Ambassador Program / Ambassador Toolkit
for our ambassadors
Ambassador Toolkit
Start the conversation. Bring the facts. Let people decide. This is the working guide for Humane Choices ambassadors: what to say, where every number comes from, how to run a first activity, and what to do when a conversation gets tense.
Quick answer
The Ambassador Toolkit holds everything a Humane Choices ambassador needs in one place: in-person and digital activities step by step, post and email templates, how we talk, what to say when someone pushes back, sourced facts with notes on what each one does not say, and the awareness days worth planning around. It is public on purpose. The way we work is meant to be seen.
Last reviewed
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About the program
The Humane Choices Foundation advances public education in animal welfare. We share accurate, sourced material across six subject areas and build practical tools that help individuals, students and organizations understand how their choices affect animals, so they can reach their own conclusions and act on them.
What an ambassador does
- Starts conversations in person and online, using facts from this page.
- Runs in-person activities, such as an information table, campus conversations on camera, a screening followed by a discussion, or a classroom talk.
- Takes part in digital activities, such as sharing posts that follow our voice and tag us.
- Reports what happened, what worked and what didn’t, so the whole team learns from it.
How much time it takes
Most ambassadors give about 3 to 5 hours a month. If your school needs placement hours, you can agree on a bigger plan, anywhere from 30 to 60 hours over a semester, on your welcome call.
Start dates are flexible, and the first month is meant to be gentle. Pick the mix of in-person and digital activities that suits you. You can do one kind or both.
What we focus on
Farm animals
How farm animals are raised, transported and slaughtered, and how Canadian rules treat each stage.
The ocean
The state of fish stocks, how seafood is produced, and how much of the ocean is protected in practice.
Food, land and climate
How food production connects to emissions, forests and fresh water.
What we stand for
face to face
In-person activities
Your first activity doesn’t need to be big. A table with a handful of good conversations is a success. The goal is to start a conversation, not to fill a room.
An information table
Host a table in a busy common area and talk with people face to face. Plan 2 to 4 weeks ahead, stay for 1 to 2 hours, and do a one-on-one training with us first.
Campus conversations
Walk your campus asking short questions, with consent, on camera. It can be arranged with little notice, live or recorded, and is planned together with the team.
Information table: from idea to table day
Pick your date
Any weekday, at a busy time. The lunch hour works well, because more people walk past.
Tell the team
Post your proposed date, time and hours in the ambassador Slack channel. Wait for a go-ahead before you book.
Book the table
Reserve a spot through campus facilities in a busy shared space, such as a student centre, library entrance or cafeteria.
Get confirmation
Once facilities confirm your booking, post the confirmation in Slack.
Train with us
A short one-on-one session with a member of the team, so you feel ready for the questions people actually ask.
Table day
Arrive early, stay for the hours you agreed, and represent us warmly.
Choosing a date and booking the table
- Aim for at least a month ahead. Two weeks is the minimum, and only if your campus can book tables quickly.
- Decide how many hours you can stay. One or two hours is ideal, and we plan around your availability.
- Most universities have an online booking form, and each campus is a little different. Check with student services or facilities.
- Ask whether your campus requires outside groups to table through a recognized club or sponsor.
- Stuck on the booking process? Ask in Slack and we will help you find the right way to book at your school.
What your training covers
- Common questions. The ones you will hear most, and how to answer them clearly.
- Starting the conversation. How to approach people and open up a sensitive topic with warmth.
- Practice scenarios. Realistic situations, including tricky ones, to rehearse together.
- Talking points. A set of points and sources you can keep and come back to.
On the day
- Set up. Arrive 20 to 30 minutes early and tidy the table. Keep our companion presentation open on an iPad or laptop as your reference.
- Stay put. Be at the table for the hours you agreed, ideally one or two in a busy period.
- Engage. Greet people warmly, ask what they care about, and listen before you share.
- Capture. Take photos and short videos of your interactions, and collect contact details, only when people agree.
- Close with one next step: follow us, visit the website, or come to the next activity.
