What if the key to a just and fair world lies in understanding the deep connections between animals, people, and the planet? Meet one of the Farm Animal Coaltion’s member organizations, Samayu, a dynamic movement of passionate individuals and organizations committed to transforming this vision into reality. Samayu believes true justice requires recognizing and nurturing these connections—creating a world where all beings can thrive.
Curious about how they’re driving change and inspiring others to join the cause? Read on to uncover the unique work of this trailblazing organization and how it’s redefining what it means to care for all life on Earth.
Who is Samayu?
Samayu is a pioneering organization working at the intersection of animal welfare, sustainable agriculture, and public health, to transform the Indian food system. Samayu strives to address critical issues such as environmental pollution, public health challenges, and farmer welfare, all while advancing the interests of animals within food systems.
Through evidence-based policy advocacy, consumer outreach, and cross-sectoral collaboration, Samayu aims to integrate animal interests into broader societal challenges like climate change and creating a just and sustainable world for all.
What is Samayu about?
Transforming India’s Food Systems through Policy Innovation
Samayu is leading a transformative change in India's food system by advocating for policy reforms and practical solutions that improve the well-being of farmed animals and to encourage plant-based diets. Samayu has collaborated with the Andhra Pradesh Government, located in the southeastern coastal region of India, to contribute to the One Health policy related to animal agriculture. This collaboration impacts over 108 million birds and 425 million fish in the state. Their efforts have led the government to draft guidelines on Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR), a crucial step in improving the living conditions of birds and animals and promoting public health.
Similarly, in Madhya Pradesh, a centrally located landlocked state, Samayu is working on the implementation of One Health One Welfare (OHOW) practices in the poultry and inland aquaculture sectors. This initiative impacts over 16.6 million poultry birds and 92.5 million inland farmed fish by addressing critical issues such as disease monitoring, water quality, and sustainable farming practices. These policy advancements are laying the foundation for healthier animals, improved public health outcomes, and reduced environmental impacts.
Samayu has engaged with more than 100 farmers across these two states, conducting Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) and baseline surveys to ensure that on-ground changes reflect policy advancements. Their work has fostered partnerships with premier academic institutions, industry stakeholders, and experts, building a strong ecosystem to support evidence-based policy work and sustainable farming.
Samayu’s contributions to knowledge-building through credible research publications and data-driven dossiers have reinforced the importance of the One Health concept as a solution to unsustainable farming practices. This comprehensive approach is helping address pressing concerns for animals, people, and the planet.
Transforming the Vegan Landscape
Samayu is also pioneering India's vegan movement through innovative outreach strategies that harness the power of non-animal organizations to reach a broader, more diverse audience. By collaborating with organizations beyond traditional animal-focused advocacy, Samayu has successfully expanded their reach and effectiveness in promoting plant-based diets.
Samayu’s Food & You 2.0 campaign is reshaping dietary habits in India through a blend of online and offline engagement strategies. Between May and July 2024, they organized 42 impactful events that reached over 13.2 million people, both digitally and in person, securing 35,239 dairy-free pledges. This shift in dietary preferences not only reduces the demand for animal products but also promotes healthier lifestyles, reduces environmental impact, and improves animal welfare.
In collaboration with seven government schools, Samayu’s Plant-Powered Days initiative successfully replaced 72,000 servings of milk and 72,000 servings of eggs with plant-based alternatives over the course of a year. This transition is not only contributing to improved health outcomes for students but is also reducing the environmental footprint of school meal programs and driving down the demand for animal products.
Samayu has launched several community-building initiatives aimed at supporting individuals transitioning to plant-based diets. In partnership with Ubuntu, Samayu organized 56 Vegan Potlucks across eight cities, bringing diverse groups together to celebrate and explore vegan cuisine. These gatherings provide a supportive environment for individuals making the shift to a plant-based lifestyle.
Samayu has also partnered with five nutrition specialists to offer tailored advice to participants and is running a WhatsApp community to engage with individuals in their journey towards veganism. By offering ongoing support and personalized guidance, they are helping people make informed, sustainable choices that benefit their health, the environment, and animals.
