Calendar of Events

Registration fee includes:
• Admittance to all conference programs Friday – Sunday
• Vegan lunch for both Saturday and Sunday included
• Saturday night party/social (snacks & karaoke)
• Conference materials (schedule, etc.)

The Free the Animals Conference will empower and energize activists across the U.S. to attack the animal experimentation issue head-on and make concrete changes for the tens of millions of animals who are imprisoned in laboratories.

Inspiring Speakers, Vegan Food, the opportunity to work directly for former lab monkeys, and Florida in March! What more can you ask for??

The Free The Animals Conference includes optional in-service days on March 1st & March 4th at the Jungle Friends Primate Sanctuary.

Confirmed Speakers include:
• Rae Sikora (Plant Peace Daily)
• Camille Hankins (Win Animal Rights)
• Michael Budkie (Stop Animal Exploitation NOW)
• Jennifer Feuerstein (Save the Chimps)
• Susan Dunne (Stop Animal Exploitation NOW)
• Bob Ingersoll (Nim Chimpsky Trust)
• Kari Bagnall (Jungle Friends Primate Sanctuary)
• Anthony Bellotti (White Coat Waste Project)

Presentations by experts will share their knowledge with activists in:
• Professional investigative techniques for laboratories andcorporations that experiment on animals
• Professional approaches for spreading the anti-vivisection message through news media
• Professional methods for effectively packaging our anti-vivisection message for the public
• Organizing effective events to target animal laboratories and corporate vivisectors
• Caring for former laboratory primates in a sanctuary setting

Experienced activists will present thought provoking speeches on:
• The necessity of non-violence for anti-vivisection activism
• The scientific fallacies of animal experimentation

Effective Anti-Experimentation campaigners will discuss:
• The Huntingdon Life Sciences Campaign
• The National Campaign to expose criminal laboratories
• Direct Action in anti-experimentation Campaigns
• Local campaign updates

All of this for a low special early registration fee of only $50! Price increases on February 1st and increases again for on-site. A limited amount of hardship volunteer opportunities exist to offset conference cost. Please contact us before registering: saen@saenonline.org or 513-575-5517.

Every stand-up comedian in the business knows you can always get an instant laugh: make a vegan the butt of your joke. Every vegan kid knows he or she is not likely to get a good meat-free and dairy-free meal in the school lunchroom and faces ridicule just for asking. All too many vegans who live in remote areas have to buy their food by mail order or travel to other towns just to eat. And ask any vegan about what he or she must go through to convey a simple food order in a non-veg restaurant. It isn’t fun.

All this even though we know meat is cruel, unhealthy, and catastrophic for the environment. And why are meat, dairy, and fish so heavily subsidized by governments around the world, particularly in the United States and Europe? None of it makes a bit of sense. Nor is it fair or right.

Enter the 6th annual NYC Veggie Pride Parade, which will take place in Greenwich Village/Union Square, on Sunday, March 24, 2013. For vegetarians, the day’s festivities are sure to give their meatless way of living a much needed boost.

Parade participants are encouraged to dress up in costumes and wear sign boards announcing their pride in their vegan lifestyle. Local restaurants, veg groups, and veg everything will be represented with banners and chants. The parade will include animal-rights activists, environmentalists, and people simply concerned with their health. But on March 24, 2013, all will come together with one voice, one expression, of veggie pride.

The procession will begin at 12 Noon, sharp, in the Old Meat Packing District (where 9th Ave. & Gansevoort St. intersect). It will culminate in a festival for all to enjoy at the north end of Union Square Park. There, revelers of all persuasions will hear well-known vegan speakers and music by vegan artists. They’ll all partake in free vegan food and explore a wide variety of exhibitor presentations. At 2 p.m., a costume contest will take place.

Throughout the day, individuals will be encouraged to speak their mind at the Soapbox Testimonial Station. Other activists will beckon passersby to receive a dollar in return for watching a pro-veg video.

Organizer Pamela Rice feels confident that this year’s parade will be the best ever. Ms. Rice said, “I’m hoping that at this event people will see vegans and vegetarians come out of the shadows, once and for all.”

Visit Veggie Pride Parade for more information about every aspect of the event.

