Your Daily Dose of Vegan Outreach!

Is “Better” Good Enough?

2013-05-22T07:30:00.000-07:00

The light shines down on Riley Law as she helps animals.

Why is it better to be a vegetarian than someone who, say, eats only “free-range” animals. Obviously, eating animals that weren’t factory farmed is better.

But as vegetarians, we don’t make our food decisions simply based on what is better. We want to make the best choices we can for the animals.

That is exactly how Vegan Outreach looks at advocacy: We don’t want to make things somewhat better. We want to make the best choices we can for the animals.

Steve met Nina at Los Angeles Pierce College; she now wants to go veg and get involved.
She joined Steve in leafleting, reaching 300 students in fewer than 2 hours!

Catching Up with Stories

2013-05-21T07:30:00.000-07:00

Recent Enewsletters have focused on Team Vegan leafleters, so here are some other stories:

We had SUCH a great experience at UMass-Lowell today! It should have been absolutely miserable (it was cold and raining super hard) - but with the positivity of the volunteers, I couldn't help smiling the entire day. We gathered about 6 email addresses to give people more details about getting involved! We also met two people who came up to us, thanked us profusely, and said after reading the booklet, they were going to go vegetarian!
-Rachel Atcheson, 2/27/13

Last year, George Fox University, a private Christian school, asked their student government to vote on whether I could table there. The student government voted me in, so I was there today, with CVA's "Would Jesus Eat Meat Today?" booklet. Met many vegetarians and interested students. Talked with two men - one vegan and the other a friend who he had recently influenced to go vegetarian. The vegan was happy to see me there, saying a lot of people gave him trouble over the fact that he's vegan. He said this was the first time he had seen literature that discussed vegetarianism and the Bible. A man took a "Would Jesus Eat Meat Today?" booklet and asked, "What do you think? Do you think He would?" (in what I thought was a skeptical tone). I said I'm guessing He would not, but I can't prove it. The man asked, "What would He eat? Bread?" I gave him a Guide, and said, "Here are some other things that people eat." A woman said, "Actually I think He would eat fish." I said, "He did eat fish, but there are questions of what He would eat in our era. It was harder to get food back then, and they hadn't invented some of the worst ways of killing fish yet." (In retrospect, I'm not sure whether the Bible actually mentions Jesus eating fish, but He served fish to other people.)
-Cobie Delespinasse, 2/25/13

Great night at The Rock and Worship Roadshow, where Anna, Aaron, Katie, Melodie, Sheila, Stephanie, and I reached 1,500 people with CVA booklets. A few people returned the booklet, but just as many people came back to get additional booklets. I had some success with a young guy who declined a booklet, declared "I like meat!", and started walking away. I was able to grab his attention by asking if he believed that animals should be treated inhumanely. He came back over to me for a brief, positive conversation, and then he walked away reading the booklet.
-Jessica Dadds, 3/1/13

Traffic held us up, but good outreach at Florida International University, Biscayne Bay. One middle age vegetarian woman took a brochure and then returned a few minutes later asking for more, so she could distribute them in her work place. Another highlight for me here too was in meeting a high school aged vegetarian who excitedly took her leaflet (then proceeding to make sure her 6 other friends with her also took one) and then told me how she'd recently given a talk in class about being vegetarian, getting one of her classmates to give it a try in the process. So exciting to meet others willing and already busy getting the word out for the animals. She got a Guide, and I have no doubt will continue being an excellent and positive role model for others she meets interesting in transitioning into a more compassionate lifestyle.
-Ken Pelton and Yuri Mitzkewich, 3/4/13

