Fwd: shout it from the hilltops

January 21, 2005

I just received this and thought it might be an interesting read for others.

Shawna

PHBeginnings wrote:

PHBeginnings

Thu, 20 Jan 2005 14:29:08 EST

shout it from the hilltops

PHBeginnings

Dear friends of Project Healthy Beginnings - vegan lunch project:

I apologize if you tried contacting me through this email address in December.

I was not excepting emails due to " hate " mail I was receiving after appearing on

the reality TV show Trading Spouses - as the vegan mom. We are still - weeks

later - recovering from the shock and hurt over watching our family life and

vegan values be desecrated on national TV. At the core of my grief is how the

vegan message was not presented objectively and truthfully AT ALL. How I wish I

could give specific examples - you would be shocked and upset to know. Film

editing is capable of making movie magic - in this case, black magic.

It has been a devastating and traumatic experience to be so publicly -

nationally - humiliated and to know that people we care about - especially the

larger vegan/vegetarian community that I cannot speak to personally - may

believe what they saw about me and believe that I hurt the cause more than

helped.

And then last night something unbelievable happened that prompted me to finally

write this letter! I was made aware of another family who had appeared on

(what I now call) Trashing Spouses who had decided to " spill the beans. " They

are risking a multi - million dollar lawsuit in order to set the record

straight. As I read through the website, lets just say I got goose bumps! I

had seen their show (which aired right after ours) and knew full well what had

happened in the editing room. I hope you will go to the site for their

courageous account of the lies and deception and shock at what they experienced

in the representation of their alternative lifestyle.

The Abbott Family's Trading Spouses Page

or cut and paste: www.centertao.org/ts/Default.aspx

And please share this email with as many people as you can, because just last

week a new audition notice went out from the show and they are looking for

another Animal Rights anti-fur family. Below is the audition notice that lures

a person in, even calling it an " Animal Rights Show!! " At the above link, there

is good advice for anyone considering doing Trashing Spouses.

As I have written in other communications, the authentic " trading " experience

was powerful and amazing. I loved Louisiana and all the people I met. I had a

blast!! My surrogate family's response to vegan ideas exceeded all of my

expectations. It was a dream come true. But I was living in a dream world when

I believed naively (due to my lack of exposure to the media and reality

shows--don't trust them!!) - that the show would be produced with an overall

positive message about two families from different cultures " learning " from each

other and finding common ground, which was what I was led to believe this

" family show " was all about. Had our episodes been presented legitimately (I'm

choosing my words very carefully), we could have been closer to our dream.

The producers/editors had a different vision for the " vegan " show: they created

a farce that apparently boosted their ratings considerably - my understanding is

that our show aired on sweeps week when it is common for producers to create the

most outrageous and controversial shows possible. People with alternative

lifestyles make easy targets to ridicule and their creative team lacked vision

or creativity in producing this show. They sold out - made the " obvious " choice

so to speak - appealing to to the masses - who love to laugh at " wierdo

vegetarians. " No wonder these folks are working in reality TV, rather than

where they would like to be - on legitimate, creative film projects. They're

the lowest. FYI: Great movie - " Little Black Book " about reality TV producers.

It will give you more insight into that industry, while being thoroughly

entertained! I highly recommend it.

The Abbotts decided to expose their truth and I am glad for that, although I am

worried for them over possible legal repercussions. I am exploring a different

avenue and will be getting legal council in the near future. For now, I am just

glad to finally be getting my life back - thanks to the support of family and

friends. Their love and support has been inspiring and, while my faith in

people was shaken by this experience, in the end, I still believe that good will

prevail over evil; that one day there will be no more factory farms and the

majority of people will choose vegan. My surrogate family sure did!

Sincerely,

Barbara Gates, director

ProjectHealthyBeginnings.com

P.S. Below is the new casting notice, attached is a GREAT article published by

an editor friend about reality shows.

