In The News
Compassion for All
Our Compassionate Thanksgiving Dinner
Posted on Wednesday September 01, 2010 6:12 pm
Fall is always a busy time for VSEP. One of our most eagerly anticipated annual events is our Compassionate Thanksgiving Dinner which will be celebrated at the Eastside Lancers Club on November 13. Our guest speaker will be Lauren Ornelas. Lauren is the founder and director of the all volunteer Food Empowerment Project, an organization that seeks to create a more just world by recognizing the power of one's food choices.
The Food empowerment Project works not only to expose the abuse of animals by our system of food production, but also the unfair working conditions for farm workers and unavailability of healthy foods for people of low-income. The F.E.P. sees it as a form of environmental racism that people of color and low-income communities have higher rates of obesity and diabetes because of our current food system. The Food Empowerment Project seeks to empower those with the fewest resources by helping us all to make ethical food choices from farms that pay their workers a living wage and provide safe working conditions, and to make healthy food more available to everyone.
Lauren has been active in the human and animal rights movements for over two decades, having started the first high school animal rights group in San Antonio, Texas. Lauren also started college groups, a local Austin group, Action for Animals, and has assisted individuals nationwide in starting groups in their local schools and communities.
After spending four years as National Campaign Coordinator for In Defense of Animals, Lauren was asked by Viva! UK to start and run Viva! USA in 1999. As the leader of Viva! USA Lauren was instrumental in investigating factory farms and running consumer campaigns, working with activists nationwide. In cooperation with activists across the country, Lauren persuaded Trader Joe's to stop selling all duck meat and was the spark that got the CEO of Whole Foods Market to become a vegan. She also helped halt the construction of an industrial dairy operation in California. Be sure to check our calendar of events for reservation information on our Compassionate Thanksgiving Dinner and our many other events.
October is Vegetarian Awareness Month and October 1 is World Vegetarian Day. To celebrate this, Liz Walsh and I, with the help of the Environmental Advocates of UTEP, will be giving out vegan sloppy Joes and literature at Leech Grove on campus. If you would like to help, please email me at vegetexas@aol.com or call me at 543-9723.
On October 2, I will be doing a cooking class at Sukie's place. The theme will be Super Foods, and we'll take a look at the protective and healing properties of certain fruits and vegetables. Lunch will be included. Make your reservations early as space is limited to 12 people.
Sukie and I have been invited to give a presentation at the Mission del Paso campus of El Paso Community College on the morning of October 7 as part of Vegetarian Awareness Month. I will be giving a talk and we plan to have food samples and literature. If you would like to help, please contact me.
On November 7, Sukie and Richard will be in Austin, representing VSEP in the Lone Star Vegetarian Network Chili Cook Off. We wish them the best of luck in this prestigious competition.
On September 26, we will be having a potluck at Susan Petty's house near Heuco Tanks State Park.
On November 20, from 11am until 2pm, we will be having a vegan bake sale as a fundraiser at Sun Harvest. Please contact Alison at volunteer@vsep.org for more information about how you can help. We will also be having two Restaurant Hoppers and three Voyager events this fall.
For more detailed information on all these events, please check our calendar of events and please make plans to join us.
~~Greg
Follow Us on Twitter
Posted on Friday May 21, 2010 6:20 pm
Now you can follow all VSoEP event news on Twitter at http://twitter.com/VSoEP!
VSEP Introduces VOYAGER!
Posted on Monday August 17, 2009 3:26 pm
VOYAGER! (Vegetarians! Our Youthful Activities Group Encourages Reciprocity!) is a recent development of your Vegetarian Society of El Paso. We are delighted to be able to provide our community's youth with healthy, cruelty-free activities and education. All youthful souls are invited to join us Click here for more info...
Wanted: Furry Four-Legged VSEP Members!
Posted on Friday August 14, 2009 2:46 pm
Members of the VSEP share many things in common, not the least of which is a love for cows, pigs, chickens, turkeys, goats, rabbits, ducks, and all other creatures that too much of the world thinks of as food rather than friend. Therefore, in the interest of inter-species support, we have opened membership in the VSEP to four-legged furry friends as well as the two-legged furless kind.
