We do a free vegan food program called The Happy Cart (happyvegancart.org) every Wednesday in the warmer months in Kingston NY in collaboration with People's Place in Kingston NY. Because vegan food addresses a lot of growing concerns (health issues caused by the 65-75% of people, particularly people of color, who have food allergies to things like dairy), climate crisis issues caused by harmful and outdated farming practices such as addressing better land use for protein sources, and also the growing concern for animal welfare) creating food aid programs that don't continue to exacerbate broken food system issues is critical. We have served thousands of free meals in the three years since The Happy Cart program was introduced and we have found there is a huge interest and demand for this (serving up not just food but education that empowers us to make better choices that impact us as a community.) We really could use support but find the larger programs get tons of funding while the smaller community-led initiatives do not get support. We do this all on our own dime. Hoping this comment here can help people learn about this kind of local, Hudson Valley-based program and others like us!
Hard-wired cultural cliche's are rampant in this article: "communing with nature" (as if one can't do that while NOT killing someone)... that hunting is linked to "conservation" (only by the entities who wish to profit from it; we could be conservationists and direct taxes to support of nature and wildlife, again, without killing anyone), that hunters have "respect" for animals (again, you don't normally kill someone you respect)... and that there is some kind of self-sufficiency that can only be attained by killing another. It goes on and on. It is time we break out of this well-marketed-over-centuries box about hunting to examine who we are today, and how we can best manage and support our natural resources and wildlife now. Wildlife faces record dwindling numbers, and our world is out-pacing our resources. The consumption of meat (farm-raised or wild-caught) is not going to help the situation and we are putting things out of balance. If you want to be in nature, you can go sit out in nature and observe and appreciate it's wonder. But it is time we became a society that didn't enjoy killing, in any way, shape or form, and we stopped celebrating that, promoting that, and letting corporations sell us that notion. The revolution ahead is in the power of plants and in tending the soil responsibly to grow more food for more people (it takes 11-17 pounds of plant protein to create one pound of meat protein.) If we really care about feeding our communities, we can support a food revolution that wants food justice for all - so let's talk veganism and let's talk plant power.
The Institute for Animal Happiness in Woodstock, NY is a rescue that is starting to feature art on their grounds but only if it also serves the needs of the animals (shade, enrichment, housing, protection) or if it educates the public about animals sentience, animal rights and their overall exploitation.
Any restaurants offering a vegan menu option for Restaurant week and this deal? If so I would love to promote it to my Hudson Valley Vegfest lists. You can let me know by writing us care of the contact page on our website (www.hvvegfest.org) Thanks in advance for innovating and healthy food, and inviting in the vegan community!
We are excited about the special guests coming, the Q&A (and later, more talk over drinks at a nice local watering hole) and conversations that will happen... Tickets can ONLY be purchased online via the Tugg link; will not be available at the door, just to clarify (Tugg is community screening platform that enables locals to bring non-mainstream but important films to their neighborhood theater that would not normally get the "corporate" distribution) - http://www.tugg.com/events/11785 See you there!
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