The Animal Lover's Guide to Changing the World: Practical Advice and Everyday Actions for a More Sustainable, Humane, and Compassionate Planet

by Stephanie Feldstein

"This book belongs on every animal lover's shelf—and it's a particularly great gift for young people who are on fire to save animals but are unsure where to start. Hooray!!" —Sy Montgomery, author of The Good Good Pig and The Soul of an Octopus

The Animal Lover's Guide to Changing the World is the inspiring, accessible, and empowering book for everyone who loves animals and wants to live a more animal-friendly life, even if they aren’t ready to join a movement or give up bacon.

With more than 7.5 billion people on the planet, wildlife is going extinct at the fastest rate since the dinosaurs. Three to four million dogs and cats are killed in shelters every year; billions of chickens, pigs, and cows are killed for food; and countless animals are killed in research labs or their habitat. The numbers are daunting, but there’s good news too! Even one person truly can make a difference without breaking the bank.

With Stephanie Feldstein's straightforward and encouraging guidance, readers will learn how to take action to create a better world for the animals we love. It starts with changes as simple as taking a shorter shower, skipping meat once a week, wearing "this" not "that," and extends all the way to online activism and politics.

The animals need us, so let's get on with some world changing!

Genres: Nonfiction, Animals, Science, Environment, Politics, Nature

288 pages, Paperback

First published June 5, 2018

About the author

Stephanie Feldstein is the Population and Sustainability Director at the Center for Biological Diversity, where she heads a national program that addresses the connection between human population growth, overconsumption, and the wildlife extinction crisis. She created the innovative Take Extinction Off Your Plate campaign, and her work has been featured in The Huffington Post, NPR, Salon, The Guardian, The Washington Post, and more. THE ANIMAL LOVER'S GUIDE TO CHANGING THE WORLD is her first book.

When she's not advocating for animals or the future of our planet, she can usually be found working on her next book in the company of assorted rescued dogs and cats.

Reviews

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think anyone who loves animals and wants to advocate, and love them unconditionally....simply put, a very thorough book! Thank you for allowing me to read this! I am passing it on to the other animal lovers in my family. I have all rescued adopted "Grand Puppies" so this book, is right on target!

[Clare O'Beara · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a fantastic resource, which lacks photos and diagrams in my e-ARC but does point to many further reading and clicking resources at the back for every chapter. Sadly it is all American, so some of the contents, such as legislations, won't apply to those elsewhere.

The author tells us what many of us already know (with me she is preaching to not just the converted but the well-informed) and adds up to the minute studies, campaigns, or social media tweaks. For those who know some but would like to know more, a fascinating and important collection of facts is displayed, in a manner which is sincere and to the point.

Children's school days are the subject of one chapter. From their lunches to their lessons. The author misses out on asking about vending machines in schools. Another chapter asks if we can reduce our meat consumption, for instance with Meatless Monday. Now, growing up this would have been nonsensical to me, because on Monday we used the meat scraps from the Sunday dinner. By Tuesday they might be too dry to be good. So don't take it literally. But why not a cheese and tomato pizza, baked stuffed mushrooms and so on? Pick a day, or just do it a few times a week.

The author does tend to generalise. "Two decades ago nobody was talking about caged hens" but oh yes they were in Ireland. I could not afford free range eggs more than a couple of times a year, so that was how often I ate eggs although battery farm eggs were cheaper.

The factory farming debate applies much more to America than EU countries. Bottled water is an evil everywhere. When we visited Rome, we refilled our small bottles from drinking fountains, every day. Doing this or bringing your own cup or bottle as suggested, you can (save money and) reduce plastic waste. If you need any incentive to get into these habits, the author provides plenty.

Don't buy fur - don't buy leather - don't buy wool - don't buy polyester - don't buy makeup or bath products tested on animals... the list of nots is long. Luckily if we buy in secondhand shops we are greatly reducing carbon emissions damage and waste. And we can bring our own bags.

We're also asked to think about the environmental impact of keeping pets, and their food, and their accoutrements which they may not need. A pup doesn't need a tiara or a plastic bone. We should adopt and rescue pets, not buy from breeders, and not breed pets we can't home, and so on. This leads on to the lamentable problem of human overpopulation, quite correctly addressed as the root of the destruction of the natural environment. The author reminds us that reducing each person's footprint as well as reducing the global population growth is the only way to have a planet that can support us all. Education, better human rights, support for women's rights, contraception and healthcare, can create a more equitable situation.