Afterward
- Post a short recap within 48 hours.
- Send the team a quick summary: how many people you spoke with, feedback, what worked and what didn’t.
- Log it in your report, and follow up with anyone who showed real interest.
Campus conversations on camera
Quick, friendly and easy to organise, with far less notice than a table. Choose a date, time and duration that suit you (short sessions work well), then tell the team in Slack so someone can be available. A member of the team can host it live, or you can film now and we post the videos later. That choice is made together, depending on how comfortable you are on camera.
Ask
“Do you care about the climate?”
Get consent
“Is it okay if we ask a couple of questions and record a video?”
Ask again
“Do you know what has the biggest impact on the climate?”
Share facts
Use the climate and water facts below. Lead with one picture, pause, and ask what they think.
Say thanks
One or two questions per person, then on to the next.
No clear yes means no recording. Thank them and move on with a smile.
Filming and photos: consent comes first
- Ask before you record, and wait for a clear yes.
- If someone says no or hesitates, stop and thank them.
- Check your campus rules about filming and approaching students, and ask us if you are unsure.
- Stay out of private spaces, such as classrooms and residences, unless you have permission.
- Only collect contact details when someone offers them freely.
People are far more open when they feel in control of the conversation.
Other in-person formats to try
- A short film followed by a facilitated discussion. Watch it all the way through first, and choose one that is accurate and not graphic.
- A classroom guest talk, framed as support for what the course is already covering.
- A shared food tasting with conversation.
- A panel with faculty, or a joint event with another club.
For any event, plan 3 to 4 weeks ahead, tell the team before you announce it, and post about it two weeks out, one week out and on the day.
from wherever you are
Digital activities
Digital activities can be done from anywhere, at your own pace, and they pair well with in-person ones. Use your own account, your club’s account, or a new account made for this role.
Share sourced facts
Post one fact from the facts section, with its source, and a question for readers.
Promote and recap
Announce your activities, then post a short recap within 48 hours.
Reach out by email
Invite classmates and ask clubs or offices to work with you.
Reshare our videos
When we post your recorded campus conversations, share them in your own words.
A few things work well: open with a question, share one fact with one human consequence, and cover one focus area per post. On Instagram, put your best line in the first 125 characters, before the “more” cut. Always use #HumaneChoice #MakeTheHumaneChoice and tag @humanechoice. Make every template your own, and copy it with one tap.
Introducing yourself
I’m now an ambassador for @humanechoice, The Humane Choices Foundation. This semester I’ll be sharing sourced facts about farm animals, the ocean and how our food is produced, and starting conversations about them. Most of us were never shown the full picture. Curious? Follow along. #HumaneChoice #MakeTheHumaneChoice #StudentLife
A fact about farm animals
Roughly how many land animals are slaughtered for meat each year? About 88 billion, according to UN data for 2024. That’s more than ten times the number of people on Earth. Where does that number land for you? #HumaneChoice #MakeTheHumaneChoice @humanechoice
A fact about climate
Food is part of the climate conversation too. The UN FAO estimates that livestock supply chains account for about 12% of human-caused greenhouse gas emissions. What surprised you most about that? #HumaneChoice #MakeTheHumaneChoice @humanechoice
A fact about the ocean
About 38% of the world’s assessed fish stocks are overfished (UN FAO, 2026). But most of the catch by volume comes from stocks fished sustainably. Both things are true. Which one did you not know? #HumaneChoice #MakeTheHumaneChoice @humanechoice
Promoting an event
[Event type] on [date] at [place]. We’ll look at [topic] using sourced facts, with plenty of time for your questions. Free, open to everyone, and you’re welcome to bring a friend. Details in bio. #HumaneChoice #MakeTheHumaneChoice #[YourCampus]
End-of-semester recap
Wrapping up my semester as an ambassador for @humanechoice. [X] events, [X] people reached, [X] conversations started. Small numbers I hope grow. Thank you to everyone who showed up, asked questions and pushed back. See you next semester. #HumaneChoice #MakeTheHumaneChoice
