Celebrating 25 Years of Changing the World for Animals

Join us in celebrating our 25th anniversary

It all started in 1995, when a group of high school kids in Washington, DC formed a club called Compassion Over Killing to speak out for animals suffering behind the closed doors of animal-abusing industries. 

A quarter century later, we’re still brimming with that youthful ambition and passion. The spark that energized a high school club has evolved into a powerful, unwavering national force for farmed animals, strategically blazing a path for change that has brought about a multitude of meaningful and lasting advancements.

In celebration of 25 years of compassion, we kicked off 2020 by ushering in a new era: we changed our name to Animal Outlook.

And as part of our anniversary celebration, all gifts up to $125,000 will be matched – helping us raise $250,000 to fuel our next 25 years. Donate now to double your impact.

Now, we’re taking some time to reflect on all that you — your donations, your encouragement, your volunteer time, your engagement with our campaigns — helped us achieve for farmed animals.

We’re excited to share 25 impactful stories from our past 25 years, though we could have highlighted much more.

Our hearts are filled with pride and gratitude for what we have accomplished in these past 25 years, thanks to you. More than that, we’re excited about what we will accomplish in the next 25. And most of all, we are truly grateful for your continued support in our shared mission. Without you, none of our incredible work for animals would be possible. Thank you.

2005: Following Animal Outlook investigations and legal campaigns, the Federal Trade Commission ends misleading “Animal Care Certified” labels on egg cartons nationwide. Read more

2006: Animal Outlook’s investigation at Esbenshade egg factory farm exposed cruel treatment of hens and resulted in 69 total charges of cruelty filed against both the owner and manager of the facility. These were the first-ever charges based on the neglect of commercially farmed animals.  Read more

2009: Animal Outlook held the first annual DC VegFest in the nation’s capital–now 25K people strong. Speakers have included vegan nutritionist Tracye McQuirter, vegan athlete Rich Roll, retired football player and vegan activist David Carter, radio personality Robin Quivers and vegan chef Ayinde Howell. Read more

2009: Animal Outlook launched VegWeek with inspiration from U.S. Congressman Jamie Raskin. Over the years, VegWeek has inspired tens of thousands of people to take our seven-day VegPledge, 85 percent of whom have either significantly reduced or eliminated animal products from their diets post-pledge. VegWeek supporters have included U.S. Senator Cory Booker, actress Kim Elise, musician Belinda Carlisle, actress Daisy Fuentes, Olympic cyclist Dotsie Bausch and musician Mya. Read more

2010: Animal Outlook persuaded BOCA to go 100 percent egg-free, impacting millions of hens. Our efforts are now leading BOCA to move away from dairy too–toward an all-vegan line. Read more

2011: Quorn agreed to reduce its egg use by at least three million a year and Animal Outlook helped announce the U.S. launch of Quorn’s first-ever vegan product. The company has since expanded its vegan line internationally. Read more

2011: Prompted by Animal Outlook’s initial case research, a class action lawsuit unveiled a $9 billion price-fixing scheme in the dairy industry that involved killing more than half a million young cows. In 2016, consumers received a $52 million settlement. Read more

2012: Animal Outlook’s investigation of Central Valley Meat led the USDA to temporarily shut down the facility, which supplied meat for school lunches. Our investigation also led to federal enforcement of the Humane Methods of Slaughter Act. McDonald’s, In-N-Out Burger and Costco dropped the supplier. Read more

2012: Animal Outlook’s investigation revealing egregious cruelty at Cal-Cruz Hatcheries led to the rescue of dozens of ducklings, and the facility shuttered its doors after allegations of animal abuse were resolved, for the first time, by a lawsuit using the civil California Business and Professions Code. Read more

2013: After working inside Quanah Cattle Co., our investigator was charged with animal cruelty simply for reporting the cruelty she witnessed. Authorities later dropped the charges and she went on to win two prestigious awards. Our footage led to criminal charges for three former Quanah employees, all of whom pled guilty and were sentenced. Read more

2013: Animal Outlook President Erica Meier was inducted into the Animal Rights Hall of Fame. This annual award recognizes leaders in our movement who have spearheaded major advancements for animals in the U.S. Previous recipients include Carol Adams, Colleen Holland, Ingrid Newkirk, Joyce Tischler and many others. Read more

2014: CNN broke Animal Outlook’s investigation of Pilgrim’s Corp, the second-largest U.S. chicken producer. For the first time in 10 years, broiler chicken suffering was brought to light and the broiler farm was closed down. Read more

2014: In response to an Animal Outlook campaign, Dunkin’ started offering almond milk nationwide. In 2018, Dunkin’ confirmed to us that it’s testing vegan donut recipes and began offering a Beyond Sausage breakfast sandwich in select locations in 2019. And in 2020, Dunkin’ began serving oat milk nationwide. Read more

