Enewsletter

Notes from Vegan Outreach

Suzie (photo courtesy of Animal Acres).

A Trio of Links

• Lesson Learned: Advocacy Can Hurt Animals

  Excerpt:

  “50% conversion rate? That must be the way to go!”

  This is how I used to think. But after years, I finally learned to ask: How does this argument actually affect animals? [B]efore our presentation, the 10 people consumed a combined 234 land animals every year. After our presentation, they eat 296 land animals per year.

  [W]e simply don’t make decisions based on what is “perfect” for our health, the environment, etc. We don’t exercise the optimal amount, we don’t sleep enough, we don’t floss every day, we don’t give up our car, etc. [I]f we change anything, we do something somewhat “better” – e.g., eating chickens instead of cows.

  So no matter how strong we think our arguments are, or how noble our intentions, or how passionate our desires, when we advocate without considering human nature, history, and the numbers, we cause more animals to suffer and die. Full post.

• Hating Meat, Hurting Animals

  Excerpt, from Ginny Messina:

  Several weeks ago, I received an email newsletter from an animal rights group highlighting a study on red meat and lung cancer. It linked directly to the study abstract which concluded that “A high intake of red meat may increase the risk of lung cancer by about 35%, while a high intake of poultry decreases the risk by about 10%.”

  That’s hardly a vegan message. And since most people already view chicken meat as healthier than red meat, it probably only serves to perpetuate existing beliefs about poultry consumption, while encouraging a behavior that leads to more suffering. Full post.

• Honesty Helps Animals Most

  Excerpt:

  [T]he way to have the biggest impact for the animals is simple:

  1. Focus on the animals as the irrefutable bottom line: Buying meat, eggs, and dairy causes unnecessary suffering; we can each choose not to cause this suffering.

  2. Provide people with honest, thorough, evidence-based information so they can change their diet and maintain that change.

  It is an absolute moral imperative that we learn and present the reality of vegan nutrition, so we can stop throwing away 75% of our efforts. The animals deserve no less.

  Full article (Why Jack’s Book Matters); Jack’s blog.

Product of the Week

Catharine: “All four flavors of the Gluten Free Bar are low-glycemic and high in protein. The texture is chewy, so they hold together pretty well and they’re pretty filling for a two-ounce bar. Whereas some protein bars have a really strong somewhat ‘chemical’ taste, these are very natural tasting (the oats were pleasantly crunchy and the peanut butter flavor was heartier than in other products out there). My favorites were the peanut butter and oatmeal raisin.”

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

Caroline Sanchez (above) and Tyler Lang (below) hand out Compassionate Choices at CSULB.

Notes from Our Members

Caroline & Tyler [right] – recent rejuvenate-ees from the Animal Lib Forum 2 weeks ago – joined Kassy and me at CSU Long Beach, and we set a huge record: 3,500 students reached! We heard from tons of veggies / vegans, and saw loads of folks reading the lit. We were both thanked numerous times – just great!
—Nikki Benoit, 11/27/12

Was great to hit San Joaquin Delta College and the University of the Pacific with Eleanor [Thomas, below], my gracious host. Seeing as how the 5th person I met had been vegan for 25 years, I figured today was going to go pretty well. And it surely did! We both had interesting conversations, and watched lots of students read the booklet all the way through. Two students came back to Eleanor separately and asked, “Is this really real? Is it really this bad?”
     What a great crew at Foothill College and San Jose State – Diane, Ekaterina, Kitty, and I reached over 2,400 students! Great conversations, too; e.g., I chatted with a guy who was at that moment listening to a podcast about people’s disconnect with their food. When I gave him a Guide, he said, “This is EXACTLY what I need!” I also met a 3-year-old who wanted to trade me some sticks for a leaflet. We are pretty much best friends now.
—Brian Grupe, 11/26/12

Amazingly receptive students at Rock Valley College. Kevin and I reached nearly 600 very quickly; 49 students accepted a booklet before I got my first rejection.
—Rachel Shippee, 11/28/12

At U of Miss, a student told me how his friend that owns a chicken farm got drunk one night and told them all about it. He said they throw chickens against the wall and also “play ball” with them by having a person throw the chickens and another person hit with a piece of wood. Very disturbing.
     I reached 825 people today at Florida Gulf Coast University. One student said the booklet almost made her cry; another said it broke his heart. I gave them Guides and encouragement. Another student stopped to say that the brochure affected her and she promised to reduce her meat consumption. A couple of different vegetarians and vegans were excited to see me leafleting and thanked me for being out there. Two other students expressed interest in volunteering with us. A grad student has been trying to work with dining services, so we chatted and I offered her some tips. Several other students mentioned how they hate animal cruelty or that they love animals. All in all it was a really solid day of outreach!

