Animal rights is a serious subject, but I do my best to find humor where I can, and I have some great help: there are almost two hundred cartoons included in the book, including dozens from the brilliant Bizarro strip.

Some of us seem to be born with a drive to try to make the world kinder.

Seriously, many people have told me they can't eat turkeys anymore after getting to know them. I think in the wider world, when the stories air on the media, they help banish the idea that birds, other than parrots, are somehow lesser.

I met my first turkey at an animal sanctuary in 2000. The sanctuary owner brought out a turkey named Olivia who had been rescued from a factory farm. As I sat on the grass and reached out to pet her, she climbed into my lap and fell asleep. I was flabbergasted and charmed.

Animal rights is a serious subject, but I do my best to find humor where I can.

It is important to meet people where they are. It reminds me of yoga, to which people may flock for the physical benefits, often to find that the spiritual benefits match or even outweigh them.

Because I am all too human, I don't always do the right thing, so how can I expect others to perform perfectly on the issues that are my top priority? I don't mean that we shouldn't try to do our best, but judgment and recrimination are such heavy weights. I find that accepting that we are all fallible lightens my load.

Many people will first be attracted to veganism for their health but find themselves far more open to learning about the animal issues when they don't have to block them out three times a day in order to enjoy eating. Then once people learn, it is hard to forget and go back. Come for the body, stay for the soul.

I am all too human, I don't always do the right thing, so how can I expect others to perform perfectly on the issues that are my top priority?

Mostly, I make sure to stay keenly aware of my own shortcomings so that I am more patient with others.

Remember that veganism is a compassionate lifestyle not a punitive religion. Enjoy it! And if the going gets rough, it's better to relax the rules occasionally than to give up the game entirely.

I wholeheartedly encourage any steps in the right direction, in whatever time frame works for the person on the path.

Indeed, a report from the United Nations has revealed that the livestock industry is the number-one contributor to global warming gasses - higher than even the transport industry. Plus, the effect of the livestock industry on our waterways and oceans is disastrous.

Caring for animals means caring for the environment they live in, and vice versa.

I don't understand animal people who say they are not environmentalists. Do they not realize that the vast majority of animals live in the environment?

Come for the body, stay for the soul.