Young readers will enjoy this rhyming tale about a
ferocious lion who was pretty ordinary until the day he injures himself. He
becomes unlike other lions that can run fast to catch their prey and now must
rely on plants for food. He learns from other strong plant-eating animals and realizes
that he too can be strong without eating animals. The injury helps him to
reflect on the harm he was causing other animals. He realizes a fringe benefit
of eating plants is kindness and in the end embraces his new lifestyle. The
story teaches readers about different animals that thrive only on plants and
helps them to identify with the lion in how he showed compassion toward other
living beings. Another moral of the story that kids will also learn is that you
can turn an unfortunate situation into something positive.
An Unordinary Lion (ISBN 978-1093275704) is published
by Dragana Vucic Dekic for young readers ages appropriate for ages 4-8. This 29
page soft cover picture book retails for $9.95 and can be purchase online. For
more information about other books by the author, visit the author’s blog at https://momthemuse.com.
The Vegetarian Resource Group will host a vegan dinner at Su Xing, about a six minute walk from the Pennsylvania Convention Center, on Sunday, October 27, 2019, during the annual meeting of The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. Meet vegetarian dietitians from around the country. The public is invited.
MENU APPETIZER: seitan on stick with BQ sauce SOUP: (choice of): hot and sour soup or tofu and vegetable soup MAIN DISHES: chow fun (rice noodle dish) tofu with black bean sauce stir-fried spinach stir-fried string beans rice DESSERT: fruit BEVERAGES: tea and water
MUST RESERVE AND PAY IN ADVANCE Send $25 per person (includes tax and tip) with attendee names to The Vegetarian Resource Group, PO Box 1463, Baltimore, MD 21203. Call (410) 366-8343. Or pay at www.vrg.org/donate and write “Philadelphia VRG Dinner” and attendee names on the “Comments” box.
My excitement for the summer peaked when I
arrived at Baltimore’s BWI Airport in the middle of June to begin my first ever
vegan job. The corners of my smile were as acute as a folded page in the Vegetarian Journal. For the weeks prior,
my family was getting annoyed at me for how excited I was to finally be around
people who share some of my views. (Oklahoma is not too kind to vegans, by the
way.) Don’t get me wrong, they were still happy for me! This is what I had been
looking forward to all semester; I was eager to begin turning my compassion
into action. At the beginning, I had doubts about whether I wanted to write for
a living, but this internship held the perfect opportunity for me to discover
where I belonged on the spectrum of vegan activism.
Google is my lifesaver. I found this internship
through a quick search: “vegan jobs near me.” The VRG internship was the first
result. Prior to this internship, I did marine biology and freshwater ecology
research. I knew I wanted a job that focused on veganism, I just did not know
where to begin! It is not every day you stumble into a vegan job market and
have options! One of the things I realized this summer is that a lot of the
people I met created opportunities for themselves.
My goals coming into this internship were to
gain exposure to vegan activism and careers, network with organizations,
interact with a developed vegan community, contribute to vegan research and
publication, as well as engage with the Baltimore community about research,
events, and how to get involved. So far, I have been able to accomplish many of
my goals, and the rest are coming to fruition as I complete the last two weeks
of this internship.
While here, I helped teach a vegan cooking class
at Christopher’s Place employment academy, aided in photographing food for the
Greener Kitchen’s menu, worked a booth at Waverly farmers market, did outreach
at Roots Vegan Fest, visited a 93-year old vegan who has been vegan for 70
years, tasted amazing vegan food, and wrote all about it. Before I leave, I
will have also attended a national animal rights conference and Vegan SoulFest.
Never in my life have I been able to interact with so many vegans. It has
helped me realize the diversity of the movement and how we can make a
difference wherever we are.
I have networked with doctors, nutritionists,
public health specialists, writers, restaurant owners, and food photographers.
I feel more secure entering the workplace after being exposed to the variety of
jobs people have veganized. It is inspiring to see people sculpt their love for
animals and environment into infrastructure that will reach many people and
save lives. Seeing the various ways vegans have positioned themselves in the
movement, and how they shaped their career to make a living while saving lives
has been the most valuable experience for me.
My experience at the VRG equipped me with the
skills and network necessary to progress my vegan career. Also, the experience
of living in a city for a summer as opposed to rural Oklahoma affected me in
life-changing ways. Seeing people living their dreams because they have
resources in the city has inspired me to not settle for anything. If you can
dream it, you can be it! This is something my small town failed to teach me.
