Upcoming Events & Announcements

Weekly update RSS feed

Read this newsletter on our website

Unsubscribe

To unsubscribe, send an email using the email address you are subscribed with.

Veg Week 2011 Wrap up

"I never realized how many vegan options were out there and the amount of people who were already vegan! It was great to participate in Veg Week - I've never met so many vegans and had such great food! Thanks for everything, CAA!"

This is one of the many positive reviews we received after asking participants to tell us how the Pledge to Be Veg went for them. Veg Week 2011 was a success in raising awareness about the cruelties of factory farming and empowering people to make compassionate choices.

We started Veg Week with Paul Shapiro of the Humane Society of the United States, who gave an engaging presentation on factory farming and the efforts underway to help animals. We learned about cruel practices, such as battery cages that confine egg-laying chickens to tiny cages, leaving them unable to stretch their wings. We learned about gestation crates, where sows are kept and unable to turn around. But we also learned about the efforts across the country to outlaw the most cruel practices, work with the industry to reform these practices, and encourage consumers to incorporate more plant-based foods in their diet. Several students studying agriculture asked Paul challenging questions at the end of the presentation, and Paul handled them respectfully and knowledgeably.

There were seven more events and there isn't room to cover what happened at all of them! The events, including the cooking class, Shop With A Vegan, dine out, vegan bake sale, Vegan After Dark, potluck, and sanctuary tour, gave participants new opportunities to learn veg eating and cooking, meet animals, eat tasty food, and especially meet other people who care about animals. You can read more about the cooking class here.

Thanks to the restaurants that gave discounts to those who took the Pledge to Be Veg:

• Camdi
• Evergreen Chinese
• Seward Cafe
• Sawatdee Uptown Express
• Galactic Pizza
• Himalayan Restaurant
• Katar River
• Delights of India
• Tao Natural Foods
• Sen Yai Sen Lek

Thanks as well to all the volunteers that made Veg Week 2011 a success!

Veg Week 2011 Cooking Class Wrap Up

By Kelly Curtiss

In the aftermath of signing a pledge to spend a week eating vegan or vegetarian, most students are curious about what to do next. Yes, grocery shopping is a must, but then what?

Fortunately, CAA has thought of everything to help out a new vegan. Annually, Veg Week holds a cooking class for new vegans; this year's class managed to fill the room. The presentation was given by long-time CAA volunteer Rachel, who themed her class with a fitting autumn feel. The dishes made were a butternut squash bisque, walnut sage fettuccine, and a pear and ginger compote for dessert, perfect recipes for taking home to an extended non-vegan family on Thanksgiving.

Vegans and carnivores alike enjoyed this presentation, and everyone agreed, once they tried out a sample, that the dishes were delightful to the palette. The mood in the room was very informal, with attendees asking questions whenever they arose, and throwing observations and ideas back and forth about different dishes they had tried themselves.

When asked if she enjoyed new cookbooks, instructor Rachel mentioned during the class that her favorite place to find new recipes and substitution suggestions is online, by browsing other cooks' food blogs. This way real people will tell you what worked and what didn't, and in an open forum manner, vegans from all over the world can discuss and shape the best new tastes. Any new vegetarian or vegan can find it difficult to stay fresh and creative when busy with school, work, and other obligations, but the best resource is always other people. CAA has an open door for anyone looking for new recipes and suggestions on where to shop.

Let Subway Know You Want More Veg Options

Subway, the world's largest restaurant chain, tweeted about Vegetarian Awareness Month and asked for feedback. Please let them know what you think.

Subway has been offering its Veggie Delight sandwich for a long time, but there's much more they can offer to cater to vegetarians and vegans. Please encourage Subway to add veggie deli slices, such as "Hickory Smoked" Tofurky by:

• Responding to Subway's tweet about Vegetarian Awareness Month (as we did)
  
• Visit WeLoveSubway.com and ask for more vegan options there.
  
• Post on Subway's Facebook page.

Thanks to our friends at Compassion Over Killing for leading the way to get more vegan options at Subway and other chains.