Note from the Coordinators
Vegan Responsibilities and Change
We were recently looking at a video interview of a VRG member who was a Jewish Freedom Rider in the South during the 1960s, risking his life for integration and equal rights. He wondered why some people act and others don't. To us, individuals take on different responsibilities and act according to their own life situation, beliefs, and personality.
In this issue, see the winners of our annual college scholarship contest. All took on an ongoing commitment. Of course, many more high school students from our 280 submissions deserved to win. Thank you to the St. Louis Vegetarian Society for sponsoring a runner-up prize.
Because of the pandemic, many young people's lives were upended with lost jobs and disappearing study-abroad classes. Thus, we ended up with 10-plus summer interns/volunteers from high school through a nutrition PhD program who still needed their time to be useful. Thank you so much to Reed Mangels and Jeanne Yacoubou for helping us work with these individuals so they could continue to learn and contribute despite the chaos in their lives and the world.
In our new Harris Poll results in this issue and the next Vegetarian Journal, we found that the top reasons of American adults making decisions about food are taste, cost, and health. For vegetarians (including vegans), it was health, animal welfare, and taste, followed by cost, ethics, and the environment. So, each of us has commonalities and differences. Because people often criticize those who have different opinions than theirs, consultants and advisors will often tell you that to bring about change, you don't have to care what others think. On the other hand, it does create a conundrum for many people working for change because they care about everybody. How do you gain support without putting out one-sided information (on either side of the fence)? How do you attract followers on an issue, when taking into account the opinions of others and respecting all individuals? How do you cater to different needs, making some people angry because they feel you should address only their needs? Or how do you balance getting all the tasks done, when so often people don't come through for various reasons?
We do fear for young people who face a hard situation making up for lost time in their studies and career. In these uncertain times, we thank our members and donors who enable us to support students and assist others working for a better world. Have a safe and happy New Year.
Debra Wasserman & Charles Stahler
Coordinators of The Vegetarian Resource Group