Growing up poor and Native, you are never advised to dream big because it was
never in the cards for you. Now I am considering business, medical school, or a
PhD because I am now aware of the power I have to make myself. I could not be
more thankful for my experience at the VRG and in Baltimore. As I prepare to
leave, I am happy knowing I am fueled for a future in whatever arena I choose!
A reader sent us this Kraft Shareholder proposal and Kraft’s response. If you are a Kraft shareholder, you may want to take a close look when you vote.
SHAREHOLDER PROPOSALS In accordance with SEC rules, we are including the following shareholder proposals (Proposals 4 and 5), along with the supporting statement of the shareholder proponents. Kraft Heinz is not responsible for any inaccuracies in the shareholder proposal and supporting statement. The Board recommends that you vote AGAINST such proposals for the reasons set forth in the Kraft Heinz’s Statements in Opposition, which follows each of the Proposals 4 and 5 below. In accordance with Rule 14a-8(l)(1), the names, addresses and shareholdings of the filers of these proposals will be supplied upon request. ************************************************************************PROPOSAL 4. SHAREHOLDER PROPOSAL – PROTEIN DIVERSIFICATION WHEREAS: Consumers are eating less meat and demanding more plant proteins—many out of concern for the environment, animal welfare, and/or their own health. Companies with limited exposure to sustainable protein options may face a number of business risks including reputational damage due to changing consumer expectations and a loss of market share to competitors who have more rapidly adapted to an evolving market. Consider that: • In 2018, sales of plant-based meat alternatives increased 24% over the prior year, resulting in $3.3 billion in sales. Conversely, sales of animal-protein products increased only 2% during the same time frame. • Segment growth for plant-based products is expected to increase by 7.7% annually over next 5 years ii and is projected to make up one third of the protein market by 2054.iii • 70% of omnivores are substituting a non-meat protein in meals at least once per week.iv Kraft Heinz notes in its 10-K that “The food and beverage industry is highly competitive across all of our product offerings… We may also need to increase or reallocate spending on marketing, retail trade incentives, materials, advertising, and new product innovation to maintain or increase market share.” Given the competitive marketplace, many competitors are increasingly incorporating plant-based acquisitions and product reformulation within growth strategies. Unilever has a public strategy to offer more plant-based options, highlighted by the reformulation of iconic products such as Hellman’s mayonnaise and Ben & Jerry’s ice cream. Campbell’s has joined the Plant Based Foods Association, a group that works to expand the market for plant-based foods, and CEO Mark Clouse specifically cited plant-based products within the strategy for growth, noting that “Our engagement with consumers inspired us to evolve some of our traditional recipes, and we’ve crafted new products that deliver more whole grains, vegetables, lean protein and plant-based options.” Currently, Kraft Heinz mentions plant-based protein once within its publicly available materials as a component of the company’s push towards “Better Nutrition”. This page of the sustainability report simply i https://plantbasedfoods.org/consumer-access/nielsen-data-release-2018/ ii https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/press-release/globalmeat-substitute-market.html iii https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2015/02/24/920807/0/en/Alternative-Proteins-to-Claim-aThird-of- the-Market-by-2054.html iv https://chicagohealthonline.com/shining-light-plant-proteins/ 27 has pictures of products Kraft Heinz produces that fall under the category of plant-based without discussion of the Company’s broader goals and strategies. Kraft Heinz’s portfolio is largely reliant on products with animal-protein bases and has yet to reformulate to offer plant-based alternatives, positioning the firm behind some competitors. By increasing disclosure regarding Kraft Heinz’s approach toward protein diversification, investors would be better positioned to evaluate the Company’s direction within a rapidly evolving market. RESOLVED: Shareholders of Kraft Heinz request the Board to issue a report at reasonable cost, omitting confidential information, detailing the Company’s long-term strategy towards protein diversification within its product catalogue. SUPPORTING STATEMENT: Although we defer to management for the precise contents, investors believe that meaningful disclosure within the report could include: • Quantitative metrics detailing the sales of alternative protein products; • Details regarding capital allocation for research and development; and • How these considerations