Sunday morning’s Washington Post has an article announcing that several Washington, DC power players are participating in VegWeek 2012, which started Sunday. VegWeek was started by the animal-rights advocacy group, Compassion Over Killing, which is based in Washington, DC, as a way of encouraging meat-eaters to cut down on their meat consumption. It’s not the same event as National Vegetarian Week, which is in May.
What’s neat about the announcement from the Washington Post is that so many councilmen and councilwomen, delegates and assembly persons are taking a public stand for animal rights and the impact that less meat consumption in America could have.
Not too long ago, I doubt that very many public officials would have been willing to support a group like Compassion Over Killing so publicly. Just a few years ago, vegetarianism and animal rights were things that could brand a public official or politician as a left-wing rebel.
Fortunately, that seems to have changed in the last several years.
Vegetarian eating has certainly come a long way in the past decade,” notes Erica Meier, executive director of Compassion Over Killing. “As veg options are more readily available and as meat consumption in the U.S. decreases, the social hurdles of meat-free eating are falling down — making it more common and acceptable for everyone, including elected representatives, to choose veg foods.”
Participants in VegWeek are mainly meat-eaters who take a pledge to go without any meat at all for seven days.
I think it lends a certain amount of importance to the weeklong event to have a vegetarian/animal rights event supported by those who do eat meat.
If you’d like to learn more about VegWek 2012 events, check out the website for Compassion Over Killing, which is a really great organization. The Washington Post also has a link to the list of politicians who are taking the seven day pledge. You can go see if any of them represent your area.
What do YOU think about the politicians joining the VegWeek 2012? Do YOU believe that this would effectively raise awareness to the public about the vegetarian lifestyle? Post your thoughts below.
- Jenny Sangler
Thank you for this great article on VegWeek! It’s one of our most fun campaigns each year, with thousands of people across the country–including legislators and community leaders–participating. It’s a great opportunity to try veg foods and see just how delicious veg eating can be!
VegWeek is truly fun and informative!