Email: reaching out to a campus partner
Subject: Working together on a campus event
Hi [Name], My name is [Your Name], and I’m a student at [Your University]. This semester I’m an ambassador for The Humane Choices Foundation, a Canadian animal welfare organization focused on public education about farm animals, the ocean and the environmental side of food production. I’d love to explore working with [Office/Club/Department]. A few ideas: • Co-hosting a film screening or panel discussion • Sharing a table at a campus sustainability fair • Sharing each other’s events on social media The Foundation provides educational materials and support, so this would be a light lift for your team. Would you be open to a 20-minute call this week or next? I’m happy to work around your schedule. Thank you for your time, [Your Name] Ambassador, The Humane Choices Foundation humanechoice.org
Email: inviting a friend or classmate
Subject: Invitation to [Event Name] on [Date]
Hi [Name], I thought of you for this one. I’m hosting [Event Name] on [Date] at [Time] in [Location]. It’s a [screening / tasting / discussion] with The Humane Choices Foundation, where I’m an ambassador this semester, and we’ll be talking about [topic]. It’s free, open to everyone, and runs about [X hours]. There will be plenty of time for questions, including the tough ones. Bring a friend if you like. Hope to see you there, [Your Name]
say it like a person
How we talk
Our tone is curious, grounded and warm. It is never urgent, apocalyptic, preachy, guilt-driven or superior. Most people are not indifferent. They simply haven’t been shown the full picture, and our job is to show it calmly and then step back.
Do
- Lead with curiosity and verified facts, not moral judgment.
- Treat farmers as people under real economic pressure, and as people we can learn from.
- Invite questions. Say “I don’t know, but I’ll find out,” then follow through.
- Use only the numbers on this page, with their sources.
Don’t
- Shame or judge anyone’s food choices, in person or online.
- Use charged words like “murder” or “torture” under our name.
- Round up, tweak or invent a statistic.
- Argue with critics in a comment thread.
Whose voice is it?
The more official the setting, the less personal opinion belongs in it. The more personal the setting, the more your own voice is exactly what works.
| Where you’re speaking | How to speak |
|---|---|
| Your personal account | Your voice. “I think” and “this changed how I see things” are welcome. |
| A club or Humane Choices account | Our voice. Approved facts only, no personal interpretation. |
| A casual in-person conversation | Your voice with our facts. Be a person, not a spokesperson. |
| An official event | Our voice. Stick to the focus areas and the sourced facts. |
| Comments and replies | Warm and brief. One fact, one invitation, then leave it. |
At the table: a five-step conversation
Tabling works when it feels like a conversation, not a pitch. You are not trying to convert anyone. You are handing them one fact to carry away.
Open
About 5 seconds. Create a moment of curiosity: “Hey, do you have 30 seconds?” or a single surprising question.
Share one fact
30 to 60 seconds. One fact, one human consequence, one question back to them.
Listen
As long as they give you. Respond to what they actually say, not to your next prepared point.
Offer one next step
About 30 seconds. One thing, not five: our website, a follow, or an upcoming event.
Close warmly
“Thanks for stopping.” Then let them go. Don’t follow someone who is already walking away.
When someone pushes back
Stay calm and open. Offer one acknowledgment, one fact and one exit. Take a small step back if someone escalates, and never crowd anyone’s space or raise your voice.
- “You’re trying to make everyone vegan.”
- “We’re not here to tell anyone what to eat. We share what the research shows and people decide for themselves.”
- “Farmers need to make a living.”
- “Completely agree. We’re not against farmers. Many are under real pressure, and good information helps everyone.”
- “Those numbers are wrong.”
- “I’d like to check before I answer. Send me what you’re seeing and I’ll follow up. Every number I use has a source and a year listed.” Then tell the External Relations Manager.
- “Plants use land and water too.”
- “They do. One thing the research shows is that a large part of the water behind animal products goes into growing their feed. I can show you the source.”
- “Food is expensive. I can’t afford to be picky.”