inform the growth strategy of the Company, including quantitative company-wide goals to diversify protein sources and reformulate existing product offerings. KRAFT HEINZ’S STATEMENT IN OPPOSITION TO PROPOSAL 4 At The Kraft Heinz Company, we believe in living our Vision – To Be the Best Food Company, Growing a Better World. From our quality controls to the relationships we have with our growers and suppliers, we are committed to responsible business practices extending to every facet of our business, and continuous evaluation to identify better and more sustainable ways to operate. We believe in making the foods people love even better. Finding ways to improve our products is something we do every day, because consumers should feel good about eating our products and serving them to their families. We remain committed to improving the nutrition and wellness profiles of our products to support consumers’ wants and needs through product renovation, innovation and nutrition resources. Some of our efforts include: • Kraft Heinz follows guidelines for nutrition & wellness that focus on ingredients to limit, and will expand these nutrition guidelines globally with a target to achieve 70 percent compliance by 2023. We are also focused on increasing beneficial nutrients/food groups/ingredients and other wellness attributes to give consumers options that support a healthier lifestyle. • Kraft Heinz is committed to simplifying our ingredient lines by offering products with no artificial dyes, flavors and/or preservatives, including: Oscar Mayer Hot Dogs, Kraft Macaroni and Cheese, Philadelphia Cream Cheese, Capri Sun Juice Drinks, Polly-O String Cheese, Oscar Mayer Natural Deli Meats, Jell-O Simply Good, and SmartMade meals. • We offer a variety of low or reduced-calorie products, including Capri Sun Roarin’ Waters, SugarFree Jell-O Desserts, Philadelphia Light Cream Cheese, Kraft Fat-Free Mayonnaise, Fat-Free Miracle Whip, Kraft 2% Milk Cheeses, Kraft Lite and Fat-Free Salad Dressings and lean meat options including Oscar Mayer Lean Beef Hot Dogs and Deli Fresh Honey Smoked Turkey Breast. Additionally, our Smart Ones and SmartMade meals offer balanced options to help manage calories.
With respect to
sustainable protein supply chains, we are aware of increasing consumer demand
for plantbased protein options, and we continue to invest in and innovate our
plant-based protein offerings. One example is through our BOCA brand. Founded
in 1979 and acquired by us in 2000, BOCA products have a soy protein base and
help consumers who desire meatless alternatives get protein, fiber and other
nutrients from a competitively-priced brand. We have helped grow the BOCA
business through innovation, redesigned packaging, improved formulas and
increased consumer marketing. As a result, we have expanded the line of
products from BOCA Meatless Burgers to a diverse family of products, including
BOCA Veggie Ground Crumbles, BOCA Chik’n Patties, BOCA Chik’n Nuggets, BOCA
Falafel Bites, BOCA Skillet Meals and other various vegan and non-GMO soy
options.
Beyond our investment in
the BOCA business, we are supporting disruptive innovation to add more
convenience, variety, flavor to our portfolio. For example, Springboard, a
platform we launched in 2016 to nurture, scale and accelerate growth of
disruptive brands, recently graduated its second incubator program class, which
includes brands like BRAMI, a freshly marinated Italian lupini bean snack, KA POP!,
ancient grain popped chips and Tiny Giants, a plant-based yogurt. We believe
such efforts, as well as those further described in the Kraft Heinz CSR Report
published in December 2017, reflect our commitment to improve and diversify our
product categories to satisfy a broad spectrum of consumer preferences. Given
our public statements, track record and current programs related to
diversification of our products, we believe the additional report requested by
this stockholder proposal is unnecessary, not in our stockholders’ best
interests and redundant to our current practices and initiatives. For the
foregoing reasons, the Board unanimously recommends that you vote AGAINST this
proposal
VRG will be having a booth at the DC VegFest being held in Washington, DC at Nationals Park on August 11th, 2019. Be sure to stop by our booth and say hello!
The Vegetarian Resource Group maintains an online Guide to Vegan/Vegetarian Restaurants in the USA and Canada. Here are some recent vegan restaurant additions. The entire guide can be found here: http://www.vrg.org/restaurant/index.php
To support the updating of this online restaurant guide, please donate at: www.vrg.org/donate
Here are some new additions to VRG’s
guide:
Batter & Crumbs
1401 Reed St.
Philadelphia, PA 19146
Batter & Crumbs is a café and
bakery, offering bagels, sandwiches, and other snacks, in addition to the cake
and coffee one would expect. They make custom cakes for birthdays and weddings
as well, just plan well ahead.
