Report from Food & Social Justice Project - Strategy Meeting on V egan Activism in the Bay Area

[Guest guest]

Dear Friends,

 

I just wanted to send out a quick note to report back on Thursday evening's

meeting to discuss and plan various strategies for promoting veganism in the

Bay Area. In spite of several regrets, we had a very decent showing of ten

people at the meeting (many thanks to Winnie, Stephanie, Rose, Nora, Jekl,

Jay, Colleen, Cathleen, & Bill for attending).

 

1. Vegan Video Brigade -- We are excited about the V.V.B. and will continue

with the current schedule (Friday evening outings) going out to various

venues (with an emphasis on BART stations) using a " look and see " approach

to help determine frequency, start times, venue location, etc. We have a

generic " Choose Vegan " brochure that covers the health, environmental, and

animal protection motivations for going vegan. That's our primary brochure,

although we also pass out literature from other groups (PETA, Vegan

Outreach, Farm Sanctuary, etc.)

 

2. Vegan Feed-Ins -- It was suggested that such feed-ins (going to a

location with heavy pedestrian traffic and passing out veggie fare - usually

veggie burgers - and veggie literature) are especially useful when done in

conjunction with a campaign. Fast food outlets were noted as being

especially great targets, the Burger King & McDonald's at Powell & Market

being in a prime location for such an activity. It was pointed out that food

donations can be solicited in addition to the vegan Boca burgers and vegan

chicken nuggets which can be cheaply purchased (as is done by Compassion

Over Killing in DC) for the feed-ins.

 

3. Tabling at Festivals -- A 15-page list of SF festivals and special events

was circulated, with the aim of ultimately selecting appropriate (health,

animal, justice-oriented) fairs/festivals where we might table. It was

suggested that we should build a large roster of activists who are willing

to table so that we can have a presence (and spread the word) at as many of

these festivals as possible. Any takers?

 

4. JULY 13th EVENT FOR VIVA! USA -- Because of the time-critical nature of

this part of the discussion, we spent a little more time on this topic. We

agreed that our event should be geared to generate media attention. To this

end, in addition to doing a vegan feed-in with a public video screening, we

will have 8 cheerleaders (of all shapes, genders, ages, and sizes) spelling

out " Go Vegan! " Rose Broome kindly volunteered to coordinate the cheers,

incorporating the enviro, health & animal messages into the cheerleading

presence. There may even be a dance performance of some kind. Thanks, Rose!!

We'll also have some street theater involving the skinning of a fully

conscious cow (reflecting ongoing violations of the Humane Slaughter Act in

American slaughterhouses). We need two volunteers for the skit: a cow and a

butcher. And, we'll have a table with literature, people with placards, and

people leafleting passersby.

 

The " where " of the event has yet to be determined. Pier 39 and Powell/Market

seemed to be the favorites for heaviest pedestrian traffic. Pier 39 seemed

to be a location where the people might be more receptive (lots of tourists

who are just wandering around aimlessly and would get a kick out of seeing a

real, live SF protest), while Powell/Market is certainly more accessible

(BART). All feedback welcome.

 

Although Saturday, July 13th is our confirmed date, the time of our event

has yet to be determined. In particular, we do not want our event to

conflict with the event being planned by ARDAC. They will have their meeting

to discuss their July 13th event this weekend, and we'll determine an

appropriate time for our event based on that.

 

Sacred Space in San Francisco is also holding an event (screening " The

Witness " ) for July 13th.

 

5. Farm Sanctuary Walkathons -- Colleen Patrick reported on the events

planned around this year's walkathons (yes, plural!) in the Bay Area.

Oakland's walkathon will happen on September 7th, while the SF walk will

happen on October 28. Meanwhile, a fundraising party for Farm Sanctuary has

been scheduled for August 18th. Mark your calendars!!

 

Colleen also reported on Farm Sanctuary's Sentient Beings campaign

(http://www.sentientbeings.org/) and pointed out that cities are presently

signing on to recognize farmed animals as sentient beings. Widespread

municipal support for the campaign will be a leveraging point from which we

can hope to challenge the current legal status of farmed animals as

commodities. Colleen has all of the materials with which activists can

engage their municipalities to sign on to the campaign. At the very least,

we want to urge Berkeley, Oakland, and San Francisco to sign on. Presently,

there are 5 cities that have signed on (and 4 of them are from dopey New

Jersey!!). None from California!

 

6. Going Veggie 101 -- Jay Rosenthal shared his experience of having taught

a course with the Learning Annex. He is currently in the process of

constructing a proposal for the Annex for a course/seminar in Going Veggie.

Jay will emphasize health concerns, but will include the other facets as

well. He invites all suggestions, and is also willing to chat with you on

the process of working through the Learning Annex if you are inspired by his

example.

 

7. Ran out of time at this point ... moved on to the falafel joint across

the street and chatted/hung out. Did not continue to address cooking

classes/veggie workshops; writer's group; work with national campaigns; or

public video screenings & discussions. Next time.

 

Thanks to everyone who made it out to the meeting, and to everyone who

offered suggestions and ideas. We have a lot of ideas. Please feel free to

plug into any of these ideas to help make a difference, or if you have an

entirely different idea of how to promote veganism, please pass it on!!

 

We will be posting action alerts (not in duplicate!!) as events draw closer.

And, as different people take ownership of various initiatives and projects,

there will more places where you can plug in.

 

Thanks so much.

 

Best regards,

Alka