Rocket Science Laboratories (RSL)/ FOX audition notice:

Animal Rights Television Show

Looking for animal rights families/families who are anti-fur.

My name is Melissa Mills. I work in casting at " Trading Spouses, " a

family-themed reality show that airs on Fox, Monday nights at 8PM. The purpose

of our show is to compare and contrast various families across the country while

highlighting their unique interests and cultures! For example, we've had

everyone from hunters to vegans, alligator wranglers to family bands, tattoo

artists to political activists appear on our show.

Currently, we are casting for new episodes and would like to meet families who

are in favor of animal rights. We love interesting families who could show the

world a little bit about what makes them so special! This is a terrific

opportunity for any family who is energetic and who wants to Learn about another

way of life. In addition, every family who has appeared on the show has been

compensated $50,000! This could be a chance for an animal rights family who

wants their voice heard to have an audience of millions of people.

January 22, 2005

I received some e-mail about whether my family would like to be

involved in " wife swap " . I'm vegetarian (the rest of my family is

not) but we are also Atheist, and that is the angle they were going

for on this one, an " Aheist " family trading with a " Fundamentalist "

family.Itold my husband NO WAY were we going for it. I'm sure they

edit out anything that will not get them big ratings. I think

these " reality " shows need to go.

Peace,

Laura

, shawna bay <shawnabay> wrote:

>

> I just received this and thought it might be an interesting read

for others.

>

> Shawna

>

> PHBeginnings@a... wrote:

> PHBeginnings@a...

> Thu, 20 Jan 2005 14:29:08 EST

> shout it from the hilltops

> PHBeginnings@a...

>

> Dear friends of Project Healthy Beginnings - vegan lunch project:

>

> I apologize if you tried contacting me through this email address

in December. I was not excepting emails due to " hate " mail I was

receiving after appearing on the reality TV show Trading Spouses -

as the vegan mom. We are still - weeks later - recovering from the

shock and hurt over watching our family life and vegan values be

desecrated on national TV. At the core of my grief is how the vegan

message was not presented objectively and truthfully AT ALL. How I

wish I could give specific examples - you would be shocked and upset

to know. Film editing is capable of making movie magic - in this

case, black magic.

>

> It has been a devastating and traumatic experience to be so

publicly - nationally - humiliated and to know that people we care

about - especially the larger vegan/vegetarian community that I

cannot speak to personally - may believe what they saw about me and

believe that I hurt the cause more than helped.

>

> And then last night something unbelievable happened that prompted

me to finally write this letter! I was made aware of another

family who had appeared on (what I now call) Trashing Spouses who

had decided to " spill the beans. " They are risking a multi - million

dollar lawsuit in order to set the record straight. As I read

through the website, lets just say I got goose bumps! I had seen

their show (which aired right after ours) and knew full well what

had happened in the editing room. I hope you will go to the site for

their courageous account of the lies and deception and shock at what

they experienced in the representation of their alternative

lifestyle.

>

> The Abbott Family's Trading Spouses Page

>

> or cut and paste: www.centertao.org/ts/Default.aspx

>

> And please share this email with as many people as you can,

because just last week a new audition notice went out from the show

and they are looking for another Animal Rights anti-fur family.

Below is the audition notice that lures a person in, even calling it

an " Animal Rights Show!! " At the above link, there is good advice

for anyone considering doing Trashing Spouses.

>

> As I have written in other communications, the authentic " trading "

experience was powerful and amazing. I loved Louisiana and all the

people I met. I had a blast!! My surrogate family's response to

vegan ideas exceeded all of my expectations. It was a dream come

true. But I was living in a dream world when I believed naively

(due to my lack of exposure to the media and reality shows--don't

trust them!!) - that the show would be produced with an overall

positive message about two families from different

cultures " learning " from each other and finding common ground, which

was what I was led to believe this " family show " was all about. Had

our episodes been presented legitimately (I'm choosing my words very

carefully), we could have been closer to our dream.

