As vegans, we have probably all been faced with a moment where we challenged ourselves to question the status quo and look deeper. At some point early on, we watched footage of factory farming, or we read a book about veganism, or we were influenced by a celebrity or friend. We listened to what they had to say, and we realized there was no other way to live in line with our ethical beliefs than to go vegan. Maybe there were no doubts or hesitations.  Or maybe we worked through them all by ourselves. Or maybe someone actually listened to our doubts and helped us through them.

I won’t lie: Throughout the past seven years of being an animal activist, there have been times when I’ve found it trying to have the same damn conversation again and again with the same person who justifies their meat-eating with ridiculous fallacies. But it is these moments precisely when it is most urgent for us to be effective communicators. And, with the exception of dealing with people who are treating us abusively and without respect, these are the moments when it’s more important than ever to listen. Effective communication simply cannot exist unless it starts with open-hearted and conscientious listening.

Oh yes. It is so easy to just jump over what the other person is saying because you’re sure you know what they’re going to say next. You’ve heard it before. So let’s just skip the drivel about them “just loving meat” or “needing protein” or “caring about humans more than animals” and get right into our talking points that we’ve memorized so astutely. Come on, admit it. We’ve all been the interrupter at one time or another. After all, there is no time to waste in a world eager to ignore us.

If you’re lucky, at the beginning of your vegan journey, someone took the time to actually hear your concerns, your excitement, your hesitance, your passion, your pain, and even your resistance and denial. And probably, there is someone else out there now — a budding vegan — who needs the good luck of finding you, ready and willing to extend your own hand. And believe me, I am not absolving myself. Communication is something which I constantly have to check with myself. Am I becoming an automaton? Step back, Jasmin… Listen to what Potential Vegan is saying and then respond thoughtfully. You might actually learn something you didn’t know about the obstacles people face, or think they face, in opening their hearts to animals.

And, if I may: That kind of listening and patience needs — it neeeeeeeeds — to also extend to our peers. It’s got to, or we’re going to waste such valuable time and energy coming to assumptions about this person’s tactics or that person’s ideals, and the ones who will truly suffer will be the the ones who we’re (all!) trying to save. This is not to say we can’t or won’t ever disagree — but let’s try to do it only after we have made a sincere effort to actually understand the nuances of the other person’s position and where we agree and where we differ.

I realize that this blog entry is slightly off the beaten path from our usual entries, but since listening is obviously key to effective communication and therefore activism, I felt justified going there. Thanks for listening.

Photo: Courtesy Chief Trent and used with permission via a Creative Commons License.

Wesleyan University will be hosting a conference called “Sex, Gender and Species” on February 25 and 26, 2011. The purpose of this conference is to foreground the relations between feminist and animal studies and to examine the real and theoretical problems that are central to both fields of inquiry. Conference organizers Lori Gruen and Kari Weil are seeking 1-2 page abstracts by October 1, 2010. Abstracts can be sent to lgruen@wesleyan.eduor kweil@wesleyan.edu.

If this conference comes and goes without anyone presenting a paper on the gender studies implications of the dairy and egg industries, I am going to be so disappointed.

Photo: Courtesy Woodstock Farm Animal Sanctuary

buttonmakers.net

Regardless of my reasonings for craving a vinyl-headed, soft-bodied dollie, I am now reminded of my unrelenting yearning. That’s because of my most current craving: a button maker. And I want one real bad. Like, Cabbage Patch bad.

During my recent trip to Portland for the Let Live Conference, I met the folks at Buttonmakers.net, and I became obsessed. Because they were sponsors of the conference, I had heard their name before. And because they had a table set up at the conference, I became a frequent visitor, and soon, a button-making aficionado.

At first, I didn’t put two and two together: Why would a button making company be tabling at an animal rights conference? But then I noticed the ethical messaging on the buttons by the people at the table, and I thought: Aha! They’re vegan!

Rex Ray and Rebecca Bolte, the couple — and couple of activists — behind Buttonmakers.net, are vegans with a cause — hence their sponsoring of Let Live.

Face it: Your button collection of today could rival my Cabbage Patch Kids collection of the early 1980′s (and my subsequent Garbage Pail Kids trading cards collection of the mid-80′s). That’s because you’re vegan, and with your ethics, come buttons. So imagine if you had your very own button maker to make all those “go vegan” pins?

buttonmakers.net

Or maybe you have a vegan business, or a non-profit, or even just a slogan that you really want to wear… Wouldn’t it be great to advertise the vegan message on your own self-made button? Especially for those of you who are in the market to make hundreds of these little gems, getting a button maker from Buttonmakers.net could save you money — and boredom, too, since, as I learned recently, making buttons is fun and delivers immediate satisfaction.

