Mark Gold (activist)

Mark Gold (born c. 1953) is an English animal rights and veganism activist and writer. He has worked for Compassion in World Farming and Animal Aid, organised vegan events and is the author of four books on animal issues, a novel and two books on Wolverhampton Wanderers F. C. He is the founder of the charity the Vegan Compassion Group (formerly the Vegetarian Campaign Group).

Life and career
Mark Gold was born in Birmingham c. 1953 and studied English at York University.

Gold worked for Compassion in World Farming from 1978 to 1983, before becoming National Organiser. He was Director of Animal Aid for 12 years. In 1992, he directed the short film Their Future in Your Hands for Animal Aid. In 2017, Gold organised Animal Aid's three-week Vegan Festival of Britain. In 2021, he organised Exeter Vegan Market. He continues to work for Animal Aid and also works for Citizens Advice.

Gold has authored four books on animal issues: Assault and Battery: What Factory Farming Means for Humans and Animals (1983), Living Without Cruelty: Choose a Cruelty Free Lifestyle (1988), Animal Rights: Expanding the Circle of Compassion (1995) and Animal Century: A Celebration of Changing Attitudes to Animals (1998). The Observer voted Living Without Cruelty as one of the top green books of the period. In 2008, he published his first novel Cranks and Revolutions, which won praise from the British politician Tony Benn. He has published two books on Wolverhampton Wanderers F. C.: Under a Wanderers Star: Forty Pain Filled Years Following the Wolves (2002) and The Boys from the Black Country (2010).

In 1986 Gold founded the Vegetarian Campaign Group, to "promote the ideals and practice of vegetarianism as a means of advancing the mental, physical and moral improvements of mankind". It has been since renamed to the Vegan Compassion Group, and promotes veganism. The charity operates in the UK, Nepal and Ethiopia.

Personal life
Gold lives with his partner, Emily, and stepson, in Devon, close to Honiton.

Articles

 * "If Slaughterhouses Had Glass Walls", Animals: A New Ethics, No. 271, March–April 2012

Books

 * Assault and Battery: What Factory Farming Means for Humans and Animals (Pluto Press, 1983)
 * Living Without Cruelty: Choose a Cruelty Free Lifestyle (Green Publishing, 1988)
 * Animal Rights: Expanding the Circle of Compassion (John Carpenter Publishing, 1995)
 * Animal Century: A Celebration of Changing Attitudes to Animals (John Carpenter Publishing, 1998)
 * Under a Wanderers Star: Forty Pain Filled Years Following the Wolves (Offwell Press, 2002)
 * Cranks and Revolutions (Merlin Press, 2008)
 * The Boys from the Black Country (SportsBooks, 2010)

Reports

 * "The Global Benefits of Eating Less Meat: A Report for Compassion in World Farming Trust" (Compassion in World Farming, 2004)