We’re pleased to announce the return of Texas VegFest, an opportunity to celebrate all the benefits of a plant-based diet — from improving health and protecting the environment to strengthening our relationship with animals and our connection to the food grown in our community. We believe that everyone should have the opportunity to enjoy a healthy and tasty diet rich in fruits and vegetables.

There will be great food, entertainment, children’s activities, vendors from our local and greater community, speakers, cooking demos, and interactive events to get you excited about the produce on your plate. We hope you’ll come away from the festival with a stronger desire to eat a healthy diet and the skills and knowledge to do just that.

The organizers behind the festival are hard at work planning and organizing to bring you the best possible event. You can help by becoming a sponsor or vendor, signing up to volunteer, or just by telling everyone you know about the festival.

Texas VegFest is an annual event promoting and celebrating plant-based diets for a healthier, more sustainable future. The event will be held in Austin, previously named eighth in a ranking of “North America’s Most Vegetarian-Friendly Cities.” The event will host a variety of different sponsors and vendors, and will include activities such as:

• Live Music & Dynamic Speakers
• Cooking Demonstrations
• Kids’ Activities
• Good Food & Cold Beer!
• Free Samples & Prizes
• Local & National Vendors

Promoting the Compassionate and Respectful Treatment of Domestic Fowl

The Second Annual Conscious Eating Conference will inform attendees about the true nature of sustainable food choices. There’s a growing awareness of food and its relationship to our planet, our communities, our health, and the animals who share our planet. As we face unprecedented global challenges from climate change to food deserts, we realize that agriculture plays a crucial role in these challenges and that it is our responsibility to make informed and conscious choices. Discussion will focus on issues surrounding backyard chicken-keeping, small-scale farming, “eating local,” animal-free farming, sanctuary experience, and vegan living as alternatives to the agribusiness model of food production and animals.

Conference Hosts: United Poultry Concerns, Animal Place, Berkeley Organization for Animal Advocacy

Registration: FREE for students with IDs. $10 all others

Food: Continental breakfast, Lunch for all participants, Dinner for speakers

Speakers:

Karen Davis, PhD, President of United Poultry Concerns, sanctuary director & author of books including Prisoned Chickens, Poisoned Eggs: An Inside Look at the Modern Poultry Industry.
Presentation: Is Backyard Chicken-Keeping an Ethical Alternative to Factory Farming?

Will Anderson, Founder of Greenpeace Alaska in 1978 and most recently of Green Vegans and author of the new book This is Hope: Green Vegans and the New Human Ecology.
Presentation: How We Find Our Way to a Humane and Environmentally Sane Future.

Hope Bohanec, Former Grassroots Campaigns Director for In Defense of Animals, longtime Bay Area animal activist leader & author of the new book The Ultimate Betrayal: Is There Happy Meat?.
Presentation: The Ultimate Betrayal: Is There Happy Meat?

Michael Greger, MD, Director of Public Health and Animal Agriculture at The Humane Society of the United States and author of Bird Flu: A Virus of Our Own Hatching. Dr. Greger’s nutrition videos are freely available at Nutrition Facts.
Presentation: The Role of Diet in Preventing and Reversing the 15 Leading Causes of Death.

Melanie Joy, PhD, Ed.M., Professor of psychology and sociology at the University of Massachusetts, worldwide speaker and founder-president of the Carnism Awareness & Action Network and author of the award-winning primer on Carnism, Why We Love Dogs, Eat Pigs, and Wear Cows.
Presentation: Why We Love Dogs, Eat Pigs, and Wear Cows: An Introduction to Carnism.

Kim Sturla, Executive Director of Animal Place, a sanctuary for farmed animals that she cofounded in 1989 with facilities in Grass Valley and Vacaville, California. Sturla has been a central figure in the animal rights movement for more than 30 years including shelter work and legislative campaigns for animals.
Presentation: The Emotional World of Farmed Animals: What Sanctuaries are Showing Us.

Join us for a powerful gathering of movement building to end endemic systems of animal exploitation

The 2013 Animal Systems Conference is a rare opportunity to join with and learn from leading activists in the field working to end animal exploitation in the legacy of non-violent activism for radical social change.

