Join us at the Vegan and Animal Rights Conference (VARC), 20-22 March 2026 in Manchester (UK)!
Next week, the Vegan and Animal Rights Conference (VARC) returns to Manchester, bringing together advocates, change-makers, and movement leaders from across the animal advocacy community. The conference offers a valuable opportunity to align strategies, collaborate across organisations, and strengthen the collective impact of the animal rights movement.
As part of the programme, the PHAIR Society stream will feature two sessions highlighting cutting-edge psychological research highly relevant to vegan and animal advocacy.
Breaking Through the Backlash: Bias, Politics, and Effective Advocacy
Speakers: Sam Vellana (University of Edinburgh), Kristof Dhont (University of Kent), and Chris Bryant (Bryant Research
Chair: Maria Ioannidou (University of Kent)
Why does animal advocacy sometimes spark resistance, backlash, or outright hostility? This session explores the psychological and social barriers that can limit the impact of animal rights efforts, including anti-vegan bias, political identity, and cultural resistance. Drawing on insights from behavioural science, the speakers discuss why people push back against vegan and animal advocacy and what evidence-based approaches can help advocates navigate these challenges and become more effective.
How Children Learn to Love Some Animals and Eat Others
Speakers: Luke McGuire (University of Exeter) and Jared Piazza (Lancaster University)
Chair: Kristof Dhont (University of Kent)
Children often express deep care for animals, yet somehow grow up to accept their exploitation as normal. What changes along the way? Drawing on psychological science, this session explores how children’s moral views of animals develop and shift over time, and the factors that shape who is seen as worthy of care and who is not. The speakers highlight what this developmental shift means for understanding speciesism and why understanding these shifts may be crucial for effective animal advocacy.
Together, these sessions highlight how psychological and behavioural science can help us better understand social barriers to change and inform more effective strategies for advancing animal rights.
Register for VARC and view the full programme here: https://www.varconference.com/
If you’re attending VARC, we hope you’ll join the PHAIR sessions and connect with fellow researchers and advocates. We look forward to seeing many of you in Manchester next week.
PHAIR Society 