According to Anika Lehde (remember her? from Vegan Score?) who recently blogged on the button making duo:

“Now if you are going into the button-making business, run a non-profit, or are involved in activism or campaigns, then the investment in a button maker (starting around $215) [...] is a very smart investment. The parts to make the buttons only cost about $.06 or .07 per button (depending on size and how many you are making). [...] Plus button making is good team building for your volunteers. Word.”

And if, like Anika, you’re lucky enough to reside in Seattle, and are selfless enough to advocate for a good cause, you might even be able to rent a machine or barter for a rental.

As if it weren’t already evident, this sums up some of the reasons I love Buttonmakers.net:

• The owners, Rex and Rebecca, are vegan — so by supporting them, you are supporting vegans. And keeping it in the family is a good thing.
• Rex and Rebecca have creatively used their interests to speak up for social justice causes, and they have turned that into a for-profit business. There’s a lesson here.
• With that for-profit business, they are very supportive of the vegan community, doing things like sponsoring animal rights conferences and being extra generous and kind to vegan activists who want buttons and button makers.
• Button-making can easily be turned into a volunteer party activity, which can build community morale.
• If you purchase a button maker to suit your vegan needs, you can quickly make your investment back by selling buttons for a reasonable cost.

Plus, buttons are a lot cooler than Cabbage Patch Kids, and you don’t have to worry about stupidly cutting off the string hair of a button maker, since button makers don’t have any hair at all.

OH — And if you happen to reside in NYC and you find yourself with a button maker, give me a shout. Because I really want to be your friend.

If you’re in NYC, be sure to catch Monday’s screening (there are two) at the Anthology Film Archives. Oh, and Russell Simmons will be there for the first showing, which is extra incentive for you.

In today’s episode, we give you the low-down on a very special vegan bakery that delivers all over the country. Trust me, you’ll want to try their cupcakes. I’ll also tell you all about a very melodic animal rights fund-raiser that I attended in NYC.

Joining us today is Michael Croland, from Heeb’n'vegan. Michael is joining us as part of our religion series, where we talk with people about how their religion or spirituality relates to their philosophy on animal rights. Michael will enlighten us about how Judaism and veganism relate. He’ll discuss everything from Kosher slaughter, to philosophy, to an ingredient you simply have to include in your next tofu scramble.

In our news section, we will discuss a new bill for animals that just passed the US House of Representatives. We’ll also talk about a debarking law in Massachusetts, and Mariann will share her thoughts on an article in Time Magazine that asks: Can animal rights go too far?

For our review section, Mariann and I will share with you an amazing restaurant experience we had, right in the Heartland.

You can listen to our podcast directly on our blog (below!) or you can subscribe on iTunes. Also, if you like what you hear, please rate it on iTunes, and don’t forget to leave us a friendly comment! Thanks!

As online activism continues to soar, we animal advocates should do our part in staying abreast of new tools and resources that can further our message. This Ultimate Glossary can be a great go-to for that purpose.

You’ll surely want to bookmark this one, so that the next time you are asked if you have a Kyte, you won’t show up with a triangular flying device and a string. (Incidentally, a Kyte is “an online and mobile video application that provides video hosting and stream for both recorded and live video feeds.” Now I sound smart, don’t I?)

h/t to Glenn Gaetz from Liberation B.C.

Photo: The Ultimate Glossary

***

You’ve probably been to lots of meetings and workshops, just like me. We go. We sit in the audience and listen to an expert. We sometimes ask questions. It’s a very traditional form of passing information along. We see it in schools, at work, and in most areas of our lives. We also see it in how animal rights organizations, campaigns, and conferences are run.

The Open Space format is an alternative that I think is reflective of how we need our movement to be: self-organizing, diverse, passionate, and willing and able to take action on our own. This may sound chaotic — and it is — but it’s controlled chaos, with just enough chaos to allow for creativity,  and just enough control to hold it all together.

How does it work?

An Open Space event begins with the attendees sitting in a circle of chairs. One wall holds the day’s agenda — which is blank. I like to divide up the day into time slots, much like a regular conference is divided into sessions, just to give a little bit of order.

I usually open the meeting by restating the topic that everyone is there to talk about, such as, “How can we better work together to achieve animal rights?” Then I go through the basic ground rules: The Four Principles and One Law of Open Space.