Over the course of two days and more than ten presentations we’ll establish how to put into place institutional changes that result in similar protections for an animal individual that exist for a human individual in a civil society. Together we will explore the oppressor mindset, learn to recognize the interconnected systems that tolerate animal exploitation, and build a framework for comprehensive animal rights legislation.

Through workshops, dialogue, and reflection we will collectively expand our capacity for tackling the roots of systemic oppression within and around us while becoming more effective advocates for animals and the just and verdant world we all believe in.

Speakers include Alexis Fox, John Sanbonmatsu, Karen Davis, Julie Lewin, Pattrice Jones, Mary Bennett, Anthony Bellotti, Laurence Van Atten-Holyoak, Heidi Weber, Michael Budkie, and Roberta Kalechofsky.

Workshops

• Oppressor Mindset
• Identifying Systems that Tolerant Animal Exploitation (Agriculture, Laboratory, Entertainment, Fashion, Mill, Wildlife, Legal, Legislative)
• Ideology of Speciesism
• Non-violent Solutions – Building the Framework for Animal Rights
• Activist Traps from Flare-up to Burn-out
• Linking Movements
• Subtle Mechanisms Employed to Degrade Animal Advocates
• Why Impede Animal Advocates
• Using the Weak Links in the Chains on Animals and Animal Advocates
• From Collecting Info to Acting on Info
• Keeping the Message from being Stolen and Twisted
• Tactical Analysis
• Working Animals into the Political System
• Reviewing Tools for Change – (Education, Legislation, Litigation, LtE, Negotiation, Media, Public Relations (PR), Economic, Language, Street Activism Poll, Familiar….)
• Creating Cultural Change
• Solving Animal Exploitation through Interconnected Systems

Cleveland, OH — Join Earth Day Coalition for EarthFest 2013 at this year’s new location, the Cuyahoga County Fairgrounds, on Sunday, April 21 from 10am-5pm. In partnership with Mayor Frank Jackson’s Sustainable Cleveland 2019 initiative, the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District, Cuyahoga Arts & Culture and the Ohio Development Services Agency Office of Energy, this year’s EarthFest will celebrate Advanced and Renewable Energy with a new exhibit area under the Fairground’s dramatic on site wind turbine and Energy Education Center. Presented and organized by Earth Day Coalition since 1990, EarthFest is Ohio’s largest environmental education event and the longest running Earth Day celebration in the nation.

EarthFest will feature over 200 exhibits in 8 sustainability areas including: Advanced and Renewable Energy, Local & Sustainable Food, Clean Transportation (with Ride & Drive), Health & Fitness, Community Works, Family Fun, Zero Waste, and Green Home & Garden. Families will enjoy all day entertainment with eco-activities, Ohio’s first biodiesel powered amusement park rides, music on 5 stages, urban farm animals, healthy food from local food trucks, the NASA “Village,” Jungle Bob with his animal friends, Valley Exotic Petting Zoo, pony rides and much more…

There are 52 weeks in a year, why not make at least one of them meat-free?

Now in its fifth year, US VegWeek (April 22-28) is a fun way to explore a wide variety of meat-free foods and discover the many benefits of vegetarian eating — for our health, the planet, and animals. This year’s celebration, kicking off on Earth Day, will be bigger and better than ever!

Compassion Over Killing launched VegWeek in 2009 in Takoma Park, Maryland (our hometown) thanks to the inspiration of MD Senator Jamie Raskin. He was the first person to sign up for our 7-day VegPledge — a pledge he’s kept to this day — and VegWeek was officially recognized by our city through a Mayoral Proclamation.

Energized by his new vegetarian diet, which he refers to as “aligning my morals with my menu,” Sen. Raskin has since helped COK expand our VegWeek campaign into a nationwide effort encouraging people choose meat-free foods as a way to build a kinder, cleaner, and healthier world. Start today!

The NOLA Veggie Fest is the Big Easy’s signature celebration of all things veggie. Join us for a N’Awlins style weekend of fun and fabulous food, as we celebrate compassionate vegan cuisine and healthy lifestyles.

There’s so much to see and do at this fun, family friendly event! Veggie festers spend the entire day sampling products, patronizing food vendors, attending cooking demos, listening to speakers, watching informational films, hearing live music, and learning about the health benefits of a plant-based diet.

