Over 95% of the cruelty to animals in the United States occurs at the hands of the meat, dairy, and egg industries which confine, mutilate, and slaughter over 9 billion land animals each year.

Since our diets are the leading root cause of animal abuse, this is the best place to start helping animals -- by choosing kindness over cruelty every time we eat.

By adopting a diet free of animal products, you can spare the lives of dozens of land animals and countless aquatic animals each year. That adds up to thousands during a lifetime.

Of course, adopting new habits can be challenging at first. Although some people become vegan overnight, most people look at becoming vegetarian or vegan as a process, and take time to develop new eating habits.

To learn more about how to incorporate more vegetarian meals into your diet, explore ChooseVeg.com. This site has tips, recipes, videos, and everything else you need to help make the switch.

You can also order a free Vegetarian Starter Kit for additional tips and recipes to help you get started.

After you've been vegetarian or vegan for a while, you may notice that people start asking you a lot of questions such as:

• "Where do you get your protein?"
• "What will we do with all the animals if everyone goes vegetarian? Wouldn’t they take over?"
• "Don't you need to drink cow's milk for calcium?"
• Etc.

Sometimes, people are simply trying to justify their own eating habits by posing such questions, but other times people are genuinely interested in learning more. If it feels argumentative, gracefully end the conversation by smiling and calmly saying, "Thank you for your interest in vegetarianism. If you would like to learn more about it I suggest you visit ChooseVeg.com or read this brochure," and then hand them some pro-vegetarian literature.

However, for those people who are genuinely curious and interested in learning more, these conversations can be a wonderful way to help animals and share information.

Learning as much as you can about factory farming and vegetarian living is important. Not only will it deepen your own understanding of these issues, but it will also enable you to more easily inform others. But remember, you don’t need to be an expert to help animals. Just be honest, speak from the heart, and share with others why you're a vegetarian.

Most people have never been exposed to the idea of vegetarian or vegan eating before, and you will likely be the first person who shapes their idea of what vegans are like, so strive to be knowledgeable, patient, respectful, and joyful -- regardless of how unreceptive someone might be to you.

Finally, if people ask you health-related questions, it helps if you are healthy yourself!

VegNews has called Mercy For Animals one of the best "bang for your buck" charities. In fact, MFA is the first group to be named VegNews "Nonprofit of the Year" twice!

Please help create a kinder world for animals by becoming a member.

To become a member of Mercy For Animals, simply click here and make a donation of $15 or more. For $500 or more, you can join The Hope Society, named after a rescued egg-laying hen, whose inspiring story has opened the hearts and minds of countless people to the harsh reality of factory farming. Learn more about The Hope Society here.

As a member you will receive our bi-annual magazine Compassionate Living, our eye-opening Farm to Fridge DVD, and best of all -- the knowledge that you are making a positive difference in the lives of animals.

Click here to download MFA's membership brochure.

If you'd like to step up your giving, consider setting up a recurring donation from your debit or credit card. It's easy for you, it's automatic, and you will know you are making a difference in the lives of animals every month.

Or if you'd prefer to send a check, you can always send donations to:

Mercy For Animals
8033 Sunset Blvd, Ste 864
Los Angeles, CA 90046

Another great way to help animals is to leave a legacy of compassion by adding MFA to your will. In fact, there are tons of ways to support MFA's lifesaving work on behalf of farmed animals. Click here to learn more.

Volunteering or interning with MFA is a great way to become active in the national animal protection movement and to be a voice for farmed animals. Opportunities abound to get involved in national and local projects, to collaborate with other activists on campaigns, and for training in animal protection work. MFA currently offers volunteer and internship positions in New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, Dallas, and Columbus, OH.

If you would like to volunteer with MFA, please consider filling out our volunteer form or consider applying for an MFA internship.

These forms allow us to learn more about you, your skills, and what types of projects you're interested in, so we can figure out how to best incorporate you into the organization.

If you live near one of Mercy For Animals' chapters, we highly recommend that you join other members of Mercy For Animals at our public outreach events.

If you live outside of one of MFA's core regions, consider joining a local vegetarian or animal protection organization, or even starting your own.

Meetup.com is a good starting point, since the site lists numerous vegan and vegetarian "meetups" across the country. This is a good way to meet other vegetarians in your area and plan events.

Click here for a worldwide database of animal protection organizations.

If you have a website, Twitter account, or Facebook profile, consider adding a web banner or video to your page, or sharing MFA's blog posts with your friends and followers.

