Vegan Education Works!

I was recently on holiday in Alice Springs, Australia, where I got to meet fellow activists Renata Peters and Timothy Putnam from the Alice Springs Vegan Society. I also had the chance to help out at their wonderful vegan education stall at the Sunday markets!

I enjoyed helping out, and many people came up to us interested in learning more about veganism and trying a delicious free vegan cupcake. We had many great conversations, and there were definitely a few new vegans out there afterwards.

I love face-to-face advocacy, people are generally much more friendlier in real life than online. People like Renata and Timothy are my role models, and I hope to have my own vegan education stall one day like theirs. I'm quite a shy person, and mainly I do online activism and use my design skills to create vegan education resources for other advocates to use. But I'd love to practice and learn how to talk to and educate people face-to-face as well as they do! It's really the best feeling standing at a stall on the street or at a market promoting veganism to the public.

Some people say that vegan education doesn't work. Some are scared of using the word "vegan" because they don't want to scare people away. But the reality is, creative, nonviolent vegan education does work, and it doesn't scare people away! Many people come up to us and are genuinely interested in learning about veganism and why to go vegan. We are always friendly and non-confrontational, and that's a very important thing.

Educating people about veganism creates new vegans. It decreases the demand for animal products. It raises awareness. It is changing the world - one new vegan at a time! I am excited to see more and more people going vegan and wanting to go vegan these days, proof that vegan education really is working!

Don't be afraid of getting out there in your community and spreading the message of veganism and animal rights. There are many ways you can do vegan advocacy, such as having a stall on the street or at a market, making youtube videos, inviting non-vegan friends over for a vegan dinner, painting a picture, giving a speech, there are many possibilities so get creative!

Don't give up if you try it and no one tells you then and there that they're going to go vegan. The most important thing is that you are out there, speaking the truth and being a voice for the victims of animal exploitation. With every person you talk to, you are planting seeds. We can't control when those seeds will sprout, or if they will sprout, but at least they've been planted, and that's what matters. Focus on those who are interested in hearing what you have to say instead of the people who don't want to listen. And there will be many who will be interested and open to learning about it.

We need grassroots vegan activists all over the world, speaking out and educating others about veganism, and teaching people that other animals are not "things" for us to use, they are sentient individuals who deserve the one right not to be viewed as the property of another, no matter how well they're treated. After going vegan, educating people about veganism is the most important thing we can do to help nonhuman animals. It's a thousand times more effective than a petition or single-issue campaign, because it focuses on all uses of animals, and it strikes at the roots by reducing the demand - rather than attacking the supplier (which is only there because of the demand anyway).

Please be a clear, consistent, nonviolent voice for other animals. There are so many ways you can do it, so find a way that works for you. Let's work together to create a better world! ♥

I'll end with a wonderful and inspiring poster by LiveVegan, featuring another photo of the fabulous Alice Springs Vegan Society market stall and a quote from Howard Zinn:

Vegan Education: Working With What You Have

This Friday I went out in Hamilton with pamphlets and a box full of vegan cupcakes to educate the public about veganism. Each cupcake was given out with one of my Cupcake Cards, and I also had Abolitionist Approach and Butterflies Katz's Becoming Vegan pamphlets for people to take as well.

I had three cupcakes on the box at a time, with the pamphlets in front. I positioned myself in front of a shopping centre, where a good amount of people would be walking past, holding the box and saying "Free Cupcake!" whenever someone walked past. It was a great experience. I had a lot of interest, and gave out all my cupcakes within two hours.

This is something anyone could do. You don't need to be a part of any organisation, it's cheap, doesn't require much setting up, and it's a great and fun way to educate people about veganism. When you don't have much, but you want to get vegan education into your community, get creative and work with what you have! 

Hand out vegan food, host cooking classes, make videos, write, do a market stall, hand out pamphlets, do whatever you feel comfortable doing - There are many ways you can promote veganism!

The Peaceful Abolitionist Youtube Channel

I have just started a youtube channel! Watch my videos here:






And subscribe for more! http://www.youtube.com/user/PeacefulAbolitionist

The Confused Vegan

During the first couple of years of being vegan, I was a very confused person.

