Enewsletter

Notes from Vegan Outreach

Welcome!

Thanks so much to everyone who has signed up for the Vegan Outreach enewsletter, including those from TAFA and AR2008. Look for it every Wednesday; if you don't see it, your ISP or email provider may have filtered it. There will always be a secure unsubscription link at the bottom of every edition.

We hope you find every issue to be informative and useful.

Congratulations, Joe!

Last weekend, longtime animal activist Joe Espinosa received the Henry Spira Grassroots Activist Award at AR2008. You can read Joe's 2005 profile and the introduction Matt Ball gave him at the AR2008 award ceremony here.

Thanks to Joe for using his acceptance to promote A Meaningful Life.

Also, congratulations to longtime friend and Vegan Outreach supporter Paul Shapiro, the newest member of the Animal Rights Hall of Fame.

Summer Leafleting Record; Fall AAC Starts

As of today, leafleters have reached 348,607 new people this summer; 85 different volunteers have handed out 100 or more leaflets! Adopt a College leafleters have started reaching new students, with five-year-old Rebecca Solomon in fifth place.

House an Activist

In the next few weeks, Vic Sjodin, Brian Grupe, Eric Paul, and Jon Camp will be embarking on college leafleting tours, reaching out to thousands of today's young minds with the animals' plight. In order to keep all of them on the road, we are dependent on the generous housing of others.

We will need housing in or near Indiana, Shippensburg, and Millersville, PA; Huntington and Morgantown, WV; Frostburg, MD; Albany, NY; Augusta, Portland, and Salem, ME; Salt Lake City, UT; Savannah and Augusta, GA; Columbia, Rock Hill, and Spartanburg, SC; Lynchburg and Farmville, VA.

If you would be willing to house any of these courteous, young men, please email tour (at) veganoutreach (dot) org. Thanks so much!

Attention, Chicago!

Jack Norris will be speaking in your town August 28. Joe Espinosa will also be there!

Product of the Week

Previous product nominations by Joe Espinosa:

• Chilli Man brand vegetarian chili. Flavorful enough that I use a can of chili with an equal amount of my own cooked beans (chickpeas, black beans, kidney beans, or pintos) for a hearty meal that allows me to brave the tough Chicago winter.
• Boca's Chik’n Patties and Nuggets and Gardenburger’s BBQ Riblets.
• Red Star Nutritional Yeast. On pizza bread, beans, soups, salads and even popcorn, it adds a burst of flavor that redefines what it means to be vegan. (Anne Green blends 1C walnuts, 1/2 C ground flaxseeds, and 1C of nutritional yeast (which she gets in bulk from the local co-op) in a food processor to make high-omega-3 "sprinkles" for pizza, popcorn, pasta, and other "p" foodstuffs.)

Notes from Our Members

Rebecca, age 5, is now saying, "Leaflet against animal cruelty?" when she hands someone a leaflet, but a hell of a lot cuter than I do. 100% acceptance rate today -- higher if you consider all those who wanted extras for their friends. A young lady even approached us as we were cleaning up, asking for another leaflet.
-Stewart Solomon, after he and his daughter handed out over 2,000 Even If You Like Meat booklets at Cerritos College on 8/18/08; Stewart and 12-year-old Stephanie handed out 1,370 Even Ifs the next day at Long Beach City College

At the Portland, OR Warped Tour stop, two people told Yvonne that they got the brochure last year and are now vegetarian. I heard one or two people say the same thing. Watched a few people read the pamphlets from front to back (they were completely engrossed in them, and I can tell were moved).
-Jessica Dadds, 8/13/08

Thanks for the links [On Being Vegan and Defining Vegan]. I am vegan for the animals' sake. I have met many vegans who prefer to quibble constantly about this ingredient and that ingredient. There is a competition for "superiority" and much ego associated with it. I have not felt much interest or compassion from these particular vegans regarding those who eat meat or non-humans who are dying by the billions. It is refreshing to meet vegans who are not like this.
-TR, Australia, 8/19/08

Comment of the night:
Man: You just made my life a living heck. You just turned my daughter into a vegetarian. <Daughter affirms this with a smile and nod.> Now I'm gonna have to cook separate meals.
Me: Well, here are some good recipes and meal suggestions. <I hand man a GCFE; man and daughter thank me.>
-Jon Camp, 8/14/08

At City College of San Francisco, I met a bunch of vegans and receptive folk, including a spontaneous helper. It felt good to be back on a campus, talking to students. A lot of people asked questions -- I felt that my time was spent valuably.
-Miranda Robbins, 8/18/08

One woman who works at the concert venue The Pageant told me that she stopped eating meat on May 2nd when she first got a booklet (Compassionate Choices) from me, which was my first time leafletting VO booklets at The Pageant!
-Rick Hershey, St. Louis, 8/12/08

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