Subject: August News from Marin VEG
From: Patti Breitman
Date: 2016-07-31 2:07 PM
To: undisclosed-recipients: ;

Marin Vegetarian Education Group
August, 2016
 

May your summer continue to hold many delights.
I recently spent a week in Portland, OR, a city where vegans seemed to be everywhere and an abundance of vegan restaurants were flourishing. My theory on why Marin is not more like Portland in this regard is this: Marin has an older demographic and there are vegan options at the  vast majority of restaurants in Marin.  Given how young people are flocking to veganism, the future seems to be moving in that direction.  So despite the county's paucity of vegan eateries, I am optimistic about the future of veganism.

Sunday, August 14
Advocacy Training in Berkeley
The first ever Northern California Animal Advocacy Coalition Training for Activists is an all day workshop that will take place at the UC Berkeley Campus on Sunday, August 14. Speakers include Stephanie Frankle from The Humane League; Professor Robert C. Jones from the Dept. of Philosophy at CSU; Eric Mills from Action for Animals, Hope Bohanec of Compassionate Living and United Poultry Concerns, and others. It is sponsored by the Berkeley Organization for Animal Advocacy an Norcal Animal Advocacy Coalition.  You can learn more about the speakers and event, and register (if there is still space) at  http://ncaac.org/  And if there is no more space, you can contact Kamal Prasad to ask if there is a  wait list:   ecofriend@yahoo.com

Saturday,  August 20
Sonoma VegFest
The Luther Burbank Center (50 Mark West Springs Road) in Santa Rosa is the new home for the Sonoma County VegFest, scheduled for 10 AM to 5 PM on Saturday, August 20.  There will be plenty of parking and plenty of room for the wonderful vendors and presentations.  And concurrent with the festival will be the first ever North Bay Vegan Filmfest. Tickets sold separately from admission to the VegFest.  To see what films will be shown and to buy film tickets, go to http://www.socovegfest.org/film-showing/  To check out the speakers (many new voices) and buy your ticket ($5) at http://www.socovegfest.org/

Wednesday, August 24, 6 PM
Dr. Michael Klaper in San Anselmo
Join 350 Marin as they present Dr. Michael Klaper speaking on Eating Our Future or Feeding Our Health: The Climate-Diet Connection on Wednesday, August 24 at the First Presbyterian Church in San Anselmo (72 Kensington Road). Socializing begins and light refreshments will be offered at 6 PM, and Dr. Klaper will speak at 7:00.   There is no fee to attend, but donations will be most appreciated. Learn more at http://www.350marin.org/climate_and_diet  This will be a terrific opportunity to educate your neighbors, co-workers and friends on a subject so few people address, so invite them all!


More Activities This Month
As always, check out www.bayareaveg.org/events.htm and www.meetup.com/marin-vegan to see what else is happening in August. And also look at www.socoveg.org and www.sfvs.org to see what's going on in Sonoma and San Francisco.


Medical Schools in U.S. No Longer Using Animals
I have long admired and supported PCRM, and now I celebrate their good news.  Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine reported in July that the last two medical school holdouts, Johns Hopkins University and the University of Tennessee, have agreed to abandon animal labs in their medical schools.  Dr. Neal Barnard wrote, ". . .all medical schools in the U.S. and Canada are completely free of animal laboratories in teaching. We have won the fight." He added, "I should clarify that this is the end of animal use in medical school courses. That's a great thing. But animals are still used in more advanced training (in surgical and emergency medicine residencies, for example), and there is an enormous amount  of  animal use in basic research, unfortunately.  We are continuing to work in those areas as well and are steadily winning those battles. But as of now, at every medical school in the U.S. and Canada, students will get their MD or DO degrees without ever being allowed to harm animals."  Congratulations to PCRM, and thanks to them for continuing to fight for animals' lives in  laboratories everywhere.

Mark Hawthorn Interview
Mark Hawthorn, author of the new book A Vegan Ethic, was interviewed recently by Tim Ward in The Huffington Post.  In the interview, Mark says he wrote the book so people could give it to others and say, "This is why I'm vegan."  I consider Mark Hawthorn to be one of the most compassionate advocates and one of the best writers the vegan movement has. He understands and communicates the importance of seeing animal abuse in the context of all exploitation, and he calls attention to how privilege and control affect all abusive relationships.   Read the interview at http://www.huffingtonpost.com/tim-ward/five-questions-for-mark-h_b_11062102.html    and order the book at https://www.amazon.com/Vegan-Ethic-Embracing-Compassion-Toward/dp/1785354027/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1469750086&sr=8-1&keywords=a+vegan+ethic

Turin To Become a Vegan City
Chiara Appendino, the new mayor of Turin in Italy, is making vegan diets a priority over the next five years.  To protect the environment, the health of its citizens, and animals, she is promoting a culture of respect and encouraging schools to teach children how to eat well while protecting the earth and animal rights.  Read a story with more details, including the push back, at http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3702045/Salami-sliced-Turin-set-Italy-s-vegetarian-city-new-mayor-s-plans.html

VegVisits
I learned from PETA this month about a new option for accommodations while traveling called VegVisits. Like airbnb with a veg twist, VegVisits finds you a house or apartment that is completely vegan or vegetarian.  You can get recommendations from hosts about local eateries, use a vegan kitchen, and make a new vegan friend wherever you go.  Whether you are looking for a place or would like to host a traveler, sign up at https://www.vegvisits.com/

Michael Goldberg on Pig Farm Atrocities
Michael Goldberg has written a disturbing article for The Daily Pitchfork about an undercover investigation at a California pig farm. He reveals the presence of antibiotic resistant bacteria and other horrendous conditions. Read Death and Drugs at a Farmer John Pig Farm at http://dailypitchfork.org/?p=1072

Natural Animal Remedies
Claudia Delman has been selling very effective flower essences for many years.  Whether to promote calm, encourage sleep, help healing, these essences have been very helpful to a great number of people.  Recently she launched a new line of natural flower essences shown to relieve anxiety and fear in companion animals.    The Inflorescence line (for humans)  is available at The Good Earth natural  food stores in Fairfax and Mill Valley.  The line for animals, AnimalRx, is available for pre-order now.  Although her indiegogo campaign is over, you can read testimonials from happy people whose animals were helped and contact Claudia to pre-order Animal RX at https://www.facebook.com/animalrx/


An Anti-Vegan Book Review Explained
Ginny Messina, The Vegan RD, wrote a wonderful explanation of "How Science Based Medicine Gets Vegan Diets Wrong."  The piece is a review of a book review for a book called Vegan Betrayal, written by an ex-vegan.  I found Ginny's article enlightening, as it pointed out the errors and inconsistencies in the review and the book.   Because the review was published on the website of a group called Science Based Medicine, readers were probably inclined to believe every word of it. Messina's astute analysis of the review shows us how even so called scientific articles can be misguided and inaccurate.  Read the review at http://www.theveganrd.com/2016/07/how-science-based-medicine-gets-vegan-diets-wrong.html 


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