By Lisa Rimmert, VO Director of Development

Monthly donor Steven Rouk volunteers his time for various projects to help people go and stay vegan. I hope I don’t sound too mushy, but he really is one of the most inspiring people I know. At 25 years of age, he has already done so much that’s worthwhile and world-changing–including supporting the work of Vegan Outreach! I’m thrilled to introduce Steven Rouk!

Tell us about yourself, Steven.

I try to do all of the things, which inevitably leads to disaster, and sometimes greatness. My life has always been a tug-of-war between the math / data / analytical side of me and the music / writing / emotive side of me. So some months, I’ll be spending 16 hours a day at my computer learning web development and analyzing data (recently, I’ve been working on creating an interactive map of factory farms in Colorado, as well as having recently founded the Boulder Data Science Meetup group). Other months I’m writing new songs on my guitar every night or trying to finish another novel (I’m currently publishing a novel to Instagram, one page per day, and also about to release a new song and music video). “Balance” probably isn’t the right word for my life, but if balance were to drink as much coffee as I do then it’d probably be somewhere close to me–caffeinated and over-ambitious.

I’m also really, really interested in the beautiful and vague notion of “impact”, especially related to animal rights and bettering our human societies in the most important ways. Reducing suffering and promoting well-being is what it all comes down to, really. At some point I’d like to start a company (or five) around these concepts. It’s on my bucket list – as soon as I finish recording my next album and get back from tour. (Joking! Sort of.)

How did you get involved in the world of animal protection? How about with Vegan Outreach?

It was a long, slow journey to veganism for me, with each step along the way prompted by a video or documentary. In the beginning, it was all PETA videos of factory farming. I’ve always treated food as a tasty thing to keep me fueled for the next adventure, so it took a while to fully break me of my deeply ingrained habits and completely live according to these new values I was forming. (I grew up in the South, so going vegan was essentially shunning half of the food groups I had known.) But, the magnitude of the issue implanted itself very firmly inside of me because of the sheer amount of suffering involved.

I eventually learned more about the environmental, health, and human rights aspects as well. The beautiful thing about the truth is that it’s a stubborn thing, fighting through any barriers if given enough time.

What drew you to Vegan Outreach’s approach, and what inspired you to support it financially?

I think leafleting is awesome and wonderfully effective. Imagine if every college student on every campus in the United States (nay! the whole world!) knew about the immense and completely unjust suffering of animals, and they all knew about the terrible thing that factory farming is. Wouldn’t that be awesome? Wouldn’t that create a massive influence strong enough to shift the current paradigm, with a whole generation empowered by the truth? Absolutely, and that’s exactly the vision VO is working towards.

We’re going to reach that day, and we’re going to reach it sooner than we all think. The question is, how will we have helped it get there? There are many ways that I’m trying to help advance the cause, but a no-brainer way is to throw some money to VO and other organizations that have such a huge impact. We all have individual battles to fight when it comes to this, but we absolutely must also support those who are helping pave the way in larger ways than we can do as individuals.

What barriers do you see that may keep young people from donating to support their favorite non-profits? What would you say to young people to encourage them to donate?

“Donation” is a dirty word to a lot of people, and truthfully I probably have a negative connotation with fundraising and donations as well. I hate asking people for money, and I don’t particularly like being asked either. So there’s a paradox, exemplified by this fictitious conversation – “That’s so awesome what you’re doing! Oh, you need money to continue…? Like… my money? Can’t you sell t-shirts on Amazon or something?”

We live in such a capitalist, pull-yourself-up-by-your-bootstraps society that we think you have to sell something to be worth something. The thing is… you don’t. We give stupid amounts of money to profit-hungry companies all the time, buying random crap that we don’t need and probably don’t even want. Why? Because that’s how our economy is structured, and marketers have gotten really good at selling us pants and gadgets and thingamabobs, regardless of whether we need them or not. It’s a vicious self-reinforcing cycle.

We all need to challenge ourselves to see through that, to see through the impulse to buy random stuff we don’t need, and to instead support people who are actually doing important work but who aren’t supported financially by our current system. Or you can buy random crap and donate to important causes, that’s totally fine too.

I don’t make a ton of money, but I’ve never regretted or missed a donation. Never. I’ve been mad at myself for spending too much on beer out at bars, or spending too much at restaurants, or whatever, but I’ve never regretted donating to organizations I care about.

