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Ingrid Newkirk: The Stories That Sparked PETA and a Lifetime of Advocacy

Recorded around PETA's 40th anniversary in 2020, this Vegans Explore conversation follows co-founder and president Ingrid Newkirk from eating her way through the animal kingdom as a young woman to building one of the largest animal rights organizations in the world.

A slow learner, by her own account

Newkirk describes a series of individual encounters, not a single epiphany, that changed her relationship with animals: live snails escaping their bag on a car ride, bursting into tears over a lobster's waving antennae at her own birthday dinner, and holding a starving pig's head under a water pump while working as a law enforcement officer in Maryland. Each moment removed another animal product from her plate until, piece by piece, nothing was left.

Founding PETA in 1980

Newkirk started PETA in 1980 with no internet, no fax machines, and no mobile phones, building the organization's early reach through hand drawn leaflets and mailed newsletters. Milestones she points to include the first US conviction of an animal experimenter for cruelty in 1981, the release of 17 rhesus monkeys from a University of Pennsylvania lab, and the campaign that ended animal use in automotive crash testing worldwide.

She also discusses her book, Animal Kind, which pairs surprising discoveries about animal intelligence and communication, from elephants that swim for miles using their trunks as snorkels to pigeons that make milk for their young, with practical guidance on reducing harm in daily life.

• PETA now runs youth focused arms including PETA Kids and the SOS, Stop Our Speciesism, youth campaign.
• Newkirk points to the fashion industry's shift toward pineapple, grape, apple, and mulberry leather alternatives as one of the most encouraging recent trends.
• Her closing message: hope alone does not grow the movement. Action, conversation, and consistency do.

More interviews from the Vegans Explore archive are available at vegansexplore.com slash podcast.