Enewsletter
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Enewsletter • August 6, 2008 | ||
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Notes from Vegan OutreachSpecial Shout-Out
The Humane League of Philadelphia leafleted 13 stops of the Warped Tour, handing out 102,400 booklets! We now call them the Heroic Leafleters of Philly -- way to go! Nick Cooney, far right, speaks with concertgoers reading VO booklets. See more summer totals here.
Link of the WeekProducts of the Week
Notes from All OverLightning Round
Notes from Our MembersWhen I picked up your
booklets at the Spiral
Diner, including the Guide
to Cruelty-Free Eating,
I was amazed at your practical,
well-reasoned tone. You express
many of the thoughts I have had
about why people avoid vegetarianism
(the militant, holier-than-thou
tone; the impression that it's an
ascetic, restrictive lifestyle)
and how to overcome those preconceived
notions. Most of the pamphlets I
have read espouse an all-or-nothing
attitude: if you don't avoid every
single animal product, including
all non-food items, you can't call
yourself a vegan. Your pamphlets,
on the other hand, point out that
this can be an impractical, expensive,
and obsessive approach -- what a
refreshing point of view. The advice
for vegans/vegetarians to remain
respectful and positive, even in
the face of derision, is welcome;
not all of us are comfortable with
the in-your-face attitude
that some other vegetarian lit advocates. At the Maroon 5 Concert,
we reached a lot of people. One
woman insisted her friend take an
Even If You Like Meat,
saying, "That's why I stopped
eating meat!" Others thanked
us for being out there. At the concert, a
group of six teenage girls were
talking in a circle about 10 feet
from the table, so I stepped over
with a handful of Even If You
Like Meat booklets. Many of
them made remarks like, “This is
disgusting!” “Look at page six!
Ew!” Two of the girls kept reading
it for about twenty minutes. Seeing
that, for me, really clarified the
power of the booklets and the overall
VO approach (showing people the
cruelty, focusing on animals, etc.).
Six booklets did so much! Imagine
what those millions of booklets
have done so far, collectively!
Emily Pepe leaflets Oregon's Camas Days Festival. Wearing my "Vegan
Outreach" t-shirt,
I sat in the front row for Senator
Barack Obama's St. Petersburg town
hall meeting. I was the sixth person
he called on, and he read my shirt
out loud, pronouncing "vegan"
right! I asked a long "question"
about modern agribusiness, and there
were a lot of claps and hoots during
my question from the crowd, a Secret
Service agent even gave me a wink
and a thumbs up! [Read full post
here,
and more here
-- search on "vegan."]
Mollie discovers a use for Jessica Dadds' empty booklet boxes. I keep Compassionate
Choices and Guide to
Cruelty-Free Eating on display
in our reception room. Today, two
Xerox reps came in; the woman asked
if she could have a booklet, and
I encouraged her to take both. The
fellow then asked the same. They
then asked questions about factory
farming and being a vegan, and asked
if they could return after they
completely read both brochures.
I told them, absolutely, and promised
them both veg starter kits. They
both were very eager to learn more
and incorporate cruelty-free eating
choices into their diets.
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I
will admit, when among veggie friends,
it's easy to get caught up in debating
who the "better" vegetarian
is. But your booklet reminded me
that it's not about competition
or nitpicking, it's about reducing
suffering in the world! Thanks for
these thoughtful, well-written pamphlets.
At
Northwestern University, I
heard from an amazing number of
veg*ns, at least 25. One student
got very excited to see me there
and told me she is a vegan. I heard
her saying to her friends, "I
love vegans!" as she walked
away. Another man thanked me very
sincerely for the booklet and said,
"I am glad someone is thinking
about this, it's very important."
Kellie
and I decided to have
a bake sale to raise funds for Vegan
Outreach. Having the baked goods
table next to the outreach table
attracted a larger crowd than usual.
The sweets were a good outreach
tool in themselves as we heard many
comments such as, "This is
vegan? Wow, it's really good!"