Recap: Animal Rights National Conference 2019

This past July, Wildlife & Environmental Coordinator Barbara Troyer spoke at the Animal Rights National Conference (AR 2019) in Washington, D.C. as part of a panel she organized called "Sustainable Food Policies and Climate Crisis: Earth- and Animal-friendly Menus for a Changing Planet!"

Barb Troyer.

Chloe Waterman, Barb Troyer, and Liberty Mulkani.

Alysoun Mahoney and Barb Troyer.

In addition to Barb, the panel included Chloe Waterman, Senior Food Campaigner, Friends of the Earth and Liberty Mulkani, Project Management Program Director, Animal Legal Defense Fund. Barb’s presentation focused on menu policy adoption successes (and challenges) with environmental and wildlife nonprofits and highlighted Food for Thought’s innovative grant opportunities. Chloe spoke about her impactful food policy work with schools and governmental organizations and Liberty gave real-world examples and practical tips on putting sustainability policy into action at large events. This isn’t the first time this powerful team of women has come together—earlier this year, they presented at the Public Interest Environmental Law Conference (PIELC) in Eugene, OR. The panel was so successful, they wanted to do it again, and the AR 2019 audience appeared to be a good fit.

The panel’s unique Sustainable Food Policies topic stood out from the 80+ other sessions at AR2019 and drew a good crowd, with engaged attendees who packed the room. One person even thanked the panel team, saying it was the most valuable session she attended at the conference and that they were presenting important information not heard anywhere else that weekend!

In addition to the panel, Barb tabled and networked throughout the conference, engaging with nonprofit employees and activists from around the world. Food for Thought donor and volunteer Alysoun Mahoney also generously lent a hand at the table each day!

The Food for Thought team was pleased with the opportunity to present at AR 2019 and we look forward to promoting our work, as well as strengthening partnerships with other nonprofits, at future Animal Rights National Conferences.

Vegan Event Grant Recipient: Student Sustainability Coalition

Photo by Tacos Sín Karma.

Photo by Tacos Sín Karma.

Featuring event grant recipient: Student Sustainability Coalition, CSULB. This student-run nonprofit used event grant funds to provide vegan food for their 2nd annual State of the Environment Conference. This year’s conference had good attendance, with local activists, plant-based food champions, urban gardeners, economists, and educators sharing their experience and expertise on the state of the environment with an engaged audience.

The conference provided vegan tacos by Tacos Sín Karma that were a big hit, with attendees saying they would be open to eating more plant-based meals if they knew vegan food could taste so good!  Chips were also included, along with plenty of fresh fruit.

Thank you, Student Sustainability Coalition, for providing a fun and approachable plant-based menu at your conference and introducing students and community members to new ways of thinking about how what’s on their plate affects animals, people, and the environment.

We love the wide variety of vegan foods on the menus that grantees are providing for their events! If you would like to apply for our grant to help with your first vegan event, please see our grant criteria and applications here.

Vegan Event Grant Recipient: Greater Farallones Association

We’re happy to announce another successful event made possible by our Vegan Event Grant!The Greater Farallones Association provided all plant-based foods for their Fifth Ocean Climate Summit. The Summit is held every three years and previously featured a few veg options, but not a fully vegan menu. This time around there was a record turn-out and attendees were able to munch on yummy earth-friendly foods while listening to presentations that identified climate action priorities for the North-central California coast and ocean region. And though the Summit is not meant to be a fundraiser, this year’s event was profitable for the first time and will serve as seed money for the next Ocean Climate Summit in 2022!
 
Attendees commented favorably on the food choices, saying they were impressed that Greater Farallones Association took a big step and made an impactful statement by making the event vegan. In turn, the Summit organizers were pleased, mentioning that the organization has “Evolved our understanding of the impact our collective food choices make on the environment and want to promote this to our attendees who all work in the environmental conservation sector.”
 
On the menu:
 
Breakfast

• Bagels with hummus, assorted jelly jams, “Smart Balance” vegan spread, sliced tomato, cucumber, and capers.

