Fall 2011 - Vegan Outreach

INSIDE Hot Summer Distro • Adopt a College Update • Every Question Is an Opportunity
Vegan Outreach
News
Fall 2011
Vegan for Life Book • Team Vegan 2011 • Matching Opportunity • VO Success Stories
Changing Lives
FINANCIAL STATEMENT
FISCAL YEAR
TOTAL REVENUE
2010–2011*
$985,637
TOTAL EXPENSES
$753,958
FY ’10–’11* FUNCTIONAL EXPENSES
AS A PERCENT OF TOTAL EXPENSES
Programs (87%)
Support Services (8%)
Fundraising (5%)
*Based on preliminary data
The Independent Charities Seal of
Excellence is awarded to charities
that have, upon rigorous independent
review, been able to certify, document,
and demonstrate on an annual basis
that they meet the highest standards
of public accountability, program
effectiveness, and cost effectiveness.
Of the 1,000,000 charities operating
in the United States today, fewer than
2,000 have been awarded this Seal.
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Matt Ball, Executive Director
Jack Norris, RD, President
Mark Foy
Kevin Gallagher
Anna Lesiecki
DIRECTOR OF DEVELOPMENT & PROGRAMS
Anne Green, PhD
DIRECTOR OF OUTREACH
Jon Camp
DIRECTOR OF FINANCE & ADMINISTRATION
Bill Duarte
DESIGNER & RESEARCHER
Lauren Panos
ADVISOR
Steve Kaufman, MD
PRIVACY POLICY
Vegan Outreach does not share, sell, or trade
any of our members’ information.
We’d love to hear from you!
Vegan Outreach
POB 30865, Tucson, AZ 85751-0865
VeganOutreach.org/contact
Front cover photo: © iStockphoto.com/A_nik
Back cover photos: Nikki Benoit, Jon Camp, Brian Grupe, Leslie Patterson, and Vic Sjodin
PRINTED ON RECYCLED PAPER
2 Vegan Outreach News|Fall 2011
Every. Single. Day.
Welcome to the 2011 edition of Vegan Outreach News!
We’re sure you’ll be inspired by this sampling of what we’ve accomplished together this past year.
Every single day, Vegan Outreach’s incredible activists are reaching out to new people, exposing
the animals’ hidden plight and convincing more individuals to explore a compassionate path.
Every single day, our efforts together are changing lives and changing the world.
Thank you for being at the cutting edge of compassion!
At Phoenix’s pride festival, the gang and I reached over 3,000 folks.
We met numerous vegetarians and vegans and many people who
wanted to cut down their meat consumption. One girl said she had
received a leaflet at First Friday a year ago and it changed her life;
she went vegetarian and is now making efforts to go vegan.
She’s moving north to Flagstaff soon and said,
“Maybe I can start [leafleting] up there.”
Also met a couple very eager to help
out; they got Guide to Cruelty-Free
Eating and A Meaningful Life booklets.
—Jeff Boghosian, 4/17/11
At right is another life-changing moment—
captured by Carla Wilson at a festival in Florida.
Your Impact × 2
Now you can change the world twice as fast!
From November 1 through December 31, your
donations will be doubled, dollar for dollar!
Each fully tax-deductible contribution to Vegan
Outreach will print twice as many booklets and
reach twice as many new people!
Please enjoy the newsletter and everything we’ve accomplished so far, and
please continue to be a part of this necessary and powerful work.
Don’t Go Bananas Waiting for Next Year’s Newsletter
Get Your Dose of Vegan Goodness Online!
Subscribe to our daily blog (WhyVeganOutreach.BlogSpot.com) and
weekly enewsletter (VeganOutreach.org/enewsletter) for inspiring
stories, exciting news, interesting links, product recommendations,
recipes, and more! You can also find us on Facebook and Twitter!
© iStockphoto.com/Sascha Burkard (chicks); Carla Wilson (festivalgoers); Marc Korgie (banana aka Nikki Benoit)
Vegan Outreach’s philosophy is that each sentient
individual has a right to his or her body and life.
To that end, we promote living so as to contribute
to as little animal suffering and death as possible,
focusing on “preaching to the convertible” with our
booklets. Since Vegan Outreach’s founding in 1993,
16 million booklets have been distributed.
Summer
Distro
There’s no letup in outreach during the summer!
Vegan Outreach activists were out in force at
concerts, festivals, parades, and other venues,
reaching 555,862 new people during the
summer months!
Over 330,000 young people were each directly
handed a Vegan Outreach booklet at the Warped
After reading their Warped Tour
Tour alone! Activists from Vegan Outreach and
booklets, Lauren and a friend
the Humane League traveled the country to
not only decided to go veg but
leaflet this concert series, and Vegan Outreach
also helped leaflet the crowd!
again coordinated with activists from national,
regional, and local groups including Mercy For
Animals, Action for Animals, Animal Protection
and Rescue League, Animal Rights Foundation
of Florida, Compassionate Action for Animals,
Southeastern Michigan Animal Rights Team,
Vegas Veg, Justice for Animals, and others.