After a slow start, things picked up at Miramar College, and I had some great conversations. One guy came back after about a half hour to say he read the entire booklet, and doesn’t know if he will be able to eat animals again after this and thanked me for being there and asked for a couple of leaflets to give to his friends. Another positive encounter was with a guy who was a bit resistant at first but after talking for a few minutes said he could feel how passionate I was, and promised to read the booklet before his next class. Met someone who said she had seen something relating to factory farming in a class and that she was happy to receive a leaflet because she had been wanting to learn more about it ever since.
An all around great day at Southwestern College -- so many nice encounters. A lot of people stopped to ask what this was about and began asking many questions; I feel that I really got through to a number of them. My favorite part about doing outreach is having conversations like this, seeing them change their minds and come to new realizations is the best. I really enjoy when people ask so many questions, and when I have a group around me talking and asking questions it lures more people over to see what it’s all about. I continue to experiment with different methods, bringing up various points and learning what works best and what doesn’t work as well. Each time I leaflet I feel that I’m making improvements in my ability to get through to people more and more.
-Shura Hammond, 3/6/13

Ciera Leughmyer in her Team Vegan shirt.

"Life Is Good, Baby"

2013-05-20T07:30:00.000-07:00

1. What does it mean to “want a vegan world, not a vegan club”?

We have limited time and resources. We can spend it worrying about ingredient lists, arguing philosophy, praising veganism, and enforcing definitions / excluding people from being "vegan." Or we can work to help others take steps to reduce the number of animals bred into factory farms and butchered in industrial slaughterhouses. In other words: we can focus on and promote our personal veganism, or we can get new people to take start taking steps that help animals. (See also http://whyveganoutreach.blogspot.com/2013/04/lincoln-and-first-step.html)

2. How long have you considered yourself vegan, how has your attitude towards vegans, as a group, evolved over that time frame?

I stopped eating animals sometime in the Stone Age – back in the 1980s – and evolved to veganism a few years after that. At that time, I was a total vegan clubber – worried about justifying and praising my veganism / attacking and “winning arguments” with meat eaters, etc. I would repeat anything and everything I heard that sounded vaguely pro-vegan, or anti-meat, regardless of its veracity or its impact on others.

It took me years to realize that how I felt about veganism, or the issues that seemed (to me) to be related to veganism, were ultimately irrelevant. The animals mattered. Period. And if I wanted to help as many animals as possible – to reduce as much suffering as possible – my actions had to be focused on the animals, not me or veganism.

Psychologists have a good idea why and how people change, and it isn’t by being confronted by an egotistical absolutist who cares only about their definition of veganism. People change when they open their hearts and minds to change, and we can help this by reaching them where they are, focusing on the first step they can take, rather than talking about the last step we took.

3. Why did you initially embrace veganism?

When I was a freshman in college, my roommate was a vegetarian. He told me about the cruelty of modern agribusiness. I didn’t change at first, and there was a false start, but I eventually did stop eating animals. This evolved over time – I gave up factory-farmed eggs, buying “free-range” from the local health-food store. I bought only Amish cheese. And then I gave it all up – I finally got to the point where habit and convenience didn’t outweigh wanting to make choices that caused animals to be killed.

4. Why do you currently embrace veganism?

I actually wouldn’t say I “embrace” veganism. For the reasons I discuss in AML (http://bit.ly/meaningfullife), my goal in life is to reduce as much suffering in the world as possible. But my personal food choices are only a small part of that. Being a good, joyous example; writing constructive booklets and essays; doing and promoting effective and efficient outreach; living simply so more money can go to the animals – that is what I seek to embrace.

5. How did you perceive veganism, as a lifestyle, before you were vegan?

Hard! Bordering on crazy and impossible!

6. How do you perceive veganism, as a lifestyle, now?

I know many vegans like to say, “Veganism isn’t a diet, it is a lifestyle!” They then go on to say, “And the lifestyle is X, Y, and Z,” and X, Y, and Z just happen to align with their personal views – their politics, their other habits, their philosophy, etc.

Not surprisingly, I was like that, too. It took me a long time to realize this was, at best, a waste of our limited resources. But worse than that, this attitude just serves to put up barriers to others. It is much less likely for a new person to consider taking any step when we insist on the last step, and that step has to involve many things other than what we eat. (See also http://www.veganoutreach.org/advocacy/definingvegan.html)

Now I only care about more people learning the hidden cruelties of modern agribusiness. This is how more people can take the first step toward helping these animals. Reading and/or worrying about debates about veganism … well, this isn’t an efficient use of my limited resources.

