Huntsville Vegans

Welcome to our monthly newsletter!

December 2011 Volume 1, Issue III

The question is not, "Can they reason?" nor, "Can they talk?" but rather, "Can they suffer?" ~Jeremy Bentham

Book Discussion Group

By Lucy Roberts

In this issue:
Book Discussion Group Fur Free Friday November Potluck Vegan Outreach @ UAH

1 2 3 3

Lobster Protest Green Drinks & North AL Food Policy Council Upcoming Events About Us Anniston Yoga Center Grand Opening

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Want to get involved?

Members of AREA and Huntsville Vegans meet at the library to discuss a book by Melanie Joy, PhD.

Book: Why We Love Dogs, Eat Pigs, and Wear Cows by Melanie Joy What can I say about the first book group? It was well attended and discussion participation was very good! I personally love to hear others viewpoints and look forward to the next meeting. I believe the purpose of a group like this is to cultivate and broaden our understanding about why our culture engages in carnism so that we can then be clear and effective when we have an opportunity to bring awareness/education to others. In that regard, I felt the group was certainly challenged to consider and think

deeply about a society that is blind to their own belief system. Im sure each persons experience of the meeting was different and hopefully each walked away with new understanding and plenty of food for thought. I know I did! See you all at the next book group meeting. Friday, Dec. 16th, 6:00 p.m. @ Caf 153 (upstairs) @ Bridgestreet May all beings be free and at peace, Lucy Roberts PS A big THANKS to AREA for hosting the first book group meeting

Come to our weekly meetup, Fridays at 6pm @ Caf 153 in Bridge Street Friend us on Facebook: facebook.com/ huntsville.vegans Email us with your questions: huntsvilleveg@gmail.com Visit our website: huntsvillevegans.com

Fur Free Friday Protest at Madison Square Mall

By Robyn Corry

On November 25, 2011, the day after Thanksgiving- better known as Black Friday- instead of shopping for great deals, Huntsville Vegans grabbed signs, leaflets, and stickers and hit the streets to protest the cruel practice of buying fur and leather. Fur Free Friday is a nation and worldwide event supported by many animal rights organizations including the Anti-Fur Coalition, Last Chance for Animals, and PETA. With so many alternatives to fur and leather, there is no reason this industry should still exist, and that is what we wanted to convey to our fellow North Alabamians. We had an overall good response, there were of course the unintelligible yells coming out of some cars, but there were more thumbs up and honks of approval. There was a lot of traffic passing on University Drive as was expected for the busiest shopping day of the year, so hopefully we changed some peoples minds about purchasing that fur trimmed jacket or that pair of leather boots while doing their holiday shopping. Robyn and Jon spread the message with signs and cute hats!

Members of Huntsville Vegans and PETA outside Madison Square Mall.

Alex, Peter, Barbara, and Mike standing together as the mass of Black Friday shoppers drive by.

Visit http://www.peta.org/issues/animals-used-for-clothing/fur.aspx to make your pledge to be fur-free!

November Potluck
By Jenni Moody

With the cold weather of November upon us, Huntsville Vegans moved our monthly potluck from the park to a members home nearby. This months theme was Thanksgiving, and we had a wonderful time sharing cruelty-free food. Some of the dishes shared were: mac n cheese, mashed potatoes, brownies, cake, cornbread stuffing, tabouli, and corn salad. After eating we hung out for a while, talking and working up our appetite for dessert. Potlucks are a great, low-stress time to meet new people, share old recipes, and find new ones! If youd like to attend one of our potlucks but arent sure what to bring, send an email to huntsvilleveg@gmail.com and well share some tips on how you can make an easy vegan dish to share (and if all else fails, Earth Fare has many pre-made vegan goodies!). Our next Vegan Potluck will be Sunday, December 11th, at 4:00PM. Please visit our Facebook page for location details.

Members of Huntsville Vegans smile after a delicious vegan dinner.