Congratulations to the
many leafleters who
made this summer
Cassie went veg after receiving
a booklet at Warped Tour 2010! so successful, and to
all of the donors who
funded the printing and shipping of these hundreds
of thousands of booklets! Because of your efforts,
requests for our Guide to Cruelty-Free Eating
poured in every single day—via the Internet,
These Warped fans went vegan
voicemail, and text.
after getting booklets in 2009!
—Barbara Bear, 7/6/11
At left are some of the fans
Jon Camp spotted reading
their Warped Tour Why Vegan?
booklets at the Indianapolis
stop. Above: David ComanHidy and Rich Sheer share
the truth with Warped Tour
fans at the Cincinnati concert.
Below: Scout Kilbourne and
Kate St. John speak out for
the animals at the Atlanta
Warped Tour show.
Another fantastic leafleting at First Friday Art Walk! We had 26 activists out,
including 21 leafleters (the other 5 helped out in numerous ways). Together,
we reached 2,693 people, including giving out dozens and dozens of Guides.
We met quite a few people who’ve been affected by VO booklets in the past.
Many conversations went like this: “Would you like info to help animals?” “Oh,
I got those before!” “So are you vegetarian?” “Yeah!” “Excellent, here’s a Guide!”
—John Oberg, 6/3/11
Jon Camp (John, Cassie, David & Rich, Scout & Kate); Kate St. John (Karin, vegan duo); Nikki Benoit (Lauren); Brian Grupe (Marysville fans)
At the top of the page are John Oberg and Karin Kreutzer, two of the amazing activists who leafleted
the Warped Tour; and below are a few of the 7,810 fans who were reached at the Marysville, CA stop.
A great time leafleting Boulder’s farmers’ market and the Pearl Street Mall.
There were so many positive comments throughout the night: “Thanks for
doing what you’re doing” “I love animals!” “I’m all over this!” Even a thumbs
up with, “I think you vegans are onto something.” Yes we are!
Fall 2011|Vegan Outreach News 3
AAC Shatters Records!
Reached 800 students at Fresno State, and had plenty
of good conversations. After getting a booklet, one girl
squealed and said, “I’m never eating meat again!!!”
The people I am couchsurfing with here are absolutely awesome and happen to be vegan for Lent!
We’ve made some delicious vegan recipes and they’re
talking about veganism to all their friends and raving
about the delicious things we’ve made together. Since
I arrived here, everyone who has come in the house
has received a leaflet upon my hosts’ insistence.
—Jeni Haines (above), 4/6/11
Because of our generous donors, Vegan Outreach was able to print
and ship more booklets in the past school year than ever before!
Yes, it’s true! During the 2010–2011 school year, Vegan Outreach’s dedicated leafleters handed
booklets directly to an astounding—and record—1,348,713 students on 1,131 campuses—
also an all-time record!
Every single day, in every kind of weather, AAC’s amazing
activists are taking the animals’ plight to new people,
changing minds, altering lives, and bending history’s arc
towards justice.
Every one of these new people was reached because of your
past financial support—thank you so much!
You can follow this semester’s progress at AdoptaCollege.org
Reached 760 students at Emerson
College and 250 at Suffolk University.
I was a resident assistant at Emerson
last year and I saw two of my former
residents who have gone vegetarian,
and another is trying vegan; I will be
sending recipes. This really works!
—David Coman-Hidy, 4/12/11
Brian Ercoline (above), Erin Gaines, and Jon Camp reached
more than 1,600 UT Austin students in March!
Leafleting went great at Miami-Dade College—
many students immediately looking through the info.
Sad to think of the moral blindness so many go
through their lives in, but that makes my stop today
even more worthwhile. That’s one of the best things
about leafleting in my book—no one can ever accuse
us of preaching to the choir, now can they?
I think not.
—Yuri Mitzkewich, 6/11/11
Long Beach City College
students are absorbed
in Compassionate Choices.
6,000,000
5,500,000
5,000,000
4,500,000
4,000,000
3,500,000
3,000,000
2,500,000
2,000,000
1,500,000
1,000,000
500,000
2003–2004
2004–2005
2005–2006
2006–2007
School-Year Totals
2007–2008
2008–2009
2009–2010
Cumulative School-Year Totals
Take rate at Hofstra University was quite high. I heard many students conversing about leaflets
as they were passing by, and many more remarking to their friends things like, “I’m a vegan!”
One student who had been vegetarian for a while said this is the healthiest he’s ever felt
in his life; and several other students came up to me to ask about going vegan.
It’s nice to see this increase in awareness happen semester after semester. When I think
back to the first time I visited this campus a few years ago, it is clear people are more
open to the message right now than ever before.