• Fresh fruit platter

• Coffee and tea service with soy and almond milk

 Hors d' Oeuvres

• Fresh spring rolls with cucumber, mango, mint, and cilantro, served with spicy peanut sauce

• Grilled vegetable platter with seasonal vegetables and homemade hummus

• Tomato bruschetta with diced tomatoes and basil and balsamic vinaigrette, served on a garlic crustade

 Luncheon

• Roasted portabella mushroom with pesto, balsamic and pickled red onions, cherry tomatoes, and mixed greens served on focaccia

• Homemade farro salad with kale, pomegranate, and maple vinaigrette

• Greek salad with Kalamata olives, tomatoes, cucumber, and vinaigrette

• Assorted grain breads and rolls

• Fresh Fruit Platter

• Vegan Cookies

Please join us in thanking Greater Farallones Association for taking a leap and producing a fabulously sustainable climate-friendly event.

Policy Grant Recipient: Centre For A Responsible Future

We’re pleased to announce a new policy grantee: Centre for a Responsible Future (CRF), based in Singapore. CRF engages people and organizations in Singapore to adopt more responsible practices for a better future and they do so through a variety of programs and events like EarthFest, Animal Allies, Vegetarian Society Singapore, and Alliance for a Responsible Future (ARF).

​ARF is CRF’s corporate engagement program that works to create connections between plant-based and related businesses and the sustainability community. One innovative way ARF does this is through their Disruption in Food & Sustainability Summit, which focuses on raising awareness and fostering the growth of sustainable plant-based, alternative protein, and "clean meat" products. Conference organizers were sure to feature only vegan foods during the recent summit, even working directly with chefs at the Grand Hyatt to create a unique and regionally-focused plant-based menu.
 
In March of this year, CRF adopted a new vegan menu policy, which applies to all its programs. (At Food for Thought, we find a written policy to be ideal because it ensures that the intentions of the organizers and founders will be upheld over the years.) Congratulations, Centre for a Responsible Future for the leadership you’ve shown in featuring plant-based foods at your Summit and for formalizing your vegan menu policy!

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Thanks to generous support from the Gregory J. Reiter Memorial Fund, we're able to reach out to environmental and wildlife groups with guidance and resources to help their events go veg!

Vegan Event Grant Recipient: San Diego 350

UPDATE: 

After the event, the SanDiego350 board passed a formal veg menu policy, as follows. A big thank you to SanDiego350 for walking their talk as an environmental organization!

”All SanDiego350 events will feature all-vegetarian food items, with a concerted effort made to serve all-vegan food items. This policy will be in effect for all SanDiego350-hosted events, including but not limited to: fundraisers, potlucks, meetings, trainings, and parties. SanDiego350 funds will only be used to purchase all-vegan items. While not all plant-based foods have a lower greenhouse gas impact than all animal-based products, the science in this area shows that favoring plant-based foods will, on average, substantially reduce a person's contribution to climate change. SanDiego350 seeks to share information and encourage individuals to come to their own conclusions about what choices are best for them, but as an organization we want our purchasing power to support solutions to climate change wherever possible.”

​Our latest event grant recipient is SanDiego350, an inclusive volunteer organization working to prevent the worst impacts of climate change and climate injustice. Their Party for the Planetvolunteer appreciation event was a great success! Attendees loved the wide variety of delicious foods served and many expressed pleasant surprise that everything was vegan. “I thought we had plenty: abundance is key at parties like these,” said Steering Committee member Kim Kishon. “I was happy to see how far the money went! It seemed like people enjoyed the Chipotle burritos, chick'n wings, and quartered veggie burgers...”

On the vegan menu: Entrées-- Pizza from a nearby pizzeria, Chipotle burritos, and a variety of sandwiches, wraps, and appetizers like “chicken wings” from Native Foods. Sides and hors-d’oeuvres-- Macaroni salad and fresh fruit; nuts, chips, and pretzels; salsa, hummus, and guacamole. The celebration was complete with vegan cake and cookies from Whole Foods, pinwheels from a local natural foods store, plus a selection of plant-based creamers for hot beverages.

