Enewsletter

Notes from Vegan Outreach

Brian reports this Berkeley City College student went veg last fall after getting a VO booklet.

How Far, How Fast

These recent links – Chicken Industry Meltdown Continues and Bon Appétit Makes Big Move Against Animal Confinement – led Erik Marcus to comment, “Either of these would have been the story of the year if they occurred five years ago. We should remember not to take for granted how quickly progress against animal agribusiness is accelerating.”

And this story – Scientist Cooks Up a Meatless Product for Meat Lovers – could be the final nail in the coffin for the industrial meat industry, addressing what Erik identified as the #1 reason people eat animals.

From “Your Daily Dose of Vegan Outreach!” & Jack Norris RD Blogs

• Effective Advocacy Focuses on the First Step
• Effective Advocacy Requires Critical Thinking
• “Pig MRSA” Came from Humans, Evolved via Farm Drugs
• Vegan Break Interviews Jack

Notes from Our Members

More from Mexico:

Great outreach at Instituto Politécnico Nacional in Mexico City, where we reached almost 2,000 students at the school’s bus stop / metro station. Captive audience = score! Jeni quickly made friends with the man in charge of the bus stop, and he expressed a lot of interest in going veg; they left hugging and exchanging emails.
     Today at Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana Iztapalapa, Israel’s 13-year-old nephew, Cesarin (right, with Israel), joined us – it was great to have his help. We reached 3,100 more students. Again, countless people reading the booklets. People came back to ask for another leaflet or a few for family and friends. Many wanted to get involved with Anima Naturalis, so Israel was busy. One student wants him to give a talk, so they exchanged info. A professor (talking with Israel below) asked for more leaflets to give to his students, and he thanked us for leafleting. A few other students said “good job” or patted us on the back. Too many conversations to get into it – just massive interest in the booklets.
—Vic Sjodin & Jeni Haines, 2/15/12

CUNY John Jay is amazing. I had students tell me they were learning about factory farming in their classes, while other students came up to ask me for the information. Also heard from many people who had gotten a leaflet the last time I was there.
     Chris and I reached 1,600 students at Nassau Community College today, and had loads of great interactions. Yet another student said he was learning about factory farming in their environmental science class. He said it was the main topic of the semester.
—Katie Pryor, 11/28/11

High take rate and high interest rate at Paradise Valley Community College, where Kirby and I reached over 700 students. People were appalled by factory farming and many committed to making changes in their diet! I even got a hug from one student who was deeply touched.
     Today, Ardita, Ioana, Jeff, Jessica, Kelsey, Kirby, Stephanie, Zubair, and I reached 3,700 more at Arizona State – there are definitely going to be some new vegetarians in Tempe! E.g., one girl even said that it made her want to cry, so I gave her a Guide for her path to veg.
—John Oberg, 11/29/11

At Christopher Newport U, these students stopped by to tell John how they never knew much about factory farming before, and they were really moved by the booklet.

Awesome morning at Florida International University, where lots of people said they were already veg. One woman told me she was going to work on being vegan. My favorite for the day was a couple of students who came back after taking leaflets and said, “I’m going vegetarian!” I asked, “Really?” One guy said, “After looking at these pictures? Definitely!” They were rushing to a class to go take a test, but they came back by for a Guide.
—Linda Bower, 12/1/11

At St. Louis Community College in Wildwood, I had a great interaction with the security guard who hung out at my table; he is 70 and has been vegan his entire life! He even helped do some outreach.
     I want to echo the voices of my colleagues, and remark that I, too, have noticed a significant reduction in student antagonism toward what we are doing, as well as what seems a better acceptance rate. I think that this is reflected in my numbers this semester. It is gratifying to see this difference that we are gradually making, and we have our generous donors to thank for making this change possible!
—Rick Hershey, 12/1/11

Jessica, Josh, Yvonne, and I all got great feedback at Pasadena Community College, where we reached 3,421 more students. Josh got two vegan conversions in less than 45 minutes, while making connections left and right! Beautiful way to kick off the new year!
—Nikki Benoit, 1/9/12

Pomona-bound lifelong vegan Ellen Green helps pave the way for U of AZ-bound classmates.

It felt wonderful to leaflet again now that school is back in session; Nettie and I reached 1,385 students at Chemeketa Community College. One student told us that there’s a nutrition professor there who teaches “this,” showing videos, etc., and most of the people who take the class end up becoming vegetarian. Nettie met someone who got a booklet two years ago and went vegan. I met a young man who is vegan. He says that during his first couple of months as a vegan he was really angry with people who weren’t vegan, but he’s doing better now. I gave him an A Meaningful Life and showed him The Animal Activist’s Handbook.
—Cobie deLespinasse, 1/9/12

A solid day at Northern Virginia Community College, where I reached over 900 students. One guy let me know that he read the booklet and that it really got him thinking; I gave him a Guide. Also, I got the contact info for two individuals interested in getting involved. Incidentally, I received an email last week from a student who got a booklet from me the last time I was at this school. She has since gone from veg to vegan and now wants to get more active.
—Jon Camp, 1/10/12

At the MLK parade, Lynn, Ann, and I handed 650 people copies of Compassionate Choices – I had only three people turn me down! We all had great conversations with folks who had no idea animals were raised so horrifically, and many asked what they could do to help the “poor animals.”
—Lisa Shapiro, 1/16/12

Katie, Leslie, Tiana, and I had a great time at Las Positas College, where we reached 1,498 students, totally saturating the school! People walked by me with their brochure open and their faces pressed to the pages. I made sure to thank them for checking it out. Also met another woman interested in getting involved.
—Brian Grupe, 1/17/12

In the 20s with snowy wind that almost knocked me down three times, but was able to reach 666 students at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Met 10 vegetarians / vegans, and had surprisingly good reception, given the weather and the number of times I’ve leafleted here.
—Joe Espinosa, 1/17/12

Our message of non-violence seemed to resonate with many at DePaul University, and Joe and I were aided by the strong presence of Monsignor Egan (above right), whose statue is inscribed with the question, “What are you doing for justice?” I heard from several young people who had stopped eating animals, and many eagerly accepted Guides. One woman told me her whole office was trying veganism together!
—Leslie Patterson, 1/16/12

	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