Enewsletter
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Enewsletter • February 2, 2005 | ||
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Notes from Vegan OutreachWOW!Vegan Outreach sent out over 90,000 copies of Why Vegan?, Try Vegetarian, and Even If You Like Meat in January -- easily a record month! Imagine -- 3,000 people learning the truth about the animals' plight, every single day!
(At right, Jack Norris, Vegan Outreach AAC Program Coordinator and today's birthday boy, leaflets at Illinois State.) This has exceeded our plans -- and our wildest hopes -- and it means we will have to print more copies of Why Vegan, Try Vegetarian, and Even If You Like Meat much sooner than expected. Please keep this in mind when making your contribution plans -- we can reach more people only with your support!
Excerpts from Two Fronts, by Eugene KhutoryanskyTwo major leafleting events today. The first was at a "March for Jesus," where I stood and handed Why Vegans to people passing in the parade. The acceptance rate was phenomenal. Even people on the other side of the street were walking over to me to get a pamphlet. Even cars in the parade were slowing down and waving for me to walk over and give them a pamphlet. There were lots of kids and teenagers in the march, and I was giving out about one pamphlet per second.... But, the best part of today is the story behind the story. I woke up this morning with no intention of leafleting.... However, the Ringling Brother's circus was in town, and some of the local AR people were organizing a demonstration. Personally, I think these demos are not a very effective use of time: even if our demo caused Ringling Brothers to go out of business (which it is not going to) the number of animals affected would be far less than the number of animals affected from one person spending one day leafleting with Why Vegans. But I thought, "Hey, I don't have anything better to do today." Just a few minutes after I arrived at the anti-circus demo, I saw a large crowd of people walking by a few blocks away.... We seem to have two fronts. The first is with regards to getting the public to go vegetarian. The second front is with our fellow activists -- getting them to realize the difference in payoff of differing forms of activism, and take part in and support the most effective, even if it isn't the most visible or glamorous.
East Coast TourJon Camp plans to leaflet North Carolina universities between February 21st and 25th. He will base his tour around where he has a place to stay. If you would be willing to house this courteous young man for a night or two, and/or would like to join him in reaching new students with VO literature, please email jon@veganoutreach.org. Thanks!
Notes from All OverLesson in Civics, VeganismDiet change teaches daughter to stand up for beliefs. Orlando Sentinel (registration: veganoutreach/veganoutreach) "I'm a hunter and a carnivore. My daughter is a vegan. I'm not entirely sure how that happened. "My daughter and other vegans (pronounced VEE-guns) believe that it's wrong to kill or otherwise exploit animals for food or other products.... "Many of my friends and even a few relatives were alarmed when they heard my daughter had become a vegan. I admit that at first I was a bit worried. But, after thinking about it for a while, I was proud of my daughter's decision to embrace a vegan lifestyle.... I'm proud of my daughter because she was not afraid to step outside of society's mainstream. With all the political hand-wringing over red states and blue states, it's too bad there aren't more people willing to march to a different cadence, regardless of what critics might say...."
Trump on ChickensJan. 27 One-Minute Commentary: "Sadly, no matter how you slice it, there's no way to make a chicken sandwich without first killing the chicken. But at least one fast food chain is considering a more humane way of slaughtering the poultry that they use for their various sandwiches and nuggets. "The new method, being considered by McDonald's, would simply replace the oxygen in the chickens' air with an inert gas such as nitrogen. That way, the chickens would peacefully pass out before going to the great big broiler in the sky. Well, I don't know if it’s so peaceful. You'll have to ask them. "It certainly, however, beats the current method that most processors are using where chickens are stunned with an electrical charge before having their throats slit. It actually sounds like something right out of the Godfather movies. "But, you know? After reviewing
this whole subject matter, I don't
think I’ll ever have a chicken sandwich
again." Notes from Our MembersIn all the times I've leafleted and/or tabled, I never fail to come across at least one other fellow vegetarian, and usually more. That means that even here in Oklahoma, vegetarians abound, although mostly silently. The more leafleting we do, the more we can meet those silent veg*ns and hopefully bring them into a more active fold (and they always say, "I thought I was the only one!"). Today, I gave a Why
Vegan to a fellow, and he asked
what it was about. I explained that
we're trying to reduce animal suffering.
He looked at it and said, "Oh,
man, so you want me to stop eating
meat? I like steak too much."
(Yeah, same 'ole same 'ole.) I replied,
"Well, then maybe you could
stop eating chickens, pigs, and
fish -- and just eat a burger on
Fridays or something." This
guy looks completely astounded at
me in a very pleased way and said,
"I didn't know there was room
for compromise. THAT I can do!"
He stood outside for a while to
finish his cigarette, reading the
WV, and after he finished
he looked over at me and said, "Aw,
man, now I can't even eat a burger." Empty
Cages: Facing the Challenge of Animal
Rights by Tom Regan
is a must-read by those interested
in vegetarianism, new vegans, long-time
vegans, their friends and family,
and all activists for compassionate
eating and lifestyles: it will be
of value to everyone, as it serves
a variety of purposes. It especially
must be given to critics of Vegan
Outreach so they might better understand
the arguments, and the people, of
this cause. You can read my review
here,
and other reviews here.
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