It was a compassionate act in more ways than one—the free food benefited both humans and their four-legged friends on September 18. Compassionate Action for Animals kicked off a busy fall schedule of events by hosting its fifth annual Vegan Food Giveaway on the West Bank Plaza. CAA volunteers handed out Alternative Baking Company cookies, Tofurky sandwiches, Tofutti ice cream, chips with nacho cheese and salsa, dark chocolate, and many other vegan items. It wasn’t the healthiest food, Campaign Coordinator Gil Schwartz admits, but it helped to break the stereotype that vegans subsist
on salads and vegetables.

Omnivores, vegetarians, and vegans alike enjoyed the samples. Volunteers gave out enough food to make a complete, though imbalanced, lunch. Free was the key word of the day. “The people most interested in this lifestyle can’t afford it,” graduate student Aaron Rupar says. Rupar rarely eats meat and says he was glad CAA was making people more aware of what they consume. He describes the food as excellent and even better because it was free.

Many at the food giveaway list cost as a negative factor of vegetarian and vegan lifestyles. While mock meats, cheeses and other substitutes can be pricey, items like beans, lentils, and grains are inexpensive—even cheaper if bought in bulk. For those specialty items like Ricemallow Crème (an alternative to marshmallows which are made with gelatin, an animal product), CAA handed out coupons.

The food giveaway also gave people an opportunity to sign a “Pledge to be Veg” for the week of September 30 to October 6. Many, including Rupar, signed up. Signees will receive a care package with recipes, snacks, and coupons as well as a discount card with deals at many local restaurants.

The week, labeled Veg Week, includes daily events encouraging vegetarian and vegan lifestyles, all featuring free food. It begins Tuesday night with a presentation by Jim Mason, author of The Ethics of What We Eat, on the origins of the American meal. Wednesday, Oct. 1 features a vegetarian cooking
class and nutrition tips with a registered dietician.

Thursday’s highlight is a vegan potluck. “The Emotional World of Farm Animals” documentary will be screened on Friday.Activities continue over the weekend with dinner at the Evergreen Chinese Restaurant on Saturday and a tour of a sanctuary
for rescued chickens on Sunday. The event wraps up atthe Red Sea Bar and Restaurant on Monday. Details on times and locations are available at www.vegweek.com.

The group behind it all, CAA, celebrates its 10th anniversary as a Twin Cities non-profit organization this year. CAA, commonly thought to be only a University of Minnesota student group, began in 1988. In 2003 the U of M chapter started and has been an active presence on campus ever since. According to its website, www.exploreveg.org, CAA works to create “respect and justice for animals in our world.” If interested in helping out, CAA meets every Monday at 4 p.m. in room 302 of Coffman Union.

According to Schwartz, CAA’s most effective outreach method is leafleting. CAA volunteers focus mostly on college campuses, concerts, and festivals—places where youth congregate. Minneapolis is an interesting place for animal activism with its inherent juxtaposition: it’s a progressive city located in an animal agricultural state. Still, CAA volunteers are usually received with the “Minnesota nice” attitude.

Another form of community outreach occurs in CAA’s Restaurant Outreach Program. Fear of being unable to eat out prevents many from trying veganism or vegetarianism, somembers of CAA meet with local restaurant managers who want to expand their vegetarian and vegan options. CAA brings food samples for the restaurant managers to experience. The restaurants are usually independently owned as chains have less flexibility with their menus.

For those trying to measure the veg-friendly status of dining establishments, CAA provides an internet restaurant database. VegGuide (www.vegguide.org) labels itself as a “community-maintained, world-wide guide to vegetarian and vegan restaurants, grocers, and more.” The guide, started in 2002, facilitates vegetarians and vegans in their search for positive dining out experiences. Schwartz emphasizes the community maintenance as unique feature that differentiates VegGuide from other restaurant review sites. Anyone is able to add, review, or rate restaurants.

