Birthday Activism

By Jasmin

As Casey mentioned in his last post, birthdays can be a perfect time to get active for farm animals. It’s your day; you get to call the shots. That means, you can tell mom and dad that rather than that Wii Tetris game, you’d prefer if they gave you the gift of compassion; that is, to go vegan for a month (or whatever amount of days you decide). You could also ask your friends and family to donate money to your favorite organization (which of course is Farm Sanctuary, so donate here and thank you very much); or simply request a vegan birthday cake.

Tomorrow is my 30th birthday. In 1979, the year I was born, the USDA reported 4,044,336,000 chickens were killed for food in the United States. As of 2008, that number rose to 9,069,382,000 chickens. That’s an increase of 124%! Because of that completely mind-blowing number, I’m asking that on my 30th birthday, you do 30 things for farm animals. Leaflet for 30 minutes (I’ll send you the materials), or send a mass e-mail to 30 of your closest friends showing them the truth behind turkey production and how to have a compassionate Thanksgiving.

With birthday activism, the sky is the limit – so have your vegan cake and eat it too.  

Comments

[Melissa]

Slap us with some leaflets and Ill give you 60 minutes. 30 for your birthday and 30 to grow on. :)

[Niki]

Happy 30th! (I just had mine too - wish I had this idea for mine..)

I think it's a great way to take advantage of being the boss on your birthday!

[Jasmin Singer]

Thanks, Melissa and Niki. Melissa, send me your address at jsinger@farmsanctuary.org and I'll send you leaflets to your heart's delight. :)

[Calla]

Happy Birthday Jasmin!!

People never listen to my birthday requests! It falls right on Thanksgiving this year, and I still can't get the meal to be dead-animal-less. :( I will totally send out a mass e-mail though for you! I already tried to convince people to not eat turkey via a facebook note. Maybe email will be more effective?

[Jasmin Singer]

Hey Calla!

Different strokes for different folks. Some people react to books, some to video, some to brochures, some to songs, some to a tap on the shoulder. For T-Day and your birthday, you could definitely ask for a yummy vegan cake, and you could also provide some delicious vegan entrees. The best way to a burgeoning vegan's heart is through their stomach. Also, keep in mind that you might very well be reaching people more than you might think. My brother, a Kansas-living meat-eating guy, told me last year that at his carnivorous Thanksgiving, he thought of me as he ate his dead turkey. That, to me, is a planted seed. Since then, he's slowly but surely been trying many more vegan options. Sometimes people get there in their own time; that's what we can hope for.

Keep plugging... keep figuring out what modality will reach what family member...