November is World Vegan Month!

Hello everyone!
That's right-- this month is World Vegan Month. :)
On November 1, 2014, which is World Vegan Day, the "world's first vegan football [soccer] match", to quote The Vegan Society, was held! You can read more about it on The Vegan Society's website or on the Gloucestershire Vegans' blog.
Although veganism is something that should be practiced year-round, World Vegan Month provides us with an extra opportunity to raise awareness. Readers, I challenge each of you to do at least one thing this month to raise awareness for the animals and the vegan lifestyle. Please take this challenge-- the animals need our help. Here are some ideas...

1. If you haven't gone vegan yet, become a vegan! This is the number one thing you can do for the animals!
2. Host a vegan lunch or dinner, and invite friends and family to come try some delicious food. If you want, you could even make it a potluck and ask them to bring along a vegan dish for everyone to try.
3. Bake some vegan treats and give them away to your friends, family, co-workers, classmates, clients, teachers, etc. This will help them to understand that vegan food can be delicious as well as ethical. (Make sure to tell them that the food is vegan!)
4. Wear clothes and buttons and carry tote bags that have slogans on them that promote veganism and animal rights.
5. Ask your local library and bookstores to set up a display of books on veganism.
6. If you are a student or a teacher, here are some things you can do at school: put a message proclaiming World Vegan Month on the announcements, in the school newsletter, and on calendars; have a vegan bake sale; give out free vegan food samples; put up posters on the school bulletin boards (with permission, of course); hold screenings of documentaries; invite guest speakers to come and speak to classes on veganism; ask the cafeteria to serve more vegan options; hand out leaflets; start a vegan or animal rights club; and have a table offering literature and information in the hallways.
7. Do a blog post, Facebook update, etc. on veganism and animal rights.
8. Write a letter to the editor educating readers on the benefits and ethics of veganism. (It's probably more likely to get published if you mention that this month is World Vegan Month!)
9. Put up posters on telephone poles, community bulletin boards, etc. advocating for veganism. You can print off some posters for free from the Abolitionist Vegan Society's website: http://www.abolitionistvegansociety.org/posters-for-printing/#.VG-lt4t0yUn
10. Hand out materials advocating for veganism-- the Abolitionist Vegan Society (TAVS) (which is now my favourite animal rights organization) provides free downloadable bookmarks, cards, colouring pages for kids, leaflets, tear-off posters, slips, and posters for you to print out! You can see their resources here: http://www.abolitionistvegansociety.org/tavs-initiatives/tavs-resources/#.VG-mCot0yUk
11. TAVS also has posters that you can publish on your Tumblr, blog, Facebook, Twitter, and other online pages: http://www.abolitionistvegansociety.org/tavs-initiatives/tavs-resources/posters-for-online-use/#.VG-mWot0yUk.
12. Additionally, TAVS has online videos you can watch and share. I haven't watched them, but I agree with most of TAVS' overall values, so I think the videos would probably be good: http://www.abolitionistvegansociety.org/videos/#.VG-mXot0yUk. And they have audios, as well: http://www.abolitionistvegansociety.org/tavs-audio/#.VG-mWot0yUk
13. There's a currently free Kindle e-book available on Amazon.com called Why We Should Go Vegan by Magnus Vinding. I have not read it, but it might be interesting to look at, if you have a Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00IHPBCOS/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B00IHPBCOS&linkCode=as2&tag=volentiacom-20&linkId=GUG7AO7B7Z4LCBZE
14. If you have any other ideas, please feel free to post them below in the comments section! :)

Hmmm... Coming up next, I think I'd like to do a post specifically on TAVS (which, as I'm sure you've noticed, I am particularly fond of!), or perhaps something else on philosophy... Or, likely, both mixed together!
See you then!

Cat

Picture from http://www.abolitionistvegansociety.org/tavs-initiatives/tavs-resources/posters-for-online-use/#.VG-mWot0yUk

Mercy For Animals Inspirational Short Video

Hello everyone,
This is a pretty neat video. It gives a reminder of some of the reasons why people choose a vegan lifestyle, and it also provides a unique insight into the fact that people from many different walks of life are vegan. You can view it right here on my blog or on Mercy for Animals' website at http://www.mercyforanimals.org/i-am-mfa.aspx.


Have a nice day! :)

Petition: "University of Wisconsin: Cancel The Unethical Torture and Killing of Baby Monkeys!"

Hi everyone,
There's a petition by Dr. Ruth Decker, M.D., J.D., M.B.A., on Change.org called "University of Wisconsin: Cancel The Unethical Torture and Killing of Baby Monkeys!" that still needs more signatures.

 

Says Dr. Decker,

"As an alumna of the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s School of Medicine, I am horrified to learn that my alma mater plans to conduct highly controversial and cruel experiments that will torture and kill baby monkeys.

The experiments, led by Dr. Ned Kalin, will take newborn rhesus macaque monkeys away from their mothers (who have been restrained or drugged against their will while their baby is removed). The defenseless baby monkeys are then sent to solitary confinement—where they are terrorized and exposed to anxiety-inducing stressors including live snakes, painful skin-punch biopsies, and stressful brain scans. After this relentless torture, they are killed before the age of two."

Dr. Decker's petition is calling for the plans for these experiments to be cancelled at once.

 

Please visit the petition webpage and sign the petition: http://www.change.org/p/university-of-wisconsin-cancel-the-unethical-torture-and-killing-of-baby-monkeys?tk=LkFvaJbcdoAlzT8TI01jbPZp2HyKpkCImJZlqxD02S0&utm_source=petition_update&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=petition_update_email
Thanks.