     Good day of outreach at receptive Edison State – I reached virtually everyone on campus. Great conversations, too – I was able to convince two students to try veg eating; four other students said they would reduce meat consumption.
—Jeff Boghosian, 11/20/12

Set a new record at Palomar College the day before Thanksgiving! [Allix Velázquez and John Kedroff, right] and I banged out booklets so quickly that by 2:00, we reached our goal of 1,000! Students were very receptive here: about 80% of them took a booklet, and by the end of the day, almost everyone said they’d already received one! Some of the day’s best memories: high fives from 2 vegetarians; a hug from a vegan; and “There is some sh** in here – spread the word!”
—Kassy Ortega, 11/28/12

A student reads Compassionate Choices at UPitt.

Reached 1,000 students at the University of New Hampshire. I heard from a student who said getting a booklet in the past helped her go vegetarian. An older Buddhist man was happy to see this outreach and asked for an extra booklet to give to a friend.
—Lana Smithson, 12/3/12

In the snow at the University of Pittsburgh, Giannina was the heroine of the day. We met an English professor [below, left] who is a VO donor and super stoked to see us on campus. Also met a student who now wants to get involved [below, right].
     Really solid day of outreach today at the Community College of Allegheny County. One woman wanted to go veg with her family; we talked for a while, then I took her pic [below, center]. Had about a dozen other quick convos, including one with a professor who had students do a report on factory farming.
—Vic Sjodin, 11/28/12

Great day at the University of Utah. Met a bunch of veggies. One woman told me that she really appreciates our work, and she’ll be telling her husband to eat less meat. She’s been substituting more vegan food into her diet but the Even If You Like Meat really made her think of substituting a lot more; plus the Guide has a lot of helpful stuff in there, so she was excited to get it.

Two of the 1,925 Utah students John reached with Even If You Like Meat.

     Great time at Utah Valley University. I met Chris Foster, the founder of Mormons For Animals, and one of the coolest guys around. Then, after I leafleted Sara, she came back to help me leaflet! I also spoke with a woman [Veronica, below] who said the booklet made her want to be a vegetarian!
     Reached a quick 820 at Salt Lake Community College, and met two students stoked I was there. Personal highlight of the day (and likely of the month) was meeting one of my favorite rappers – Foeknawledge – a vegan straight-edge rapper who was one of the inspirations for me to go vegan and get into activism.
     The University of Wyoming had the highest cowboy-to-non-cowboy ratio of any school I’ve been to. One student thanked me for handing her the booklet and said it was really interesting and was glad to have been distracted from her homework. Offered a booklet to one guy, and he bowed to me, hands together, and said, “Thank you, I’m vegan.” Spoke with him later and he expressed his gratitude and was so glad to see me out there.
—John Oberg, 11/9/12

UT Knoxville leafleting was awesome; Kathy, Kevin, John, Peggy and I reached over 1,800 students. The highlight was a young woman who came up to say the booklet really impacted her. She had to stop herself from crying when talking about it, and was considering going vegan as a result. I gave her suggestions for moving towards a vegan diet, Guided her, and thanked her for caring so much about the animals’ plight. Kathy also chatted with two women who were doing Christian outreach on campus. Both are vegan!
     So cold and snowy at York College, I had to keep going inside to warm up. I was able to give a talk, too, which was well received. I mentioned that most of us lead pretty comfortable, relatively pain-free lives, but the overwhelming majority of conscious beings on earth aren’t so lucky. So it’s important for us doing well for ourselves to look out and help those not so lucky. I also stressed that the suffering that exists gives us a tremendous opportunity to do good. I stressed the importance of philanthropy, and how taking a mainstream job and giving back to good groups goes so far.
—Jon Camp, 11/27/12

	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 fully tax-deductible. Vegan Outreach POB 30865, Tucson, AZ 85751-0865