There certainly is a tickle of analytical magic when vegans get together en masse as we did for the Johnstown (PA) Vegan Summerfest last month. Here I offer highlights meaningful and memorable to me, points of connection, contention, texture and gratitude.
The Conductor - Much Ado About Noting
Thanks to consciousness of the climate crisis and urging of my friend Lee, after a plane flight to last year’s event, I returned by Amtrak and this year came and went by same. Whatever my mode of travel, I do vegan outreach. I stand at the front of each car, make a little speech and offer a list of (Netflix and YouTube) films (and books)(sample at bottom). After I overcome shyness and awkwardness, it’s a lot of fun. Making my way through the seven or eight cars takes 1-2 hours depending on how many have questions, personal stories and/or debate points.
This year both trips coming and going, as I walked down the aisle handing out film/book slips, I came face to face with a young man in a conductor’s uniform busily counting passengers. As with any employee, I was thankful he didn’t ask me to stop “soliciting” but instead accepted the slip with a smile. It was only later that I realized from his dark old fashioned (1800’s?) uniform, he was not an Amtrak employee but rather a teen playing the role and well he did sharing with all who’d listen amazing facts of train history. This certainly was seasoning for the long seven hour (seemingly without end) trip, which because of its length reminded me of the movie Snowpiercer.
The actual conductor DID finally ask me to stop soliciting but only after I’d reached the majority of people and handed her a slip as well. Since her request didn’t stop me, she finally threw up her hands in surrender and allowed me to continue. I was sorry to make her job more challenging but saving all life on earth is more important to me than the frustration of one Amtrak employee.
Table Talk and the Inner Teacher
For breakfast, lunch and dinner, all kinds of vegan courses were offered - raw, ones without SOS (Salt Oil and Sugar) and regular ones. In addition there was a salad/fruit bar, with every kind of vegetable including spring mix, raw baby spinach and other raw veggies as well as salad dressings, cashew toppings and fruit (honey dew, cantaloup and pineapple). There was also a counter with vegan pizzas; another with fruit juices; and sometimes another with vegan ice cream for those not following the calorie density plan of Chef AJ. Though ingredients were not organic, the meals tasted good, including the SOS free ones. All meals were served in a huge cafeteria and an extended room filled with tables, chairs and cushioned booths.
I prefer to meet new people and even though many sat with family and/or friends, all welcomed me. After I filled my plate to brimming, I looked around. I remembered a YouTube ad with Vishen Lakhiani, the founder of Mindvalley. He shared his hard luck days when he barely earned a living making cold calls to sell insurance to busy lawyers. Going alphabetically through the old “yellow pages,”, he was doing miserably till he took a course in the Silva Mind Control technique. This taught him how to relax and allow his intuition to guide him. He wound up doubling his sales and excelled so much, they made him manager. He eventually taught the Silva Mind Control technique which lead to his founding MindValley “the world's leading online personal growth education company” as well as becoming a NY Times bestselling author of “Code of the Extraordinary Mind” and “Buddha and the Badass.”
So, in deciding where to sit in this huge cafeteria, besides favoring being nearer the windows with light and a view of the trees, I allowed my mind to relax and be guided to the table at which I’d have the most enjoyable conversations. That worked for all nine meals, except for the two in which I allowed my insecurities to choose a table at which I’d sat before.
Conversations, the Convoluted Cortex in the Context of Winding Intestines and Proper Digestion.
Because I care about ending suffering in the world I pay attention to current events. As a vegan of almost 50 years, I daily mourn the suffering and killing of our animal family and work to end it. I seek to expose the largest and most violent industry, animal agri-torture, as the number one in causing the intensifying climate crisis and overall destruction of our living world; to expose it as number one in causing diseases and pandemics, wars; number one in exploiting, injuring and killing workers; number one in super exploiting blacks, women and undocumented immigrants and number one and foundational in starting and maintaining a violent and unjust social/economic system.
My hope is that our conversations over meals and when walking from event to event will address these realities which imbricate (overlap) each other and that together we can explore their interrelated solutions. Often these conversations do touch on these issues. Nonetheless, sometimes it’s enough and I’m grateful we simply can get to know one another and adequately ingest, digest and enjoy our food or reach our destinations on time.
A Facilitation
At the beginning of his plenary talk, Dr Robert Bleakey offered to send anyone who wanted, a link to his slide show, releasing us from having to take notes and snap his slides. When finished, he put a small pad on the stage and about 40 people lined up to write their names and e-addies. I did the math. Each person taking a minute or two, would have taken 40 to 80 minutes not including those who continually added to the line. I used my NYC elbows and my mars in virgo organizational sense, made my way to the front, took the pad, tore off one, two, six pages, spread them across the stage, placed my pen on one and borrowing five more, gave the “matrix” hand signal (“come on up”), inviting people to step forward and sign. Instead of one at a time, they signed six at a time. Instead of 40-80 minutes, within 7 minutes, the line disappeared. I collected the pages, handed them and the pad to doctor bob and returned the borrowed pens. Sometimes, a little non-conformity and independent thinking, including amongst us vegans, can go a long way.
