Big news: I’m now on Patreon.

If you visit Vegan Place regularly, you know On Their Own Terms: Animal Liberation for the 21st Century is in print. Through Patreon, you can fund the transfer of the book’s ideas into public advocacy.

Photo credit: Suzannah Troy

I’m committed to doing at least one presentation monthly.

Through public presentations, I am:

• Connecting dots for environmentalists.

• Painting a picture of a new human identity in relation to Earth’s other life.

• Showing how vegans spare animals from being turned into commodities—and how the commitment to becoming vegan can and does relieve the pressure on our whole global bio-community.

You can support this work of creation and outreach today, at my Patreon page.

Q. What is Patreon?

A. Think of it as a way to be a patron of the arts—in my case, the art of animal-liberation philosophy. And you don’t need to be rich. For the price of a cup of coffee each month, you can contribute meaningful support, as part of a community of funders.

Q. Lee, you teach law and legal studies. Aren’t you already supported?

A. I do animal-liberation work with no institutional support. I am an adjunct professor who, as many adjuncts do, also holds a retail job to make ends meet. Tenured and tenure-track professors are supported; indeed, most tenured professors receive high salaries, benefits, and substantial paid time away from the classroom so that they can do research, attend conferences, etc. But schools are in a race to the bottom when it comes to paying for instructional staff. Most of today’s college and university teachers are educated working-class contributors who—for equivalent work to that performed by fully paid professors—are drastically underpaid, and receive no time off for research and writing.

Q. So in effect, adjuncts are subsidizing the education of U.S. students! This needs to change. Right now, Lee, what work of yours can a “patron” support?

A. This quarter (through 2016), I’m focusing on achieving the ability to produce at least one educational presentation each month. Public presentations are vital to getting the word out about animal liberation, yet they require time I’ve lacked, given my schedule at the retail job. It’s simple: I can’t be in two places at one time. Your support enables my active presence in communities.

Q. So you believe Patreon is an effective way to support advocacy and policy work?

A. Yes, in this sense: Say you’ve considered giving to a nonprofit, knowing the group will direct your donation to a variety of things—very time-limited campaigns, executive and administrative salaries, fundraising, branding consultants and so forth—when your intention is to support focused vegan education. You might prefer a direct channel to fund an educator; and Patreon, which has developed a category for public educators, works well for that.

More questions or comments? Feel free to add them below.