By Jack Norris, Registered Dietitian, VO Executive Director

The Position of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics: Vegetarian Diets has been released!

It states:

It is the position of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics that appropriately planned vegetarian, including vegan, diets are healthful, nutritionally adequate, and may provide health benefits in the prevention and treatment of certain diseases. These diets are appropriate for all stages of the life cycle, including pregnancy, lactation, infancy, childhood, adolescence, older adulthood, and for athletes. Plant-based diets are more environmentally sustainable than diets rich in animal products because they use fewer natural resources and are associated with much less environmental damage.

The paper contains a review of all the nutrients of concern for vegetarians and a summary of the research on the health and environmental benefits.

The Academy’s position paper is the most authoritative, scientific statement on vegetarian diets and I encourage all vegetarian advocates to read it. As of this writing, a free PDF was available.

Do you love the holidays or hate the holidays? Buy gifts well in advance, or wait ’til the last minute? Either way, we have a simple gift-buying solution for you—Vegan Outreach merchandise!

Whether you’re looking for a warm, durable hoodie with the VO logo on the front and back, a tank top or t-shirt to wear to the gym to defy the “vegans are weak” myth, a dog collar that lets people know that compassion extends beyond companion animals, or a PopSocket that multi-tasks as a phone kickstand and a handle—and is a great conversation starter about animals—we’ve got it all!

Visit our online store and find the perfect, fun gift for the loved humans and non-humans in your life!

By Lori Stultz, VO Rocky Mountain Outreach Coordinator

Stop what you’re doing. Now.

I mean it.

Put whatever you’re doing aside and join me in celebrating the Wanyama Box—a 100% vegan gift box to send to your non-vegan friends and family.

I’ve got your attention now, right?

The goal of Wanyama Box—Wanyama means animals in Swahili—is for vegans to order them for their non-vegan family and friends. Each box will be filled with 9 to 11 plant-based snacks, promotional offers from vegan brands, and a Vegan Outreach leaflet!

The goal of these gift boxes is to dispel myths about vegans eating twigs and berries. If vegans can show their non-vegan loved ones that vegan food is delicious, then there’s one less barrier between them and veganism.

A little about and from Nzinga Young—the genius behind the Wanyama Box.

I had trouble finding an activism strategy that worked for me during my first vegan year. I did a lot of writing and kept a vegan Instagram account, but I knew I should’ve been doing more to advocate for animals.

I remembered something I did as a kid. I was raised vegetarian and got teased all the time for eating fake meat. To show my classmates my food was actually delicious, I’d share it with them every chance I got. I wondered if the same tactic would work as a vegan, so I started sharing plant-based food with my family and friends.

In the past eight months, I’ve gotten one friend to go vegan, three to go vegetarian, and even more to eat vegetarian in my presence. Sharing food worked so well for me that I wanted to give other vegans an opportunity to recreate the strategy.

We don’t all live in metropolitan areas with access to great vegan food. To make this accessible, I sampled hundreds of vegan food items and put the best into each Wanyama Box.

I hope the packages dispel negative assumptions of vegan food and open lines of communication. The grand gesture of a surprise package will show our family and friends how serious we are about a vegan lifestyle and encourage them to make a change.

Now that you’re as excited as we are, we strongly encourage you to visit the Wanyama Box website to sign-up for email notifications about the project. It’s set to launch this fall.

By Steve Erlsten, VO Northern California Outreach Coordinator

It was the morning on the third week of my seven-week leafleting road trip. My day in San Bernardino, CA started when the alarm went off at 6:45 am. I quickly brushed my teeth and hustled to my car, which was packed with boxes.

I’d left my apartment in Berkeley, CA at the beginning of my tour with 25 thirty-eight pound boxes, each containing a thousand animal-saving booklets.

After I jumped in my car, I ate a Trader Joe’s vegan cinnamon roll while zipping through the beginnings of rush hour traffic. By 7:30 am, I was in action—trying to catch the initial arrival of students at Cal State in San Bernardino!

I like to start leafleting early in the day because the initial rush of students usually has a great take rate—it’s often effective to catch them coming in from the parking lot or their dorms.

I’d checked AdoptACollege.org—a website maintained by VO that contains a wealth of information about each school that volunteers and VO staff have done outreach at—and I’d also spoken with VO’s Director of Outreach, Vic Sjodin, the night before. Vic had previously leafleted Cal State San Bernardino, and I wasn’t familiar with the layout or the best leafleting spots.

I was disappointed by the flow of foot traffic at the first location I tried. I checked out a couple of other suggested spots, but they didn’t seem promising either. I decided to skip ahead to the prime mid-day spot near the library. It worked out great!

There was a steady stream of students with huge rushes at every class change. Most importantly, there were new students passing me at each class change. I wasn’t repeatedly meeting the same students or having to rotate leafleting locations.

I started the day with 2,000 booklets—I handed out booklets continuously for 6 and a half hours. By 2:00 pm, there were still plenty of new students arriving for afternoon and evening classes, so I decided to stay on campus and continue leafleting.

As I trekked back to the car to get a few hundred more booklets, I realized I could set a new record for the number of booklets passed out at this school if I leafleted for just a few more hours! I re-energized with a Clif Bar and refilled my water bottle.

