Vegan Shift
An Animal Rights Article from All-Creatures.org

FROM

Eriyah Flynn, Vegan Shift
December 2014

Vegan Shift does not subscribe to the "it is not going to happen in our/your/my lifetime" poverty of ambition mantra. Frankly the animals, including humanity, do/does not have more than a decade to make this shift happen if we have any chance of mitigating the most perilous 6th global extinction we are already spiraling within. If a vegan shift is going to happen, we have to make it happen and we have a 2 phase strategy in which we plan to make it so.

Mission:
Empowering a rapid world vegan shift as an answer to healthy and peaceful, sustainable planetary living for all earthlings.

Vegan Shift is an official 501 (c) (3) that connects people to the vegan community to empower a rapid world vegan shift. We do a variety of local/national/global strategic actions and act as a hub to connect vegans with their community and support infrastructure.

Our 300 Vegans campaigns, The Vegan Connection programs and Vegan Concierge services are just some of our methods to engage and invite the non-vegan/pre-vegan communities with positive, friendly and empowering approach.

We have an ambitious vision that we hope will inspire you to want to get involved with our organization. Our objective starts in America within the next 10 years. Vegan Shift does not subscribe to the "it is not going to happen in our/your/my lifetime" poverty of ambition mantra. Frankly the animals, including humanity, do/does not have more than a decade to make this shift happen if we have any chance of mitigating the most perilous 6th global extinction we are already spiraling within. If a vegan shift is going to happen, we have to make it happen and we have a 2 phase strategy in which we plan to make it so.

• Phase 1: Pass the American Vegan Access Act (AVAA) (2-3 year plan)
• Phase 2: Pass the American Vegan Policy Implementation Act (AVPIA) (7-8 year plan) These will become the templates for all nations in the rapid world vegan shift.

We have heard the following criticism: "If you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen", as if this approach was making vegans into victims and taking the focus off of the horrendous plight of the animals. What this criticism fails to acknowledge is that the plight of the animals is absolutely a human problem: specifically our perspective of speciesism. It also fails to recognize that many people don't realize they have a choice (since vegan options have never been listed or promoted as a possibility in western society until recently, and even still often requires the gumption and creativity to demand and develop what they want on a menu, or at an event, that does not offer the option/accommodation) or worse that their needs are outright violated/discriminated against.

Empirical data shows that currently the majority of humans support human rights causes long before they will support animal rights causes. While many non-vegans/pre-vegans currently and ardently reject the rights of animals, they will ardently support and even consider championing the rights of vegans not to be discriminated against. This is the peaceful pathway leading to the tipping point that will empower all nations toward a rapid world vegan shift.

Phase 1 has several purposes:

1) AVAA will stop the hemorrhaging 82% recidivism rate of those who have already left the kitchen because they in fact couldn't adapt against the non-vegan cultural inertia. Marketing research shows that only 20% of the population in purchasing demographics are idealists who, once they make this transition, will stay the course for sheer ethics. While passing the AVAA will certainly make life for those of us who are in that camp easier, we are not so much who AVAA is for. AVAA is primarily for the rest who will return to non-vegan status and make justifications (health, cost, difficulty, "happy meat" etc.) or honest admissions they just couldn't do it (addictions, cost, support, know how etc.).

2) AVAA is in fact to stand up for the rights of those who aren’t even allowed in the kitchen: the children, the disabled and the elderly, who must rely on the care of others to provide for their needs, as well as those activists who have found themselves incarcerated for their cause.

3) AVAA is in fact to protect the rights of those vegans who have been discriminated against, harassed, bullied, censored, fired and victimized for their ethics.

4) AVAA It is to empower a nation to live in alignment with its values of truth, justice, peace, liberty, dignity, the right to pursue happiness, love, compassion, kindness, empathy, as in: truly humane characteristics of which we all crave to be the recipients.

Phase 1: The American Vegan Access Act will mirror the Americans with Disabilities Act to ensure that vegans are accommodated for their needs in whatever endeavor they engage.

Phase 2: The American Vegan Policy Implementation Act/ Plan will deliver the specific protections for animals and the plan and details of transitioning off all livestock and other violent policy measures. We need a lot of people to contribute to the development of this over the next 10 years. One tactic to develop what will become this plan is offering the NASA, Million Dollar, Family Challenge (NMDFC). Use the NMDFC for inviting people into discussion for peaceful vegan solutions as opposed to reciting typical, arcane, entrenched violence. More on the NMDFC can be found here: http://www.veganshift.org/media/take-the-nasa-million-dollar-family-challenge

One of the strategies we use to develop, galvanize, organize, and mobilize our community is called 300 Vegans, which is intended to have a mass of vegans show up in unity wearing the Nonviolence United vegan shirt, with a banner, flags and informational materials we use such as the 300 Vegans Local Vegan Resources Guide and the Nonviolence United A Life Connected brochure.

In addition to contributing to the gathering of a massive display at the 300 Vegans 4 the Peoples Climate March on Sep 21st, 2014 (which is actually the template of how we intend to mobilize the nation to deliver Phase 1 and Phase 2 objectives) and equipping the collectively diverse vegan organizational groups the made up the Vegan Hub contingent with nearly 500 Nonviolence United (NU) VEGAN shirts, 8 NU logo VEGAN flags, 3 NU logo banners, and over 2000 NU A Life Connected brochures and Vegan Shift NYC Vegan Resources fliers, we are seeking volunteer vegan shift leaders to step up and organize other 300 Vegans events and specifically to get us into the Rose Parade, Macy's Parade and any other event (sporting events/festivals/fairs) you can see coming up that draws a LOT of people where we can position ourselves with a vegan banner, flags and people in the Nonviolence United VEGAN shirts for vegan empowerment opportunities.

If you want to get involved with our organization, please go to the website and submit a contact form. Our website is new and still evolving (seeking funding to expand), so bear with the limited information that is presently available. We need your help adding all the vegan support groups in every city, state, region, country in the world in the Resources tab. Please also "like" our Facebook page and "tweet" to get the word out.

Thanks in advance for your support!

(740) 521-9091
[email protected]
Facebook
Twitter Handle @WorldVeganShift

---

Return to Animal Rights Articles
Read more at Articles Reflecting a Vegan Lifestyle