—Eileen Botti (right), 3/31/11
Eileen Botti, VO’s incredible New York outreach coordinator for years and one of our all-time leading leafleters (over
175,000 booklets since fall 2004!), has moved on to work with people who are homeless in NYC—a great loss for VO,
but we’re sure Eileen will continue to be hugely successful in her efforts to make the world a better place.
4 Vegan Outreach News|Fall 2011
2010–2011
Brian Grupe (Jeni, Macie); Jon Camp (Brian); Nikki Benoit (students reading); Hunter Animal Rights Team (Eileen); Loren Hart (Rob)
Students Handed a Brochure: Fall 2003 – Spring 2011
We reached 1,600 students
at the University of Maryland,
College Park. One student said,
“I’ve never seen so many people
reading a handout before.
This is insane!”
While leafleting Cabrillo College in May, Brian Grupe met
Macie Rivera (above), a vegan who had already received
our Guide. She joined Brian on the spot, providing 100
fellow students with Even If You Like Meat booklets!
—Kate St. John and
Aaron Ross, 3/3/11
Leafleting Leaders: Fall 2010 – Spring 2011 School Year
NAME
STATE
SCHOOLS
BOOKLETS
NAME
STATE
SCHOOLS
BOOKLETS
Nikki Benoit*
The Humane League*
Jon Camp*
Brian Wink
Vic Sjodin*
Joe Espinosa
Mercy For Animals*
Rick Hershey*
Eileen Botti*
Phil Letten*
Lana Smithson*
Yvonne LeGrice
Casey Constable
Jeni Haines*
Fred Tyler*
Brian Grupe*
Amanda Schemkes*
Leslie Patterson
Rob Gilbride
The Animal Awareness Project*
John Sakars
Brandon Becker
CA
PA
MD
PA
PA
IL
IL
MO
NY
MI
FL
CA
TX
CA
MN
CA
WA
IL
NC
MD
ON
NC
106
101
145
119
121
36
72
49
47
79
50
37
56
78
71
55
69
35
19
14
24
13
153,138
122,987
94,678
58,178
55,739
50,783
50,451
50,253
45,009
39,821
38,751
35,056
34,722
34,531
34,329
26,399
21,639
19,944
17,431
17,240
12,573
12,257
Darina Smith
Justice For Animals*
Cassandra Callaghan
Yuri Mitzkewich
AgireOra*
Karen James
Eugene Khutoryansky
Vegas Veg*
Barbara Bear
Tamara Hubbard
Star Sevadar
Nettie Schwager
John Oberg
Scout Kilbourne
Marguerite Campbell
Aleta Markham
Cobie deLespinasse
Jeff Boghosian
Laura Hart
Derek Phillips
Rachel Shippee
Ashley Rhinehart
IL
IL
NY
FL
Italy
CT
TX
NV
CO
NM
CA
OR
AZ
GA
NY
CT
OR
AZ
NY
FL
IL
AZ
18
15
23
17
13
15
4
2
4
2
2
8
5
8
14
15
11
7
5
6
8
5
11,557
11,432
11,395
9,843
9,450
9,438
9,300
8,350
8,307
6,493
6,341
6,244
5,767
4,436
4,435
4,248
3,580
3,499
3,464
2,929
2,670
2,555
*Activist group or paid leafleter
Even in the rain and fog, it was a great day at
Appalachian State, where I reached over 2,400
students. Good interactions, including a student who
came up to me and said, “[Even If You Like Meat]
is a great booklet. Not everyone can be vegan, but
they sure can reduce suffering by eating less [meat].”
—Rob Gilbride (below), 3/30/11
A friend showed me a Compassionate Choices. I read
it and was shocked at what I had been contributing to.
But no more! Once you know the truth,
it shall set you free.
—BL, 4/14/11
Compassionate Choices
is shared by another
set of friends, at
Ventura College.
Super outreach today. John Sakars joined me at Georgian University, where we saw
dozens reading their booklets. Brian [Wink] reached over 1,000 more at York
University, and said he spoke to about 25 people in depth. He noted that about
15 people came up to him after reading it yesterday. He ran out of Guides.
—Vic Sjodin, 2/17/11
Distribution Totals: August 1, 2003 – September 20, 2011
Schools Leafleted
1,935
Students Handed a Brochure
6,060,516
Fall 2011|Vegan Outreach News 5
Met many vegetarians at Georgia Tech. The students were very friendly, and
I had great reception. One said he got the leaflet before and it influenced him
to move toward a much more veg-friendly lifestyle; he shared it with friends
who went veg after reading it!
—Brian Wink, 4/14/11
At right: Brian Wink, Chip Ballew, Jeff Boghosian, and Tamara Hubbard take the
opportunity to answer for the animals. During the four days in April on which these
photos were taken, these four activists and their leafleting teams reached more than
7,900 students in four different states (Georgia, Missouri, Arizona, and New Mexico)!
