By Lori Stultz, Outreach Coordinator

Spring has arrived! And as happy as I am to welcome the new season, I also wonder if anybody else has taken notice of the date and, like me, asked yourself where the past few months have gone. Can it really be April already?

They say time flies when you’re having fun, right? I also think time flies when you’re crazy busy. Hopefully it is a balance of both for everyone who is reading this. I’d definitely say that is the balance I’ve been doing my best to maintain since the last blog I posted about my tour.

Last time I wrote, I was wrapping up the month I spent leafleting in Texas. Since then, I’ve been to Colorado (for a week-long break at home), Tennessee, and Kentucky, and now I’m in Oklahoma! Well, I really should say we are in Oklahoma. A few weeks ago, I picked up my intern, Holly Brown, and she has been accompanying me on the road. Another correction: she has not only been accompanying me, she has been helping me tremendously and providing a huge source of positive and fun energy.

I have to confess that I was a bit wary about having an intern with me for five weeks and essentially being with someone else 24/7. As an introvert and a bit of a control freak, I was worried about the lack of privacy and the degree of compromise it requires to live on the road with another person. Holly’s presence, however, has been anything but difficult. It has been so wonderful to have her along for the ride! She is a bundle of giggles and is a natural leafleter! The first school we leafleted together, Vanderbilt University (in Nashville, TN), she jumped right in, and together we distributed 1,017 leaflets. It has taken hardly any time for us to adjust to living and working together, and truly, I haven’t just acquired an intern—I’ve gained an invaluable friendship.

So, without further ado, let’s meet Holly!

How old are you, and where are you from?
21 and Damascus, Maryland.

What school are you attending, and what’s your academic year?
Georgia Southern University, senior, graduating Spring 2016.

Tell us a little about your personal story-what was your “call” to veganism?
Luckily, my sister was already vegan and my mom and dad were also wanting to change the way they ate. We began by watching a lot of documentaries such as Forks Over Knives, Cowspiracy, and Vegucated and reading books including Main Street Vegan and The China Study. After learning all the horrors of factory farming, I went vegetarian and then vegan a few months later. Having the support from my family and working together was extremely helpful and made it a lot more fun.

How did you hear about Vegan Outreach?
I first heard about Vegan Outreach just from looking at online vegan websites, blogs, and recipes. I came across their website and then had the chance to talk to some Vegan Outreach volunteers at the Atlanta VegFest. I learned a little more about the work they do and their intern program and decided to apply!

What has been your favorite part about living on the road thus far?
So far, I think that my favorite part has been during leafleting when students stop to talk because they want to learn more and express their interest in helping animals. I have also really enjoyed meeting volunteers and spending time with our hosts.

What are your plans for the future?
In the future I plan to earn my masters in occupational therapy and continue volunteering in the animal rights field.

See? Who wouldn’t love Holly? Okay, okay. I know a short questionnaire is a bit different than living and working with her, but still-take my word for it. You would love her just as much as I do!

We are going to wrap things up by showing off some of the delicious meals we’ve had together since being on the road. These pictures are a mix between meals we’ve had at vegan restaurants, meals Holly and I have made for our hosts, and meals that hosts have made for me and Holly. Get ready to feel hungry! By the time you’re done looking at these pictures, I guarantee you’ll be wanting something to eat.

The first six pictures were taken when we ate at Avo, a 100% vegan restaurant in Nashville. (Note that Holly and I did not consume all of these plates by ourselves! There was a total of five of us trying out the restaurant.)

We started out with their Kimchi Spring Rolls.

Next, we tried their Tree Nut Cheese Plate.

For the main course, the five of us shared lasagna with a Caesar salad on the side,

Falafel with Hummus and Cauliflower Rice,

Veggie Spiraled Pad Thai,

and finished the meal with Lime-Flavored Cheesecake.

To express our thanks to one Tennessee host for letting us occupy his guest room and couch, Holly and I made this scrumptious mango curry stir-fry with tofu served over white rice!

Lastly, here are a few of the meals our hosts in Frankfort, KY, served us. They are artists by day but professional-level cooks by night:

Thai Curry served over rice noodles, potatoes (sweet and white), tofu, and green peas,

Vegan Dumplings and Sweet Sauce served with Pineapple Fried Rice,

Macaroni and Cheese with peas (the best combo ever), served alongside Barbecue Tofu and steamed kale.

And this was a lunch our lovely hosts packed us for a post-leafleting meal: white rice and flavored black beans served with faux chicken, Tofutti cream cheese, and homemade pico de gallo.

Holly and I have four leafleting-packed weeks ahead of us! We look forward to sharing more about our travels in Oklahoma, Texas (again), New Mexico, Colorado, and Wyoming!

