Iowa’s legislative session has just ended, and with it, the Iowa “Ag Gag” bill’s chances of passing this year. With the failure of this bill, on the heels of the failure of New York’s similar bill last Friday, every one of the four legislative attempts made to silence the documentation of the brutal realities of factory farms have failed this year.
This Fall, the DC VegFest is Back—and it’s Bigger than Ever!
The DC VegFest is a free outdoor festival highlighting the many benefits of leaving animals off our plates and showing just how easy it is to find delicious vegetarian cuisine in and around the nation’s capital. Hosted on George Washington University’s campus, this year’s event is scheduled on Sat., Sept. 24. Be sure to mark your calendar!
A Week of Feed-Ins: COK Serves 1,500 Vegan Food Samples to Los Angelenos
COK kicked off the month of June by dishing out over 500 vegan pizza samples from Cruzer Pizza along with hundreds of Compassionate Choices and Easy Vegan Recipes to West Adams Preparatory High School students at its International Issues Advocacy Fair. We offered a variety of familiar flavors — BBQ chicken, Philly Cheese Steak, Hawaiian, Meat, and Margherita — and each one was a hit! Students were amazed by the taste and empowered to learn about the benefits of choosing plant-based foods. Plus, they were excited that Cruzer Pizza is only minutes away from school.
New York Ag Gag Bill is Dead
The New York legislative session ends today, rendering the state’s “Ag Gag” bill (S 5172) officially dead for the year. Had this bill passed, it would have made it illegal to conduct undercover exposés of factory farms in the state of New York.
Showing Off Our Veggie Pride in Austin, LA, DC, and Baltimore!
Throughout the month of June, teams of COK volunteers — from Los Angeles to Baltimore to Austin to Washington, DC — helped spread a message of compassion at several Pride celebrations.
Kicking things off on Sat., June 6, COK’s VegAustin Coordinator, Daniela Nunez, tabled at Queerbomb, a gay pride rally in Austin, TX, and distributed hundreds of copies of pro-veg literature, including the Summer 2011 edition of our Vegetarian Guide to Austin.
The following weekend, we set up educational booths at festivals on both the East and West coasts — for Los Angeles Pride and Capital Pride in Washington, DC.
COK Interns Dish up Compassion at Area Grocery Stores!
What better way to open up the hearts and minds of others than giving away delicious vegan food? That’s exactly how two of our outreach interns in DC, Andrea Roccanti and Shebani Rao, are spending their summer! With the support of VegFund, Andrea and Shebani hosted an “Ask-A-Vegan” table outside of a busy Giant grocery store in DC.
Nation’s Restaurant News Covers Growing Popularity of Meat-Free Dining
This week’s issue of Nation’s Restaurant News, considered one of the leading foodservice industry trade publications, features a ground-breaking cover story—“Meatless Menus”—highlighting the increasing popularity and growing success of vegetarian and veg-friendly eateries across the U.S.
As the author Lisa Jennings explains, while vegetarians and vegans may represent a relatively small percentage of the
overall American population, a growing number of restaurants and food service providers are “convinced there is a broad audience ready to embrace plant-based dining.”
Vegan Cupcakes: A Sweet Success
It seems as if new bakeries catering the current cupcake frenzy are popping up everywhere. And it’s hard not to notice that a growing number of them are dishing out delicious vegan versions of these mini sweet treats.
Ohio Egg Factory Farmers’ Plans to Build or Expand Not Going Over Easy
Earlier this month, Ohio’s Department of Agriculture resolutely rejected plans submitted by Hi-Q Egg Products to build what would have been the state’s largest battery cage egg factory farm. With 27 million hens already crammed inside battery cages, Ohio is the second largest egg-producing state in the U.S.