The Four Principles are:

1. Whoever comes is the right people.
2. Whatever happens is the only thing that could have.
3. Whenever it starts is the right time.
4. When it is over, it is over.

Really, these are essentially about letting go of our expectations. I mean, there is no point in worrying about the people who are not at your meeting. The people who came want to be there, they’re the ones with the passion. It’s pretty zen, really: focus on what is rather than what you think it should be. As the Open Space User’s Guide states, “Be prepared to be surprised — positively. Those who come to an Open Space event with a precise and detailed list of intended outcomes will be frustrated.”

The One Law of Open Space is what makes it all work. It’s usually referred to as the “Law of Two Feet.” Wherever you are, it’s up to you to contribute or learn. If you are sitting in a conversation and finding it to be uninteresting, it’s up to you to make it interesting. It’s simple, really. You are ultimately the person responsible for the success or failure of the way you experience the event. If you want something to happen, you’ve got to make it happen.

Photo by Amanda Daniell

Then the fun part: Everyone is invited to write down a topic or question that they would like to address, and post their topic up on the agenda wall. Very quickly, the agenda wall fills up with topics. Fight the urge to control them – just let the self-organizing happen.

Each person who posted up a topic is responsible for leading that discussion, and it is up to them how they will lead it. The space is open and it is theirs. As the host, I’m just there to set it up and then get the hell out of the way.

That’s really it. The rest of the event will just unfold. I do like to bring everyone back into the circle at the very end for any closing thoughts. I’ve heard people in the closing speak about all sorts of things, from reflecting on feeling empowered by the process to actual things they’ve learned at the event.  It’s really amazing to see how excited people get by just being able to have their own event.

So what’s the point?

One of my main objective with these events is community-building. Open Space provides a format that can bring diverse viewpoints, passions, and interests together. The format itself equalizes and dissipates a lot of potential conflict.

Another main objective, though, and the most important in my view, is to build capacity in our community for taking action, leading, and making things happen. So often, we want some expert to tell us what to do and how to do it. We want the answers to come to us.

But that’s not going to happen.

We are all experts in some way or another, and no one has the one right answer to how to end the exploitation of animals. We need a multi-pronged approach, and it’s up to each of us to decide what we think should happen – then stand up and make it happen.

Some might say that Open Space is “just a meeting format,” but to me, it’s a model for a more powerful, more effective, and more cohesive grassroots movement. It’s imperative to continually explore how we can create even more spaces where we are all invited to voice our passions — spaces where the diversity of our movement is honored and welcomed.

Join the circle. You are all invited. Let’s get started.

Photo Credit: Liberation B.C., photo by Amanda Daniell.

Glenn Gaetz

Glenn Gaetz is a Director of Liberation BC, an animal rights organization based in Vancouver, BC. After attending a social change event that used an Open Space format he got interested in applying it to animal rights. He liked it so much, in fact, that he got a Certificate in Dialogue and Civic Engagement from Simon Fraser University. So far this year he has organized or helped to organize 3 Open Space events and one other dialogue event. He loves to answer questions, so if you’ve got any feel free to email him at glenn@liberationbc.org, find him on Facebook, or get in touch on Twitter (@glenngaetz or @liberationbc). He’s written a bit more about Open Space and dialogue on both the Liberation BC blog and his personal blog.

A month later, Jane Velez-Mitchell adopted little Kennedy, and their family (which is also comprised of two other rescued dogs, and a very vibrant 94-year-old lifelong vegetarian mom) was complete. Jane, of course, is a longtime vegan and animal rights activist. I documented the adoption for the Mayor’s Alliance:

If this resonates with you, you’ll probably love what animal chaplain (yup!) Donna Yuritic is doing. Yuritic runs Compassion for Creatures, a Ministry for Animals and their human families. Her services include prayer requests, funerals (formal or informal), and special children’s informal funerals (she also is the author of Animal Angels: Paws to Remember, which focuses on how to talk to children about the loss of a family member companion animal). In addition to her services, Yuritic’s website is full of information on coping, grief, and other helpful info for people affected by the loss of an animal. And if you’re not Christian, fear not! (There’s a sentence that could be taken a whole lot of different ways.) According to Yuritic, her services can be “Christian, Non- Christian, Traditional or Non -Traditional.”

It would be nice to see more people in the clergy make people’s relationships with animals part of the pastoral care that they provide as part of their ministry.  From the counseling and provision of services related to the death of animals, to helping people find their moral compass when it comes to their relationship with animals in general, this could, and should, be an important part of every ministry.

