"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!