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Interview with the CAA Duluth Chapter founder
This past year saw the addition of a chapter in the Duluth area! Prior to the pandemic, there was a large vegan recipe group that met in the Duluth area. They had a plant-based food and cooking discussion. Sheri Olson, was interested in reviving something similar but with a more specific focus of partnering with CAA. She had recently moved from the Twin Cities where she had been a CAA volunteer. She reached out to CAA Executive Director Laura Matanah and got support for starting a new chapter.
Read below for Sheri’s responses to some questions we sent her. Learn more about this exciting new chapter which is helping to serve the needs of the veg curious in the North Shore area:
Interview with Sheri Olson, CAA Duluth Chapter
History and Vision of the St. Cloud CAA Chapter
A guest blog by Michael Willemsen, CAA Chapter coordinator
The St. Cloud area has had a long history of environmental and animal rights advocacy. I met Zach Ewald many years ago at St. Cloud State University through a student group called Advocates for Animals and the Environment. We received guidance and materials from non-profit groups such as Compassionate Action for Animals and Vegan Outreach. Shannon Kimball came up to St. Cloud and gave some unforgettable presentations to both SCSU and SCTCC students through the Bridges of Respect program. We happily volunteered to help! Fast forward to 2014 when Zach started Food Not Bombs in St. Cloud and we formed the unofficial Central Minnesota Vegan Association (CMVA). We hosted film showings, did leafleting outreach, and participated in some tabling events. My personal favorite was when our group had a free food giveaway at St. Cloud Pride in the Park.
In the Spring of 2021, I approached Zach with an idea of getting more involved for animal rights in our local community. The CMVA group had long since disbanded. We communicated online and reached out to Laura Matanah (CAA’s Executive Director). She was supportive of our idea to start a local chapter and provided us with logistical support. After meeting with Zach and others for some vegan grilling at a local park, our St. Cloud Chapter was officially recognized in June of 2021.
International and National Commemorative Days/Months related to the work of Compassionate Action for Animals
Vegan/Vegetarian Diet-Related
Veganuary—January
International Vegan Cuisine Month—February
Plant Power Day—March 7
National Eat your Vegetables Day–June 17
Independence from Meat Day –July 4
World Plant Milk Day—August 22
Hug a Vegetarian Day —September 23
Meet Cornelius and Dennis—Herbivorous Acres residents
a guest blog by Herbivorous Acres, January 2023
National Bird Day is January 5th, and to celebrate this, we wanted to highlight some of our feathered friends. Roosters are highly exploited in the animal agriculture industry and we are proud to provide sanctuary to three roosters on the farm. Herbivorous Acres has two roosters under our “wing”, and the property owners of our sanctuary also have a rooster named Tony that we help care for. Dennis (Brahma Cross breed) is around 6 years old and is a handsome gentleman. Dennis rules the roost and has three ladies that he cares for. He dotes on his ladies constantly and is the best boyfriend to Nooch, Tempeh, and Seitan (our three hens).
Cornelius is a stunning and quirky 5 year old Welsummer rooster and lives with our duck family. Cornelius needs to be housed separately from other chickens due to some aggression issues. It keeps other chickens safe, although he still has some strong opinions about people from time to time. He doesn’t do very well when he has hens around and is much more calibrated with his duck friends. He has some “funky feet” that make him extra special. This deformity has been with him since birth and it causes some health issues from time to time.
Keto | Vegan Recipe Club | January 2023
The Vegan Recipe Club for January will meet on January 17 from 6:30 to 7:30 pm on zoom. The cookbook selection for January is The Essential Vegan Keto Cookbook.
The Essential Vegan Keto Cookbook offers readers delicious, inventive recipes that focus on proteins and fats while minimizing carbohydrates.
If you are curious about vegan cooking, this club is for you! Each month participants make three recipes from popular cookbooks then share their reflections with the group. Novice to expert cooks are welcome, as are interested non-cooks. Registration not required.
You may download the recipes using the link below or pick them up at East Lake Library, 2727 E. Lake Street, Minneapolis, MN 55406. Printed recipe packets are available at the library’s Safe Pick-Up Station. Simply check in with the greeter and ask for the Vegan Recipe Club packet. If you would like contactless pick-up, please call the library during open hours and request curbside service.
In the recipe club this month we will discuss these recipes:
The Essential Vegan Keto Cookbook — 2018 — by the Editors of Rodale Books
- Creamy Tomato-Basil Soup – p39
- Veggie Sushi with Yum-Yum Sauce – p56 & Yum-Yum Sauce – p58
- Carne Asada Marinated Mushroom Tacos with Avocado Salsa – p70 & Avocado Salsa – p71
optional:
- Jackfruit Pulled Pork and Rice Bowl – p78
- Buffalo-Roasted Radishes -p126
Other recipes of interest from the cookbook but not included in this packet: Everything Bagels and Tofu Scramble over Grilled Eggplant and Avocado.
Download January Recipes here.
Facilitated by Henry Patterson of Compassionate Action for Animals.