7. What was your attitude towards food before you were vegan?

I would guess I had a pretty typical Midwestern attitude toward food before I met Fred, my first roommate in college. I really didn’t like vegetables (except corn on the cob), steak was the “special treat” food, etc. I was a middle-class kid who dreamed of a good career, a bigger house, a fast car, a fancy stereo system, trips and good food, etc. That first week of college, my parents and I planned to celebrate my future graduation at the city’s five-star French restaurant.

8. What is your attitude towards food now, as a vegan?

We have such great, amazingly tasty food today. I look forward to meals – choosing is difficult! It is so much different than when I first went vegan, I can’t begin to tell you. Between being poor and the lack of options, it was rough. For a while in Cincinnati, there was a little place – Take Outrageous – that had this amazing deep-fried tofu sandwich with a sauce we thought was infused with some addictive drug. We would each have one, and were absolutely tormented because we couldn’t afford another. Now, I eat things that at least that good nearly every day, and I don’t have to fret about affording my next meal. Life is good, baby.

9. What role does “personal purity” play in being vegan?

See this: http://whyveganoutreach.blogspot.com/2013/03/npr-and-vo-more-on-being-vegan.html

10. Do you feel camaraderie towards others who identify as vegan, why or why not?

Although I obviously have great sympathy for people who, like me (http://www.veganoutreach.org/articles/youngmatt.html) have a different focus than my current work, I tend to feel the deepest connection to fellow utilitarians dedicated to practical, efficient, and effective work to reduce suffering.

-Matt

Plagiarizing Jack, Part 2: Can a Natural Diet Require Supplements?

2013-05-19T07:30:00.000-07:00

From here:

If we admit that vegans need to get vitamin B12 through fortified foods or supplements, are we saying that a vegan diet is unnatural?

One point to consider is that feces contain large amounts of vitamin B12, produced by bacteria in the colon, and that if we found ourselves in a state of nature, and still wanted to be vegan, we could get enough B12 from feces, though it would be important to make efforts to make sure the bacteria were killed and viruses were neutralized. Admittedly, that's not terribly appetizing.

People have told me that they and other vegans they know do not take vitamin B12 supplements nor eat fortified foods and are healthy. While many vegans do not supplement with B12 and remain apparently healthy for many years, they normally do not know what their homocysteine levels are, which could eventually contribute to stroke or dementia. They might eventually run into overt B12 deficiency (see Individual Cases of Deficiency). You are taking a real chance by assuming you have transcended the need for a recommended B12 intake.

As people live longer, homocysteine has more years to cause damage to the body. Because of this, the importance of B12 has increased. The longer a vegan does not supplement with B12, the lower their active B12 levels will drop, increasing their homocysteine levels.

In Western society today, it is easy for vegans to ensure an adequate B12 intake. Vegans who supplement with B12 can have superior B12 status to non-vegetarians who do not supplement. In fact, due to a decrease in the ability to absorb B12 from animal foods as people age, the Food and Nutrition Board says that all people (not just vegans) over age 50 should "meet their RDA mainly by consuming foods fortified with B12 or a B12-containing supplement."

Is the Vegan Diet Natural?

Is the vegan diet natural? To answer that question, I recommend an article that examines the subject in great detail, Comparative Anatomy and Physiology Brought Up to Date: Are Humans Natural Frugivores/Vegetarians, or Omnivores/Faunivores? by Tom Billings. After an extensive review of the research, Billings concludes that humans are not naturally vegetarians or vegans. Despite this, he says:

I am both pro-vegetarian and pro-[eating raw foods as a large portion of the diet]. Readers should be aware that I am a long-time vegetarian (since 1970), a former long-time (8+ years) fruitarian (also a former vegan),... However, I am definitely not a promoter of, or a "missionary" for, any specific diet. In reality, I am tired of seeing raw and [vegan/vegetarian] diets promoted in negative ways by extremists whose hostile and dishonest behavior is a betrayal of the positive moral principles that are supposedly at the heart of veg*ism.

