The Vegetarian Resource Group participated in a community health fair that was hosted by the Excel Academy @ Francis M. Wood High School in Baltimore City, which is in one of the more impoverished neighborhoods in Baltimore. Overall this event was a huge success. This event was open to students, parents, and the community.

The VRG first heard of this health fair and the opportunity to attend from a school teacher, who attended the VRG Thanksgiving Potluck and who is vegan. She came with another teacher who is vegan and has been a longstanding member of the VRG. Because this school has two vegan teachers on staff, many of the students were familiar with the word vegan and said they have been interested in trying veggie burgers and vegetarian products that they see in the grocery store. Many of the students were also familiar with the vegetarian friendly restaurants that were listed on our Greater Baltimore Area Dining Guide. Some of the students were very interested in the educational materials that we had to give away because they are interested in incorporating more vegetables into their diet and see vegetarian diets as being a healthy lifestyle choice.

To support vegetarian outreach like this, please donate at http://www.vrg.org/donate

Carol Adams, author of The Sexual Politics of Meat, came to speak at my college, Towson University. I was asked to set up a booth for The Vegetarian Resource Group at the presentation along with four other health and animal rights organizations. I was excited to be able to table for VRG while enjoying Carol’s presentation.

As the room filled up a slide of images began to play on the screen. They depicted the link between women and animals exploitation in advertisements. Each picture showed ads that are used to encourage and condone the consumption of meat. Carol’s presentation was very raw and powerful. Some of the images were disturbing and some were very revealing. Carol goes on to state that her concept of the “absent referent” separates the meat eater from the animal and the animal from the end product. The “absent referent” refers to the issue of advertisements in popular culture sending messages that animals, like women, are nothing more than a piece of “meat.” Rather it be a piece of meat that you eat or one you look at in a sexual sense, the lines have become blurred and society has become accepting of both the demeaning of women and the mistreatment of animals.

Carol did an excellent job presenting her position on the relationship between women and animals and got the crowd surprisingly interested. She was kind enough to answer questions and mingle with everyone after the presentation.

Some long time vegans visited the VRG booth and I had a lengthy conversation with someone who was interested in resources for vegetarians that had began to eat meat again but wanted to become vegetarian again. She mentioned the cost strains of being a vegetarian in college and I shared with her some tips of how I shop inexpensively and prepare quick meals and healthy snacks to get through a busy day of classes.

As Carol said, her book is older than most of the students she shows this presentation to, revealing how pertinent these topics remain.

For more information on The Sexual Politics of Meat, please visit Carol Adams website: http://www.caroljadams.com/

You can purchase The Sexual Politics of Meat here.

To learn more about eating vegetarian/vegan on a budget, please visit:
http://www.vrg.org/journal/vj2006issue2/vj2006issue2mealplans.htm
http://www.vrg.org/blog/2011/11/08/vegetarian-and-vegan-living-in-your-twenties/

To volunteer at VRG booth, contact Mary at vrg@vrg.org
To support VRG outreach, donate at http://www.vrg.org/donate

Musical hits of today and yesterday, along with the several tables aiming to give health education about a variety of subjects, ranging from breast cancer to health insurance to vegetarian diets, filled the gymnasium of Carmel Anthony Youth Development Center last Saturday, June 9th. I had the chance to represent The Vegetarian Resource Group at the CARE Community Health and Wellness Fair in Baltimore with longtime VRG volunteer, Dorothy Kenney.

We enjoyed handing out coloring books to shy children, who, adorned in tutus and brightly colorful knee-socks, came out of their shells when given the opportunity to perform a belly dancing routine they had learned that morning. While talking to parents about vegetarianism and incorporating vegetables into children’s diets, we were pleased to hear from a good number of people that they did, in fact, eat vegetarian as much as they could.

One mother expressed to us that she has a lot of trouble getting her daughter to eat any sort of fruits or vegetables. Without much of a delay, Dorothy gave her a good potential solution: smoothies! In prelude to her solution, Dorothy asked this question: “Does your daughter like juice?” Because, perhaps, if the fruits and vegetables are blended together in a yummy looking smoothie, they might be more appealing to the woman’s daughter.

We also handed out a large number of materials to a teacher with Living Classrooms. He had been vegetarian for about ten years, and had just made the transition to eating vegan three months ago. After answering questions about vegetarianism for as long as he had been working with Living Classrooms, the teacher took pamphlets and handouts to distribute to his class and to use as tools for educating about what being vegetarian means, and why some people choose to live that lifestyle.

Living Classrooms, the group that threw this event, is a non-profit educational organization based in Baltimore and D.C., whose mission is to strengthen communities through giving children and young adults hands on education and job training. They strive for, what they call, “learning by doing,” or learning by directly experiencing a subject matter. To learn more about Living Classrooms, visit their website, at www.livingclassrooms.org

To support VRG outreach, please donate at http://www.vrg.org/donate

To volunteer at outreach booths, please contact Mary at vrg@vrg.org.

