Teenage vegan embarks on life of activism

[Guest guest]

And of course Ben now also is the enthusiastic host of the BAV Palo Alto Letter Writing Party! His next one is on 1/28 (Saturday) at 7:30 pm at Bay Leaf in Palo Alto. Come support him and write letters on behalf of animals. Melissachristine wrote: Christine----------Way to go, Ben!Teenage vegan embarks on life of activism01/07/2006Palo Alto WeeklyAlexandria Rocha Online athttp://www.paloaltoonline.com/weekly/morgue/2006/2006_01_06.vegan06jd.shtmlLetters to the Editor: lettersLast spring,

Ben Davidow made a commitment to change his way of lifeafter watching a 12-minute video on the Internet. Although Davidow wasalready a vegetarian, the video -- which gave an inside look intoanimal agribusiness -- prompted him to shun eggs, cheese and all otherdairy products as well. Soon after, the 18-year-old Palo Alto HighSchool senior embraced activism by joining the Humane Society of theUnited States' campaign against Trader Joe's for selling eggs fromcaged hens. In the fall, Davidow gave a series of talks to his fellowstudents at Paly to raise awareness about the campaign. He's started grocery shopping on his own and learned how to cook. He hasalso written a proposal for a course about animal issues that he hopesto introduce to Paly officials this year. Davidow, a soft spoken,articulate student who stands above 6 feet tall and has wild, curlyblack hair, said most vegans know it's impossible to avoid all animalproducts.

The tires on his bike, after all, probably contain gelatin. So, why would a student make such a life-altering pledge, especially atan age when pizza is coursing through his peers' bloodstreams? ForDavidow, it started out innocently enough. As an 8 year old, justlearning where the meat on his plate came from, he simply couldn'tjustify eating any animals when his cat, Fluffy, meant so much to him.He let his sister have the last hot dog at a family barbecue, and thatwas that. Last year, Davidow became more passionate about his veganismand activism, which led to his role in the Trader Joe's campaign. In June, he saw Erik Marcus, author of 'Vegan The New Ethics of Eating,'at a Stanford University book reading. He bought Marcus' book, devouredit, and then asked the author if they could meet one on one. They did.'I told him how much he inspired me,' Davidow said, adding that Marcus'book got him thinking about the potential of

activism against animalagribusiness. In September, the teenager made another significantconnection. He saw Paul Shapiro, manager of the Humane Society'sFactory Farming Campaign, speak in San Francisco. Davidow told Shapiro he wanted to join the campaign. Shapiro gave himall the materials he needed to begin the series of talks to raiseawareness at Paly. 'He was really supportive of starting something,'Davidow said. The first talk was called, 'What's the big deal witheggs? The full story.' Davidow admits the title was a little silly. When Trader Joe's announced in November it would phase out selling eggsfrom caged hens, Davidow felt elated about his role in the campaign'ssuccess. 'It has shown me how powerful it can be to live in tune withwhat you believe in,' he said. 'It's hard not to feel powerless, butover time I've realized how much of a difference I can make.' Sincethen, Davidow hasn't faltered in his mission. After

seeing ChristineMorrissey, the director of East Bay Animal Advocates, speak in SanFrancisco, he met with her one on one, as well, and ended up bringingher to Paly as a guest speaker. Morrissey brought in a live formerlycaged chicken. 'That portrayed how local this issue is,' Davidow said.The teenager's family has been wholly supportive. His dad makes a point to eat less meat around him, and his older sisterbecame a vegetarian a few years after he did. Although Talia, 20, hasnot embraced veganism, Davidow said she eats less dairy than she usedto. Besides taking on such huge, complex issues, Davidow said thehardest part about being a vegan activist is the social aspect. Theconcept is so foreign to some of his peers that he decided to writeabout vegans being from another planet -- called Vega in the 'un-MilkyWay' -- in a recent article for Paly's literary magazine, 'Verde.' Ofcourse, he was joking. It's true, however, that

veganism has touchedhis life to the point of influencing where he applied for college. Although he said it wasn't a huge draw, he did apply to several campusesknown as vegan friendly and two sites that operate student-run veganco-ops. For now, he is setting his hopes high. 'In the coming decade,we'll see a major revolution in how people relate to animals and thedisconnect Americans have with where their food comes from,' he said. Staff writer Alexandria Rocha can be e-mailed at arocha

