The Minnesota State Fair is a local tradition for many. This annual festival is known for its decadent foods, usually deep-fried and served on a stick. Most of these foods are known not to be vegan, for example: cheese curds, deep-fried Twinkies, and corn dogs.

For those of us who choose to only eat plant-based foods, what can we do? Do we avoid the fair altogether? No way! If the fair is something you enjoy, you can still enjoy it, finding plenty of awesome vegan offerings to satisfy your hunger along the way. And yes, some of these vegan offerings are even served deep-fried and on a stick.

A couple years ago, we published a guide to vegan food at the fair. You can check that out, as much of it still applies, but this year we put out a call to all of our volunteers going to the fair and asked them to let us know what they could find. We got a number of beautiful photos and fun descriptions that we’ll share with you here. Take a look at the photo collage, read the descriptions, and bring this list with you when you go to the fair in the next few days.

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Our fundraiser for Twin Cities Veg Fest has made fantastic strides in the last few days, and we’ve just surpassed our original goal of $4,500! Including contributions made by check through the mail, our grand total is now at $5,553. Wow! Huge thanks to all of our supporters for your generosity.

In case you haven’t donated yet, there’s still time to give! Please help us reach our stretch goal of $6,000 by August 31. While $6,000 might sound like a lot of money for the festival, it’s just a fraction of what it costs to put on an event like this, especially now that we are expanding it to two days.

With your support, this year’s Twin Cities Veg Fest can reach more people and show them how a compassionate life can be fun, uplifting, and most certainly delicious. Please give today!

As you may have heard, after five years of dedicated service, Unny Nambudiripad is moving on from his post as executive director at Compassionate Action for Animals. We wish him well on his continuing journey and look forward to appointing a highly qualified individual who can carry on this important position, overseeing all facets of our organization and providing inspiring and effective leadership.

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This July, I served as a camp counselor at Youth Empowered Action (YEA) Camp, a camp for teenagers who want to change the world. The camp empowers teens on a variety of social justice issues, and the particular camp where I served was focused on animals. The experience was incredibly challenging and rewarding.

The camp ran from July 17 to 24 and was located at Woodstock Farm Animal Sanctuary. Like any camp, we slept in cabins with several others, ate together, played games, and hiked in the woods. The special aspects of this camp were meeting and engaging with the farm animal residents and training youth on how to be activists.

Some of the topics of the talks that I led were how to conduct grassroots outreach, why people choose to become vegan, and nonviolent communication. It was satisfying to lead workshops on these topics because I have extensive experience in these areas and strong opinions about them. Other topics included challenging racism, sharing meaningful items from each camper, opposing sexism, and working with campers to determine their activist plan for the year.

The greatest reward was cultivating strong connections with individual campers. Shortly after the camp, I exchanged emails with one of the campers. She said:

I am so happy that I met you at YEA Camp! You inspired me to do great things with my life! … You always made me laugh and I loved when you danced! You always brought the good out of me and I had so much fun with you. You inspired me to ignore what other people thought and do what you like to do. At the beginning of camp I always wanted to join you jumping, but I was embarrassed about what the others would think of me. But, I started jumping with you on the last full day of camp! It was so fun! I didn’t care what the others were thinking, or that people were taking videos of us, I just wanted to have fun! YEA camp inspired me so much that I realized how much more confident I was at the end then I was at the beginning. I talked so much more louder and I didn’t care what others thought.

She later asked for my assistance in her activism, and I connected her with additional resources. I had so much fun at camp and at the same time developed deeply moving connections with young activists.

I was excited to meet the camp director, Nora Kramer, for the first time. We knew many animal activists in common across the country, but we hadn’t yet met face-to-face. She’s a powerful force for the animals and for social justice and was devoted to the development of the campers. She was attuned throughout the camp to the needs of both the campers and the staff. I felt inspired by Nora to have a broader view of empowering new activists and helping them develop their confidence, knowledge, ability, and enthusiasm.

Several of the campers as well as the younger staff inspired me. They are curious, driven, and kind. I’m glad I invested my time and energy in helping to cultivate an experience in which they can learn about how to be an activist, challenge themselves to be more courageous and gentle, and meet and connect with new and experienced activists. I feel hope for the animal protection movement.

Dear supporters, volunteers, friends, and donors,

I’ve enjoyed working with Compassionate Action for Animals over the past eighteen years, first as founder and then as executive director for the last five. After careful thought, I realize the time has come for me to move on, and I’ll be stepping down from my staff position in January of 2017.

Having been deeply involved with CAA since its inception, I realize I need a break, including some time to relax. While I don’t have any specific plans, I intend to stay in Minneapolis, continuing on my path of becoming the most effective advocate for animals that I can be. I’d like to consider new strategies and turn my focus to influencing institutions, such as food service providers and the government. I’m also interested in having my work more closely align with advocating against racism, sexism, and other ways that our society exploits humans.

My life’s work is to promote compassion, and CAA has been an incredibly fulfilling vehicle for that work. I’m proud to say that CAA is currently in a strong financial position with thriving programs, high morale, and unprecedented volunteer support. I wholeheartedly believe in the work we do and encourage your continued participation. Please donate, volunteer, come to our events, and continue to speak out for animals. I believe that CAA has been and will continue to be a powerful and effective voice for the animals.

My wish is that my leaving will be an opportunity for you and the organization to become even more powerful forces for the animals. The role of executive director for CAA is an important one, and this transition will allow for other voices in the movement to have more leadership. In that, there’s a great potential for expanding diversity and strengthening the organization.

The board of directors is currently assembling a hiring committee and will be announcing the position opening soon. If you or someone you know might be interested in applying, please stay tuned for the job posting.

