mexico: 814,983
Brazil: 58,563
United States: 1 million

13,439

Pro-vegan Leaflets

Mexico: 750
Brazil: 11,809
United States: 880

44

Media Mentions

Mexico: 13
Brazil: 5
United States: 26

3

Media Hits in
Top 50 Outlets

Mexico: none this month
Brazil: 1
United States: 2

922,200

Views of Our Footage in Media

United States: 922,200
Mexico: none this month
Brazil: none this month

New Videos Produced This Month
Tofurky: A Peek Behind the Scenes of This Compassionate Company
BEINGS: Artist Diana DooWop Explains How One Video Changed Her Life
The Herbivorous Butcher Is America's First Plant-Based Butcher Shop
If Leaving Your Dog in the Car on a Hot Day Is Wrong, so Is This…
The Owners of Vegatinos Are Giving Back With a Scholarship Fund
BEINGS: How a Chicken Named Tilly Inspired Actress Taylor Blackwell to Ditch Meat
Fiction Kitchen Is Veganizing Southern Food Favorites
Farm Sanctuary Co-founder Speaks Out Against McDonald's Cruelty
Brave Mother Sperm Whale Dies Trying to Free Baby From Fishing Net
BEINGS: Actor Mateus Ward Explains How His Dog Inspired Him to Go Vegan
The Brazilian Rainforest Is Disappearing
Author and Lecturer Connie Johnston Speaks on Humans and Animals
Burger King’s Meatless Impossible Whopper Is Now Available Nationwide
Vegatinos Is Bringing Plant-Based Eating to Latinx Communities
The Ocean Voyages Institute Cleaned Up a Five-Ton Ghost Net
Cardiologist Dr. Kim Williams Knows Plant-Based Foods Can Save Lives
BEINGS: Activist Omowale Adewale Talks Speciesism
Baskin-Robbins Announces Its First Vegan Flavors

View our year-to-date progress at MercyForAnimals.org/Impact

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"What keeps me focused is to remember that we are their only hope."

—Camilla, an undercover investigator in Brazil