By Emily Shoemaker

As an intern at The Vegetarian Resource Group, my position had three main channels, policy research, product and restaurant research, and reviews. The categories each focused on some kind of public service, whether that be researching the impacts of policy on vegetarian/vegan communities, finding new locations for veggie communities to utilize, or providing reviews that help vegan communities determine if products or restaurants are worth their time. The following is a summary of each broke down by paragraph.

Policy Research: While working with my internship partner Alex and the VRG’s dietitian Reed Mangels, PhD, RD, I was able to research over a dozen state policies on ultra-processed foods and track their approval status as they moved through their respective bodies. Afterwards, Alex and I wrote an article detailing the specifics of how each state’s regulations impact vegan and vegetarian meals. Lastly, I was tasked with writing a short brief on the status of federal legislation on ultra-processed foods. These experiences were my first real exposure to the world of active policy research and it got me familiar with how to use a wide variety of state resources quickly. I am also more confident in my ability to identify relevant clauses and facts from a given bill after closely analyzing so many. I am eager to take this knowledge into my graduate program, which I am starting this semester.

Product and Restaurant Research: The other two categories of my internship were able to teach me a different set of skills pertaining to website and blog posting, digital communications best practices, and product research. One of my main jobs was to review state listings of current vegetarian/vegan restaurants and mark any necessary updates to VRG’s online Guide to Veggie Restaurants in the USA and Canada. In doing so I was exposed to dozens, if not hundreds, of webpages that all displayed unique marking techniques. Different color pallets, key words, social media platforms, and even types of menu presentations gave me a lot of insight into how marketing differs from organization to organization. While I had a lot of personal experience with student groups, I had very little with non-university related marketing norms, which I feel has better prepared me for a possible career in technology consulting or project management after graduation.

Reviews: Lastly, I was able to review restaurants, products, and experiences for the VRG’s blog. This included Umami Global Bistro in Catonsville, MD, Little Market Cafe in Ellicott City, MD, and a vegan milk tea that I was able to turn into a vegan Boba drink. The reviews involved collecting photos from each experience and taking notes on my experience throughout the meal/cooking process. Taking control of my own narrative in order to lift up other organizations who are doing good work has been very fulfilling, and I’ll remember it fondly as I move on from my role.

Other: Two other stand out opportunities I got during this internship were visiting Christopher Place in Baltimore, MD and attending the Taking Action for Animals (TAFA) conference in Washington, DC. Christopher Place provides a learning curriculum for houseless men in the Baltimore area, one of those lessons being how to cook low-budget, healthy vegan meals. Alex and I met with Chef Crystal, who let us sit in on her Crabless Cakes lesson, and watched her create a delicious meal with lots of fun vegetable facts. The men we met during that lesson were kind and happy to allow us to join them, and the recipe promptly got brought home for my brother to make for us. TAFA was held at the Omni Shoreham Hotel in Washington, D.C. and was hosted by Humane World for Animals. The conference was three days long.  Alex and I went to many of the workshops, which mainly focused on policy skills for animal rights advocates in various capacities, and all of the main speaker events. We took home many new animal rights related trinkets and a lot of new context for animal advocacy in the U.S., including some fabulous dog toys my friend’s puppy greatly appreciated. Thank you to The VRG for a great summer!

For information on VRG internships, see https://www.vrg.org/student/index.php

To support VRG education and outreach to young people, donate at www.vrg.org/donate