Anders Bruce wrote his first book when he was only 10 years old. Three years later, Anders is still rocking the word processor with his third book, released just last month. When he’s not busy increasing the size of his bibliography, Anders spends his time leading animal rights campaigns in his middle school. Keep reading to meet this month’s Star Street Teamer.
Name: Anders Rains Bruce
Age: 13
Grade and School: Eighth grade at Mark Twain Middle School
You recently wrote a book about animal rights. Tell us about it.
Anders Rains Bruce The book is titled Animal Rights 101. It’s an intentionally brief introduction to the animal rights movement and covers the movement’s history, the food industry, the garment industry, animals in entertainment, vivisection, the pet industry, and habitat destruction. I kept it short (67 pages) so that a new activist or person who’s curious about animal rights can receive a quick education about the movement and be able to start getting active for animals ASAP.
Are you currently working on any new books?
Of course! I love writing, and I actually finished another book back in August and am currently looking for a publisher. It’s a parody of the fantasy genre called The Magician’s Rock, and I’ve already started working on its sequel.
What made you become a vegetarian?
When I was 10, my family visited the local Frying Pan Park (which doesn’t ever let any of its animals go to the frying pan, happily), which is a well-maintained petting zoo filled with farm animals. Before that, we’d visited, but I’d been too young to really make a connection. Now, however, I began to think of cows, pigs, chickens, and sheep not as abstract concepts, but as living creatures. At that point, I gradually transitioned over the next month into vegetarianism. I went vegan overnight a year later.
What was the turning point that made you decide to devote your life to animal rights?
The “Meet Your Meat” video is what gave me the drive to start educating others about animal rights. While I had been vegetarian before that, I had been quiet about my beliefs and only brought them up when necessary. After watching the video, I knew that I had to do everything I could to help animals.
Are you in any clubs?
Yes, I’m in Literary Magazine, and I started my own animal rights group, the simplistically named Animal Rights Association (ARA). The ARA is made up of 12 middle- and high-school-aged students. We recently collected 180 signatures for a petition to the school board to have more vegan options offered for lunch. They responded a few months ago, and while they didn’t make any changes, we now know that there are already quite a few vegan options offered at our school that we weren’t sure were vegan.
What are some proud animal rights moments/big campaigns you’ve worked on (changes, success stories, events organized, tabling, rescues, etc.)?
My proudest moment as an activist was when I convinced my friend Kristen to go vegan. That was really the first evidence that my AR campaign at school was starting to work.
How did you convince Kristen to go vegan?
I always carry around some PETA pamphlets in case an opportunity arises, and she was very willing to learn about animal rights. I gave her some of them, and she soon decided to go vegan.
What are some of the things that you’ve done that seem minor to you but would be a big deal to the average person?
While I’m sure this is true for every vegetarian/vegan, a lot of people are shocked that I’m vegan. “What do you eat?!” is the most common question I get from people with regard to animal rights, and I’m really surprised that so few people can imagine meals without meat. Conversely, not too many people cared about the ARA’s efforts to protect the cicadas from abuse during gym [class] back in June, sadly, but the cicadas were really important to me!
What actions did you take to protect the cicadas?
Well, there were a few other people in my gym class who liked cicadas, so we banded together. Whenever we found cicadas, we’d pick them up and carry them away from the rest of the students so they wouldn’t get squished. We also watched to see if people were abusing them and tried our hardest to stop instances of abuse.
What is your favorite animal rights activity (e.g., leafleting, tabling, demonstrating), and when was the last time you did that activity?
Distributing literature. I did this a week or so ago with some factsheets I wrote myself about Twain’s “chicken leg project.” The project involves mummifying a chicken leg and watching to see if it decays—pretty pointless. Luckily, the alternative of using an apple is easily available, and the factsheets encourage students to use apples. Out of the 10 I initially distributed, I’ve already heard from a few students that they’re going to use apples.
What is your favorite PETA leaflet and what is your favorite way to use it?
My favorite would have to be the “Question Authority” one. It is by far the most shocking and effective one.
What was your life like before you became an activist for animals?
Sadly enough, before I went vegetarian, meat was just about all I ate. Luckily, I’ve spared myself clogged arteries and gone vegetarian (then vegan a year afterward).
How did you learn about PETA2, and what made you get involved?
I found PETA2 from a link on PETA’s Web site. I got involved because of the wonderful message board; it’s great talking to my fellow activists!
What is your personal message to PETA2’s more than 40,000 Street Team members?
Ignore the ignorant people who feel the need to mock animal rights. I know a few people who let the taunts get through to them and quit being vegetarians, and I think that’s very sad. The obnoxious people are just saying those things because they don’t want to think about the truth.
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