The Power To Influence
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I just spent a couple hours handing out vegan literature at a local university. Leafleting like that – standing in a busy area handing out colorful, detailed, well-sourced leaflets packed with information about how and why to go vegan – is one of the best ways to advocate for animals. Most people have no idea where their meat, dairy, and eggs come from. And once they learn that, they often have no idea how to eat differently. These leaflets help people go vegan.
One of the general principles of effective leafleting is to use our resources wisely. This can be achieved by handing out leaflets only to the people who are most likely to go vegan, for example, college students. College students are particularly receptive to a vegan message because they are generally young and thus their habits aren’t quite as rigid as older people. Young college students are in a stage in their life when they’re learning and exploring; they are willing to experiment and try new things.
For that reason, it’s tempting to only hand out leaflets to the young people on campus. But, in my opinion, that would be a mistake.
Today, a women in her 40s or 50s walked by me as I was handing out leaflets. I couldn’t tell right away if she was an older student, a professor, or campus staff, and I try not to assume things about people merely based on appearances, so I handed her a leaflet. She took it, looked at it quickly and said she’d seen if before when I was leafleting last month. “Oh, well would you like some vegan recipes this time, then?” I asked. She enthusiastically took the recipes and then she said something amazing: she told me that she’d shown her students the former leaflet!
One leaflet in the hands of an open-minded professor can have an impact on all of their students. For many professors, that means hundreds of students! So, for those of you who leaflet, please reach out to people of all ages. Because it’s not just about them, it’s about who they have the power to influence.
True, dat!! You also might learn that age is no determinant of who is open-minded enough to learn something new.
I know that it must have been most rewarding to you to get some feedback like that. As Vegans, for the most part the forgoing of food choices etc. that we engage in benefit living creatures that we will never see and we can only trust that one less steak eaten has some eventual effect. However, I have learned to not get caught up into ‘quantifying’ results. More times than not we are merely planting a seed or injecting a little leaven into someone’s thought. It will probably grow eventually and the person may eventually become Vegan after they have moved 1000 miles away. It is probably rare to both plant the seed and reap the harvest all in one encounter.
.-= Harry Hebert´s last blog ..Check Luggage Weight Limit on Airlines =-.
Harry, to be sure, we are usually planting seeds, yes.
That’s why I count the number of leaflets handed out, not the number of positive responses. I know that if I hand out 300 leaflets, chances are good that I’ve helped inspire a few people to go vegan and dozens more to cut back on their meat consumption.
I’m kind of confused by your response, though. Because the point of my post had nothing to do with quantifying results, it was about how vegan education can have a chain reaction. We inspire someone, they inspire someone else, the seeds keep getting planted here and there. My point was that we should use our resources wisely and target our message to those who can make the most difference for animals, but we should also remember not to make our target audience too narrow.
Vegan Outreach’s “Compassionate Choices” (CC) booklet is featured in the link above. However, I recommend using their “Why Vegan?” (WV) booklet instead: http://www.veganoutreach.org/whyvegan/WhyVegan.pdf
In contrast to CC, the WV has:
- A section on fishes.
- A larger section on “free-range.”
- Far more detail on the egg and milk industries.
- Slaughterhouse photos, showing the violent reality.
- Statement that no matter the living conditions, all animals used for food are slaughtered.
- No disclaimer excusing making “exceptions.”
- Says “Vegan” on the cover, giving direction to the reciever and helping make veganism more socially acceptable.
Thanks to Vegan Outreach’s generosity, I’ve handout out nearly 20,000 WV booklets. My overwhelmingly positive experience leafleting at college campuses and other places has given me no doubt that the public is ready for the vegan message. Don’t despair, get out and leaflet!
Brandon, I take what they’ll give me. I’m not picky.
I’m not where you are at 20,000 yet, but I have handed out thousands