Enewsletter
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Enewsletter • October 27, 2004 | ||
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News from Vegan OutreachReports from the Field
At right, two students at Carnegie Mellon read Try Vegetarian after being leafleted by Ellen Green. Jon Camp: At Middlesex Community College: * A man who had already received a brochure a couple weeks back said, "Come on man. You're making it hard for me to eat meat." * A young woman read it today and came back saying that she is really serious about giving vegetarianism a try, asked me what to eat, said she would order the Vegan Starter Pack online. * One guy shook his head in sadness and said, "I've read it already. That's really shocking." * One construction worker heard me asking people if they would like a brochure. He yelled over and asked for one (we were divided by a fence) and I went over and handed him one. He read it while he was probably supposed to be working. It was kind of neat to see him reading the booklet, hard hat on, while the machinery around him was pounding away. * One guy came up telling me he just read Fast Food Nation and was glad to get this. At Douglass College: * A guy read the Why Vegan today, ordered a vegetarian sandwich for lunch and told me that he's now giving vegetarianism serious consideration. * A young woman said, "That's funny. I've been thinking about this today. I got one of those brochures last week". * Quite a few people said they read it already. There is always an intensity to their expression when they say this. It is rarely matter of fact and their tone of voice and bulge in their eyes basically says, "I've read this. It is pretty harsh stuff and has made an impact on me." * Warren, who leafleted with me, has been veg (very close to vegan) since picking up a Why Vegan at a vegetarian restaurant 6 years ago. * I got together with someone who had been veg for environmental reasons, struggled with it, went back to eating meat. He picked up a Why Vegan a year or so back at an environmental seminar and went vegan. Moreover, the quotes piqued his interest in Peter Singer. He read Practical Ethics and because of some of the ideas in there, has been spending less money on trivial things and giving more money to fund organizations that promote peace/ reduce suffering. He likes to support Why Vegan, because he thinks more people will go veg, but also because he thinks it might lead people to consider other ethical ideas, like it did for him. Jon Camp has already handed out over 12,000 leaflets on college campuses this semester.
Kaya Hansen: Yesterday I leafleted American University in DC. Was out there several hours and, although the numbers were small (300 Why Vegan + 30 Mercy For Animals Starter Guides), it was still probably my most successful day so far this semester. Some great conversations and some people were really thinking and open to the arguments and ready to learn. For example, one young man admitted he had been thinking about vegetarianism and its implications as of late, but everything he had seen from [another group] turned him off altogether (although he did admit that because he didn't agree with their tactics and how they portray themselves, this had made it easy for him in the past to brush aside the underlying issues which he felt at heart were worthy of real acknowledgement). But he said the commonsense arguments he was hearing from my mouth and seeing in the Why Vegan really made him believe in the cause. Other people came back to ask questions or get more info after receiving the Why Vegan. Kaya Hansen has already handed out over 4,500 flyers at colleges this semester.
Jack Norris: A male student took a flyer at U.C. Davis,
and then came back to me and said, "What
if I have my own chicken and eat its eggs? Are
you against that?" I said, "That's
different. I don't have a problem with that."
He seemed quite surprised and said, "So
you're just against the cruelty." And I
said yes. He said, "So if I raise my own
cow and slaughter it, that's okay." I told
him that he would have to decide that for himself
but that what I was trying to do was let people
know how animals are normally raised,
because they don't know many of the details
and they are paying people to do this to animals.
He seemed quite satisfied and walked away with,
I think, a very different impression than when
he came up to me. His original impression seemed
to be that animal rights people are completely
unreasonable and so shouldn't be listened to.
Link of the Week: Suggestions for Leafleting, Updated
Notes from All OverMore on College Vegetarianism"For a lot of students here at Virginia Tech, meat is not an option, but rather a necessity. There is a love for meat, and it’s the highlight of most meals. However, for 8 percent of Tech’s campus, having meat with their meals is not an option. That 8 percent make up Virginia Tech’s vegetarian and vegan student body population."
USDA Taking Comments on Whether the Animal Welfare Act Should Cover Rodents and BirdsUse the American Anti-Vivisection Society's convenient page to submit comments to the USDA.
From Our MembersA Why Vegan? was handed to me in front
of the Blinn College cafeteria in Brenham, TX
some eight years ago. It opened the door to
veganism for me, and I've been going strong
ever since. I
wanted to let you know that I read your leaflet
entitled Why Vegan? and immediately
made the decision to go vegan. It was the way
in which the information was presented: Clear,
easy to read, with meaningful supplemental photos
that really leave one no other option after
reading the material. I am strongly motivated
by visual images, and your piece created a clear,
accurate vision of the truth, without being
overly graphic and a turn-off. (Consider this
a compliment since I am an advertising professional
and graphic designer.) Thank you for presenting
this truth so that I as well as others can make
the compassionate decision to do the right thing.
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