Join Jerry from "Jef and Jer" for APRL's Afternoon for Animals

Join APRL for an unforgettable afternoon with Jerry Cesak, co-host of the Jeff and Jer Showgram on San Diego's STAR 94.1. Jerry will lead an inspiring discussion about recent victories in animal protection, and share stories of his involvement with California's Prop 2. Enjoy vegan hors d’oeuvres, cocktails, silent auction items and good company! All proceeds benefit APRL.

When: Saturday, August 6 from 2:00-4:00pm

Location: the home of Dustine Gallagher and Marissa Papito (address provided upon RSVP)

Dress: semi-formal (think "summer wedding")

Ticket Price: $50

RSVP: RSVP online and follow the instructions for Afternoon For Animals tickets.

Updates

APRL volunteer Katie Maneeley has taken out ads that will run in the Anaheim zone of the OC Register this Friday and Saturday calling attention to the abuse of elephants by Ringling Brothers! Our Orange County chapter is holding protests of the circus all week as well.

APRL co-founders Bryan Pease and Kath Rogers were awarded the Henry Spira Grassroots Activism award at the national Animal Rights Conference in Los Angeles last weekend.

APRL volunteers distributed over 9000 leaflets on humane eating at the Pride Festival, Comic-Con and the OB Farmer's Market in July.

Eight restaurants dropped cruel foie gras after being contacted by APRL in July.

At least three people told APRL volunteers last month how much they appreciate our educational outreach--that they have gone veg after meeting our volunteers.

On July 15, we won our lawsuit against the San Diego Planning Commission after it overruled the City Council's vote to protect the seals. The issue now goes back to the Planning Commission to make a legally correct determination.

Our Atlanta chapter has been holding several successful protests against foie gras cruelty! Please help them by calling Restaurant Eugene at 404-355-0321 and ask Chef Hopkins to stop selling this product of animal torture!

Above: APRL volunteers at the San Diego Pride Fest

Above: Miss Piggy hands out Compassionate Choices flyers at Comic-Con

Talk Back: What APRL Members Are Saying...

We asked our followers on Facebook why they went veg and we got some interesting responses. It seems that popular media has had a major influence:

Cool Pants said, “Many reasons--mostly including the idea of eating dead animals, but it was the Skinny Bitch cookbook that got me into cooking vegan. I want to write a cookbook now!”
Judy Mundell Green said, "The movie 'Babe' changed my carnivorous ways forever. Everything I've learned since then only reinforces my stance."
Marlene Rodriguez said, “Lisa Simpson made me give up meat.”

We would love to hear from more of you! Make sure to “Like” us on Facebook so you can participate in discussions and polls!

How I Went Vegan: An Interview With Mitch Wallis

We caught up with Mitch Wallis, the main catalyst behind Evolution--a vegan fast food restaurant in San Diego that proves you don't have to sacrifice on a plant based diet--to ask him a few questions.

Before Evolution, you were once (presumably) a newbie to the vegan lifestyle. What made you go vegan?
Reading Diet for a New America when it was first published inspired me to change my diet. Once I understood the connections between my food purchases and world hunger, pollution, disease, and animal suffering I could not continue to eat animals or their by-products.

How has veganism changed your life?
Now when I go to sleep each night I rest easier knowing that I have done everything possible within my own limited resources to make our world a healthier and more humane place to live.

Why did you decide to open a vegan restaurant?
When I surveyed the restaurant industry, healthy fast food seemed to be the most neglected category. I also considered these questions: does the world really need another animal based restaurant? Does it need more vegan restaurants? I have never understood how some people can compartmentalize their lives and be one thing at home and another in their business.

What kind of reaction does your completely vegan menu get from customers?
The biggest reactions are to our burgers and our desserts. We've had guys who live on a military base stop in and try a burger and say they enjoy it so much they would be happy to eat this way every day. Then there are all of the women who try our desserts and just can't get over the fact that they are dairy free. One taste of our homemade soft serve ice cream or one bite of our chick'n nuggets will make a believer out of anyone.

Do you have any advice for new vegans?
Go slowly. Gradual change is much more sustainable than quick change. The main ingredient for success is to eat a wide variety of foods and to pay attention to what is in season and eat locally sourced foods whenever possible. Everyone is completely unique and requires different foods at different times. It's important to experiment constantly and tune in to how your body feels when you try new things.