| For
modern animal agriculture,
the less the consumer knows about
what’s happening before the meat
hits the plate, the better.
If
true, is this an ethical situation?
Should we be reluctant to let people
know what really goes on, because
we’re not really proud of it and
concerned that it might turn them
to vegetarianism?
-Peter Cheeke, PhD,
Oregon St. U. Professor of Animal
Agriculture, Contemporary Issues
in Animal Agriculture, 2004
textbook
Notes from Vegan
Outreach
Giving Thanks
 Thanksgiving
can be a rough time for vegetarians,
but we have a lot for which to be
thankful. It has been a tremendous
year, with ever-increasing numbers
of people learning the realities
of modern animal agriculture and
choosing to no longer support it.
We at Vegan Outreach are thankful,
every day, to be part of the expanding
circle of ethics, working as hard
and as smart as we can to bend the
arc of history towards justice.
Again last week, more than
30,000 students were handed
booklets on campuses across North
America. By the time you read this,
the semester
total will have passed
300,000.
 At
right, Moni Woweries leaflets at
Borough of Manhattan Community College.
We are creating a generation for
whom the incredible horrors of factory
farms and industrial slaughterhouses
are no longer hidden. Of course,
progress won't be as fast as we
would like, but we can be sure that
the current practice of breeding,
raising, and butchering animals
for the taste of their flesh won't
be able to stand the light of exposure.
Everyone at Vegan Outreach is truly
thankful, every day, for the volunteers
and donors who do so much for the
animals.
Product of the Week
Sean: "Winter is coming, and
EcoLips Bee Free Lemon-Lime is one
of the many reasons I enjoy the
season. My lips crack easily, and
this lip balm stick melts to your
lips and has a fantastic lemon-lime
flavor, and it works really well."
Send your nominees for Product
of the Week to product
(at) veganoutreach (dot) org;
previous products can be found here.
Notes from All
Over
Will the Government Stop This?
Understandably, people expect the
government to stop the worst abuses
by regulating the meat industry.
However, the only major law that
applies to some food animals --
The Humane Slaughter Act, which
applies only to mammals -- is basically
unenforced. As conceded in the meat
industry journal, Meatingplace
(Nov. 2006, pp. 10-16, emphasis
added):
"The [undercover] video [of
the slaughterhouse for beef processor
Agri-Processors] caught the attention
of USDA's Inspector General, who
investigated the matter. The picture
the resulting report painted was
of government inspectors
playing video games while
Agri-Prccessors employees violated
provisions of the Humane Methods
and Slaughter Act. The report, however,
concluded that the actions didn't
amount to a 'prosecutable offense.'
"'Why is it," PETA Vice
President Bruce Friedrich wants
to know, "that even on occasions
when USDA agrees there were egregious
violations, it doesn't hand down
any kind of criminal prosecution,
despite the fact that it's a criminal
offense? USDA has never
bothered to criminally prosecute
anyone for violating the Humane
Slaughter Act."
excerpt: "A type
of salmonella found in eggs is turning
up more often in chicken meat and
needs to be reduced, according to
the Agriculture Department. From
2000 through 2005, there was a fourfold
increase in positive test results
for salmonella enteritidis on chicken
carcasses. Salmonella sickens at
least 40,000 people and kills about
600 every year in the United States."
Notes from Our
Members
I'm so inspired
by what you are doing. You are a
keystone species in progressive
society. Such a brilliant and effective
use of money.
-MS, 11/16
While leafleting at
the mall, two people
told me that they got the pamphlet
from me earlier in the day, and
they are now going to have to go
vegan. Many others told me that
it was great what I was doing.
-Eugene Khutoryansky,
11/19/06
At Western Michigan
University, Kaya and
I handed out over 1,400 booklets,
and heard from about 25 vegetarians,
about 5 vegans, 10 hunters. One
of the first of several good conversations
was with a student who was handed
a booklet and came back some minutes
later with a look of disturbed concern.
He stated he had no idea that farm
animals were subjected to this brutal
treatment and it did not sit well
with him.
The
second really neat conversation
started with a student laughingly
asking me if I really thought that
everyone should be a vegetarian.
I explained that I doubted that
I could reach everyone, but I was
talking with him and had handed
him a booklet, so the burden of
this moral issue was now on his
shoulders as well. A second student
stopped to listen as student A tried
to squirm out of the ethical dilemma
by stating that animals eat each
other. I reminded him that we do
not look to nonhuman animals as
our moral leaders, as most seem
to lack the capacity to think in
moral terms, while we know we can
live perfectly well without harming
others like this. He admitted to
this point and stated he would read
the booklet. Student B then asked
a few questions about modern farming
procedures and stated that he was
impressed with our apparent commitment
to the cause, as we stood out in
the chilly weather for hours handing
out these booklets. On his way back
from class student B thanked me
for the booklet stating that he
had read it and "it was a real
eye opener."
-Joe Espinosa, 11/15/06
Two great quotes
from SUNY Fredonia:
Student
1: (upon receiving EI)
This is totally going on my refrigerator!
Student
2 (snidely): Oh, I heard about this
brochure. Aren't there carcasses
in it?
Me:
Well, yes, there are pictures of
animals, living and dead -- but
if you can eat them, shouldn't you
be able to look at them?
Student:
Touché. (takes a brochure)
-Jenna Calabrese, 11/18/06
At Portland State U,
I heard many people say an enthusiastic
"Sure!", "Definitely!",
or "You bet!" I ran into
a few people who said they were
vegetarian but were in the process
of going vegan. I gave them a GCFE,
and that made them happy. One man
browsed through an EI and said "Awww...
I know, I need to clean out my refrigerator
and stop eating meat." I told
him how it's not an all-or-nothing
situation -- he can still help animals
by just eating more vegetarian meals.
He said, "No, I want to stop
eating meat all together."
(All the better!) He was happy to
get some recipes (I gave him a GCFE).
-Jessica Dadds, 11/16/06
At the University of
Kentucky today, eight
of us gave out a grand total of
2,672 EI booklets. One
man came up to say he was still
grappling with some AR arguments.
I said that VO's sole argument is
that animals suffer unnecessarily
on factory farms and slaughterhouses
and that we can reduce this by reducing
our animal product consumption.
I said that we have the capacity
to think about these things and
act on the ethical decisions that
we come to. After conversing for
a bit, he said, "These are
the best answers I've heard on this.
I'm going to really think about
this."
One
man who appeared to be a professor
walked by and belligerently said,
"You should care about human
suffering," and, for whatever
reason, I said in an uncharacteristically
forcible, but still very calm manner,
 "And
we cure human problems by raising
and slaughtering animals, sir? Is
that right? -- we make the world
better by being brutal to animals?"
One
young woman walked up to volunteer
Emily and said that she was horrified
by what she read and was not going
to eat animals anymore. And a nice
pair of women helped out with the
leafleting today (both in their
70's and very sweet) and a young
woman came up to them and stated,
"I got a booklet earlier today
and am now going to go veggie!"
This meant a great deal to the volunteers
as they saw the concrete results
of their work.
-Jon Camp (at U Kentucky),
11/16/06
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Vegan Outreach
P.O. Box 38492
Pittsburgh, PA 15238
VO is a 501(c)(3) non-profit
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are tax-deductible. |