Earlier this year, Animal Rights Zone interviewed Vegan Outreach cofounder
and Executive Director, Matt Ball. Here are excerpts from some of the Q&As;
the full interview is available at http://bit.ly/q4MhQc
If a member of the public asked
you whether veganism was easy
or hard, how would you respond?
Let me start by saying: It took me
years to realize that such questions
aren’t about me. The animals have
no voice but ours, so every question
we get is an opportunity to answer for the animals.
In this case, the issue isn’t my opinion of veganism. Rather, I think
about where the other person is coming from. If I say veganism is
easy, and they think, “Well, maybe for you, but it seems hard to me!”
they’re lost to making changes that will help the animals.
On 1/13/11, Kevin Olliff (above), (birthday girl) Yvonne LeGrice, Shannon Maraghy,
and Nikki Benoit put booklets into the hands of 3,450 UCLA students; and on 7/8/11,
Don Hughes (below), Italia Milan, and Juana Zevallos of SMART joined John Oberg,
Jon Camp, and Humane League activists, reaching 10,400 Detroit Warped Tour fans!
So here, I would say: If you are currently following the standard
American diet and don’t have close vegan friends, the idea of being/
going vegan immediately will almost certainly seem hard. But if you
are committed and resourceful, it will definitely get easier and easier.
Cold, cloudy day at Western Connecticut State, but Aleta [Markham] and I had
great interactions. A guy Aleta leafleted came to talk to me, saying he had been
vegan but stopped because of B12 deficiency. I told him about supplements,
and discussed how easy it would be for him to return to eating vegan. He said
he would try again! Aleta had a student say, “I was just thinking about this this
morning because I got one of these leaflets last semester.” He took another one.
Another student received a booklet last semester and spoke with Aleta about how
it affected him, and how the animal cruelty is awful. One guy took a booklet and
then came back for a dozen more to give to friends!
—Karen James, 3/15/11
The point isn’t to show how into veganism I am, how much I know,
how easy I find it, or even what it will be like for them in X months.
Rather, our goal should be to engage, constructively, the person from
where they are at the moment, and help them to be able to imagine
taking the next step.
Vegan Outreach advocates
for “less suffering.” Could
you please explain what
is meant by less suffering?
We could debate the neurology and philosophy of suffering, but relative to what else
we need to do, it just wouldn’t accomplish
anything useful.
Jon Camp (Brian, Chip, Jeff, Tamara, Don); Nikki Benoit (Kevin); MFA (pig); COK (hen)
So let me just say that most people know suffering when they see it.
They don’t need a PhD to know what happens in Meet Your Meat is
“The animals have no voice but ours, so every question
6 Vegan Outreach News|Fall 2011
Worthwhile leafleting at the Coheed and Cambria concert. A staff member
started joking about veganism and talking about human teeth, evolution, etc.
Instead of getting into those debates, I just simply said, “This booklet isn’t
about our teeth or whether humans can or cannot digest meat, it’s about the
fact that every time we eat, we can make a choice to reduce suffering in the
world—it’s that simple.” He agreed. For the rest of my leafleting, we’d chat
when I’d finished a part of the line and he agreed with me about a lot of things.
—Kenny Torrella, 4/30/11
“suffering.” They don’t need to be a neurologist to be repulsed by the
footage in Farm to Fridge.
If we want to make as much progress as we can for the animals,
we should start our conversations with people there, rather than
debating philosophy or semantics.
In my experience, the typical response to
the horrors of factory farming is to pursue
reform (happy meat) rather than elimination
(veganism). Does VO have plans to modify
its booklets to more aggressively address
so-called “humane” animal products?
Of course, I understand
the frustration of seeing all
this glorification of eating
“happy” animals. In general,
though, we vastly overreact
to it, spending an extremely
disproportionate amount
of our limited time and our limited emotional resources arguing with
and being angry at people eating/promoting “happy meat.” There are
more productive uses of our limited time and resources.
Above: Dalila Cunha discusses cruelty-free options with another happy recipient of
our Guide to Cruelty-Free Eating at the College of Marin, where she, Carol Misseldine,
and Brian Grupe reached 865 students on 9/1/11. Below are Penelope Jones, Norman
Corwin, Carol Misseldine, and “student magnet” Bonnie at the college on 1/26/11.
Cobie [deLespinasse] and I encountered very receptive students at Western Oregon
University—loads of vegetarians and great conversations. It was the kind of
experience that leaves you feeling hopeful and excited about change in the air!
Met several people who told us that getting a booklet previously had changed
their eating habits. Soon after I started leafleting, I gave a booklet to a man who
told me he was a professor, so I gave him a Guide too. When he asked if this was
about eating free-range, I said that it’s about reducing suffering—he replied
that he’s all for that. Later, I handed a booklet to a student, and he said,
“My professor was talking about this in class.”
—Nettie Schwager, 4/11/11
It is obviously disappointing when people don’t go vegan when they
hear our message, or when someone stops being vegetarian and eats
animals again. But there have been failed vegetarians ever since there
have been vegetarians. Surveys show many more former vegetarians
in the US and UK than actual vegetarians. And a recent article showed
the number one reason people go back to eating meat is because they
didn’t feel healthy as a vegetarian.