Vegan Outreach at University of Alabama Huntsville

By Jenni Moody

Many thanks to everyone who spent an afternoon or an hour handing out materials from Vegan Outreach on the UAH campus.!! Here are some of Mikes reports from this month: 11/09/2011 - It went decently well-- we braved the rainy weather. I wasn't too perturbed by it, but Natalia said she and Alex dug up some plastic ponchos for her and 1 other person to use (Alex wasn't there). She put one on long before I did, but it soon became apparent that anyone leafleting while wearing a poncho is creepy. So the ponchos went bye-bye. It picked up soon after, and the rain stopped as well. It would've been great to stay out there, but time didn't permit it. People were pretty friendly-- no hostile comments, and a few very enthusiastic people, including two vegans who (separately) were pleased to discover the existence of our group, and many people who were genuinely interested in the material and disappeared into the distance with the noses

pressed into the brochures. So: A good day. 11/22/2011 - University of Alabama @ Huntsville, last day of campus operation before Thanksgiving weekend. Getting close to the end of the semester, and the weather was terrible. Still, we had good cover and several receptive students, though not a lot of traffic. Two of us leafleted for over 31/2 hours and only distributed about 340 brochures total. Had very encouraging encounters with two different vegetarians, who after getting some facts and encouragement were very interested in going vegan! Visit www.veganoutreach.org to view PDFs of the booklets and to find out more about the powerful impact of sharing vegan literature with college students. If youd like to help us hand out information, send us an email or visit our Facebook page for dates and times.

Compassionate Choices is one of the informational booklets we distribute.

Lobster Boil Protest, Organized by Carole Edmonds

By Jenni Moody

permit, since we were on a public sidewalk, and she said it was a good idea to have one, just in case. :) Carole did an amazing job organizing this. She got WAAY31 News to come and do an interview, and a reporter from the Huntsville Times showed up as well! The people at St. Thomas kept their distance, only once approaching to ask if we'd like any food There were 3 - 4 of us there at a time, with a few people coming and going as they had to leave to take care of other things. Carole had many great signs to choose from. The whole event went smoothly. There were two police cars, one stationed at each entrance. A police officer approached Kathryn and asked to see her permit, and she presented a printed copy. I asked Carole if we legally had to have a or water. We politely declined, and he politely declined my offer of a Compassionate Choices booklet. Most people driving by on the road were curious but respectful. We did have one guy yell out "Boil me red, baby!" to which Carole had the wonderful deadpan answer: "I'd like to!" As we were walking to our cars one man approached us and asked a series of Vegan 101 questions, which Carole and John deftly answered. Then he revealed his daughter is vegetarian, and took a

Compassionate Choices. We talked to him a bit more, and he offered to hand out some Compassionate Choices inside the church, so we gave him a small number of booklets. Carole and Kathryn said that there seemed to be fewer cars going in to the church for the lobster boil, which she said is probably influenced party by the economy. But also, hopefully, by people hearing the voices of truth. There's a huge sidewalk in front of the church. Next year, I hope we can have even more people attend. It would be beautiful to see a whole span of people holding signs, asking for a humane alternative to raise money for Hondurans.

Green Drinks & North Alabama Food Policy Council

By Jenni Moody

North Alabama Food Policy Council Lucy, Mike and I attended the November meeting of the North Alabama Food Policy Council. This group is working to provide healthy, affordable food to everyone in North Alabama. We met Kathryn Strickland of the Food Bank of North Alabama, and she said that there would be many activities in the coming months that would interest Huntsville Vegans. Kathryn is also a vegan! We look forward to working with her and the North Alabama Food Policy Council to promote plant-based nutrition in our area. For more information, visit their website at http:// fbofna.org/ and click on Help Local Foods. Well post information about their meetings and our efforts to partner with NAFPC for community outreach on Facebook.

Green Drinks Mike and I attended the November meeting of Green Drinks. According to their website, Huntsville Green Drinks is a venue for anyone interested in sustainable living to share their interest and expertise with like-minded individuals, and help to build a community movement where ideas and knowledge can be freely grown and shared. We were able to hand out our Go Green, Go Vegan! information sheets and had many friendly discussions about how factory farming adversely effects the environment. Ellen, the organizer of the group, discussed the possibility of having Huntsville Vegans give a presentation at one of the future meetings. We also connected with organizers for Green University, and hope to provide information at this environmental event as well.