Throughout, as we bemoan the despoliation of nature and cruelty to domestic stock, the author reminds us that even if we choose not to buy, the maker / farmer / retailer doesn't know about it, so we need to tell them why we do not buy their product. We can also tell the world, nowadays, through groups like Care2.com and various social media. She suggests many ways to raise your online voice or hold local meetings and petitions.

Finally that author gently reminds us that we can burn out. We can try to help so many causes that we get exhausted and depressed. She tells us to take care of ourselves, get out and enjoy nature, read a good book, take pride in doing some small act instead of saving everything overnight. Because we can't save everything overnight. The work will take us all, over time. Start small, but start now.

Great work - I recommend this book. My e-ARC has 23 pages of references and resources, with a gap for an index which is expected to be 10 pages. Those living in America will find it more useful.
I downloaded a copy from Net Galley. This is an unbiased review.

[Chelsea · Rating 3 out of 5]

Definitely an important novel, and one I’m glad exists. I think anyone can find a good takeaway from this book. 3 ½ stars

This is exactly what the title says: a guide for animal lovers and things they can do to help animals and the world in general.

I should have paid closer attention to the word ‘guide’, because it is written in the style of a guide as opposed to fiction or stories. Guidebooks aren’t really how I prefer to read nonfiction, but I know some like that format.

Anyway, there is a boatload of interesting factual information in this novel. There are so many different ideas that can be gleaned from this book on things that people could be doing better, ways to help your community. I don’t think all of them are realistic, but I know I came away from this with a few things I want to actively try to do.

However, as someone who has done a lot of research on these topics, I did have a bit of a hard time staying engaged, which may have been more due to the guidebook style. I can see this book being really impactful for someone who doesn't know a lot about this topic, but there are definitely books I have read that have presented these topics in a way I personally found to be more engaging.

There is a little part of me that just wants to give this an immediate five star rating for being the first book I’ve seen to call out the “pit bull simile”, as I call it (ie. comparing an aggressive person or animal or even a demon to a pit bull, therefore reinforcing the stigma around the breed and making it even more difficult for pit bull type dogs to be adopted).

I would have liked for this novel to have gotten a bit more personal and included more anecdotes and outside viewpoints, but I wouldn’t discourage anyone looking to learn more about how to help animals from picking this one up.

I’m going to end here with some shoutouts to some of my favorite animal books if you’re looking to learn more:
Eating Animals: exploration of animal agriculture, factory farming, and what it means to consume animal products.
DogTown: Tales of Rescue, Rehabilitation, and Redemption: rescue stories from Best Friends Animal Society.
The Lost Dogs: Michael Vick's Dogs and Their Tale of Rescue and Redemption: the inspiring story of the dogs rescued from Michael Vick’s dogfighting ring.
Susie's Senior Dogs: sweet and wonderful stories about senior dog adoption.
The Dogs of Avalon: The Race to Save Animals in Peril: my actual favorite animal book. Basically a history of the animal rights movement, greyhound racing, and basically any other animal topic you can think of.

[Stephanie Feldstein · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Animal Lover's Guide to Changing the World hits the shelves a little more than a month from now. I can't wait to share it with you.

Like many people who I imagine will be drawn to the cover alone, I've been an animal lover my entire life. Ever since I was a kid, I've tried to make the world a better place for animals. I grew from campaigning for a family dog to a career campaigning for animals on a larger scale. I poured all that passion and experience into this book in the hopes of helping others put their love into action.

This book is packed with information on how our lives affect animals and what you can do to help them in small and big ways. It's got something for everyone, whether you're already an experienced animal advocate looking for tips on starting new campaigns or getting involved in different issue areas, or if you really just love your dog and want to make the world better for her. It covers a huge range of species, from those who share our homes to those we'll never meet and everyone in between.

I hope you enjoy it and discover new ways you can help change the world in its pages.

Got a question? Ask the Author is open -- just click on my name and ask away.

Thanks for reading!

[Critterbee❇ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Methodical, thorough and to the point. This is a great guide on animal advocacy, and any advocacy, really. The focus is definitely on animal welfare, but many of the methods can be used to eventuate other changes when encountering opposition.

The only gripe I had, which may well be fixed before publishing the book, is the reference citing. There were a few references in the back of the eARC that I read, yet I felt that some of the statements needed citation, attribution, something to back them up. When working on projects like this, everything has to be verified so as to avoid undermining the validity of the cause.

Overall, very informative, with practical advice, and not stodgy.

*eARC Netgalley*

[Shelley Schanfield · Rating 5 out of 5]

I finished this long ago but find it a great book to go back to often to get re-inspired and refresh ways and means of changing the world.

