Enewsletter

Enewsletter • May 19, 2010

This issue sponsored by

Notes from Vegan Outreach

Congratulations! Look at What We’ve Achieved Together!!

We are thrilled to announce that over the weekend, Vegan Outreach sent out our twelve-millionth booklet!

Five Reedley College students read VO booklets handed to them by Brian Grupe.

And on top of that, Adopt a College activists have, already this semester, handed a Vegan Outreach booklet directly to over 500,000 students!

More than half a million!

Please remember: all of this is only possible because of generous, thoughtful donors who support Vegan Outreach’s efforts for the animals.

Every booklet printed, every person reached, every life changed – all are because dedicated individuals believed in creating maximum change with their donations.

Even as activists keep reaching more people every day, Vegan Outreach’s Team Vegan is hard at work raising money to help change more lives. We are so honored to have such a great group of people working together to change the world!

Thanks – and congratulations – to everyone who is a part of Vegan Outreach!

From “Your Daily Dose of Vegan Outreach!” Blog

Product of the Week

Erik: “Trader Joe’s Vegetable Panang Curry is one of the most impressive frozen foods I’ve ever tasted.”

Send your product of the week to product (at) veganoutreach (dot) org; previous entries here.

Notes from All Over

Lightning Round

Notes from Our Members

Real change, one person at a time: Sam Vendettuol (above) and Will Schweitzer (below) help Brown University students learn what they can do to help stop violence.

Tuesday, Cassandra and I set a new record at Brooklyn College – 1,520 students reached! Countless people stopping to ask more about it, and we heard many comments expressing concern about the treatment of farmed animals. Three vegans want to work on increasing vegan options in the cafeteria. One person said, “This makes Food, Inc. look like Cinderella.” Another told me, “I get this every year, but now I think I want to try going vegan.”
Peter joined us Wednesday at SUNY Stony Brook, and the three of us handed booklets to 2,090 people. More great feedback! One student, along with two of his group of friends, had recently pledged to go veg; they were all grateful for Guides. He said he went veg after reading our leaflet last year in the cafeteria; he had received it a few times previously but was finally convinced that day. Another friend was convinced to try vegetarianism after listening to the conversation (initially he rejected a leaflet twice).
Marguerite, Danielle, Cassandra and I set another record today at NYU. Again, we got very positive comments.
—Eileen Botti, 4/16/10

At Iowa State University, one woman said, “The chicken stuff is HORRIBLE!” As she passed, another girl told me she didn’t eat meat. She excitedly took a Guide and said, “Actually, I read one of your fliers, and that is why I went vegetarian.”
At the University of Nebraska, I met a guy who got an Even If You Like Meat from me 2.5 years ago. He said the information was very shocking to him and he immediately started making changes to his diet. He said he generally ate vegan, but would on rare occasions eat meat or other animal products from local farms. He said when he saw me out again, he wanted to thank me for helping to bring about such a positive change in his life. Another guy said, “That exact pamphlet was the impetus for me becoming a vegetarian.” He said he got it when I was here one year ago.
—Fred Tyler, 4/20/10

It was Spring Fling at Auraria today, and I was able to leaflet in conjunction with a vegan bake sale. The woman who organized the bake sale told me she went vegan three years ago after receiving a VO booklet on campus. One student said, “I don’t need one, I’m already veg…but give one to him” (pointing to his friend). His friend took the Compassionate Choices, and the “already veg” guy happily accepted a Guide.
—Barbara Bear, 4/21/10

At Sacramento City College, I overheard one friend to another friend after taking a booklet, “That’s why I’m vegetarian! You need to read that so you know where your food is coming from.” One guy told me that receiving a pamphlet in the past had really opened his eyes. He mentioned trying to be a good Christian and happily accepted a CVA booklet and a Guide. A young couple told me a pamphlet, coupled with seeing Food, Inc., turned them veg. They also got a Guide. I ran into a man I had talked with during my last visit. He said he had greatly reduced his consumption of meat since our initial meeting, focusing primarily on cutting out chicken.
—Brian Grupe, 4/20/10

Christine and I had so much fun at Penn State, Middletown – lots of interesting conversations. One vegan said she stopped eating meat after getting a VO booklet three years ago in Virginia.
—Barb Keith, 4/23/10

It’s been a great and very full day of outreach. This morning I gave a presentation on factory farms to the Institute of Notre Dame’s high school assembly. The Dean allowed us to give every single student in the school a Compassionate Choices, plus the faculty. The school was also offering a meat-free option at lunch and 52 students ordered a vegetarian lunch today! Montgomery College of Rockville had its first annual Earth Day festival, which went extremely well. I handed out hundreds of VO and other leaflets, and 26 students pledged to try vegetarian for Veg Week 2010.
—Aaron Ross, 4/22/10

Johanna Andris helps another Cal Poly student apply ethics to farmed animals.

Last night, I was chatting with host and longtime Vegan Outreach member Hoss Firooznia. He was talking about how creating change isn’t always as simple as giving people facts and these individuals then deciding if the facts alone warrant making changes. Rather, individuals decide to make changes if they would accord with their already-held beliefs. People have a tough time admitting their previous way of living was wrong. So it makes sense to give them a way to change while still saving face.
     That is what I have always liked about the Vegan Outreach approach – it allows people the opportunity to make changes while still being able to save face, not forcing them to answer the big, broad questions at the very beginning. And then the changes lead to more changes; soon the originally held positions have also changed. It’s actually quite subversive.
     I saw the results of this approach today at Rochester Institute of Technology. One young woman came up to tell me that three years ago, she received an Even If You Like Meat on campus. She liked the idea of “you don’t have to be perfect” and immediately cut her meat consumption to basically nothing. She told me that since receiving the booklet, she has consumed meat three times – an average of once per year. The “not all or nothing” proposition sold her and continues to keep her on board.
     Also, a faculty member told me a story about her coworker – she once got an Even If You Like Meat and tacked it to her bulletin board for whatever reason; she continued to look at it, to make changes, and is now vegetarian.
     And Hoss was telling me about a colleague of his who had recently gone veg. He asked her what the original inspiration was; it was receiving a booklet on the campus of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign – way to go, Joe!
—Jon Camp, 4/22/10

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
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