This issue sponsored by Vegan Essentials

Notes from Vegan Outreach

Recipe of the Week

Benevolent Goddess Miranda Robbins' World-Famous Cookie Pie!

Send your nominees for Product of the Week to product (at) veganoutreach (dot) org; previous products can be found here.

Notes from All Over

Lightning Round

• Dr. Michael Greger on the CBS Morning News, talking about largest meat recall in human history.
• Veggie Meats as follow-up.
• EPA to Revoke Clean Air Standards for Factory Farms, with petition.

Notes from Our Members

With some vacation time and Vegan Outreach leafleters stretched thin, I took a 3-week trip covering 4 states (AL, MS, LA, FL), 4,000 miles, about 20 colleges. I reached over 20,000 students with some nice help from locals and students at the colleges that I encountered.
    It was well worth it! Many dozens of students indicated that they were inclined to make changes by going veg. During slow periods, I would ask students that previously got a booklet what they thought. Most indicated that they already looked it over and the majority considered the animal abuse horrible. Others thanked me for sharing the information with them and a few even told me that entire classrooms were dominated by discussions about the meat and dairy industry.
    I know this work has an impact, because when I return to local colleges a couple times a semester, I get increasingly positive feedback. I am thrilled so many people are joining up -- it makes me very excited about the future -- and hopeful that more will help out.
-Casey Constable (at right), 3/3/08

While leafleting at the University of Colorado, I was interviewed by a woman who works for the campus press about the meat recall/downed cow issue. When she asked "what can be done to improve this situation?" I replied, "Go vegan!" I told her animals are treated this horribly every day, that this slaughterhouse was not an isolated incident -- this company just happened to get caught. I also mentioned it's a for-profit industry and until people stop paying them, the suffering will continue.
-Barbara Bear, 2/25/08

At the Cheer America 2008 National Championship, we got feedback from lots of girls who read the pamphlet and now said that they are definitely going to go vegetarian (and a few said vegan). One mom told me that her daughter got a pamphlet at a previous cheerleading competition and is vegetarian now as a result. Yet another mom told me that although her husband is a hunter, the Why Vegan pamphlet I gave him at a previous Cheerleading competition changed his life. He now says that he refuses to eat any animal unless he can be guaranteed that it was not tortured. He is now almost a vegetarian.
-Eugene Khutoryansky, 3/2/08

Throughout my pregnancy, we had no doubts we would raise our child as a vegan. However, last week when I gave birth to Amelia, we began talking more about the details of raising a vegan child, began to wonder if we were doing the right thing. Seeking information online was difficult and somewhat disappointing (e.g., a Google search for "vegan baby" returns an old news article about some irresponsible couple who starved their baby). Tonight I clicked a link in the weekly newsletter and found the Real Vegan Children article on veganhealth.org, as well as Being a Vegan Kid [by Ellen Green; right]. It was inspiring to see so many examples of children being vegan from conception and growing up to be compassionate and happy children. These articles have given me hope that we can raise our daughter to appreciate animals and embrace a vegan lifestyle.
-SM, 2/29/08

Sent to Hugs for Puppies: Hey, I saw you on campus handing out leaflets and I wanted to let you know that you were very well received. A lot of my friends came up to me within that week and asked me about becoming vegetarian and some already vegetarian friends are considering becoming vegan.
-DB, 2/28/08

I spoke with a man who said that after reading Why Vegan, he doesn't want to eat chicken. As we talked more about factory farms, he looked more and more upset. Finally, he asked what he could do to stop it. I told him how it is all about demand and how he had the power with his dollars to decrease that demand and reduce suffering. He was so excited after our discussion and thanked me profusely for the information.
    Finally, one student took the WV, looked at the cover and then at me. When I asked if she had any questions she replied, "I'm trying to go vegan right now. I didn't think anyone out there cared."
-Miranda Robbins, 2/29/08

At Arizona State U today, I spent more time in conversations than throughout all of this semester's leafleting combined. One woman told me that she is Native American and that she prays for all the animals she eats, saying that we should really mention this in our booklets, that because of her prayers, the animals are fine with all this. I politely told her that if she prayed for me, then confined me and trucked me off to slaughter, that I wouldn't be fine with that.
-Jon "OutREEEECH" Camp, 3/3/08

At the University of Nevada, two girls wanted to talk about religion. In exchange for my reading the book of John and emailing them weekly about it, they are both going vegan for a month -- a fair trade in my opinion!
    At Butte College, I was turned down by a guy in a very graphic "Cannibal Corpse" t-shirt. Upon walking by me a second time he looked at the pamphlet and said, "Oh you know what, I will take one of those! Thanks for handing these out!" People surprise me every day.
-Brian Grupe, 3/4/08

At Niagara College, one man said, "I already don't eat pork, but after reading this I'm not eating chicken either." A lady said, "I'm already vegetarian, but this is the next step," after receiving a Why Vegan. One man said he wanted to try vegetarianism for a week. He asked what he should eat. I told him he could eat exactly as he does now, but with the veggie versions of his favorite products. He said he was going to try veggie burgers, deli slices, veggie dogs, etc. One young man said, "I had no idea animals were treated like this. What can I do to help?" I said he could leaflet, and he said he would.
-John Sakars, 3/4/08

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