Visit http://www.greendrinks.org/AL/Huntsville

December 2011
Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat

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6:00PM Meetup

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10AM to 1PM: UAH Outreach

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6:30PM: Movie Night

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6:00PM Meetup

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4PM: Cooking Class

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4PM Potluck

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5:30PM: Cooking Class

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6PMBook Discussion

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5:30PM: En Masse Restaurant Smash

6:00PM Meetup

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6:00PM Meetup

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6:00PM Meetup

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Weekly Events

University of Alabama Huntsville Outreach Leafleting with information from Vegan Outreach various locations on the UAH Campus Wednesdays, 10:30AM1:00PMemail us for a meetup point to get booklets to hand out Huntsville Vegans Meetup Fridays @ Caf 153 at Bridge StreetCome hang out in a relaxed atmosphere and meet us6:008:00PM AREA (Advocacy for the Respect of All Earths Animals) Meetup Thursdays @ Main Library, 2nd Floor, Meeting Room D 6:008:00PM

This Months Events

Potluck Sunday, December 11th, 4:00PM7:00PM @ Elissa and Jaimes house, 317 Harvestwood Court Book Discussion Group Friday, December 16th, 6:008:00 PM @ Caf 153 in Bridge StreetWell be discussing the last 4 chapters of Melanie Joys Why We Love Dogs, Eat Pigs, and Wear Cows Movie Night Screening of The CoveThursday, December 8th, 6:30 to 8:30PM Main Library, Auditorium En Masse Restaurant Smash - Well dine as a group at a local restaurant to showcase the demand for vegan options. - Saturday, December 17th, 5:30PM, 1892 in Five Points Cooking Classes Join Mike at Earth Fare on University Avenue to learn some vegan recipes and cooking tips

Saturday, December 10th, 4:00PM - Topic: Holiday Dishes Tuesday, December 13th , 5:30PM - Topic: Baking

Anniston Yoga Center Grand Opening

By Jenni Moody

On November 11th, Mike and Jenni drove down to Anniston to support the Grand Opening of Mariyas Yoga Studio. The space is beautiful and so enormous! Mariya held a free yoga class in the morning, and opened her studio to curious passersby throughout the afternoon. There were vegan baked goods, jewelry for sale, and many kind, openhearted people to meet. We gave vegan literature to dozens of people, and met several vegans that live in the Anniston area. Mariyas yoga studio is a wonderful resource for compassionate living in the Anniston area, and we are so thankful to have met her. To find out more about Mariya and the Anniston Yoga Center, visit: http://www.yogaannistonalabama.com/

Mike and Jenni with information from Huntsville Vegans at the Grand Opening of the Anniston Yoga Center.

Until he extends the circle of his compassion to all living things, man will not himself find peace. Albert Schweitzer, French philosopher, physician, and musician (Nobel 1952)

A b o u t H u n t s v i l l e Ve g a n s
Huntsville Vegans was formed in the summer of 2011. We meet regularly to socialize, collaborate, and make the world a better place for all creatures. We are working to develop our group into a force for good in the Huntsville area by promoting ethical consumption and asserting the presence and consideration of Vegans and Veganism in our city. Animal exploitation happens every day, and not just on the way to your neighbors plate. Our Purpose:

Meet like-minded people, share food, and have fun Provide educational resources about ethical consumption, vegetablebased nutrition, and vegan outreach for our community Provide information, friendship, and support for new or prospective vegans Attract and promote vegan businesses and organizations in Huntsville Find opportunities to actively change our community, and the world at large, for the better Partner with Food Not Bombs, local community gardens, or provide a vegan/group presence with local secular aid
organizations to help human animals

Secure and sponsor guest speakers and special events Stop some killing. Or torturing. Or exploiting. For human or non-human, our ultimate aim as individuals and as a group is to
minimize suffering, as much as we can