Delicious Raw
821 5th Ave. South
Naples, FL 34102
And
Pavilion Plaza
8925 Tamiami Trail N.
Naples, FL 34108
And
Pine Ridge Crossings
2338 Pine Ridge Rd.
Naples, FL 34109
And
Coconut Point Mall
23127 Fashion Dr.
Estero, FL 33928
And
Tower Shops Plaza
2276 South University Dr.
Davie, FL 33324
And
Sunset Harbor
1828 Bay Rd.
Miami Beach, FL 33139
Delicious Raw serves up healthy,
nourishing smoothies and juices at all their Florida locations. Some locations
also offer snacks, bowls and sandwiches, so check the online menu before you
head out! This is the place to go for food prepared with fresh, nutrition-rich
ingredients. Try one of their fusion or superfood bowls if you are feeling
hungry, or opt for a cold-pressed juice for a light pick-me-up. Their raw and
vegan desserts are very popular too!
Derive Bistro
1224 Washington Ave.
Golden, CO 80401
Derive is an American bistro with
hot, satisfying sandwiches, salads and sides. Get a Reuben with house-made
seitan, and add a side of green chili fries. Or maybe get a Cobb salad instead,
paired with a cocktail or craft beer from their full bar. There are plenty of
filling options to choose from, so check them out!
Galaxy Rune
3601 Fremont Ave. N.
Seattle, WA 98103
Galaxy Rune is an all-American vegan
restaurant, serving up all the classics like burgers, pulled “pork,”
brats, and even milkshakes! What makes this burger joint stand out are their
meat substitutes–which are soy-based and made in-house. They offer sides like
fries, chili and coleslaw, and add-ons including vegan cheeses and bacon. Plus
you can choose from a variety of craft sodas and beer for refreshment. Come for
the food, stay for the hip atmosphere!
Hug Life
14241 Euclid St., Ste. C115
Garden Grove, CA 92627
And
2707 E. 4th St.
Long Beach, CA 90814
And
3505 Chapman Ave., Ste. G
Orange, CA 92869
All the ice cream is made in-house,
and there’s a great variety of flavors to choose from including the classics
like chocolate, vanilla, and rocky road, to more unique flavors such as taro,
Thai tea, and honeydew. Get it in a bowl, on a cone, by the pint, on a brownie,
in a milkshake, in a float, or smashed between two cookies.
Rawlicious
1101 3rd St. SE
Cedar Rapids, IA 52401
Located in the popular NewBo market
area, Rawlicious brings a diverse menu to downtown Cedar Rapids. Favorites
include any menu item that includes their cashew sour cream, and the best vegan
cheesecake you’ll ever try. As an added bonus, Rawlicious offers cooking
classes and vegan recipe options, so you can boost your cooking skills while
sipping on one of their popular smoothies or cold pressed juices.
Secret Society Pizza
7201 NE Glisan St.
Portland, OR 97213
Secret Society Pizza has won over the
hearts and stomachs of vegans and omnivores alike. Yelp reviewers rave about
this place having the best pizza in Portland. Their specialty crust is thick
and filling, topped with house-made cashew cheeses and toppings of choice. One
of SSP’s most popular pizza pies is the Chalupa Batman, which is topped with
fresh tomato sauce, taco tofu, chipotle pesto, chipotle crème, po’Fredo, and
fresh cilantro. They have several robust salads filled with delicious plant
protein, including BBQ Cobb salad, Epic Taco salad, and a Caesar salad.
Randomly, they sell a bowl of Cap’n crunch with almond milk if you are craving
a crunchy sweet treat after you eat the pizza of your vegan dreams.
The Park Side Café
1909 Harrison Ave. NW
Olympia, WA 98502
The Park Side Café offers a fresh
take on plant-based foods! Their all-vegan, organic, and local menu is
continually rotating to accommodate local farms’ offerings. Dishes change
regularly due to what is in season or readily available. Some staple items
include breakfast burritos, pasta salads, savory pies, and soups. They also
serve a variety of cakes, cookies, and pies. Items are appropriately marked with
allergens so you can feel safe indulging!
Vegan Bliss
6410 N. Durango Dr.
Las Vegas, NV 89149
Vegan Bliss is an American diner
offering loaded plant-based burgers stacked tall with condiments: vegan mayo
and cheese, avocado, lettuce, tomato, onion, all that is needed to build the
perfect burger. There are different patty options, including Dr. Praeger’s
Patty, the Beyond Patty, and a Veggie Patty. If you are in the mood for a
different kind of sandwich, then Vegan Bliss has other meat alternative choices
such as “no-bacon,” “no-pork,” “no-beef,” and “no-bratwurst.” Although this
restaurant is known for its burgers, fries, and shakes, they have a variety of
breakfast options to create a filling no sausage meal to start your day.
Vegan Canteen
1337 Rue de La Sapinière, Unit 3
Val-David, QC J0T 2N0 Canada
Vegan Canteen serves tacos and
burritos with fillings like mole jackfruit, king oyster, refried black beans,
and more! They also sell their house-made vegan meats and cheeses directly to
customers.