Video footage is the most powerful tool the animal protection movement has to expose the plight of farmed animals. Here are some ideas to expose people to the truth:

• Share MFA's eye-opening documentary Farm to Fridge on Facebook. Just click the "Share on Facebook" button found on MeatVideo.com. Also consider sharing on other social networking platforms, such as Twitter.
• Comment on web articles and blogs about factory farming with a link to MeatVideo.com.
• Email the MeatVideo.com link to friends and family.
• Embed the YouTube video of Farm to Fridge on your blog or website.

Place a link to MeatVideo.com in your email signature, exposing the truth behind meat, dairy, and egg production with every email you send.

For example:

One of the most effective techniques for educating others about the health and ethical benefits of a plant-based diet is distributing literature in public places with heavy foot-traffic.

A great thing about leafleting is the lack of preparation time required. Also, at the right time and place, just one person can hand out hundreds of brochures in less than an hour.

We recommend passing out 25 Reasons To Try Vegetarian brochures which you can order from the MFA Literature Store.

Another great idea is to take MFA's powerful new "Ask Me Why I'm Vegetarian" T-Shirt Challenge -- designed to spark crucial discussions about the ways animals raised for food are treated and our moral obligation to alleviate needless suffering.

Here's how it works:

1. Order a men's or women's cut "Ask Me Why I'm Vegetarian" t-shirt
2. Order a packet of 25 Reasons to Try Vegetarian brochures.
3. Wear your new "Ask Me Why I'm Vegetarian" t-shirt with pride.
4. When someone asks about your shirt, smile and give them a 25 Reasons brochure from the packet you've been keeping in your purse or backpack.
5. Have a friendly discussion about the reasons you went vegetarian.
6. Pat yourself on the back. You've just inspired someone to move toward a compassionate diet.
7. Wash your shirt.
8. Reorder literature.
9. Repeat.

That's it! By starting conversations and planting seeds of compassion, you'll be helping to spare countless animals unimaginable suffering. Simple. Effective. Vital.

Click here to order an "Ask Me Why I'm Vegetarian" t-shirt for $25. Your t-shirt order will include a free 10-pack of 25 Reasons brochures. Click here to order more 25 Reasons brochures.

While individual vegetarians save lives every time they sit down to eat, we can exponentially increase the number of animals we help by encouraging others to try vegetarian living too.

Since young people tend to be very interested in vegetarianism—and open to change—college campuses and concerts are particularly good places to leaflet.

Need some inspiration? Consider the math:

How many other activities can you think of that just about anybody can do, which can save at least one hundred lives in just a few hours?

For more info on leafleting, check out these leafleting tips:

• Tips for Promoting Veganism
• Tips for Successful Vegetarian Leafleting

Click here for a state-by-state listing of local advocates involved in vegetarian leafleting.

Narrated by Academy Award-nominee James Cromwell, Farm to Fridge is a short documentary film that takes viewers on an eye-opening exploration behind the closed doors of the nation’s largest industrial poultry, pig, dairy and fish farms, hatcheries, and slaughter plants. This powerful film has already been seen by millions of people around the world, inspiring many to ditch meat, milk, and eggs in favor of healthy and humane vegan alternatives. Here are some ideas for using Farm to Fridge to inspire even more change:

• Offer $1 to passersby on your college campus to watch Farm to Fridge and help inspire them to choose compassion! You can receive funding for Paid-Per-View events through VegFund. For everything you need to set up a "Paid-Per-View" event, click here.
• Hold a viewing party in your home with friends and family and be sure to have Vegetarian Starter Kits on hand! Provide vegan treats and hold a discussion afterwards. Use ChooseVeg.com for more information about animal agriculture and to get ideas for discussion topics.
• Invite a speaker to talk about animal rights and show Farm to Fridge. You can hold the event in your local library, school, university, place of worship, workplace or community center, and include a discussion after the film, too.
• Incorporate Farm to Fridge in your school presentation about animal rights.
• Rent a tabling spot at a local festival and display MFA literature while playing Farm to Fridge at your table with a laptop or TV.

If you're a high school or college student, consider organizing a campaign to get more vegan options in your school cafeterias.

Or if you're not in school, consider approaching local restaurants about carrying more vegan options.

Check out these resources below to get started:

• How to Veganize Your Cafeteria
• The Vegetarian Resource Guide for Restuarants

Don't underestimate the power of the pen -- or keyboard and mouse! Writing letters to the media, businesses, and legislators is a great way to speak up for animals.

Check out these resources below to get started:

• The Complete Guide to Letter Writing
• DawnWatch
• Animal Legal Defense Fund alerts
• Animal Rights Action alerts
• Humane Action Alerts