Classes, plenaries and party time
Often there were two hour-long sessions and plenaries before the next meal. In each of the two sessions were six presentations or workshops from which to choose. In the evenings, there were plenaries 7:15 - 9:00 and then night activities. All together it was intense, rich and fulfilling. I usually found people with whom to walk from event to event, to get to know and share gems.
In the evenings, after the last plenary, around 9 pm, there was a party with a DJ, dancing and schmoozing around snacks (cookies, watermelon and popcorn with nutritional yeast). Other options included board games and/or star gazing through a powerful telescope.
The first night, I pretended no one else was in the room, let the music take over and danced my butt off. The next morning I realized I didn’t want to burn my candle at both ends and though tempted, that night I left early to sleep.
Presentations and Plenaries
One of the presentations to which I was drawn was Calling All Allies - A Recipe for Successfully Presenting Health-Wealth within BIPOC (Black Indigenous People of Color) Communities.
The facilitator, Dawn Hilton-Williams, shared that when outreaching to BIPOC communities, it helps to have a connection with a person or group well established in the community with whom one can work. She also suggested one get to know cultural norms, for example, at black churches, hugging after the service is common. It’s good to bring dishes that are culturally appropriate and familiar, black beans, coleslaw, etc. Her suggestions were helpful and since I, myself, live in a BIPOC community and most people know me as “the vegan lady” or the kids as “the vegan teacher,” I asked her opinion of my approach of handing out film slips. She took a look and to my surprise, raved. She thought my approach and the choices “excellent.” After class, most of the participants lined up to receive the film slip. I was glad and thankful I’d printed out plenty hoping many Summerfest participants would take. Since a picture is worth a thousand words, a video must certainly be worth a million. I hope others doing vegan outreach will make copies (six fit on a page, sample below) and likewise offer them broadly.
Back to the Future - Embracing Cultural Veganism to Shape the Next Decade of the Vegan Movement
The main point of Raquela Karamson’s presentation was that there are many cultures in which the majority of meals are already plant-based. The countries she mentioned that exhibited this were Israel, India, Japan, Greece and Egypt as well as the Mediterranean and the Aztec and Mayan of Central America. She’s a member of Jewish Vegan Life and to some it may have seemed she was inordinately focused on and biased towards Israel.
“Even the soldiers are offered vegan uniforms, boots and food,” she boasted.
During the Q&A, a woman asked if the thousands of Palestinian prisoners (spending years tortured, starved and held without charges, trial or ability to defend themselves) could also get vegan food? She said she didn’t know but the question may have reminded Raquela that as she sang her country’s praises, it was at that very moment engaged in a genocidal bombing of Gaza having killed over 13,000 children at the time, implemented a siege and blockade of food, water and medical supplies, causing mass starvation and disease; and forcing tens of thousands of Palestinians to daily uproot and relocate often many times only to be bombed, loose loved ones and killed even in so called safe zones.
Special Staged Reading of Play “Just Is”
The program description reads: “Those promoting veganism may face the same oppressive mindset that has long hindered justice progress, but “authorizing” the opposition as evil/lacking our virtue dooms humanity to repeating their mistakes. Audience discussion will follow.”
During this plenary, JoAnn Farb directed a staged reading. The first scene featured a local food co-op with a background sign that read “natural foods, celebrate MLK and 5% to the homeless.” A manager explained to the vegan food prep teacher why her classes were being terminated. The meat, dairy and egg producers were now selling their products there. The teaching of vegan food prep threatened their profits.
The second scene was of the June 1840 world anti-slavery (abolitionist) convention in London where women who’d been assigned by their local U.S. anti-abolitionist societies to be delegates and who’d traveled 3,000 miles to attend, were shocked to discover the men had not expected them and voted against their participation.
The third scene took place in the office of the economics department of the 1915 class at a prestigious college where an official explained to a teacher that he was fired for his outspoken position and writings. At first I thought the professor was being terminated because he was opposing and refusing to teach and carry out vivisections. I wrote JoAnn for clarification and she responded that the teacher was Scott Nearing (August 6, 1883 – August 24, 1983), a non meat eater whom Wikipedia described as:
An American radical economist, educator, writer, political activist, pacifist, vegetarian and advocate of simple living.