CAAN (leafleting group); EBAA (turkey, calf)
But still, many advocates buy into the vegan propaganda and don’t
learn honest and thorough nutrition. This leads to many people going
vegetarian with unrealistic expectations (of how easy it will be, of the
health benefits they will immediately experience, etc.). That’s why Jack
went back to school to become a registered dietitian, why he created
VeganHealth.org, and why he co-wrote Vegan for Life [see page 9]—
we need to do better.
”
n we get is an opportunity to answer for the animals.
Becky [Sekeres], Victoria [Randall], Kyle, Jon [Camp], and I had amazing positive
encounters at Middle Tennessee State! I overheard
one young woman tell her friend,
“I’m never eating meat again.”
I managed to get a Guide into
her hands. Some students,
who initially rejected lit,
returned later and took
lit after hearing about
it from other students.
One man walked past
but spun on his heels
and said, “Wait…did you
say animals? I’ll take one.”
Others took copies for their
classes. Even a number of
faculty members took booklets and/or stopped to talk.
—Josh James, 4/21/11
Fall 2011|Vegan Outreach News 7
VO’s FAQ says: “’Why is it wrong to eat meat?’
It’s not a question of being ‘right’ or ‘wrong.’
If one wants fewer animals to suffer and die,
then one can stop supporting such practices
by not eating animal products.” Why wouldn’t
VO state what one can only hope they think
is obvious?? It IS wrong to eat other animals.
The only people in a position to save animals in
the future are those currently eating meat. So
the question isn’t if we vegans think something
is “right” or “wrong”—the question is: What can
we do/say that will lead as many meat eaters as
possible to start making positive changes for
the animals?
As experience shows (and Nick Cooney lays out the actual research behind this in his book
Change of Heart), telling people that what they are doing is “wrong” isn’t the best way to
open their hearts and minds. Not to harp on all my previous mistakes, but my prior attitude
of “Just tell everyone the whole truth! They need to know!” was very harmful to the animals.
It was at odds with creating real change. We seek to deal with people where they are,
not yell at them from where we want them to be.
Afterwards, as a service project, the teacher decided
she’d have the class do a Meatless Mondays program
where they try to get their families to go meatless on
Mondays for the rest of the school year. We’re getting
them lots of info and resources to help.
How cool is it that in 2011, virtually all of a seventhgrade class in a city like Philly has already been eating
(and liking) some vegetarian and vegan meals?!
Just think where we will be in 10 years if we all keep
working as hard and as smart as we can.
—Nick Cooney, 5/5/11
While leafleting the My Chemical Romance concert,
one person told me that his best friend has now been
a vegan for four years after receiving a booklet.
I also overheard another person telling her friend
about how a person that they know
in common became vegetarian
as the result of the booklet.
—Eugene Khutoryansky, 5/21/11
Above: Kath Rogers provides a voice
for the animals at UC San Diego.
Left: Students are engrossed in their
Even If You Like Meat
booklets—just 2 of
the 2,700 individuals
directly reached
by Nikki Benoit,
Yvonne LeGrice, and
Jennifer Soriano at
California’s El Camino
College on 3/7/11.
8 Vegan Outreach News|Fall 2011
Indeed, it is, at best, forlorn for vegans to debate words and philosophy amongst themselves.
We don’t have time to type away on the Internet to demand satisfaction from other vegans.
We need to get real results in the real world for the animals.
of us truly can be extraordinary, if we are dedicated to having
“Each
the greatest constructive influence possible on others.”
Regarding your child potentially eating a piece
of birthday cake, you wrote: “[W]hat does a piece
of cake at a four-year-old’s birthday matter? Are
the consequences of her eating it (as opposed to
it being thrown out) worse than the impression
it makes on 20 other children (and parents) if the
Vegan Police grill everyone about the nature of
everything with which Ellen comes into contact?
In short, we aren’t out to raise an ideologue.”
Consistency is simply not an issue that has
any actual, real-world impacts. I’ve never met
anyone who continued to eat animals because
they were confused by a vegan’s supposed lack
of “consistency.”
And the allergy question is irrelevant; I don’t
choose to eat vegan because I physically must.
I make my choices to help the animals—
so my choices are based on that.
Do you think that by showing your position isn’t
consistent, and being a “flexible vegan,” you
could be confusing others? If the four-year-old
was allergic to dairy, would you be as flexible?
If not, why not?
What I have seen (and, sadly, been the cause
of) are vegans whose self-righteousness and
obsessiveness gave others an excuse to ignore
the animals’ plight. I only hope that I’m able
to undo the damage I did in the past when
I made veganism about me, rather than about the animals.
I assume most people reading this believe what they do with their choices is important. Our
choices aren’t important because they conform to a certain philosophy or because they meet
a certain human definition. Rather, the importance comes from our choices’ consequences:
the actual impact we can have on reducing the animals’ suffering.