I’m a fickle human with a very limited attention span and memory, so I make it easy on myself – all my donations are set up on a recurring monthly basis, so I never even have to think about it. It’s easier than buying my daily coffee, and way more rewarding. (Though, coffee is pretty great.) Every time I see that donation go out, I know I’m helping people do some of the most important work in the world. I’m helping to bring on the revolution, the next iteration of humanity, one totally unmissed donation at a time. And that’s so awesome. (VO didn’t pay me to write this, I promise – it’s really just that important and amazing to support the things you care about.)

What is your favorite vegan meal?

Honestly, I’m a bit of a utilitarian when it comes to food. Left to my own devices, I will eat pretty much the same thing for every meal: a baked potato (with a little bit of olive oil and herbs), slathered in beans, and covered in salsa. Or I guess I also make this thing I affectionately call an “Epic Salad” (trademark – just kidding), which is a huge pile of spinach, covered in the largest variety of fresh produce I can muster up – tomatoes, peppers, mushrooms, carrots, obscene amounts of avocado, onion, etc. – and then drenched in a homemade olive oil vinaigrette with all kinds of herbs. I’m all about an easy, consistent routine so I can focus on my projects. If it weren’t for my girlfriend, I’d probably be downing Soylent three times a day by now.

Thank you, Steven!

And since he mentioned it, here’s where you can donate monthly to Vegan Outreach.

By Josie Moody, VO Office Manager

Let’s just get straight to the point: I have issues with deodorant. After all, you’re talking to the person who accidentally used bug spray on her underarms for a month because she mistook it for Burt’s Bee’s Herbal Deodorant. (I can’t be the first person who has mistaken the two with their practically identical packaging!) Other brands of natural deodorants left my underarms peeling, and once my husband actually bought me deodorant himself because he was tired of me smelling like Old Spice when I chose to use up an unwanted deodorant of his rather than spend money on a new one.

When I was asked if I wanted to review a deodorant for the blog, I’ll admit, I didn’t necessarily have high expectations, but I was willing to give it a try, and honestly, I’m glad I did! I loved this deodorant immediately. At this point, I’ve been using it for over two weeks and it still works great. The packaging says it works for up to 48 hours, and owner Dina Soker told me that she’s heard of people using it for up to five days without showering in between and that it still worked well. Lucky for my office mates, Jack and Alex, I won’t be testing that hypothesis.

This deodorant is a lotion versus a solid, which threw me off at first. I thought I might dislike applying a liquid, but after the first or second time I got used to it. Only Goodness Inside! also offers a sponge applicator for those who prefer to apply it that way. As a person who wears black almost exclusively, I am also happy to report that no residue was left on my clothing, either.

Straight talk: I did have sticker shock when I went to their site and saw how much each container cost. I asked Dina about this, and she explained that a lot of the inexpensive deodorants are full of cheap fillers, palm oil, and other chemicals I’d prefer not to put in my armpits.

On the other hand, Only Goodness Inside! deodorants are true to their name.  They are certified organic, made with non-GMO ingredients, contain Dead Sea minerals imported from–you guessed it–the Dead Sea, and most importantly to me, are gentle and effective! They are also unscented, but if you prefer your deodorant scented you can either add your favorite essential oil to the mix, or order yours to include one of their tailor-made scents.

This is a quality product, and while I know it’s not something everyone will want to or be able to spend a higher amount of money on, I want to let you know about the various vegan options for underarm care.

If you order before February 16th, you’ll get 25% off their Deodorant Essentials Pack when you use the code LOVE16. They also encourage you to sign up for their e-newsletter to regularly receive coupons and other offers–and every package you buy comes with a coupon to use toward future purchases!

Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to the gym to put this product to work.

VO’s Director of Outreach, Victor Sjodin, is on week four of a ten-week leafleting tour in India. He’s been checking in with us to share stories of his experiences. This week, Vic gives us a glimpse into leafleting in Jaipur, Rajasthan.

Greetings from India! We had a slow but pleasant day this past Sunday in the city of Jaipur, in the state of Rajasthan. I was lucky to be joined by the crew of Angel Eyes Animal Welfare Foundation, a group affiliated with the Federation of Indian Animal Protection Organizations (FIAPO). It was great to be helped by these selfless activists in their spare time. I found it very inspiring.

Angela is only in the tenth “standard” (grade) and already runs her own group at school and volunteers a lot. Divakar has his master’s degree, manages his mother’s clothing store, and has been volunteering for a year. Amit is a travel agent and is new to the group, and Abhishek is the glue that holds it together–a warm and energetic longtime activist who, even with a business, wife and young child, finds lots of time for activism.