>

> The producers/editors had a different vision for the " vegan " show:

they created a farce that apparently boosted their ratings

considerably - my understanding is that our show aired on sweeps

week when it is common for producers to create the most outrageous

and controversial shows possible. People with alternative

lifestyles make easy targets to ridicule and their creative team

lacked vision or creativity in producing this show. They sold out -

made the " obvious " choice so to speak - appealing to to the masses -

who love to laugh at " wierdo vegetarians. " No wonder these folks

are working in reality TV, rather than where they would like to be -

on legitimate, creative film projects. They're the lowest. FYI:

Great movie - " Little Black Book " about reality TV producers. It

will give you more insight into that industry, while being

thoroughly entertained! I highly recommend it.

>

> The Abbotts decided to expose their truth and I am glad for that,

although I am worried for them over possible legal repercussions. I

am exploring a different avenue and will be getting legal council in

the near future. For now, I am just glad to finally be getting my

life back - thanks to the support of family and friends. Their love

and support has been inspiring and, while my faith in people was

shaken by this experience, in the end, I still believe that good

will prevail over evil; that one day there will be no more factory

farms and the majority of people will choose vegan. My surrogate

family sure did!

>

> Sincerely,

>

> Barbara Gates, director

>

> ProjectHealthyBeginnings.com

>

> P.S. Below is the new casting notice, attached is a GREAT article

published by an editor friend about reality shows.

>

> Rocket Science Laboratories (RSL)/ FOX audition notice:

>

> Animal Rights Television Show

>

> Looking for animal rights families/families who are anti-fur.

> My name is Melissa Mills. I work in casting at " Trading Spouses, "

a family-themed reality show that airs on Fox, Monday nights at 8PM.

The purpose of our show is to compare and contrast various families

across the country while highlighting their unique interests and

cultures! For example, we've had everyone from hunters to vegans,

alligator wranglers to family bands, tattoo artists to political

activists appear on our show.

>

> Currently, we are casting for new episodes and would like to meet

families who are in favor of animal rights. We love interesting

families who could show the world a little bit about what makes them

so special! This is a terrific opportunity for any family who is

energetic and who wants to Learn about another way of life. In

addition, every family who has appeared on the show has been

compensated $50,000! This could be a chance for an animal rights

family who wants their voice heard to have an audience of millions

of people.

>

January 22, 2005

I do not think that the producers forced her to eat dead alligator.....All

the editing in the world could not make up for this inexcusable behavior.

_____

shawna bay [shawnabay]

Friday, January 21, 2005 12:05 PM

Fwd: shout it from the hilltops

I just received this and thought it might be an interesting read for others.

Shawna

PHBeginnings wrote:

PHBeginnings

Thu, 20 Jan 2005 14:29:08 EST

shout it from the hilltops

PHBeginnings

Dear friends of Project Healthy Beginnings - vegan lunch project:

I apologize if you tried contacting me through this email address in

December. I was not excepting emails due to " hate " mail I was receiving

after appearing on the reality TV show Trading Spouses - as the vegan mom.

We are still - weeks later - recovering from the shock and hurt over

watching our family life and vegan values be desecrated on national TV. At

the core of my grief is how the vegan message was not presented objectively

and truthfully AT ALL. How I wish I could give specific examples - you

would be shocked and upset to know. Film editing is capable of making movie

magic - in this case, black magic.

It has been a devastating and traumatic experience to be so publicly -

nationally - humiliated and to know that people we care about - especially

the larger vegan/vegetarian community that I cannot speak to personally -

may believe what they saw about me and believe that I hurt the cause more

than helped.