If I can leave you with one thought to consider, it would be this:
The importance of our individual personal choices is nothing—
absolutely nothing—compared to the impact we
can have if we live for more than ourselves,
dedicated to optimal advocacy.
Each of us truly can be extraordinary,
if we are dedicated to having the greatest
constructive influence possible on
others. We at Vegan Outreach
see the truth of this every day!
At right are Matt Ball and Anne Green
with daughter, Ellen—one of the kids
featured at VeganHealth.org/articles/
realveganchildren
Nikki Benoit (Kath, students)
I spoke to a seventh-grade class at a magnet
school in Philadelphia, and gave them all a copy of
Compassionate Choices. The presentation was about
factory farming and veg eating. At the end I asked
if they’d ever eaten anything vegetarian. I expected
maybe one or two to raise their hands. Instead almost
everyone in the class did, and many named these
things they’d eaten: vegetarian riblets, Tofurky, veggie
deli slices, veggie chicken patties, tofu, vegan ice cream
sandwiches, and more. And these are (smart, future
leaders) seventh graders from the city of Philadelphia!!
VEGAN for LIFE
Everything You Need to Know to Be Healthy and Fit on a Plant-Based Diet
In this comprehensive guide to plant-based nutrition, registered dietitians
and longtime vegans Jack Norris and Virginia Messina answer all the key
questions and debunk some of the most persistent myths about going
vegan. It’s the definitive guide for aspiring and veteran vegans alike—
or for those who are just thinking about taking a few steps toward more
plant-based diets.
Here’s what people are saying about Vegan for Life:
Publishers Weekly: “Armed with this compendium and a vegan cookbook,
novices will make an easy, healthy transition to meat, egg and dairy-free
meals, while practicing vegans can use it as a guide to the best food choices.”
Reno-Gazette: “I can’t rave enough about Jack Norris and Virginia Messina’s new book Vegan for
Life.… I’ve found myself reading this late into the night like a page-turning mystery. That’s, in part,
because it dispels many of the things I’ve believed about vegan nutrition.”
Peter Singer, author of Animal Liberation and Professor of Bioethics, Princeton University: “Here is the book I
have been waiting for! Now when people ask me all those questions about how you can be healthy
without eating animal products, I can tell them that they will find the answers in Vegan for Life.”
Michael Greger, MD, Director, Public Health and Animal Agriculture, HSUS: “A no-nonsense guide to explode
the myths, avoid the pitfalls, and maximize health on a plant-based diet. Required reading for
every vegan, old or new.”
In April, Jon Camp and Robert Cheeke (above) brought out
the big guns to leaflet Nashville’s Vanderbilt University!
Together with members of the Vanderbilt Initiative for
Vegetarian Awareness, they reached 850 individuals,
including the group of visiting students shown below.
I am in college and was walking to one of my classes
where I saw someone handing out the booklets. I love
animals, but always thought it was impossible not
to eat meat. I never knew there were so many options
such as bacon, veggie burgers, and even sausage that
they make for vegans. I really want to start eating
those foods because it is horrible and heartbreaking
what they are doing to animals.
—HC, 4/20/11
Healthy Voyager (blog): “Norris and Messina answer ‘everything you want to know about going
vegan’ without a lot of scientific jargon or hit-you-over-the-head-messaging so that your learning
curve or refresher is a positive one that is also simple to follow.”
Michelle Cehn (Jack); Deja Webster/Deja View Photography (Ginny); Noah Hannibal/Animal Liberation Victoria (birds)
JL Goes Vegan (blog): “If you’re a new vegan, or a vegan who might be buying into the hype that a
vegan diet is not sustainable, read this book. If you’re a vegan who wants a quick resource at your
fingertips or the perfect book to hand over to your vegancurious family member or friend, read this book.”
About the Authors:
Jack Norris, RD is cofounder and president of Vegan Outreach.
He received a degree in dietetics from Life University, and finished
his dietetic internship at Georgia State University. In addition to
maintaining VeganHealth.org, Jack blogs at JackNorrisRD.com
Virginia Messina, MPH, RD is a dietitian and public health
nutritionist specializing in vegan nutrition. She has a degree
in nutrition from Douglass College, Rutgers University and
a master’s degree in public health nutrition from the
University of Michigan. Ginny publishes widely on topics
related to vegan diets for both health professionals
and the public, and blogs at TheVeganRD.com
The summer school and prospective students
were receptive at the University of Nevada,
Las Vegas, even though it was very hot!
Best conversation:
“I got that before.”
“What’d you think?”
“KFC is off the menu now!”
—Elaine Vigneault, 6/20/11
Get Your Copy of VEGAN for LIFE Today!
Order Vegan Outreach Booklets & Shop Our Online Catalog:
● The Animal Activist’s Handbook coauthored by Matt Ball & Bruce Friedrich
● Vegan Outreach message T-shirts & bumper stickers
● Tabling & veg cooking videos, & more!
