Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we’ve had to put our public outreach on hold. Still, we’re keeping our focus on the end game–a future where animals are no longer killed for food—and we aim to meet our goal of 80,000 signups for our 10 Weeks to Vegan program for the first half of 2020.

Before college campuses shut down, the outreach coordinators below inspired us with how many signups they received!

Saurabh Sonkar

• 10 Weeks to Vegan signups: 5,514
• Booklets handed out: 5,563
• VR views: 962

Irving Martinez

• 10 Weeks to Vegan signups: 3,340
• Booklets handed out: 5,485
• VR views: 301

Richa Mehta

• 10 Weeks to Vegan signups: 3,194
• Booklets handed out: 4,576
• VR views: 2,055

Brent Ratkovich

“We’re all doing this work to inspire and empower people to go vegan. We all take on the important responsibility of being the educators and bringing the inspiration to the students and the public in general. That inspiration can go both ways—a few moments can light a fire and make you feel like you can make a big difference in someone’s life.”

• 10 Weeks to Vegan signups: 2,941
• Booklets handed out: 1,433

Perla Anerol

“I’ve had several interactions with people who immediately rejected 10 Weeks to Vegan because they weren’t vegan and because they like meat. However, it’s so nice when they finally sign up after I explain that the goal is precisely for people like them to discover delicious and nutritious dishes that do not involve hurting animals.”

• 10 Weeks to Vegan signups: 2,394
• Booklets handed out: 4,710

Ben Gardner

• 10 Weeks to vegan signups: 2,374
• Booklets handed out: 7,193
• VR views: 205

Ethan Blake

• 10 Weeks to Vegan signups: 2,086
• Booklets handed out: 5,528
• VR views: 85

Astha Gupta

• 10 Weeks to Vegan signups: 1,877
• Booklets handed out: 2,574
• VR views: 448

Brian Chavez

• 10 Weeks to Vegan signups: 1,805
• Booklets handed out: 3,946

Abhishek Dubey

• 10 Weeks to Vegan signups: 1,731
• Booklets handed out: 1,115

Thank you to all the above community outreach coordinators as well as the many we didn’t list who also contributed substantially to signing up over 60,000 people for 10 Weeks to Vegan so far in 2020!

A new study investigating diets and the factors that influence whether people keep to them has been released (1). In a study published in the journal Nutrients, the authors compare a variety of diets in an effort to determine whether people tend to stick to certain types of diets over others and which factors, if any, help or hinder them in doing so. In particular, they examine the potential impact of personality, mental health, and motivations for dietary choices.

The authors included five types of diets in their study—vegan, vegetarian, paleo, gluten-free, and weight loss. They selected a group of 292 participants already following one of these diets and asked them about what helps them maintain a diet and occasions when they struggled to do so. The participants were then also given questionnaires about their demographics, personalities, mental health, dietary motivations, and adherence to their diets.

Ultimately, vegans and vegetarians, respectively, were found to be the most likely to stick to their diets, with those following paleo, gluten-free, and weight loss diets more likely to stray. Veg*ns also reported having less trouble in keeping to their dietary choices and were more likely to view their diets as self-expression rather than a task requiring restriction or willpower.

Perhaps surprisingly, from a number of factors that included depression and disordered eating, self-control, age, gender, ethnicity and many more, only four were found to have a significant impact in the final analysis. Self-efficacy and social identification with one’s dietary group (which were positive predictors of adherence), and mood and weight control (which were negative predictors). In other words, people who saw their diet as an important and positive part of their identity and were confident in their ability to stick with it were more likely to remain on that diet, while those motivated by a desire to lose weight (notably, as contrasted with a desire to become healthier) and those who eat for emotional reasons were less likely to remain on their diets.

While some considerations, such as the number and diversity of its participants, limit the potential inferences and applications of this exploratory study, it does have a number of interesting implications. For example, the authors suggest that the importance of motivations of dietary choices for the adherence to diets is currently under-appreciated, and that thinking of diets in individualistic terms, rather than conceptualizing them as part of a broader context, contribute to straying from them. Above all, though, it points to the potential of people “find[ing] positive ways to self-define in terms of their dietary patterns” to make a change for good.