I’d previously heard of Scott Nearing and decided to read the full description which I found rich and important.
The fourth scene returned to the co-op and the vegan teacher’s arguments for the co-op not to succumb to animal agri-torture’s demand she be fired. The scene was autobiographical which may have made it difficult for JoAnn to resist the “she said …she said” dialogue because in my humble opinion it was unnecessary and went on too long.
In the very last scene a woman gave a short, almost inaudible and confusing speech which may have underscored the major theme, but to me was unclear.
I wrote JoAnn and asked her:
By “opposition,” I’m curious to whom you were referring? Was it the huge animal agri-torture industry with their corporate lobbyists and $billions poured into the pockets of congress people, not afraid to employ thugs to threaten, harm and even kill people who stand in the way of their profits such as to whole tribes of indigenous people in the amazon? Were you therefore referring to the meat, military, medical, media, mega-monied complex?… OR were you referring to meat eaters who have not yet seen the footage, “read the data” (as cardiologist Kim Williams says) and switched to a vegan way of eating and living?
She responded:
By "Opposition" I am referring to 1) The co-op manager 2) The administrator who fired Scott Nearing 3) The door man at the World Anti-Slavery Convention and 4) Everyone who has ever been in the position of trying to do their job, or simply trying to serve "some greater good" and may not recognize how they are facilitating something harmful.
Here, she seems to be referring to “middle men,” managers, working people paid extra to keep other workers in line and performing at top speed and efficiency to maximize profits for the owning class; those middle men, managers also given the unpleasant task of firing those the company or institution decides no longer serve their interests or in some way pose a threat to profits. Perhaps the quote by socialist and author of “the jungle” Upton Sinclair, is appropriate here:
“It is difficult to get a man to understand something when his salary depends on his not understanding it.”
At first I thought this may have represented JoAnn’s opinion that though there’s evil in the world and big money interests thwarting justice and progress, it doesn’t make sense to rail against it, whatever “rail against it” may mean.
One of the first people to take the mic for “audience discussion” was dr Milton Mills.
“As a black man,” he began “I believe we have to call out evil where we see it.”
To help me understand where Dr Mills was coming from, I read the article in the Sentient “Dr. Milton Mills: On Being a Black, Vegan Doctor in Trump’s America.” I think this discussion may bring some clarity to the contradictions our movement faces re: radically different approaches to waking people up.
Those of us who attended last year’s plenary may have recalled Dr Mill’s personal and moving story of the form racism took when in medical school. His Stanford U.supervisor hadn’t responded to requests for perhaps a referral to an internship at a medical college so he asked the supervisor at a higher level. As revenge for this innocent act, his supervisor called every college to which he applied and told them not to accept him. Fortunately, he DID get accepted to a college in DC which connected him to Dr Neal Barnard’s PCRM (Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine) for which he wrote a paper pointing to the racism of the food chart. As an essential group, it included dairy, particularly damaging to African Americans, indigenous people and asians. His paper resulted in a change in the chart and in turn saved the lives and improved the health of millions.
I myself requested the mic and tried to make the distinction between the disagreements and contradictions between the people themselves and those between the people and the powers that be. I wasn’t sure my point was understood or well taken, but at the next meal, my words seemed to open the space for two sisters and me to share our feelings around the genocide in Gaza.
I think it was brave of JoAnn Farb to try and draw links between these different social justice issues. In my opinion, it’s critical vegans share feelings, thoughts and ideas of how to deal with the world situation. I appreciate the title “just is” for example, “this is just the way it is” - or “justice” - do we accept things as they are or work to change them? Perhaps she was highlighting the Interlocking oppressions and showing that by fighting for the rights of others, we can more clearly see our own chains and how they are held in place by the same social, political, economic forces and systems of oppression. Understanding this propels us to see animal liberation as foundational, to break free of the “old unnatural order” and work to end this whole oppressive system.
Lastly concerning the words “authorizing” [or “labeling”?] the opposition “evil,” as I said at the mic, I don’t believe in labeling anyone evil, because that puts them in a category of unreachable and unchangeable and I believe everyone can be reached and changed. Concerning the warning not to see our “opposition” as lacking our virtue, i’m not sure that perception comes from our ranks or solely or mainly from non-vegans. I’m reminded of Carol J Adams book “Living with Meat Eaters” in which she explains how some non vegans feel that because they are unable to change their eating patterns and consumption of animal products, they experience feelings of inferiority, shame, feelings of “less than” in relation to vegans. They then project those feelings onto vegans deducing it’s caused by the superiority feelings of vegans which, for me and in my experience of other vegans, is far from the truth.