Today was a bit slow at times, but the best part was that we reached mostly youth and we saw so many people reading the entire booklets–far more than usual. Perhaps only Mexico rivals India for the high percentage of cover-to-cover readers. It is so great to see! Interestingly, some people hesitate to take booklets because they assume they are for sale, but when they learn they’re free, they gladly accept them. We are also a curiosity and many come up to us for a booklet, which is very convenient.

As a Westerner, the strangest part of the day happened while I was waiting for the others outside of Albert Hall Museum, outside the zoo. All these grown men and then others wanted a “selfie” with me. They would say, “Excuse me sir, one picture please,” and I felt like a tourist attraction! I took pictures with 15 individuals in quick succession, which made me feel weird. Every day we take lots of selfies with people for no apparent reason other than that we are light pigmented. This happened at the zoo entrance too, and one selfie invariably leads to many. Jaipur is a big tourist city, and there are white people around, so I don’t completely understand it.

Globalization has definitely pervaded. There are American fast food chains everywhere. Kids here discuss the new season of Orange is the New Black with us, listen to the same pop music as we do in the U.S., and love Johnny Depp. They also associate eating meat at times with being modern and Western. We’re doing good here, and we see many people reading our booklets.

We handed out 1,500 booklets this day (February 7th) at Jaipur Zoo, Gaurav Towers Mall, and nearby areas in Jaipur. Thank you to activists Abhishek Singh, Angela Williams, Divakar Mehta, and Amit Sharma.

Namaste.

You can view photos from Vic’s tour on Facebook here. And be sure to subscribe to the blog for more updates!

By Lori Stultz, Outreach Coordinator

Hello, animal lovers! I am excited to tell you all about a wonderful book I read during my tour break. What if the Shoe Were on the Other Hoof? (WSWOH) was written by a good friend of mine, Keith Allison, who is a former Ohio elementary school teacher. You may recall seeing Keith on at least one of various news outlets back in 2014. At the beginning of the 2014 Fall semester, Keith posted pictures on his personal Facebook page of crates used to hold baby cows on a dairy farm not far from his home. One of his pictures was accompanied by these words: “The cruelty of separation, loneliness, and infant slaughter lingers inside each glass of a cow’s milk. Your voice can help change the system. You don’t have to support this. Plant-based milks are everywhere and are delicious.”

The owner of the crates saw Keith’s post and complained to the superintendent of the school district he was teaching for, and Keith was, very wrongfully in my opinion, fired from his position. After he was fired, a petition on Change.org went up, and more than 139,000 signatures were collected in an effort to reverse his dismissal. Keith and his attorney filed a lawsuit against the school district in March of 2015, and a settlement was reached by April. You can read all about Keith’s case and the resolution here.

Knowing that I was going to be writing this review after finishing the book, I will admit that the more I read, the more anxiety I felt. Book reviewers are supposed to briefly cover the topic of the book and note a few key parts that the reviewer feels are important for potential readers to know—sparking their interest in reading the book themselves. Well, that quickly became an issue for me because the entire book is incredible! I want to (and really wish I could) tell you about each chapter and each section. For time’s sake, I know I cannot do that. Thus, in the following paragraphs, I will do my best to concisely explain what Keith’s book is about and why I think others should consider reading it.

I think the true question is not what this book discusses—it is what it doesn’t discuss. WSWOH covers the whole spectrum of animal-related concerns: birth to death of the animals our society eats, the way most individuals care deeply for some animals (dogs and cats) but ignore the well-being of animals who have an equal amount of intelligence and capacity to feel (cows, pigs, chickens, and turkeys) and common arguments against veganism, the “normal and natural” argument, the ever famous “I only purchase humane meat” argument, and—the best argument yet (I say sarcastically)—the “I won’t get enough protein” defense. In addition, Keith talks about the health and environmental effects of consuming animals and addresses the intersection of human and animal rights and the paradox many educators face when it comes to speaking up versus staying quiet about ugly truths, like animal cruelty in our food system.