References

1. Cruwys T, Norwood R, Chachay VS, Ntontis E, Sheffield J. “An Important Part of Who I am”: The Predictors of Dietary Adherence among Weight-Loss, Vegetarian, Vegan, Paleo, and Gluten-Free Dietary Groups. Nutrients. 2020 Apr 1;12(4).

by Jack Norris, Executive Director

Throughout our history, Vegan Outreach has faced many tough situations challenging our ability to do public outreach—9/11, the Great Recession, and an onslaught of blizzards, hurricanes, and heatwaves. Through it all, VO has kept our focus on the end game–bringing about an end to killing animals for food.

In addition to these society-wide disruptions, there’s been an endless flow of urgent animal issues that could have consumed all of our time and resources. But we knew that the spread of veganism is critical to ending this flow of animal tragedies. So, literally, come snow, wind, or high water we’ve been on the front lines spreading animal-free eating and bringing new advocates into the animal rights movement.

Now the front lines are being disrupted again—we’re facing a global epidemic that is making public outreach challenging to say the least.

Our outreach staff has been courageous these last few weeks as they continue to speak for the animals on college campuses and at other events. But the situation on the ground is becoming more tenuous by the day. Colleges are rapidly moving to online classes and large public events are being canceled. This situation shows no sign of abating anytime soon and we might be facing obstacles for months, if not a year or more.

Vegan Outreach didn’t forget about farmed animals in 2001 or in 2008, and we won’t forget about farmed animals during these tough times—we’ll adapt our outreach.

We currently have a prolific, cost-effective online ad campaign for 10 Weeks to Vegan and Get Healthy guided challenges, and in recent months, we’ve expanded our online support for the thousands of people a month who sign up for these challenges.

Our surveys show that online 10 Weeks to Vegan outreach is extremely effective—based on people’s food intake, 10 Weeks to Vegan results in a 29.4% conversion of participants to vegetarian or vegan (see Impact of 10 Weeks to Vegan for more info).

As community and college outreach faces increasing challenges, we at Vegan Outreach are brainstorming effective ways to spread veganism while also protecting our staff.

We want our donors, who pay for everything we do, to know what we’re doing with their money and what’s going on behind the scenes. If you’re one of the wonderful people who has invested in Vegan Outreach—thank you. Your funds will continue creating new vegans every single day.

We’re still in the early stages of planning, but want you to know that we’ll be keeping you informed about how we’re adapting our tactics to this quickly-developing situation.

We hope that you are staying safe and healthy during this time.

In 2019, we did this and more for animals in India:

• Our team visited over 300 colleges collectively reaching over 450,000 students with the vegan message!
• We helped over 21,000 people sign up for 10 Weeks to Vegan and get started with vegan eating.
• 15 institutions implemented dairy- and meat-reduction food policies and increased vegan options in their cafeterias.

Outreach Highlights

Over 15,000 students experienced life on factory farms through virtual reality videos and 29,850 students attended classroom presentations.

Some of the best moments during outreach are when we meet students who’ve gone vegan after reading a Vegan Outreach leaflet or watching a video. Our team met many such students this year and some of them have started volunteering with us too!

Millions of Meals Veganized

In 2019, we launched Green Tuesday Initiative, a campaign to help institutions reduce their environmental footprint by making changes in the food they serve.

Here are some of our latest victories:

• Gautam Buddha University, a large public university in Noida, reduced the use of paneer (cottage cheese) in their cafeteria by 66% and veganized 960,000 meals.
• Several colleges and corporate offices, such as Vardhaman College of Engineering and Uneecops, implemented meatless days.
• Read about our past victories here.

We need your help to keep the momentum going in 2020. Please donate today for animals in India!


Warmly,

Aneeha Patwardhan
Director of Programs, India

Our community outreach coordinators work tirelessly to engage and educate the public about veganism. At the time of this writing, they had signed up over 100,000 people to our 10 Weeks to Vegan in 2019 (in addition to over 40,000 more online)!

Their work is incredible—but tough! We’re happy to celebrate them and the message of compassion they spread. Below are our top 10 most prolific outreach coordinators as of early December. Let’s take a look at the great work they accomplished this fall!

Brian Chavez

Brian started doing outreach with Vegan Outreach in 2017 and has traveled all over the U.S. to spread veganism. He uses his unique style to have meaningful conversations with students about veganism, and as a result, obtained 5,597 10 Weeks to Vegan signups this fall. This semester, he set the US record for the number of signups in one day—348! He also handed out 13,354 booklets at 42 different campuses!