[Kimberly · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this book super inspiring and informative. I’ve been vegan for years and vegetarian even longer but this book included a lot of great ideas I hadn’t considered. The author also breaks her ideas down into chapters which make sense and provide clear guidance. I would recommend this to anyone who cares about animals and/or people, we’re all connected.

[Toni · Rating 4 out of 5]

I won this book as part of a Goodreads Giveaway.

This book is written in the style of a "guide", where under each chapter is a list of ways to reduce your impact on whatever the theme of that chapter was. It's a very informative guide for those who want to help make a change in the world but are either afraid or unable to take the full plunge and instead provides examples of small changes that can lead to big changes. Whether you are worried about the impact of a traditional diet, your carbon footprint, or just ways to limit the suffering of others this book provides that small but needful push to give you an insight into our world that many people don't ever question.

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was more inspirational and informational than truly practical. Although it's probably a a good roadmap for those who are starting at square one or who live where the local government entities are not particularly concerned with animal welfare or the environment, for people who've already taken even first steps toward greener living and improving the lives of animals, companion and otherwise, there's not a lot of information about what more we can do. This seems to be aimed more at people who are in the grocery store saying, "can you double bag that in plastic? I need to have some extras that I can throw in the street for no reason!" (And those people do exist as I learned when I recently found myself in an online discussion where one woman seemed to be personally offended by the very existence of canvas grocery bags.) To be fair, there are additional resources listed in the appendix, which I didn't read all the way through because they were -- not even kidding -- in 2 point font; however, the couple I did squint my way into deciphering didn't look tremendously useful.

What's good about the book is that the discussion is fairly comprehensive. The author talks not only about the challenges for companion animals, but also for farm animals and wildlife. She demonstrates how animal welfare can't be separated from environmental concerns, and she touches on how politics and societal attitudes towards more attenuated factors like reproductive freedom and sex education are important parts of the conversation. She also provides advice on how to approach these subjects when discussing them with people who are likely to feel like they're being lectured to about their moral choices. Not sure there's any convincing the woman who thinks canvas bags are made by Satan, but this book or using the approach the author adopts in the book would likely convince more reasonable people that there are small painless changes that would make a positive impact on the planet and all the dogs, lizards, and other creatures who live on it.

Recommended for: anyone who runs the water the whole time they're brushing their teeth.

[Kathleen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a very thorough look at what we can personally do to make the world a better place for animals and in doing so for ourselves. It speaks to activism in whatever form you are comfortable with, but also reminds you of the little things you can do like use your reuseable cloth bags, but remember that if you buy more of them than you need you are adding to the problem.

Some of the information will be of the "yeah, I knew that variety" but lots of it is thought provoking stuff that you may not have put any thought into. Once we are aware of the facts, we must choose to do something to change things. This book can serve as an examination of conscience for all who live in this world. I am realizing that Meatless Mondays (pretty much not a thing in our little part of the world) would be super easy for me since I already enjoy so many meatless meals. I am going right now to get more cloth bags out of the closet so I use them every time I get groceries.

I highly recommend you read this book to see what you can do. Many of the ideas are quick switches that you can do right now, but Feldstein also specifically gives you the direction you need to be the catalyst in something you feel needs to change.

(I received this book in a goodreads giveaway.)

[Amy Dale · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a highly comprehensive guide to achievable and mostly easy actions any animal lover can take to help save lives, habitat and improve welfare. Everything you could think of is addressed in these pages, from politics and activism to eating choices, the makeup you wear and what plants not to buy for next year's garden. It also brings to light the horrors of various animal industries for those who may not know already. Much of it I was already aware of or doing, but I think this would be an invaluable resource for those new to the cause and at a loss on how to help.

The only problem I had was the cover design looks fun but the writing had a much more businesslike and serious tone which sometimes made some chapters feel a bit more labourous than inspiring. However,I still felt a kinship with the author as her story was so similar to mine,we both became vegetarian at 16 much to the chagrin of our families.

If you love animals but feel lost, helpless and too overwhelmed by the sheer magnitude of the problems and pain inflicted on animals, read this book and see all the ways you can help them without even leaving the house. It's an important start.

[Paula · Rating 5 out of 5]

I admit it, I was afraid of this book. Despite its title, I feared I'd find nothing but more bad news about the state of the world. Not so. Its loving, encouraging message is that we can make things better. The Animal Lover's Guide is a call, spiced with humor, to simple action steps we can take.