And according to Continental News, “several films awarded at Artivist have gone on to great acclaim, including Academy Award winner Born Into Brothels, and Academy Award Nominees Super-Size Me and God Sleeps in Rwanda. The festival has also presented the Los Angeles premieres of Fast Food Nation, Emmanuelle’s Gift, Stolen Childhoods, Zeitgeist, Zeitgest Addendum and Trudell.”

There are five categories in which filmmakers can submit their pieces. Animal advocacy is one of them, and according to Artivist, “a film submitted in the Animal Advocacy category must address the destruction, abuse, protection or rehabilitation of wild or domestic animals.”

The festival and Artivist awards will take place in Hollywood this October, where a highlight of the weekend’s festivities will include a star-studded gala — complete with a vegan menu! Following that, certain films will be chosen to tour to key cities, including NYC, London, Lisbon, Tokyo, Mexico City, and D.C.

The Artivist Film Festival makes me all tingly inside, particularly since animal and environmental rights are major focuses of the event (and in social justice — duh!), and the organizers have enough common sense and ethical prowess to serve planet- and animal-friendly food during their main event.

On today’s episode, we are coming to you live from Kansas – where we will talk to my 86-year-old grandmother who just went vegetarian.

Then, joining us will be Dr. Melanie Joy, author of Why We Love Dogs, Eat Pigs, and Wear Cows: An Introduction to Carnism. Melanie will talk to us about her fascinating insights  into the psychological mechanisms people use to allow themselves to coninue eating animals.

In our news section, we will discuss an exciting New York Times editorial that is very pro-farm animal. We’ll also talk about some good news for the AETA 4, and we’ll share with you James McWilliams’ take on lab-grown meat.

In our review section, Our Hen House reviewer, Kyle Knies, will give you the results of his unscientific survey on vegan milks.

You can listen to our podcast directly on our blog (below!) or you can subscribe on iTunes. Also, if you like what you hear, please rate it on iTunes, and don’t forget to leave us a friendly comment! Thanks!

by Dr. Melanie Joy

I, for one, happen to find carnism — and Dr. Melanie Joy’s insights as a whole — pretty fascinating, and I’m about as giddy about this up-and-coming website as I am about Dr. Joy’s interview on our upcoming podcast this weekend. (Are you subscribed to our podcast?)

So, if you want to be in on this new and refreshing way of looking at animal rights theory — and you have web design skills — this is your lucky day — and possibly Dr. Joy’s, too. According to Dr. Joy and her lovely colleagues, they are seeking a volunteer web designer to work alongside them as they bring to life this virtual hub for animal advocacy and theory:

Volunteer Opportunity – Web designer

We are seeking a creative and enthusiastic volunteer web designer to help us develop a new website that accurately conveys the groundbreaking nature of our work, and to help us create an active exciting presence on the web. This position could be well suited for a design student looking to develop his or her resume, and who is interested in working on a dynamic project to make the world a better place. This is not location specific, so volunteers from every location are welcome. We are looking for someone to ensure that material on the website is accessible to all groups, including those with disabilities. We would also like someone to perform regular maintenance of the website, or who is willing to train us so that we can maintain the website ourselves.The person must be committed to our mission of improving life through personal and planetary empowerment and making a difference in the lives of animals and themselves. Those who are interested can contact Joy Riccardo at joy724r@gmail.com.

The Walk for Farm Animals is a continent-wide event that occurs every year around Oct. 1 — World Farm Animals Day. Thousands of people come together everywhere and celebrate farm animals. Much-needed funds and awareness are raised for Farm Sanctuary’s rescue, education and advocacy efforts, and people are left with a sense of community and pride. Farm animals are celebrated, and awareness is raised about the horrors inherent in factory farming. There is no other fund-raiser quite like Farm Sanctuary’s Walk for Farm Animals.

Currently, Farm Sanctuary is seeking amazing volunteer organizers to spearhead Walks in their town. If you are able to do this (and don’t be scared, because Farm Sanctuary walks you through the whole process), you will single-handedly bring together your community to take steps toward compassion.

Photo: Farm Sanctuary , taken by Connie Pugh

The film: Fowl Play, a Mercy for Animals documentary about the egg industry. The festival: New York International Film Festival. The implication: A big one. If the screening is successful, there is a chance that a film distributor will pick it up for international sales and rentals.

