February 12, 202

Meet Barney, a remarkable resident of Herbivorous Acres sanctuary. This 5-year-old Saanen goat captivates the hearts of visitors with his presence and inspiring story of survival. He was rescued alongside his mother, Bunny, in 2019 from a dairy farm in Wisconsin.

Barney’s story began when he was just a few months old. He was deemed unprofitable in the dairy industry due to his gender. It’s a heartbreaking reality, but male goats are typically sold for meat since they do not produce milk. Fortunately, the farmer agreed to surrender Barney as well as his mother. This act of compassion not only saved Barney’s life but also ensured that he could remain by his mother’s side, providing them both with a chance at a new life filled with love and care.

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‘Prop 12’ restrictions will likely alter the way hogs are raised in Minnesota.

A guest blog by Julie Knopp, CAA Board Member, as originally appeared on MINNPOST

February 6, 2024

In Minnesota, hogs outnumber humans. With roughly 15 million pigs sold each year, Minnesota is the second largest pork producing state in the nation. 

As of Jan. 1, new animal welfare legislation known as Proposition 12 took full effect in California, impacting thousands of Minnesota hog farmers. Approved by California voters in 2018 and upheld by the Supreme Court in 2023, Prop 12 establishes minimum space allowances for egg-laying hens, breeding pigs and calves raised for veal. The law also prohibits the sale of meat and eggs from producers that do not comply with these requirements.

As some Minnesota hog farmers adapt to Prop 12, we have an opportunity to reconsider conventional agricultural practices and raise the ethical standard for animal farming in our state.

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February 5, 2024

Last year, in pursuit of continuous improvement, we sought input from newsletter readers on their experience. We conducted a pre-survey and made some changes based on it. We then did a follow-up survey to see if there were shifts that might be due to changes we made. The input will be valuable as we look to further enhance the newsletter to better reflect your interests. We are grateful to everyone who shared their thoughts, as the data yielded interesting and useful results. Before we dive into the findings, we’d like to congratulate the winner of our prize for participating in the survey. Kelso Anderson won the $50 gift card to The Herbivorous Butcher!

Results of pre/post comparisons

Increasing Newsletter Impact:

One of our primary objectives was to assess the helpfulness of our newsletter in raising awareness in different areas. These areas included: animal sentience, health impacts of a vegan diet, environmental impacts of a vegan diet, the treatment of animals in the food industry, and the intersectionality of human and nonhuman rights. Survey results revealed significant improvements in perceived helpfulness in all four areas. This seems to indicate that our content resonated with readers and effectively raised awareness.

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February 5, 2024

Over 60 people have signed up to send more than 5,000 postcards from their home as part of our Handwrite Hope for Animals campaign. And 13 people showed up at Trio Plant-Based for our postcard writing party to write another 1,250!!  Another 500 were written at the Chili Cook-Off.

In this year’s Handwrite Hope For Animals campaign, postcards encourage people to try vegan food and to support pro-animal legislation. Each postcard includes a coupon to a local vegan restaurant, Trio Plant-Based, and the opportunity to sign a petition banning intensive animal confinement in Minnesota. 

The petition that it links to calls for these ideas:

• Mother pigs should not be put in crates/cages that prevent them from getting up while feeding their children.
• Chickens should not be forced to live in small battery cages where they are stuffed in with other chickens and cannot spread their wings.
• Baby calves should not be forced to live in tiny veal crates that they can only exit via a short rope staked to the ground.

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January 29. 2024

Some of the Cities’ top vegan chefs will be competing in the 13th Annual Vegan Chili Cook-Off. Join us on February 3 to sample their tasty chilis and rate them to help crown the winner. The competition will be from 6 to 8:30 pm at the Great Hall in Coffman Memorial Union at the University of Minnesota.

Last year’s champion, The Howe Daily Kitchen and Bar, will defend their title against four new competitors. La Cocina de Ana,  Mill Valley Kitchen, and Trio Plant-Based may be familiar to you from the Twin Cities Vegan Chef Challenge. Lulu Ethio Vegan Cuisine is a fresh addition to the local culinary scene. Get to know them while refamiliarising yourself with the tasty talents of our other competitors. May the best chili win!

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January 29, 2024

Nicola’s activities with Compassionate Action for Animals (CAA) are many and varied. She moved back to the Twin Cities after 12 years in Michigan and, since then, has participated in many CAA events. First, she attended the July 4th Potluck and loved it so much that she decided to become more active with CAA. She also enjoyed the Twin Cities Vegan Bike Crawl, the Vegan Chef Challenge, Twin Cities VegFest, and the ThanksLiving Potluck.

When planning her move here, Nicola immediately searched for a veg fest. She found our Twin Cities VegFest and got excited to connect with CAA. Nicola credits CAA for ensuring the Twin Cities is a thriving vegan hub and appreciates its other fun community and volunteer events.

In her first volunteer role with CAA, she helped organize and serve a lunch at Simpson Housing Services. The event welcomed 25 people experiencing homelessness with a tasty plant-based meal. “It was so rewarding to see shelter guests enjoying our food!” said Nicola.

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January 22, 2024

Are you looking to meet new friends and make a difference for animals and people? CAA has several cool options coming up. With so many opportunities, you can choose the ones that best suit your interests and availability. The best part? Every effort you make helps create a better world for farmed animals and humans alike!

Here are some upcoming events with exciting volunteer opportunities:

Handwrite Hope for Animals—January and February

Join us in writing postcards from the comfort of your own home. These postcards encourage people to sign a petition for cage-free legislation in Minnesota. Write as many cards as you want, whenever it suits your schedule.

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January 22, 2024

We are delighted to share the heartwarming story of Pickles, a spirited 10-month-old Yorkshire Cross pig. He has recently found solace and companionship at Farmaste Animal Sanctuary.

Pickles came to Farmaste from a family who raised him for 4-H competitions for the first 10 months of his life. With his playful and friendly personality, he is adjusting well to sanctuary life. Integrating into a new herd, especially navigating the intricate pig hierarchy, can be challenging. Still, Pickles is determined to befriend Violet, another resident at Farmaste. He even sneaks into the house where Violet sleeps and quietly hangs out in there hoping she won’t be upset that he has disturbed her.

Pickles is a bundle of energy, finding joy in playing with his human friends and in simple delights like straw. An endearing quirk of his is cleaning rocks in his mouth. Farmaste is diligently working with him to drop the rocks when offered food, preventing any potential tooth damage.

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