He continues:

You really don't need the naturalness claim to be a veg*n! That is, moral/spiritual reasons alone are adequate to justify following a veg*n diet (assuming the diet works for you, of course). Further, if the motivation for your diet is moral and/or spiritual, then you will want the basis of your diet to be honest as well as compassionate. In that case, ditching the false myths of naturalness presents no problems; indeed, ditching false myths means that you are ditching a burden.

Readers may also be interested in the article Humans are Omnivores, adapted from a talk by John McArdle, PhD (originally published in the May/June 1991 edition of the Vegetarian Journal). The PaleoVeganology blog also has interesting information about the diets of our ancestors.

Whose Diet is Really Natural?

I strive to be like my prehistoric ancestors in no way whatsoever. I am glad they were able to survive lives that were nasty, brutish, and short, in order to one day allow me to type away for hours a day on a MacBook. But I have already outlived them while eating a large proportion of food they wouldn't recognize and taking supplements both as a child and as an adult.

The idea that a prehistoric diet can be approximated today or that it would be the most optimal diet is rather questionable. Today's commercial plant foods and meats are different from the foods available in prehistoric times. We eat hybrids of plants and we feed foods to farmed animals that they would not normally eat. Farmed animals are typically given a host of supplements in their feed. The U.S. food supply is routinely fortified with a host of vitamins and minerals (such as vitamin D in milk), and most people who turn to what they consider to be a more natural diet as adults have often benefited from this supplementation. In the last two hundred years, nutritional science has solved all sorts of serious health problems that plagued humanity for eons.

Although there are exceptions, eating meat is one of the few things which most people try to do that is "natural." Paleolithic dieters are probably the most vocal anti-vegetarian, natural eaters. Yet they rarely eat insects, grubs, and worms which, according to Paleoveganology in his post What, No Bugs?!, "have long provided humans and other primates with nutrients, and continue doing so today in most parts of the world." So one has to wonder how close to nature they are actually trying to eat.

Future of Research on Vegans

Many vegans are understandably skeptical of the medical and scientific community. But by refusing to accept the scientific evidence in favor of the need to supplement with B12, we provide a steady flow of vegans with health issues for the medical community to study. If you are wary of the medical community, the best thing you can do is ensure that you do not develop B12 deficiency and become one of their subjects.

While I'm grateful that research has been done on vegans who do not supplement with B12, enough is enough. It is the vegan community's responsibility to stop this flow of research subjects. When researchers decide to do studies examining the health problems of vegans who do not supplement their diets with B12, it would be best if they simply could not find any.

Encourage New Vegans to Get B12

All vegan advocates should be aware of the symptoms of B12 deficiency (with the realization that elevated homocysteine levels occur long before these symptoms are noticeable), and the need for new vegans to start supplementing with B12 shortly after becoming vegan (or even near-vegan).

Plagiarizing Jack, Part 1: American Cancer Society on Soy & Breast Cancer

2013-05-18T07:30:00.000-07:00

Taken from here:

If you’ve read my articles on soy (Response to Not Soy Fast, Soy: What’s the Harm), there’s nothing new here, but it’s good to hear it from an organization like the American Cancer Society (ACS):

The Bottom Line on Soy and Breast Cancer Risk*
August 02, 2012
By Marji McCullough, ScD, RD

Excerpt:

“Bottom line: Even though animal studies have shown mixed effects on breast cancer with soy supplements, studies in humans have not shown harm from eating soy foods. Moderate consumption of soy foods appears safe for both breast cancer survivors and the general population, and may even lower breast cancer risk. Avoid soy supplements until more research is done. So, enjoy your occasional tofu stir-fry or tofu burger – they are unlikely to increase your risk of breast cancer and, on balance, are some of the healthier foods you can eat!”

