By Jamila Alfred, VO Maryland/DC Events and Outreach Coordinator

We all know Russell Simmons as being the ultimate businessman and professional hustler, but not everyone is familiar with his relaxed, compassionate side.

Who would have thought that the long-time hip-hop mogul would become a hardcore yogi, let alone a super-passionate vegan? I definitely didn’t, so reading his engaging book, The Happy Vegan: A Guide to Living a Long, Healthy, and Successful Life, not only helped me learn more about him, but it also reminded me of the main reasons why I chose to live vegan.

The books starts with Simmons telling his personal story of transitioning to a vegan lifestyle and all the cognitive dissonance that came along with it. His experience was similar to many—he ate a lot of animal foods, dabbled in recreational drugs, and overall wasn’t feeling healthy. With his discovery of veganism he now has more energy and zest, which prompted him to share his newfound happiness with the world.

Simmons sectioned off the top factors that concern vegans—ethics, environment, and health—but he also discussed issues that affect communities of color, namely African-Americans. He touched on the concept of soul food being “slave food” since it derived from the time when African slaves were given the scraps of animal carcasses and other swill as meals. I was glad that he touched on this because not many people know about this important historical fact.

His conversational tone and personal stories made this such a fun and relatable read! Simmons, like many other people, thought that by giving up animal products he would be betraying his heritage and culture. He explained that those animal products—among other things— have been killing fellow African-Americans for centuries and invited people of color to understand that veganism is just as much for them as it is for anybody else.

Simmons dropped so much knowledge in an entertaining yet laid-back way, which I’m sure, converted many pre-vegans. It’s clear he wrote this how-to guide for middle-aged people of color, and for that I’m truly grateful! Marginalized groups aren’t usually included in the vegan message, so I think it’s a good idea for people like Russell to continue to speak up for his community.

Get yourself a copy, give it to a friend, and let us—or Russell Simmons himself—know how much you liked it!

Martha Mendoza, Associated Press reporter, talks with NPR’s Kelly McEvers (Sept. 13, 2016) about Slave-Like Conditions on Hawaii Fishing Fleets. Excerpts:

[T]hese are American-flagged boats that are American-owned. And they have American captains. And they’re fishing in a U.S. fishery managed by the federal government. There’s a fleet of about 140 boats with about 700 crew members. Almost all are non-citizen, undocumented men from Southeast Asia in the Pacific. They don’t have visas. And they are never allowed to come onshore.

Read More

If you’re in or near the Baltimore, Maryland area, join the fun at this year’s Vegan SoulFest. The festival is scheduled for Saturday, August 20.

There’ll be several retail exhibitors, featuring local vegan products and delicious food! The festival has a great lineup of speakers and demonstrators, and other entertainment the whole family will enjoy!

Join Vegan Soul, Vegan Outreach, VO’s David Carter—The 300 Pound Vegan—and a ton of great vendors and speakers for the 3rd Annual Vegan Soul Wellness Festival in Oakland, CA. This free event will take place at Laney College on Saturday, September 24.

See you there!

By Lisa Rimmert, VO Director of Development

Each year The Pollination Project—an organization we at VO are big fans of—seeks nominations for vegan activists who work behind the scenes to create a more compassionate world.

The awards are named after the late Lisa Shapiro, an inspiring activist from Boulder, CO.

Lisa would be proud of this year’s winners! Out of all the nominations this year, eleven heroes were chosen—one couple and ten individuals, including our friends Aneeha Patwardhan and Patti Breitman!

Aneeha Patwardhan is an activist who VO’s Director of Outreach Vic Sjodin had the pleasure of meeting while in India. Here’s an excerpt from Vic’s tribute:

I love Aneeha’s endless passion and urgency for animal rights, and for sharing the beauty of veganism with others. She began her work after she came across a Vegan Outreach Facebook post that showed a young man who had gone vegan after getting a booklet. In typical fashion, she immediately ordered booklets of her own, which she and a friend then handed out during a march for animals in Pune, India. She has since helped organize leafleting and video outreach to the public nearly every weekend with local activists.

Read more about Aneeha here.

Patti Breitman is the founder of the Marin Vegetarian Education Group, co-founder of Dharma Voices for Animals, and co-author of the books Never Too Late to Go Vegan: The Over-50 Guide to Adopting and Thriving on a Plant-Based Diet, How to Eat like a Vegetarian Even If You Never Want to Be One, and more. Not only that, but Patti is also a friend and supporter of Vegan Outreach!

Read more about Patti here.

Congratulations to Aneeha, Patti, and the other wonderful Unsung Vegan Heroes!

Liz Dwyer, Culture and Education Editor of TakePart (Oct. 5, 2016) reports that Students Are Going Vegan, and It’s Helping Colleges Trim the Fat. Excerpts:

According to a survey released Tuesday by peta2, the youth division of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, meat- and dairy-free menu items have become one of the hottest things on college cafeteria menus. The organization surveyed nearly 1,500 four-year colleges and universities in the United States and found that 62 percent of schools serve vegan menu items on a daily basis, up from 28 percent in 2014.

A study published in the September 2015 edition of the Journal of Hunger & Environmental Nutrition found that people who go vegetarian spend an average of $750 less on groceries than folks who follow federal dietary recommendations.

Read More

By Katia Rodríguez, Mexico Campaigns and Spanish Media Coordinator

My coworker—Emmanuel Márquez, VO’s Mexico Outreach Coordinator—and I have been traveling together since August. We’ve leafleted in seven different states throughout Mexico, visited several campuses, and have met a lot of young people willing to change their diet for animals.

