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.