Vegan Advocacy:
Making a Difference!

As animal advocates, we're all too aware that unfathomable numbers of animals suffer unimaginable cruelties. Unfortunately for farmed animals, the overwhelming majority of those animals are killed for food. In fact, more than 99 percent of the animals who are institutionally exploited by humans die at the hands of the meat, egg, and dairy industries.

Because of this, COK's primary focus is the promotion of veganism. While there are many to ways to fight factory farming and slaughterhouses, the most important thing we can each do for farmed animals is to simply stop eating them.

The First-Ever Vegan Guide to Washington, D.C.

Knowing that convenience plays a huge role in whether people eat vegan food or not, COK created VegDC.com in 2000 to list all vegan and vegan-friendly restaurants and grocery stores in the nation's capital. We soon became aware of the need for a booklet containing similar information that people could carry with them and access when they aren't near a computer.

As such, in October 2001, COK created the first-ever Vegan Guide to Washington, D.C. The response to the first edition was so positive that COK has already created an expanded second edition to The Guide.

For ordering information, please visit the Marketplace.

Protecting Ourselves from Harm…by Going Vegetarian!

While some people automatically think of crime and D.C. as going hand-in-hand, what many don't realize is that D.C. residents have more to fear from the foods we eat than we do from violent criminals.

Numerous studies have shown that diets high in animal products significantly contribute to the overwhelming majority of heart disease cases, and other studies have shown that veganism offers significant health benefits, protection from heart disease being just one of many.

So, for those of us who want to stay safe, perhaps substituting a veggie burger for the pepper spray may be the best thing we can do for ourselves.

In order to get this point across, in January and February 2002, COK took out quarter-page ads in three D.C. weekly papers, advertising free vegetarian starter packs for people wanting to arm themselves with the food on their plates.

Vegan Feed-Ins

Want to help people go vegan? Give them free, delicious vegan food! When people realize that going vegan doesn't mean giving up the tastes they love, but rather only eating the cruelty-free versions of those dishes, all of a sudden, veganism seems much less daunting. This is why COK regularly conducts vegan feed-ins.

Handing out free vegan burgers along with literature and animal-free recipes, COK activists engage in conversations with both fast-food patrons as well as passersby about the ethical, environmental, and health benefits of veganism.

The activists also play footage of slaughterhouses and factory farms on COK's Faunette (portable TV/VCR). By exposing the violence and horror inflicted on farmed animals, offering free, delicious alternatives to animal products, as well as providing additional information on why people choose to be vegan, COK hopes to introduce veganism to the public in a friendly, non-confrontational manner.

Everlasting Life Teach-In

A major factor that prevents many people from adopting veganism is the notion that humans are superior to other animals and, therefore, justified in treating them however we want. To promote a more humane ethic which doesn't consider animals as moral inferiors, COK activists have recently been the featured guests on many local radio shows, discussing the topic of human supremacy. One of the shows even led to an invitation to hold an animal rights teach-in at local health food complex Everlasting Life.

So, on October 27, 2001, COK led a workshop entitled Questioning Human Supremacy: Animal Rights & Social Justice at Everlasting Life. The teach-in was a great success, with lively discussion lasting long after the formal talk was over.

If you'd like to sponsor a free animal rights teach-in, please contact COK.

Vegan Thanksgiving for the Homeless

COK celebrated an early Thanksgiving in 2001 by serving vegan versions of traditional holiday fare to local homeless men and women. On November 18, 2001, COK activists served 30 plates of Tofurky, mashed potatoes, stuffing, and cranberry sauce to those in need at Franklin Park in Washington, D.C.

While countless people starve to death, eating a meat-based diet contributes to the squandering of precious resources such as food and water. Raising animals for food is much less efficient than directly eating vegetables, grain, and beans. For example, a cow grazing on one acre of land produces enough meat to sustain a person for two and one-half months; soybeans grown on the same acre would nourish a person for seven years. The beef in just one Big Mac represents enough wheat to make fives loaves of bread.

Soup Kitchen Outreach

After the vegan Thanksgiving for the homeless in Franklin Park, it was painfully obvious that even if those in need wanted to be vegan, it would be exceedingly difficult.

Unfortunately, many people living in the D.C.-area have little choice over what foods they eat. For them, whatever local soup kitchens offer is what they must consume in order to survive.

To help combat this, COK has initiated an outreach program to local soup kitchens to help them provide both more and better vegan options. COK created a vegan recipe booklet with institutional-sized recipes for soup kitchens entitled, Nonviolent Meals for Health. The booklet has been delivered to every major soup kitchen in D.C.

Preaching to the (Possibly) Un-Convertible

On October 16, 2001, COK campaigns manager Paul Shapiro attended the Watts Poultry Summit in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Summit is an annual conference for producers to discuss current issues in the poultry production world. This year's topic: "Animal Welfare in the Commercial Layer Industry."

While the producers primarily discussed methods to make battery cages "more humane" and ways to avoid debeaking and forced molting, there was also some dialog on of more fundamental issues. This was because Mr. Shapiro made two speeches during the conference about the cruelty inherent in egg production. The egg producers were so intrigued that 25 of them ordered copies of COK's documentary Hope for the Hopeless, and more than 50 took free Why Vegan? booklets.

It's true that this is obviously a hard group of people to reach, but you never know where the next Howard Lyman may be hiding, just waiting to be introduced to animal rights and veganism.

Previous Page | Index | Next Page