Saurabh Sonkar

Saurabh holds multiple outreach records. He holds the world record for virtual reality views in a single day and at a single event, and was this semester’s top leafleter in India, handing out 18,070 booklets! On top of that, he signed up 3,882 people for 10 Weeks to Vegan.

Miguel Marron

Miguel received a Vegan Outreach booklet at his college, then started an animal rights club, volunteered for Vegan Outreach, and is now an employee. He recently celebrated his 15th “veganniversary,” and we’re celebrating that he signed up 3,735 people for 10 Weeks to Vegan and handed out 11,014 booklets in the northwestern U.S. this semester!

Ethan Blake

Ethan’s past volunteering for Vegan Outreach led to several of Vegan Outreach’s biggest days showing virtual reality videos to students. Now employed as our Midwest Community Outreach Coordinator, Ethan continues to impress us with his dedication. This semester, he got 3,247 10 Weeks to Vegan signups and gave out 9,978 booklets at 53 different colleges!

Emmanuel Marquez

In addition to supporting outreach by numerous volunteers in Mexico, Emmanuel showed virtual reality videos to 653 people—bringing his total to more than 6,500 over the past two years! He also signed up 3,201 people for 10 Weeks to Vegan!

Perla Anerol

Perla reached more than 80,000 people in just her first year of working with Vegan Outreach. Now in her second year, she continues to engage thousands of students in central Mexico. This fall, she received 3,101 10 Weeks to Vegan signups and handed out 8,560 booklets.

Ben Gardner

Ben joined Vegan Outreach this semester and quickly wowed us with his hard work. His extensive experience in project management and community organizing makes it no surprise that he gave 5,593 booklets at 38 schools and got 3,019 10 Weeks to Vegan signups this semester!

Aravindan V

Aravindan has the second highest 10 Weeks to Vegan signups world record for a college campus in one day, giving four presentations to over 600 students and receiving 471 signups! In total this semester, he got 2,756 signups and gave out 8,207 booklets.

Ben Umholtz

Ben visited 36 colleges, among other events, this fall in the greater Ohio area, signing up 2,680 people for 10 Weeks to Vegan!

Sam Tucker

Active in various grassroots efforts from a young age, Sam massively ramped up our reach in Australia and New Zealand over the previous four years. He’s reached 400,000 students in his time with VO. As he’ll soon be returning to school, this was Sam’s final semester with Vegan Outreach—he distributed 9,355 booklets and received 2,477 10 Weeks to Vegan signups. We’ll greatly miss Sam and thank him for his incredible dedication!

A big thank you to all of Vegan Outreach’s supporters—who directly fuel our work—outreach coordinators, volunteers, and donors alike! Because of you, many animals will be spared a life of suffering.

If you want to honor these activists and see Vegan Outreach do even more for animals next year, please consider making a donation by December 31st. It will be matched dollar-for-dollar for twice the impact!

Zostel, one of the largest hostel chains in Asia, will serve vegan food options at cafeterias in eight of its locations: Agra, Jodhpur, Rishikesh, Udaipur and Varanasi in India, and Kathmandu and Pokhara in Nepal.

We initiated a partnership with Zostel as part of our Green Tuesday campaign, which aims to help institutions reduce animal-based foods in favor of vegan options. Expanding on the success of Zostel’s November 2018 launch of vegan options in its cafeteria in Agra, the initiative aids people with varied food choices.

“Zostel has always been about letting individuals make their choices and follow their hearts,” said Dharmaveer Chauhan, Co-founder and CEO of Zostel. Chauhan continued, “With the help of Vegan Outreach, we provided our chefs and the community with information about vegan food and its preparation. Being able to offer such options to travelers from all over the world would never have been possible without the Vegan Outreach team. We are thrilled for this initiative and look forward to continuing this campaign towards sustainable travel while unlocking the world for everyone to experience as they desire, freely and fearlessly.”

This menu change at Zostel’s eight locations will result in more plant-based foods being accessible to thousands of people.

“Globally and in India, people are adopting a vegan diet as a healthy and sustainable alternative for themselves and the environment,” said Richa Mehta, India Campaigns Manager for Vegan Outreach. “This initiative by Zostel will not only cater to numerous vegan tourists travelling in India, but also set a milestone for the inclusive and sustainable hospitality industry.”

Starting in September, Hyderabad Trekking Club (HTC), one of the most popular trekking and travel companies in India, will only provide vegan food during their treks to reduce their environmental footprint. The company organizes over 220 treks across India for nearly 8,000 people every year.

