The Passionate Crusader
INGRID NEWKIRK, FOUNDER OF PEOPLE FOR ETHICAL TREATMENT OF ANIMALS (PETA), HAS SPENT HER LIFE URGING PEOPLE TO RESPECT ANIMALS AND MAKE SUSTAINABLE CHOICES
Ingrid Newkirk, founder, PETA, on fighting for animal rights
She walks with a spring in her step and it’s hard to place her in an age decade at first glance. Ingrid Newkirk is almost 69, but wears her years well. As founder of People for Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), the well-known and largest animal rights group in the world with 6.5 million members, in 1980, she shot to instant fame with her provocative, often gimmicky campaigns. With countless awards to her name, Newkirk has also written several books, including the highly acclaimed Cambridge Declaration Of Consciousness, 50 Awesome Ways Kids Can Help Animals and is currently working on A World Without Animal Slaves, slated for a 2019 release. In the last 37 years since PETA was founded, Newkirk has worked tirelessly to give animals an equal opportunity to live a life of dignity and create awareness about the key issues at hand. In India to further her campaigns and highlight animal testing, cruelty to elephants and also to expose the devious ways of the meat and egg industries, Newkirk traces her journey and looks at the road ahead.
INDIA CONNECT
I came here to Delhi with my parents as a child, 61 years ago. I remember a Delhi that is almost gone. In those days, there were bullock carts and tongas and we lived in the then Diplomatic Enclave in a house which is now razed. I used to cycle to the embassies and ask for stamps for my collection. There used to be a big jungle behind our house which had wild pigs and other animals. Of course, that Delhi does not exist today.
ROOTS OF COMPASSION
I founded PETA in the US 37 years ago. It has been a long journey. I picked up things in my childhood that I did not even know I had
picked up along the way. My family was not vegetarian. In fact, we ate everything. My father was a gourmand and was a sophisticated Antony Bourdain of his time. Odd, exotic and revolting meats came into our house regularly and he liked tripe with onions and tongue; I have always found meat unpalatable but that’s when I started to realise that I did not want to be non-vegetarian, hurt animals and birds in the process.
THE PETA PHILOSOPHY
We started out with the credo that animals are flesh and blood and not ours to use, let alone abuse. We as humans tend to be ignorant and uncaring. As an organisation, it is our job to do the homework for everyone. Over the years, what has changed is awareness among youth and changing consumption patterns. Today, young designers don’t want to use leather and while organic is misunderstood (can still be cruel), vegan is the buzzword. When it comes to cruelty-free consumerism and animal rights, Hollywood has played a big role with stars such as James Cameron and Angelina Jolie fighting for the welfare of animals. Designers such as Stella McCartney are amazing in this regard and are championing sustainable, cruelty-free fashion. In India, celebs such as Shilpa Shetty Kundra and Priyanka Chopra have been fantastic and Chopra did the voice for a mechanical elephant touring America and was a hit with children.
ROLE OF TECHNOLOGY IN ACTIVISM
Technology has made an enormous difference to our cause. When we started off there were no phones, no Internet. Today, the speed at which knowledge is being shared is amazing. You see huge advances in science as a result of this. Dissection used to be mandatory at one point but now can be done online. Drugs can be made without harming animals. We have human DNA on the Internet so there is no need to cut up a frog. On the flip side, technology is helping eliminate some problems but not all. People have to take responsibility for the choices they make, with or without technology.
MAKING SUSTAINABLE CHOICES
“I have become more wrinkled today and a lot more mellow. While I am impatient, because fellow humans are a disappointment as they are resistant to change, I am also grateful for small leaps. People have to be motivated and feel that they are powerful every step of the way. As consumer, every rupee and dollar you spend should be spent wisely. An average person feels like he or she doesn’t make a difference but they do. As consumers, alternatives are always available, as long as you ask for them.
MEMORABLE CAMPAIGNS
I once took over Vogue’s glamorous editor Anna Wintour’s office. We burst in and started to answer phones in her office saying, “Hello, we are closed today for cruelty.” I think we made our point. Everything, even if it is a gimmick, jumping on a runway to make a point or throwing fake money in the crowd, is all a very solid reason to say we want you to listen and make changes so even if I am called provocative and gimmicky I am ok with it.
BRANDS AGAINST CRUELTY
“I am vegan and drink soy and hemp milk. Ice cream brands such as Ben & Jerry, Haagen Dazs and others are vegan and fabulous today. As far as personal products go, 100 per cent Pure is a great beauty brand and they have creams and serums that are made sustainably and work really well. I also love The Body Shop, which focuses on beauty without cruelty. It has been a pioneer in the ‘no animal testing’ area and has a very ethical way of working. We have a list of 2,500 cruelty-free brands that don’t use animal ingredients and are not tested on animals.
THE PETA LEGACY
I am going to leave my body as my legacy and am donating various parts to keep up research. My will keeps evolving as people keep sending me suggestions. I think the only thing that interests me is that the young people I have influenced should carry on working for animals long after I am gone. I have faith in activism, individualism, and believe that making small changes is the way forward. Actions are powerful so people need to consume safely, and people need to start young. I wish that I had been born into a vegan (or Jain) family where we understood what you put on your back, feet, how you relate to others is imperative. From an early age it is important to teach children kindness and respect for animals. That is what I have spent my life trying to do and I hope I have been remotely successful.