Whether you’re interested in healthy eating, sustainable living, compassion for animals or, simply enjoying excellent cuisine made with veggies, then NOLA Veggie Fest is for you! We offer something for everyone and all are welcome: vegans, vegetarians, omnivores and carnivores alike! Geaux Veg Ya’ll!

DON’T WAIT! These ticket packages are available for online purchase only! Single-day passes at the door are $10 per day with tote bags available on a first come, first served basis. Event t-shirts and other merchandise available for separate purchase.

Are you interested in trying a vegan diet with some help and support? If so, then sign up for the London Vegan Pledge.

Once you have been registered, you will be given joining instructions for two meetings at a venue in central London, one at the start of your pledge month on Sunday 12th May 2013, and one at the end of your vegan month on Sunday 9th June 2013.

This two-part “Introduction to Veganism” course includes: speakers, films, delicious vegan food, cookery demos, free recipe booklets and basic health and nutrition advice. At the first meeting you will also meet your vegan buddy who will support you during your month. All of this is completely free!

• Download flyer
• Download press release
• Register online

If you have any questions please feel free to get in touch via info@vegancampaigns.org.uk.

Details of the 2012 Vegan Pledge can be found here.

Vegan Campaigns promotes veganism, mainly in the London area. Among the activities that have already taken place are vegan food fairs, information evenings, veggie burger giveaways and street stalls. We also helped to organise the London Vegan Festival in 2005, 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2011, as well as the London Vegan Pledge.

We have occasional meetings in Central London, and also have an email list to inform about events and campaigns planned. To find out more, visit the rest of the site or contact us for more details to get involved.

See. Eat. Hear. FEEL VEGAN. Two days of vegan exploration await you. Nourish your taste buds on scrumptious plant-based food from New York’s famed vegan restaurants — the best in the world!

Get inspired by world-renowned speakers, champion athletes, and top chefs. Provoke new thoughts with award-winning films and their directors. Discover the vast market of cruelty-free products and services. And much more.

The Seed invites the vegan-curious, vegan-skeptical, and vegan choir to explore what we have to offer today. You’ll gain understanding of the endless benefits of a compassionate, healthful, and earth-conscious existence of the vegan & plant-based lifestyle.

The WorldFest 2013 Earth Day Festival will be held on Sunday, May 19th, 2013, from 10:30am to 7:00pm, at the beautiful outdoor setting of Woodley Park in Lake Balboa, CA. We will welcome our attendees to a magnificent day filled with entertainment, education and enlightenment. The combination of great music, empowering speakers, environmental, humanitarian and animal welfare non-profits, kid’s activities and a delicious food court make for an earth-friendly experience that is sure to be inspiring and enjoyable for all.

Here’s What’s Happening at WorldFest this Year:
Main Stage – bigger-name bands and celebrity speakers.
Earth Lounge – singer/songwriters, jazz, rock, funk, and world music groups and poets.
EcoTent – speakers, discussions, and displays about sustainable living and current environmental issues
Healthy Hut – speakers, discussions, and displays about health including yoga, meditation & cooking demos.
Exhibitors – more than 100 companies and organizations showcasing their products or eco- and animal-friendly messages.
Kids’ World – storytelling, face painting, and children’s entertainers and other activities!
Oasis Beer and Wine Garden brought to you by the Lagunitas Brewing Company – Refresh yourself in the Oasis located near the Main Stage!
Animal Adoptions – dogs, cats, rabbits and lots of animals looking for good homes!
ATM Access — There is an ATM machine on the grounds of WorldFest.
Bring your own water bottle to WorldFest for FREE FILTERED DRINKING WATER!
Free water* at WorldFest! We are pleased to say that this year we have Lifesource Water Systemsfiltering our water for us. Please stop by the booth for more information. (*water is free if you bring your own cup or bottle. We will also be selling steel bottles and you can get a compostable cup for $1.)

- Presale tickets until May 1st
At the Festival
- General Admission- $9
- Seniors over 60 – $5
- Ride your bike to WorldFest – $5
- Take the Metro – $5
(show your pass or ticket for the day)
- Kids 12 and under – FREE
- 91406 zip code residents – FREE
(with proof of residence)

Pets are not allowed this year except for service animals.
We are so sorry to say that due to strict Health Department regulations and liability issues we are unable to accommodate your dogs (even on-leash) at the event this year. We are all animal lovers and this is really disappointing for us. If it was possible for us to have them, we would! However, you can still get your “dog-fix” and all the dog-licks you can handle by visiting the many adoptable dogs from rescue organizations that will be available at the festival. Service animals are are allowed. Please have your documentation with you if you can.