*Warning: There are the typical Weston Price Foundation-type comments after the article – the myths about Asians eating only fermented soy and fermented soy being significantly different than other soy. Too bad they allow comments which will possibly just serve to scare people. And I realize that I’m saying that as someone who allows comments on my own blog, but it’s one thing to be an RD blogger and another to be the strategic director of nutritional epidemiology for the ACS. Of course, that doesn’t mean Dr. McCullough is infallible, but if someone whose opinion is worthwhile has an objection to her article, they can contact the ACS behind the scenes and she can correct the article if they have a valid point. Just my two cents!

Double Doubling Deadline!

2013-05-17T07:30:00.000-07:00

Sunday, May 19 marks the deadline for Team Vegan's Double Doubling (details here).

Please be sure to take advantage -- just click on over to the Team page! -- and pass along this opportunity to others!

Thanks so much!

Team D-F at Texas Women's University!

2013-05-16T07:30:00.000-07:00

Alissa Finley reports:

We had planned to stop on our way down to the Gulf at some other colleges too, but TWU went so successfully that we ran out of booklets at our first stop. Yay!

It was a beautifully sunny day and there was a housing fair in the middle campus, complete with a "Crawfish Boil" being advertised. Fin and I (middle) stood nearby this sign. Deke, Sen (bottom), and Anna (top) spread out in other areas. The fair made for great traffic. It was the first time out for these kids leafletting and they did a super smiling job!

Sen (12), Anna (9), and Fin (5 y.o.) Dalrymple along with us, their parents (me and Deke Dalrymple), gave out over 650 booklets. Fin our Kindergartner was especially earnest and adorable, and no one could turn him down when he asked, "Do you want to help animals?" A good handful of people said they had already received a VO booklet previously, and were thrilled to be offered a Guide to keep them on track.

One Pic to Rule Them All

2013-05-15T07:30:00.000-07:00

Sent in by Karen James:

Pics Around the Country

2013-05-14T07:30:00.000-07:00

Karen James sends this picture of her secret weapon: Gwen.

Karen also snapped this pic of enthusiastic recipients at Earth Day.

Steve Erlsten met Juan, who was excited to get a Guide
and knows he can go vegan!

Steve also met Jesus, who was stoked to get a Compassionate Choices:
took another for his roommate.

Brian Grupe snapped this picture at Berkeley City College.

Ben Sylvester at Drexel.

Bower Power, and Depression and Vitamin D

2013-05-13T12:33:00.002-07:00

Jack passes along this report from a reader:

“You might be interested to know that since I started following the recommendations in Vegan for Life my depression has all but cleared up (I think mainly as a result of taking 1,000 IU of vitamin D each day as well as a small DHA/EPA supplement). I’ve had depression since I was a child and I can’t tell you how nice it is not to feel miserable all the time. Depression runs in both sides of my family. The fact we live in [city omitted] where it rains nine months of the year doesn’t help matters. So while I still take antidepressants, the change in diet has been a huge boost.”

And Linda Bower (in the back; click for larger) has been doing amazing school outreach in the Miami area! You can support her work by clicking here!

Mom Oberg

2013-05-12T07:55:00.001-07:00

John Oberg reports:

My mom, despite battling through a lot recently, including an injury that has her temporarily wheelchair-bound, got out of her comfort zone to help reduce others' suffering. If you think she deserves a hug and/or that the work of Vegan Outreach is important, please show it by supporting my Team Vegan page to keep the work that VO does going. Thanks! http://teamvegan.biz/team/John

Vegan Food for Everyone! Great Stuff from Ginny

2013-05-11T11:23:00.002-07:00

Vegan Food for Everyone!

Excerpts:

I was thrilled to come across vegan goodies [at Costco]. But when I reported my finds on Facebook: Was the tofu GMO? Wasn’t there sugar in the seaweed salad? And shouldn’t I be shopping locally?

