Compassionate Action for Animals (CAA) is a

Minneapolis Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...

-based animal advocacy non-profit focused on raising awareness on factory farming and promoting

vegetarianism Vegetarianism is the practice of abstaining from the consumption of meat (red meat, poultry, seafood, insects, and the flesh of any other animal). It may also include abstaining from eating all by-products of animal slaughter. Vegetarianism may ...

and

veganism Veganism is the practice of abstaining from the use of animal product—particularly in diet—and an associated philosophy that rejects the commodity status of animals. An individual who follows the diet or philosophy is known as a vegan. ...

History

CAA was formed in early 1998 in order to pursue "strategic nonviolence" as a path towards animal rights. This is a strategy based on the principles of non-violent action defined by

Gene Sharp Gene Sharp (January 21, 1928 – January 28, 2018) was an American political scientist. He was the founder of the Albert Einstein Institution, a non-profit organization dedicated to advancing the study of nonviolent action, and professor of pol ...

. These principles of strategic non-violence are reflected in CAA's current core values. The name Compassionate Action for Animals was adopted in May 1998. In June 1999, CAA became a 501(c)3 non-profit organization after merging with the Animal Liberation League, another local animal rights organization with a very similar approach and philosophy. In 1999, CAA began working on its Ban Battery Cages campaign, which culminated in the

open rescue In animal rights and animal welfare, welfare, open rescue is a direct action of rescue practiced by animal rights activism, activists. Open rescue involves rescuing animals in pain and suffering, giving the rescued animals veterinary treatment and ...

of over ten egg-laying hens from a battery cage facility, the first such rescue in the US. CAA's investigation and rescue campaign was based on a similar campaign which was first done by

Animal Liberation Victoria Animal Liberation Victoria Inc. (ALV) are an independent not-for-profit animal rights organisation incorporated in the state of Victoria, Australia, and are a registered charity with the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (ACNA). A ...

in Australia. CAA is active as a student group at the

University of Minnesota, Twin Cities The University of Minnesota, formally the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, (UMN Twin Cities, the U of M, or Minnesota) is a public land-grant research university in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States. T ...

campus, as well as at the

Macalester College Macalester College () is a private liberal arts college in Saint Paul, Minnesota. Founded in 1874, Macalester is exclusively an undergraduate four-year institution and enrolled 2,174 students in the fall of 2018 from 50 U.S. states, four U.S te ...

campus and in the larger Minneapolis-Saint Paul area. Its focus is on outreach, education and community-building events.

Activities and campaigns

* Outreach through tabling, leafleting, postering, pay-per-view video outreach, literature stands, writing letters and articles for publications, and more. * Working with community restaurants and university cafeterias to make vegetarian and vegan dining more convenient and available. * Organizing Twin Cities VegFest, an annual festival gathering together vegan and vegan-friendly vendors, animal advocacy organizations, speakers, cooking demos, and other programming. * Organizing the Twin Cities Vegan Chef Challenge, a month-long restaurant contest where participants rate vegan dishes. * Social events such as potlucks, movies, game nights and dine-outs. * Food giveaways to show how delicious vegetarian and vegan food is. * Hosting speakers who address animal, ethical and health issues Amber Schadewald
"Veg Week encourages meatless diets"
''Minnesota Daily'', 4 October 2006. . Retrieved 6 August 2007

Location

CAA has an office in the Whittier Neighborhood at 2100 First Ave South, Suite 200, Minneapolis, MN 55404.

References

{{reflist

External links

CAA's homepage

CAA's worldwide guide to veg-friendly dining and shopping

Contact information
Animal rights organizations Organizations based in Minneapolis Organizations established in 1998 Animal welfare organizations based in the United States 1998 establishments in Minnesota