Meet Extraordinary Ordinary Vegan -
Joe Espinosa
What is the name and website of the organization you leaflet for?
I volunteer for Vegan Outreach. http://www.veganoutreach.org/
What situation or event inspired you to become vegan?
In October of 1992, Matt Ball, then the head of Students for Animal Rights, was showing video footage of animals on modern farms in the Union at the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign. 3 weeks after seeing that video, and learning more about the way farmed animals are treated, I became vegetarian, and 2 years later vegan.
Who / what was the biggest influence on your path?
Matt Ball, Anne Green, and Jack Norris who together formed Vegan Outreach.
What are your most significant accomplishments and / or the one(s) you are most proud of?
At the 2008 Animal Rights Conference I was awarded the Henry Spira Grassroots Animal Activist Award for my work in leafletting for farmed animals.
What goals are you still working toward?
I hope to distribute one million Vegan Outreach booklets to college students before I die which should spare many million animals from the horrible suffering of factory farms and modern slaughterhouses.
What was / is your greatest challenge?
Getting other activists to think about being effective in our work and choosing actions most likely to spare the most animals from the most suffering, as opposed to choosing actions based on our own motivations and preferences.
What advice can you provide others regarding challenges and / or criticism they may encounter on their path?
As animal advocates, part of our work is perceived as criticizing others for the way animals are treated. We should be open to critical thinking and discussion ourselves, regarding focus and methods of advocacy, as there is much at stake in terms of massive animal suffering and death. Critics can be potent tools for improvement.
Any final thoughts you would like to add?
Vegan Outreach's Adopt-A-College program is a systematic effort to take the plight of farmed animals to our most receptive audience, college students. Past feedback indicates that for every 300 booklets passed out, 5-10 students go vegetarian and many others reduce their consumption of animal products. This simple action spares animals from the horrors of factory farms and slaughterhouses at a cost of just pennies per animal. It is the best thing that we can do to help animals at this time.
Joe Espinosa
What is the name and website of the organization you leaflet for?
I volunteer for Vegan Outreach. http://www.veganoutreach.org/
What situation or event inspired you to become vegan?
In October of 1992, Matt Ball, then the head of Students for Animal Rights, was showing video footage of animals on modern farms in the Union at the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign. 3 weeks after seeing that video, and learning more about the way farmed animals are treated, I became vegetarian, and 2 years later vegan.
Who / what was the biggest influence on your path?
Matt Ball, Anne Green, and Jack Norris who together formed Vegan Outreach.
What are your most significant accomplishments and / or the one(s) you are most proud of?
At the 2008 Animal Rights Conference I was awarded the Henry Spira Grassroots Animal Activist Award for my work in leafletting for farmed animals.
What goals are you still working toward?
I hope to distribute one million Vegan Outreach booklets to college students before I die which should spare many million animals from the horrible suffering of factory farms and modern slaughterhouses.
What was / is your greatest challenge?
Getting other activists to think about being effective in our work and choosing actions most likely to spare the most animals from the most suffering, as opposed to choosing actions based on our own motivations and preferences.
What advice can you provide others regarding challenges and / or criticism they may encounter on their path?
As animal advocates, part of our work is perceived as criticizing others for the way animals are treated. We should be open to critical thinking and discussion ourselves, regarding focus and methods of advocacy, as there is much at stake in terms of massive animal suffering and death. Critics can be potent tools for improvement.
Any final thoughts you would like to add?
Vegan Outreach's Adopt-A-College program is a systematic effort to take the plight of farmed animals to our most receptive audience, college students. Past feedback indicates that for every 300 booklets passed out, 5-10 students go vegetarian and many others reduce their consumption of animal products. This simple action spares animals from the horrors of factory farms and slaughterhouses at a cost of just pennies per animal. It is the best thing that we can do to help animals at this time.
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