Hyderabad Trekking Club Goes Vegan to Reduce Environmental Footprint

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.

Outreach Coordinators Who Wowed Us This Spring

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!

We Need YOU at Winter Jam in 2019!

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

5 Million Vegans

Adult US Vegans

In May, the Vegetarian Resource Group released the results of their Harris poll estimating the number of U.S. adult vegetarians and vegans (1). Rather than asking individuals to self-define their eating behavior, they classified vegetarians and vegans by asking people to identify foods they never eat.

The poll found that 4% of U.S. adults are vegetarian (including vegans) and 2% are vegan. Applying their results to the U.S. adult population shows that 5.1 million adults consider themselves to be vegan (2). This is up from VRG’s 2016 poll which estimated 3.7 million U.S. adults to be vegan (3). Between polls, the adult U.S. population increased by about 3.5% while the U.S. adult vegan population increased by about 37%.

References

2. How Many People Are Vegan?

2. US Population by Year. Found U.S. adult population to be 254,000,000 as of December 2018.

3. The Vegetarian Resource Group Asks in a 2016 National Poll Conducted by Harris Poll

 

Buffalo Mac ‘n’ Cheese

Buffalo Mac n Cheese
@jonimarienewman

We’ve been sharing the details of Vegan Outreach’s nation-wide Vegan Mac Down competitions the past few weeks, but now it’s time to dish out the really good details—the winning recipes of each competition!

First up is Vegan Mac Down L.A. winner, Joni Marie Newman. Joni pleased the judges’ with her Buffalo Mac-n-Cheese creation—and I think it’s going to win over your taste buds, too!

Be sure to follow us in the coming weeks as we share the other winning mac and cheese recipes! And in case you’ve missed the Vegan Mac Down excitement, check out these recent editions of our weekly E-news—August 30 and October 4.

Buffalo Mac-n-Cheese

Yields 4-5 servings.

   Pasta

  • 1 pound large elbow macaroni
  • 1 cup riced or finely chopped cauliflower

Cheesy Buffalo Sauce

  • 1 1⁄2 pounds peeled red potatoes, cubed
  • 2 cups cashews, soaked overnight or boiled, rinsed and drained
  • 1 cup unsweetened soy milk, more as needed
  • 1 cup of your favorite hot sauce
  • 1⁄4 cup nutritional yeast
  • 1⁄2 cup refined coconut oil, melted
  • 1⁄2 cup vegan sour cream
  • 1⁄2 cup vegan cream cheese
  • 1⁄2 cup vegan butter
  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1 teaspoon onion powder
  • 1⁄2 teaspoon turmeric
  • 1⁄2 teaspoon paprika
  • 1⁄2 teaspoon black pepper
  • Salt to taste

Crunchy Topping

  • 1 sleeve Ritz-Style Crackers
  • 1⁄4 cup (28 g) vegan parmesan cheese—such as Follow Your Heart or Go Veggie
  • 2 tablespoons vegan butter
  • 2 cups crushed dill pickle potato chips

Optional Garnishes

Directions

  1. Prepare macaroni according to package instructions. Set aside.
  2. Add potatoes to a large pot of water and boil until very tender. Drain and return to the pot.
  3. Add remaining cheese sauce ingredients to the pot. Using an immersion blender, puree until silky smooth. Add additional milk a tablespoon at a time to get to your desired consistency. It should be smooth and creamy, not gritty or clumpy.
  4. Preheat oven to 425°F.
  5. Add cooked macaroni and cauliflower to the pot of cheese sauce. Stir to combine.
  6. Spread mixture into a casserole dish.
  7. Add crackers, parmesan, and butter to a dry food processor and pulse into crumbs.
  8. Sprinkle topping in an even layer all over the top of the mac and cheese. Finish off by topping with crushed potato chips.
  9. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until topping is golden brown and crispy. Remove from oven.
  10. Drizzle with Blue Cheese and serve with celery sticks, if desired.

Joni Marie Newman is a vegan chef and ten-time published cookbook author. Her work has been featured in VegNews Magazine, Mother Jones, The Oregonian, and many other publications. She is the founder and contributor to JustTheFood.com and can be reached on all of her social media accounts—Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter—@JoniMarieNewman.

Top Indian University to reduce milk usage by 14% in cafeterias

LPU

Students at Lovely Professional University, Jalandhar—one of the largest private universities in India—worked with Vegan Outreach and the school administration to change the cafeteria menu. The new menu will introduce two non-dairy beverages and reduce the use of dairy milk by 14.3% in the next six months!