I look forward to working with you over the next few months as we continue our important work, and at the top of the agenda is Twin Cities Veg Fest. (The festival’s fundraising campaign is currently underway!) After my departure in January, I can be reached at unnypn@gmail.com, 612-293-6876, and on Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat as unnypn. And of course you can find me biking on the streets of South Minneapolis (listen for my singing).

It’s been a pleasure working with you. I’m so grateful for all the progress we’ve made for the animals, and I’m also grateful for all the wonderful relationships I’ve developed with you. I look forward to all of that continuing into the future.

For the animals,

Unny Nambudiripad

A bunch of us from CAA recently attended the Animals Right National Conference in Los Angeles. We spent four days attending informative and inspirational sessions, networking with others in the animal protection movement, and enjoying some of the great vegan eats that LA has to offer. As the cherry on top this vegan ice cream sundae, on the day after the conference concluded, many of us went on a tour of Farm Santuary. Meeting the rescued animals was perhaps the ultimate inspiration.

Having been to the conference twice before, I was eager for new information. As someone who works full-time for CAA, I’m routinely immersed in our mission, and I was most interested in being exposed to different perspectives, particularly those that include more confrontational approaches to activism. For this reason, I attended talks by Lauren Gazzola, who advocates for not avoiding “looking bad” as vegan, and Wayne Hsiung, who leads the controversial Direct Action Everywhere. Hearing these other viewpoints was enriching, as it gave me an opportunity to better understand the spectrum of approaches to animal advocacy and social justice.

In addition, I was especially motivated hearing Dr. Melanie Joy speak on the subject of sustainable activism and how to nurture a resilient organization. That information I will surely make use of, not only for myself, but also as a way to support our volunteers.

Each of us who attended the conference got something different out of it, and each of us brings back some unique inspiration that will surely infuse our Twin Cities community with a renewed approach to advocating for farmed animals. Here’s a glimpse of what some of our volunteers and other staff members experienced at the 2016 Animal Rights National Conference:

Transformation and Inspiration by AmyLeo Barankovich

I found the conference to be fun, rejuvenating, comprehensive, inclusive, and sophisticated. After advocating for animals in near-isolation for two decades, I’ve recently reentered the animal rights community. In the past few years, I’ve seen glimpses of the movement’s transformation. This conference has given me even more awareness of this progress and has restored my hope in how humans are reinventing our relationship with animals. I am grateful for finding inspiration to return to public advocacy, which will surely enhance my work as a humane educator and vegan chef.

The 91-Year-Old Vegan by Kathleen Keene

One of the most memorable moments for me was meeting a 91-year-old Dutch woman who came to the CAA table. She had been vegan all her life because her father suddenly didn’t want to eat animals anymore, and that caused quite an upheaval in the family. Eventually, she and her whole family eschewed eating animals altogether. And she was quite spry for 91! At the end of our chat, I gave her a knuffel, which is Dutch for hug!

Networking, the Future of Food, and the Animals Themselves by Dave Rolsky

The best thing about the conference is always the people. I go each year to connect with others in the movement and learn more about what they’re up to. The session I found most exciting was a panel discussing the future of food, specifically cultured meat, egg whites produced by yeast, and meat alternatives. Finally, visiting Farm Sanctuary after the conference was a good reminder of why our work is so important. Meeting individual animals reminds me of all the other animals suffering in factory farms who need our help.

Renewed Hope in a Violent World by Brita Bengtson

I think we can all agree that 2016 has been tough. I entered the conference wondering if it’s worth working for any cause in such a violent world. I left the conference uplifted by new knowledge of all the progress being made for farmed animals: new outreach technology (Animal Equality’s iAnimal project), new food technology (plant-based and clean meats that don’t require any animal use), legislative victories, and much more. I’m hopeful again that we may someday achieve peace for all beings.

Last month, Compassionate Action for Animals announced the first annual Twin Cities Veggie Awards, a new program that acknowledges the best of the best of veg-friendly businesses in the Twin Cities.

For this first round of awards, we gathered a panel of five of our community members to choose the five winners. Each of the recipients received acknowledgement on our blog and a framed certificate.

Here they are:

• French Meadow Bakery & Cafe
• Hard Times Cafe
• The Herbivorous Butcher
• Milkjam Creamery
• Reverie Cafe + Bar

  

The blog also lists all of the thirteen businesses in the Twin Cities that offer only vegan products as well as a list of eleven of the finalists, veg-friendly businesses that offer a great selection of outstanding vegan options. Though these finalists didn’t win the award, we wanted to be sure people know about them and support them.

Of course, the real winner is our community. This shift toward having more vegan options in the marketplace is undeniably gaining momentum, and we take it as a sign of great things to come. This consumer demand for more vegan products means fewer animal products being purchased and, ultimately, fewer animals suffering.

We can feel like we’re winning in that regard, for sure! And if you’d like to celebrate, I hope you’ll join us for our next festive event, Summer Soirée: A Benefit for Twin Cities Veg Fest on Wednesday, July 27 from 7 to 10pm at the award-winning Reverie Cafe + Bar. This is a great way to support Twin Cities Veg Fest, celebrate with the community, and enjoy all the amazing vegan nosh that Reverie has to offer. Reserve your tickets today!

Best wishes,

Justin Leaf

Communications & Events Coordinator

Check it out! This fantastic animation was created by Sydney Terwey, Cade Isaacs, and Hai Lo, who were all students at The Art Institutes International of Minnesota. They used their time and talents to share their enthusiasm for Twin Cities Veg Fest, and we love what they came up with.

After helping to create this animation, Sydney went on to intern with us at CAA in the spring of 2016. We’re very grateful for all that she contributed to the organization during that time.

Twin Cities Veg Fest 2016 will take place on Saturday, October 29 and Sunday, October 30, from 11am to 4pm each day. Share this video and let your friends that they can now save the dates for this fun festival!