- “That’s a fair point. Cost and access shape what everyone eats. We share information, not a shopping list.”
- “My family’s food traditions matter to me.”
- “They should. We’re not asking anyone to change what they eat. We share how food is produced so people can decide with the full picture.”
- “Animals aren’t people.”
- “Most people agree that unnecessary suffering is worth reducing in any animal that can feel it. That’s where we start.”
- “I don’t have time for this.”
- “No worries at all.” Hand over our website, smile, and let them go.
- Someone hostile or disruptive
- Don’t match the energy. Say, “I hear you. This clearly matters to you.” Then step away and let the External Relations Manager know. Never escalate.
Ground rules for posting and speaking
- Introduce yourself as a Humane Choices ambassador, not as staff.
- Use #HumaneChoice and #MakeTheHumaneChoice, and tag @humanechoice when you post about us.
- Use only the facts in the sourced facts section, and be ready to name the source.
- Do not post graphic imagery under our name. Do not use AI-generated images to show real events, real animals or real statistics.
- Do not post party affiliations or candidate endorsements.
- Check with the External Relations Manager before announcing an event, partnership or plan.
- Look after yourself. This subject is heavy, and it is fine to take a break.
When something goes wrong
- If you post something that shouldn’t have gone out, delete it right away, then tell the External Relations Manager.
- If you get a hostile or threatening comment, take a screenshot, don’t reply, and tell the External Relations Manager.
- If a journalist contacts you, don’t respond. Forward the message to the External Relations Manager straight away.
- If you make a public mistake, be fast and honest inside the team. Credibility takes months to build and minutes to lose.
Your 30-second introduction
“I’m an ambassador for The Humane Choices Foundation, a Canadian animal welfare organization focused on public education. We share sourced facts about farm animals, the ocean, and how food production connects to the environment. If any of that sounds interesting, I’d love to tell you more.”
Short: “I volunteer with a Canadian nonprofit called The Humane Choices Foundation. We share sourced facts about how food is produced. Have you heard of us?”
Fact first: “Did you know roughly 88 billion land animals are slaughtered for meat every year? That’s the kind of thing we help people understand. I’m an ambassador for The Humane Choices Foundation.”
Story first: “I got into this when I learned [your own moment]. Now I’m an ambassador for The Humane Choices Foundation.”
the big picture
Facts you can trust
Every number below comes with its source, its year, and a note on what it does not say. If a fact isn’t on this page, please don’t use it. Ask us instead. The full, always-current list lives on our facts and sources page.
Farm animals
About 88 billion
The exact figure from UN data is 87.9 billion.
It counts animals from every kind of farm, not only intensive ones. It leaves out fish, and it doesn’t include animals kept for eggs or milk that weren’t slaughtered that year.
863 million
According to a compilation by Animal Justice.
This is a count compiled by an advocacy organization, not by a government agency, so credit it to them by name. It counts slaughter, not every animal alive on farms at one time.
Animal Justice, 2024 Canadian Slaughter Statistics 2024 data
Two layers of rules
Federal rules cover animal transport (Part XII of the Health of Animals Regulations, updated in 2019) and slaughter at federally inspected plants. Care on the farm is mostly set by provinces and territories, with industry and government codes of practice as the main reference.
Don’t say farm animals are “unprotected.” Cruelty laws apply everywhere. The codes of practice are described as voluntary guidelines by their authors, though some provinces build them into law.
31 kg per square metre
Up to 38 kg when certain conditions are met. For market-size birds of about 2.2 kg, that is roughly 14 to 17 birds per square metre, or about the floor space of one sheet of letter paper each.
The bird count and the paper comparison are our own calculation and assume a typical market weight. Conditions differ for other animals, and the code is a national guideline that some programs and provinces make enforceable.
Food, land and climate
About 12%
From the UN FAO’s 2023 assessment, which uses 2015 data. Cattle account for about 62% of those livestock emissions.
You may see older materials using 14.5% and “more than all transport.” FAO has since revised its estimate, and that transport comparison measures two different things. Please use 12%.