What truly makes the discussion of these topics special, though, is the way Keith presents them. He doesn’t state fact after fact in a way that makes the reader feel like he or she is reading a textbook. Rather, he engages the reader by constantly asking questions. Moreover, each section of his book is no longer than a few pages, so it can be read in short spurts. It’s likely that readers will walk away asking themselves questions about their own behavior after reading just one or two sections. Here is an example that illustrates Keith’s unique presentation:

Vegans are so extreme. You’ve heard that, right? Perhaps you’ve said it. Maybe I have even stated it at some point in my life. But here’s the thing: when we allow ourselves to freely examine these concepts, we begin to realize how arbitrary our extension of kindness has been. Kindness and compassion are not radical concepts. We all believe in them. And it is not unusual to extend that circle of compassion beyond just the human race; whether we include dogs or lions or elephants or dolphins or pigs or cows or cats. Why does the thought of someone hurting a cow seem okay to most of us, while the thought of someone hurting a dog is horrifying? What criteria do we use to justify who deserves our compassion? Can we rationalize a moral judgment that results in suffering and death simply based on what tastes good and what is convenient? That seems extreme.

Keith also presents his points with a sense of humor, which makes the topics being presented feel less threatening:

I have been told by many people, when dismissing veganism, ‘These are your values, not mine.’ I disagree. These are all of our values. I have never sat with someone eating a cheeseburger and heard him exclaim, ‘We aren’t cutting our rainforests down fast enough.’ I have never dined with someone who ate bacon, took a deep breath, and declared the air to be too clean. I have never been beside someone drinking a milkshake who wished for a way to feed less people in this world.

I could go on and on about how great this book is, but I think I am at the point where I can only encourage you to read it!

Purchase Keith’s book now on Amazon.com.

And follow Keith on Facebook.

Happy reading!

The Factory Farming Awareness Coalition (FFAC) has announced a new web page to empower advocates across the country to educate their communities about the animal welfare, social justice, and environmental impacts of factory farming.

Their page provides a one­ stop-shop for people who want to spread awareness, complete with public speaking tips, FAQ, and form letters for contacting local schools and community groups.

“After giving hundreds of presentations to thousands of people across the country, I have seen time and time again that given the right information, in the right context, people are grateful to learn the truth and are eager to make meaningful changes,” said Katie Cantrell, Executive Director and founder of FFAC.

People who are interested in educating their communities can visit www.ffacoalition.org/give_a_presentation to sign up and access resources.

By Lori Stultz, Outreach Coordinator

After wrapping up my time on the road last fall semester, I started a winter break “To Do” list that, not surprisingly, ended up being rather extensive. It wasn’t a chore list by any means—aside from “clean car” and “repack,” which were listed at the bottom (and have yet to get done). Rather, it was a list of simple activities that I was not able to do or wasn’t able to do very often while on tour.  I am happy to report today, a few days before I take off for spring semester, that I checked off a good number of things on that list, including:

• Hug my dog, Oliver, until he can’t stand me anymore
• Make fun vegan dinners for my family and friends
• Visit with family members and friends whom I had not seen since August
• Take long afternoon naps
• Go to the movies
• Sit and do the daily word scrambles while drinking my morning cup of coffee

I am lucky to have such a nice home environment to return to—so nice that I actually feel compelled to make a list of how I want to make the most of my time. Aside from the smaller, more mundane activities, I did a few other things that made my time at home really special.

The first weekend after returning home, the wonderful Lisa Rimmert, Vegan Outreach’s Director of Development, organized a beautiful, fun vegan wine and cheese event in Boulder, CO. The evening was full of good conversation and great vegan food and wine, but, most importantly, the event helped VO meet our end-of-the-year fundraising goal of $470,000. I was honored to speak at the event alongside Lisa and Marc Bekoff (who I highly suggest you google right now if you haven’t heard of him). The charming space this event was held in was provided by Vickerey, a Boulder-based, vegan, eco-friendly clothing and accessory company.  It is always a powerful experience to be in the company of so many like-minded people who have the same goal in mind: helping animals.

Before I got hired with Vegan Outreach, I did a lot of dog-sitting in and around the Boulder area. I was happy when my friend Megan contacted me and asked me to stay with her pup, Frank, while she and her husband were out of town during the holidays. Christmas through New Years I got to stay with this love-bug, who I simply adore (note: I only take selfies when there is a dog involved). Definitely a highlight of my winter break.

Another memorable part of my break was driving up to Colorado Springs to spend the day with Lisa, my friend Jason, and good friends, and long-time Vegan Outreach supporters, Alison and Kevin Mercer. We all grabbed ourselves a warm coffee drink, except Lisa, who opted for a bottle of chocolate cashew milk, and walked around a neat little town near Colorado Springs called Manitou Springs. The afternoon ended with a short hike up to cool bridge called Rainbow Falls and lunch at a vegan-friendly pizza restaurant called Poor Richards.

