Enewsletter
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Enewsletter • April 8, 2009 | ||||||||||||||||||||
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Notes from Vegan OutreachAnd They're Off! Team Vegan Website Launched
Team Vegan 2009 is now open for registration here. By being a part of Team Vegan, you can spread veganism and get in great shape! You can take part in the weekly training sessions in San Francisco (starting April 26) or take part remotely, either by yourself or with friends. Even if you aren't a runner, you can take part by supporting one or more of the runners! Last year, Team Vegan raised over $85,000 of critical funding for Vegan Outreach's programs! This generous support has helped activists across the continent to give booklets directly to more than 975,000 students during the 08-09 school year so far. Please be a part of Team Vegan today. Thank you! Products of the WeekCheck out the jewelry at McFarland Designs, longtime Vegan Outreach supporters. B Wolf: Cooking is easy and healthy with Bob's Red Mill TVP (textured vegetable protein). It's got twelve grams of protein per serving and a whopping four grams of dietary fiber. I enjoy using mine in spaghetti, chili, sloppy joes, and even "meat" loaf. Bonus recipe from Tonya: My husband made Bob Barker's Vegan Enchilada Bake -- it was SO good! And leftovers are even better. It makes a large amount so it is also good for a party. [Editor’s note: could use TVP for the crumbles!] Send your product of the week to product (at) veganoutreach (dot) org; previous entries here.
Notes from All OverVegan for the Health of It?Important post by long-time vegan Virginia Messina, MPH, RD. Excerpt: “The take home message [of this study], according to many of the articles I read, was ‘Eat less red meat and more chicken and fish.’ [E.g., ‘In contrast, routine consumption of fish, chicken, turkey and other poultry decreased the risk of death by a small amount.’] It’s the same message we've been hearing for decades, ever since people started talking about cholesterol and heart disease. And it’s a message that really sticks. Most health conscious people don’t eat less meat; they eat different meat.” Full article; see also, "Got Health?" Lightning Round
Notes from Our Members
Great day
yesterday at Pasadena City College.
Lots of high school students visiting;
as always, they were clambering
for leaflets. Met many veg*ns, including
one fellow who just went veg. As
he told me he was on his way to
the library to find a book on nutrition,
I handed him a Guide,
which he was extremely glad to receive
-- all the info he wanted! A high
school teacher said she had given
up eating the meat from cows and
pigs and was now ready to cut out
chickens as well. I gave her a Guide.
I heard two separate people say
to their friends, "This is
why I don't eat meat." Leafleting today at
Northern Illinois U was most rewarding
-- I had some very encouraging discussions.
I spent most of my time at a busy
street corner on campus, and had
six or seven different cars actually
roll down their window and ask for
a pamphlet! A kind woman who teaches
agricultural law talked to me for
several minutes about how people
just don't know what really goes
on in modern animal agriculture.
She took a pamphlet and said she
was going to show it to her class;
I said, "Here, take 10!" I
had a near 100% acceptance rate
all day at Fairfield University,
with lots of good feedback, questions,
and people asking for more information.
At one point, I overheard a student
talking loudly about how much she
enjoyed eating chickens at Wendy's.
I ignored her, as more students
that I had not yet leafleted were
coming my way. Each one of them
took leaflets. Lesson is -- always
better to set an example of staying
polite so that new people may consider
the message, rather than disregard
your message because you're busy
arguing with someone else. Right away at St. Petersburg
College, I met a young
lady within a pod of friends. After
receiving a Compassionate Choices,
she exclaimed, "That's it! I'm
done -- I'm going vegan right here
and right now. I can't do this anymore.
I can't live this lie. I love animals,
I'm done." Later, her friend
said to me with a smile, "She'll
probably have me switched in no
time."
Congratulations on
the 10 millionth booklet!! What
an achievement. Think of all those
animals spared all that misery.
I help distribute the Australian
version of Why Vegan, and
we have started going to university
campuses here in Melbourne. Keep
up the great work. I hope that eventually
we can reach the same goal here
in Australia. At Tails-A-Wagging
Doggie Day Care, I
always had animal-related info for
our clients, but only recently did
I realize I should spread my knowledge
of animal cruelty in food choices.
Having your brochures here for all
my clients is an easy way to let
them know we are vegan, and it opens
the discussion about cruelty to
animals in food production. Really solid day at
Chico State. I had
two incredibly productive discussions
with two meat eaters. They both
left with Guides, telling
me earnestly that they would read
them carefully. I met Mcrae Molatore
towards the end of the day and she
ended up leafleting with me for
almost an hour. She ran into one
of her professors who told her he
admired her for handing out information
for something she believed in so
strongly. The first faculty member
I offered a booklet to at Indiana
U at South Bend let me know that
she was the advisor to the newly
formed vegetarian student group.
Twenty minutes later, a student
came by and let me know that it
was getting an Even If You Like
Meat booklet from me in the
past that had moved him to become
vegetarian. I was filmed in action
and interviewed by a student from
a nearby Michigan school for her
class project. Heard from seven
vegetarians and two vegans. No negativity at all
at Lamar U in Beaumont,
TX. As usual, I overheard or was
told by some students that they
would be going veg. I am sure more
were influenced, as many were reading
over the booklets. At the University
of Wisconsin, Stevens Point,
the second person I offered a booklet
to said, "I don't eat meat
because of that." She was glad
to get a Guide. A man walked
away with a leaflet then stopped
when he realized what it was and
came back to say, "Sir, i want
to thank you for what you are doing.
I recently saw a video on the internet
of what they do to pigs. It is horrible." At Mutt March,
a man told me he had installed phone
lines at a poultry farm and he saw
the birds. He described the conditions
as horrible and said the birds looked
sick. He added that no animal should
be treated that way.
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-Joe
Espinosa, 3/25/09