Have you come to Compassionate Action for Animals' annual banquet in April before? Please check out the blog by our caterer.

Ciree Linsemann catered our banquet in 2011 and 2010. Her exquisite meals were enjoyed at our annual fundraiser, and now you can enjoy her creativity by making her vegan recipes at home. Check out her blog, which has her excellent recipes! She has recipes for Masala Meetballs and Zesty Sour Creem, vegan dog biscuits, Texas Sapporo Mole Flood Dumplings, and more.

Help animals by giving to Compassionate Action for Animals on Give to the Max Day on November 16th! When you donate to CAA, we become eligible for $1,000 randomly-selected prizes.

When we contemplate the future, we see a world where factory farms no longer exist. Animals are treated with kindness, compassion, and respect, rather than as tools or machines. But we can't reach this future without your help.

At Compassionate Action for Animals, your donations support our efforts to reach out to the public and educate them about the horrors of modern factory farming. Your support lets us continue our leaflet distribution, video showings, and food giveaways, as well as our many other outreach, education, and community-building activities.

Thank you for your support!

Mercy for Animals' powerful documentary, Farm to Fridge, shows the realities of modern animal agriculture. We've created a new website to help spread the word. Thanks to a generous donation, we will be running ads over the next month to get more folks to the site. You can get us free advertising by 'liking' the video and having your friends watch it as well. Please like this video to spread the word and help animals. Thanks!

As we announced last week, we'll be holding our annual Vegan Thanksgiving Potluck on November 19th. This year, we have a new plan for the raffle: you can enter the raffle for free simply by bringing a card with your recipe! Attendees will be able to sign up to receive the recipes that they like via email at the event.

We'll have lots of fun prizes for the raffle, including Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero's new cookbook, Vegan Pie in the Sky! Isa is a favorite chef of ours, and we even had her speak here last year.

• What: Vegan Thanksgiving Potluck
• When: Saturday, November 19, 2 to 5 pm
• Where: Matthews Park Recreational Center, 2318 29th Ave. S Minneapolis, MN 55406

You can also connect with this event on Meetup and Facebook.

By Kelly Curtiss

In the aftermath of signing a pledge to spend a week eating vegan or vegetarian, most students are curious about what to do next. Yes, grocery shopping is a must, but then what?

Fortunately, CAA has thought of everything to help out a new vegan. Annually, Veg Week holds a cooking class for new vegans; this year's class managed to fill the room. The presentation was given by long-time CAA volunteer Rachel, who themed her class with a fitting autumn feel. The dishes made were a butternut squash bisque, walnut sage fettuccine, and a pear and ginger compote for dessert, perfect recipes for taking home to an extended non-vegan family on Thanksgiving.

Vegans and carnivores alike enjoyed this presentation, and everyone agreed, once they tried out a sample, that the dishes were delightful to the palette. The mood in the room was very informal, with attendees asking questions whenever they arose, and throwing observations and ideas back and forth about different dishes they had tried themselves.

When asked if she enjoyed new cookbooks, instructor Rachel mentioned during the class that her favorite place to find new recipes and substitution suggestions is online, by browsing other cooks' food blogs. This way real people will tell you what worked and what didn't, and in an open forum manner, vegans from all over the world can discuss and shape the best new tastes. Any new vegetarian or vegan can find it difficult to stay fresh and creative when busy with school, work, and other obligations, but the best resource is always other people. CAA has an open door for anyone looking for new recipes and suggestions on where to shop.

"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!

By Kelly Curtiss

On a typical Wednesday morning at the U of M, students are crossing the Washington Avenue bridge with their heads down, their eyes avoiding the sun, their headphones in their ears blocking out the noise around them. Once in awhile they look up to anticipate oncoming bicycle traffic, or greet a friend.

But on Wednesday, September 28th, a strange set of tables with a tent and a grill were occupying the space that normally sits empty in the landscape. That tent was Compassionate Action for Animals' Vegan Food Showcase to advocate for animal and the upcoming Veg Week. To many students' delight, it was offering free food.

The event was a smash hit. The table was constantly swamped with students trying out the food during the passing time between classes. Many students remembered Veg Week from last year and were very excited to take the Pledge to be Veg once again, promising to change their eating habits from October 1st through the 9th. They warmly remembered their favorite foods and restaurants that they enjoyed during that time. Some of the foods that students got to try were Silk soy milk and Coconut Bliss ice cream. The Gardein 7-Grain meat, which is made with grain, mimics real meat in both its taste and texture. The mock chicken crispy tenders and "beefless tips" were a big revelation for many students that veganism isn't just about salads. A surprising number of people the volunteers talked to were already vegetarians, and after the slightest coaxing, they pledged to take the inevitable plunge to be vegetarian or vegan for just one short week. During the lower traffic moments, passers-by were excited to hold an in-depth conversation with the volunteers. Once students had a little more information and asked some questions of a practicing vegetarian or a passionate vegan, they were much more likely to sign up.

The main selling point in convincing people to sign the pledge was to tell them about the support system the CAA offers for the week. The students who seemed wary about pledging initially warmed up to the idea once volunteers mentioned the available coupons, Vegetarian Starter Kit, and the supporting events held throughout Veg Week so that novices and experts alike can come together with questions and struggles. In total, 237 people pledged to join us in celebrating and participating in Veg Week!

CAA is proud to host Veg Week's exciting events, including a potluck on Saturday and a chicken sanctuary tour on Sunday. See you there!