fellowship group forming for veg*ns/aspiring veg*ns/animal rights activists

[Guest guest]

On 8/13/06, Thea Langsam <thea_langsam wrote:

>

>

> I've been reading the various e-mails about how folks stay veg despite

> non-veg friends and family, and I think it's great that Melissa and Mat are

> forming a veg fellowship group. I just wanted to say, though, that for me

> personally, being vegan is a pleasure 99.9% of the time. you should know

> that being vegan really can be an absolute joy. It is to me!

>

 

 

 

Thank you, Thea for pointing out what a " joy " it is to be vegan. Mat and I

couldn't agree more that the majority of the time it is.

 

 

 

We realized that our post about the group sounded as if it would be a forum

to just bring up negative aspects of being veg*n. On the contrary. We have

every intention of discussing how great it is to be vegan. For both Mat and

I going vegan was the best decisions we ever made and we both wish we had

done it sooner.

 

 

 

We just want to have a private forum to discuss and find solutions to the

frustrations we face living in a world that exploits animals, so that we can

then continue to go out into that world with our friends, family members and

coworkers and be " shiny happy vegans " (as I believe Julia Butterfly Hill

once said.)

 

 

 

We both agree that you do not help animals by looking like a miserable

deprived veg*n, which of course you do not have to be (and as the folks at

the BAV Vegetarian House dinner last night know, we are not deprived when we

get to eat deep-fried vegan ice cream!)

 

 

 

So, again the group we are proposing will be both a forum to privately

discuss your frustrations and sometimes anger at the speciesist world we

live in, amongst people who support you, while also discussing how wonderful

it is to be veg*n and how great it feels to know that you are not

contributing to the exploitation of animals as others in our society do.

Because that is the reason a lot of us become veg*n and stay veg*n. That

feeling is worth so much.

 

 

 

We definitely want to encourage those of you who are trying to transition to

veg*nism and hope that this group can help.

 

 

 

For the animals,

 

 

 

Melissa and Mat

 

 

 

[Guest guest]

Hi everyone,

 

Mat & Melissa, thanks for organizing this. Please stay in touch as plans

develop, and let me know if you need any help.

 

Bay Area Veg has a couple of forthcoming events that specifically address

this need.

What: Presentation by Nora Kramer: Effective Communication for Veg*n

Advocacy, Family & Friends

When: 9/17/06 Sunday, 2:30 pm

Location: SF - The Women's Building, 3543 18th St.

Full Details: <http://www.bayareaveg.org/events.php?EID=1088#1088>

http://www.bayareaveg.org/events.php?EID=1088#1088

 

What: Book Discussion: Living Among Meat Eaters : The Vegetarian's Survival

Handbook by Carol Adams

When: 11/12/06 Sunday, 3:00 pm

Full Details: http://www.bayareaveg.org/events.php?EID=1090#1090

 

For folks on the other lists, you can find details on our website above and

if you're on one of our mailing lists, you'll get an email about it as the

date draws closer. You can sign up for our mailing lists at

 

http://bayareaveg.org/join.htm

 

Cheers,

Tammy

 

 

<http://www.bayareaveg.org/> BAV - planting the seeds of compassion and

good health

Bay Area Vegetarians

www. <http://www.bayareaveg.org/> BayAreaVeg.org