Abbey Feola steps up to new role as CAA Program Manager
December 23, 2022
Thanks to generous donations by foundations and individual supporters we have recently been able to hire someone to support and expand our growth! Abbey Feola will be our new full-time Program Manager.
You may recall that Abbey was working for us 10 hours a week as a program assistant. She has been doing an outstanding job supporting other staff. The needs of our growth require more hours and an enhanced focus. We have created a new position that will organize and coordinate many of our initiatives this year.
Abbey (she/her) joined CAA as Program Assistant in February of 2022 after volunteering at several CAA events and loving the open, welcoming atmosphere she found there. As Program Assistant, she supported participants taking the Explore Veg Challenge and assisted with a variety of other CAA programming.
Free Special Virtual Documentary Night in January
We are invited to a free Special Virtual Documentary Night in January. This event is in collaboration with APEX Advocacy, the Factory Farming Awareness Coalition, and the Afro Vegan Society.
The event, in honor of Veganuary, will be on Sunday, January 22nd from 6 pm to 8 pm Central Time. You don’t have to stay the entire time. It is very flexible so people can come late or leave early if needed.
The meeting is to talk about the documentary, The End of Medicine. This documentary explores the correlation between the treatment of animals and emerging health threats. You can watch it for free HERE.
Meet Lydia Green – Newest CAA Board Member
CAA welcomes our newest board member Lydia Green, who comes to CAA with experience from several other animal advocacy organizations. She has served in Executive Assistant positions and is excited for her first opportunity to serve as a Board Member. Her experience with other animal advocacy groups will be valuable to the board.
Back in 2018, Lydia began working with CAA at Twin Cities VegFest as a sponsorship coordinator. She has also been a food demo coordinator and, most recently, helped at the CAA booth during the Pride Festival. There she helped spread awareness of the suffering of farmed animals.
In addition to her work with CAA, she has volunteered with Mercy for Animals (community outreach and event planning), Agriculture Fairness Alliance (grant-writing), Animal Rights Coalition (protests and outreach events), and Farmaste Animal Sanctuary (Animal Care Provider). As a result, she sees the value of collaborative work on behalf of animals. In addition, she brings some fresh ideas for community outreach and education.
Lydia shared why she wants to join our board: “I believe in the mission of CAA and want to work towards moving people to a vegan/plant-based lifestyle to improve the lives of farmed animals and our planet.” She is always looking for more ways to be involved in animal advocacy. Her personal goal is to have her own micro-sanctuary for rescued goats.
Lydia answered a few questions to help us get to know her and what she brings to CAA:
What do you like about CAA? What would you like to see CAA change or improve upon?
“I like that CAA is dedicated to helping people go vegan and improving the lives of farmed animals. I would like to see CAA more involved with community outreach to reach a larger demographic, especially with youths. For example, I would love to see a program where children/young adults are educated about a plant-based lifestyle and take field trips to farm sanctuaries to build a personal relationships with farmed animals. I would also love more collaboration between other animal advocacy groups in the Twin Cities.”
In your opinion, how should the animal advocacy movement go about achieving its goals?
“I think there has to be a good balance between education and resources. The public has to be educated about the impact of their actions but also be provided resources to change their habits and beliefs. In addition, many animal advocacy groups work in silos, which is very unfortunate because we are up against corporations and individuals with a vested interest in maintaining the status quo. It will take a lot of teamwork and dedication to dismantle the current systems. Animal advocacy groups should work more collaboratively to achieve set goals and create a more impactful and effective movement.“
What experience do you have with fundraising? As a CAA Board Member, how would you help CAA raise money?
“I think it would be a good idea to try to plan CAA fundraising events and other activities with some local businesses that are also passionate about animal advocacy. I would happily help and/or manage fundraising events or activities for CAA.”
Meet Monti and Zelda—Chicken Run Rescue residents and best buds
A guest blog from Chicken Run Rescue
People are often surprised to learn that chickens have rich emotional lives and enduring relationships and even more amazed that they can still have those needs satisfied despite physical limitations. CRR residents and caregivers live under the same roof and allow for those intimate insights.
Chickens are flock animals and psychologically evolved to live with others for their world to make sense. When a bond develops between birds with physical challenges, there is no thrill and satisfaction like seeing them nurture each other.
Food Safety is also important for plant-based meals!
All your life you have probably heard tips to keep your food safe—especially when cooking for others. Maybe you thought that the need for that all went out the window for plant-based meals. Not true! Vegan meals do avoid many of the dangers that can come through preparing meat and dairy products. However, there are still some steps you need to take to ensure it is safe to eat vegan food as well.
We have a lot of special potlucks and other opportunities to share meals. So it becomes especially important to make sure we are up-to-speed on keeping food safe.
When looking around for food safety manuals, we realized there weren’t any specific to plant-based food safety. Now there is!
Volunteer Yosan Worota, along with staff members Emily Nyberg and Stef Amundsen worked on adapting the USDA’s food safety handbook to make it more useful and relevant to you. Now it is ready. Perfect information for potlucks!
For more information and a link to the food safety guide: exploreveg.org/foodsafety