Vista, CA—As the eighth year of its philanthropy program to support efforts to end the exploitation and suffering of animals used for food comes to a close,Dr. Bronner’sannounced that since 2013 the company will have donated over $3 million to a variety of organizations working to expose and reduce the suffering of animals, while advocating for healthier and more sustainable food systems.

“The primary objectives of our animal advocacy giving program are to address the suffering of farmed animals, promote plant-based diets, protect wild ecosystems and marine life, and advance a greater understanding of animal rights in the U.S. and around the world,” said David Bronner, Cosmic Engagement Officer (CEO) of Dr. Bronner’s, in a press release. “Importantly, the factory farming of animals and the production of their feed is a leading cause of greenhouse gasses driving climate change. This model is also rife with human rights abuses of laborers. When we look at the big picture of how everything is connected, it’s clear that animal advocacy efforts are not only working to improve the lives of animals, but of all life on our planet as we collectively strive to mitigate climate change and adopt regenerative organic agriculture models globally.”

Since 2013, Dr. Bronner’s donation Animal Advocacy program has helped fuel policy change, establish multiple new organizations and sustain a host of others with critical resources, the company reports. Efforts from diverse groups address a variety of issues, including advocating for plant-based diets, passing laws against the cruel and inhumane treatment of animals, and ocean conservation and protection efforts.

Dr. Bronner’s made donations totaling over $525,000 in 2020, according to the release. Donation recipients by category, include:

National Changemakers:Animal Outlook Compassion in World Farming USA Encompass Farm Forward Good Food Institute Humane Society of the United States Plant Based Foods Association Sea Shepherd Conservation Society VINE Sanctuary

International Allies: Animal Equality Mexico Animal Justice Compassion in World Farming UK Sea Shepherd Global

Movement Builders:Black Vegans Rock Factory Farm Awareness Coalition FANG: Animal Rights Prisoner Support Our Hen House Poplar Springs Animal Sanctuary Reducetarian Foundation Sanctuary at SHO Sistah Vegan Project SUPERMARKT Vegan Outreach

The company added that its overall philanthropic giving has actively responded to current events, including "the global COVID-19 pandemic; increased social outrage at police and State violence against People of Color and the powerful growth of the Black Lives Matter Movement; and a nationwide election that clearly demonstrated American voters’ overwhelming support for drug policy reform." Additional core causes supported by Dr. Bronner’s include regenerative organic agriculture, criminal justice reform, drug policy reform, fair trade & fair pay, and community initiatives in the San Diego area.

Dr. Bronner's added that COVID-19 crisis is increasingly shedding light on systemic inequities such as access to healthcare and education, job insecurity and lack of basic income for working families, food insecurity and lack of affordable housing, as well injustices that confined animal feeding operations (CAFOs), otherwise known as factory farms, inflict on human workers—the press release points out that the number of COVID-19 infections and deaths continues to rise among CAFO workers.

“We know that the disproportionate number of COVID-19 deaths among people of color in the U.S.—especially Black and indigenous people—is significantly impacted by living in regions of ‘food apartheid,'" said Dr. Breeze Harper, Founder of the Sistah Vegan Project, in the release. "Such regions have dietary options that are heavier in animal products, saturated fats, refined sugar, and other processed foods produced by industrialized agriculture and factory farm systems. Limited and more nutritionally vapid dietary options, such as these, are major contributors to pre-existing health conditions, such as diabetes, hypertension, obesity, and heart disease, etc. This year should be a wake-up call for everyone to recognize that access to plant-based and organic foods for all is not only an animal rights or environmental issue, but a profound social justice issue we must address if we are to fight back against the economic inequities in our food system that harm people of color and those living in poverty the most.”

Another pressing concern discussed in the release: alarming natural disasters resulting from human-caused climate change. Dr. Bronner's noted that, given that meat production and consumption within the industrialized agriculture system is a leading contributor of greenhouse gas emissions, the company's animal advocacy giving program "recognizes that dismantling industrialized CAFO meat production and shifting food systems toward regenerative organic models is imperative now more than ever before, if the climate crisis is to be remediated."

“Marine wildlife is among the hardest-hit by human-caused climate change as sea creatures are disappearing at twice the rate of land-based species,” said Peter Hammarstedt of Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, in the release. “It’s imperative that we take action at every level—from protecting and conserving marine wildlife and ocean habitats; to ending ocean pollution and illegal fishing—to reverse the climate crisis. We’re grateful for Dr. Bronner’s support in this work, as Sea Shepherd continues to protect and defend those whose suffering is often invisible and ignored.”

In addition to this giving program and other philanthropic efforts in 2020, Dr. Bronner’s announced the launch of its All-One International Initiative, an umbrella program of the company and its distributors around the world to ensure that localized mission-aligned activism is a major priority in the international markets that Dr. Bronner’s products are sold in. The initiative includes animal advocacy as a core category, and in 2020 funded a variety of animal protection efforts in Canada, Germany, United Kingdom, South Korea, and Taiwan, among other countries.

“Support for animal advocacy is at the core of our philanthropic and activist agenda, and we are fully committed to this program, both at home and abroad,” said Michael Bronner, President of Dr. Bronner’s. “We are proud to continuously expand our philanthropic giving to reduce the suffering and exploitation of animals used for food. We encourage other like-minded companies who are involved in combatting climate change to join us in supporting animal advocacy efforts by opposing factory farming and promoting alternative food choices, in the shared goal of protecting all life on our shared planet.”

Michael Bronner, President of Dr. Bronner’s, added, “Support for animal advocacy is at the core of our philanthropic and activist agenda, and we are fully committed to this program, both at home and abroad,” said M. “We are proud to continuously expand our philanthropic giving to reduce the suffering and exploitation of animals used for food. We encourage other like-minded companies who are involved in combatting climate change to join us in supporting animal advocacy efforts by opposing factory farming and promoting alternative food choices, in the shared goal of protecting all life on our shared planet.”