To extend their message even further, Samayu has communicated their campaign in six distinct languages, allowing them to break linguistic barriers and reach new, previously untapped audiences.
What makes Samayu the organization of the month?
Samayu's leadership in advancing intersectional thinking to mainstream animal interests in India’s food systems, with their work on One Health and One Welfare and plant-based diets as central pillars, has earned them recognition as the Organization of the Month by the Asia for Animals (AfA) Farm Animal Coalition. By advancing holistic policies that align food production and consumption with sustainability and health, Samayu is contributing to a future where food systems are both resilient and equitable. Aside from the amazing campaigns and events mentioned above namely Food & You 2.0 Campaign promoting healthier, more sustainable food choices, which are vital to reducing environmental strain and improving public health outcomes; Plant-Powered Days demonstrating how even small shifts in institutional food systems can contribute to broader dietary changes, improved student health, and reduced environmental impacts; and Vegan Potlucks fostering long-term community engagement and helping individuals feel supported in their lifestyle transitions, the highlights of their work expand to:
Poultry: Secured agreement on implementation of One Health One Welfare concept, policy reform, and intersectional stakeholder engagement with special emphasis on government, academia and farmers, for high welfare farming practices potentially affecting around 125 million birds in Andhra Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh.
Aquaculture: Initiated on-ground implementation of the OHOW project in the aquaculture sector of Madhya Pradesh involving over 150 intersectional stakeholders including the government departments, policymakers, premier academia, farmer-organizations and individual farmers, other sectoral key players, etc. aiming to revive key limnological parameters of pond water (pH, DO, BOD, COD, Nitrate, Nitrite, EC etc.) for improved living conditions and strict disease monitoring, pollution check, etc., so as to bring in high-welfare oriented farming practices in the sector affecting around 92.5 millions of inland farmed fishes in the state.
On-ground Policy Progression: In pursuance of the submitted joint representation letters i.r.o. poultry and inland aquaculture sectors, and on the basis of outcomes from three Niti Panchayats (farmer policy meets) conducted in two states, involving more than 55 inland fish farmers, government officials, NGOs and frontline workers, noticeable policy progression was undertaken with the state governments of Andhra Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh, highlighting the policy gaps and reform areas in the existing policy scenario as well as recognizing One Health concept in the inland aquaculture sector of Andhra Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh.
Research and Evidence Building: To add more credibility to the ongoing endeavors in poultry and inland fish farming to resolve various concerns pertaining to improved animal health and husbandry, environmental impact and human welfare, Samayu is continuing to undertake focused research programs (both desk and field-based) in order to resolve them under One Health framework.
Educational Workshops and Cooking Demos: Samayu’s workshops and cooking demonstrations, conducted in schools and colleges, are designed to spread the message of veganism and motivate the students to take part in our 21-Day Dairy-Free Challenge. By engaging students in a hands-on learning experience, Samayu is not only raising awareness but also equipping individuals with the knowledge and skills they need to make informed dietary choices. To ensure continuous engagement, Samayu runs a WhatsApp community, where participants can share their experiences, ask questions, and receive ongoing support.
Movement Building and Sectoral Stakeholder Engagements: Noticeable growth was achieved in the movement building by the establishment of strategic partnerships with various key government departments, academic and research institutes, NGOs, and other international collaborators such as the AfA Policy Coalition and Statistics Without Borders to gain support for our work to advance animal interests, along with securing health well-being of humans and the environment.
Samayu’s work is central to the sustainable transformation of India’s food systems, placing plant-based diets and intersectional frameworks like One Health at the heart of this transition. By embracing holistic approaches such as One Health One Welfare, Samayu is not only fostering healthier ecosystems and communities but also contributing to a future where food production is more sustainable, equitable, and aligned with the well-being of all stakeholders—both locally and globally.
Learn more about Samayu, and stay connected by following them on social media and by subscribing to their 21 Day Dairy Free Challenge!
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