The more that people see vegan food in stores—especially stores like Costco where food is cheap—the more they might be willing to eat those foods.

We need to make animal-friendly actions “possible, simple, fast, convenient.”

I’ll do [something uncomfortable] if it pushes vegan food another few inches into the mainstream. Because, what’s comfortable for us isn’t really the point of veganism, right? Something that I guess should be obvious, but often isn’t: “I am not my audience.”

How I view veganism is not how my audience views it. I see it as (relatively) easy. Many people don’t. Yet, some activist efforts seem aimed at making it as hard as possible. You don’t just have to [eat] vegan—you also have to shop locally, scrutinize labels to make sure that every six-syllable ingredient on the food label is vegan, and cook everything from scratch. (And then we hide the vegan food where no one can find it!)

Not everyone likes to cook (and an aversion to cooking is not a moral failing). And not everyone can afford to buy local/organic food. (Being strapped for cash is not a moral failing, either.)

With some guidance, though, everyone can be vegan or can at least start taking steps toward a more vegan lifestyle. We can build roadblocks, or create paths. Assuring availability of a wide range of all types of vegan foods at stores and restaurants, and making them easy to find, puts more vegan food in the path of those who are open to trying it.

Full post.

O (in) Canada, Part 2

2013-05-10T07:30:00.000-07:00

You want more, eh? Well, ohkay!

John Sakars, Ali Pester and I set an all-time Canadian record at York University -- over 4,600 students reached. Shannon (below, with John Sakars in the background) is now working on going vegan and wants to leaflet!

Ali Pester!

John Oberg with 50,000 booklets.
Thanks to his Grandparents for taking delivery!

Ali, John O, and John Sakars, by Alex Greenwood.

John gets artsy at York.

Shocked at Ryerson University.

O (in) Canada! Part 1

2013-05-09T07:30:00.000-07:00

A post about John Oberg's trip to Canada, ohkay, eh?

At the University of Western Ontario: Vidhant's [below] sister had been handed a VO booklet two years ago in Ottawa. Vidhant also read it and has been veg ever since!

At McMaster University, Sharon [below] came back to say she hadn't eaten meat all day after getting a booklet, and was definitely go to eat less going forward!

John Sakars!

Engrossed at St. Clair College.

Stopped dead in her tracks at Ryerson University.

University of Guelph.

More Oberg in Michigan

2013-05-08T07:30:00.000-07:00

As John roots on his beloved Red Wings, we revisit some of his leafletings in Michigan:

Christine [below] came back and said, "Thank you for giving me this! I've read half of it on my walk. This pamphlet is really good. I had not idea it was like this. I think you've got somebody [me] convinced." I informed her that as bad as it is, there's something she can do about it and gave her a Guide.

At U Michigan, Ernest said: "If the statistics are true, I'm definitely going to eat less meat.
I can't believe the way we treat chickens just in the name of profit!"

At Henry Ford Community College, Adam [above] told me, "This is some serious stuff... It really makes me think differently." He seemed very convinced that he should stop eating animals.

Rachael (further below) and I had a good convo with Susan [below], who I could tell was holding back tears at first. She said repeatedly "I'm just so shocked. If I had known about how they were treating animals, I would never have been eating meat"

Rachael Murray (above) and Karley Bodis
at Henry Ford Community College.

Kate Brindle at U Michigan.

At Macomb CC, above and below.

Reading Even If and feeding squirrels, at U Mich.

Oakland Community College.

Engrossed at Washtenaw Community College,
c/o Phil Letten.

You can support John's work at his Team Vegan page! Thanks!

More from Rachel and Vic

2013-05-07T07:30:00.000-07:00

At the University of Akron, Melissa now wants to go vegan;
took other booklets to help her boss go veg, too!

Steven at Kent State is now going to change his diet to help animals.

At Youngstown State, Mara and Amber are now going to eat far less meat.

After reading the CC at Kenyon College, James came back to get a Guide.