Throughout the day, I had dozens of great conversations! Too many to recount in detail!

Some of my favorite conversations included a chat with a woman named Glenda, whose daughter had been asking to go vegan. I spoke with her for 15 minutes or so, answered her questions, and gave her two of VO’s Guides to Cruelty-Free Eating (GCFE).

The most rewarding moment, however, was meeting James—pictured below. He’d been vegetarian since receiving a booklet from VO last year. He and I spoke for a few minutes, and he told me he was excited to try to go vegan with the help from the GCFE booklet I gave him.

I took an hour break from 2:00 to 3:00 pm and from 4:00 to 5:00 pm when foot traffic was slower. By 6:00 pm, I’d set a record for this university for the most number of booklets handed out in one day.

When the campus started to empty out, I left to get dinner—I was hungry! I ate a cheeseless pizza at a nearby Papa John’s. At 9:00 pm, after watching a few episodes of Better Call Saul in my car and returning a few emails, I drove to my host’s house in a nearby city.

I’d contacted this host on CouchSurfing.com—we’d never met before. We spoke for an hour or so after I arrived. He wasn’t familiar with VO, but was enthusiastic about the work we do. Interestingly enough, he told me that he’d been vegan for four years and applies his experiences of being vegan to his work with respiratory patients.

Sometime shortly after midnight I fell asleep. My alarm rang again at 6:00 am that next morning and I was up and ready to drive to another school to do it all again!

I love my job, and I love that VO has such amazing donors and volunteers to keep our work going! And I want to give a huge shout-out to our other VO Outreach Coordinators who are doing this work in different parts of the world!

Your donations make Steve’s work possible. If you want to see even more people go veg next year, donate now to our Half Million Dollar Challenge and your donation will be matched! Thank you!

By Lori Stultz, VO Rocky Mountain Outreach Coordinator

At Vegan Outreach we are working against several forms of injustice—both directly and indirectly. The most obvious injustice we’re working to end, animals being exploited for food.

The clothing industry faces issues with many forms of injustice to both animals and humans. Animals, humans, and the environment are brutally mistreated and exploited, and it’s a problem of which many people are unaware.

We’d like to introduce you to a friend of ours who’s actively working against this type of injustice: Jean White.

Jean, a Seattle resident and vegan boutique owner, is improving the fashion industry. Jean’s boutique, Drizzle & Shine, is a unique clothing and accessory store that only carries a combination of fair trade, organic, local, USA-made, and/or recycled items—allowing customers to shop with a peace of mind.

Inspired by her dedication helping to alleviate the injustices of the fashion industry, Vegan Outreach caught up with Jean to find out more about her.

Let’s meet Jean!

Lori Stultz: Tell us a little bit about yourself.

Jean White: I’m a Canadian transplant to the Pacific Northwest. I moved to Seattle from Toronto in 2000—the same year I went vegan!

Growing up in a big city like Toronto was a lot of fun. I had access to great museums, parks, and restaurants. But I was very removed from my food sources in this urban environment. Meat was just a frozen package in the grocery store.

I had the opportunity to live in a small town in Germany when I was ten years old. I’ll never forget the day I saw a pig being slaughtered! I went vegetarian right away. I didn’t even know the word for it but I stopped eating meat. My parents were very supportive. After graduating from university, I read Diet for a New America and learned about how laying hens and dairy cows are mistreated and killed for eggs, cheese, and milk. I went vegan and my family soon followed.

I was really fortunate to get connected with the Seattle vegan scene early on. I have a great group of compassionate friends and activists. I love volunteering with NARN (the Northwest Animal Rights Network).

When I’m not working or volunteering, my husband and I enjoy the Seattle music scene and the natural beauty of the area. We have three rescued cats and an old, rescued dog.

Lori: How old were you when you started taking an interest in fashion? Did you attend school for fashion design or business management? Or was this something that came about in a totally different way?

Jean: It’s funny, but I’ve always liked fashion. I had influences from my mom—who grew up a very stylish boho hippy in the 60s—and my grandmother—who was into more tailored, high fashion.

I found my own style early on and really just enjoyed clothing as an artistic expression. Even as a four-year-old, I picked out my own clothing and reminded my mom that, “I have my own taste, you know.”

I’ve worked in clothing stores in the past but my background isn’t fashion-related. I studied English literature in school and worked as a technical editor and writer for over 15 years.

Lori: How did you come to learn about the ethical issues of the fashion industry?

Jean: Working in technical writing was challenging and interesting, but I needed an outlet for style and fashion. That’s why I started my style blog, Jean of all Trades.

At that time, I was still buying some second-hand, non-vegan items (vintage clothing with wool or silk, for example). I figured the items existed, so why not use them and keep them out of landfills?

But the more I thought about it, the more uncomfortable I was. I didn’t want to promote animal products or send the message that one can’t be stylish without exploiting animals. So I learned about fantastic vegan lines like Vaute Couture, Cri de Coeur, Mat & Nat, and NICORA and I started incorporating them into my wardrobe.

Please tune in next Tuesday, July 26 to learn more about Jean’s boutique and enter our Drizzle & Shine gift basket giveaway!