Enewsletter

Notes from Vegan Outreach

Link of the Week: Psychology and Advocacy

Nick Cooney, head of The Humane League, has a new book out – Change of Heart – reviewing research in psychology and sociology as it applies to efforts to change the world for the better.

Here is our brief blog post on the book; the book’s site; and an interview with Nick.

Nick has kindly agreed to pull together the relevant research into this piece on leafleting, where he concludes:

Who knew leafleting could be so complicated? Yet if we want to create as much behavior change as possible, in order to reduce as much suffering as possible, we need to think carefully about the message we use. Do we just want to express our own beliefs, or do we want to use the message that is most likely to persuade others?

Be sure to read the entire article!

Product of the Week

Linda: “I’ll nominate EatPastry vegan cookie dough for product of the week. I have no idea what it tastes like cooked, since I’ve never managed to get that far.”

Please submit your product of the week via this page; previous entries here.

Notes from All Over

Lightning Round

• Vegans Take America
• Feds Poison Birds to Keep Feedlots Clean
• Cock Kills Owner
• Fox Shoots Hunter
• Only Wanting a Fair Fight
• Vegan.com:
  • Pro-Veg Coverage in Germany
  • Erik on Walmart
  • Carr’s Vegan Book #1
  • World’s Smartest Dog?
  • The Onion Parodies FDA Nutrition Advice

Notes from Our Members

Matt Gonzalez provides the animals a voice at Northern Virginia Community College.

Yvonne and I met this beautiful soul after we had packed up to leave Santa Monica Community College. We made eye contact and I ran over to her with a leaflet to “help animals.” Within minutes she was crying, and later wrote me:
     “I’m happy I met you – total Providence! Lately, I was thinking I was eating too much meat and if I should eat meat at all, but was in a mindless loop. After our talk and viewing the pamphlets, I became disgusted by meat due to animal cruelty. Ironically, my mom prepared beef that night; upon seeing and smelling it, I wanted to vomit. Funny thing is I ruined her dinner after recalling our discussion – she’s on board too!
     “It’s shopping day tomorrow and we’re excited to go vegan!
     “Coworkers asked what was I reading and I told them, then lightly asked their opinions on animal cruelty. They all agreed that commercial farms are wrong and even expressed shame or guilt in their attitudes. Their general response was, ‘Being vegetarian is hard,’ but I was able to refute that.”
—Nikki Benoit, 1/14/11

At Santa Fe College, the students were so very receptive and thoughtful. Hardly anyone refused a booklet! Some students came back after reading the leaflet and the conversations went very well. I could tell that changes will be taking place in their lives! I was thanked multiple times for being there. A teacher said he’d share the information with his students for discussion.
—Lana Smithson, 11/3/10

California Polytechnic State gets a dose of compassion from Roshanne Bakhtiary.

At North Carolina A&T State, the woman who approved our booklets told us she eats mostly vegetarian (sometimes fishes and chickens), and took booklets for herself. A lot of students (and even staff) stopped to ask for booklets; some wanted them to give to friends.
—Brandon Becker and Loren Hart, 11/1/10

I got a booklet from the Warped Tour this year and I finally read it. It made me feel sick how they actually treat the animals. I wish I could save them all.
—KA, 12/12/10

A great day for the soul – Brian and I reached nearly 3,000 students at Sinclair Community College, the University of Dayton, and Wright State. Through-the-roof interactions. One student told us her professor asked in class, “What’s the difference between cock-fighting and the way we are raising our chickens?” as they discussed the literature. We were in our element and definitely got to a load of people today. Thanks as always to the donors for making effective days like this possible.
—Vic Sjodin, 11/4/10

Great day at Rutgers University, where Cassandra, Amanda, and I reached over 1,000 students. We met tons of vegetarians and had some really positive interactions, with students saying they had been thinking of going vegetarian.
—Eileen Botti, 11/3/10

Gloria Lloyd helps Duke University students learn the truth about modern agribusiness.

Great day at University of Arizona! I had more people stop / come back / wait to get a booklet than ever before. Also got the most verbal reactions ever – some squeals of delight at the sight of Compassionate Choices, but even more yelps of disgust as people opened the booklet while walking away: “Oh God!” “Ewwww!” etc. One woman came back and took ten more for a presentation she’s giving.
—Matt Ball, 11/4/10

Couch-surfing on this last tour, I stayed with two kids for a few nights. A few hours before I was going to leave, one of the kids sat down and asked me why I was vegan (like he was ready to debate me). I gave him a leaflet and talked all about the extreme confinement of farm animals and slaughter practices. After the discussion, he and his roommate watched Meet Your Meat. At the end, one of them said, “I can’t see how I can call myself a good person if I keep eating meat.” We then put some veggie burgers on the grill and ate a vegan meal. They both got a Guide. Sweet!
—Phil Letten, 11/2/10

	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 POB 30865, Tucson, AZ 85751-0865