We initiated a partnership with HTC as part of our Green Tuesday campaign, which aims to help institutions reduce animal-based foods in favor of vegan options. Animal agriculture is one of the largest contributors of human-made greenhouse gas emissions, deforestation, water pollution, and air pollution. Worldwide, meat and dairy production uses 83% of farmland and produces 60% of agriculture’s greenhouse gas emissions.

“While connecting people to the wonderful nature, we try to reduce our carbon footprint as much as possible,” said Srikanth M, cofounder of HTC. “Going vegan is one of the best ways to reduce our environmental impact on the planet!”

“Globally and in India, institutions are reducing their use of animal products and choosing plant-based foods to fight climate change,” said Richa Mehta, India Campaigns Manager for Vegan Outreach. “This initiative by HTC will encourage people to think about the impact of their food choices on the environment.”

About the Green Tuesday campaign
Green Tuesday Initiative is a new campaign by Vegan Outreach to help institutions reduce their environmental footprint by making small changes in the food they serve. So far, we’ve collaborated with ten institutions in India.

The spring semester was full of exciting change and success. Along with continuing to leaflet and show virtual reality videos, we shifted our focus to signing people up for our 10 Weeks to Vegan program which our surveys have shown to be very impactful.

The dedicated community outreach coordinators below inspire us with their incredible work for animals. They’ve spread a message of compassion to hundreds of thousands of people, making a huge impact in bringing us closer to a vegan world.

Let’s take a look at the great work they accomplished this past spring!

Brian Chavez

Brian [above, middle] started leafleting with Vegan Outreach in Southern California and has traveled all over the U.S. to spread veganism. Brian uses his unique style to have meaningful conversations with students about veganism, and as a result, obtained a whopping 8,907 10 Weeks to Vegan signups this spring semester. On top of that, he also handed out 20,996 leaflets and showed 228 virtual reality videos at 43 different campuses!

Miguel Marron

Miguel received a Vegan Outreach leaflet at his college, then started an animal rights club, volunteered for Vegan Outreach, and is now an employee. While he’s busy celebrating his quickly approaching 15th “veganniversary,” we’re celebrating that he signed up 3,888 people for 10 Weeks to Vegan, handed out 33,965 leaflets, and showed 329 virtual reality videos in the northwestern U.S.!

Perla Anerol

Perla reached more than 80,000 people in just her first year of working with Vegan Outreach. Now in her second year, she continues to engage thousands of students in central Mexico. This spring, she received 3,734 10 Weeks to Vegan signups, handed out 18,231 leaflets, and did 488 virtual reality showings.

Saurabh Sonkar

Saurabh has a talent for getting volunteers from outside of the animal rights movement involved in our work in India. He was this semester’s top leafleter, handing out 72,118 leaflets! He also did 2,361 virtual reality showings and signed 3,305 people up for 10 Weeks to Vegan.

Nzinga Young

Nzinga believes a vegan lifestyle has countless benefits for human and nonhuman animals and works to promote these benefits to people from different backgrounds. For example, this spring she tabled at an event for artists in New York where everyone was so blown away by the Impossible Burger that everyone who tried it signed up for 10 Weeks to Vegan! Those were just a few of her total of 2,714 signups this spring.

Stacy Shepanek

Stacy does it all—from leafleting, virtual reality showings, coordinating community events, and presenting to hundreds about veganism throughout South Carolina, North Carolina, and Tennessee. This spring she leafleted to 8,728 people, did 235 virtual reality showings, and got 1,762 10 Weeks to Vegan signups.

Jackie Va

Jackie [right] does outreach in California through organizing a variety of engaging events to provide information and encourage others to adopt a vegan lifestyle. Her enthusiasm and knack for engaging people helped her sign up 1,553 people for 10 Weeks to Vegan and hand out 3,661 leaflets this spring.

Emmanuel Marquez

In addition to supporting outreach by numerous volunteers in Mexico, Emmanuel Marquez showed virtual reality videos to 867 people—bringing his total to more than 5,000 over the past two years! He also handed leaflets to 27,375 people and got 1,527 10 Weeks to Vegan signups.

Ben Umholtz

Ben volunteered with Vegan Outreach in the past and became an official employee at the start of this spring semester. He already made a huge impact in the greater Ohio area during his first semester with VO, signing up 1,452 people for 10 Weeks to Vegan and distributing 29,125 leaflets.

