Marin Vegetarian Education Group
October 2015

I hope to see you at the World Veg Festival this weekend!
And countless chickens would be pleased if you attend the Chicken Save event this Friday . Details below.
As always, check the calendars of Meetup.com/marin-vegan and BAVeg.org for lots more to do during October .
And enjoy the cooler weather and the promise of rain.


Friday, October 2
9 AM - 7 PM
Chicken Save in Petaluma
Sonoma County Chicken Save invites you to bear witness and take a stand for chickens all day on Friday, Oct . 2 outside Petaluma Poultry Processing (2700 Lakeville Highway, Petaluma) . The object is to remind people passing by that animals are being killed behind the walls, and to raise public awareness of animal suffering . Signs and literature will be provided along with whistle blower cards to distribute to workers . Free street parking is available at Casa Grande Road and Lakeville Highway . Bring a reusable water bottle, sun protection and snacks . Come all day, or only during morning rush hour, lunch time, or evening rush hour . October 2 is World Day for Farmed Animals, and this is a lovely way to give a voice to the billions of birds who are slaughtered for food every year in the United States . For more information, go to https://www.facebook.com/events/722034444533788


Saturday, October 3 and Sunday, October 4
World Veg Festival in San Francisco
You will not want to miss this weekend celebration of all things veg! The San Francisco Veg Society is hosting two full days of educational talks, cooking demonstrations, exercise programs, Q & A sessions, great exhibits, food vendors, and live entertainment . There is even a vegan stand-up comedian scheduled on Saturday at noon . Among the many presenters are Patti Breitman (that's me!), Miyoko Schinner, lauren Ornelas, Steve Blake, Hope Bohanec, Lani Muelrath, Chef AJ, Cherie Soria, Jack Norris, Alan Goldhamer, Will Tuttle, and dozens of other well known and soon to be well known doctors, dieticians, authors, and vegan super stars in and out of the kitchen . Admission is free for members of the Veg Society . Everyone else pays only $10 at the door . To see the schedule and vendors, learn about the speakers, and to become a member, visit http://worldvegfestival.com/2015/    This World Veg Festival is at the County Fair Building in Golden Gate Park, at 9th Avenue and Lincoln Way.  Doors open at 10 AM, talks begin at 10:30 AM and go until 5:15 PM . As luck would have it, Miyoko, Chef AJ, and I are all presenting on Saturday at 1:30 . ARGHH! I wanted to hear both Miyoko and Chef AJ . Oh well!
I do hope to see you there on Saturday . And whichever day or days you come, I know you will enjoy the festival.


Win Up to $1000 for going VEG
Everyone is a winner when they stop eating animals.  And three lucky people can win cash as well as good karma for switching to a vegetarian or vegan diet . October is Vegetarian Awareness Month, and the American Vegetarian Society is offering a great incentive for meat eaters . Anyone pledging to go vegetarian or vegan for one day will be entered to win $250 . People who pledge to go veg for a week might win $500 . And if someone who is not yet a vegetarian pledges to go veg for a month, that lucky person will be automatically entered to win $1000 . For more information go to http://worldvegetarianday.org/pledge-vegwin/  Please share this with all your not-yet-veggie friends, and please post it on facebook, too.


The Myth of "Humanely Raised" Animals 
San Anselmo has a new restaurant touting grass-fed, humanely raised animals, "finished on sweet grasses and never fed antibiotics or growth hormones." It's called Farm Burger and it's in Red Hill Shopping Center . This kind of marketing infuriates me . The myth of humane animal agriculture is flourishing, and the businesses know that vegans will not be pleased . This restaurant tries to mitigate their offensive concept with a vegan burger on the menu among the five featured cow and chicken burgers and many cheese options.   On the same subject, Peta (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) recently sued Whole Foods over its deceptive claims of humane treatment of animals (http://kron4.com/2015/09/22/peta-sues-whole-foods-alleges-deception-in-animal-welfare-claims/).

Hope Bohanec's book The Ultimate Betrayal is about this particular kind of animal exploitation and spin in which we are told that the animals lead good lives until the day they die . Carol J . Adams wrote a wonderful piece about this myth on her blog recently . I encourage you to read the book and this blog piece and to tell people that a vegan diet is the best way to be kind to animals.   http://caroljadams.com/carol-adams-blog/the-inherently-bad-logic-of-the-only-one-bad-day-claim  

Lastly, you may have seen the news in September that McDonald's is switching to cage-free eggs . Don't celebrate yet . If you can stomach the images, you ought to watch this very powerful, graphic, short video called The Humane Hoax shown on the United Poultry Concerns web site: http://www.upc-online.org/


Alternative Outfitters in Marin
The vegan online store Alternative Outfitters . (www.alternativeoutfitters.com) has a small shop within the Stellar Spa space in Corte Madera (26 Tamalpais Drive) . Thanks to Jeanne for telling me about this brick and mortar sampling from a popular on line retail outlet .


Just Mayo and the FDA
Last month I reported that the Food and Drug Administration was telling Hampton Creek Foods, the makers of Just Mayo, that they could not call their product Mayo because it was not made with eggs . Since then, it was discovered that the American Egg Board was behind this effort, concerned about egg profits falling . The egg board collaborated with the FDA to bring down the Just Mayo brand . Thanks to the whole story being exposed, Just Mayo is still on the shelves for now . Here is one of the articles about this manipulative and illegal behavior that targeted a vegan mayo company because it threatened the profits of the egg industry.  http://www.foodworldnews.com/articles/36197/20150907/us-egg-industry-conspired-to-bring-down-vegan-mayo-start-up.htm


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