Veggie Grub
12 St. Marks Place
New York, NY 10003
Veggie Grub, operating out of the St.
Marks Vegan Food Court, offers up feel-good, down-home vegan food, including
gluten-free options. When was the last time you had vegan “oxtails,”
or “shrimp” and okra gumbo? Or see how their award-winning vegan mac
and cheese won those awards. Why not try it today?
The Zucchini Bar
547 Central Ave.
Newark, NJ 07107
The Zucchini Bar is the perfect place
for a vegan treat! They have milkshakes, cookies, cheesecake, donuts, and more
decadent creations. They use all organic and high-quality ingredients to craft
their baked goods. In addition to sweet treats, they have pizza, salads, and
empanadas. Grab a cup of herbal tea or try their mushroom coffee and enjoy this
vegan cafe!
Freeda Vitamins recently contacted
The Vegetarian Resource Group to let us know that they had changed the
formulation of their Prenatal One Daily supplement so that it supplies 150
micrograms of iodine. This change in formulation was due to a letter from VRG encouraging
them to add iodine to their prenatal products because of the important role
that iodine plays in pregnancy. Even a mild iodine deficiency can result in
neurologic and psychological deficits in infants and young children. The
American Thyroid Association recommends that pregnant women (whether or not
they are vegan or vegetarian), should supplement their diet with a daily oral
supplement that contains 150 micrograms of iodine in the form of potassium
iodide.
Readers should be aware that Freeda’s Mini-Prenatals do not contain
iodine. Pregnant women choosing this product will need to use a separate
supplement that provides 150 micrograms of iodine daily.
Freeda’s products are marketed to vegetarians and vegans. The addition
of iodine makes Freeda’s Prenatal One Daily a better choice for pregnant women
than similar supplements without iodine. According to the company, all Freeda
products are Gluten Free and Kosher, and with the exception of their vitamin D3
tablets, all other Freeda products are 100% vegan.
The contents of this article, our
website and our other publications, including Vegetarian Journal, are not
intended to provide personal medical advice. Medical advice should be obtained
from a qualified health professional. We often depend on product and ingredient
information from company statements. It is impossible to be 100% sure about a
statement, info can change, people have different views, and mistakes can be
made. Please use your best judgment about whether a product is suitable for you.
To be sure, do further research or confirmation on your own.
References about iodine and
pregnancy:
1. Alexander EK, Pearce EN, Brent GA,
et al. 2017 guidelines of the American
Thyroid Association for the diagnosis and management of thyroid disease during
pregnancy and the postpartum. Thyroid.
2017;27(3):315-389.
2. Leung AM, Pearce EN, Braverman
LE. Iodine nutrition in pregnancy and lactation. Endocrinol Metab Clin North Am. 2011; 40:765–777.
3. Leung AM, Lamar A, He X, Braverman LE, Pearce EN. Iodine status and thyroid function of Boston-area vegetarians and vegans. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2011 Aug;96(8):E1303-1307. 4. Lee SY, Stagnaro-Green A, MacKay D, Wong AW, Pearce EN. Iodine contents in prenatal vitamins in the United States.Thyroid. 2017 Aug;27(8):1101-1102.
Freeda’s contact info for their products is www.freedahealth.com, or call (973) 882-0002.
By Emily Carter, VRG Intern (on right in photo above)
As an intern for The Vegetarian Resource Group, I worked at our booth during AR2019, as well as attended sessions.
Walking into my first animal rights conference
gave me an exhilarating feeling I will never forget. I had never been to
anything so special; immediately, I felt this overwhelming sense of community
and belonging. Opening the lobby doors of the Alexandria, Virginia Hilton Mark
Center and seeing the room filled with vegan activists made me feel like a
normal person. All I could think was, FINALLY! Finally I am surrounded by
people who think rationally about animal cruelty. Finally I can imagine myself
in this movement doing what I love. Finally I have hope.
Since 1981, the Animal Rights National
Conference (ARNC) has been bringing together individuals, families, food
vendors, and exhibitors that cover the spectrum of animal rights and all things
vegan. This year there were 100 presenters from more than 60 organizations,
over 100 exhibitors, film premiers, nightly networking sessions, and an awards
banquet.