I believed in promoting veganism and was passionate about animal rights. I was a member of Peta2 (PETA for youth), and I supported them, as well as a few other big "Animal Rights" organisations. However, many of their actions puzzled me.

When SAFE in New Zealand got undercover footage of factory farms on tv, I didn't think it was a good thing. Because there was no mention of veganism. Only promotion of free-range animal products.

When PETA campaigned for KFC to use "Controlled Atmosphere Killing" on their chickens instead of slitting their throats, I didn't think that was right. The chickens still lose their lives, either way.

Once on the Peta2 forums, a farmer was complaining that we were trying to put him out of business. I was the first person to comment, and I said that I simply don't support violence, and that the lives of those animals are as valuable to them as ours are to us. Everyone else on the forum, however, reassured him that they loved little family farms where the animals were treated well, and it was only the big mean factory farms that they were trying to get rid of. I actually felt embarrassed, and wondered if I'd said the wrong thing.

Was I being a bad advocate for animal rights because I didn't support campaigns by PETA or SAFE? Should I be advocating for welfare reforms like them? I didn't believe it would help animals, because they would still be murdered in the end, but it seemed like that was what all the vegans and animal rights people were campaigning for. I was very confused indeed.

Then one day, I stumbled across Professor Gary Francione on Twitter. After reading some of his "Tweets" I thought, Finally, here's someone who actually makes sense! Someone campaigning for the end of animal use - not better treatment! I then learnt about the Abolitionist Approach to Animal Rights. I met other vegan abolitionists on Twitter. And suddenly I didn't feel alone, or that what I believed in was wrong.

Now I wonder; how many others out there are feeling the same way I did? How many confused vegans are there who support PETA and the like because they are supposedly "Animal Rights", but don't agree with the things they campaign for? How many vegetarians are there who haven't learnt about veganism because nobody's talked to them about it? How many omnivores are there who pay extra money to buy free-range because they believe they're helping animals?

This is why I urge people to promote veganism, and encourage others to promote it too. You don't need to be a part of a big animal welfare organisation to help other animals. Talk to others about veganism, and promote veganism only. People can make up their own minds about whether to go free-range, vegetarian, or vegan after you talk to them, but I never compromise my message and say that anything less than veganism is okay - that would just be speciesist.

Since going vegan at the age of 13, I have always believed in promoting veganism. I always looked at it from the animal's perspective. If that were me in the slaughterhouse, if I were a slave to another species, I wouldn't care if I got a bigger cage or if I were gassed to death instead of having my throat slit. The thing I would want the most, and would hope for for my children's future, would be to no longer be considered as someone else's property. An individual in control of her own life.

Free.

You don't need money to make a difference

It's that time of year again when those big animal welfare organisations are asking people to volunteer their time to go out and raise money for them to "help animals"... which actually means trying to enforce laws that give nonhuman slaves better living conditions before they're brutally murdered for their flesh.

I'm tired of seeing SAFE posters everywhere asking people to "Donate to help animals!" or "Join our annual appeal to help animals!"

Well, I'm writing this blog post to tell you that if you want to help animals, if you REALLY want to help animals, you don't need to donate or volunteer for any animal welfare organisation such as SAFE. Just go vegan. And educate people about veganism!

Vegan education is easy, and you don't need a lot (or even any) money to do it. It can be as simple as talking to friends about why you're vegan. Or you can get creative! As I said in my last blog post, whatever you enjoy doing, look for a way to promote vegansim!

I've hosted my own podcast and radio show. I've created my own videos and websites. I blog. I've made animations and graphic designs. I've handed out vegan food to classmates. I've baked vegan cupcakes to hand out at the stall. I've engaged the public in conversations about veganism. I've hand-printed the word "vegan" on clothing I wear. And I've done all this without much money. I'm not a rich person. But that hasn't stopped me.