This conference is focused on issues concerning all fur-bearing animals, particularly the exploitation and cruelty of fur farms, wool and leather production, “harvesting” of wildlife (hunting, trapping, penning, etc). It will also explore other areas of animal exploitation including vivisection, puppy mills, animals in entertainment, horse slaughter, animals for food.

Attention will be given to individuals and groups dedicated to the care of and advocating for fur-bearing animals; farmed, domestic, or wild. Also of interest are issues relating to the environment, which directly affects all living beings on our planet, our air, our food and water, which are seriously compromised by chemicals and pollution caused by animal exploiting industries like factory farms.

This exciting conference offers a new view and approach to animal rights advocacy and leadership, as it is also designed for grassroots activists and organizations, namely:

• to provide a forum for those who rarely have an opportunity to speak to large audiences about the work they do;

• to create a platform for grassroots activists that focuses on: “Reviving the Animal Rights Movement: Effective Grass Roots Activism.” A New View and Approach to Animal Rights Advocacy and Leadership.

AFS Conference Highlights Include:
• Over 20 outstanding national and international speakers, leaders in the field of animal rights

• Opportunities to meet and network with people of like-mind during and after the conference

• Ground-breaking animal rights films, some never before seen by the public

• Opportunities to chat with animal rights authors, artists, filmmakers.

• Provocative and informative presentations and panels on fur bearing animals, and many other animal rights issues: animals killed for food and clothing; “disposable” pets, hunting for “sport”, lobbying for animals, knowing your legal rights and more.

• Vegan Banquet and Reception with surprise guests, entertainment and silent auction

• Vegan breakfast buffet, lunches, reception and banquet included in full registration VIEW REGISTRATION

Resistance Ecology is about movement building. It is about cultivating an ecology of resistance that can adapt to the circumstances of domination. For us, this work begins with scrutinizing the state of the animal liberation and radical ecology movements of North America by addressing previous shortcomings and providing remedies.

The Student Animal Liberation Coalition is pleased to announce the first annual Resistance Ecology Conference in Portland, Oregon, May 31st to June 2nd 2013, at Portland State University (PSU). This conference is a cooperative effort between the Student Animal Liberation Coalition (PSU), the Jericho Movement and a new movement organization: Resistance Ecology.

The conference advocates for a movement of resistance that is multi-layered, unified, diverse and intersectional. Previously, the organizers of this conference have helped to organize the Let Live and Law and Disorder Conferences in Portland, Oregon as well as the Portland Anarchist Bookfair. There will be speakers, panels, and workshops occurring all three days.

Resistance Ecology is about movement building. It is about cultivating an ecology of resistance that can adapt to the circumstances of domination. For us, this work begins with scrutinizing the state of the animal liberation and radical ecology movements of North America by addressing previous shortcomings and providing remedies. The most novel way that we can achieve this is by creating a movement-wide discourse that is accessible to everyone involved.

Our mission is to compel others to evaluate the systematic exploitation of other species and ecological communities, and to inspire personal transformation, engagement and activism through educational and participatory events. We exist to keep the discourse of animal and ecological liberation thriving on our campus, with the intent of promoting the confrontation and abolition of these exploitations as they manifest in our lives and community.

We work to network and organize with other campus and off-campus organizations, beyond the boundaries of animal rights or environmentalism, in order to create the most functional, resilient and ever-evolving liberation movement. Liberation, for animals and for the earth, cannot be thought of as isolated from other revolutionary struggles as the structural causes of racism, sexism, and speciesism are interrelated.

We strive to create an open dialogue where members and the community can communicate with one another to achieve the goals that we want to see.

It is also our mission to interject issues of animal and ecological exploitation into discourses where they have been historically absent.