Keep your feet happy while sparing animals from suffering!

Get a pair of these limited edition Vegan Outreach socks and show your friends you “stand” for animals!

Socks are $16 per pair, plus shipping. Proceeds will benefit VO’s work to inspire, help, and retain new vegans.

These are hand-printed at a family-owned, US-based company, using fair labor practices. 85% polyester, 10% nylon, 5% lycra, all synthetic. Packaging made from recycled paper.

Only available until April 13.

By Vic Sjodin, Director of Outreach

For ten weeks this semester, Kimberly Moffatt and I represented Vegan Outreach on a nationwide leafleting and speaking tour of India. The tour generated a lot of excitement and made a significant impact.

While on tour, in each city Kimberly and I gave seminars on veganism, leafleting, and utilitarian advocacy for local animal activists of all stripes. Tour events also included leafleting multiple colleges and giving many speeches titled “The Unexamined Meal” to deeply engaged student audiences, whose attendance was often in the hundreds and sometimes even topped a thousand.

Our question and answer sessions often went long with many intelligent questions. After the talks, many students expressed that they would no longer be “non-veg” or drink bovine secretions.

Our ultimate goal was to use this tour to set up a permanent dedicated activist presence for farmed animals in India, which was accomplished with the hiring and training of Pooja Rathor as Vegan Outreach’s first India Outreach Coordinator.

We worked closely with the local group Federation of Indian Animal Protection Organisation‘s (FIAPO) Campaign Coordinator Shweta Sood and her extensive volunteer network. By the time our tour concluded–after only 10 weeks–we had reached over 133,000 people, mostly students, with the case for veganism.

The student interest was massive and hard to overstate with dozens coming back to talk and ask questions every day. Groups of 10-30 people regularly would form around us as we gave condensed, 10-minute speeches.

Readership rates in most places was sky high, and it didn’t take long for us to start meeting students later in the day who told us they were moved by the booklet and would never eat animal products again.

Many also asked for more booklets to show friends.

In nearly every city, activists who do direct animal rescue, such as Priyanka and Amit in Surat, decided to go vegan and many pledged to leaflet more. At the end of the tour, volunteer Tina let us know that she has been dairy-free for 10 weeks since hearing us give a seminar the first day of the tour in New Delhi.

We would like to extend our sincerest thanks to every person in the Vegan Outreach family of members for making this animal saving extravaganza possible. We would especially like to thank Dan Phillips, who had the acuity to see that this was a region in need of our knowledge and experience, where we could play a big role helping to pave change. We’d also like to thank FIAPO, Shweta, and the countless volunteers who joined us leafleting and shared their warmth, enthusiasm, and early mornings with us.

We would also like to thank VO board member Yvonne LeGrice, her husband David Hertel, and President Jack Norris for driving down to Los Angeles from Davis to welcome us home after our 22-hour return flight. What an amazing surprise–it was the perfect end to a great trip!

And lastly thank you to “Billy the Bull” in Varanasi who helped funnel foot traffic to Kimberly, helping us get the message out, and to the macaques in Jaipur for showing their support!

Here’s a 45-second clip of Kim leafleting in India:

And here’s a 4-minute interview with me:

Special thanks to: Verhaen from the New Delhi Nature Society for your above and beyond help in Delhi and scheduling many talks; our adopted mother in India, Delhi volunteer leader Madhu Roy; Varda of FIAPO for all of your help with booklet design and pulling the tour together; Arpan of FIAPO for your insights and letting us stay with your family; Prashant and Puneet for joining us on tour and for booking transport; Sonal and family in Lucknow for coming to our aid and breaking taboo to take us in and to ace volunteer Abhishek; Joe Gonzalez and Sauraub for your help in Varanasi; Rucha in Jaipur; Team RAKSHA; Erika And Claire Abrams; Ashutosh and team and Animal Aid Unlimited in Udaipur; Gautam in Ahmedabad; Ari Nessel for giving us connections and the idea to visit the inspiring Gandhi Ashram; Subru and Mercy For Animals for all of the shipments, providing ammo and joining us; the unbelievable Team PRAYAS and Darshan in Surat, Aneeha, Darshana, Team Pune and so many others in many other cities.

(click image to play video)

By Toni Okamoto

Join Michelle and I as we take you inside Hodo Soy Beanery and introduce you to the fascinating process of tofu-making! Hodo Soy creates fantastic artisan tofu out of their Oakland, CA factory, and they’re responsible for the tasty vegetarian option at all Chipotle locations called Sofritas! Click the image above to see how it’s made!