[Guest guest]

Teenage vegan embarks on life of activism

01/07/2006

Palo Alto Weekly

Alexandria Rocha

 

Online at

http://www.paloaltoonline.com/weekly/morgue/2006/2006_01_06.vegan06jd.shtml

Letters to the Editor: letters

 

Last spring, Ben Davidow made a commitment to change his way of life

after watching a 12-minute video on the Internet. Although Davidow was

already a vegetarian, the video -- which gave an inside look into

animal agribusiness -- prompted him to shun eggs, cheese and all other

dairy products as well. Soon after, the 18-year-old Palo Alto High

School senior embraced activism by joining the Humane Society of the

United States' campaign against Trader Joe's for selling eggs from

caged hens. In the fall, Davidow gave a series of talks to his fellow

students at Paly to raise awareness about the campaign.

 

He's started grocery shopping on his own and learned how to cook. He has

also written a proposal for a course about animal issues that he hopes

to introduce to Paly officials this year. Davidow, a soft spoken,

articulate student who stands above 6 feet tall and has wild, curly

black hair, said most vegans know it's impossible to avoid all animal

products. The tires on his bike, after all, probably contain gelatin.

 

So, why would a student make such a life-altering pledge, especially at

an age when pizza is coursing through his peers' bloodstreams? For

Davidow, it started out innocently enough. As an 8 year old, just

learning where the meat on his plate came from, he simply couldn't

justify eating any animals when his cat, Fluffy, meant so much to him.

He let his sister have the last hot dog at a family barbecue, and that

was that. Last year, Davidow became more passionate about his veganism

and activism, which led to his role in the Trader Joe's campaign.

 

In June, he saw Erik Marcus, author of 'Vegan The New Ethics of Eating,'

at a Stanford University book reading. He bought Marcus' book, devoured

it, and then asked the author if they could meet one on one. They did.

'I told him how much he inspired me,' Davidow said, adding that Marcus'

book got him thinking about the potential of activism against animal

agribusiness. In September, the teenager made another significant

connection. He saw Paul Shapiro, manager of the Humane Society's

Factory Farming Campaign, speak in San Francisco.

 

Davidow told Shapiro he wanted to join the campaign. Shapiro gave him

all the materials he needed to begin the series of talks to raise

awareness at Paly. 'He was really supportive of starting something,'

Davidow said. The first talk was called, 'What's the big deal with

eggs? The full story.' Davidow admits the title was a little silly.

 

When Trader Joe's announced in November it would phase out selling eggs

from caged hens, Davidow felt elated about his role in the campaign's

success. 'It has shown me how powerful it can be to live in tune with

what you believe in,' he said. 'It's hard not to feel powerless, but

over time I've realized how much of a difference I can make.' Since

then, Davidow hasn't faltered in his mission. After seeing Christine

Morrissey, the director of East Bay Animal Advocates, speak in San

Francisco, he met with her one on one, as well, and ended up bringing

her to Paly as a guest speaker. Morrissey brought in a live formerly

caged chicken. 'That portrayed how local this issue is,' Davidow said.

The teenager's family has been wholly supportive.

 

His dad makes a point to eat less meat around him, and his older sister

became a vegetarian a few years after he did. Although Talia, 20, has

not embraced veganism, Davidow said she eats less dairy than she used

to. Besides taking on such huge, complex issues, Davidow said the

hardest part about being a vegan activist is the social aspect. The

concept is so foreign to some of his peers that he decided to write

about vegans being from another planet -- called Vega in the 'un-Milky

Way' -- in a recent article for Paly's literary magazine, 'Verde.' Of

course, he was joking. It's true, however, that veganism has touched

his life to the point of influencing where he applied for college.

 

Although he said it wasn't a huge draw, he did apply to several campuses

known as vegan friendly and two sites that operate student-run vegan

co-ops. For now, he is setting his hopes high. 'In the coming decade,

we'll see a major revolution in how people relate to animals and the

disconnect Americans have with where their food comes from,' he said.

 

Staff writer Alexandria Rocha can be e-mailed at arocha

 

 

1000 miles of endless screams, where all the dead heroes lay

I've got the choice to set my knife, I've got the courage to set my life

I've got the day I'll pick to die. Gotta hate someone, I don't know why

I'll fight for a better way, be a dead hero for the U.S.A.