Vegan Outreach & Viva! USA to speak at vegan potluck dinner this Saturday

[Guest guest]

Dear Friends,

 

Matt Ball, co-founder of Vegan Outreach, will be in the Bay Area this

weekend with his wife, Anne Green, and daughter, Ellen, will be visiting the

Bay Area this weekend, from their home in Pittsburgh. To celebrate the

occasion, the Food & Social Justice Project shall be hosting a vegan potluck

dinner at my home (details follow) on Saturday, March 30th. We will gather

at 7 pm, eat & mingle. At 8 pm, Matt Ball will be joined by Jack Norris

(also a co-founder of Vegan Outreach) and lauren Ornelas (founder of Viva!

USA) in offering 20 minute talks packed with information and inspiration.

Matt will speak on the importance of promoting veganism in one's community &

circle of friends/colleagues/neighbors; Jack will speak on vegan nutrition;

and lauren will speak on Viva!'s campaigns. We will have a Q & A/discussion

following the talks, and then go back to eating/mingling. I imagine we'll

wrap up at 10 pm or later, if people want to hang out longer.

 

From the Vegetarian Site (http://www.thevegetariansite.com/nominations2.htm)

on which Matt & Jack were recognized as being especially " influential

individuals to the vegan movement " : " The founders of Vegan Outreach

<http://www.veganoutreach.org>, Matt Ball and Jack Norris, along with fellow

activists have distributed over 1 million copies of their informational

booklet, Why Vegan? The success of their direct-to-consumer strategy has

been made abundantly clear by the steady stream of testimonials from

individuals across the world that have given up meat " cold turkey " after

reading their literature. In addition to Why Vegan? Norris and Ball offer

other booklets, including the Vegan Starter Pack, Vegetarian Living, and the

Vegan Advocacy Booklet. "

 

Along with their trademark booklets, our friends from Vegan Outreach have

also authored numerous essays spanning the gamut of issues and concerns:

" Gaianism - Taking a Global Perspective, " " Veganism: The Path to Animal

Liberation, " " Beyond Might Makes Right, " " Speciesism vs. Inalienable

Rights, " " Vitamin B12: Are you getting it? " and so on.

 

lauren Ornelas is a star well known to the local animal rights community.

lauren starting raising hell early in life. At the age of 17, she organized

students at her San Antonio, Texas high school, founding Youth for Animals.

The students at St. Edwards University in Austin, TX also got a crash-course

in the issues of animal rights when lauren founded St. Edwards Animal Rights

Society (SEARS). As many community folks were beginning to attend campus

meetings, lauren responded to this need by founding the Austin-based Action

for Animals. From 1995 to 1999, lauren served as the International

Campaigns Coordinator for the Marin-based In Defense of Animals, a post that

speaks to her effectiveness as an activist and her patience as a human

being. In 1999, Juliet Gellatley, author ( " The Silent Ark, " " The Livewire

Guide to Going, Being, and Staying Veggie " ), founder and director of

UK-based VIVA!, approached lauren and asked her to start a US arm of VIVA

(http://www.vivausa.org)! At the grassroots level, lauren has worked with

ARDAC and CAFT.

 

There's no need to RSVP if you can make it to the potluck & talks, although

it would be really terrific to get a sense of how many people can attend.

I've included my address & directions below. Hope to see many of you on

Saturday evening.

 

Best regards,

Alka

415-337-0663

 

Saturday, March 30, 7 pm

Vegan Potluck Dinner & Talk/Discussion with Matt Ball, Jack Norris, lauren

Ornelas

1275 Geneva Avenue (between Naples & Vienna) - about 6 blocks east of

Mission and about 8 blocks west of the Cow Palace

 

General directions:

 

From the East Bay: Take I-80W across Bay Bridge. I-80 becomes 101 South.

Take exit for I-280 South (Daly City). Take exit for Geneva Avenue/Ocean

Avenue. Follow left branch for Geneva. Turn left onto Geneva Avenue, and

proceed for approximately 1 mile. House is on left side of road, between

Athens and Vienna.

 

From the South Bay: Take I-280 South to Geneva Exit. Turn right onto Geneva

Avenue, and proceed for approximately 1 mile. House is on left side of road,

between Athens and Vienna.

 

Using public transit:

BART: Take BART to Balboa Park BART Station (Geneva Avenue at San Jose

Avenue). You can walk along Geneva (heading towards Mission Street) the mile

from the BART station to 1275 Geneva Avenue, or you can catch the MUNI 15

(Third Street) which travels down Geneva Avenue. Get off the bus at the ARCO

gas station, and walk a block and a half further to get to 1275 Geneva

Avenue.