I found it helpful that each chapter ends with three "action alerts," things ranging from calling our legislators to asking ourselves three questions before making a purchase. My action step today was to open my trunk, retrieve the cloth grocery bags (Save the Bees/Save the Whales) I'm always forgetting, and take them with me as I walked to the market.

And, like getting to eat dessert before the salad, I especially like each chapter beginning with a story portrait of some type of animal. One of my favorites was about octopi. Lots of cool stuff to learn.

[V Massaglia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ms. Feldstein has offered us all a gift as to how to do our part to provide a voice for animals, for living a more compassionate life, and how to make our planet a better place. With so much work to be done, she gives a ton of things to do - ranging from the very simple to complex, systemic approaches. In the last chapter, she writes "Some people will know exactly where they want to start--whatever will save their favorite species or speaks to them as an exciting way to help animals." While others may need to start small, anything will help. The important thing to know is animals need our help more than ever.

I highly recommend this book and thank you in advance for reading it and for applying the tactics Ms. Feldstein suggests.

Check out: Minnesota's Compassionate Action for Animals: https://www.exploreveg.org/ Twitter: @exploreveg Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/exploreveg/

V

[Gemini · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic book. This was super helpful. As an animal lover, environmentalist & activist, it's great to have the author go through all the things that one needs to know about helping animals & the planet. People don't always understand the link between the earth & fauna but they are certainly connected in every way. Preserving one will of course be necessary in saving the other. There are things that I think are just common sense but there are plenty of people out there that are completely oblivious &/or just don't care. More people really need to think about what the buy & consume as the impact is detrimental to them as well as the planet. There are plain old suggestions that I think are second nature to some of us (don't wear fur or buy a pet) yet the lack of awareness of some things are astronomical. The only thing to be done is to have conversations w/ folks who don't get it. Share the knowledge by sharing the book. Such a great read.

[Kelly Peressini · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very practical, informative, and compassionate. Author paints a sad picture of today’s animal exploitation in multiple avenues of life from pets, wildlife, environment to diet and fashion. She provides steps and action plans. Everyone should read this book for a bigger, different life perspective. I like her worldview, being kind, loving and thoughtful.

[Kino McFarland · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Animal Lover's Guide to Changing the World is a fantastic book for anyone, regardless of their stage on the animal activism/environmentalism journey. It encompasses how your every action and decision impacts animals and Feldstein gives you many ideas for how you can minimize your impact. I highly recommend it!

[Mackenzie Albrecht · Rating 3 out of 5]

I REALLY wanted to like this book more than I did, because it seems right up my alley. Despite the title, a lot of suggestions in the book were “old news” to me and rather basic. However, it was very well-researched and easy to read. I think this book would be a wonderful guide for people who are newer to being an advocate for animals.

[Denielle · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was informative. Highly recommended for anyone who wants more information on how to help all animals. From small changes like donating food to an animal shelter to huge changes like going vegan and everything in between.

[Kara Merry · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very useful and realistic.

[Hayla · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wish I could download this book into the brains of everyone on the planet.

[I Roberts · Rating 5 out of 5]

Exciting from page one.

[Maria L · Rating 5 out of 5]

If we all do our part the world would be a much better place for everything

[Cara Achterberg · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautifully laid out book with practical suggestions for animal lovers who want to make the world a better place for animals. Very conversational and positive.

[Lillian Cummings · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very interesting read. We all do have a choice and we have to realize that those choices have a huge impact on our planet. We all can make a difference we just have to be willing. And yes I agree with most of the book but we will disagree on some issues. We must all do our homework when it comes to getting involved with an organisations as even the well known ones have hidden agendas. The book gives us a insight into what choices we have and what we can do to make a difference, we can't save the world but that doesn't mean that we can't do our bit to at least save of it. The human cost is huge and as climate change continues we will lose so much more than we could ever have imagined. Even if you can only do small changes like recycling, eat less meat and get involved in small projects it all does add up. When we look around us what do we see? A world that is battling to survive so why can't we make better choices. The book gives great advice on what changes we can make and insight into so many species. Always do your homework don't just take something on face value as you might thing that you are making a difference but all you are doing is lining someone's pocket. I was lucky enough to meet some amazing people in South Africa that are doing everything that they can to save the rhino and I support them in that battle. It might not be something that everyone wants to do so get involved in signing petitions, take part in walks, write to your councils and just spread the word. At the end of the day you can either take some of the facts that are in this book and make or difference or you can be like most people and say that it isn't my problem. I really hope that people do read this book and sit down and see what they can do to make a difference. We might be a raindrop but together we can cause a river. I was lucky enough to receive a copy via Netgalley & the publishing house in exchange for my honest review.