Now realizes factory farming is wrong;
at Youngstown State.

Engrossed at the University of Akron.

Rachel at Youngstown State.

Want more stories like this? Please support their work here!

Catching Up Around the Country

2013-05-06T07:30:00.000-07:00

Click on any name to support their work!

Team Vegan member Steve Erlsten was at the amazing Pomona College,
where he met Diana, who has been vegan since getting a VO booklet at a train station.

Team Vegan member Lisa Drapkin met this woman at Hostos Community College;
she has been vegan since getting a VO booklet in high school!

Team Vegan member Vic Sjodin met this student at Youngstown State;
he and his roommates are now thinking of going vegan.

Team Vegan member Leslie Patterson and Tina Czerwinski
at South Suburban College. Photo by Team Vegan member Joe Espinosa.

Team Vegan member Karen James noted this student at SUNY Old Westbury
deeply engrossed in Even If.

Leafleting for Introverts

2013-05-05T09:56:00.000-07:00

This is outstanding! (Facebook post.)

Thanks to Alex for her insights, and John for filming it.

Are you an introvert who wants to help animals? You can support Alex here!

Team Camp and the Penn Staters

2013-05-04T07:53:00.000-07:00

Jon reports a great time at Penn State, because the group was awesome! Here are three who joined him to leaflet:

Aliyah James

Mercedes Howard

Laura Morse

Want to support Jon and his work to reach new people and get more people involved? Head over to his Team Vegan page!

Thanks!

Team Espinosa!

2013-05-03T07:30:00.000-07:00

A new leafleter reports:

"Joe Espinosa helped teach me how to leaflet today at the University of Illinois at Chicago. He was amazing! When I first walked up on campus to meet him, I thought, 'Who is that man doing graceful Tai Chi?' and it turned out to be Joe handing out booklets. It was really helpful to watch him in action and I learned so many things about leafleting from his advice. He has this amazing way of being assertive without being aggressive that gets so many students to take a brochure! He was really kind and took a lot of time with me to teach me and he gave me a book called The Animal Activist's Handbook, and some booklets."

"I really felt an accomplishment at handing out the brochures for the first time to students - it felt really meaningful. I wanted to thank your organization again for the wonderful work that you do and to especially thank Joe Espinosa for teaching me so much today."

Want to help Joe reach more new people, and inspire more new activists?

Please support him via his Team Vegan page!

The Power of a VO Booklet, Georgia

2013-05-02T07:30:00.000-07:00

Eric Griffith writes from Athens, GA:

I'd like to share a short story with you about the power of these booklets you've created and worked so hard to spread throughout the world:

Last September, the University of Georgia held the annual Student Activities Fair. Hundreds of student organizations set up tables to promote their causes and recruit new members. Our animal advocacy group, SOS (Speak Out for Species) had a table at the Fair. At the same time, I handed out VO booklets to the passing crowd.

One girl who took a booklet from me paused and then walked back to me. She said that she used to be vegetarian, but she had gone back to eating meat. She said this booklet might be just the thing to inspire her to try being vegetarian again.

Since receiving your booklet, she (Jordan Alexander, above, far right) did resume being vegetarian again, then became vegan, and has been a very active volunteer with our group all during the school year. Next year, Jordan is going to be vice-president of our group!

Thanks a million to you for creating these booklets and making them available. They have the power to change the direction of a life in a profound way. And thanks also for providing the encouragement and positive example to people like me who needed that boost of courage to get out there and leaflet!

Want to reach more people? Please make a contribution to Team Vegan today!

The Power of a VO Booklet, Ohio

2013-05-01T07:30:00.000-07:00

Amerea, at Bowling Green State (in Ohio) is not only going vegan now,
but helped Vic and Rachel leaflet, and took more booklets to distribute later!

Vic and Rachel changed Amera's life, and Amerea will change many more lives! You can change lives too by supporting their work today!

Just three quick clicks to create more vegans!

