North American Vegetarian Society
TVS is now an Independent Affiliate of the North American Veget. Society (NAVS, P.O. Box 72, Dolgeville, NY 13329, (518)568-7970, navs@superior.net). It costs TVS nothing and gives us the opportunity to acquire low cost and free literature for tabling, as well as get discounted prices on books and T-shirts. All TVS members are now eligible for half-price NAVS membership, which brings with it the quarterly Vegetarian Voice magazine and discounts on materials as well as Summerfest conferences. Contact NAVS for more information.

Credit Card to Support TVS
We have made arrangements with Capitol One Bank, one of the largest credit card issuers in the country, to have an Action for Animals MasterCard offered to qualified applicants. This credit card is specifically designed to help animal-loving and vegetarian organizations to raise funds. If you secure a TVS-chapter card through Capitol One, then each time you make a purchase, TVS will get a half percent (.5%) royalty with no extra cost to you. Call the bank at (800)367-7297, extension 0317. What a painless way to support TVS!

Aesop, Inc. Leather Free Shoes & Accessories
We've made an arrangement with Aesop, Inc. so that they will contribute to TVS 7.5% (excluding shipping and tax) of your purchase when you buy their leather alternative goods and mention TVS. For further information or a catalog, contact them at P.O. Box 315, N. Cambridge, MA 02140, (617)628-8030, www.aesopinc.com.

Health Charities and Animal Experimentation
Last time, I mentioned Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, and I certainly encourage TVS members to consider joining this organization that is working to put the word out about the tremendous health benefits of a vegan diet. Something I learned recently from PCRM is that many charities many of us may contribute to fund animal experiments. Much of this experimentation is not only needlessly cruel, but of dubious scientific value. According to PCRM, some of these charities are the American Cancer Society, American Heart Association, American Red Cross, and March of Dimes. Many charities, such as the American Kidney Fund, AmVets, Cancer Prevention and Survival Fund, Disabled American Veterans, MS Association of America, National Easter Seals Society, and National Federation of the Blind, refuse to fund animal experiments.

Calling All Veggie Parents
Audrey Nickel
As most of you know, I am listed in The GrapeVine's editorial box as Parenting Group Coordinator. I would like to inaugurate the "Vegetarian Parents' Resource Group" and compile a list of names and phone numbers of vegetarian parents (or parents of vegetarian kids, not always the same thing) to whom I can refer callers when particular questions arise. If you would like to participate, please contact me and I will add you, with any area of expertise or particular interest you may have, to my resource list. I feel that this will be an excellent resource for parents throughout the Triangle who are struggling with vegetarian issues.

Veggie Corner for Kids - New Organization
P. O. Box 781, Fargo, NH 58107-0781
I read a letter from this organization that I thought parents may find interesting. I'll quote from the letter:

"We are a grassroots organization established in July of this year ... to educate children towards a nonviolent environment and a new way of life. We promote vegetarian and vegan food choices, the elimination of slaughterhouses, and a revival of the old-fashioned farm as a solution to the depletion of our natural resources. ...

Our mission is to help children discover the joys of vegetarianism. It is a way of living which is beneficial to humans and the environment. We believe that children are compassionate by nature and that they dislike causing the suffering of their fellow creatures. Our newsletter, The Veggie Forum, will be published next year.

Attention Vegan Meat Analogue Consumers
Heard on the net from Angie Metler (Vegan904@aol.com) of the NJ Animal Rights Association: "the distributor Nature Boy, who sells 'Unturkey', 'Unchicken', 'Unham', etc. ... with a label of 100% vegetarian and the ingredients listed are all vegan. ... We learned that Worthington Foods makes the product[s; when] we asked for an ingredient list from Worthington ... [we found] there were egg-whites and honey in almost all of their products sold by Nature Boy, with no mention on the label.

Local Earthsave Group Forming ... John Robbins' New Book
EarthSave International is an organization begun in 1988 by John Robbins, author of Diet for a New America (and of a newly published book, Reclaiming our Health). It is committed to teaching others to live in harmony with nature by promoting the benefits of plant-based food choices for optimal health, a sustainable environment, and a more compassionate world. We have a new TVS member, Claire Seibert, who is starting a Local EarthSave Group ("LEG"). Please contact her at 319-7310 if you are interested in working with her.

Most Americans Think Farm Animals Need to be Protected From Cruelty
Courtesy of the VivaVegie Society, New York City, and Henry Spira of Animal Rights International
... is the finding of a recent survey of American adults conducted for Animal Rights International by Opinion Research Corporation of Princeton, NJ. 93% said that animal pain and suffering should be reduced as much as possible even though the animals are going to be slaughtered anyway. 90% disapprove of current methods of raising food animals in spaces so confining that sows and calves can't even turn around and that laying hens are unable to stretch their wings. More than 80% think the meat and egg industries should be held legally responsible for protecting farm animals from cruelty. 58% of the public believes that fast food restaurants and supermarkets, who profit from factory intensive farming, have similar legal obligations.
Animal Rights Int'l, Box 214, Planetarium Sta., New York, NY 10024
The VivaVegie Society, Prince Street Station, P.O. Box 294, New York, N.Y. 10012-0005, vivavegi@novalink.com.

World Vegetarian Day
courtesy of Dennis Bayomi of Winnipeg Vegetarian Association
Madge Darnielle, V.P. of VSDC (Veg. Soc. of WashDC) and NAVS (North American Vegetarian Society) board member, along with Brian Graff, 1st V.P. of NAVS, thought of having this day in 1977 based on the theme "Live and Let Live". The president of the International Vegetarian Union, Dr. Gordon Latto, proclaimed that October 1st of each year would be known as World Vegetarian Day.

Announced in the Vegetarian Voice, the first World Vegetarian Day was held on October 1st, 1977. Groups held buffets, set up informational tables at malls and libraries, and asked nonvegetarian friends to go vegetarian for one day. In Washington, D.C., the VSDC made banners and marched in front of the White House. Today WVD is celebrated all over the US and overseas including Australia, Germany, and India. The United Kingdom expanded it to World Vegetarian Week. At an International Vegetarian Union Council meeting in Ulma, Germany, October was named Reverence for Life Month as it has so many special days including WVD, Gandhi's birthday, St Francis of Assissi's feast Day, and World Day for Animals.
Dennis Bayomi, President, Winnipeg Vegetarian Association, Phone: (204)889-5789, WVA@mbnet.mb.ca, www.mbnet.mb.ca/~wva/index.html.

World Farm Animals Day
October is Vegetarian Awareness Month, and October 2nd is the 14th annual World Farm Animals Day. Though TVS isn't doing anything to help recognize this event (any event coordinators out there?!), groups throughout the world will hold candlelight vigils for the billions of feeling animals who are abused and killed every year in factory farms, stockyards, and slaughterhouses. Watch for the "Up to the Minute" CBS television show with an interview with Howard Lyman, our own guest in November!