Howard Lyman, internationally recognized safe-food activist and director of the Humane Society of the US' "Eating With A Conscience" campaign, addressed a group of about 40 people at the Durham Friends Meeting House on November 1. What a privilege it was for TVS to have Howard's visit!

Mr. Lyman looks like what he is ... or, rather, was: a Montana cowboy. This is a man that you would expect to see chairing a meeting of a stockman's association, not expounding the vegan message in a manner that was often as humorous as it was profound. He kept the crowd mesmerized for nearly two hours, with a talk that ranged in topic from his involvement in the British "McLibel" case (see last summer's v10#2 Grapevine article on this subject), through "Mad Cow Disease" and the effect of dairy products on human bones and kidneys, to the environmental devastations caused by intensive farming practices.

For those of you who missed the last issue of The Grapevine, Howard Lyman is a fourth-generation family farmer who has raised everything from wheat to beef cattle using modern, intensive methods. A devastating illness in 1979 caused him to rethink his position on food production. He sold most of his Montana ranch, and became an advocate for small family farmers and safe food practices. Along the way, he also became a vegan. As director of the "Eating With A Conscience" campaign, Mr. Lyman travels all over the world, addressing groups both large and small. He has also appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show and is a co-defendant with Oprah in a legal suit brought by a group of Texas cattlemen under one of the new "food defamation" laws. He is truly a fascinating and effective spokesman!

Despite a few hitches (I couldn't find the key for the Friends Meeting House and had visions of being arrested by the campus cops!), the talk went off very well, thanks to the efforts of several volunteers. Special thanks go to David and Jean Hollowell, who recently founded the Wayne County Vegetarian Society, used their own funds to bring Howard down, and gave us the honor of hosting him for Friday night. Thanks also to Heather Breadan-Langan and Rondi Elliot (who helped with publicity), Jeremy Schreifels and Constance Downs (Jeremy designed the programs for the talk, and he and Constance picked up the food for the reception), Tracy Fielding (who arranged for the Meeting House), and Dilip Barman (who chose the reception goodies). Kind thanks to Wellspring Grocery for donating $80 of food and drink. And to those unknown angels who arrived just in time to help me set up the chairs...bless you whoever and wherever you are!

Editor's note: It was a real honor to have that afternoon to show Howard a bit of the Triangle, share dinner, and really get to know him. I'd like to thank Audrey for pulling this event together and Valerie Copeland for picking Howard up from the airport and treating him to lunch. Let's have more events like this!