And then last night something unbelievable happened that prompted me to

finally write this letter! I was made aware of another family who had

appeared on (what I now call) Trashing Spouses who had decided to " spill the

beans. " They are risking a multi - million dollar lawsuit in order to set

the record straight. As I read through the website, lets just say I got

goose bumps! I had seen their show (which aired right after ours) and knew

full well what had happened in the editing room. I hope you will go to the

site for their courageous account of the lies and deception and shock at

what they experienced in the representation of their alternative lifestyle.

The Abbott Family's Trading Spouses Page

or cut and paste: www.centertao.org/ts/Default.aspx

And please share this email with as many people as you can, because just

last week a new audition notice went out from the show and they are looking

for another Animal Rights anti-fur family. Below is the audition notice

that lures a person in, even calling it an " Animal Rights Show!! " At the

above link, there is good advice for anyone considering doing Trashing

Spouses.

As I have written in other communications, the authentic " trading "

experience was powerful and amazing. I loved Louisiana and all the people I

met. I had a blast!! My surrogate family's response to vegan ideas exceeded

all of my expectations. It was a dream come true. But I was living in a

dream world when I believed naively (due to my lack of exposure to the media

and reality shows--don't trust them!!) - that the show would be produced

with an overall positive message about two families from different cultures

" learning " from each other and finding common ground, which was what I was

led to believe this " family show " was all about. Had our episodes been

presented legitimately (I'm choosing my words very carefully), we could have

been closer to our dream.

The producers/editors had a different vision for the " vegan " show: they

created a farce that apparently boosted their ratings considerably - my

understanding is that our show aired on sweeps week when it is common for

producers to create the most outrageous and controversial shows possible.

People with alternative lifestyles make easy targets to ridicule and their

creative team lacked vision or creativity in producing this show. They sold

out - made the " obvious " choice so to speak - appealing to to the masses -

who love to laugh at " wierdo vegetarians. " No wonder these folks are

working in reality TV, rather than where they would like to be - on

legitimate, creative film projects. They're the lowest. FYI: Great movie -

" Little Black Book " about reality TV producers. It will give you more

insight into that industry, while being thoroughly entertained! I highly

recommend it.

The Abbotts decided to expose their truth and I am glad for that, although I

am worried for them over possible legal repercussions. I am exploring a

different avenue and will be getting legal council in the near future. For

now, I am just glad to finally be getting my life back - thanks to the

support of family and friends. Their love and support has been inspiring

and, while my faith in people was shaken by this experience, in the end, I

still believe that good will prevail over evil; that one day there will be

no more factory farms and the majority of people will choose vegan. My

surrogate family sure did!

Sincerely,

Barbara Gates, director

ProjectHealthyBeginnings.com

P.S. Below is the new casting notice, attached is a GREAT article published

by an editor friend about reality shows.

Rocket Science Laboratories (RSL)/ FOX audition notice:

Animal Rights Television Show

Looking for animal rights families/families who are anti-fur.

My name is Melissa Mills. I work in casting at " Trading Spouses, " a

family-themed reality show that airs on Fox, Monday nights at 8PM. The

purpose of our show is to compare and contrast various families across the

country while highlighting their unique interests and cultures! For example,

we've had everyone from hunters to vegans, alligator wranglers to family

bands, tattoo artists to political activists appear on our show.

Currently, we are casting for new episodes and would like to meet families

who are in favor of animal rights. We love interesting families who could

show the world a little bit about what makes them so special! This is a

terrific opportunity for any family who is energetic and who wants to Learn

about another way of life. In addition, every family who has appeared on the

show has been compensated $50,000! This could be a chance for an animal

rights family who wants their voice heard to have an audience of millions of

people.

January 23, 2005

Hi All,

Let me preface this with that I usually don't watch much TV and especially

not reality TV, but our friend from the Florida saw the first " vegan "

episode and called us to tell us that we really MUST watch. So we sat down

as a family and watched the show. We also remembered to tune in to the next

episode the following week!

