Enewsletter
 |
Enewsletter • September 24, 2008 | |||||
 |
 |
|||||
|
Notes from Vegan OutreachUrgent: Please Help Us Meet the Demand for Our Booklets!
Art Auction of the WeekJessica Dadds is auctioning off her animal-inspired artwork on eBay, with all proceeds going to distributing more Vegan Outreach literature. Visit the auction here. Previous entries here; send your nominee to product (at) veganoutreach (dot) org.
Notes from Our MembersIt is great to see
such impressive numbers,
and with such a small staff. It
also shows how effective your "non-profit
business model" is -- staying
focused on what you do, and not
getting distracted into other areas
and campaigns. Also, the idea of
linking up experienced and non-experienced
people sounds like a great way to
give people confidence and to expand. Today at U Mass - Lowell
was all about community.
I got to leaflet with two great
students that I met on campus while
leafleting: Kaylee and Dave. It
was great to be around such positive
people, and the students were receptive
and friendly. One young woman stopped
to ask what the brochure was. I
briefly explained factory farming
and she looked as if she was going
to break down and cry. Her friends
dragged her away telling me, "Thanks,
now we're never going to hear the
end of this!" I hope they don't.
Above, Gus uses his laser eyes to protect Eileen's booklets; below, Deanna Root leaflets at the University of Texas; bottom, Chris Kudrich at Fordham University. Had a little break
in my afternoon, so
I grabbed my little stash of Even
If You Like Meat booklets and
made the most of the time at Loyola.
The booklets were flying like (vegan)
hotcakes into mostly appreciative
hands. I've decided I'm going to
stick to college campuses until
school lets out again -- it is so
efficient and rewarding. At Cal State, Los Angeles,
the numbers of students both sitting
and walking reading the leaflet
were staggering. One girl said,
"I got this leaflet before
and I'm totally converted."
Two other students said they are
now vegetarian because of our leaflets.
I met several vegans who high-fived
me and offered their words of encouragement.
After one student at
Columbia Heights High School took
a booklet, I heard her tell her
friend, "This is probably going
to make me go vegetarian." I'm very tired of
animal rights organizations that
pose as nutritional authorities
when they are not and that dispense
one-sided, deceptive information
about vegan diets. They may feel
that the ends justify the means,
but I feel that an ethical philosophy
of life should apply to all of one's
fellow beings, human and non-human
alike. I could see that Vegan Outreach
was an exception. The
information presented on your web
site was objective and evenhanded,
and, of course, I agreed with it.
So keep up the good work. I have realized
after attending AR2008 that
it's not enough to just be vegan
-- I have to become part of the
movement and do outreach.
At Montgomery College,
I saw individuals reading their
Even If You Like Meat
booklets intently; a few came
up to state how important this work
is. One man took a booklet, sat
down, spent about 15 minutes reading
it, then returned. He said that
he used to be vegan, but as a result
of reading Even If, will
now return to being vegan.
|
||||||
I
was joined today by two other talented
activists, Jane and
Ann. Two students approached and
asked for leaflets; one of them
then said, "Wow I can't eat
lunch now! I don't know if I can
ever eat meat again." After
receiving 
After
being hassled by the cops at
Utah Valley State, I found the professor
who runs the campus veggie club.
She then took me to an ethics seminar,
where I passed out 250 flyers. A
good day!