What a beautiful spread and an excellent example of how to source enticing vegan food from both local joints and larger chains. Congratulations, SanDiego350, on creating a truly sustainable event that's kinder to the earth and its inhabitants!

Food for Thought How to: "Why Vegan?" Resource

At Food for Thought, we’re here to help. We’re here to help all species, our planet, and each other. Our campaign encourages animal, environmental, and wildlife nonprofit organizations to adopt animal- and earth-friendly menu policies. By doing so, these organizations’ actions and ethics better align, and their impacts are further amplified.

Food for Thought wants to bridge common gaps in thinking. In order to make the transition to veg-only events as simple as possible, we have a variety of resources to offer. From sample letters to grant opportunities to testimonials and beyond, Food for Thought wants to make it easier for your board to approve a formal policy. One of our most popular resources is our Why Vegan? series. We offer Why Vegan for Farmed Animals, Why Vegan for the Planet, and Why Vegan for Wildlife, all of which dive deeper into the reasons why respective groups will benefit from going plant-based. 

• In Why Vegan for Farmed Animals, we focus on how all nonhuman animals deserve the same amount of respect and compassion—whether they be a kitten or a piglet. Just like the animals we share our homes with, farmed animals are sentient beings who have the innate desire to live. After all, it doesn’t make any sense to host an event to raise money to save animals’ lives while serving other species for the meal.

• Why Vegan for the Planet emphasizes the realities of animal agriculture and its effects on the health of our earth. The two are directly linked due to the fact that the production of meat is one of the leading causes of greenhouse gas emissions, as well as a top contributor for loss of biodiversity, species extinction, and pollution. One of the best ways to become true leaders in the sustainability movement is to forgo all animal products.

• Why Vegan for Wildlife discusses the need to help all nonhuman animals, especially since more than 98% of animals that die at the hands of humans are actually farmed animals; therefore, wildlife nonprofits should consider extending their impact to include helping these species. Animal agriculture is also one of the leading threats to wildlife habitat loss, as well as waterway contamination, ecosystems disruptions, and deforestation. In order to further their own conservation efforts, wildlife groups would benefit from no longer supporting the very businesses that are hurting the lands and species they are trying to save.

At Food for Thought, our aim is to help all of these groups realize we have a responsibility to every living creature and to the health of our planet. Whichever cause is closest to your heart, please consider sharing the appropriate Why Vegan? resource with those stakeholders. One change can make a world of difference in all three areas.

Expand your compassion to your org’s own plate by adopting a plant-based menu policy. Let Food for Thought help you get started today! Contact us to get your organization on track to having its values and actions match up.​

Vegan Event Grant Recipient: Citizen Coalition for Wildlife and Environment

We’re happy to report on another successful event, this time by Citizen Coalition for Wildlife and Environment, of Grand Island, NY. Wildlife Appreciation and Education Day brought together a diverse group of people to talk about and educate on compassionate coexistence and habitat and wildlife protection—and snacks were provided through our Food for Thought vegan event grant!

Event organizer Dave Reilly said that the food was a big hit, with many attendees expressing their shock that it was all vegan. The enticing comfort food spread put together by local community college food service included vegan “mac and cheese,” plant-based sliders, and pickled beet and chef salads. According to Reilly, the college caterer was so pleased with their completely vegan menu, that they plan to advertise it as an option for future events, which will help even more functions go vegan!

​A big thanks to the Coalition for encouraging people to consider the choices they make that affect both animals and the environment.

Vegan Event Grant Recipient: Climate Tracker

​Congratulations to event grant recipient, Climate Tracker, an international organization that trains aspiring young journalists to learn and write about climate change! Climate Tracker recently hosted a three-day Climate Journalism Workshop in Poland, bringing together participants from four different countries and providing delicious vegan food for all activities.

International Program Manager Arthur Wyns relayed that the event was a great success. “Reducing meat consumption is an important element in tackling climate change, a fact most participants were unaware of going into the workshop,” he said. “Differently from other such events we have organised in the past, this all-vegan workshop led to many more heated discussions on environmental issues such as meat consumption, lifestyle change, and sustainability. Some of the young journalists have already written about the subject in their national media since the workshop.”