Anyway, I didn't post anything about it originally because I could tell that

Barbara was really being reamed by the producers and I really felt sorry for

her. But since it came up here and people who didn't see the show are

probably really confused and wondering what happened, I thought I'd give a

few insights from my perspective. Barbara doesn't give many details in her

letter.

Let me start with that I was REALLY shocked that she ate alligator meat in

the second episode justifying it by saying that an alligator would try to

eat her! Barbara really pushes the vegan message on the Bayou people

throughout the show. It appears that most of them think she's pretty

looney. She even showed a factory farming PETA (I think) film at a

gathering that they had at the house. I joked that if I was in that

situation, I would have brought a case of soy milk and cereal with me, hid

in my room the entire time, and collected my $50,000 at the end of the week

But I really felt the that the producers encouraged her to focus on the

vegan message. They wanted to make the show interesting (of course). You

could tell that they (of course) chose to trash the vegan message. And

therefore trash Barbara. After all, who are their main advertisers?

McDonalds, etc! They made the Bayou (never eats a vegetable, makes a living

selling alligator heads and swamp tours and married to a alligator hunter)

woman seem like a saint. She was all set to make alligator gumbo in the

vegan California home (where in the world would she get alligator meat in

San Diego?) when she saw Barbara's vegan message on one of the kitchen

cabinet doors. She attempted to make a vegan gumbo. I guess it wasn't

great, but she tried.

Like I said, I did feel kind of sorry for Barbara. The rest of my family was

not so kind, though. She came across as a really mean vegan who was very

controlling of her own family. I don't know her personally, so all I can say

is that the show really made her seem not nice. I don't know what made her

eat the alligator. I'm sure it was a very stressful, isolating week for her.

That's the only explanation I can think of... that an extra $10,000?

Tracy

-

" Brian & Carin Diggle " <4vegans

Saturday, January 22, 2005 9:22 AM

RE: Fwd: shout it from the hilltops

>

> I do not think that the producers forced her to eat dead alligator.....All

> the editing in the world could not make up for this inexcusable behavior.

>

> _____

>

> shawna bay [shawnabay]

> Friday, January 21, 2005 12:05 PM

>

> Fwd: shout it from the hilltops

>

> I just received this and thought it might be an interesting read for

others.

>

> Shawna

>

> PHBeginnings wrote:

> PHBeginnings

> Thu, 20 Jan 2005 14:29:08 EST

> shout it from the hilltops

> PHBeginnings

>

> Dear friends of Project Healthy Beginnings - vegan lunch project:

>

> I apologize if you tried contacting me through this email address in

> December. I was not excepting emails due to " hate " mail I was receiving

> after appearing on the reality TV show Trading Spouses - as the vegan mom.

> We are still - weeks later - recovering from the shock and hurt over

> watching our family life and vegan values be desecrated on national TV.

At

> the core of my grief is how the vegan message was not presented

objectively

> and truthfully AT ALL. How I wish I could give specific examples - you

> would be shocked and upset to know. Film editing is capable of making

movie

> magic - in this case, black magic.

>

> It has been a devastating and traumatic experience to be so publicly -

> nationally - humiliated and to know that people we care about - especially

> the larger vegan/vegetarian community that I cannot speak to personally -

> may believe what they saw about me and believe that I hurt the cause more

> than helped.

>

> And then last night something unbelievable happened that prompted me to

> finally write this letter! I was made aware of another family who had

> appeared on (what I now call) Trashing Spouses who had decided to " spill

the

> beans. " They are risking a multi - million dollar lawsuit in order to set

> the record straight. As I read through the website, lets just say I got

> goose bumps! I had seen their show (which aired right after ours) and

knew

> full well what had happened in the editing room. I hope you will go to the

> site for their courageous account of the lies and deception and shock at

> what they experienced in the representation of their alternative

lifestyle.

