Enewsletter
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Enewsletter • January 12, 2003 | ||
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Vegan Outreach NotesHey, Tucson!How would you like to have the most dynamic, inspiring, compelling speaker ever for your group? Since you can't afford that person, you could settle for Matt Ball. I will be in Tucson, AZ, from March 27 to April 1. Feel free to send an email if you'd like to organize something during that time.
Ordering LiteratureIt is significantly more efficient and cost-effective to send boxes of 300 copies of Why Vegan, Vegetarian Living, or Por Que Vegano right from the printer. If you think you will be able to distribute more than 100 copies during the course of 2003 – leafleting, stocking libraries and bookstores, etc. – please order a box. To avoid fraud, we require some level of donation if you don't yet have an established history with Vegan Outreach. Help us reach a new record number of people this year! Thanks!
Ordering MerchandiseWe have revised the prices of Vegan Outreach shirts (only two XL short sleeves left) and the display posters. Please note – we won't be producing more shirts, so order fast!
Next Leafleting Day Scheduled!The 3rd National Day of Leafleting Schools is scheduled for April 7, 2003. You can read more details and sign-up here.
NewsU.S. Eating More Meat, as mentioned in previous Spam essay"Meat is still the main entree on United States consumers’ tables, it appears. Consumers ate more meat in 2002 than at any time in history, said Kansas State University agricultural economist James Mintert." "'Total per capita meat consumption of all red meat and poultry by U.S. consumers is expected to approach 219 pounds during 2002, which is a new record,' Mintert said."
CARE Tour Refused Entry into U.S. – For Now"It has been almost a week since the Compassion for Animals Road Expedition (CARE) first attempted to cross the Canadian/U.S. border, in vain. We were told that we did not have the necessary documents to enter the United States for any kind of public speaking, or to do any kind of work, paid or unpaid. We were further warned that if we tried to re-enter the U.S. under any false pretense, we would be barred from entry of any kind for 5 years. "We did not make this announcement any earlier, except to our CARE participants and supporters in Washington, Oregon and California – the first three states in CARE’s 40-state itinerary – because we wanted to try other avenues and border crossings, which had become our full time occupation over the last six days. We (Brenda Davis, her son Cory and I) loaded and unloaded the CARE-a-van twice, visited the U.S. Consulate twice, consulted two immigration attorneys, were refused at two border crossings on three occasions, spoke with our U.S. sponsor by phone numerous times… To make a long story short, we have come to the conclusion that our best and perhaps only option is to postpone the tour to the fall. "Without a doubt, this is a blow and a setback.... But though the CARE tour has been stalled, animal sufferings and species endangerment continue unabated, and we must look forward. The wheels are already in motion in redesigning the CARE tour route. We have our sight set on departing from Vancouver in September, and on returning to Vancouver in April, with a month-long break around Christmas...." -Anthony Marr
McDonald's Switches to Organic Milk in U.K."McDonald's is to start selling cartons of organic milk in its UK outlets. The chain will switch to selling only carton milk from organically-reared British cows from next month. It said the move was a 'natural progression,' having already changed to free-range eggs in its breakfasts. The decision only affects milk in cartons and will not, for now, extend to other ingredients such as milkshakes."
More on McDonald's Settlement ControversyFrom VegSource.com, with links to other articles: McDonald's Attacks Vegetarian Leaders "Vegetarians sued McDonald's for not disclosing that their 'vegetarian' French fries actually contained beef. In response, McDonald's apologized and agreed to make a $6 million donation to non-profit vegetarian organizations. At least that's what McDonald's said and agreed in writing it would do. "Now McDonald's has filed a brief asking the judge in the matter not to hold them to their promise, but to instead allow them to give the money to non-vegetarian and anti-vegetarian organizations – and to 'vegetarian organizations' whose nutritionists recommend meat, chicken, fish and shrimp. "The most recent developments show McDonald's and the copycat attorneys filing large briefs full of personal insults and name-calling against esteemed vegetarian leaders like John Robbins, Michael Klaper MD, John McDougall MD, T. Colin Campbell PhD, Alex Hershaft PhD, Mark Epstein, Joanne Stepaniak, Jack Norris, Matt Ball, Gene and Lorri Bauston, Stanley Sapon PhD and many others." 
"As part of a $10 million, sorry-we-put-beef-extract-in-our-fries court settlement, McDonald's Corp. supports giving $250,000 to a UNC-Chapel Hill nutrition researcher. Dr. Steve Zeisel wants to use the money to study whether women on strict vegetarian diets get enough of the nutrient choline, most abundant in eggs, during pregnancy. "But PETA wants Richard Siebel, the Chicago judge presiding over the settlement, to reject Zeisel. PETA argues that the nutrition chairman at UNC-CH is anti-vegetarian – something the scientist denies. Worse yet, PETA says, Zeisel has killed rats and rat fetuses in his research lab. And he works at the university, where a PETA investigator went undercover last year and found questionable care of lab rodents. "'The money is supposed to be earmarked for vegetarian groups. He doesn't represent a vegetarian group. If anything, he recommends that pregnant women not be vegetarian,'" said Hannah Schein, a PETA research associate who has written the judge." Editors' note: We have to shake our heads when someone claims to be researching
if something can be done, when that something has already been done many times
over. How many animals will Siebel kill to try to discredit a vegetarian diet
for pregnant women, when any number of healthy children have been vegan since
conception? Anyone who knows Ellen, our daughter, will tell you that she is
healthy, smart (in the gifted program), and happy. But McDonald's will try to
use their "vegetarian settlement" to allow Siebel to kill more animals
and slander vegetarianism.
PETA Launches KFC Campaign; see DawnWatch Coverage
Want to Copy and Distribute CD Versions of Meet Your Meat?Send email to Chalissa1@aol.com for a free copy
Animal Rights Groups Box in Livestock Farmers Nationwide"Florida's hog industry is almost nonexistent compared to Iowa's, which is first in the nation raising more than 15 million head a year. The annual economic impact tops $12 billion. It employs about 77,000 people. "To get a constitutional amendment in Iowa, it must pass two consecutive sessions of the Legislature and then the voters. The industry is too valuable for either group to risk losing it."
Feature Article: How to Encourage Christians to Become Veganby Julie Eyrich No matter what your religious orientation is, or if you are agnostic or atheist, it is important and crucial that vegan activists reach out to the Christian community. About 86% of Americans are Christian. While many Christians believe God created animals for our use, this sentiment reflects convenience and secular ethics much more than biblical teachings or core Christian values. If done respectfully, you can effectively reach Christian audiences. Recently, some activists, including myself, joined, Lori Peterson, who arranged to leaflet at the Basillica Catholic Church in Minneapolis, MN. She had contacted the church to politely notify them about the leafleting and also sent them the materials we planned to distribute.The church was fine about us being there, but we did pass out the literature from the sidewalk because we were not allowed on the church property. With our big, friendly, vegan smiles we passed out 200 copies of the booklet "What Would Jesus Eat ...Today?" produced by the Christian Vegetarian Association and 300 copies of "Christianity and Vegetarianism," written by Fr. John Dear who is a well-known Catholic priest and peace activist (available from PETA). This only took us a couple of hours and about three-fourths of the church-going people took literature. Animal Activists in MN are planning to leaflet at more churches. Think about how many more people we could reach about veganism if we could encourage more activists to engage in this type of outreach! I also do a lot of tabling and displays about veganism. I always have information about Christianity and vegetarianism available, which interests a large fraction of visitors. Regardless of your belief system, these materials are important components of effective tabling. Remember: What to we want? Animal Liberation Now! Go out there and help educate Christians!
FeedbackJust wanted to drop you a line
to say that I really enjoyed reading your essay "Working
in Defense of Animals." I was lucky enough to go to the Animal Rights
2002 conference & heard your presentation on "How vegan is enough/Where
do you draw the line." That was one of my favourite sessions at the conference,
and I'm very glad to now have your ideas in written form so I can reread &
digest them more thoroughly (instead of my barely legible scribbled notes
from your talk!). I've been getting Vegan Spam for a while and all of
the articles are very good and very informative. I always see people's comments,
possibly from letters they've written, or emails, and I just wanted to let
you know that because of a friend showing me a Why Vegan pamphlet
almost two years ago, I became a vegetarian, based solely on the pictures
and information in that pamphlet. I just wanted to thank you for being out
there to expose what really goes on in the factory farms. I have been studying the starter packet that you gave
to me and have decided that you are completely right. I'm sorry to say that
I had never even thought about who I was eating before. But now I look at
my food completely different. I have stopped eating animal products and feel
very good about it. I remember when I made the connection between meat
and murder!
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