We’ve handed out over 82,000 leaflets so far, and we’re very grateful because we’ve had some really amazing volunteers join us as we go into different cities. Some of them were experienced volunteers that support us every time we visit their city, and others were new volunteers that ended up loving the experience.

One very special volunteer we met along the way was a 9-year-old boy named Emiliano.

Before getting into all of the details about Emiliano, I would like to talk about his incredible parents. Emiliano’s parents went vegan after hosting Emmanuel in 2015 when he visited Xalapa, Veracruz to do campus outreach. They are loving and supportive parents that teach respect and compassion to their children.

After talking with Emiliano, we became more and more amazed by his compassion and empathy.

A good example of this was when Emiliano visited an animal sanctuary in another state and met two dogs that were siblings. He fell in love with one of the dogs, but told his parents that he wouldn’t be able to adopt just one of the pair. Emiliano could see how much these dogs loved each other and didn’t want to separate them.

His parents decided to let Emiliano adopt both dogs.

When Emiliano heard what Vegan Outreach does, and how many animals a person can save by leafleting, he was very curious about the activity. Emmanuel and I invited him to leaflet with us and he immediately said yes! We gave him a Vegan Outreach t-shirt and he could hardly hold back his tears.

After giving him some quick tips on how to leaflet, he was leafleting like a pro! This 9-year-old superhero handed out 400 leaflets in a single day!

After leafleting, we invited him to go to a restaurant with us where he could enjoy a vegan hot dog!

Emiliano’s parents thanked us for inspiring him, but, honestly, he inspired us. He wants to change the life for millions of animals and he’s off to a great start!

By Alex Bury, VO Organizational Development Consultant

This is an urgent public service announcement from the FDA—Food and Deliciousness Administration. Do not, under any circumstances, buy P.B. Popps by Earth Balance.

Consumers who have purchased P.B. Popps have been known to exhibit signs of eating an entire bag at one sitting, buying bags for all their friends, and crying softly when they realize their bag is empty.

I was born and raised in Alaska. I went vegan 21 years ago, while living in Anchorage, and it was a big deal to have a single Tofurky Roast FedExed up for the holidays.

After I moved “outside”—Alaska speak for the Lower 48—I would travel home to the snow once or twice a year with suitcases stuffed full of all the cool new vegan products from California. How things have changed! Now I go to Alaska with extra room in my suitcase!

Every time I go back I find not only the newest vegan goodies—Miyoko’s cheese, Gardein, Beyond Meat, Ben and Jerry’s vegan coffee ice cream—but several other things I hadn’t yet tried in California.

This last trip I found Earth Balance P.B. Popps. My friend and I had stopped at the store to grab hiking snacks and the bag looked intriguing. I got other things as well just in case the popcorn stuff was too sweet or too whatever.

We opened it in the car and if I could go back in time I would take that unopened bag and throw it out the window. I’m surprised we made it hiking. This stuff is delicious! Remember Cracker Jack snacks? OK, now think of Cracker Jacks but better—not as cloyingly sweet, the popcorn more melt-in-your mouth, and, I swear, healthier!

A few perks of this dangerously good snack—

● 3 grams of protein

● Ingredients like peanuts, oats, flax, and popped corn

● 0 trans fat

My warning stands. Don’t buy this stuff, or buy it and just give up in advance. Get a book or crank up Netflix, grab a fresh bag of P.B. Popps, and we’ll hear from you later if you ever recover. You’re welcome.

By Melissa Li, MD, VO Board of Directors Vice-Chair

When did you succumb to the Esther the Wonder Pig effect? I’m just assuming that you have, because who hasn’t?

I succumbed long ago, when she first made various headlines—a commercial pig, originally thought to be a micro pig by her adopters, who grew and grew and grew, and kept growing to 650 pounds, much to their astonishment.

At first, it didn’t seem too far off from the usual rescue story, but when pictures appeared of Esther living in the house—sleeping on her dads’ bed and having her own piggy bed in the living room—there was something utterly charming about her. The Facebook posts were singularly hilarious, captioned with wry quotes, which would catch me off guard and make me laugh out loud.

I followed her story, but more importantly, followed her dads’ story—how they evolved from hapless, accidental commercial pig adopters to genuinely concerned activists who want the world to know that there are millions of pigs like Esther. Pigs, that if given the chance to live, would show you they are as endearing and wonderful as her.

Somehow, Steve Jenkins and Derek Walter have found the elusive mixture of warmth, humor, and compassion that is just right—hence, their hundreds of thousands of followers from around the world, and the continued outpouring of love and accolades.

When I heard there was going to be a book coming out, I couldn’t wait, despite having known much of the original beginnings. I cannot describe it—it’s like one of those magical fairy tales that you never tire of, one you don’t mind hearing night after night.

I read the book—Esther the Wonder Pig: Changing the World One Heart at a Time—in a few hours, and the only disappointment I had was that it ended too soon. I wanted more. I hope they come out with a sequel, better yet a series, or maybe a movie, or how about a reality TV show? She and her family are that addictive and interesting!

You may or may not already know all the details of Esther’s story, but reading through Steve’s and Derek’s perspective, you’ll find little gems and tidbits that weren’t always in the published articles. How difficult was it to potty train Esther? What struggles did they go through with the decision to keep Esther?

I could read about Esther and go through tons of pictures of Esther as a little piglet for hours on end. This book tells a great story, and I hope there’ll be more to come. There’s joy and humor on every page. You feel as though you’re there in that cramped little kitchen, making room for Esther’s 650 pounds and laughing at her antics. You can’t wait to hear more, no matter how minor the detail.

And that’s the Esther effect for you! Experience it for yourself by ordering the book here.