Bonus Feedback

2013-04-30T07:30:00.000-07:00

This week's Enewsletter has great stories. Here are some extras!

Gail at MIT has been vegetarian since getting a VO booklet years ago; now working toward being vegan.

A splendid day at MIT! Seth, Andrea, Sam, Adam (above) and I reached nearly 2,000 Beavers! Awesome conversations. The best thing happened today: a fellow vegan who works at MIT came out of work for his lunch break, saw me leafleting, and decided he'd treat me to lunch (indian food + mango juice). How lucky am I? Probably the luckiest girl in the world.
-Rachel Atcheson, 2/13/13

This MIT Staff member received a leaflet in the morning, then came back to talk about transitioning to veganism. After talking to her for ten minutes, she had renewed enthusiasm that she could make the transition.

It was a beautiful and sunny day of outreach at my Alma Mater, Northeastern Illinois University. Everyone was in a good mood, and the take rate was great. I ran into a few vegetarians who were excited to share that info with me. I had a couple people stop to ask questions, and claimed that they will reduce their meat consumption. There were a bunch of HS students touring the campus, and I would say about 50 leaflets went to them! One student stated that he had already gotten a booklet that day, and that it stopped him from eating any meat for lunch! Another student passed me, then turned around and said, "Are you vegan? Where can I buy almond milk?" It was a fun and inspiring day!
-Rachel Shippee, 2/13/13

Rachel S at Leeward Community College in Pearl City, HI on 1/29

At Catholic University, a woman walking arm-and-arm with a man took the booklet and said, "Oh my god, we were just talking about this." one woman stopped, poked around her purse, and gave me a five-dollar bill without saying a word – my first VO donation! A A man walking by for the second time said, "You gave me one earlier. I'm on board. I'm not a fan of factory farming."
-Dave Doctor, 2/18/13

The Chocolate Fest on 2/9 should have been called a stampede for chocolate -- people mobbed our table, where they swooned over Purely Decadent Peanut Butter Zig Zag and Pomegranate Chip nice cream! People were sending their friends to our table to try it. One woman even said the P.B. Zig Zag was by far the best of all the items at the choc. fest. We tore down a lot of "vegan food doesn't taste as good" walls--and also got a lot of VO booklerts into shoppers' hands.
Today's take rate at Cal Poly, SLO was unusually high. I reached 600 students in only 90 minutes! Love was in the air.
-Barbara Bear, 2/14/13

To Quote Vice President Biden: This is a BFD

2013-04-29T09:03:00.001-07:00

Beyond Meat has made it to the retail shelves of the Whole Foods here in Tucson. When we were checking out, the cashier noticed we had a package, and exclaimed, "This is so good! I'm not a vegetarian, but I like this better than chicken!"

There you have it: the road to animal liberation.

Doubt it? Another example: "Try the vegan 'chicken' that tastes like the real deal"

The author concludes: "While I can’t say that I will stop eating meat entirely, I will definitely be eating a lot less chicken now that such a superior plant-based substitute exists!"

And once there are superior substitutes for everything, no more factory farms. As we conclude One Possible Future: "Change will not come by revolution, but through person-by-person outreach progressing hand-in-hand with advances in technology, leading slowly [maybe not all that slowly!] but inexorably to a new norm that, to most people, hardly seems different. But an unfathomable amount of suffering will be prevented."

We are driving this change, every day! Please a part of it by joining Team Vegan 2013!

Rachel and Vic Hit Ohio

2013-04-28T07:30:00.000-07:00

Sara, going vegan after getting VO booklets!

At Oberlin, overheard Laura discussing the Compassionate Choices and going veg with a friend:
made sure to give her a Guide!

After getting VO booklets, Laura is going back to being vegan; at Bowling Green State.

Also at BGSU, Staci is going veg!

Karima now going veg at Cleveland State!

"Keep up the good work -- it works!"

Sarah Hernan, changing lives at Cleveland State.

Engrossed in learning the truth at Case Western U.

@Cuyahoga Community College.