Compassion Over Killing and VegRehoboth are excited to host this all-veg celebration in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware. The Rehoboth Beach VegFest celebrates how easy and delicious it is to choose vegetarian foods. This FREE outdoor festival highlights the community’s diverse range of animal-friendly cuisine and the many benefits of choosing plant-based foods. Featuring speakers, cooking demonstrations, free food samples, dozens of exhibitors, and area food vendors, the Rehoboth Beach VegFest has something for everyone to enjoy.

Compassion Over Killing (COK) is a national non-profit animal protection organization based in Washington, DC with a second office in Los Angeles. Working to end animal abuse since 1995, COK relies on a variety of strategies to expose cruelty to farmed animals and promote vegetarian eating as a way to build a kinder world for all animals. Compassion Over Killing is also the proud presenter of the DC VegFest, happening on Sat., Sept. 28 in Washington, DC. Visit COK.net to learn more about campaigns to run pro-veg ads on HULU.com, persuade companies to offer more vegan options, and more.

VegRehoboth is a social and outreach organization that provides connection and resources for the Vegetarian and Vegan community in Rehoboth Beach, DE and the surrounding areas. VegRehoboth is open to all—including those just curious! We welcome vegetarians and vegans, part-time vegetarians, flexitarians, and meat-eaters who want to cut back on meat and learn about healthier new ways of eating.

VegRehoboth hosts informal get-togethers at new or favorite restaurants, veg happy hours, veg film screenings, & more. We share friendship, good conversation, and great food! Visit us at VegRehoboth.com.

Cleveland VegFest promises to be a fun, educational event for the whole family! VegFest is planned for approximately 10 AM – 8 PM.

Plant-based eating and cruelty-free living has been shown to be:
~Healthy for the human body and mind
~The optimum way to ‘go green’ for the sustainability of our Earth
~Strongly connected to social justice and the alleviation of hunger worldwide
~The one truly compassionate choice for all living beings

Featuring many top national speakers and authors in their fields on issues of health, environmental sustainability, social justice, and animal rights, the Cleveland VegFest will be an opportunity to explore how choosing a whole, plant-based, vegan meal, directly impacts conditions in each of these critical areas.

LEARN!
WHAT is vegan
WHY does vegan matter
HOW to make vegan work

Plus…
What kind of impact does a vegan lifestyle have? ~ Where is the evidence?
How do I stay healthy without meat and dairy?
Why haven’t I been told this by my doctor? ~ How much does it cost to eat vegan?
How does what I do make a difference? ~ What does vegan taste like?
…and more!

TASTE!
HOW delicious vegan food can be…
Experience the flavorful, wholesome, and indulgent flavors which encompass vegan cuisine, as presented by some of the best culinary experts in our area… Cleveland’s favorite chefs, restaurants, and confectioneries will be featuring their best-selling vegan menu items.

Plus, national vendors will be showcasing a wide range of vegan products and resources.

EXPLORE!
WHAT effects the Standard American Diet has on our bodies
WHY westerners are dying of heart disease and cancer
WHO has convinced us that we need animal products to be healthy
HOW a vegan diet can greatly improve your health and turn around disease

MEET!
Local vegan groups who provide guidance, support, and opportunities to continue learning and share experiences.

Mad City Vegan Fest is an annual celebration of veganism filled with great food, inspiring speakers, awesome raffle prizes, and a host of vegan-minded exhibitors. The event is free and open to the public.

Whether you’re a vegan, vegetarian, flexitarian, or omnivore, Vegan Fest has delicious food samples and helpful information on how you can protect animals, the environment, and your health through vegan choices.

Mad City Vegan Fest is a project of Alliance for Animals, Wisconsin’s voice for animals since 1983 (address below).

Mad City Vegan Fest
Alliance for Animals
P.O. Box 1632
Madison, WI 53701

Our Mission Statement

• To highlight the ethical, environmental, and health benefits of a lifestyle free of all animal products (vegan).
• To provide a nonjudgmental, supportive, and fully inclusive environment for vegans and for those hoping to learn more about veganism.
• To demonstrate the accessibility of veganism by showcasing vegan products and organizations with an emphasis on local resources.
• To advocate compassion as the means by which to alleviate the suffering of humans and animals alike.

The 12th Annual North American Conference for Critical Animal Studies is being held at Minneapolis Community and Technical College from June 20-22, 2013.

About 350-400 national and international scholars, activists, and scholar-activists generally attend this conference each year. This conference merges academic and activist insight, with presentations from scholar-activists and grassroots organizers alike.