I attended several presentations; one about
vegan business featuring Seth Tibett, founder of Tofurky and Jill Carnegie,
co-founder of NUMU, which is a new vegan cheese company specializing in pizza
cheese. Yes I got to try, and yes it was incredible! I attended a group
discussion titled: “Is killing ever justified?” which sparked some interesting
conversations about circumstantial ethics, like the fact that Impossible Meats
tested their product on rats. It was refreshing to have a well-rounded
conversation with people who have developed opinions about the animal rights
movement.
I also visited a talk called “How to Win
Arguments Against Experiments on Animals” with Michael Budkie and Alka Chandna.
This one was my favorite because I learned a lot about the inefficiencies of
animal experimentation and ways to communicate the uselessness of animal
testing. It was pretty morbid, but incredible work is being done to help the
helpless. The passion and hurt in Alka’s voice when she described horrid living
conditions, painful testing, and meaningless death made me feel for this line
of work.
Seeing everyone’s passion, dedication, and hard
work for animals revived my own. It is important to bring together this
community, maybe more so than others since the animal rights community is so
dispersed. A huge reason people abandon veganism is because it is isolating, so
I think it is extremely necessary to get involved in activities like this to
remind ourselves that our community exists and that it is bigger than we may
think. Over 2000 people showed up at ARNC, which was the most amount of vegans
I had ever been around at that time (now maybe more since I attended
Baltimore’s Vegan Soulfest this past weekend).
Perhaps one of the coolest things that happened
to me was meeting a new friend who bought me a super cute vegan shirt that I
had been eyeing, and also bought my ticket to the awards banquet! The banquet
featured a three course meal: a hearty salad with NUMU cheese (my favorite),
jackfruit ‘crab’ cakes with risotto and asparagus, and vegan cheesecake wrapped
in white chocolate with colorful print.
I grew up in the rural South/Midwest. I went to high school
in Sallisaw, Oklahoma, which is where I first heard the word vegan. The way
‘vegan’ was first described to me was uninformed. I was in a Family and
Consumer Sciences class, in which my teacher was talking about various diets
people undertake. When she was talking about vegan and vegetarian diets, she
said “I understand why people choose to go vegetarian, but why vegan? Animals
are not getting hurt.” At that time, I agreed. It was only after I started
exercising vegan morals that they truly started to make sense. It’s like a
muscle you never knew about until you stretched it past the comfort of its idle
existence.
Many people, especially people in the South and Midwest,
truly believe that taking milk from cows and eggs from chickens has absolutely
no negative impact on those animals. In fact some people think it is good for
the animals to take their milk and eggs (many think that cows always
automatically produce milk and need to be milked even if they weren’t producing
milk for their calf after becoming pregnant.) Dealing with this information gap
is one of the hardest parts about being vegan in an agricultural area, but
there is room to educate. Back home, relaying how I feel about animal treatment
to a non-vegan audience sometimes results in angry reactions. However, when I
moved to the Northeast, the reactions I got were completely different; always
along the lines of “it makes sense, but I could never do it.” Back home, it
just does not make sense to people at all. Urban areas in the south are more
receptive to vegan philosophy.
My area is rural and densely populated with farm animals,
mostly cows. There are chicken processing plants within a small radius of both
my mom’s house and my dad’s house. I saw these animals all the time growing up,
but I really saw them when I became interested in animal rights. The
truckloads full of chickens brings tears to my eyes every time. I pray for them
while I watch their feathers fall onto the sides of the road. I want to protest
and I want people to mourn with me, but there is no one. I joined vegan
Facebook groups for Oklahoma and Arkansas, but they are pretty inactive. It is
hard being a vegan in the rural south, but since no one really knows why people
are vegan, it is a good place to educate. It can be tiring to explain all the
time and get the same reaction, but don’t let it get you down.
I have noticed that in my small town, people are afraid of
change, which is why they have stayed their whole life. Also, it is the Bible
Belt, so many people think the only reason animals exist is for human purposes.
I find it best to just mention why I live vegan and what it does for me, and
then move on. I think it is better to plant a seed than to get someone feeling
insecure and attacked about their diet, because it could result in them eating
a bacon sandwich in front of me and talking about how good the pig tastes.
People will make fun of us, but at least we can live at peace knowing we are
doing what is best for our bodies, the planet, and all of those beautiful farm
animals.
The Vegetarian Resource Group (VRG) is a non-profit organization dedicated to educating the public on veganism and the interrelated issues of health, nutrition, ecology, ethics, and world hunger. We have been helping health professionals, food services, businesses, educators, students, vegans, and vegetarians since 1982. In addition to publishing the Vegan Journal, VRG produces and sells a number of books.
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