VeganOutreach.org/catalog
Fall 2011|Vegan Outreach News 9
Fall Leafleting ROCKS Because
Above: On 6/8/11, Team Vegan’s Yvonne LeGrice took advantage of evening classes
at Mt. San Antonio College, handing out over 700 copies of Compassionate Choices!
Good help and good conversations lately. At Concordia College, one woman said,
“I got one of those booklets in October, and now I’m a vegetarian.” She was excited
to get a Guide. At North Dakota State University, one man said, “I had a summer
job in a turkey plant. It was so sickening, I just walked off the job. I didn’t even
collect my paycheck.”
—Team Vegan member Fred Tyler, 4/28/11
Below: Fred Tyler (holding booklet) teamed up with Sen Holiday (foreground),
Marnie Musielewicz, Sofia Huerter, Melody Aiello, Ben Bockover, Luke Frazier, and
Dylan Mulemberg to leaflet the South Minneapolis May Day parade—despite the
occasional snow shower, they reached more than 1,450 people!
Keeping with the pattern of growth and new records, 125 (human and nonhuman) individuals and groups—record!—made up Team Vegan 2011.
With John and Fany again taking the lead—
joined this year by Steve, Mark, and Steve—
the Team raised over $200,000 for the animals!
Not to be a broken record, but yes, this was
another record broken!
For the week, we reached over 4,500 students at the University of Akron,
Bowling Green State, Youngstown State, Kent State, and Case Western.
—Team Vegan members Leslie Patterson
and Joe Espinosa, 4/18/11
Leafleting was easy and pleasant
at Western Illinois University.
I met a number of vegetarians,
and saw even more people
intently reading the booklet.
—Team Vegan member
Darina Smith (left), 2/21/11
10 Vegan Outreach News|Fall 2011
—Team Vegan member Lisa Shapiro (right), 5/2/11
Some members of 2011’s amazing Team: Nikki Benoit, Jack Norris, Brian Grupe, Vic Sjodin,
and John Oberg “doing their best Robert Cheeke” at AR2011 (top of page); Allison Back with
favorite feline friend (above); and, rockin’ their Team Vegan shirts (below), Leslie Patterson,
Brandon Becker, and Caroline Jones with one of the seven rescued chickens she cares for.
Jovan Jimenez (Leslie); Angela Becker (Brandon); Eliza Jones (Caroline)
On the first day of our leafleting vacation, we reached 1,325 students at the
University of Akron. Very good reception. The highlight of the day came in the
last hour when a student stopped to state that getting the booklet from us last
year had inspired her to become vegan. Both she and her friend got a Guide.
Denver’s Brown Suga Youth Festival was an amazing day
of outreach—one of the best I have ever been part of.
My three youngster friends—Reece, Ali, and Sydney—
blew my socks off with how well they interacted with the
crowd; I was able to speak to four candidates for mayor.
We made sure every member of the largely AfricanAmerican audience that came by was offered a booklet
and vegan samples.
Nikki Benoit (Yvonne); CAA (Fred et al); Jon Camp (Darina); Brian Grupe (Lisa)
Want to know more about this amazing group?
Head over to TeamVegan.biz—and don’t forget
to subscribe to Vegan Outreach’s blog and
enewsletter for Team Vegan 2012!
It is amazing that VO has distributed 15 million booklets! Also that it is translating
into the huge increase in numbers of vegetarians and vegans is really encouraging.
And shows how the steady, patient, one-person-at-a-time
approach is really paying off.
—RS, 7/17/11
Spring 2011 set all sorts of records because of your generosity during last
year’s fundraiser. And now, the fall semester leafleting is going great guns
because of Team Vegan’s outstanding efforts!
How many new people are reached in 2012—and thus, how many new
vegetarians there will be—depends on your support today!
Nikki Benoit (students); © iStockphoto.com/Anatolii Tsekhmister (ducks, pig); Lana Smithson (student activists); Linda Bower (Melody)
Some of the countless folks who stopped eating animals as a result of receiving a VO booklet!
Some of VO’s amazing leafleters: Armaiti May and Marc Korgie (left) and Linda Bower,
Lana Smithson, and Yuri Mitzkewich (above). In April, Lana was joined by students
from the Ethics of Food Production class at USF Tampa (below). In addition to handing out hundreds of our booklets, the group promoted Meatless Mondays and the
vegetarian options on campus. Lana adds, “Their vegan professor totally rocks!”
Reached 1,200 students at the University of Florida. After reading a booklet, one
student said he plans to start a blog about the information. Another student gave
positive feedback about the leaflet and Vegan Outreach’s approach. He said
that other groups have turned him off, but he thanked me for the information
and shook my hand. The best part of the day was when a student came back
to me and exclaimed, “It’s official! I’m going vegetarian because of you.”