>

> The Abbott Family's Trading Spouses Page

>

> or cut and paste: www.centertao.org/ts/Default.aspx

>

> And please share this email with as many people as you can, because just

> last week a new audition notice went out from the show and they are

looking

> for another Animal Rights anti-fur family. Below is the audition notice

> that lures a person in, even calling it an " Animal Rights Show!! " At the

> above link, there is good advice for anyone considering doing Trashing

> Spouses.

>

> As I have written in other communications, the authentic " trading "

> experience was powerful and amazing. I loved Louisiana and all the people

I

> met. I had a blast!! My surrogate family's response to vegan ideas

exceeded

> all of my expectations. It was a dream come true. But I was living in a

> dream world when I believed naively (due to my lack of exposure to the

media

> and reality shows--don't trust them!!) - that the show would be produced

> with an overall positive message about two families from different

cultures

> " learning " from each other and finding common ground, which was what I was

> led to believe this " family show " was all about. Had our episodes been

> presented legitimately (I'm choosing my words very carefully), we could

have

> been closer to our dream.

>

> The producers/editors had a different vision for the " vegan " show: they

> created a farce that apparently boosted their ratings considerably - my

> understanding is that our show aired on sweeps week when it is common for

> producers to create the most outrageous and controversial shows possible.

> People with alternative lifestyles make easy targets to ridicule and their

> creative team lacked vision or creativity in producing this show. They

sold

> out - made the " obvious " choice so to speak - appealing to to the masses -

> who love to laugh at " wierdo vegetarians. " No wonder these folks are

> working in reality TV, rather than where they would like to be - on

> legitimate, creative film projects. They're the lowest. FYI: Great

movie -

> " Little Black Book " about reality TV producers. It will give you more

> insight into that industry, while being thoroughly entertained! I highly

> recommend it.

>

> The Abbotts decided to expose their truth and I am glad for that, although

I

> am worried for them over possible legal repercussions. I am exploring a

> different avenue and will be getting legal council in the near future.

For

> now, I am just glad to finally be getting my life back - thanks to the

> support of family and friends. Their love and support has been inspiring

> and, while my faith in people was shaken by this experience, in the end, I

> still believe that good will prevail over evil; that one day there will be

> no more factory farms and the majority of people will choose vegan. My

> surrogate family sure did!

>

> Sincerely,

>

> Barbara Gates, director

>

> ProjectHealthyBeginnings.com

>

> P.S. Below is the new casting notice, attached is a GREAT article

published

> by an editor friend about reality shows.

>

> Rocket Science Laboratories (RSL)/ FOX audition notice:

>

> Animal Rights Television Show

>

> Looking for animal rights families/families who are anti-fur.

> My name is Melissa Mills. I work in casting at " Trading Spouses, " a

> family-themed reality show that airs on Fox, Monday nights at 8PM. The

> purpose of our show is to compare and contrast various families across the

> country while highlighting their unique interests and cultures! For

example,

> we've had everyone from hunters to vegans, alligator wranglers to family

> bands, tattoo artists to political activists appear on our show.

>

> Currently, we are casting for new episodes and would like to meet families

> who are in favor of animal rights. We love interesting families who could

> show the world a little bit about what makes them so special! This is a

> terrific opportunity for any family who is energetic and who wants to

Learn

> about another way of life. In addition, every family who has appeared on

the

> show has been compensated $50,000! This could be a chance for an animal

> rights family who wants their voice heard to have an audience of millions

of

> people.

>

January 24, 2005

I would hate it if cameras followed me around. All I know about Barb Gates is

she has worked tirelessly to get healthy foods in our schools giving meat eating

children and vegetarian children healthy alternatives. These foods will also

help lower food costs for public schools and help with behavioral issues when we

finally get them in there...lock stock and barrel...for all the children to eat.

I applaud Barb for her tireless efforts and I know she is struggling right now.

Just my humble opinion

Lucy - the imperfect vegetarian who would probably get loads of hate mail if

cameras followed her too despite her work in the veg community....lol

Tracy Childs <tracychilds wrote: