SOMETHING EXTRAORDINARY IS HAPPENING AT THIS VERY MOMENT IN THE NETHERLANDS. There is a political party with two seats in the Dutch parliament. But it’s not what one might expect… Their agenda? To end the treatment of animals as economic product, to abolish factory farming, and to achieve a better society. The party is the Dutch Party for the Animals (PvdD), and it’s led by Marianne Thieme. Since co-founding it in 2002, she has spearheaded unprecedented breakthroughs— from the enforcement of stricter video monitoring in slaughterhouses to securing public funding for the development of meat substitutes. The party won two seats in parliament in 2006, after four years of campaigning. Not only have they influenced the other political parties in the Dutch parliament to become more animal-friendly, but their success has inspired the formation of 13 more animal parties around the world, including the United States.