By Alex Bury, VO Organizational Development Consultant

This is an urgent public service announcement from the FDA—Food and Deliciousness Administration. Do not, under any circumstances, buy P.B. Popps by Earth Balance.

Consumers who have purchased P.B. Popps have been known to exhibit signs of eating an entire bag at one sitting, buying bags for all their friends, and crying softly when they realize their bag is empty.

I was born and raised in Alaska. I went vegan 21 years ago, while living in Anchorage, and it was a big deal to have a single Tofurky Roast FedExed up for the holidays.

After I moved “outside”—Alaska speak for the Lower 48—I would travel home to the snow once or twice a year with suitcases stuffed full of all the cool new vegan products from California. How things have changed! Now I go to Alaska with extra room in my suitcase!

Every time I go back I find not only the newest vegan goodies—Miyoko’s cheese, Gardein, Beyond Meat, Ben and Jerry’s vegan coffee ice cream—but several other things I hadn’t yet tried in California.

This last trip I found Earth Balance P.B. Popps. My friend and I had stopped at the store to grab hiking snacks and the bag looked intriguing. I got other things as well just in case the popcorn stuff was too sweet or too whatever.

We opened it in the car and if I could go back in time I would take that unopened bag and throw it out the window. I’m surprised we made it hiking. This stuff is delicious! Remember Cracker Jack snacks? OK, now think of Cracker Jacks but better—not as cloyingly sweet, the popcorn more melt-in-your mouth, and, I swear, healthier!

A few perks of this dangerously good snack—

● 3 grams of protein

● Ingredients like peanuts, oats, flax, and popped corn

● 0 trans fat

My warning stands. Don’t buy this stuff, or buy it and just give up in advance. Get a book or crank up Netflix, grab a fresh bag of P.B. Popps, and we’ll hear from you later if you ever recover. You’re welcome.

By Melissa Li, MD, VO Board of Directors Vice-Chair

When did you succumb to the Esther the Wonder Pig effect? I’m just assuming that you have, because who hasn’t?

I succumbed long ago, when she first made various headlines—a commercial pig, originally thought to be a micro pig by her adopters, who grew and grew and grew, and kept growing to 650 pounds, much to their astonishment.

At first, it didn’t seem too far off from the usual rescue story, but when pictures appeared of Esther living in the house—sleeping on her dads’ bed and having her own piggy bed in the living room—there was something utterly charming about her. The Facebook posts were singularly hilarious, captioned with wry quotes, which would catch me off guard and make me laugh out loud.

I followed her story, but more importantly, followed her dads’ story—how they evolved from hapless, accidental commercial pig adopters to genuinely concerned activists who want the world to know that there are millions of pigs like Esther. Pigs, that if given the chance to live, would show you they are as endearing and wonderful as her.

Somehow, Steve Jenkins and Derek Walter have found the elusive mixture of warmth, humor, and compassion that is just right—hence, their hundreds of thousands of followers from around the world, and the continued outpouring of love and accolades.

When I heard there was going to be a book coming out, I couldn’t wait, despite having known much of the original beginnings. I cannot describe it—it’s like one of those magical fairy tales that you never tire of, one you don’t mind hearing night after night.

I read the book—Esther the Wonder Pig: Changing the World One Heart at a Time—in a few hours, and the only disappointment I had was that it ended too soon. I wanted more. I hope they come out with a sequel, better yet a series, or maybe a movie, or how about a reality TV show? She and her family are that addictive and interesting!

You may or may not already know all the details of Esther’s story, but reading through Steve’s and Derek’s perspective, you’ll find little gems and tidbits that weren’t always in the published articles. How difficult was it to potty train Esther? What struggles did they go through with the decision to keep Esther?

I could read about Esther and go through tons of pictures of Esther as a little piglet for hours on end. This book tells a great story, and I hope there’ll be more to come. There’s joy and humor on every page. You feel as though you’re there in that cramped little kitchen, making room for Esther’s 650 pounds and laughing at her antics. You can’t wait to hear more, no matter how minor the detail.