This change will not only make a big impact by reducing the suffering of dairy cows in India but also help the environment and make afternoon tea more enjoyable for the residential students. The students approached Vegan Outreach to bring its Green Tuesday Initiative to the campus in Jalandhar which has the world’s largest residential capacity with over 30,000 students.

The Green Tuesday Initiative is a new campaign by Vegan Outreach to help institutions in India reduce their environmental footprint by making small changes in the food they serve. So far, Vegan Outreach has collaborated with six educational institutions in North India. Help us reach even more institutions by making a donation by May 31st—it will be matched dollar-for-dollar for twice the impact!

If you’re a student or a working professional in India, please write to us at [email protected] to bring the Green Tuesday Initiative to your campus or company.

Doris Schneeberger

Doris Schneeberger at Nicholls State

Continuing our series of activist profiles, today we interview Doris Schneeberger. For a few weeks this spring, Vegan Outreach was lucky to have Doris join Yuri Mitzkewich on his tour across the southern states. By the time her internship was over, she had passed out 17,668 booklets! Thank you, Doris, for using your time in the United States to make a difference for animals everywhere.

Where are you from and where do you live now?

I’m from Austria, where I live in a village on the countryside.

What got you interested in animal rights and veganism?

I’ve always loved all kinds of animals and I’ve always been a philosophical person. After high school I studied philosophy and focused on animal ethics. I wrote my PhD thesis on possible future Universal Declarations of Non-Human Animal Rights.

The misery of non-human animals in our society bothers me every day. The way humans treat (especially) farm and lab animals is horrifying and deeply unjust. Many of those who have woken up out of the Matrix, and are now able to see that what we do to fellow beings is an atrocity, feel the need and obligation to stand up for those who cannot stand up for themselves.

I’m deeply grateful for each and every animal rights advocate who works towards a better world for all sentient beings on this planet. Every one of them is a multiplier, their influence and existence as an example for others are highly important for the moral advancement of humanity, which is vital for a peaceful future and the preservation of the integrity of our planet and its natural resources that all of us depend on.

Moral progress includes less unnecessary harm, violence and injustice and more peace and respect for the life and welfare of others. Those who are the most vulnerable and powerless are in need of the greatest protection.

It feels great to be a vegan. Everyone who distances him- or herself from the unnecessary exploitation and killing of fellow beings that the production of meat and animal products entails is another human who doesn’t participate in the human warfare against other animals. Veganism is a vote against speciesism, and a vote for peace, non-violence, justice and the protection of our planet instead.

How did you get involved with Vegan Outreach and leafleting?

I saw Vic Sjodin’s talk last year at the International Animal Rights Conference in Luxembourg. My impression was that he was a humble, honest, down-to-earth and friendly animal rights activist, and that’s how I first got to know a little bit about Vegan Outreach. I spent two months at Georgetown University in Washington, DC, as a visiting researcher writing a paper about my thesis in February and March of this year. I was looking for meaningful activities for animals which I could get involved in here in the US and I found out about possibilities of volunteering with Vegan Outreach. I contacted Vic and he was truly welcoming. I just finished traveling the southern states with vegan superhero Yuri Mitzkewich for a few weeks, leafleting at universities and colleges.

On this journey, I was not only able to gather experience on how to advocate for animal rights effectively, I also got to see parts of the US I would never have seen otherwise and met and learned from a lot of great and inspiring people who are involved in working for animal rights.

Do you have a favorite leafleting moment to share?

I’m always thankful if people take some time to talk to us a little bit—it’s really interesting to hear people’s opinions on the topic. You get a better idea of how people think and where they’re coming from, which allows you to adjust your approaches to make your advocacy more effective. The most valuable situations are probably those when people take the brochure, walk past you and then return a few minutes later to ask questions. I also like it a lot when the leaflets spark conversations about the issues revolving around eating meat and animal products among groups of students. After all, our main objectives are to provide information and get people to rethink old mindsets and make better decisions in the future.

What do you do for fun when you’re not leafleting?

I love sports, nature and music. I’m really eager to improve my skills and myself in all kinds of directions and enjoy beautiful moments and times whenever they present themselves. I try to do something meaningful and learn and grow every day. As a social animal, I like spending time with human and non-human friends daily.

Can you tell us one of your favorite vegan products to share with our readers?

