How can we be an unstoppable force for animals?

PETA President Ingrid Newkirk—who was once arrested at a pigeon shoot in Pennsylvania after rushing onto the field to free the birds—spells it out in her Unstoppable tour:

“Sticking our necks out for animals can change the world.”

That was the message Newkirk—who also dragged a horse carriage through the streets of Mumbai and was bound and force-fed for a foie gras protest in London—brought to Fort Lauderdale, Florida, where she recently kicked off her international speaking tour and helped honor someone who has certainly stuck his own neck out for animals to good effect: Keegan Kuhn, co-director and co-writer of the acclaimed documentary Cowspiracy: The Sustainability Secret.

Kuhn received one of PETA’s top honors, the Nanci Alexander Activist Award, and on hand to present it was patron and founding member Nanci Alexander herself. Another mover and shaker, Alexander is also the founder and president of the Animal Rights Foundation of Florida and the owner of the award-winning gourmet vegan restaurant Sublime.

Alexander praised Kuhn for having “the courage and compassion of an animal rights and environmental activist” and pointed to his tenacity in taking the environmental movement to task for “glaring omissions” of information with regard to the major role that animal agriculture has in the climate-change crisis and how going vegan can help combat it.

“Cowspiracy,” Alexander said, “has inspired thousands—if not hundreds of thousands—of people to stop eating animals and stealing from them and switch to vegan meals and soy milk.”

If you’ve yet to see Cowspiracy, there’s a new cut on Netflix from executive producer Leonardo DiCaprio. And if you haven’t seen it, here’s an idea: Invite your friends over for a viewing party.