2015: In 2015, an Animal Outlook investigator worked inside Quality Pork Processors, a USDA-inspected slaughterhouse in Minnesota that exclusively supplies to Hormel, the makers of SPAM. This facility operates under a USDA pilot program that allows for high-speed slaughter and reduced government oversight. That means this facility operates at faster slaughter line speeds than almost any other facility in the U.S., killing approximately 1,300 pigs each hour. The recklessly fast slaughter line speed forces workers to take inhumane shortcuts that lead to extreme suffering for millions of pigs. It also jeopardizes food safety for consumers. In 2019, Animal Outlook joined six other animal protection organizations in filing a lawsuit against the USDA challenging the agency’s decision to reduce oversight at pig slaughterhouses and eliminate line speeds on slaughterhouses. Read more

2016: In the first investigative look inside broiler breeder factories, Animal Outlook exposed and got a criminal conviction for the common yet unknown practice of using “nose bones” — and we’ve since nearly wiped this out industrywide. Our video also drove the first trials for cruelty to broilers, the first convictions for cruelty to broiler breeders and first-ever conviction for a standard industry practice. Read more

2017: The New York Times broke Animal Outlook’s investigation offering the first hidden-camera look inside a U.S. lamb slaughterhouse. We exposed federal cruelty violations by Superior Farms, a supplier of the nation’s two largest food retailers, Walmart and Kroger. In 2019, we reached a historic settlement after filing a Federal False Claims Act Lawsuit; Superior paid and entered a consent decree with the USDA to reform their practices. Read more

2017: Animal Outlook formed the Plant-Powered Planet Protectors coalition, marching in DC and San Francisco (2018) to empower thousands to save the Earth with vegan eating. Read more

2017: With an empowering message that we all can choose kindness and inspire change, Animal Outlook’s short video, “Whose Side are You On?,” won a prestigious Tarshis Award. Watch video

2018: Animal Outlook investigators were on the ground — and in the air — in North Carolina, documenting how the devastating toll of Hurricane Florence was multiplied by destructive factory farms. Amidst dangerous flooding, they documented the heartbreaking aftermath: animals left to die, and huge factory farm waste cesspools spilling into waterways and heavily populated communities along the Cape Fear Watershed. Read more

2018: Animal Outlook’s shocking footage taken inside Maryland chicken slaughterhouse Amick Farms uncovered the horrors of high-speed slaughter of birds as the federal government allows more chicken plants to increase already dangerously fast kill line speeds from 140 birds to 175 birds per minute. The gut-wrenching video shows workers punching and throwing birds, as well as evidence that birds may have been scalded alive. On behalf of the billions of chickens slaughtered in the United States every year, Animal Outlook, the Humane Society of the United States, the Government Accountability Project (GAP), Marin Humane Society and Mercy for Animals sued the USDA over its reckless high-speed slaughter program in 2020. Read more

2019: Working inside Martin Farms, a Pennsylvania dairy factory farm that supplied Nestle, Animal Outlook’s investigator documented senseless and violent abuse of mother cows and their defenseless calves. This is some of the worst abuse we’ve ever documented, yet it shows practices representative of life for animals on a typical dairy farm. Upon learning of our investigation, Nestle immediately severed ties with Martin Farms and increased its vegan offerings. Read more

2019: A California judge ruled against the North American Meat Institute’s request for a preliminary injunction to temporarily halt the implementation of Proposition 12, an animal protection law, until the full legal case can be heard. The same judge additionally ruled that Animal Outlook and other groups would be allowed to intervene in the lawsuit to defend this historic law. Proposition 12 supplements prior California legislation that prohibits cruel confinement practices for egg-laying hens, pigs, and calves used for veal, as well as the sale of eggs derived from such practices. Read more

2019: Animal Outlook released the first-ever undercover exposé of salmon aquaculture in the U.S. Our investigator worked inside Cooke Aquaculture in Bingham, Maine, exposing senseless violence against the sentient animals at an industrial Atlantic salmon hatchery supplying Martha Stewart’s new True North Seafood line. And in 2020, we filed a false advertising lawsuit over Cooke’s claims of “sustainable” aquaculture. Read more

2020: After years of Animal Outlook campaigning with journalist Jane Velez-Mitchell, Starbucks confirmed it will offer a vegan breakfast patty on its U.S. and Canada menus this year. Read more

2020: Animal Outlook released a short video that provides a glimpse into a chicken’s life – if that chicken is unlucky enough to be born into the meat industry. Today, because of selective breeding and growth-promoting drugs, birds reach slaughter weight in just 45 days. Our video, composed of new investigations footage, shows that those 45 days are filled with misery regardless of whether the farm is “organic” or “free range. Birds are kept cruelly confined in small, dark, filthy sheds to later be denied food, water and protection from the weather as they are transported to slaughter in tiny crates. Watch video