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News & Announcements
Here is some of the backlog from the past
few weeks. Feedback is at the bottom.
Sorry about our site being down for so long.
You can thank our good friends at our former host Aletia
for their prompt
and courteous service.
"Stereotypes of teenagers range from lackadaisical slackers
to juvenile delinquents, with the vast majority uneasily balancing
somewhere in between. Challenging time worn standards of behavior
is a required rite of passage for teens on their perilous journey
to adulthood, providing fertile ground for vegan advocates preaching
the gospel of veganism. In short, there is a natural intersection
where education extolling the benefits of vegetarianism meets the
adolescent desire to blaze one’s own trail....
"Viva!USA, along with
Vegan Outreach and the financial support of Animal Rights International,
initiated a campaign on April 5 to reach out to students at 56 high
schools in 24 U.S. states and five schools in Canada. Students were
given Vegan Outreach’s Why Vegan? pamphlets and Viva!’s
leaflets—geared specifically towards students—about pigs
on factory farms. The groups plan to coordinate national efforts
to target students at least once more this year...."
Thanks to all those who took part in this
event – we hope you met with success! If you have any comments,
feedback, or suggestions for the future, please pass
them along to lauren. If you have pictures of activists using
our literature, please send copies to us (211 Indian Dr.; Pittsburgh,
PA 15238), which we will also share with Viva!
New
Stickers Available!
We are now selling these new stickers for 50¢. Once we can
get caught up, you will be able to order them from our
website.
"When 8-year-old Peirce Marston told his mother that he didn't
want to drink his milk at Highland View Elementary School in Silver
Spring because it gave him stomachaches, she started researching
how a growing number of children in the United States have trouble
digesting cow's milk.
"The solution seemed obvious to her: offer the students soy
milk.
"'Even Starbucks has soy now,' Julia Marston said. 'I thought
the schools would certainly be getting it soon.'
"But they won't. While many school systems would like to offer
soy milk as a choice, the U.S. Department of Agriculture won't reimburse
them for it except in cases of medical need. Cow's milk is required
by law as part of the federally assisted meal plan, which some school
systems depend on for more than half of their cafeteria funds...."
While many groups, COK included, have been conducting vegan feed-ins
using burgers for years, NYC activists have generally done feed-ins
with vegan "chicken" nuggets instead. As an experiment,
COK tried this out in D.C. recently and found the experience to be
even better than using burgers!
KFC patrons who tried the nuggets were, in general, much more impressed
than fast food customers who have been given vegan burgers in the
past. One possible explanation could be that most Americans know
that veggie burgers exist, while few know than vegan "chicken"
nuggets do.
Learn more!
From Columbus Dispatch
(registration required); see also Editorial
"More than $1 million in fines failed to stop Buckeye Egg
Farm from unleashing fly swarms of "biblical proportions'' that
plague nearby homes and schools.
"Threatening to throw the company's owner in jail didn't work,
either.
"Faced with another round of resident complaints, the Ohio
Environmental Protection Agency today will announce that it's revoking
Buckeye Egg's state permits, setting in motion a process that could
eliminate one of the nation's largest egg producers and rid Ohio
of one of its most- persistent polluters."
Note from Bruce G. Friedrich
"AnimalRightsStuff.com
has a new t-shirt that reads 'Ask
me why I'm vegan.' I have now worn it three times, and every
time, people do in fact ask me. It is wonderful.
"My previous favorite shirts, from Vegan Outreach and Vegan
Action, elicited occasional questions and discussions, but usually
from other vegans. This one is my dream come true: Even the people
who don't ask me have to ponder the question to decide if they want
to ask, so they have an internal discussion of veganism.
"I carry Why Vegan
and PETA's 'Vegetarian Starter Kit' and give them to people who respond
to the shirt. So far, all but one has accepted the literature. Even
the one guy who didn't want the literature (he was a bartender and
was working) listened attentively and then came over to the table
where I was eating and told the group of us that he would be vegetarian
the next time we came to the restaurant. Get one!"
Note – after we sell out of our current batch,
Vegan Outreach will no longer carry
shirts.
Feeding antibiotics to cattle and chickens can lead to drug-resistant
bacteria in people, according to a new report. NPR's Richard Knox
reports.
Nothing to beef about, court says of butcher's sentence
Chicago Daily Law Bulletin, December 12, 2001
A USDA officer conducting a random inspection at Helmos Food Product
Inc. caught the meat wholesalers "red-handed" when he discovered
extremely unhygienic and unsafe conditions at the warehouse. Some
of the meat and poultry was labeled with expiration dates from past
years. Other meat was sitting around unpackaged and covered with
feces resulting from a severe rodent infestation in the building.