Here is where the power of grassroots comes in: This more of us that show up for this screening, the more likely it will be a success at the festival. If you’re in NYC, make your way toward City Cinemas Village East on Sunday, July 25 at 6 p.m. (Get your tickets here or get them directly through Mercy for Animals by emailing Matt at mattr@mercyforanimals.org.) If your’e not in NYC, please help spread the word about the screening and the film. If you need more impetus for why you need to see Fowl Play, watch the trailer below.

We’ve already witnessed the power that an animal-centric film that finds its way into the mainstream can have, with both the 2010 Academy Award Winner for Best Documentary, The Cove, and the 2010 Academy Award Nominee for Best Documentary, Food Inc. Howzabout we make another animal blockbuster?

Another NYC activist (and professional performer), Lindsay Wolf (of Kiss Me I’m Vegan), had a similar yearning — to raise money for farm animals while singing to her heart’s content. Next week, Lindsay will be hosting her second awareness- and fund-raising concert — called Rock It Out 2. The proceeds raised will benefit Woodstock Farm Animal Sanctuary. The concert will be held at the uber-cool (and impressive!) Joe’s Pub on July 20 at 9:30 p.m. Lindsay and her sister, Whitney, will be singing till the cows come home, all for only 12 bucks. If you’re in NYC, get your tickets today.

Photo: Devlin the Sheep, from Woodstock Farm Animal Sanctuary. Photo by Derek Goodwin and Loren Brown.

Getting Attention: Helping Non-Profits Succeed Through Effective Marketing is having a tagline contest. According to their website:

“A strong tagline does double-duty—working to extend your organization’s name and mission, while delivering a focused, memorable and repeatable message to your base. It’s one of your most basic, and effective, marketing tools, but a GettingAttention.org survey showed that 72% of nonprofit organizations don’t have a tagline or rate theirs as performing poorly. The awards program is designed to help close this gap by providing both motivation and models.”

Motivation and models. I like that. And, of course, those of us who run or are involved with animal advocacy organizations owe it to the animals to have a catchy tagline. Our is this: Our Hen House: a place to find our way to change the world for animals. We feel that encapsulates the mission of our organization, hopefully bringing animal-lovers and vegans to the next level of their personal activism.

I found it interesting to read the winning taglines from last year, including that of Earthjustice: “Because the earth needs a good lawyer.”

Even if you’re not with an organization, a catchy and cool tagline for your vegan or advocacy blog can bring in readers and ultimately breed more vegans. Our friends over at Kiss Me, I’m Vegan use this as their tagline: “A blog for the happy vegan in all of us.” Love that.

It’s unclear what the winners of the “Taggies” receive, but all entrants receive a free copy of the fully-updated 2010 Nonprofit Tagline Report, which I’m eagerly anticipating.

Photo: © Copyright John Went and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons License.

On today’s show, we begin with a very exciting announcement about the influence that Mariann’s New York Times letter to the editor had on Jasmin’s grandma.

Joining us today is Meena Alagappan — director of HEART (Humane Education Advocates Reaching Teachers). Meena will talk to us all about the importance of humane education as a means of creating social change, and she’ll share some of her personal journey from animal law to running HEART.

In our news section, we will be joined by Stewart David, co-founder of Carolina Action for Animals. Stewart will share his thoughts on Jane Velez-Mitchell’s “Jane’s Fight for Animal Rights” which aired this past week on her CNN HLN show, Issues With Jane Velez-Mitchell. We’ll also discuss the outcome of a puppy mill bill in North Carolina, and an egg bill in California.

For our review section, we will be joined by special guest Matt Rice — of Mercy for Animals. Matt will review the new animal rights Facebook game called Farm Rescue, which was conceived by activist and artist, Mark Middleton (of Animal Visuals).

You can listen to our podcast directly on our blog (below!) or you can subscribe on iTunes. Also, if you like what you hear, please rate it on iTunes, and don’t forget to leave us a friendly comment! Thanks!

Photo: Farm Sanctuary

It seems from the list that everything that can possibly benefit a non-profit will be covered — from maximizing fund-raising through your website, to social media tips and secrets, to effective marketing on a shoestring. Even if you aren’t involved with a non-profit but are active with community organizing, some of the webinars — such as the new volunteer manager’s toolkit, or engagement strategies in social media — could benefit your advocacy efforts. And they are all free, which is certainly a plus.

As we’ve spoken about before here in Our Hen House, webinars can be a very productive way of taking advantage of the power of the Internet and its ability to bring together a virtual community of animal activists. So, in addition to checking out some of the excellent webinars that are available, you might also consider leading one — a virtual activist meeting, of sorts.

Creative Online Activism from Let Live Foundation on Vimeo.