At least three quarters
Pasture for cattle alone accounted for 41% of tropical deforestation in one major study covering 2005 to 2013.
The three-quarters figure covers all agriculture, including crops and plantations, not only animal farming. The 41% figure covers the tropics only.
About 29%
Agriculture itself accounts for about 92% of humanity’s freshwater footprint. Much of the water behind animal products goes into growing their feed.
A water footprint includes rainwater taken up by crops, not only water pumped from rivers and wells. It isn’t the same as “water use” in everyday terms.
Mekonnen and Hoekstra, University of Twente; Hoekstra, ILRI talk summary 2013
83% and 18%
They also supply about 37% of protein. Picture it: of every six acres of farmland, about five go to animals or their feed.
The land includes pasture and the land used to grow animal feed. It compares calories and protein only, not overall nutrition.
Poore and Nemecek, Science, summarized by the University of Oxford 2018
36%, and 12%
Picture it: feed 100 calories to animals and about 12 return as meat and other animal products.
It covers crops, not grazing land. It describes calories, and animal products also provide protein and nutrients that the calorie count leaves out.
Cassidy et al., Environmental Research Letters, as reported by NBC News 2013
About 48 times
The water footprint of beef is about 15,400 litres per kilogram, against about 320 for vegetables. Picture it: one kilogram of beef is roughly 100 bathtubs of water (at 150 litres each).
These are global averages and they include rainwater taken up by crops and pasture. Figures vary a lot by region and farming system.
Mekonnen and Hoekstra (2012), Water Footprint Network, via the World Economic Forum
About 2.5 times
From an Oxford study of about 55,000 UK adults.
It is one study, based on UK food-frequency questionnaires. It shows how diets differ, not what any person should eat.
Scarborough et al., Climatic Change, via the Oxford Martin School 2014
Health
18% higher risk
The World Health Organization’s cancer agency (IARC) classed processed meat as carcinogenic to humans and red meat as probably carcinogenic. 50 grams is roughly one hot dog.
The classification reflects how strong the evidence is, not how large the risk is. It is a relative risk, not an absolute one. For personal advice, suggest speaking to a dietitian or doctor.
IARC press release 2015
The ocean
About 38%
The UN FAO’s 2026 report puts it at 37.6%. The share fished sustainably has been slowly falling.
The same report says 72.6% of the catch by volume comes from sustainably fished stocks, because larger stocks tend to be better managed. Both numbers are true. Share them together.
FAO, State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture 2026, as reported by Mongabay 2026
About 10%, and about 3%
About 10% of the ocean is formally designated as protected or conserved. Only around 2.8% is judged to be effectively protected. Governments have agreed to a target of 30% by 2030.
A line on a map isn’t the same as real protection. The 10% and 2.8% come from different studies, so say which is which.
UNEP-WCMC and IUCN; Marine Conservation Institute and partners 2024
51%
Farmed aquatic animals made up more than half of aquatic animal production.
It measures aquatic animal production only, not seaweed. It doesn’t mean wild fish stocks have recovered.
FAO, State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture 2024 2022 data
How we keep these facts honest
- Each fact is rechecked against its source at least once a year, and again whenever a major report comes out.
- If you spot an error or a newer number, tell the External Relations Manager. We would much rather fix it than defend it.
- If someone challenges a figure, you don’t need to win the argument. “I’ll check and follow up” is always a good answer.
mark your calendar
Dates worth knowing
Awareness days are a natural reason to post, host a table or start a conversation.
- March 22World Water Day
- April 22Earth Day
- June 8World Oceans Day
- October 2World Farm Animals Day
- October 4World Animal Day
- October 16World Food Day
- November 21World Fisheries Day
What you get in return: one-on-one support from the External Relations Manager, guides like this one, free ambassador courses, a growing network of student ambassadors, official ambassador titles that reflect your contribution, and a reference letter on successful completion of your commitment.
Ready to bring this to your campus?
Fill in the short online application. Questions first? Email us with the subject line Campus Ambassador Inquiry and we will help.