The magazine was available free at restaurants and health food stores in
New York City and its content was eclectic, blending lifestyle articles with political and intellectual ones, and tackling both animal rights and social justice issues.[5][6]Satya was named for
Mahatma Gandhi's philosophy of
Satyagraha and its stated mission was to increase "dialogue among activists from diverse backgrounds and engaging readers in ways to integrate compassion into their daily lives."[7]
Authors
Pete McCormack[7] and pattrice jones[11] praised Satya's approach and articles. Legal scholar Gary Francione criticized it for focusing on animal welfare politics instead of
abolitionist veganism, which, according to him, is the only effective strategy to reduce systematic
animal suffering.[4] For their part, moral philosopher
Peter Singer and author
Bruce Friedrich wrote an article in Satya pointing out that countries with stronger animal welfare laws have also higher rates of
veganism and vegetarianism, and that their implementation has placed the issue before millions of people as important.[14][12]
^Laguardia, Cheryl; Katz, Bill; Sternberg Katz, Linda, eds. (December 15, 2006).
Magazines for Libraries.
R.R. Bowker. p. 529.
ISBN1600300960. Retrieved September 20, 2019. New York City-based Satya encompasses vegetarianism, environmentalism, animal advocacy, and social justice. Satya is not strictly an animal advocacy magazine, and articles are roughly equally divided between animal concerns and social justice issues. Satya presents many perspectives from the social justice, animal welfare, and animal rights communities, so the content is eclectic. Most articles are well written and provocative. Each issue of the magazine emphasizes a particular topic, such as activism in the workplace, veganism, or chicken. Interviews with activists are regular features. Vegan recipes, restaurant reviews, and book reviews appear frequently.