Imagine what great things SAFE could do if they actually spent their money on peaceful vegan education, promoting JUST veganism. A big organisation like them, educating people about veganism ALL OVER NEW ZEALAND, we'll have loads more people choosing to live nonviolently! If only, if only they would promote veganism! But they are too concerned about losing donators to tell people to do something as "radical" as going vegan. So instead they tell people that "you can love animals and eat them too, just buy free range!"

I urge anyone, anywhere, to advocate for veganism. Those of us who are promoting vegansim unequivocally are the ones who are truly making a difference to the lives of nonhumans. We don't need a lot of money and we don't have to be a part of any organisation to make a difference in the world.

The exciting world of offline activism

I haven't been blogging much lately, but that's doesn't mean I'm getting lazy, no, it just means I've been engaging in a lot more offline activism!

Every Tuesday, providing it's a fine day, the Auckland Abolitionist Vegans Association (AAVA for short) goes out onto Aotea Square armed with a little table, pamphlets, and delicious vegan cupcakes free with a conversation! We've had some great conversations, the cupcakes are a big hit and also an awesome conversation starter "Vegan cupcakes? How can you bake without egg..?"

We have great fun at the stall! It's so great to get out and talk to people face-to-face about veganism. It's much better than talking online, where you can't see the person you're talking to. And I learn so much by talking to people and answering their questions. It helps me become a better activist. I would recommend to anyone to start a vegan stall in their area!

Something else I've started doing - hand printed t-shirt designs! It's a wonderful way to use my artistic talents to promote veganism.. and it gets me off the computer too! :)

Elizabeth wearing one of my "NZ Vegan" shirts

It's so fun and satisfying to see the end product after hours of drawing :) What I do is I create large stencils (just out of paper), print them out, cut little holes along the lines, stencil the holes on using fabric markers, then "connect the dots" and fill everything else in by hand. It's a long, delicate process (the fabric markers are permanent, so one mistake could ruin it!) but a very enjoyable thing for me to do.

I've also done a couple of interviews in the past few weeks with the Roanoke Vegan Examiner and NZ Vegan Podcast. Thanks for having me, Corey and Elizabeth :)

I would encourage anyone to get out there and participate in some form of vegan education. Do a stall, give away vegan baking, hand out pamphlets, create a short film, draw a picture, make a sculpture, whatever you enjoy doing, look for a way to promote veganism.

Peace and love ~

Emmy

Promoting Veganism at Unitec

Well - I think it's about time I wrote about how my Pecha Kucha which I mentioned in my previous post went. So here a-goes :)

This assessment was one I wasn't particularly looking forward to. I've never, ever done a speech before. What to say? How to say it? 10 slides. 20 seconds speaking during each slide. 3 minutes 20 for the whole presentation. I wrote a script for myself to memorise and I went over my presentation over and over and over again. Boy was it hard to fit all that I wanted to say into that short amount of time I had to speak! I did a presentation on why I went vegan - my story of the goat farm (If you haven't already heard my story, you can listen to the podcast episode HERE).

It went really well! I had my lines memorised well and didn't stuff up at all, and I felt I really got my message across. Before the presentation, I handed out the Boston Vegan Association pamphlets to my classmates and the teachers. Then after the presentation, I handed out slices of yummy vegan chocolate cake!

3 layer chocolate cake! 

I ate way too much vegan cake that day. I got to finish off all the leftover pieces.. :-)

I like it when I have the opportunity to show people how delicious vegan food can be. Today, our Telling Stories class had a shared lunch. I made spaghetti and chickpea balls -

I made heaps! Very cheap to make, especially when you get a packet of spaghetti free from your raw flatmates :-) I'm happy everyone enjoyed my food. A couple of people brought along some vegetable dishes for me to eat, so that was nice of them. 

My classmates constantly ask me questions about being vegan, which I happily respond to. I'm glad that they're curious about it. Even though I don't think any of them will go vegan any time soon, at least I have them thinking about it. That's the first step. 

I will continue to promote veganism at my school in whatever ways I can. Just to get the message out there. Whether people listen or not, it's up to them. But I will never, ever stop speaking up for the animals. 

Not until every slave has been set free.