The “Vegetarian in the Military” article in Volume XXXI, No 1 of Vegetarian Journal sparked a discussion between staff, donors, and members who wish to reach out to service members following a vegan or vegetarian diet overseas. Servicemen and women are not given a spectrum of vegan foods and the lack of consideration to special diets in the military can be discouraging. What better way to express gratitude and promote our favorite vegan foods companies than to honor the vegan and vegetarian military with a pen-pal gift box?

My brother and sister-in-law are Majors in the U.S. Air Force and they both spent the last six months serving in Kabul, Afghanistan. Knowing my interest in food service, Travis told me about his Christmas dinner. A member of his cohort follows a strict vegan diet and without access to her meatless-meal favorites the cooks for the evening, my brother and two others put together three delicious dishes to satisfy vegans and the non-veg alike. Thrilled to see cleared casserole pans, they wondered why such colorful, hearty meat-free meals are not regularly available. The vegan menu was a success and with broadened awareness the possibilities reach far for the military pen-pal project.

As the Vegetarian Journal article states, if three percent of Americans are vegetarian there are about 40,000 vegetarian U.S. servicemen and women overseas. To reach these people The VRG needs help! There may even be a natural foods company with products they are willing to donate to the cause. There are regulations that define what can be sent and servicemen and women who follow meatless diets must sign up if they wish to be included because of heightened security measures. Fortunately, the cost and speed of mailing is similar to shipping within the U.S. since every individual sent overseas is given a U.S. registered P.O. address.

Volunteer coordinators who are willing to take the reigns and develop a plan, recruit volunteers, and manage the pen-pal project are essential to making this a success, so get involved today! To volunteer, you can contact vrg@vrg.org or call (410) 366-8343 or write to The Vegetarian Resource Group at P.O. Box 1463 Baltimore, MD 21203

Check out Chris’ Rhode Island Vegan Guide, an excellent resource for all things vegan in Rhode Island. In warmer months, Karen runs Like No Udder, an all-vegan soft serve ice cream truck!

We talked to 150 people at the Towson University Health Fair in October. We placed that many Vegetarian Journals into the hands of students and professors as they came to our booth, as well as guides where to eat locally and our new Vegan Plate handout. Interesting discussions included hiking vegetarian on the Appalachian Trail, our needs based internships, and why a religious Jewish person may have enough self control to never smoke on Sabbath or eat unkosher food, but can’t give up smoking other days or change her diet even if asked to by her doctor. Perhaps we can tap into this dedication to help people make healthy changes.

If you would like to have a table at your school or workplace health fair, please drop us a note at vrg@vrg.org requesting literature to give out.

See http://www.vrg.org/nutshell/ for some of our handouts.

CHARLOTTESVILLE VEGETARIAN FESTIVAL

Thank you to Jane Wilson, RD who did a VRG booth at the Charlottesville (Virginia) Vegetarian Festival! Jane reported: It was wonderful to be doing something to represent and educate with materials that are so well done by the VRG. As a registered dietitian and vegetarian for 15 years/ vegan for 5 years, the VRG has been an outstanding resource for me and one that I recommend for my clients and others interested in eating a more plant based diet. Just like me, others never seem to get enough recipe ideas. The VRG staff have over the years done an outstanding job of publishing something for every need in their quarterly journal and many publications.

What I remember most about my tabling experience is the 8 year old young man that came to the booth and purchased a twenty-five cent button that read “Eating Meat Is Obsolete.” He freely volunteered that he had been vegan all of his life. When he said it, I could feel coming from him a gentleness and a love for his way of eating. Need I say more?

Thanks Jane for your work towards a healthier and more humane world!

VEGTOBERFEST

Kudos to Mark Rifkin, MS, RD and Dorothy Kenny for volunteering and Debra Wasserman for filling in for an injured staff member at our Vegetarian Resource Group booth at Vegtoberfest in Baltimore. Besides the normal questions, Mark talked to a freshman college student who was interested in becoming a vegetarian dietitian. Thanks to Mark for inspiring and helping so many others!

If you would like handouts for your outreach booths, please drop Mary a note at vrg@vrg.org.

To support VRG outreach, please make a donation at
https://www.givedirect.org/give/givefrm.asp?CID=1565
Or
http://www.vrg.org/catalog/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=4

Thanks to Calvert Library, Prince Frederick, MD, for displaying VRG’s brochures on vegetarianism!

If you would like to obtain brochures for your local library or for a table at an event, please email vrg@vrg.org.

To support the printing and shipping of our brochures for outreach, click here.