Dr. Bronner’s Celebrates Work of 2024 Animal Advocacy Funding Recipients

Dr. Bronner’s has marked its eleventh year of its philanthropy program to support efforts to end animal cruelty used for food.

In 2024, Dr. Bronner’s dedicated $365,000 to its animal advocacy funding program, bringing the total funding of this program to more than $4.6 million since 2013. The program supports leading organizations that work to expose and reduce the suffering of farmed animals, educate the public about the benefits of plant-based eating, provide sanctuaries for animals and offer alternative visions for a healthier and more sustainable food system.

2024 recipients of Dr. Bronner’s animal advocacy funding program include Animal Outlook; Black Veg Society; Farm Forward; VINE Sanctuary; Sea Shepherd Global; and Sistah Vegan Project.

“Animal advocacy is an integral part of our ‘All-One!’ mission as a company,” said David Bronner, cosmic engagement officer (CEO) of Dr. Bronner’s. “Ensuring a healthier future for all of Earth’s inhabitants requires that we pull back the curtain on the cruel and inhumane practices inherent in conventional animal agriculture that contribute to climate change and the degradation of the planet. We are proud to support organizations working to create a world where the well-being of all animals is central to how justice, compassion, and sustainability are defined in society.”

Shifting Public Perception and Public Policy

Since 2016, Dr. Bronner’s has supported Farm Forward, a nonprofit organization that works to end factory farming and advance sustainable agriculture by developing legislation and regulatory tools to confront factory farming. Farm Forward raises awareness about such systemic problems as the connections between pandemics and industrial poultry farming; and the organization played a crucial role consulting with the USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service, which led to the USDA’s announcement on new regulations for claims like “humanely raised,” “free range” and “raised without antibiotics” on meat product labels.

“At Farm Forward, we are pushing for transparency in the meat industry,” said Andrew DeCoriolis, executive director of Farm Forward. “Through our investigations and research, we have demonstrated how meat companies knowingly engage in humanewashing by using deceptive marketing claims to trick conscientious consumers into purchasing meat and other animal products. I’m encouraged by the progress we are making in our efforts to hold the industry accountable through policy and legislative changes, as well as the increasing support of the public who express outrage upon learning that these humanewashed labels are intentionally deceptive.”

Restoring the Resilience of Marine Ecosystems

In addition to supporting organizations that work to reduce the suffering of farmed terrestrial animals used for food, Dr. Bronner’s is dedicated to supporting organizations that work to restore and protect the biodiversity of marine ecosystems.

Dr. Bronner’s supports Sea Shepherd Global, an international nonprofit whose mission is to protect marine wildlife and end the destruction of ocean habitats. In 2016, Dr. Bronner’s funded the renovation of a small vessel, subsequently named the MV Emanuel Bronner and unveiled in 2017. MV Emanuel Bronner is currently supporting Sea Shepherd’s Octopus Defense Campaign, patrolling Mediterranean waters to defend the habitat of octopus and endangered monk seals.

“The MV Emanuel Bronner has been essential to a number of important marine conservation campaigns around Europe, from the Baltic Sea to the Mediterranean,” said Captain Alex Cornelissen, CEO of Sea Shepherd Global. “Sea Shepherds Greece and Italy just finished a pilot program in the waters of Northern Greece where the crew of the MV Emanuel Bronner removed a record number of illegal octopus traps and freed hundreds of octopus. We have come to realize that the octopus needs our undivided attention. Octopus is one of the main food sources for the threatened monk seal, and reducing octopus poaching will have a big impact on the survival of both species in the Mediterranean.”

Growing the Demand for Plant-Based Foods

Dr. Bronner’s supports organizations that are working to meet and grow public demand for plant-based eating and living. Black Veg Society, a nonprofit organization working to address the health disparities occurring in Baltimore’s predominantly BIPOC community through plant-based education and events, has been a recipient of Dr. Bronner’s Animal Advocacy funding program since 2022.

“I started Black Veg Society 10 years ago to address the health disparities occurring in Baltimore as a result of systemic racism, economic imbalances, and a lack of access to nutritional foods,” said Naijha Wright-Brown, executive director of Black Veg Society. “Over the course of a decade I have witnessed an increasing desire for education and guidance on plant-based eating and living, and an increased normalization of veganism in my community. The health disparity gap in Baltimore has the potential to slowly close thanks to the work of so many community members, organizers, and funders like Dr. Bronner’s who see the positive ripple effect of plant-based diets and lifestyles.”

In addition to supporting organizations that serve the need for plant-based foods and education, Dr. Bronner’s also supports organizations that work to transform animal-based agricultural spaces. Since 2013, Dr. Bronner’s has supported the work of Animal Outlook, a nonprofit organization that challenges animal agribusiness through groundbreaking undercover investigations and innovative legal advocacy work. Animal Outlook offers a Farm Transitions program which provides a comprehensive blueprint for current farms that rely on animal agriculture to transition to plant-centered operations.

Creating Holistic and Multi-Species Community

Dr. Bronner’s supports organizations that approach animal advocacy through an intersectional, holistic lens wherein animal exploitation is explored through frameworks of anti-racism, gender liberation, anti-ableism, and more. Dr. Amie Breeze Harper, a Black feminist scholar and founder of the Sistah Vegan Project, serves as a thought leader in the animal advocacy movement. A recipient of Dr. Bronner’s Animal Advocacy funding since 2017, Sistah Vegan Project advocates for a future where humans and non-human animals can live a life free of suffering. Harper’s writings, lectures, and scholarship have contributed to building a larger, more diverse coalition for animal rights and social change.

Dr. Bronner’s also supports VINE, an LGBTQ-led farmed animal sanctuary based in Vermont, which works for social and environmental justice, as well as for animal liberation. In addition to caring for over 500 animal residents, VINE also engages in a variety of educational programs that explore the social and economic structural connections between animal exploitation and other forms of injustice. VINE models what a multi-species community looks like when autonomy and respect are centered. VINE was selected as a winner of the 2024 Spirit of ADA Award, in recognition of the organization’s outstanding work in hiring, training, and retaining people with disabilities as sanctuary employees.

“At VINE, we provide a blueprint for a multi-species community that can flourish through an ecosystem of respect and harmony,” said pattrice jones, co-founder of VINE Sanctuary. “Among the hundreds of residents that we care for and co-exist with, we have a robust community of diverse individuals who show up each day committed to the well-being of the residents as well as our local community. Since 2014, Dr. Bronner’s has been a partner in helping us nourish our unique community where agency is centered, vital values like empathy, respect for differences, and environmental responsibility are fostered, and where humans and animals can peacefully thrive without fear of exploitation.”