Enough: Pleasure, Perfection and Patriarchy in the Plant-Based World - diet culture and self-worth - Jen Howk, PhD
Jen Howk, a vegan, psychologist has had experience with self image, body size, shame around weight and the like. She’s also familiar with the diet industry. Her recommendation? Though it’s certainly more complex “Be truthful to yourself” and thus the title of her forthcoming book “Truth Be Told.”
In this talk she shed a light on how these issues are particularly acute in the vegan community. Since attending her workshop, I’ve listened to several of her presentations and interviews on YouTube and recommend them.
Two other women and I carried the discussion to the next meal where we went from body image to the trans phenomena. One of the women was a lawyer and the other had been a high school sex education teacher, familiar with various aspects. We shared opinions about law professor and animal rights abolitionist, Gary Francione, and his stance in defense of the rights of trans people but arguing that sex characteristics have nothing to do with beliefs or sexual identification; that one can’t force others to believe that because you identify as a woman, your body is that of one. He argues against allowing trans women to compete in women’s sports since all the testosterone that grew bones and muscles in the person’s youth, puts women who grew up without that at a strong competitive disadvantage. Unfortunately, the meal and conversation were cut short by needing to get to conference jobs and the next presentation.
Hall Of Fame
I enjoyed the ceremony of the induction into the Hall Of Fame of Victoria Moran, learning of her youth as well as her impressive and lengthy life accomplishments, including her Main Street Vegan Academy.
Philly Cheese Cake
The presentation by Vance Lehmkuhl: Increasing the Footprint of Vegan Foodwas inspiring. He shared the unique and creative method of spreading the vegan lifestyle with competitions for the best vegan Philly cheese cake, a yearly exciting event which he popularized and publicized for over a decade.
Insects
Jonathan Balcombe’s lectures What a Fish Knows as well as The Unexpected Lives of Insectswere fascinating. His presentations were so popular they had to be held in the auditorium of the science building.
A Tribute
For the plenary: The Power of Veganism - Music, Words and Imagery, Joanne Kong played piano as images were displayed of vegan movement’s greats. It was a lovely tribute.
Doctors
Most of the doctors took a deep dive into our bodies, graphically demonstrating the many advantages of a plant based vegan diet on health, happiness and longevity. Offering a slightly different approach, Dr Lederman stressed the importance of social connections. Dr Neal Barnard talked about “Animals as Food Processing Machines: Turning Grains into the most processed foods - Muscle, Milk and Eggs” and “The Power Foods Diet: Certain foods actually cause weight loss, reduce the appetite, trap calories and Increase the body’s ability to burn them.”
Kim Allan Williams MD presented on “Cardiovascular Risk, Health Equity & Nutrition – (including Q & A)” Michael Greger, MD shared “How Not to Age: The Scientific Approach to Getting Healthier as You Get Older” and separately “Q&A with Dr Greger” Dr. Alan Goldhamer (of True North) answering “Can Fasting Save Your Life?” gave “a detailed overview of how to use fasting to regain and maintain optimum health” (including Q & A) and lastly Dr Robert Breakey shared “Bob’s 8 Keys for Health and Success” and more.
Plenary Session: Overcoming obstacles: Tim Kaufman’s Journey to Health and Happiness
At over 400 pounds, Kaufman was almost immobile, unable to perform simple daily tasks, battling addiction to pain killers, alcohol and food and suffering from chronic health issues. His memoir "ESCAPE - Breaking Free from a Self-Made Prison" and his presentation chronicled his remarkable journey from hell to health.
On a plant-based whole-food diet, he was able to loose over 200 lbs, become a competitive athlete including the ironman marathon and make a full pivot from near death to a happy, healthy and productive life. Hearing his saga was truly inspiring!
In Sum concerning the Summerfest:
There were many more presentations I enjoyed and from which I learned. I heard about the North American Vegan Society’s Johnstown Vegan Summerfest from Marisa Miller, when she was creating the seminal film “Vegucated” and took her participants to film their reactions. That was over a decade ago, before it came out in 2011. It’s taken me that long to decide and also have things in place to actually go. If you can afford the time (Wed through Sunday or Friday-Sunday) and money (about $100/night which includes meals and snacks, but not transportation) I recommend the Johnstown Vegan Summerfest. Some people have come for decades, many heads sprouting gray and white hairs, making it a kind of reunion. Each year there are also newbies. I hope this sum up has been helpful in giving you a taste, enough of one to perhaps motivate you to want to check it out.
The booklet given us at the festival can be viewed here.
How do we share this on line? I would like to promote your Awegasm!!💕💛
OMG. This is great. Thank you for your report on Summerfest. I’ve volunteered there 1/2 a dozen times. A wonderful experience.
I enjoy your newsletter. And your writing is so good.