All the products in the warehouse were sitting below a canopy of
black mold growing on the ceiling. To add insult to injury, Helmos
employees refused to comply with the officer, throwing the meat away
when the officer tried to take photos, and continuing to sell the
tainted stuff behind the officer's back, even after a seizure order
was declared. Later that day, the owner finally closed the warehouse,
but not soon enough to avoid a judge's 2 year sentence and a $50,000
personal fine, and a $250,000 fine to his business. The court noted
that eating meat or poultry might not be such a good idea, with Judge
Terence Evans venturing that the number of US vegetarians would skyrocket
if the public found out about the case. Understandably, Judge Evans
recommended that future court dinners should be sure to include lots
of vegetables and tofu burgers.
"Reflex's joyous 1983 song, 'The Politics of Dancing,' celebrates
'the politics of feeling good.' It would make a good anthem for veganism,
a lifestyle free of animal products. Paralleling our growing knowledge
of animal abuse in factory farms and the havoc these systems wreak
upon the environment, light has come on the horizon: positive and
heartening books on veganism have been published in the past few
years….
"We all pause before making any radical and challenging change.
While it is easy to envision living with microfiber shoes, herbal
shampoos and cotton canvas briefcases, most of us have no desire
to dine on sad platters of lettuce and soybeans masquerading as hot
dogs. Recent cookbooks, however, have brought fresh air to vegan
cooking, changing its reputation from an ascetic, politically correct,
grim regime to one of savory beauty...."
"Vegan" question on "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire"
The $32,000 question on an episode of ABC's "Who Wants to Be
a Millionaire" was: "What food would a vegan not eat?"
A. grapes
B. carrots
C. tofu
D. cheese
The correct answer was, of course, E.
The
BK Veggie Burger.
From the Mailbag
I have within the past several months come
across several unique individuals who have decided to lead a Vegan
life-(style)-path. While I think it is wonderful for people to
lead product lives and have a unique-ness about them; I also believe
that imposing one's chosen beliefs/lifestyle/culture on another
child of our Mother Earth, Gaia, is wrong and hurtful...
Dear Friend,
At its heart, Vegan Outreach is about freedom
– the freedom from having your life dictated by another's beliefs.
Billions of animals suffer terribly because we impose on them a desire
for their flesh.
Until we learn to respect all sentient beings,
there can't be peace on earth.
From Germany:
More than three-quarters of all egg-laying hens in Germany are kept
in cages. The government recently declared the farming practice in
violation of animal protection laws and decided to ban all hen cages
by 2012.
"[S]cientific evidence suggests that Huber is misinterpreting
the sounds of his hens. The EU Scientific Veterinary Committee found
that caged hens suffer intensely and continuously. Cannibalism, heart
attacks and broken bones are just a few of the symptoms scientists
have linked to the cages. They say caged hens are not only inhibited
in their movement, but in virtually all other aspects of hen behavior.
"In the new cages, hens have 300 square centimeters more space
than in the old ones. That's about the size of three dollar bills.
And the modifications have a mere alibi function. Cannibalism, for
example, increases. That's because the hens have more room to attack
each other, but not enough to escape. Basically, a cage is a cage."
From New Zealand:
"It is hard to erase the image of the tragic looking battery
hen that I found myself holding last week at the launch of the SPCA's
campaign to have the battery cage banned.
"It wasn't just that this chicken had lost a lot of its feathers.
Or that its beak had been burnt off. It was the skin damage and raw,
red patches all over its body that shocked me so much.
"The skin under this chicken's neck was raw, red and festering
- presumably as a result of having to poke its neck through a wire
cage to feed from a central feeding trough. There were raw red patches
all over its body, due to the constant rubbing against other birds
and the sides of her cage.
"This sad looking hen was a typical battery hen from a Wellington
battery farm. Depending on how you look at it, this chicken was lucky
to have lived so long. It was 18 months old. Typically battery hens
are exhausted in one year and are slaughtered and replaced at that
point."
"Virginia agriculture officials have ordered the destruction
of nearly 300,000 turkeys and chickens in the Shenandoah Valley that
have contracted avian influenza, the virus's first major outbreak
in the state in two decades and one that has left farmers and veterinarians
mystified...."
Off the Wires
McDonald's to Begin Importing Beef
"McDonald's is joining Burger King, Wendy's and other fast-food
chains in buying beef from overseas, citing a shortage of the U.S.
meat that's lean enough to make their burgers.
"'The supply just isn't there,' said McDonald's Corp. spokesman
Walt Riker.
"For now, McDonald's is testing the imported beef in about
400 of its 13,000 U.S. restaurants, all in the Southeast. Customers
won't know the difference, he said. 'We're running a small test using
some beef that is top quality.'"