I love all kinds of vegan products—it’s hard to pick one actually. I especially love cooking and eating vegan dishes for and with friends as it’s an easy and enjoyable way to gather and spread knowledge about tasty and healthy vegan products and dishes. Even if there are a few products one especially enjoys eating, diversity is crucial in a healthy vegan diet: firstly because you thereby make sure you consume all the nutrients, vitamins and minerals your body needs; secondly because you can enjoy and continue to learn about all the manifold magnificent products and dishes a wholesome vegan diet entails; and thirdly because others also see the healthiness, deliciousness and diversity of tasty and healthy vegan dishes.

Save the Date—April 10th for National Day of College Outreach

Be part of a nationwide event to empower college students to go vegan!

On April 10th, activists like you will hand out leaflets on local college campuses, spreading the message of veganism and promoting our 10 Weeks to Vegan challenge. This fun volunteer opportunity is for everyone—not just college students!

Whether you leaflet on your own or recruit a group of friends to help, it’s bound to be a rewarding day of outreach with a big impact for people, animals, and the environment.

Complete this short form to sign up and claim your local campus!

5 Activists Bringing Veganism to the Masses

Community Events collage

From Los Angeles to Brooklyn and in between, Vegan Outreach has connected with a multitude of curious non-vegans—sharing vegan food and providing informative, fun, and welcoming ways for folks to explore veganism.

We’ve hosted vegan food tasting events, shown iAnimal virtual reality videos at local festivals, and given presentations to groups of all sizes—and the positive feedback we get is very uplifting!

Today, we’d like to share a few of those inspiring moments with you and recognize our hard-working Community Events Coordinators. Below, each Coordinator recounts a particularly impactful moment they had over the past few months.

1. Gwenna Hunter

gwenna hunter

“This week, I had the extreme pleasure of having Dr. Ietef Cavem Vita and Genesis Butler of A Vegan Child’s Journey speak in front of 150 male youth from Green Dot Public Schools in Los Angeles. We served delicious vegan tacos by Nays Tacos.

“Honestly, the kids were very judgmental at first because they wanted to see meat—but once they started eating the tacos, they loved them! They couldn’t believe tacos could be so delicious without having meat!”

—Gwenna Hunter
Greater Los Angeles Community Events Coordinator
April 13, 2018

2. Jackie Va

jackie va

“On Sunday, I hosted the Taste Vegan Meats and Cheese Potluck in Stockton, CA. The event was capped at 40 RSVPs and it sold out in one day! Almost all of the attendees were non-vegan.

“I put literature out for people on the dining tables and set up an information table. Most people took more than one booklet, flipped through the pages, and asked questions as they ate. People stayed for 2 plus hours to talk to each other.”

—Jackie Va
Central Valley Community Events Coordinator
February 20, 2018

3. Nzinga Young

nzinga young

“Today, I did humane education presentations for the staff at Animal Care Centers (ACC) Brooklyn and Manhattan locations. Forty non-vegan employees spent their lunch break discussing how their love for animals could extend to animals raised for food.

“Attendees received a bagged lunch, two VO booklets, and a Tofurky coupon so they could recreate the vegan chicken salad they had for lunch. Both ACCs said the events were a hit and conversations on veganism lingered long after I left!”

—Nzinga Young
Greater NYC Community Events Coordinator
April 5, 2018

4. Victor Flores

vic flores

“Vegan Outreach had the opportunity to attend the Bees and Seeds Festival in Albuquerque, NM last weekend. We gave out samples of sopaipillas from La Salita and served them with Bee Free Honee.

“So many people stopped by our booth that we ran out of samples! We gave out a lot of information on veganism and several folks committed to giving it a try.”

—Victor Flores
Greater New Mexico Community Events Coordinator
May 20, 2018

5. Roopashree Rao

roopashree rao

“VO tabled for the first time at the Holi Mela in Woodley Park, Los Angeles. The crowd was in a festive mood since it is the Festival of Colours! Quite a few kids and adults tried the vegan milks and cookies.

“A handful of people watched the iAnimal Virtual Reality video, and it clearly made a huge impact. When people have a strong reaction, my response to them is, “I didn’t know either—but once we do see the cruelty, we can decide if we want to make changes.”

—Roopashree Rao
Indian American Community Events Coordinator
March 4, 2018

 

Let’s give a big round of applause for this hardworking group of activists who are truly making a difference through community outreach. Stay tuned because this won’t be the last you hear of their work!

Do you want to get active for animals? Sign up now for our Action Alerts or join our Vegan Mentor Program!