“Only a few of the participants were vegan or vegetarian,” said Wyn. “For most participants, eating vegan was a new experience they would not have undertaken on their own. Many participants were surprised how delicious and varied the food was they were served.” Wyn also mentioned that the caterers were new to creating plant-based meals as well, and they found the process a creative challenge, proudly sharing the results on social media. Menus for the multi-day event included local Polish foods, Middle Eastern style tasters (think hummus and olives), vegan burgers, and fresh juice. 

After the event, Climate Tracker adopted a formal menu policy which states all projects going forward “are obliged to be 100% vegetarian, and should aim at being entirely plant-based.” The group plans to incorporate this new policy into a broader sustainability policy in the new year.

Thank you, Climate Tracker, for walking your talk as an environmental organization by providing vegan food for your trainings and implementing a plant-based events policy!

Center for Biological Diversity and Animal Place Partner to Offer Food for Thought on Animal Agriculture

Gary Smith | Evolutus PR | 818-783-0569 | gary@evolotuspr.com

Patti Nyman | Animal Place | 530-477-1757 ext 3 | patti@animalplace.org

Jessica Herrera | Center for Biological Diversity | 520-260-1725 | jherrera@biologicaldiversity.org

​​GRASS VALLEY, and SAN FRANCISCO, CA – Animal Place and the Center for Biological Diversity today announced they are teaming up to call on environmental organizations and conferences to adopt earth- and animal-friendly menu policies.
 
Among other projects, the two groups are co-developing materials, securing speaking opportunities, and challenging the movement to adopt plant-based policies with Animal Place’s “Food for Thought” campaign.

“The environmental community can no longer ignore the disastrous effects of animal agriculture on the planet,” said Stephanie Feldstein, population and sustainability director of the Center for Biological Diversity. “If we want to protect the environment, we need to switch to a diet that’s better for the climate, wildlife, and our own health by reducing our meat consumption.”
 
Animal agriculture is a primary cause of climate change, habitat destruction, biodiversity loss, water use, pesticide use, and pollution. It is responsible for 14.5 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions. And Americans eat an average of three times as much meat per capita as the rest of the world.
 
“By joining forces with Center for Biological Diversity, we have an important ally in the environmental movement as we promote the necessity of veganism for sustainability, preserving habitats, and protecting all animal species,” said Patti Nyman, Campaigns Manager at Animal Place.
 
The Center’s Take Extinction Off Your Plate campaign is the first program of its kind making the connection between animal agriculture and threats to wildlife. It encourages people to reduce meat consumption as a critical means of reducing their environmental footprint. In accordance with its mission, the Center’s board-approved menu policy specifies that organizational events serve only plant-based foods.
 
Animal Place maintains a “report card” of organizations that have board-approved earth- and animal-friendly menu policies—and those that do not. Its Food for Thought campaign works with and awards grants to animal and environmental protection groups to encourage animal-friendly vegan menus at their sponsored events, and is endorsed by national organizations and federations, veterinarians, celebrities, and other public figures.
 
About the Center for Biological Diversity
The Center for Biological Diversity is a national, nonprofit conservation organization with more than 1.6 million members and online activists dedicated to the protection of endangered species and wild places. For more information visit biologicaldiversity.org.
 
About Animal Place
Animal Place, founded in 1989, is one of the oldest and largest animal sanctuaries in the nation, operating a 600-acre sanctuary in Grass Valley, California and an all-vegan market in Berkeley, California. Animal Place’s California animal shelters fill a much-needed niche of farmed animal rescue, sanctuary, education, and adoption. Animals arrive from small and large farms, slaughterhouses, research facilities, and neglect or cruelty cases. Nestled between Sacramento and Lake Tahoe, its Grass Valley location offers tours, cooking classes, and workshops at the sanctuary as well as volunteer and internship opportunities. In 2010, Animal Place began rescuing animals directly from California egg farms, and since then has saved more than 26,000 hens. Animal Place—named best farm sanctuary in the country by Best in Shelter—is a nonprofit 501c3 organization funded by private donors. For more information, visit animalplace.org.