Theme: Breaking the Silence on Global and Local Intersections of Ethnicity, Spirituality, and Nonhuman Animals

As the poor become poorer, more prisons are constructed, and the global south struggles with exploitation, disease, hunger, and mass displacement, social justice activists are becoming more intolerant of global racism and discrimination. In kind, the theme of this year’s annual North American Conference for Critical Animal Studies is the intersectionality of race, ethnicity, animals, and spirituality. Some of the foundational questions that the conference is interested in discussing include: Can activists compare struggles of racism to nonhuman animal suffering? What is the intersectional history of ethnicity and animals? Do you have to be anti-racist to be an animal advocate? How has religion aided in the marginalization of people of color and nonhuman animals? How has religion aided in the liberation of people of color and nonhuman animals? How, if at all, do animal advocates challenge colonization, imperialism, and racism? What are the theoretical and scientific similarities between racism and speciesism? How have different ethnic and spiritual groups addressed animal advocacy?

About ICAS

Critical animal studies is a field that promotes total liberation and explores the ways in which oppression intersects amongst human animals, nonhuman animals, and the environment. This year’s special theme is Breaking the Silence on Global and Local Intersections of Ethnicity, Spirituality, and Nonhuman Animals.

The Institute for Critical Animal Studies (ICAS) is a fully volunteer non-profit organization that is dedicated to the liberation of human and nonhuman animals, as well as to the end of environmental destruction. We are also an intersectional organization interested in coalition building and exposing of the interconnectedness of all oppressions.

Saturday, June 22nd – 8:00 am – 4:00 pm

8:00–9:00 – Registration and Vegan Continental Breakfast

9:00–9:15 – Welcome

9:15–10:30 – Jonathan Balcombe, Animal behavior expert and author of four books, including Pleasurable Kingdom.

10:30-10:45 – Break

10:45–noon – Michael Budkie, co-founder and Executive Director, SAEN (Stop Animal Exploitation Now).

noon–1:30 – Vegan Lunch, Networking

1:30–4:00 – Harold Brown, former beef farmer and founder of Farm Kind. He is also a subject of the documentary film Peaceable Kingdom: The Journey Home. The documentary will be shown and discussed by Farmer Brown.

5:00–7:00 – Guests are invited to attend an informal dinner at Jazzy Veggie – 15% off entrees for conference attendees.

Sunday, June 23rd – 8:00 am – noon

8:00–9:00 – Vegan Continental Breakfast

9:00–noon – Roundtable Discussion lead by Scott Harris, with Jonathan Balcombe, Michael Budkie, Harold Brown and Jill Fritz.

Please attend and learn what we can do in Michigan, our communities and in our lives to better the lives of all animals.

The Symposium of Animal Liberation is a conference intended to unite, inspire, and motivate activists and anyone new to the animal rights movement or interested in learning more about it. This is the very first Symposium and it will consist of workshops addressing different animal abuse and exploitation industries, effective forms of activism, vegan and activist lifestyles, and more! You’ll hear presentations from experienced activists, network and meet other people who share your views, and have the opportunity to visit the exhibit hall.

The idea for the Symposium stemmed from the notion of advancing the positive, powerful effects FARM’s Animal Rights National Conference produces. Individuals are motivated to get active, provided with knowledge, form friendships, and those who do not yet follow a compassionate lifestyle are inspired to take the leap. The majority of animal rights conferences and veg-fests, however, are usually on either the East coast or the West coast. So why not have one farther inland to spread the inspiration to impel change to those who might not otherwise be able to take part in such a powerful experience? Anyone is enthusiastically welcomed — encouraged — to attend: the Symposium is not limited to Arizona residents.

Speakers
Joe Miele, Committee to Abolish Sport Hunting; Karen Davis, United Poultry Concerns; Morgan J. Dunbar, Animal Allies NY, Farm Kind

Workshops
• Desensitization & Indoctrination Within the Academic Industrial Complex: How Vivisectors are Made…and Broken
• Staffing Tables and Leafleting for Animal Rights
• Moving Beyond the Rhetoric of Apology and Speciesism
• “Varmint”/Small Game Hunting in the Southwest

Film Screenings
Vegucated