Books Available for Review
We have the following books available for
review:
- A Vegan Taste of Italy
- A Vegan Taste of the Caribbean
- Vegan Baking
- Vegan Cooking for Everyone
Contact
us if you would like to review one of these. You keep the book.
Vegans rarely like to admit to the
positive
aspects of fast-food burgers....
Feedback
When I read Why Vegan for the first
time, I was stunned at the enormous numbers of animals that were
being consumed in the U.S. The pictures were frightening – but
mainly in a persuasive way. When I first picked up the flyer, I
was a full-blown carnivore, without any intention of becoming vegetarian.
But amazingly, flipping through those pages really made me consider
what I was eating and how it was affecting everything around me.
It was at that moment that Idecided to try it, maybe just for one
day, because reading Why Vegan made me realize that only
one day could make a huge difference. Now, I am "sucked in"
to the battle against animal and land destruction as a "full-blown
vegetarian." Whether it's passing out flyers to interested
friends or taking a visit to Farm Sanctuary, I have really found
a place in the ongoing movement of animal rights. Not only am I
helping save animals and the enviroment, I am also leading a much
healthier lifestlye, one that, until now, i never really knew existed.
SO (age 14) , Oakland, CA, 4/24/02
Thank you for all that you do! You have
revitalized my faith in the animal rights movement.
KS, Amarillo, TX, 4/23/02
Please send me a Vegan Starter Pack. I
read your Why Vegan? booklet and I was so overwhelmed that
I immediately declared myself at least a vegetarian and probably
soon to be a vegan.
Thanks so much for the work you're doing. It's so important! Thank
you!
SB, Sacramento, CA, 4/22/02
In 1995, I learned the truth about our food
and how animals are treated from Why Vegan. Since that day I have
not stopped thinking about what I learned from your organization.
Truly, my life changed - I began a vegetarian, I joined environmental
groups, and now I am working on my BA in hopes that once I graduate
I can work to better the environment (including animal rights).
Thank you for telling the truth.
SK, 4/19/02
Thank you for all the work you do; I've
been following VO since the mid-1990s, and you continue to produce
thoughtful, articulate materials. Thank you!
RS, Washington, DC, 4/18/02
Damn, your texts about advocacy for AR are
so brilliant! I work for an AR organization in Sweden, and I'm
doing an activist manual right now, so you have given me a lot
of new thoughts and insights! Keep
up the magnificent work! A big vegan cake to all you people at
Vegan Outreach!
SM, 4/18/02
I think that Why Vegan is the greatest
tool possible. I will do my best to support you as best I can.
PC, East Hartford, 4/14/02
I'm writing you from Chile. I tell you:
I received this Why Vegan pamphlet and I'm very impressed. My friends
and I are doing a liberty fair project and on the side, we'd like
to include a vegetarian theme and would like to know if we can
get more copies of this pamphlet in order to circulate it through
the city.
D, 4/13/02
I recently was given a paper to compose
in regards to your Why Vegan brochure. I must say that I
am truly disgusted by its contents. I just wanted to let you all
know that you are. I have never been so disgusted by my species.
Where are our hearts? Who do we think we are? I am truly saddened
in myself for essentially contributing to this by eating meat.
Animals are my inspiration and I am horrified that the things pictured
are being done to them. I think that using this material would
really open peoples eyes; as it has mine. I am so disappointed
in myself for being ignorant to the reality you have exposed me
to. I just wanted to let you know that I appreciate people like
you. keep up the good work. God bless you and the animals.
JM, Fresno, CA, 4/12/02
I just wanted to say thank you (again) for
the Vegan Spam emails... I look forward to reading them (when I
get around to checking my emails).....I've been vegan for over
two years after being vegetarian for four...I have a very busy
life and after awhile its hard to keep seeking out the newest in
animal rights news and just general thoughts on the subject...your
emails help out alot...all the articles are very well thought
out and are full of heart...
DM, 4/9/02
Thank you for your outstanding work toward
creating a more humane and non-violent world. I am a community
college instructor and distribute your pamphlets in some of my
classes. As a result, many of my students reduce or eliminate the
consumption of animal products.
CW, Chico, CA, 4/8/02
Thank you for the tape Meet your Meat. I
show it to all my customers, and it has made a real difference
in their lives.
EA, Chicago, IL, 4/7/02
About 2 days ago I decided to go vegan and
so far I am doing great. I have a vegan friend who let me read
a brochure entitled Why Vegan? and that was really the last
straw. I had to do it. I would appreciate my own copy of that brochure
or any information similar. I am trying to switch my mom over as
well and I would like to be better informed to answer my friends
when they say "You're a What?!"
AL, 4/5/02
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Vegan Outreach is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to reducing the suffering of farmed animals by promoting informed, ethical eating.
All donations are tax-deductible.
Vegan Outreach
POB 30865, Tucson, AZ 85751-0865 |
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