And that’s the Esther effect for you! Experience it for yourself by ordering the book here.

By Lori Stultz, VO Rocky Mountain Outreach Coordinator

Whether you’re already vegan or you’re making a conscious effort to leave animal products off your plate, we all know the struggle of removing cheese from our diet once we’ve decided to help animals.

Personally, I’ve witnessed quite a few people in my life leave meat and eggs behind, but continue to consume cheese. Most of my friends and family members claim it’s impossible, and, guess what, I get it.

Cheese is such a common food product in our culture, and we’re introduced to it very early in life—who doesn’t remember eating string cheese for a snack and grilled cheese for lunch?

For those of you who’ve not yet eliminated cheese from your diet, or for those of you who are helping family members and friends remove cheese from their diets, you’re going to want to keep reading because we’ve got a pretty special announcement.

Michelle Cehn, Vegan Outreach’s Social Media Manager and founder of World of Vegan, has teamed up with Allison Rivers Samson, an award-winning vegan chef, cookbook author, and wellness coach, and they’ve designed an awesome program to help cheese lovers ditch it for good!

From the creators—

The Dairy Detox is packed with friendly and engaging daily videos, a collection of delicious dairy-free recipes, a private online community, and all the resources needed to take anyone from beginner-to-pro in just 12 days.

Our goal is to inspire wellness and compassion. We’re taking an approach we’ve never seen done before by speaking specifically to one issue that we think is the lynchpin to vegan living: dairy. We want to bring people into the vegan funnel by addressing the most difficult obstacle—cheese.

Registration is open now for our first session on November 1. After the first session, The Dairy Detox will be offered on the 1st of every month.

Pretty cool, right? Now get yourself on over to The Daily Detox website for more details about the program along with registration information.

With the wide variety of vegan blogs out there, Vegan Outreach is truly humbled to be ranked in the Top 10 of Feedspot’s Vegan Blog Top 100 List.

We’re happy that our blog can be a resource for anyone looking to reduce the number of animals killed for food. We do our best to make sure our readers are never short on uplifting stories, recent vegan-related news, fun interviews, and, of course, yummy recipes.

Feedspot ranks vegan blogs based on Google reputation and Google search ranking, influence and popularity on Facebook, Twitter, and other social media sites, quality and consistency of posts, and Feedspot’s editorial team and expert review.

Thank you and happy reading!

By Lisa Rimmert, VO Director of Development

I’m from St. Louis, MO, and there’s something you should know about it that you might not.

It may be in the middle of farm country, but it’s home to many wonderful people who care about farmed animals!

I visit the Gateway City a few times a year, but my most recent trip, the weekend of September 25, was quite special. I picked up VO Campaigns Manager Taylor Radig, and we left Denver, CO to drive twelve hours east for a much-anticipated fundraising event in St. Louis.

We’d been planning the event for a while, and we were a little nervous. We know fundraising events work on the coasts, but would St. Louis come through?

The answer was a resounding yes! We met and enjoyed the company of dozens of compassionate animal advocates. Together, they donated more than $8,000 to make more outreach happen.

In other words, St. Louis rocks!

This fundraiser was the brainchild of wonderful VO donor and St. Louis celebrity, Amy Dubman. Amy and her brother Brook own Carol House Furniture, and they use the business in many ways to help animals.

They advocate for animals in their furniture commercials, they helped open a low-cost spay and neuter clinic, and now, they threw an incredible party and matched the donations given by attendees! A huge thank you, Brook and Amy!

Attendees enjoyed a delicious menu, complete with vegan meats from MATCH Meats, a St. Louis-based company. I told you St. Louis rocks!

At the event, we had the pleasure of honoring VO President Steve Ann Chambers and hearing from her about her coming to work at VO. She told a story about deciding at age seven to become a lawyer for animals—that’s pretty incredible if you ask me!