Today at the University of North Florida, I reached 1,500 students and got more
positive feedback about VO’s approach. A girl said she thought VO was more
practical and effective than another group. One guy who told me he read the
entire leaflet said, “I WILL be making some changes in my diet—and I’m not
lying—I really will!”
—Lana Smithson, 4/6/11
Your Donation Doubled, Dollar for Dollar!
A group of thoughtful individuals, dedicated to helping Vegan Outreach
activists break new records,
have combined their resources
Thank you for the updates. It was one of
to create a matching pool.
That’s right, these donors want to
make your contribution go twice
as far for the animals!
your pamphlets that led me to go vegan.
I consider my contributions to VO the
most meaningful donation that I make.
—JH, 4/19/11
So please give by December 31 and
your tax-deductible donation will reach twice as many new people with
the animals’ message. You can donate securely at VeganOutreach.org/
donate or mail your donation to the address on page 2. Thank you!
Your donation =
more booklets =
more vegetarians =
more animals
saved!
Was so gratified to get back out there leafleting for a little while this afternoon
at Florida International University. It’s been WAY too long. I like the way Nikki
has been documenting results with her camera and I got one today too. When
I handed “Melody” [below] a leaflet, she said, “Oh, I just want you to know that
I went vegetarian after receiving one of these.”
She said she got it in 2008 and that it sat on
a table at home for a couple of months before
she really read it, but that once she did, she
went vegetarian. I gave her a Guide to check
out the vegan recipes and substitutes. Once
again, thanks to Vegan Outreach for giving us
a chance to make a difference.
—Linda Bower, 9/8/11
Fall 2011|Vegan Outreach News 11
I am someone’s Vegan Outreach success story! I was walking on campus at UCD, and someone
from VO handed me a pamphlet. One look at those pictures, and I was done with meat. I talked to my boyfriend
about it, and we decided to give being vegetarian a try—we haven’t looked back since!
—Kayla Knopp, from “Veg Life in the Mile High City”
Vegan since reading one of our booklets!
Natalie: Veggie via an Even If You Like Meat!
Success Stories
Vegan Outreach
Vegetarian since reading a Vegan Outreach booklet last fall!
Crystal: New vegetarian at CSULA!
Someone was passing out booklets as I was coming out of class [at UC Davis]. I read through the whole thing,
Annie: Vegan since leafleted back in 2005!
and I’m pretty convinced I don’t ever want to eat meat again! What they do to those animals is just sick!
—CC, 3/31/11
The highlight of the day at the University of New Mexico was when
Two new vegans at College of the Desert!
Jasmine, a thoughtful and cheerful young woman [right], let me know that
it was getting a booklet on campus a year ago that led her to go veg
(kudos to Casey Constable for his work that day). She said the booklet was
“fair,” and that it made a compelling case without resorting to outrageous
claims or self-righteousness. She has since shown the booklet to multiple friends
and they have said the same thing.
—Jon Camp, 4/7/11
New vegetarian (right) with vegan pal!
What a day! Happy and appreciative people at Grossmont College, with good constructive
Robert: Vegetarian since leafleted last fall!
conversations. One young lady [left] came back with her copy of Compassionate Choices saying,
“Thank you for this. I’m done, and going vegan right now.” And another student came back
saying, “I want to go veg but don’t know where to start. What should I do?” BAM!
New vegetarian at Citrus College!
More good interactions and comments at Cuyamaca College! Met a chef who doesn’t
eat meat because “it’s insane,” and said, “Every time you come here, you make me cry.”
She was very excited to hear about alternatives to eggs in baking. She also said her
daughter got a Vegan Outreach booklet somewhere and it made her vegan!
—Nikki Benoit, 6/29/11
Vegan since leafleted last fall semester!
Lindsey: Vegan via an Even If You Like Meat!
When I was a sophomore in high school in San Diego, I was walking around a mall with some friends and
someone gave me a pamphlet called Why Vegan? I continued to walk with my friends and started looking through
the pamphlet. I was three pages in when I decided to become vegan. That day I gave up all animal products and
the next day donated my leather shoes to charity. That pamphlet changed my dietary life
and I ended up going to a vegan cooking school right after high school. I am now 27 and
a marine biologist finishing my school at UCSC and I am still creating new vegan dishes.
—AL, 4/4/11
Eric: Vegetarian since leafleted in 2008!
Went vegetarian on the spot back in 2002!
Students at Evergreen Valley College were super receptive!
A number of people mentioned recognizing the booklet. I overheard a young
lady say to her friends, “This is why I became a vegetarian,” so I snapped
a picture of her [right]. Her name is Crystal and she’s been veg for over a year
after receiving a Vegan Outreach booklet at EVC.
—Brian Grupe, 2/15/11
“You guys made me quit eating meat”
Please see VeganOutreach.org/feedback for more activists’ stories and samples of the feedback we receive every single day from those whose lives were changed by your donations!
New vegetarian at SD Mesa College!