Enewsletter
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Enewsletter • March 4, 2009 | ||
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Notes from Vegan OutreachAdopt a College -- Three Million and Growing Fast!
Indeed, because of the hard work and generous contributions of hundreds and hundreds of dedicated individuals, AAC reached another milestone last month: three million booklets handed directly to students since August 2003! Thanks so much to everyone who has made this possible -- the world is clearly and significantly a better place because of your efforts! Optimal Health -- Now In Blog FormVegan Outreach President, Jack Norris RD, has launched a blog to keep people up-to-date with the latest nutrition news, as well as changes he makes to the cutting-edge Vegan Health website. Cut through the propaganda and misinformation -- subscribe to the blog today! Product of the Week
Send your product of the week to product (at) veganoutreach (dot) org; previous entries here.
Notes from All OverClimate Change UpdatesVia FutureFood and New Harvest, three new reports: Climate Costs in New Scientist; How Meat Contributes in Scientific American; Meeting the Demand (pdf) in Ecological Economics. Note that, as is usually the case, these reports focus only on mammals, and therefore require specific care by people concerned with the majority of animals -- chickens and fishes -- and decreasing suffering (as discussed here). Lightning Round
Notes from Our Members
Above, Scout Kilbourne reaches out to another student at the University of North Carolina, Wilmington; right, Leslie Patterson takes the vegetarian message to more Chicagoans; below, a student contemplates a booklet at East Carolina University. Rutgers today was a
ton of fun -- three
first-time AAC leafleters joined
me. We had a really high take rate
on campus. Lots of students said,
"I love animals!" in response
to my "Info to help animals?"
line. Best comment of the day: Great conversations
at Broward College [in Ft. Lauderdale]
today. The best was a student who
said she got one from me years ago
and that it made her go vegetarian!
Another student took information
for both him and his mom. A professor
of religion took one and then came
back and asked if we can do a presentation
in his honors classes. We saw (and smelled)
many "farms"
along the way to West Texas A&M.
Nevertheless, we had a surprisingly
friendly reception at this school,
a high take-rate, as well as some
interesting discussions. Rob [Gilbride]
heard one student exclaiming, "Holy
crap, they cut their beaks off?
This is crazy." Another student
said he ate fish and chicken every
day, but, after reporting he read
the Even If You Like Meat,
expressed, "There has to be
another way. I'm going to research
it." One student passed by
on the way out of the cafeteria
and said, "That brochure is
stupid." I asked her, nicely,
what about it was stupid. "The
pictures. That's not how we raise
them." I asked, "Aren't
pigs contained in gestation crates,
hens in battery cages?" She
agreed, just saying she didn't raise
them that way. I told her that these
pictures represent how the majority
of animals raised for food are treated.
She admitted that this should not
be the case.
At Texas Southmost
College, there were
a number of students who were very
interested. While some were reading
them over nearby, a couple of friends
said they are going to go veg together
now. Others wanted to start a group,
so I gave them contact info and
talked about how effective AAC is.
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Many
students had gotten literature
last fall at Santa Barbara City
College; interactions today were
overwhelmingly positive, including
one student who stopped near me
after receiving the leaflet to say,
"I got one of these last year,
and I went vegetarian right after.
Thank you." Another fellow
gently grabbed my hand with both
of his as he took a leaflet and
said, "Thank you so much for
doing this. I love animals too."
And yet another gave me a tip on
where to stand so I didn't get kicked
off early, saying, "This is
important and I want you to be able
to stay as long as you can."
At
Indiana University,
I had a touching interaction with
a student who took the booklet and
then stated that he had grown up
on a farm. I let him know that as
a child I used to spend time each
summer on my uncle's 60 cow dairy
farm in Wisconsin, and that the
farming that we did was quite different
than what most farmed animals face
today. He stated that he would read
the booklet, and seemed to connect
with the idea that we can evaluate
our past behavior, although it can
be uncomfortable to do.