Project summary

Picture a world where business, social, and religious leaders, members of Congress, and a majority of US Supreme Court justices are against animal cruelty. To get to that world, Allied Scholars for Animal Protection (ASAP) does the unsexy work of building influence, changing cultural norms, and laying the foundation for the eventual exercise of power towards a pro-animal world.

ASAP provides an orchestrated, unified, and sustainable infrastructure for animal advocacy at colleges and universities. Building ASAP chapters in the top 100 US universities will - for the first time - introduce a comprehensive nationwide framework for campus animal advocacy. We offer funding, training, mentorship and on-the ground logistical support to campus groups and leaders.

The Problem. Animal advocacy in colleges is often sporadic, impotent, and unsustainable, with each club having its own - mostly ineffective - approach. Students lack experience, support, and external mentorship. They graduate and the next batch re-invents the same (ineffective) wheel.

Our recent report on the state of animal advocacy in universities showed that there was virtually zero animal advocacy activity on college campuses in Spring of 2023 (see this Faunalytics summary of our report).

The Solution. ASAP is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit creating the next generation of leaders and highly influential animal advocates by empowering talented and passionate students.

What are this project's goals? How will you achieve them?

Our goal is to influence the culture and train the next generation of influential animal advocates in each field. Our strategy has three pillars:

1. Recruiting.  We ensure a strong presence of recruiting events on campuses to continuously find pro-animal students to join the local ASAP chapter.

2. Community, Education and Empowerment. We support students on-the-ground, guide the next generation toward impactful careers, and offer educational seminars. We turn students into animal advocates, and incorporate pro-animal education in universities systematically.

3. Accessibility. We mentor students to transform their college dining halls, champion inclusive menus, and make plant-based lifestyles more accessible.

Education:
We go beyond occasional talks and avoid preaching to the choir.

ASAP provides tailored education for diverse groups. Recently, we screened a documentary on religion and animal consumption to engage often-overlooked audiences.

Health misinformation, even in medical schools, is a major barrier to plant-based diets. To combat this, we bring top physicians and professors to teach about the health benefits of plant-based eating. These events are held at medical schools and undergrad campuses to influence future leaders, including policymakers and healthcare professionals.

Our events are widely advertised, drawing many non-vegan attendees. We also host sessions to inspire students already interested in animal advocacy to pursue impactful careers.

Menu changes:

By changing menus, we directly reduce animal consumption, make veganism more accessible to students, and lower barriers. We empower and mentor students to lead campaigns and drive change from within—a complementary strategy to groups that engage dining services directly. Without strong student advocacy, menu changes tend to be slow and marginal.

This week alone, we sent thousands of emails to ASAP universities urging them to adopt plant-based menus in response to urgent issues like the H5N1 bird flu and climate change.

What is your impact?

1. 20+ active ASAP chapters

2. 40+ documentary screenings in 2024

3. Dozens of well-attended speaker events

4. Tens of thousands of impressions for animal advocacy messaging each semester

5. Media coverage, including student newspapers, amplifies our events and spreads our message to thousands more students.

Each semester, we continue to inspire students to dedicate their lives and careers to animal advocacy and alternative proteins.

Example: this student at Sam Houston State stopped by our table with a bag of chick-fil-A and went vegan on the spot! She joined our ASAP chapter as an officer and is now doing animal advocacy.

Please see our impact yourself!

How will this funding be used?

Here’s a rough breakdown of what funds can accomplish at ASAP:

• $1 - two cookies to be given out at one of our recruiting tables = 2 conversations about animal protection

• $100 - editing one social media video which reaches thousands of people

• $150 - high-quality, eye-catching demonstrations or posters to advertise an event on campus = thousands of impressions

• $350 - sponsor a well-attended medical lecture or documentary screening = educating 20 - 100 students

• $500 - stipend for one of our student chapter leads, so that they can focus on activism as we expand to more groups!

• $1,000 - tabling supplies for a new chapter such as a table, tablecloth, table runners, posters, and brochures. Alternatively, we can purchase TVs and a battery to help students play farm footage in public with this amount, or sponsor a student to attend a conference to advance their careers.

• $10,000 - Sponsor in-person programming at 5 schools, reaching 20-35k students, hundreds of conversations, hundreds of posters and yard signs, and making animal advocacy impossible to miss.

Who is on your team? What's your track record on similar projects?

ASAP's founder, Dr. Faraz Harsini, is a movement leader, a biomedical and food system scientist, and is currently a Cultivated Meat Senior Scientist at the Good Food Institute. 

Given his background as an alternative protein scientist, over a decade of advocacy experience in universities, and extensive research on global challenges such as pandemics, antibiotic resistance, and chronic diseases, Dr. Harsini is dedicated to helping students leverage their careers to protect animals and transform the food system.

Our team has 200+ years of combined experience, including EA leaders and experts in campus dining services, medicine, policy, law, nutrition, and veterinary science.