By Katia Rodriguez, VO Mexico Campaigns and Spanish Media Coordinator

On Saturday, June 18, a diversity march to support the LGBTTI community—that is, the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transsexual, Transgender, and Intersexual community—took place at the Macroplaza, the most iconic plaza in Monterrey, Mexico.

Various groups were invited to this event, including Vegan Outreach, and we couldn’t have been more excited since we personally support the LGBTTI community.

This was the first time that the LGBTTI community and the animal rights movement united for the event in Monterrey.

We believe that the fight for LGBTTI rights and the fight for animal rights are strongly connected. Most people inside the LGBTTI community understand firsthand what it’s like to be constantly oppressed and mistreated, and this is something that happens to animals on factory farms every single day. Injustice is injustice—it doesn’t matter where it occurs. It shouldn’t be tolerated or normalized.

Volunteers Carlos Contreras and Ángel Ramirez joined Vegan Outreach’s Mexico Outreach Coordinator, Emmanuel Marquez, and me during the event. We were not surprised that we met over a half-dozen people that told us they were already vegetarians!

Event attendee, José Enrique, was overly excited to see that we were promoting veganism at the event. He told me he was interested in pursing a vegan lifestyle, but that he needed some support. I told him about Vegan Outreach’s Spanish Vegan Mentor Program and the Spanish version of the VO website. He immediately signed up to receive more information.

We handed out a total of 1,700 leaflets and had several people visit our table. This was definitely a great experience with a very receptive crowd! We hope to do outreach again at this event next year!

By Katia Rodriguez, Mexico Campaigns and Spanish Media Coordinator

What a great week!

Last month, when we were tabling at an event, we met a vegetarian teacher who expressed her interest on VO’s work. She invited us to the Universidad de Monterrey (UDEM) high school campuses and an affiliated high school to participate during Earth Week events. We were able to set up a table, leaflet around campus, and give presentations during UDEM’s Earth Week, where we shared with the students how we can help the planet with our food choices since factory farming is destroying our planet.

The students had three different presentations they could choose and our presentations were the first to be filled on every campus!

Below are some pictures of the presentations.

We set up a table where both students and teachers stopped by asking for advice on how to modify their eating habits, where to find vegan products, and how to get involved with VO. Whenever the table wasn’t busy, I walked around and distributed leaflets.

On two different occasions, volunteer Ana joined me and I learned something new that motivated me even more during the week: she went vegan more than 2 years ago after receiving VO’s ¿Por qué vegetariano? leaflet and now she is volunteering for VO! It was amazing to see the power of leafleting!

We gave a total of eight presentations where we reached more than 400 students! I wasn’t sure what to expect, since it was our first time visiting this institution. I couldn’t believe how receptive, positive, interactive, and interested students were while I was speaking.

During this time, some students were taking notes, visiting our website, and taking pictures of the presentation. Every single student received a leaflet and I saw most of them reading it from start to finish. I was happy to have three vegans and two vegetarians in the audience. At least three students reached out to me at every campus after the presentations to tell me they want to go vegetarian or vegan and would love to receive more information.

David Carter was a highlight during the conference—I use him as an example when mentioning that vegans can be healthy and that there are successful vegan athletes. Some students googled David and they were showing his picture around the room and they couldn’t believe he was vegan! They loved the fact that he is an NFL player that helps animals.

It was an incredible week with lots of positive responses and great news for animals. I feel very motivated and I can’t wait to go back!