We also heard from Taylor as she talked about her experiences as an undercover investigator on farms, as well as her exciting campaigns work for VO—partnering with eateries to provide vegan options.

I spoke at the event too, but I resisted the urge to take a selfie (you’re welcome). I shared with attendees how lucky I feel to work with people like Taylor and Steve Ann, and how proud I am to help Amy facilitate this event in our hometown with such compassionate and generous people.

Thank you for making my heart soar, St. Louis. This blog post goes out to all of our donors in remote areas and in the middle of the country. Thank you!

By Lori Stultz, VO Rocky Mountain Outreach Coordinator

If you like vegan cheese, brace yourself.

Vegan Outreach’s Social Media Manager, Michelle Cehn, and VO’s former Food and Lifestyle Coordinator, Toni Okamoto, are about to take us inside Miyoko Schinner’s vegan cheese factory where her delicious vegan cheeses and buttery spread are made.

Even if you’re unfamiliar with Miyoko, or haven’t had the opportunity to try her products, I suggest you check out the video! It’ll certainly leave you smiling!

After you’ve watched the video, head on over to the Miyoko’s Kitchen website and order yourself some delicious vegan cheese! You won’t be sorry you did!

And a big shout out to Miyoko for her ongoing support, and for opening up her factory doors to give us a glimpse.

By David Carter

The recent 3rd annual Vegan SoulFest in Baltimore, Maryland marked my first presentation at a vegfest organized specifically for people of color (POC).

My talk—Oppression in the Food System—was about how systematically underserved areas are kept subjugated through a lack of proper access to nutritious food and food education.

I’m well aware of the food oppression in the area I grew up in—Los Angeles, California. However, in order to understand what the people of Baltimore City were going through, I reached out to friend and colleague, and Baltimore resident, Brenda Sanders.

Brenda graciously sent me an essay she wrote about her work—Food Sovereignty in a Racist Food System—and she spoke with me about the current and ongoing situation in the low-income POC communities in Baltimore. I also did some research myself—and pouring over statistics and studies were the key to truly understanding the severity of the issue.

When we arrived in Baltimore a few days prior to Vegan SoulFest, I decided to use the additional time I had to get out in the neighborhood and see first hand what access to real food looks like in the city of Baltimore. This is what I found—namely, poor and low quality food of the fast and junk food variety at the local corner stores.

Block after block nothing changed. In fact, it only got worse the closer I got to the low-income housing projects.

I currently have more produce in my refrigerator than most of the corner stores combined. How is this happening? How is this the reality when not too far from here children grow up without food insecurity and have the privilege of shopping at upscale grocery stores like Whole Foods Market?

Can you imagine for a minute—should you find yourself privileged enough to not be in the situation being described—walking into your local grocery store and your produce options there being comparable to what you might find at a gas station?

Children in these systematically underserved communities grow up never knowing what butternut squash is, or what an artichoke tastes like. I wasn’t sure what I’d see during my tour, but what I found was injustice.

When Saturday rolled around and Paige and I arrived at Vegan SoulFest, it was a sight for sore eyes. Seeing every color under the sun being represented harmoniously at one beautiful festival was unbelievably restorative for me.

Seeing a community with all the odds stacked against them still rise reminds me of a beautiful proverb I recently read—“They tried to bury us but they didn’t know we were seeds.”

The Vegan SoulFest exemplifies the resiliency that lies within all oppressed people. It’s the desire for empowerment, fellowship, and knowledge—it’s community.

I cannot thank enough Brenda Sanders and Naijha Wright-Brown—the Vegan SoulFest co-founders and co-organizers—for seeing a need in their community and having the hearts to put this life-changing and life-saving festival together. We were truly blessed by what took place at Vegan SoulFest. The spirit of those two phenomenal women is why Baltimore is beautiful.