Making Hay

Hey Austin: Get Your Mustache On!

by Jasmin

Please join our friends Causecast at this year’s SXSW festival as they bring together multiple social justice causes and movements in solidarity, and amplify our collective voice. On March 19, parade through the streets of Austin with Causecast as more than 100,000 people from across the country come together for one of the coolest music fests in existence.

But don’t forget your mustache! As a means to increase awareness, Causecast is asking that you take part in the “Mustache March” – sporting your favorite real or fake upper-lip fuzz – so that we can have fun, be goofy, and raise awareness, all at the same time!

This is an untraditional opportunity to speak up for farm animals, so in addition to your mustache, wear your favorite Farm Sanctuary or vegan tee. Oh, and stay away from a milk mustache…. A soy’stache is much tastier.

Send your parade pix to [email protected].

ACTivists Make This One Cool World!

by Jasmin

There's been a global trend lately, and I'm not only referring to warming. Farm Sanctuary's Advocacy Campaign Team has been inundated with requests from around the globe asking for literature and resources to assist their outreach efforts. Just yesterday, activist Samwel emailed me all the way from Kenya (the Kisii region), where he was busy distributing our How We Treat the Animals We Eat brochure to his ministry. Today, we corresponded with Bernard in Australia who had ordered Gene’s book, as well as some other outreach materials, to help spread the word Down Under. And in Capetown, South Africa, animal advocate Toni has successfully reached out to several establishments that once served foie gras. After learning about its egregiously cruel production, these businesses have removed it from their menus entirely.

In light of St. Patrick's Day approaching, why not March into “green” and consider drafting a green food resolution in your community, wherever you may reside? I'm currently working on one here in NYC alongside superstar groups like Just Food, and I'm here to tell you first-hand: It's as simple as finishing an entire cheeseless pizza all by yourself.

The steps are outlined here, and I'm here for you should you need a helping hand.

As issues of global warming become more and more on the forefront of people’s minds, this is the ideal time to bring a green food resolution to your community, so that we can continue to educate people about the unmistakable connections between farm animal production and environmental devastation.

Introducing a green food resolution is an excellent way to set the stage for future legislation by promoting discussion on the issue through raising public awareness. A resolution is usually easier to introduce than legislation, and although it isn't legally binding, it reflects the intent of the legislative body and the values of the community. How do you like them apples?!

Sometimes, when I feel like there's so much to do and there's not enough time to get it done, and there are so many creatures depending on us…and why doesn't everybody realize this!?...I remember that there are growing numbers of animal advocates who are fighting the good fight, scattered all around the planet like little light bulbs, and things seem a bit brighter. We all share this planet – or rather, the planet shares all of us – so let’s do our part in keeping it cool.

Turn Over a New Leaflet

by Jasmin

One of the best parts of my job is getting to meet the coolest, most devoted, communicative, talented, and grooviest activists on earth. Here are a few examples of what your fellow ACTivists have been working on throughout the past month:

California Lawyer, Martina Bernstein, saw a post that Campaign Intern David Benzaquen had posted to his Facebook page (Facebook, of course, being the best thing to happen to activists since the First Amendment) asking folks to write letters to several restaurants in New York urging them to take foie gras off their menu. Even though Martina was on the other side of the country, she wrote the letters. Maybe the fact that she wrote them from the Golden State, a state which has prospectively banned foie gras production and sale, effective 2012, will rub off elsewhere?

And speaking of warm, yummy climates, Bryan and Carla Wilson of Orlando took part in our Valentine’s Day No Foie Gras efforts, hosting a leafleting in front of a Kres Chophouse and Lounge.  Their efforts were also a part of Animal World USA's Florida Week for the Animals, and there were several other Farm Sanctuary volunteers spearheading similar efforts.

We’ll talk much more about effective leafleting tips in coming entries, but do keep this in mind: The first leaflet’s the hardest. (Feel free to sing that line to Cat Stevens' song, “The First Cut is the Deepest.”) I recommend practicing on your co-leafleter prior to bringing it to the public (or you can use your roommate, your mom, your cat…). After that initial leaflet, you will find a flow. It’s a numbers game, so keep your head high, and keep perspective. Even if you don’t realize it, you’re making a difference, and you’re planting seeds.