Victor Flores

While managing our Community Events department, Victor also did his own outreach in New Mexico and Texas. He handed out 2,997 leaflets and signed up 1,363 people for 10 Weeks to Vegan. In addition to this, he also organizes community meals, feeds vegan food to those in need, holds restaurant events, and has convinced some businesses to add vegan items to their menu.

Steve Erlsten

This list wouldn’t be complete without mentioning our GOAT—Greatest of All-Time—Steve Erlsten! Steve began leafleting in an official capacity for Vegan Outreach in the fall of 2013—and he hasn’t stopped since! He became VO’s greatest leafleter this past spring semester, having personally handed out over one million pro-veg leaflets and adding 19,275 to his total this spring. Congratulations, Steve, and thank you for your dedication!

These activists’ work is far from flashy—they wake up early, lug heavy boxes, and remain on their feet for hours at a time. We’re happy to be able to celebrate them any chance we get. Thank you for helping us do so! And thank you, of course, to the donors whose generosity made this work possible!

Kick off the new year by helping animals!

Find a Winter Jam concert in a city near you, and Vegan Outreach will provide the tools you need for a great evening of volunteering.

Sign up and you’ll receive a package of pro-veg leaflets, Primal Strips vegan jerky to hand out, and sign-up sheets for our 10 Weeks to Vegan program. Armed with these tools, you’ll go to Winter Jam and spread the message of compassion towards animals!

Winter Jam is a traveling Christian concert festival that attracts thousands of young people who are friendly and very receptive to our message. You don’t need to be Christian to leaflet the events.

As a token of our appreciation, 20 volunteers who gather the most 10 Weeks to Vegan sign-ups will receive a free Vegan Outreach t-shirt!

Check out the dates below to find a Winter Jam concert near you. Peak leafleting time is from 5–7 pm, perfect for volunteers who can’t make campus leafleting events during the day.

Leafleting is more fun with friends, so share this info with yours and help us recruit!

Contact Sara at [email protected] with questions and to reserve your spot.

January 11, 2019 — Jacksonville, FL — Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena
January 12, 2019 — Tampa, FL — Amalie Arena
January 13, 2019 — Mobile, AL — Mitchell Center
January 17, 2019 — Evansville, IN — The Ford Center
January 18, 2019 — Grand Rapids, MI — Van Andel Arena
January 19, 2019 — Columbus, OH — Schottenstein Center
January 20, 2019 — Charlotte, NC — Spectrum Center
January 24, 2019 — Council Bluffs, IA — Mid-America Center
January 25, 2019 — Des Moines, IA — Wells Fargo Arena
January 31, 2019 — New Orleans, LA — Lakefront Arena
February 1, 2019 — Birmingham, AL — Legacy Arena at BJCC
February 2, 2019 — Lexington, KY — Rupp Arena
February 7, 2019 — Peoria, IL — Peoria Civic Center
February 14, 2019 — Reading, PA — Santander Arena
February 15, 2019 — Pittsburgh, PA — PPG Paints Arena
February 16, 2019 — Cincinnati, OH — U.S. Bank Arena
February 17, 2019 — Ypsilanti, MI — EMU Convocation Center
February 23, 2019 — Greensboro, NC — Greensboro Coliseum
February 24, 2019 — Norfolk, VA — Scope Arena
March 1, 2019 — Bossier City, LA — CenturyLink Center
March 2, 2019 — Oklahoma City, OK — Chesapeake Energy Arena
March 3, 2019 — Austin, TX — H-E-B Center at Cedar Park
March 9, 2019 — Louisville, KY — Freedom Hall
March 15, 2019 — Columbia, SC — Colonial Life Arena
March 17, 2019 — Southaven, MS — Landers Center
March 21, 2019 — Augusta, GA — James Brown Arena
March 22, 2019 — Raleigh, NC — PNC Arena
March 23, 2019 — Charleston, WV — Charleston Coliseum
March 24, 2019 — Greenville, SC — Bon Secours Wellness Arena
March 28, 2019 — Ft. Wayne, IN — Allen County War Memorial Coliseum
March 29, 2019 — Indianapolis, IN — Bankers Life Fieldhouse
March 30, 2019 — State College, PA — Bryce Jordan Center
March 31, 2019 — Cleveland, OH — Wolstein Center