Animal Advocacy Tip:

Ok, I am so totally stealing this tip from Gary at Animal Writings. First of all, always carry animal advocacy literature with you - in your purse, backpack or car. Throw in a variety of them so you can have something for whatever occasion may arise. I pretty much already did that in my car, but Gary introduced me to this tip after watching him do it once while following him out of a parking garage. He offered literature to the parking garage attendant! They must be the most bored individuals at work, so what a perfect captive audience eager for something to read.

This past Sunday we had one of those "How cool was that?" moments when fellow activist Lisa accidentally pulled her car into a guarded lot in DC. Lisa rolled down the window to tell the guard we needed to turn around, and before she could say anything the guard excitedly yelled out "Are you vegans?" It took us a second to realize she was reading Lisa's license plate, and then we offered her Compassion Over Killing's Veg-DC Restaurant Guide, which she enthusiastically accepted. You just never know when you'll have an opportunity for advocacy, so better to be prepared...

Blogversation Series - Animal Advocacy Strategies - Introduction

Please welcome Gary from Animal Writings, who will be joining me in a series of posts - a Blogversation, if you will - inspired by our upcoming attendance at the 8th annual United Poultry Concerns (UPC) Conference in Norfolk, VA at the end of March. This year the conference will examine the pros and cons of reform measures as an animal advocacy strategy.


Gary:

Thanks to Kim for letting me participate in this joint blog series.

This will be my fourth UPC conference. I highly recommend them. They are small enough to be intimate and to allow everyone to contribute. By exploring a single topic, they get past superficial headlines and bullet points and into very interesting and thought-provoking inquiries. The level of conversation and discourse is always top-notch; the speakers are respectful toward both the audience and each other and never insult the listeners' intelligence. There is a great feeling of camaraderie and plenty of opportunity to network and form friendships. The UPC forum is an ideal venue in which to discuss complicated and emotional topics. I have always felt that in past conferences I came away more informed and more appreciative of the nuances of various positions.

Kim:

Gary suggested that in advance of the conference, we could respond to the brief position statements submitted by each of the upcoming UPC forum speakers. I agreed that this would make for an interesting conversation that readers might enjoy. Our aim is not simply to agree or disagree with the speakers - although we may do some of both - but to express thoughts and reactions that may be triggered by each of the statements. We'll share them with you, and bounce them off each other, and see where it goes.

Gary:

We want to say upfront that we recognize the totality of each speaker's perspectives on animal advocacy strategy cannot be summed up in a paragraph. And we realize that each of the speaker's statements is merely one small sliver of their views on the subject. In addition, we acknowledge that each of these speakers is a tireless and dedicated activist who has worked for years if not decades on furthering the causes of animal protection, animal rights, reducing animal suffering, and bringing about a world in which our relationship with animals is based on compassion, respect, communion, and justice. We, and more importantly the animals, are indebted to their efforts.

Kim:

In our first post, to follow shortly, we'll start by discussing Paul Shapiro's statement. Then, in subsequent posts, we'll work our way through each participant's statements and end with Karen Davis.

We hope many of you will join in the conversation!

Animal Advocacy Tip:

Although I don't pay too many bills by mail anymore, when I do I always include one of PETA's business-card sized leaflets like this that provide lots of informational bang for your buck, in a tiny format. My favorite to use is "Please think before you eat" with a photo of a turkey and info on the back. I don't see it on PETA's literature site at the moment, but the product code is VEG250 if you wanted to try to request it.

The people at these bill companies must get bored opening up so much mail, and I imagine they aren't expecting something in there for them. Hopefully they appreciate some information the animal industries would rather they didn't know. It's so easy, everyone should do it! And it takes a little of the sting out of bill paying.

Check back for more Animal Advocacy Tips in the future.