Currently CAA is also working on a documentary on animal activism in partnership with Vegan Outreach, an organization dedicated to compassionate living. The short video describes why leafleting is a particularly effective form of activism: according to Schwartz, the information about what goes on behind the doors of factory farms has led many to convert to vegetarianism and veganism.

Amy Blake, a University alumnus, is a classic example. Blake first encountered CAA at Inver Hills Community College when a volunteer handed her a leaflet. Blake, who grew up in a suburb of the Twin Cities and had never thought about where her food came from, immediately became sickened by the connection between her diet and factory farms. Blake became a vegetarian and shortly after committed to veganism.

The first four months of her new lifestyle were difficult, Blake admitted, but getting active with CAA changed everything. Vegetarians and vegans in the group helped her access information resources and she was able to participate in potlucks that exposed her to different types of food. She feels healthier too—instead of processed food she finds herself eating more fruits and vegetables and choosing healthy sources of protein and B vitamins. “If I hadn’t come across a group like that,” Blake says of CAA, “I’d be in a very different place in my life.”

For those who want to try a vegetarian or vegan diet but aren’t sure of what to eat, CAA is ready to help. Concerned or curious students and community members can attend the cooking class to learn from the registered dietician, or access the information from the Vegetarian Starter Kit offered on CAA’s website and at their events. The kit addresses the health and environmental issues, and further information is readily available in research studies, books, and online. All point to a positive health opportunity: a conscientious vegetarian or vegan lifestyle can lower rates of heart disease, diabetes, and cancer, as well as many other health disorders.

While cognizant of the environmental and physical benefits of animal-free lifestyles, CAA chooses to focus on promoting animal activism. The group doesn’t claim to be environmental or nutritional experts, though it provides access to information from those that are. “I think the issues are really
connected and when people do become vegetarian or vegan it allows them to think more critically about the impact we’re having in other areas,” syas Schwartz.

When people become aware of one kind of suffering—in this case, animal cruelty—it increases their awareness of others. Environmental degradation destroys habitats, which encourages animal lovers to extend their passion toward eco-friendly lifestyles. Eco-friendly lifestyles can include reducing animal product consumption to lower the energy intake and environmental destruction of raising livestock—destruction from greenhouse gas emissions, water usage and pollution, land degradation, and other downfalls.

Blake, the omnivore turned animal activist, agrees. Working with CAA changed more than her diet, she says. When she first started eating vegetarian, it was the first step toward conservation biology, her major at the U. After joining CAA and noticing that many members rode bikes, Blake soon did as well. She rode it everywhere, conscious of the environmentally friendly benefits of biking over driving.

Blake also found that beyond reducing her ecological footprint through her diet and transportation choices, she began cooking more and eating a wider array of foods. She was active with CAA throughout college and remains in contact. She’s grateful that Minneapolis is a city with many resources like CAA to support vegetarians and vegans.

To those who desire to become vegan or vegetarian, Blake has a few pieces of advice: be willing to try new food, don’t be turned off by new tastes and textures, and find support. Support can come from a group like CAA, one person, or even a blog. “Don’t be turned off by the bad vibes people can give you,” Blake says. If it’s a family member who disapproves, as many well-meaning but omnivorous Americans do, she says, “Be strong—eventually they’ll love you anyway.”

One way to convince friends and family that a vegetarian or vegan diet provides many delicious opportunities is to share with them the food from the Vegan Food Giveaway. The ice cream, chips and dip, chocolate, and baked goods received positive reviews, though many said the sandwiches with fake meat and cheese were less appealing. Another option is to invite friends to the vegan potlucks that CAA sponsors—they’ll be filled with good food and amazement at the plethora of choices they just experienced.

While there, it might be best to leave the Tofurky for another time and pass around the dessert. While ice cream and chocolate may not be the healthiest of choices, they prove what CAA hoped to show at the giveaway: animals don’t have to suffer for human pleasure.

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