 

Last weekend, I teamed up with Lisa (are you sensing a theme here—I simply love spending time with her) and Alex Beck from The Humane League and headed out to Pearl Street, a popular hang-out area/tourist attraction in Boulder, and did some outreach. I’m not sure if it hit 25 degrees that day, but that did not stop us from passing out 300 leaflets to those spending the afternoon on Pearl Street. A few days later, Alex and I teamed up again, along with several volunteers, and we passed out 2,000 leaflets at the University of Colorado-Boulder. It felt great to get out there and do some outreach after not doing any leafleting for a few weeks.

Lastly, I hosted a small dinner party for a few friends who are always up for trying my vegan cooking. This time I made Vegan Cincinnati Chili, a signature dish of the city my grandfather, father, and boss, Jack Norris, all lived in for at least a few years of their childhood/adolescents. For those of you who don’t know, Cincinnati chili is basically chili made with spaghetti noodles. I know it sounds odd, but it was delicious! My friends raved about it all night. I used a recipe from Jack and Alex (Jack’s spouse and VO’s Organizational Development Consultant) recipe which can be found here. Dinner party or no dinner party, I highly recommend you try it out!

Now, I will take these memories with me as I set off for my spring semester tour! My first stop is Flagstaff, Arizona, followed by Phoenix and then Tucson. As happy as I’ve been spending time at home, I am also really looking forward to getting back out on the road! I am anticipating another great semester, and I can’t wait to share my experiences along the way. And for any readers who are living in Arizona, Texas, Kentucky, Tennessee, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Colorado, or Wyoming, and are interested in getting out to do some outreach this semester, please shoot me an email at [email protected]. I would be happy to provide more information about my leafleting schedule because I LOVE VOLUNTEERS! It makes our impact for the animals twice (or three, four, five times) as effective!

Until next time…

 

For only $2, you can now stream the popular documentary Speciesism on Amazon! Click the image above to watch the trailer, and check out the synopsis below!

Speciesism: The Movie, from the website:

Modern farms are struggling to keep a secret. Most of the animals used for food in the United States are raised in giant, bizarre “factory farms,” hidden deep in remote areas of the countryside. Speciesism: The Movie director Mark Devries set out to investigate. The documentary takes viewers on a sometimes funny, sometimes frightening adventure, crawling through the bushes that hide these factories, flying in airplanes above their toxic “manure lagoons,” and coming face-to-face with their owners.

(click image to play video)

By Toni Okamoto

Michelle Cehn, founder of World of Vegan, is a very dear friend of mine. We’re both obsessed with being productive 100% of our lives, so it’s only natural that we’d create a way to efficiently use our time stuck in traffic together.

We decided to create Traffic Talk – a new Q&A series where we answer your questions about vegan food and lifestyle. In our first episode, we answer questions about transitioning to veganism, talk about budget foods, and give tips on how to handle silly comments. Give it a listen, and please let us know (in the comments below) any questions you’d like to have answered.

By Lisa Rimmert, Director of Development

This November, we began a two-month fundraising campaign to raise $225,000–to be matched for a total of $450,000 for outreach. We’ve never tried to raise this much before, and we were nervous. But we knew we had to try, because the truth is we needed the funds to continue our leafleting at its current level–which has grown steadily every semester–and to introduce new programs in 2016 that will help more animals than ever.

We needed support for our work, and about nine hundred generous individuals stepped up to provide it. December 31 marked the end of our campaign, and we raised more than $240,000. We raised $15,000 more than the goal we set–the goal that, in mid November, made us nervous!

Because of your generosity, we get to put $465,000–almost half a million dollars–toward animal activism in 2016. You can proudly say that you’re part of something big. We’re changing the way people eat, changing the way people think about farmed animals, changing the world!

Our victories are your victories. Every success story you see from us is because you stepped up now to make a difference.

Every person who goes vegan after learning about animal ag from of a VO booklet. You did that.

Every vegan who feels alone in their community–who is on the fence about returning to eating animals but decides to remain true to her values thanks to the support of a mentor. You did that.

Every person who dips their toes into the water of animal activism by leafleting for the first time, and then goes on to start petitions, implement Meatless Monday in their community, or lead an animal group. You did that.

Thank you for making my day.

Thank you for changing the world.